Photo: Quick Walk Around the White House

I took a lunch time walk around the White House this afternoon. I love working so close to the White House grounds. The weather is gorgeous today! Notice the flag is flying at half staff on top of the White House.
President Obama declared today, April 19, 2010, as National Day of Service and Remembrance for Victims and Survivors of Terrorism. Today is the 15-year anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombing at the Murrah Federal Building.

At the End of Slavery

If you don't have anything going on tonight, head over to Ebenezers Coffeehouse on Capitol Hill (2nd St & F St NE) for a screening of the documentary film, At the End of Slavery. It will be shown at 8:30pm in the lower-level performance space.

Narrated by actor Danny Glover, At the End of Slavery: The Battle for Justice in our Time takes you inside the violent and ugly business of modern-day slavery — the buying and selling of human beings — from the brothels of the Philippines to the brick kilns of India. 

Undercover footage and first-person testimony from former slaves and respected experts expose the enormity of the crime — but a remarkable strategy and the courage of today's abolitionists offer hope for a final end to this brutal trade.

-- Text from http://attheendofslavery.com/

View the At the End of Slavery Trailer

For your information, I love the song "God's Gonna Cut you Down" (played in the film's trailer) from the Man in Black, Mr. Johnny Cash.

For more information see: http://attheendofslavery.com/

My Marine Corps Marathon 10K time was 57:45. #mcm10k

My official 10K (6.2 miles) time for Sunday's race was 57:45. I finished number 1580 out of 5110 finishers, and I was the 922nd male out of 1999. I am really pleased with the time and the pace (approx 9:19 min miles), especially since I only trained for the race for eight weeks. When I started the training, the maximum I could run at a time was around three miles. 

My goal is to run a full marathon before next Thanksgiving (November 2010). Thanksgiving 2010 is significant to me, because it will be the 10-year anniversary of a very serious accident I had, in which I broke shattered both of my legs and my back. After reconstructing both of my ankles, some of my doctors were doubtful that I would ever be able to run and play sports again. It has taken a lot of physical therapy, a follow-up surgery, and a lot of running through pain to get to this point where I can run pain-free.

My younger sister ran the full marathon on Sunday, and finished just under 4:20.  That was an awesome time for her first marathon! 

I am happy to see the Marine Corps Marathon 10K course on Sunday is relatively flat! #mcm10k

(download)

U2 360° - FedEx Field, September 29, 2009

Jessica and I went to U2's 360° Tour show at FedEx Field on Tuesday night. We tailgated with friends before the show and played a serious game of Cornhole in the gray parking lot. The set for this show was gigantic. We sat up in the 400 level, but we still had a good view thanks to the 360° video screen. 

Muse was the opening act. I enjoyed them, but the people around us did not seem very into that part of the show.

                   
Click here to download:
U2_360_Tour.zip (5646 KB)

U2 - I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For


U2 - The Moment of Surrender

U2 - Amazing Grace / Where The Streets Have No Name

U2 - Elevation

 

 

Beautiful View of the Lincoln Memorial from my run

Rough News

I have had a heavy heart the past two days. Two nights ago, I saw a Twitter message from a local news source stating a young juvenile had been arrested for a murder that took place in Columbia Heights this past Saturday evening. Anytime I see a story about violence in Columbia Heights, I fear I will recognize one of the names in the story. I coached two seasons ('05-'07) of Young Life junior high basketball in the neighborhood before I went back to school for my master's degree.

This week's story was no different. I feared I would recognize a name, and sure enough, the 17-year-old arrested for murder was on my team in 2007 when he was 15. According to the news story, he shot at some other men from his bike, but his bullets fatally hit a woman walking up the street instead.

Early in June 2007, I attended the funeral of another young man from the 2007 team after he was killed by a bullet meant for someone else, and died at the age of 13.

The Paul McCartney concert really rocked

         
Click here to download:
The_Paul_McCartney_concert_rea.zip (670 KB)

Lincoln Heights - Deanwood Neighorhood Dream Walk

I spent the morning walking through the Lincoln Heights Dwellings (DC Housing Authority) and other neighborhoods close-by with a group of friends dreaming about how to serve DC's needy neighborhoods. Our group definitely looked a little out of place as we walked the neighborhoods, but I was filled with excitement as I thought about how we could bless these neighborhoods by reaching out and showing God's love through acts of compassion.

We learned about Suburban Gardens, an amusement park for African Americans who were not allowed entry into Glen Echo Park in Montgomery County, MD. The park was in existence from 1921 to 1940, and the Merritt Middle School building sits on part of the grounds of the long-gone amusement park.