I am proud to say that this afternoon we were in beautiful Monticello, the mountain where thomas jefferson built his home. what a genius he was, and what an interested scientist. Given his broad interests and inventiveness it's clear he would have recognized, and probably, he would have licked this global warming thing in no time. It was nice to be there, as all the visitors had obama fever, and our tour guide, a cheery older woman, was clearly reveling in her ability to welcome us and praise us for our inauguration enthusiasm. As usual with our DC events so far, about a third of visitors, maybe half, are out of state black americans. It's pretty cool to visit Thomas Jefferson's home, and of course his slave quarters and Sally Hemmings' kitchen bedroom, in the company of fellow americans who were once slaves, on martin luther king day. We have come a long way. He was embarrased at being a slave inheritor, but financially inherited his father's debts and died in worse debt due to an economic slowdown surrounding the revolutionary war. So, he was a slave owner... about five Jeffersons and their families, and about 110 slaves, lived at Monticello.
Monticello is now expensive, $19 for an adult, but still, a remarkable place. his books, his mastodon fossils, his indian relics sent by Lewis and Clark, his carvings, his inventions and best of all, the declaration of independence that is at his home. And, his solar energy respecting features of the home he designed. it was a great time. more later.
And, Craig and I learned I did make it to page 4A of USA today, today! wow, my 15 minutes! it was so much fun being interviewed, thanks very much to Ms Moore
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2009-01-18-lincoln_N.htm
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