this is a wizard who arrives every afternoon at 3:30 on the north side of the white house to conduct a magic ritual. he seems to have a good heart. his discipline is amazing. every day at precisely 3:30 he begins, and times his final segment to land spot-on at 4:00. he draws pentagrams with his umbrella, then walks around the white house to return to the same spot, where he gets out a wooden magic wand to replace the umbrella.
then he draws more pentagrams in the air, walks a smaller circle in lafayette park north of the white house, and then marches off.
he is obviously NOT doing this ritual for the crowds: this is a private affair between him and the spirit of the place.
i am always deeply moved by his focus and dedication.
just behind him you can see the encampment of concepcion and her colleagues. they have had a 24/7 vigil there across from the white house since 1981... really: for twenty-seven years somebody has been at their vigil site twenty-four hours per day! they are trying to make people aware of the dangers of uranium, both as bombs and as a source of energy. their site is full of scary photos of uranium-caused birth defects and wounds.
1 comment:
That is really amazing. Yet another wonder you've discovered by choosing the Uncle Sam thing. I wonder if anyone else has noticed him?
I'm curious why his discipline and dedication to his craft inspire your respect. I admire those qualities too, but only in the service of something I consider worth the time. I don't admire dedication to palm reading or discipline in following horoscopes. Would the wizard inspire you if he were praying for Jaysus instead of invoking Ye Eldritch Magyck?
In the movie "Genghis Blues", they went to a special lake in Tuva and inadvertently caught a shaman doing his business. He drove up in his car, went down to the lake, washed some artifacts and did some chants, rocked back and forth a little, and then scuttled off. He seemed a little rattled by the attention of the film crew. He was clearly a true believer, but I personally don't think it would have made any difference if he had gone for coffee instead.
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