Washington DC the nation's capital is among my favorite destinations. I visit pretty regularly now that there is one of my children residing there. I do enjoy the visits greatly. There is much to see and much to do in the area and in the city proper.
I really enjoy the sculpture that dots the public landscape. I have long been a fan of outdoor public sculpture. Several years back I discovered that my home area was possessed of a number of famous works. Gutzon Borglum had a number of works in Newark, NJ, he later carved Mt. Rushmore. I took my children to see them while they were young. I once got up early on a Sunday morning to drive the half hour or so it took so I could see it again.
The statue of Lincoln outside the Essex County Courthouse and the work in Military Park , Wars of America .Wars If ever given the chance, do go and see this amazing piece of work, formed well before Mr. Rushmore made him famous.
Wars of America is as good a piece of public sculpture as will be seen anywhere. The anguished appearance of the people, military and civilian. The push of soldiers against a bogged down canon. Horses being pulled and pushed forward with a fear showing in their eyes.. Refugees with bags in tote fleeing the fighting....it all comes very much to life.
I have also tried to visit each of the known exemplars of the works of Gaetano Federici that are known to exist in the Paterson NJ area. Bronze works that rival Michaelangelo.
So a few days back when we started on our vacation we stopped to visit our daughter. The family went off to a museum, I demurred after the long drive and went for a walk instead. I knew that I would find something to see. I walked up to the Navy Memorial a few blocks away. In the space of those few blocks I cam upon no less than ten examples of high quality public sculpture. I was enthralled.
A young Sailor with his sea bag forms the central feature of the Navy Memorial, which so much reminded me of my brother when he was a young Sailor in service of the nation. Tall, youthful, angular and strong. The memorial is surrounded by frieze panels showing the honorable service in all its facets. The first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court seemingly weighed down by some ponderous legal problem as he sits wearily in a chair. Two friends playing chess in a park. For a fan of public sculpture it is a slice of heaven. Similar places exist in Boston along Commonwealth Avenue and in Central Park along the Mall.
Would it be that every town were the same.
But in Washington DC, I also saw a woman open her tarp a mere 25 yards in front of my walk and drop to the pavement to sleep in the warm July day. Clearly drug afflicted and unbalanced she avoided any look about as she dropped to the ground. She was out by the time I came to her.
No shoes and clothes dirty from too many days and nights on the streets. Surviving the heat of July in Washington DC becomes just as trying as surviving the cold of January. In the home of the nation where we give lip service to social equity and income inequality we have a staggering homeless problem. Talk of income equality is misplaced, the talk should be about providing a minimum floor, which is not the same thing as doling out money.. The disconnect was too great for me to ignore, for Washington DC has a horrendous homeless problem that has grown exponentially over the course of the Obama Presidency. Would it be that no other town would be as Washington DC is. Would it be that those who pretend to attend to the needs of the nation, take care of the needs right under their patrician noses.
We talk a good game.
