Tonight's picture was taken in November of 2002. Mattie was seven months old. Next to Mattie was our cat, Patches. Patches understood from day one that she had to behavior around Mattie. I never had to worry that she was going to scratch him or bother him in any way. Which was amazing, because it took a while for Mattie to learn that he couldn't grab at Patches fur or pull her tail. But even when he did this, she never retaliated. She was a loyal family member, which maybe why as Mattie got older and had friends who would visit us that did not know how to act around a cat, he made it his business to show them. He would tell his friends outright.... "you can't run around after Patches, you can't chase after her tail, pull her fur, etc...." Mattie and Patches were buddies.
Quote of the day: In the end what gets people through a physical or emotional crisis is not new technology or medication. Those things can help of course. But it's faith that gives you the strength to endure-- faith that won't allow you to give up; faith that manifests itself in a ferocious determination to take the text step-- the one that everyone else says is impossible. ~ Bob Dole
After the monument, we then walked through the National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden.
The National Gallery of Art Sculpture Garden offers a
relaxing, year-round setting in which to enjoy works of modern sculpture. Occupying 6.1 acres between
7th and 9th Streets on Constitution Avenue, the Sculpture Garden was designed
by landscape architect Laurie Olin, and opened in 1999. At its center the space
features a monumental fountain that converts to an ice-skating rink in the
winter. The Sculpture Garden fulfills the centuries-old intentions of Charles
Pierre L’Enfant, who, in his designs for The Mall in the 1790s, included a
public, landscaped garden on the north side of Washington, DC’s 8th Street.
Some of the sculptures in the Garden are a RIOT! I know Mattie used to get a kick out of them!!!!
Typewriter eraser (1998)
In the mid-1960s, Claes Oldenburg began to visualize public monuments based on common objects, such as a clothespin or a pair of scissors, instead of historical figures or events. The artist chose the (now obsolete) typewriter eraser as his model for this work based upon childhood memories of playing with the object in his father’s office. In the late 1960s and 1970s he used the eraser as a source for drawings, prints, sculpture, and even a never-realized monument for New York City. Here the giant brush arcs back, conveying a sense of motion, as if the wheel-like eraser were rolling down the hill and making its way toward the gate of the garden.
Louise Bourgeois used the spider as the central protagonist in her art during the last decades of her life. For the artist, whose work explored themes of childhood memory and loss, the spider carried associations of a maternal figure. Bourgeois associated the “Spider” series with her own mother, who died when the artist was 21. From drawings to large-scale installations, Bourgeois’s spiders appear as looming and powerful protectresses, yet are nurturing, delicate, and vulnerable.
Construction on the National Garden began in October 2001. Five years later, the National Garden opened to the public on October 1, 2006. It provides living laboratories for environmental, horticultural and botanical education in a contemplative setting. The National Garden is the result of a successful collaboration among the U.S. Congress, the Joint Committee on the Library, the National Fund for the U.S. Botanic Garden, the U.S. Botanic Garden and the Architect of the Capitol.
Recently when Peter and I were watching the Memorial Day concert on TV, they made mention to the American Veterans Disabled For Life Memorial. A Memorial I had never heard of, and I did not even know it had been built in the city. Peter and I were both very moved by its description and we therefore felt compelled to find out where it was located and to visit it today. I am so happy we made this decision. I have to say it is by far one of the most moving memorials I have visited to date. This architectural group clearly put a great deal of time and thought into honoring those who have served and who have come back wounded. Not just physically wounded but also psychologically wounded. In fact the whole space that the memorial sits in is a sensory experience. Though I am not a veteran, and I mean no disrespect in saying this, this memorial was deeply moving to me as well. Not only because it honors those who have served but I feel it captures the feelings of trauma and horrors of living with what has been experienced so beautifully and the grief of living with that constant loss. As I was walking in this memorial, I felt that the quotes and messages expressed were so applicable to my own life and losing Mattie. As I have said often, the pediatric intensive care unit was our battle field. Again, I do not equate war and childhood cancer. I realize they are different, but survivors of trauma nonetheless understand each other, and as I walked through today's memorial I had a deep appreciation of what these survivors and their families members constantly endure.
On Veterans Day in 2002, the Disabled Veterans’ Life Memorial Foundation launched a design competition for The American Veterans Disabled for Life Memorial. Twenty renowned architecture and landscape architecture firms were invited to participate. Michael Vergason Landscape Architects was selected the following July, based on the design concept that is now near the U.S. Capitol.
Vergason,
whose work can also be seen at the National Cathedral, the U.S. Supreme Court,
Monticello, the U.S. Cemetery at Omaha Beach in Normandy, France, and his alma
mater, the University of Virginia, envisioned a hallowed place amid the bustle
of the surrounding Washington streets. His design was meant expressly for its
audience – disabled veterans, their loved ones and caretakers – who would now
have a place for commemoration and quiet reflection within a grove of trees
framed by granite and glass walls, punctuated by a ceremonial flame and a
reflecting pool.
Technifex
designed a durable and secure system with an easy-to-operate control touchpad.
The flame is built to the same high standards used in a theme park attractions.
For the safety of children, adults and animals, Technifex designed a gas
cut-off feature triggered by pressure pads built into the display’s stainless
steel framework. Any weight put on the system will automatically stop the gas
flow and turn off the flame. California-based Technifex was founded in 1984, and
is the special effects designer for Walt Disney Imagineering.
There is a star-shaped
fountain, embedded into a broad reflecting pool. Used throughout American
history to honor, recognize, reward and represent our highest aspirations, this
strong focal point structures the site. At its center, the ceremonial flame –
the fire – embodies the elemental forces of injury, loss and renewal, and
emerges from the water as a reminder of the hope that springs from perseverance
in the face of adversity.
Each of you bears upon his body the permanent, honorable scars of dangerous service. Service rendered in order that our great nation might continue to live according to the expressed will of its own citizens. ~ Dwight D. Eisenhower
Before I conclude the subject of public justice, I cannot omit to mention the obligations this country is under, to that meritorious class of veteran non-commissioned officers and privates, who have been discharged for inability.... nothing could be more melancholy and distressing sight, than to behold those who have shed their blood or lost their limbs in the service of their country. ~ George Washington
How is a life replaced - the companionship, nurturing, love and support of a husband and father. We were totally unprepared for and were devastated by years of illness. ~ Joan McCarthy
This is a quote clearly from a wife who got her husband's physical body back from war, but clearly the ramifications on their marriage and their family life devastated them for years to come.
It's possible for a man to lose half of his physical being and still become whole. Before I lost my limbs I was only half a man. Now I've developed some humility. I can look at the average person and understand him where before I looked only at myself. ~ Theodore Strong, Jr.
I felt a special compassion for these young men with torn-up faces. The wounds one could see were often less severe than the psychological injuries they brought with them. My heart went out to each of them. ~ Martha Cameron
In the end what gets people through a physical or emotional crisis is not new technology or medication. Those things can help of course. But it's faith that gives you the strength to endure-- faith that won't allow you to give up; faith that manifests itself in a ferocious determination to take the text step-- the one that everyone else says is impossible. ~ Bob Dole
Sculpture: "Call to Duty and Pride in Service"
The Memorial is located at: 150 Washington Ave., SW Washington, DC 20024
Memorial Website
