gettysburg and fun things

The last few weeks have been awesome.  Over the weekend we had the chance to go to Gettysburg and walk around the battlefields and see some of the sights.  I jokingly said “I am at Gettysburg, famous for the uplifting scene in Remember the Titans, starring Denzel Washington.” But obviously I understand that it is famous for much more than that.  It was amazing walking around the battlefields, to places where real cannons had been show and real soldiers had stood and fallen.  It’s a really pretty place now, with monuments and statues marking every part of it.  We were shown the sights where the confederates won on the first day, and then where the Union turned the tide.  It was interesting to me that the greatest victories came to the side that was fighting from higher ground.  That seems so simple, but every so often a battle has to be fought uphill.  In Saving Private Ryan, the storming of Normandy in WWII was uphill, which is the reason behind the tremendous casualties the allied forces suffered.  In Glory, also starring Denzel, the battle of Fort Wagner is fought uphill, and turns out to be catastrophic to Matthew Broderick and his men.  So the lesson is that uphill battles rarely go well.

some friends at gettysburg

This picture is based on the Mormon and moroni overlooking the battlefield painting in the book of mormon

Reenacting my favorite scene from the Lion King, with Scott playing the role of simba.  it's necessary to do when you find a rock that looks like pride rock.

In the afternoon we went to Harpers Ferry, which was also a cool place.  It is famous for John Browns uprising, in which he and about twelve other men took over the armory and attempted to start an uprising that he hoped would spread to all the slaves in the south.  Unfortunately Robert E Lee and about a hundred marines came and put an end to the conflict, and Brown was hanged for treason.  Before any of that though, it had been a place that Thomas Jefferson called “one of the most stupendous scenes in nature.” Up high on the mountain side (or the hillside I guess...) there is an Old Catholic church, and a path that runs behind it leads to a cemetery that is about four hundred years old, and a rock called “Jefferson’s rock” which is where he stood with his daughter when he declared how beautiful the place was.  I took a picture from the exact place he stood on October 25, 1783.  The Appalachian Trail runs through that town as well. There are 307 people that actually live there in the town, which I would think would be scary, because it looks haunted, especially the church and the old graveyard. 

the view from jefferson rock.  "one of the most stupendous scenes in nature."

just some fellas

standing atop jefferson rock.

I am excited for the upcoming week because for one thing, I get to go to my first congressional hearing.  The hearing I am attending is about the second chance act, an act that deals with prisoners re-entering society at the end of their prison terms.  This particular act deals with criminal records being expunged for certain non-violent crimes.  This reminds me a little bit of Jean Val Jean in Les Mis, and how he can never get a job or successfully reenter society because the record that follows him.  When he ditches his old identity and starts anew he creates a great life for himself and is an important figure in the community.  I can see why this issue would be controversial, but I can see the value in it.  And anything that can be done to turn criminals and ex-convicts into better people instead of repeat-offenders is definitely something worth consideration.  I am excited to hear the testimonies of real experts as well as the arguments of members of the house.