Beauty in the US...and opportunities

View from Arlington House

(Photo taken with my iPhone so it's impossible to see the detail and vast perspective one sees from Arlington.)

Take advantage of opportunities that come your way. I was fortunate to receive an invitation to attend a special WETA screening event this past Saturday night – a preview of the new Ken Burns and WETA production of The National Parks for PBS.

We who are temporarily idle (otherwise known as PLODs -- People Laid Off-Damn!) are thrilled to be invited to something new and free, particularly if it’s in a spectacular setting. Along with local friends as well as friends visiting from Seattle and Dallas, I was delighted to attend the preview screening on the front lawn of Arlington House, a spectacular and historic national park site itself (it was the home of Robert E. Lee and his family), at the top of Arlington National Cemetery.  With a panoramic view of Washington, DC across the river, on a crystal clear evening as the sun was going down and a Fall chill in the air, stars twinkling above us and the enormous columns of Arlington House looming behind us, it was a brilliant and thought-provoking environment for a historical and beautiful look at the U.S.

I was reminded of the immigrants who were so struck by the natural beauty of the land and trees that they were inspired to paint and photograph and preserve the spaces that we now know as The Great Smoky Mountains National Park or as Yosemite. I was reminded of the Native Americans who were living here, creating homes and sacred spaces long before many of our European ancestors had even heard of the New World. I was reminded of the abundance of trees and wildlife native to the U.S. and preserved for us to enjoy now and for generations to come.

And now some flacking for PBS and WETA (and in the name of full disclosure, I am a contributor to WETA and a big fan of PBS).  The National Parks (the series) was filmed over 6+ years at some of nature's most spectacular locales: from Acadia to Yosemite, Yellowstone to the Grand Canyon, the Everglades to the Gates of the Arctic. The National Parks: America's Best Idea is a story of people. The show premieres Sunday, September 27. It’s a must see.

You can find out more about the program at:

http://www.weta.org/local/parks/about

I’m planning to not miss an episode and to travel vicariously through my television and PBS…all the while planning my next USA adventure to a National Park.

Reminder to self:

There is still a world to discover in the U.S. – from Yosemite to Yellowstone, the Grand Canyon to Big Bend. As much as I want to visit India and Peru and Egypt and scores of other countries, there is so much of the U.S. that I still haven’t seen. I need to hit the road again!

And for the unemployed, underemployed, or mis-employed (i.e. you don’t like your job):

• Don’t turn down an invitation.
• Don’t sit around moping and feeling sorry for yourself. Get out and do something.
• One never knows where inspiration or a moment of clarity will come from. It may be right in your own back yard.