I first met Dr. King when I was teaching the American Government survey course at the University of Georgia.

Over the years, our paths crossed in Washington. I last talked with him by phone about 6 weeks before his assassination.

On the afternoon he was murdered, I went to the roof of our building and saw the smoke of despair rising in Northeast Washington. That night I walked and thought rather than ride the street car to my house on Capitol Hill.

Then I cried.

As a former US Senate staffer, I today volunteer giving tours for the US Capitol Historical Society and volunteer in the Office of the Architect of the Capitol, where I give specialized tours in the Capitol Visitor Center.

Here are some pictures I made on a tour of the Capitol Dome.

I work with many families. The key is to make the tour fun as well as interesting.

With the permission of the family, here are some pictures of a tour I did on New Years Eve with a Grandmother who wanted her grandsons to learn more about their country.
The grandchildren have spent most of their life in schools overseas.

As a former White House staffer, I enjoy sharing stories of the history and memories of working there, often built around the pictures and Floor Plan. I long for the pre-09/11 days when one simply had to show up and get a tour of the White House. Today US citizens must request a tour well in advance through a Member of the US Senate or US House of Representatives. Most will have a link on their official home page. International visitors must request through their countries Embassy in Washington, DC, but not all Embassies have the staff to process the requests.

This is a special place for me, not only as my home church, but where my daughters and son went to school at the National Cathedral School for Girls and St. Alban’s School for Boys. I have been certified to giv e tours of the Cathedreal for over 20 years.

http://washington.nationals.mlb.com/was/ballpark/events.jsp?loc=tours