“How far that little candle throws his beams! So
shines a good deed in a weary world.”
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| Postal Museum |
William Shakespeare says it best, doesn’t he? I don’t
know about you, but I’ve always had a soft spot for good deeds, whether
bestowed or received. I love the feeling I get when blessings are in the air,
and thanks to Ms. Anna, we were able to feel it all day on the last MJ. Yep,
that’s right! We had a day full of good deeds, and I sure wasn’t complaining!
Lol, sike, please guys, ease up! Y’all expect so much
from me! I live in the first world, of course I complain! Anyway, back to the journey. We arrived at
our first stop, the Postal Museum at 10am! Did you even know the Smithsonian
series had a museum dedicated to the history of mail!? I just learned this in
February. It officially opened as a
museum July 30, 1993. Before a museum, this building served as the Washington
D.C. post office from 1914-1986. Get
this: the museum is 100,000 square feet and only 35,000 square feet is
dedicated to the exhibit space. 6,000
square feet of the space is dedicated to the research library, while further
space includes a stamp store and a museum shop.
The floor level of the space features three suspended airmail planes,
two mail trucks, a model train, and the front of an 18 wheeler truck! Hands- on
is this museum’s middle name! The galleries on this floor tell the story of the
history of mail in America. My favorite exhibit was the story of the well known
U.S. Route 1 (US1), which runs from Maine to Florida, making it the longest
north-south route in the United States.
It was formally an Indian trail, but people were looking for a faster
way to get from New York to Massachusetts to deliver mail, so a man decided
that he would explore this trail and leave slash marks on the trees for others
to follow him in the future. Well, he
eventually found a way to the end safely, more people followed his footsteps,
the trail became more popular, and it eventually became a major US highway! The
end! I found this especially enthralling because I live on the east coast, and
I have traveled Route 1 numerous times, so it was awesome to learn about it! It
also included a “model route,” which was kind of like a forest that you walked
through while following a path. On the
way to the end of the path, you could read the different plaques posted on the
fake trees, so it was like you were exploring the beginnings of Route 1!
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| Curtis and our group! |
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| Spider press |
I also enjoyed reading about the different kinds of
stamps and how they’ve been created throughout the years. At one time, they were created on a device
called a Spider Press, which used intaglio printing. (printing using an
engraved plate.) It’s called a spider press because the wheel which pushes the
plate and paper through the press consists of extremely long spokes that stick
out like spider legs! When this type of
printing was used, there were very little to no mistakes ever. It was
rare. One famous mistake though is the
upside down airplane. This vintage
rarity is extremely prominent and is now auctioned off every couple of years
for major amounts of money.
After the postal museum, we walked to Eastern Market,
and this is where the good deeds came in! We brought a total of 21 lunches,
which consisted of peanut butter and jellies, apple sauces, cookies, and chips and
we handed them out to random people on the street! It was so much fun! The
smiles on the people’s faces actually made me smile! It was so great to be
reminded how such little things have huge impacts and effects on people’s
days. The conversation we had with some
of the individuals was inspiring; especially the guy named Curtis! When we gave
him his lunch, he says, “YES! Now y’all den saved me some money! I don’t hafta
buy lunch now!” He worked at Eastern Market.
He was so fun to talk to, and he told us to come back to visit him. We even were able to pray with him, which was
very stirring. When we gave out the
lunches, we expected to make other people’s day, but actually for me I was
touched and blessed, and I really enjoyed being able to make a difference by doing something so small. 
Before heading to Eastern Market, we went to Capitol
Hill Bookstore. If you want to learn
more about Eastern Market or Capitol Hill Bookstore, visit my former blog! This time, we got to meet the owner at
Capitol Hill Bookstore. Let me tell
y’all something; this man….was… hmm….he was…blunt? Let’s just say he was the
definition of an old man with no filter.
Although I enjoyed talking to him, his manners were a little rusty, and
I can see why some people don’t think he’s super agreeable. But hey! Because of
him, I now know what “kick the can” means! Jim Toole, the owner, explained to
us why his bookstore was in such danger.
Since his store is a used bookstore and not a NEW bookstore (whenever he
said new he emphasized it like he was
talking to little kids. sort of like “N-UUUUUU!” it was really annoying, but I
enjoyed watching his lips curl up and his dentures come out of place whenever
he said it.), it struggles and has a hard time competing with the NEW
bookstores because publishers do not give him their books, but instead he has
to find different used books from around the country to sell at his store. Since a lot of people don’t really use used
books, he has a hard time finding customers, and since Washington DC is
developing, the property taxes rise, making it hard to afford the outrageous
prices. Ser brought up a good point when
he said that sites like Capitol Hill Books provides and offers DC with the
traits of culture and authenticity, so you would think more people would be
helping to keep the store in business, but as the man said, “it’s always about
money.” If you can’t keep up with the
Joneses, then you’re out.
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| vendor at Eastern Market |
Right across the street from the bookstore, sits
Eastern Market. Before we went there, we met a guitarist, and he let us sing
with him! Eliza-Jane apparently killed it as always! Anyway, when we arrived at Eastern Market, it
was pretty empty, which was weird because of how it is described on the
weekends! If you want to want to know a little more about Eastern Market, check
out my previous blog from the last time we visited there! It’s a good sized
building with an aisle in the middle making a narrow hallway. Lined up on both
walls on either side of the inside of building are different vendors selling
cheeses, meats, vegetables, and many more types of food! I think they sell more than just food because
remember that guy Curtis? He told us he worked on the flower truck. There’s even a lunch and breakfast place
there that made crab cakes, burger, fries, pancakes, which smelled heavenly! At
the end of the first room, there’s an open space where I suppose is a common
place for nannies and their little children.
I don’t know if you know this, but, come closer, it’s a secret…
closer…closer… *cups her hands around your ear* *whispers*… I love little
children. (Now you understand why I don’t go yelling that around. It sounds
preeetty creepy. I know.) I want six of
them when I get married, so as you can imagine, I was in heaven! They were just
running around laughing, crying, screaming, and being cute. It was a great place for me to eat lunch; however,
I don’t know about how my class felt about it.
After lunch, we went to the Eastern Market Metro
Station to street perform. At first, we
weren’t getting much attention. Note to
self: next time bring a sign explaining who we are. Ser was actually our hero
this time! Thanks to him, we reached our goal of $40 because he used his
charisma and charm and stopped people on the street to explain our organization
and why we were singing. You’re also
probably wondering why we just randomly started to street perform. Well! If you
must How you ask? Well! The money
we made singing, we got to give to any random person we chose! Who did we give
it to, you ask? The guitarist we met before, of course! It was the best feeling
in the world to see him smile!
While talking to my mom about the day on the ride
home, it really hit me how much a deed so small can have such an impact on not
only the recipient but also the giver. Although I’m a typical first world
child, and one of the reasons I may complain is needing to get the TV remote
after I got comfortable, this experience, as well as many others in my life,
really reminds me of just how blessed I am that I only have daily minute issues
like seeing hair on the soap. I should appreciate my blessings more as well as
share them and bless others. This MJ was
delightfully impacting. Until next time,
my loyal readers.
