september 23,2008

Tuesday23~~~ We were so tired this morning after all that walking to all the memorials, we rode the bus to the subway and read the paper on the way into DC like all the morning commuters do. The only part of the ride I don't like is they don't let you eat or drink anything on the subway. A cup of Starbucks would make the ride really nice. It is a good thing they don't, as the subways here are so clean and not full of trash like in New York City. There was a little boy(maybe 1 one year old) on the bus who decided he really liked Sharon, the feeling was very mutual, as she kept talking too him and clapping her hands. He climbed right over and stood on her lap, that really made her day. (picture) Today we went to the Ford Theater, we didn't get to go inside of it as it was under renovation. We took a picture of it though. (picture) We were delighted when we looked up behind us as we took the picture and we saw the home they took President Lincoln when he was shot in the theater. The first person to enter the box where the president was shot was Charles A. Leale , a 23 year old doctor. After a quick examination, the Dr. knew the head wounds were mortal. Another surgeon, Dr Taft, helped make the decision to make his final moments as comfortable as possible. They carried the unconscious President out of the theater and across the street to the Peterson house, a private home. (picture) The Peterson family immediately left their home and Lincoln was put in the back bedroom. (picture) The front bedroom was used by his wife Mary Todd Lincoln (picture) as she was not allowed in with her husband because she passed out when she saw him and they felt she shouldn't be in the room, thus causing her to not be with him when he died..The middle bedroom (picture) was filled with all the top people of government, as they weren't sure if there was a conspiracy going on and what they should do. Actually there was one going on, but it wasn't carried out by the rest of the people. Everything was recorded during this time by a young man who was also at the theater that night who took shorthand notes throughout the night, so they have accurate records through it all. Dr's Leale, Taft and about a dozen other doctors tended to Lincoln the best they could, finally, after nine and one half hours of unconsciousness, at 7:22 a.m. on April 15th, the sixteenth President of the United States drew his last breath. From here we went to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum (Top picture) They do not let you take any pictures inside. The exhibition opens with images of concentration camps taken by the U.S. Army soldiers in 1945. These scenes shocked even the battle- hardened troops and informed the world of the horrors of Nazism and the enormity of the Holocaust. It shows the Nazi rise to0 power in 1933 until the ourbreak of World War II. There are several floors of exhibits, including the actual bunks that 6 people slept together in, the door of the entrance building, millions of pairs of shoes, the Jews luggage, pictures and more pictures and videos of actual footage. The Nazi's executed over 6 million Jews, there is a big price to pay for freedom and these people certainly paid dearly. It happened before they really knew it was happening. We were both shaken by the enormity of what we saw and I pray something like this will never happen again.