Tonight's picture was taken seven years ago, on September 28, 2008. It is hard to believe that seven years ago Mattie was in our lives and we were battling cancer beside him. Seven years sounds like a long time, and yet it really seems like yesterday this was all happening. Mattie was pictured with a laptop that was given to him by Mary, his technology teacher at school. For the entire 14 months Mattie was in the hospital, he had access to this computer. Mattie wasn't big into technology for the most part, but there were times within the hospital that the computer served as a great diversion for Mattie! Mattie would create all sorts of art work on the computer using the paint program and there were many instances that Mattie even recorded his own voice on this computer. Which was a gift that Mary shared with me last year, she was able to download Mattie's song to me off this computer. I have yet to listen to this recording, because it is much harder for me to hear Mattie's voice than to see the photos of him.
Quote of the day: Remembering tires a person out. this is something they don't teach us. Exercising one's memory is an exhausting activity. It draws our energy and wears down our muscles. ~ Juan Gabriel Vásquez
The Capital Wheel opened in May of 2014, and is considered an iconic attraction in the DC area. It is said that when you ride it, you will feel like you’re sitting on top of the world. As you soar 180 feet above the Potomac River waterfront, you will marvel at the incomparable views. Sights visible include the White House and Capitol, the National Mall, Arlington Cemetery, City of Alexandria, Prince George’s County and the lush park lands throughout the DC-Maryland-Virginia region.
The wheel has an overall height of 180 feet and sits on a 770-foot-long pier extending into the adjacent Potomac River, easily visible to passengers on flights to or from National Airport. The 165-foot diameter wheel carries 42 climate-controlled passenger gondolas, each able to seat eight people, including a VIP gondola that can be rented for weddings or celebrations. The wheel has programmable special-effects lighting as well. 
So tonight, I went to National Harbor with my friends in cancer, Ilona and Attila, to witness the GOLD lights on this Capital Wheel. The ironic part about this is, how my request came about. I know it is hard to get federal buildings or anything associated with the government to turn GOLD in September. I then began wracking my brain to figure out what would be a non-governmental icon in the DC area that I could make a light in GOLD request. It did not hit me until one day while on a airplane, flying home to DC, we literally flew OVER National Harbor (the home of the Capital Wheel). It was at that moment, that I knew the Capital Wheel would be the perfect landmark to start the GOLD campaign in DC.
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