This was my third time at Arlington so I assumed I’d be more of a tour guide than an affected participant but I was wrong, obviously. I don’t see how anyone could ever just be a tour guide for this hallowed ground. I always learn something new, too and that fills up the history lover in me and makes the sadness worth it.

Mostly I want to share photos with you this time because words just mess up the message. It’s not only the soldiers buried here that get to me. It’s the mourners we inevitably see from our hop-on/off bus. Families gathered to say farewell are particularly poignant for me right now but more than that, this national place of honor and goodbye is set aside purposefully for those who gave up their tomorrows so we could have our todays. I’ve always cherished and pondered that phrase and Arlington is that reality displayed in the raw right in front of us.