Yesterday I briefly mentioned the fact that I thought I looked fugly on Sunday but cute on Monday (and, for the record, I looked cute today, too!). I was amazed to learn today that statues have their "off days," just like people.
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is a three-piece tribute to the brave men and women that gave their lives during the Vietnam War. I always feel a little uncomfortable here: My Uncle Tommy, who passed away last Christmas, served in Vietnam. My father, his brother, was drafted, but managed to avoid the war due to a car accident. If not for that car accident, I'm not sure that I would have ever been born.
The memorial consists of: The Three Soldiers statue, the Vietnam Women's Memorial, and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall.
Of the three pieces, my favorite is the Three Soldiers statue. There's something very masculine, yet tortured, about it. I always find myself mystified by it, and apparently, so do the crowds that gather around it daily. People don't talk here. They just...look. When friends are visiting, I always make a point of showing them this statue.
I was saddened to find that the statue was unavailable for public viewing due to an ongoing restoration in May. I was also confused, as I had thought the statue looked fine when my friend Patrick had visited in March, just two months prior.
Wrong.
Alfie was fortunate enough to see the fully restored statue today. And now, so can you. It's absolutely beautiful. And the change in foliage doesn't hurt, either.
August 2010
There is a series of four photographs on display at the Smithsonian's Freer Gallery of Art in which the artist photographed himself sitting on the same park bench during each of the four seasons. After looking at my own spring and summer photos of The Three Soldiers, I am suddenly grateful that we will not be leaving NoVA until mid-November. I'm hoping for an early snow this year...
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