On a beautiful Fall P-day, many of our sisters gathered to celebrate our fitness and our callings to this incredible location by running or walking the length of the "D.C. Mall" starting on the west side of the United States Capitol and ending at the Lincoln Memorial, about 2.2 miles away.
Before beginning, we huddled in the morning shadow of the inauguration platform and listened to
Aaron Copland's inspiring "Fanfare for the Common Man"
- a perfect way to get in the spirit of the grandeur and dignity of our setting.
Back row standing L-R: Sisters Chappell, Word, Bullock, Graff, Shaw, Weber, Kaarma
Middle row L-R: Sisters Taggart, Aldridge, Jorgensen, Lavrentyeva, Smith, Connelly, Clement, Sottili, Robertson, Kohler, Tembo, Engman
Front row: Sisters Johnson, Leben, Bowman, Owens and myself
As we sang "Happy Birthday to Sister Chappell, a Capitol Police officer came over and made her an honorary member of his force, patch and all!
The sisters split into groups according to their chosen pace.
We paused on Jefferson Drive in front of the Hirshhorn Museum
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| Sister Leben in front with Sister Smith in pursuit, Sisters Owens and Graff and others are nearby |
Sling-shotting around the Smithsonian carousel
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| Sisters Robertson, Weber and Tembo |
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| Sister Aldridge |
Posed at the Haupt Garden behind the Smithsonian Castle
(Any wonders where Walt Disney got his inspiration?)
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Standing in back left side: Sisters Tembo, Leben, Owens and Taggert
Back row right side: Sisters Kohler, Aldridge, Robertson and Cooke
Front row L-R: Sisters Smith, Weber, Graff, Johnson, Connelly
...past the Washington Monument...
... the World War II Memorial...
|
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Sister Leben
... our reunion at the Lincoln Memorial... |
... alongside the reflecting pool...
leading to...
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Back row L-R: Sisters Kohler, Truman, Aldridge Connelly, Leben and Cooke
Next row down L-R: Sisters Balls, Clement, Shaw, Sottili, Croese, Smith and Johnson
Second to bottom row L-R: Sisters Tembo, Weber, Bowman, Taggert and Owens
Front row L-R: Sisters Chappell, Word, Graff, Robertson and Saviano |
... where we reverenced our great leader by listening to:
Aaron Copland's spiritually inspiring "Lincoln Portrait."
After our reunion at the Lincoln, sisters went their separate ways, many by way of the Vietnam War Memorial with its wonderful statue honoring the female nurses of that war, and the adjacent garden/island commemorating the Signers of the Declaration.
