Buisness in Washington

Guest Post: Ryan E. Smith reporting from Washington DC.

My flight was cancelled to Washington on Saturday, so I ended up spending the night in London to catch the early flight out to the states.  Since it was a prepaid room, when I arrived in Washington around 1:00 pm, I caught a cab to the hotel and got checked in immediately.  Once I finally got online I looked up the meetinghouse locator on lds.org and discovered the only ward that still had a sacrament meeting available was next to the Washington DC Temple.  I got dressed, grabbed a cab and went to Lexington near DC.  I barely arrived in time to partake of the sacrament.  Apparently this was the temple matron ward - literally all the members were missionaries called as temple workers to the DC temple.  Think about 30 couples, all white hair, quiet in sacrament meeting.  You could have heard a pin drop.  A visit to the temple visitor center and walk around the temple finished my afternoon.

I usually do not bring a razor when I travel because I like to get a brand new one, albeit only a duo-blade, from the hotel where I stay.  Hotels have these nice shaving kits and like to try the shaving cream options.  At home I simply use soap.  It is not ideal, but it does the job.  Because I had an extra day added to my trip, and the day I arrived in Washington I hurried off to church, I got back tired and went to sleep.

So this morning, when I woke up for my meeting and after 3 days of not shaving, I called housekeeping and they brought me a shaving kit.  Good so far.  I opened the kit and found neatly packaged shaving cream and a separately packaged razor.  Still good thus far.  I placed shaving cream on my face, lathering it up really good and thick, and now this is where it gets bad.  I begin shaving pressing lighting with the razor.  I figure since this is a new razor the chances of a cut are increased and so I take it easy.  I might as well have been trying to shave with a butter knife, but one that grabs every hair and yanks until it comes out.  This was the dullest razor I have ever experienced.  I do not know what it was, but this new razor was not performing as a new razor, unless it was intended as a torture device.  I screamed, I cried and my eyes were watering great drops of agony.  About half way through I thought about asking for another, but this one was packaged so, what gives.  I also considered going down to the local CVS to get a new razor, but 15 minutes later I had a clean face, red from the torture. 

Something wonderful happened this morning however.  Because of the time difference between the UK and Washington, I woke up inhumanly early in the morning and could not sleep, so I finished my presentation for the day's meetings and then headed to the gym for a run.  I was running on the treadmill not more than 2 minutes when I noticed pictures in the mirror in front of me reflecting photographs mounted on the wall behind me of the Lincoln Memorial.  It suddenly hit me, you are in Washington!  So I jumped off the treadmill and headed out on a morning run.  I must admit, it felt amazing to run with the smell and sight of the cherry blossoms out.  I ran about a mile from the hotel to my favorite installation of the 20th century, the Vietnam Memorial and then on to the Lincoln Memorial.  There were many runners this morning, likely having the same thought I did in their hotel rooms, reading the first and second inauguration addresses where he spoke to abolish slavery and end the Civil War.  Truly a man "fitted" for his time and place by God.

Now I am done with meetings for the day and off to buy American groceries for my family...again.  Missing my family and loving living in the UK, but feeling very patriotic today in the capitol - God Bless America, Land that I Love!

Ryan