Like a Boss

Books.  I read a lot of books.  So many books.  After my recent visit to Arlington National Cemetery where my oh-so-darling little sister peppered me with question after question about the cemetery (“How do you get to be buried here?”  “Why are some headstones bigger than others?”  “Can we leave yet?”), I was inspired to pick up (and by “pick up” I mean “download onto my Kindle”) a book about the cemetery in hopes of  answering some of those annoying questions.

What did I learn in the first paragraph?  The intrepid Arctic Explorer, Rear Admiral James E. Peary, is buried at the cemetery.  ROBERT E. PEARY!  How did I not know that?!  Why is he so important?  I'm so glad you asked.  Sit back, pull up a chair and I'll tell you a tale.

...

Actually, no I won't.  I don't have time to tell you the whole story, I have shit to do.  Stop hounding me.  We're not at the library; this isn't "story time".  Do what any other self-respecting pursuer of knowledge would do:  look it up on the damn Internet like I did.  And get off my lawn!

*ahem*  Anyway.  On April 6, 1909, Peary was the first person to reach the North Pole.  There is controversy of course (haters gonna hate), but it's widely accepted that he, indeed, captured the flag.

Trifecta.

Buried along side him is his partner, Matthew Henson (who, incidentally, was initially refused burial there because of his skin color.  Laaaaame.  Reagan rectified that shit in 1987.)

I've got that same hat.

It was nice to see the Eskimo guides got a shout out as well.  They rarely get the respect they deserve, though they typically work just as hard, if not harder, than the leaders of the pack.

I throw my hands up in the air sometimes...

Thumbs up to explorers, I always say.

I'm almost as white as my earrings.

I think after all of the hardships, discoveries and sacrifices these men and their families have made and faced over their lifetimes, they'd find comfort knowing the neon lights of the Sheraton Hotel will be forever shining upon them.

Eternal neon.

... until the zombie apocalypse, anyway.

(Wednesday, Jan 25th)