A Day at the Newseum

Saturday, March 7, 2009

We were expecting great weather today, so I got out of the apartment and took the train into D.C. to explore a couple of museums. I'd planned on stopping by the National Archives, but they are still closed. Every time I try to visit the Archives, it's all roped off.

Anyway, I went straight to my other destination—the Newseum on Pennsylvania Avenue. The huge six-story, glass-encased museum is both expansive and bright, and comes complete with both a news chopper and tremendous video screen hanging in the large atrium.

The building rests on the same location where the National Hotel once stood. With the big exhibit "Manhunt: Chasing Lincoln's Killer"on location, it's an appropriate place for this museum, as John Wilkes Boothe had stayed at the National Hotel when he came to town to carry out his conspiracy to assassinate President Lincoln in April, 1865.

I arrived at the museum around 11:30 and scanned the many displays of today's headlines from around the country outside. I bought my $20 ticket and went downstairs to watch the 8-minute orientation movie, which was helpful. Then I visited the 12' tall sections of the Berlin Wall, which weigh 3 tons each and are covered with grafitti and art. That exhibit was neat. I walked inside the original East German security tower located along the wall at Checkpoint Charlie.

Starving, I stopped in the cafeteria for a delicious bowl of chili before continuing my tour. I was really impressed with the chili! Next, I went through the FBI exhibit "G-Men and Journalists," which was reminiscent of the National Museum of Crime & Punishment that I so love. On display were things like the Unabomber's Montana cabin (basically a small square hut with no running water nor electricity), and the FBI-fabricated vehicle used in the D.C. sniper trial to demonstrate how the snipers hid inside the rear end of the vehicle to target their defenseless victims.

There were also displays for Waco, the Oklahoma bombings, the Lindbergh kidnapping, and several of the infamous 1930's gangsters like Machine Gun Kelly, Baby Face Nelson, and Pretty Boy Floyd.

Then I took one of the big glass elevators up to the sixth floor to do the recommended top-down tour. The view of the U.S. Capitol is great from the outdoor pavilion on the top floor. The elevators are the tallest hydraulic-lift elevators in the world. The museum was so large that I didn't finish seeing everything.

The newscasts being aired in the 9/11 exhibit on fifth floor got me all choked up. I don't recall previously seeing interviews of people shortly after they escaped the towers. The tears of both the interviewers and interviewees were moving, to say the least. I guess it never gets easier.

The center of that exhibit holds the crumbled tip-top of the radio tower from the WTC, and there is a touching tribute to a photo-journalist named William Biggurt whose final photos were taken (and later retrieved) just before the north tower fell, crushing him. One wall contained headlines from around the world from that fateful day.

The 4-D movie about the history of news was informative, recounting the story of Nellie Bly's undercover stay in the Blackwell Island insane asylum, and other historical news events. I couldn't figure out what the fourth dimension was until I felt a "rat" running under my legs and the guts of a squashed cockroach fly into my face. Pretty cool effects.

After over three hours there, I was getting tired (and my plantar fasciitis was killing me more than it has since it cropped up last summer), but I couldn't stop looking at the exhibits.

I came upon the newscasting area and just had to get in line to perform my own newscast. That was fun! For $5.00 I was able to purchase a photo and web video of my brief report at the U.S. Supreme Court. (Participants got to pick which background they wanted to be filmed in front of—the white house, the capitol, a weather map, cherry blossoms, and the supreme court were the primary choices.) The teleprompter moved faster than I expected! And, of course, I couldn't help but laugh at the end when I had nothing else to say for the final 13 seconds. Duh.

It was after 4:00PM when I finally left and was barely walking. I came straight home and iced my right foot. This episode of plantar fasciitis is the worst I've ever had. I don't recall having this pain for eight months.

The worst thing is that one injury leads to another. The foot pain changes your gait, whether you realize it or not. This all started around July when I began adding some jogging to my very long walks in NYC. A couple months later, when I ran the Susan G. Komen 5K Race for the Cure on Sept. 14th, I pulled my right hamstring. I continued to run on it through the end of November when I started to enjoy running around the Central Park Reservoir, just assuming that the muscle kink will work itself out. It didn't.

Finally, I decided to give up the running and take it easy so I could heal. Gentle stretching (several times a day!), icing, and anti-inflammatories haven't helped. Ultimately, about a week ago, my right knee went out. I guess it was working too hard to compensate for the other two injuries.

I just can't win. My right leg is virtually out of commission. And just when the nice weather comes around and I want to get outside and explore! Aaargh. . . .

In any case, if you come to D.C., be sure to try to make it to the Newseum. You won't regret it.