Friday, November 12, 2010

Class Tripping ... a confession


Front Seat View on the Road
I've always been a little boy crazy. So yesterday when I had the opportunity to hang with 9 guys on a day trip to Washington, D.C. - it was just my kind of trip! Ok, it was with my son Griffin, his classmates and one Dad in our group.
Boys will be Boys
The 8th Grade trip to our Nation's Capital couldn't have been on a more beautiful day. It truly was picture perfect - the weather was glorious with blue skies, unseasonably mild temperature, and brilliant autumn colors in all their glory.
A View of the Pool from the Scene in Forrest Gump
It was also Veteran's Day. Walking around the monuments with Veterans in our midst brought a new perspective and hopefully meaning to my son and his classmates. The Vietnam Memorial in particular had Veterans mingling with each other, sharing photos, conducting interviews and doing rubbings of names on the wall. Maya Lin, the architect of Vietnam War Memorial created something incredibly beautiful and profound with her design. The Wall envelopes and invites viewers to become a part of the space and thus, the experience. Art and artists truly have the power to transform... and to heal.
We Honor You







4 comments:

Herb's Hats said...

glad you had a great trip. love you, your favorite father

Karen F. Rose said...

Nanci,
Thanks for sharing the photos of your Washington DC trip. Being there on Veterans day will be a special memory for all of those young boys for years to come.
So nice of you to volunteer and document the trip with your art.

Denise Bellon West said...

Hello, Nanci (classmate Denise here):

This brings back memories of my childhood field trips to D.C. (I grew up in northern Virginia). I hope the kids appreciate how lucky they are to live in that area, so rich with history, past and current. I know I didn't realize it until I was an adult!

I visited D.C. again a few years ago and went to the Vietnam War Memorial for the first time. All I could think of with all those names was that every one of them was "someone's sun and moon" (a phrase I heard on Paul Harvey one time). No dry eyes for me.

Nanci Hersh said...

Hi Denise,
Thanks for visiting my post. It was great seeing the Memorials. I will have to get back there and see some art! The art teacher who went on the trip got her group to go. No time for us though because we went to the Holocaust Museum. There is a lot to take in there and after that we all needed food and fresh air.

Have you every been to the National Museum of Women in the Arts in DC?