© 2006 Castimore.com

Once Upon A Summer

I arrived in Washington, D.C. after 13 hours of flight, got off the plane and walked out to meet our coordinators Stacy Lawrence and Celine Opinsky. As I walked outside, I realized that it was a little hotter than I had expected, right around 90. We all piled into the vans and started our trek to Munson Hall at George Washington University, or GW as we called it. We checked in at GW and went up to our rooms. The only thing I can say about the dorm rooms is that they sure had character. We explored the area around, found out that "Foggy Bottom" was a Metro(subway) stop, and discovered the wonders of the Watergate Building.

The next day we went to the office, I probably say this way too much, but the stone everywhere was awesome. We entered the Hart Senate Office Building, and went up to the fifth floor. We took a tour of the office, we met Carol White and got signed up as employees of the United States Senate. Next we went down to the basement and saw The Sargent at Arms, ID Card Division. Once you have your Senate ID you can go anywhere in the Capitol, Senate, and House Office Buildings, and that was the next thing we did.

Our tour guide was Suzanne Palmer, and she gave the best tour of the trip, it was unbelievable. She took us around the Capitol for more than three hours. We saw all of the usual stuff, the rotunda, Old Senate floor and Supreme Court. But she didn't stop there, next we went to the Senators "hide-away" saw the executive balcony, Newt Gingrich's and Strom Thurmond's office, the Black Velvet drape used for all state funerals, told us the story of burring George Washington in the basement and about the "Three ladies in a bathtub" statue. We met with the Senator in the appropriation's conference room, now that was impressive. Most people see the appropriations room only through a window set up for viewing proceedings, but we were in the office. We sat in the same chairs as the committee members that meet there every month to decide how to best spend the budget of the United States of America. We sat in a room with a ceiling that had been exquisitely painted more than a hundred years ago, and a table the like of which I doubt I will ever see again. And to top it all off, we went and sat on the floor of the United States House and saw the bullet holes from the Puerto Rico extremists from 40 years ago. At the end of the day, I was just overwhelmed.

The first Friday, July 10, we went to the Senators house for Ice Cream and Cookies. As we were leaving, the Senator was also heading out, and said "who's coming with me?" Being one not to pass up a ride over a walk, I went with him. I got to ride in the "Reserved for Senators" elevator, and went down to "G." We got into his daughter, Lilly's, Ford Explorer, and headed out. That Senator of ours would fair great on the north road, he can pass, turn, and drive like a true Alaskan. On the way he and Denali, a worker in the office, talked about various things while I sat back and enjoyed the scenery of D.C. Upon arrival, the Senator helped an elderly neighbor with a hose, and we went inside for ice cream. Mrs. Stevens had already prepared cookies and soft drinks for the interns. The whole group spent about an hour and a half on the Senators deck, talking about various topics, and having great time. Besides, what Alaskan can eat ice cream on a hot summer day and not have fun!?

One of the most interesting parts of the intern program is shadowing the Senator. We get to spend a day following the senator in meetings, hearings, and of course, go on the Senate Floor. At the beginning of my shadow day, we attended a meeting with some of the Olympic Committee. Next we went to the United States Senate floor and watched two votes on various amendments to the Commerce Appropriation Bill. The Senator had to go to a Top Secret meeting with Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, so we stayed on the floor for two hours while he was at his meeting. We went to a radio show taping and then the Senator went to play tennis.

We spent the next few weeks working in the office and going on tours. We went on a tour of the National Archive and Records Administration building and saw the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, and a copy of the Magna Carta. Then we went to a tour of the Pentagon. We had our own personal tour with a Navy tour guide. He took us by the office of the Secretary of Defense, and the Secretary of the Navy, Army, and Air Force. It was nice having our own guide to take us where we wanted to go, and he let us stay places as long as we wanted to stay. Second only to the Capitol tour, was the tour of The Bureau of Printing and Engraving. We saw them making 6.4 million dollars in new twenties. My favorite part was a hand-written sign:

I make $6,400,000 a day and take home $15.95 after taxes.

It is amazing how much can change in two minutes. We were fortunate enough to be in Baltimore watching a ball game on Friday, the 24. The Capital Shooting has really affected me a lot. I have read every newspaper article, watched the news, and gotten all the information I could about this tragedy. This was the only time in history of the United States of America that a Capitol police officer was killed in the Capitol, and the second time an officer has ever died in the history of the Capitol Police. This was the first homicide in the Capitol, the first shooting since 1947. It was by far the worst tragedy in the history of Washington, D.C. I remember thinking, when I walked out of Union Station that Tuesday, how emotional it was to see the flags of all fifty states plus the countless American flags all flying at half staff. We had a tour that day at the Voice of America, and on our way we walked by the line of people waiting to get into the Rotunda to pay their respects to Officer John Gibson, and Officer Jacob Chestnut. Our trip to the Rotunda was something I will never forget as long as I live. We entered through the second floor, and being Senate Staff, were allowed to stand in the rotunda as long as we wanted to. As we stood there countless hundreds of law enforcement officers walked through to pay their respects. With the changing of the four guards, a group of five people, dressed in traditional Scottish garb, played bagpipes. The sound of bagpipes in the Rotunda was breathtaking, and as they stopped, the contrast of tremendous music to the absolute silence of a room filed with two hundred people gave me chills. As we left, a half hour later, the pipers played Amazing Grace, and an honor gaurd from a Virginia police force honored the two officers with a salute in full official dress.

I have had a great time in Washington, D.C. these last few weeks, made a lot of new friends, and had a lot of fun. Whether it was going to "Sheer Madness" at the Kennedy Center, or just hanging out on the roof. Seeing the bomb squad, or Strom Thurmond in person. The fires at 2:00 am, or the car ride with the Senator. I can honestly say, "here is never a dull moment in D.C."