On Statues...

Hey folks!

Here is a photo of me rubbing the foot of the Will Rogers statue here in the Capitol. This is a famous statue because for years lawmakers would rub Rogers' foot before going out on the Senate floor to give a speech. It was a good luck charm. That is why you can see his feet are pretty worn. With the addition of the Capitol Visitor Center last year, they have since moved it.

Every state is allowed to display two statues here in the Capitol. There are a few rules though: they must be made out of either bronze or marble, they must be paid for by the state, and they must also choose the person they wish to honor. Every state is represented here, but some states want to update their statues. Therefore, they must choose which statue they want to replace. Helen Keller from Alabama is the newest statue to be unveiled. It will soon be a big day for our office when Michigan replaces it's statue of Zachariah Chandler (Google him!) with Former President Gerald R. Ford. Quite an upgrade!

Statues are housed all over the Capitol from the Visitors Center which hold Keller as well as former astronaut Jack Swigert. Who is Jack Swigert you ask? Well, ever seen Apollo 13? He is played by Kevin Bacon. Talk about six degrees of separation...that guy is everywhere!

Many of them are housed in Statuary Hall, the old House of Representatives chamber and the more famous one (Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson etc) are in the Capitol Rotunda. But others are just in random hallways that most tourists never see.

Well this is a nice little diversion but coming up I'll talk about a weird day in the Senate and my Thankgiving with the family...

Take care!

Washington, Let Me Introduce You to Stonehill...

Hey there folks,

We’re at it again here in the Gorm-zone! Bringin’ you the latest from our nation’s capital. This past weekend was an exciting one here. A few friends from Stonehill came down to visit me. Steve, Steph, and Molly flew in from Boston on Friday night on what would be an action packed weekend. Steve and Steph had never been to DC before so I made sure to show them all the sights.

After picking them up at the airport and getting them settled in the hotel, we went straight out to Georgetown to grab some grub. There’s a really good place for barbecue called Old Glory, so I took them there! I have a weakness for some good pulled pork or a nice rack of ribs and Old Glory is the finest around. Everyone was pretty hungry so besides catching up on the latest happening at Stonehill and in DC, we chowed down our food pretty quickly. After grabbing some dessert at IceBerry, we went to my apartment and just relaxed. They were all tired from a day of classes and traveling and we were planning big day on Saturday, so it was an early night.

On Saturday we awoke bright and early and went to Arlington National Cemetery. I had not been there in quite a few years. It was a beautiful fall day and we walked all around the large piece of property formerly owned by Confederate General Robert E. Lee. We saw the revered Tomb of the Unknown Soldier and walked to the eternal flame at JFK’s grave.

We were pretty hungry after walking so much, so we decided to meet up with friends of Steph’s family that live in Alexandria, VA. They picked us up at the cemetery and drove us to Old Town Alexandria to a restaurant called the Fish Market. It was great because I really wanted my guests to see how beautiful Old Town was. Though none of us, not even Steph, had met these people before, we hit it off and chatted about Stonehill and future plans.

They graciously then drove us back to the Capitol where I gave Steve, Steph, and Molly a private tour. They couldn’t help but laugh after seeing how my Congressional ID could allow me special access and the ability to cut the lines. When we first got there, a Capitol guide was directing visitors to the long line just to go through security. When I flashed my badge, he exclaimed, “Oh, sir, you and your guests are all set,” and pointed the way to the door. Steve and Steph lost it at this. THEN, I got to a Capitol Police Officer by a barricade just before security. I then flashed my badge and she deadpans, “Have you briefed them already, sir?” I said that I had and ushered them in, all while trying to keep a straight face while my three comrades were doubling over in laughter. I honestly couldn’t have made them treat me more importantly if I had bribed them. We kept laughing about that the entire weekend.

After the tour, we walked over to Bullfeathers, which is a pub right next to my office building. We sat and rested our weary legs and got ready for a night of more walking. Immediately after dinner, we embarked on our Tour de Monument. We began first at the Capitol, then walked to the Washington Monument, then World War II, Vietnam, Lincoln, and the Korean War. By this time, we were basically ready to drop. However, we pressed on and walked to my favorite monument of them all: the Franklin Delano Roosevelt Memorial. It is setup quite differently than the others. Instead of one statue or scene, the memorial consists of 5 stages that you walk through much like a park. Each of them consists of certain statues and waterfalls to symbolize the times. For example, the stock market crash has a waterfall with one large pillar of water crashing down, while the chaos and destruction of WWII is symbolized through water crashing around from all directions and in all sizes. It is very powerful to see, especially at night. After FDR, we made it over to the Jefferson Memorial. After that, we just about had it and took a cab home.

The next morning was a beautiful Sunday. It was in the mid-70s, so I took my friends across from my apartment to my favorite Sunday ritual: the Corner Bakery. We sat outside on the deck and enjoyed some scrambled eggs and home fries. We then embarked on a short journey the Iwo Jima Memorial. It is the largest bronze statue in the world. After that, we went over the White House to snap some pictures. Unfortunately, no one was home.

Before we knew it, it was time for us all to say goodbye. The weekend had flown by. But our consolation was that I would see them in the not so distant future. I can’t believe that I only had a few weeks left here. It is so surreal.

Coming up: at brief stop home for Thanksgiving

Stay tuned! Thanks for checking out another installment here in the Gorm-zone! Happy Thanksgiving! (And thanks for taking the time to check out my blog these last few months! Feel free to give me some feedback!)

Take care!

Secret Service Saturday

Hey folks,

I’m finally finishing my week’s worth of posts with Saturday: the day that the House voted on the Health Care Reform bill.

I had been expecting all week long that the vote would be held on Saturday, so it wasn’t a shock to any of me to be in the office at around 9am on a crisp autumn weekend. What I didn’t expect was all the hoopla and commotion surrounding one of the biggest votes in quite some time.

It started early in the day. I knew President Obama would be given a talk to House Democrats just two doors away from our office in the Cannon House Office Building’s Caucus Room. One thing you realize when the President comes around: he certainly isn’t subtle. After taking my usual elevator ride to the 3rd floor of Cannon, I was stopped by a Secret Service agent immediately after the doors opened and asked for my Congressional ID. Then another agent next to him asked me where I was going. I just thought to myself: Here we go…

I went down to grab some breakfast in the cafe under Longworth and got to talking with Rep. Lummis from Wyoming. She, like me, had just gotten some breakfast to sustain her for the long day. We talked a little about what to expect and how it was going to be very late before we would all get out of there.

About an hour later, a coworker of mine went outside to use the men’s room right outside our office. He was quickly stopped by another Secret Service agent perched in front of the door. The agent told him that restroom was Obama’s personal bathroom for the morning and he would have to go downstairs. (Talk about perks…) Later, a Capitol Hill police officer came into our office and informed us that we would be in lockdown for the duration of Obama’s visit—no one in or out. Just before Obama arrived, a few people in our office took a peek outside the door to see what the hallway looked like. To their surprise, it was lined with Capitol Hill police and Secret Service agents lined shoulder to shoulder. It was an unbelievable sight.

From our balcony, I snapped a few shots of the desolated street while Obama was inside our building. Normally, the sounds of car horns and smell of gasoline would be hard to miss, but today…silence. Also notice in the far left corner of one of the pictures is Obama’s motorcade.

The day went on pretty normally. There was about 7 hours of debate in total. I was able to head over and watch the proceedings from the staff gallery. Rep. Camp was often on the floor managing time. (which is when a member dispenses time for speeches among the junior members) When I was not watching in the gallery, I was relaxing in the office watching C-SPAN.
We all ordered some dinner eventually. Who knew they made calzones as big as my head?! And the debate finally wound down around 10:30pm or so. The few staffers that were left were all pretty tired so as the members voted, we turned on some Springsteen and just relaxed.

Springsteen, votes, and calzones! -- Love this town!

An Evening with the Gore...and more!

Hey again folks,

Alrighty, I'm back to tell you about the week I had.

On Thursday, many GOP politicians called upon citizens to protest the current health care reform bill by coming to the Capitol for a rally. The congressman I work for, Dave Camp, is the Ranking Member of the House Ways and Means committee (one of the committees that oversees health care spending) and is the lead author of the Republican alternative plan. These factors made it a given that it was going to be a busy day in the office.

A bus trip was organized from Rep. Camp's district made up of people looking to participate in the rally. Since these people would leave Michigan at 10pm and arrive in D.C. around 11:30am the next day, our office decided to host a reception for them so they could stretch out and have something to eat before the protest started. I was charged with getting there early and mingling with some of the people that came down. Soon after Congressman Camp came down to say hello and thank them for driving all night from Michigan to be here.

Coming back, I realized the magnitude of the crowd. After the rally, many of the them came into the office buildings to lobby their representatives and others for tours of the Capitol. The sheer crowds in the hallways and waiting to get through security were pretty overwhelming.

Working in a place such as the U.S. House of Representatives, I quickly became accustomed to demonstrations and protests outside my work. Some are quite creative and kinda funny (a giant papier-mache dracula marching down the sidewalk on Halloween to lobby for universal health care) and others can be quite obnoxious and really turn you off.

We had heard reports of sit-ins and arrests scattered throughout the different office buildings. By and large, many of them that day, were peaceful and respectful but their are, of course, bad apples in every crowd. Overall though it was a busy day, it was also a day that was very unique to the Hill and one that will make me miss it when I'm back up North.

That night, Brenna, Jen, and I had the opportunity to see Vice President Al Gore speak at George Washington University. He just released another book about climate change and I didn't want to pass up the chance to go see him.

What struck me first about Gore was how big of a guy he was! He came on stage and gave a talk for about an hour. He focused it on what are some of the things we can do to fight the climate crisis. I flipped through the book a little while he talked and it seemed pretty techinical--this doesn't strike me as a "beach read".

After he finished up, he signed books for about an hour. I was in the back of the auditorium and was one of the last to get my book signed. I was struck by how courteous he was to everybody. I could also sense a little stiffness--maybe owning itself to the Saturday Night Live parody of him. But I was able to meet him and get my book signed. (He also has quite a handshake--certainly not a "dead fish") I went home a happy man.

Coming up next: an EPIC Saturday involving Obama, the health care vote, and more!

THE YANKEES WIN, THAAAAAAAA YANNKKEEESS WINNNN!!!!

I believe the title says it all!!

On Wednesday night, my cousin Eddie and I burned the midnight oil and watched our beloved New York Yankees win the 2009 World Series. It was there 27th and the first since 2000. It felt soo good to win it again. The championship trophy is where it belongs...the Bronx.

Now I only wish I was in Boston so I could rub it in to those Sox fans....

Madam Speaker...(Part 2 in a Series)

Hey again folks,


I walked into the office on Tuesday morning and got a really great opportunity: I got a ticket to go see the German Chancellor speak in front of a Joint Session of Congress.


First, what is a Joint Session you ask? Well, it is rare usually only once or twice a year do both houses of Congress (the Senate and House of Reps) convene together. While in session, either the President or a foreign head of state addresses them. When the President addresses them, it is usually in January and is called "The State of the Union". However, as I said, Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany, would speak.


It was a packed house. It seemed that everyone was there from Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Congressmen, Senators, and members of the President's Cabinet. In the parliamentary tradition, the Sergeant at Arms announces the names of those dignitaries that process in (which is where we get the title to the post from).


It was a really great speech. She gave it in German, so we had to use the headphones they supplied us to listen to the translation. Unfortunately, you're barred from taking any electronic device into the House Gallery, therefore no pictures to speak of.


Alrighty, that'll do it for now. I know it was a little short and had no pictures, but there is more to come...

"And it ain't no sin, to be glad your alive..." (Part 1 in a Series)

Hey folks,

I'm gonna switch things up a bit here in the Gorm-zone right now. I have had an absolutely incredible week. It is way to much to pack into one or even two posts, so I intend to update everyday or so with a new adventure from this week. Hope you enjoy...

Alrighty-o, the last time we chatted I was in the final stages of prepping my costume for Halloween. Well October 31st came and went and so I figure I should probably recap.

I went dressed as Bob Ross. Don't know who Bob Ross is? Well my advice is to "Google image" him--he was the painter on PBS in the 70s known for his soft voice and afro. It was a pretty cool costume, if I do say so myself. Here you can see my roommates and I all dressed up. We went out initially to a section of town called Adams-Morgan. On Halloween, it is the "place to be". They close down the street and people are dressed up in costumes all over the place. Going on the Metro, you can see some pretty cool costumes.

After staying there for a bit, I headed over to see my friends at American University. I was pretty famished by this time so we headed to our favorite haunt: Z-Burger. It's a great burger place but its famous for it's over 50 flavors of shakes: from apple pie to chocolate mint. (and they taste EXACTLY like the real thing) Since we're regulars we've become pretty good friends with the manager. By this time, the beard to my costume was a little hot and I took it off, so he was a little confused as to who I was...

On Monday, I went to see the one and only....BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN AND THE E-STREET BAND!! I prevously wrote how I had seen him in August in Massachusetts but this time I got to see him (for the 8th time overall) in D.C. He played the entire Born to Run album in the setlist and I was going nuts the entire night! He also played two of my favorite songs that I hadn't heard in concert before: Stand on It and Seven Nights to Rock. Then he closed it out with an old favorite: Wilson Pickett's Higher and Higher! Awesome! I can't believe he's 60 years old. It was so much fun and a great way to relax after working so hard during the week.

This ends Part 1 of the series. In the next post, I receive quite a surprise on Tuesday morning...