My daily commute (on those rare days when I go to the office) takes me down Constitution Avenue, past the Lincoln Memorial and the reflecting pool and the White House and the Washington Monument. This past week, as I drove by these familiar sights, I noticed the white flags carpeting the Monument grounds. I had heard of the tribute to the 700,000+ lives lost to COVID and had vaguely thought I might go and check it out; seeing it in my peripheral vision as I drove by cemented the plan. So, my husband and I drove downtown today to take our dog for her morning walk among the fluttering markers laid out in the shadow of one of the nation's most iconic structures. The perfection of the day -- autumn is D.C.'s best season -- made the sea of loss all the more poignant, as did the notes to their lost loved ones people had written on some of the flags. More than once in the past five years, I have felt that we are living through a pivotal moment in American history. This visual reminder of the impact of the pandemic really brought that thought home.
