The District

So last week I took a work trip to D.C. to man our exhibit at the 2nd annual Bioenergy Awareness Day. It was a great opportunity to hear about what other universities are doing on the renewable energy front. Turns out we’ve got a pretty progressive program here in Tennessee! The undersecretary of Agriculture specifically mentioned the research that we’re doing in his comments.

me at the booth

While there, I had a chance to visit the mall and famed reflecting pool. It was so interesting to see these bits of our history. We saw the Washington and Lincoln monuments and memorials for World War II, Vietnam and Korean wars. Vietnam especially was moving, as the sheer amount of names that are engraved on that wall is almost overwhelming. And the new WWII memorial made me so proud of my grandfather, who fought in that war. I’m very grateful for all the sacrifices that honorable men and women have made for our country.

Washington Monument & reflecting pool

Lincoln Monument

Korean War memorial

Also, I got a peek at the FDR monument as well, which was especially amazing. I would have loved having him for a president. His memorial consisted of 3 different sections, one representing each of his terms in office. Below are pictures of quotes he made while in office. Yep, FDR and I see eye to eye on pretty much everything. It’s amazing how even though so much time has passed, so many of these quotes still apply to important issues today.

The one on war is kind of cut off, but I still wanted to include it. It says,
“I HAVE SEEN WAR
I have seen war on land and sea. I have seen blood running from the wounded… I have seen the dead in the mud. I have seen cities destroyed… I have seen children starving. I have seen the agony of mothers and wives.
I HATE WAR”