Washington DC's Famous Dome

I have to admit that every time I have a meeting on Capitol Hill in some office in one of the House or Senate or Capitol buildings, I get a bit of a thrill walking up the stone steps, or tramping through the marble halls, looking up at the ceiling, noting the gilded murals, or even going through security and getting lost in the corridors. Any one of hundreds of famous worthies have surely stepped on the same stairs, passed through the same passages, made their case or argument, and spoken a million important words ahead of me. A fun part is sitting in some Member's office waiting my turn and sometimes being given popcorn, or chocolate candy bars, or peanuts, or iced water that some offices give out to guests. Even if the meeting doesn't go that well -- you know some staffers just don't seem to listen, or some Members are not available for very long -- just being in such a significant place affects me greatly.  I sometimes joke that "I'm just a girl from a village in the old country and here I am in one of the most powerful places on the planet." But you know, it's no joke!

Supreme Moment

It was 100 degrees Fahrenheit so I took a cab home past the Supreme Court the other day and when the cab paused at the traffic light, I rolled down the window and snapped this shot. In just a few seconds ancient Greece is captured, tourists visiting Washington, D.C., tons of gleaming white marble are displayed, not to mention some incredible representational sculpture, a security guard, an interesting lamp, and "equal justice under law". A closer inspection indicates a wonderful frieze of figures with a crowned Wisdom presiding over several figures, two admiring centurions, one holding a scroll and another holding a sword.She looks off into the far distance, through the netting that holds back the pooping pigeons, ignoring the steps, the tourists, the security guard, the hot pavement and my cab. Well, it's just a building but an awful lot hangs on it.

Light at Cannon

We paused in the corridor of the Cannon House Office Building the other day after a visit to Majority Leader Steny Hoyer's office, and I happened to glance up and see this amazingly ornate lamp hanging from an amazingly ornate decorated ceiling. Since the two people I was with were blind, when I told them what I saw, they asked me to describe it and agreed with me how unique and unusual this was. In fact, the whole corridor ceiling was covered in decorative plaster work painted in white, french blue and embellished with ribbons of gold foil in some places.  The lamp itself was frosted glass held in a basket of lacy brass that included arrowhead designs and some other shapes that I could barely discern from the floor below. The floor below was nothing to sneeze at neither, of shiny black and white marble squares, gleaming gently due to the muted lamp light. On reflection I wondered who designed this lamp and ceiling and by what inspiration? And, who keeps this in good repair, who gets to change the light bulbs on such wondrous work that we own, how many notice this incredible wealth of the nation?

Spirit of Justice Guarded by Majesty of Law

Who would have thought that the Spirit of Justice in Washington, D.C. would have such a big bosom? This sculpture, that a million people a year probably walk by without seeing, is alongside the steps as you go into the Rayburn House building from Independence Avenue, right near where cabs drop you off. If you just look up you can see this marvelous marble wench and very naked bonnie baby. And on close inspection, it's not a baby bottle in her right hand, but a flame, probably the torch that the Spirit of Justice lights. Then on the other side, watching, and guarding, them closely is the Majesty of Law, with a ferociously large sword in his hand.These magnificent representational sculptures designed a long time ago still send messages we can recognize instantly.

Inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building

There's something about being inside the Eisenhower Executive Office Building that makes me think that I've stepped into the story of American history being made. After all, such meetings are not every day occurrences and I don't get invited that often. But it's the high ceilings, painted walls and columns, mouldings and lighting fixtures that are so elegant and ornate and old and I always get the sense that I'm walking where other really important people have  walked before. I like the highly polished waxed marble floor of diagonal black and white squares that you think are going to be slippery but they're not. Shoes always clickety-clack when you walk to the room where you are to meet the President's staff and there's been more than one occasion when I've got lost on the wrong floor or down the wrong corridor before finding out from a passing friendly staffer where I am supposed to be. I've probably been in this building a couple of dozen times over the past 20 years, but each time I am impressed with its grandeur. I don't always remember what the meetings are about or what happened, but I do remember the place. Is that mysterious or what?