The River and The Rally

This weekend found us wading in the least nasty part of the Potomac at a place called River Bend Park. We found no hypodermic needles, which has happened on other occasions so that was an added bonus. It was a great day to play and have a picnic. The Potomac really is a beautiful river. No wonder George Washington wanted to stay in his Riverside Mansion rather than be the President of a struggling nation.


Saturday we spontaneously decided to join the half a million other people on the National Mall for the Glenn Beck Restoring Honor Rally. It was exciting to feel like we were a part of something bigger than ourselves. Beck's rally coincided with the 47th anniversary of Dr. King's "I Have a Dream Speech," which I can only describe as gutsy. Reverend Al Sharpton held his own rally and it was interesting as some of his participants marched through the Beck rally with their signs and slurs. The verdict is still out on my opinion of Beck. I appreciate his desire to put God back in America, heaven knows we need it. But, at times I felt more like we were at a Southern Baptist Revival rather than a political rally. Sarah Palin spoke as well. She kept her comments non-political and only discussed her experiences as a mother of a soldier. Beck honored three individuals with either the Faith, Hope, or Charity award, which was inspiring and certainly carried a familiar theme to us Mormons. We encountered many interesting characters throughout the day, including Captain America and Abraham Lincoln. Hopefully, the boys learned a little something about honor and patriotism, especially as we sat and listened near the World War II memorial.