The King of Pointland

Decoration Day

Although I have lived in the D.C. area for many years, it wasn't until today that I walked through the grounds of Arlington National Cemetery. I was there to see the final performance of Stephen Lang's one man play Beyond Glory -- in which Lang portrays seven living Medal of Honor recipients -- but I arrived an hour and a half early and decided to spend the time walking through the cemetery. I visited John F. Kennedy's grave, with its eternal flame, and his brother Robert's, marked by a small white cross, before heading to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. I arrived at 6 PM, just before the changing of the guard ceremony began. Never before had I seen a rifle so elaborately and painstakingly inspected. As the crowd watched the rigid clockwork choreography unfold, the silence was nearly perfect, but for the persistent, plaintive cicada cries emanating from the dark, hollow cage of a young girl's cupped hands. She must have captured four or five. The child's own internal struggle was amusing, for she could not quite bring herself to release the newfound pets that were bringing such unwelcome attention. Her eventual solution was to gently place the cicadas in her pocket (though that didn't quiet them at all).

When I arrived at the theater in the Women's Memorial, I selected a seat in a mostly empty row. A little while later, two gentlemen sat next to me. The one beside me was Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz.

Andi had mentioned a few hours before that he would be there, and I had decidedly mixed feelings about that, but I didn't expect to be sitting next to him. For what it's worth, he seemed to enjoy the play very much. I can only hope it gave him pause. Stephen Lang did give an amazing performance, and even though I had attended once before, it remained moving and riveting.

At the closing night reception after the play, I found myself standing by the dessert tray talking to a woman who reminded me of Allison Janney, and who I later learned was Stephen Lang's cousin. We spent several minutes discussing the history and merits of M&M coloring schemes. I have given some serious thought to this matter, and I was glad to see that others had, too. She didn't like the blue M&M's and was angry that they had apparently replaced their tan brethren. I concurred, and noted that the M&M's palette had always reminded me of autumn. Now they look like so many Skittles. Our views diverged on the matter of black-and-white M&M's, though. I like them. She doesn't. Fair enough.