event.full

The other night I met my parents and a smattering of family friends at the Iwo Jima Memorial. Every Tuesday this summer the marine corp band performs a free concert at sunset. It has been a record breaking hot and humid June - and with that comes fantastic summer thunderstorms. It wasnt long before the winds picked up and our hair began blowing wildly around us. Dark gray clouds literally seemed to unfold themselves upon us, billowing until it seemed that the edges of the clouds themselves were rustling the leaves on top of the trees. We quickly covered our food and picnic blankets and sought shelter under a nearby tree (yes, I realize that this was maybe not the smartest move, but it was surely the driest).

The marines marched on.

It was a true downpour. But the breathtaking view after the storm made us forget all about our now soaked clothes and blankets. The most terrific light show took place safely in the distance with the proud Washington Monument standing unmoved below. The view of the sky was more magnificent than any painting, photograph or words could ever attempt to imitate.

Another wonderful night in the district.

(ps a lot of things went wrong that night too: we missed the first half of the concert, my car that had been in the shop and was supposed to be ready wasn't and the 1984 mercedes that I was driving in its stead ran out of battery, a huge storm literally swept us away, there were several spills and misplaced friends and while we waited for jumper cables to arrive, a pick-up truck with metal spears and PVC pipes came to a stop at the bottom of a hill directly in front of us when every single pipe and metal bar came flying off the top of his car and onto the street. We helped pick up the once flying trajectories ALL over the intersection.)