Off the Record Tours

25/12/2024

DC's wharf on Christmas Eve. Happy Holidays from Off the Record Tours!!

18/12/2024

The Christmas tree that is lit each year in Union Station is a gift from Norway to the United States, in thanks for its assistance during World War II.

01/11/2024

28/10/2024

There’s a new monument on the National Mall. And it’s a piece of sh*t.

Well, it’s not real p**p, it’s bronze and it’s placed on replica of Nancy Pelosi’s desk.

And there’s a plaque attached to it which reads: “This memorial honors the brave men and women who broke into the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021, to loot, urinate and defecate throughout those hallowed halls in order to overturn an election. President Trump celebrates these heroes of January 6th as ‘unbelievable patriots’ and ‘warriors.’ This monument stands as a testament to their daring sacrifice and lasting legacy.”

The National Park Service granted a permit to the artist, Julia Jimenez-Pyzik, to place this monumental piece of Number 2 here.

The Mall is our country’s premier civic space. It’s the place where all types of people gather to exercise their Constitutional rights of speech and assembly – whether it’s a march, a concert, a display, or a sculpture of p**p. They’re all a part of the national conversation that takes place here on the Mall.

But this won’t be here long, so come down and see it before the p**p is scooped on October 30.

25/10/2024

According to a permit filed with the United State's Park Service, the statue is not only allowed to be there but will remain there for the next week.

24/10/2024

22/10/2024

The Museum of Exploration will open in 2026.

15/10/2024

I often take visitors to Washington to visit the grave of President John F. Kennedy at Arlington National Cemetery. So it was a pleasure while in Boston recently to see where this story starts.

JFK’s parents were prominent Bostonians. Joe was in finance, and Rose was from a powerful political family. When they marry, they wanted to make it on their own so moved away from the family in Boston to the streetcar suburb of Brookline. And it’s here in this upper middle-class house where JFK is born.

The family only lived here until John was three. They needed more space, and this house was sold, and they moved a few blocks away. The house passed through several hands and in 1966, the Kennedy family repurchased it. Mrs. Kennedy restored it to her recollection of what it was like when John was born in 1917. In 1967 she donated it the National Park Service as a memorial to her son.

It’s open to the public but has limited hours. It's an excellent example of upper-middle class life in the US at the beginning of the 20th century. If you're in Boston, it's definitively worth a visit.

Rose Kennedy said about the house “We were very happy here and although we did not know about the days ahead, we were enthusiastic and optimistic about the future.”

25/09/2024

The statue of the “Man in Black” was donated by his home state of Arkansas, making Cash the first musician represented in the National Statuary Hall Collection.

17/09/2024

Washington DC is known for memorials to great Americans – Abraham Lincoln, Mary McLoud Bethune, Franklin Roosevelt, and Sonny Bono.

Yes, Sonny Bono is memorialized in a small park in downtown Washington.

For those of you who don’t remember, Sonny Bono was half of the married pop duo Sonny and Cher. They had some big hits in the 60s and 70s starred in two TV variety shows. They divorced in 1975. Cher went on to bigger and better things.

Following the split, Sonny, the less talented of the two, opened a restaurant in Palm Springs. In the process he was outraged to find that there are and laws and regulations to protect consumers. Frustrated with Palm Springs government, he ran for mayor and won!

In 1994 he won a seat in Congress representing California’s 44th district. Bono was considered a serious Congressman and would have probably had a long, if undistinguished career, if he hadn’t died when he skied head-on into a tree at Lake Tahoe, Nevada in 1998.

Now let me make this clear, Sonny Bono Park is not a national park. The federal government has nothing to do with it. A real estate developer who was a friend of Sonny went through the city’s adopt-a-park program to revitalize this 800 square foot traffic triangle at the intersection of 24th Street, O Street, and New Hampshire Ave., NW.

So where does Sonny Bono Park stand in relationship to other memorials in Washington? I think it’s just the right size.

17/09/2024

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The concept designs are for D.C.’s first public memorial to celebrate press freedom and honor the journalists who have been slain while doing their jobs.

12/08/2024

Medieval/Reformation version

▶ Spotify (This song won't be up for a little bit, but you can find my other work here): https://open.spotify.com/artist/5BSPl6yCVGvrCyKUp2peGM?si=PmWd2VOSRi...

29/07/2024

A new sculpture honoring soldiers of World War I comes to Washington and will be the centerpiece and final element of Washington’s National World War I Memorial.

07/07/2024

Archaeologist at George Washington's Mount Vernon search for the graves of enslaved persons. They do not disturb remains but rather look for where the earth has been disturbed by the digging of graves.

14/06/2024

The Presidential Salute Battery firing away at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall

10/06/2024

Arlington National Cemetery is one of my favorite places to bring visitors. And one of the questions I always get is why are some grave markers larger than others?

Many assume that these markers are for high-ranking officers or those who died while committing some heroic feat. No. These are just rich folks.

In the early days of the cemetery, wealthy families of the deceased were allowed to erect these large, private markers. They were a status symbol of sorts, some of them done by famous artists. And this was common in cemeteries across the country.

But after WWII, Arlington takes on a more egalitarian nature. It’s more focused on the commonalties of those buried here. There was a feeling that one should be remembered for his or her service, not their social position.

Think about it, when one joins the service, they wear a uniform. The uniform is a great equalizer – a symbol of a group working together toward common goal. So, in 1947 the Army, which runs the cemetery, ruled that in death those who have served will wear the same uniform, a simple marble marker. Private markers could only be placed in sections of the cemetery that already had them. And when those sections were filled, no more private markers.

This idea was furthered the next year with President Harry Truman’s order to desegregate the armed services. And this ends the practice of segregated sections here at Arlington.

But perhaps the biggest change was a symbolic one. A gift of sorts from one of the greatest soldiers of his time. Five-star General of the Army John J. Pershing led American forces in WWI. As the Great War faded into memory most forgot about Pershing. He watched WWII play out from the sidelines and lived out his final years at Walter Reed Army Hospital.

Pershing had very specific wishes for his burial. As the country’s most senior military officer he could have commandeered prime real estate at Arlington for his plot and had a huge monument commissioned. Several of his lower ranking colleagues did just that.

But no. Pershing selected a site among his WWI men. He said, “When the last bugle call is sounded, I want to stand up with my soldiers.” Even in death, he was a true leader.

The last private marker here was installed in 2017. Now everyone from private to general receives the same marble stone. It’s provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs to any veteran, whether you’re buried here or anywhere.

08/06/2024

Fixing a wardrobe malfunction at the Tomb of the Uknown Soldier.

26/04/2024

George Marshall is the most important American you’ve never heard of.

He is the model of selfless public service. He’s 5-star army general. Organizes victory in WWII, saves Europe from famine and communism after the war, and serves as both secretary of State and Defense,

A Pennsylvania native he attended the Virginia Military Institute. After graduation he joined the Army.
In the peacetime there were few promotions. He spent nine years as a lieutenant.

Marshall was always politically neutral. He never joined a party, never voted. When asked about his political affiliation he often said his father had been a Democrat, his mother a Republican, whereas he was an Episcopalian.

When Army Chief-of-Staff, Marshall wanted nothing more than to command the invasion of France. But he believed it was the president's decision to make and he refused to lobby for the job. FDR chose Ike. He told Marshall "I didn't feel I could sleep at ease if you were out of Washington."

As secretary of State, he designed what became known as the Marshall Plan. It helped Europe rebuild after the war's destruction. He received the 1953 Nobel Peace Prize for his post-war work, even though he was a soldier.

While entitled to an Armed Service Military Honors funeral, Marshall requested very simple proceedings. He lay in repose at Washington National Cathedral for 24 hours after which his body was taken to the Fort Myer chapel. There former President Truman, President Eisenhower about 200 invited guests attended a 22-minute burial service. There was no eulogy. It was the simplest service ever conducted for a man of his rank and prestige.

Marshal selected this spot for his grave. But his second wife had the last word on his headstone. It describes his deceased first wife as "wife" while his second wife is listed herself as "beloved wife."

Marshall was a very humble man. Despite being witness to major events of the last century, he never wrote his memoirs. He said to do that he would have to write about those no longer living, and they wouldn’t have the opportunity to comment on what he wrote. And he thought that wouldn’t be fair.