memorials

We went to see Rolling Thunder this Memorial Day Sunday in DC. I have driven passed them many times on my way to the hound show at Morven Park, which always falls on the same Sunday. But this year we went with son Will and girlfriend, Annie, into DC and those bikes just kept coming - for three hours they rolled around the Capital. It was pretty incredible. After 1 hr of a picnic on the Mall and watching curbside where it was patriotic and moving, we wandered into a Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show's photographic history in the International Museum. After reading "Empire of the Summer Moon" it was very interesting to see these old prints of Sioux Indians in full dress- albeit in Buffalo Bill's show- but they are a very noble looking people. We came out and the motorcycles were still rumbling around. I couldn't believe there were so many!  I had a momentary vision of being circled by thousands of Indians on horseback if it had been 150 years earlier.
It has gotten so hot so fast. I only have energy to work the yearlings early before retreating to the air conditioning. Yesterday I watched the Oprah Winfrey finale that I had missed while in Charleston and was surprised at how very moving a tribute it was. Maybe I was just tired but I found myself in tears, choked up many times by the 'thank you's' she was receiving from the thousands of people she has inspired. Especially moving as the Morehead University's tribute from 400 young black men who received her scholarship and their words about that life -changing experience. It was truly awe inspiring that, as she put it , "a lonely little black girl, from backwoods Mississippi, has changed the lives of so many people", and that her example has forever changed the expectations of a generation of women. Beyonce's song about women ruling the world seems prophetic- I bet we do have a woman president before long! A very fitting memorial to Oprah and I didn't even watch her very much!