Yes, I will admit it, I absolutely love summer break and the time off that it affords me. Well, time off is a bit misstated. The time off allows me to pursue other ventures, most namely my work in developing One if by Land Adventures and giving tours of our nations capital.
A few years ago, Worldstrides asked me to come on board and be one of their Course Leaders which is really a more glamorized term for tour guide. The month I am able to spend in DC is incredibly rewarding and allows me to educate on site which is one of my true passions.
Touring in June can present its own challenges, most namely the heat and humidity which at times can feel as if Satan himself is taking one large fart on you. Despite that we walk, and I do mean WALK, the sites in DC. One of my personal favorite places to go while touring is Arlington National Cemetery.
There are some places that simply hold a certain power to them as if walking on the ground is an almost sacred experience. Upon entering the gates of Arlington, I challenge each group to treat the walk as almost a walking meditation. We are so surrounded by "noise" and each other, that I ask them to gaze around and really take in the cemetery. What graves stand out? Do you notice a particular item left on a grave? How are others experiencing the cemetery? These are all things I try to challenge them to do.
A few weeks ago, on a particularly hot and humid day, I took a group up on the road less traveled. Typically, we usually visit the Kennedy gravesites and then walk up to the Tomb of the Unknowns and back down. On this day, I took them on a route where they would also see the graves of slain civil rights leader, Medgar Evers, Robert Todd Lincoln, and William Howard Taft. The route does require some pretty heft climbing up oddly shaped stairs but eventually you reach Arlington House which has one of the best views of the entire city.
After the rather brutal climb, we were sweating bullets and I was making full use of my sweat towel and spraying down the kids with my trusty misting fan. There was the usual grumbling about the heat and I was definitely feeling their pain. It was then that one of the students came up to me and stated something that I will share with each tour group from now on. She gazed out over the landscape, lined with endless rows of gravestones and said "You know it's really hot and miserable out here, but just when I want to complain, I think about what each of these people did for our country and then I realize a couple hours of heat don't mean a thing." I stopped dabbing myself with the sweat towel and looked at her in stunned amazement. She was so genuine in her statement that I almost teared up a bit. A couple of her friends agreed and we ended up having a very nice conversation about it as we marched toward the Tomb of the Unknowns.There are many times when we are told or observe people in general being extremely self centered in todays society. Yes, that is the case in certain situations, but this young lady taught me a very valuable lesson that day and one that I will continue to share.
