Today i've taken time away from work. It gave me the opportunity to hang with the dogs, get a better look at the recently burned mountain, polish off a few dozen shirts and pants in a marathon ironing project, play a round of golf at the local golf course and shoot bows with my son.

It also gives me a chance to catch up on some "non-work" blogs.

During my recent Washington, DC trip I took a tourist day. My favorite thing to do is wander through the National Gallery of Art. Also, I will go out of my way to drop by and pay my respects to the great man, Abraham Lincoln. His second inaugural address and the Gettysburg address are carved on the walls to either side of Lincoln's statue. I always take time to read them. It's part of the total experience.

And I hate to pass up a visit to the Vietnam Memorial. The names apprear "in the order they were taken from us". Even now I can't think about this simple statement, also engraved on the wall at the memorial, without getting a lump in my throat.

Perhaps the best part of my visit this time was taking time in the National Archives. This building was reopened to the public on September 18, 2003. This was just days before my trip. They've complete redone the place. It's different.

No longer do you walk up the front steps and enter through the big doors (the way Goldie Hawn did it in the movie "Protocol"). The entrance is now on the lower level, under the big stairs, through metal detectors. After walking through a maze of stairs and hallways you enter into the National Archives Rotunda were you are greeted by the new displays and a large contingent of federal employees.

In the center of the display rests all four pages of the U.S. Constitution. To the left of the Constitution is the Declaration of Independence. To the right is the Bill of Rights. On the walls curving to and away from the Constitution is a display entitled the Charters of Freedom. These are documents and historical events that have defined freedom in the United States. It's good. I highly recommend the experience............
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