Funny thing about monuments. We see them up close maybe a few times in our entire lives. They see us every day for a long time - nearly forever. Speaking of "odd year" memorials, yesterday (and I admit to missing it) was the anniversary of the death of Mozart (1791 - December 5).
So why Mozart and the Washington Monument this morning you ask? (bored yet?). It is about dates and overlap and things like that. There was a 19th century French philosopher (don't ask. I don't remember his name and haven't remembered his name for 40 years)..who thought that the air carried magic particles of sorts and at one key point in your life you inhaled these little thingys and you became them. You might inhale genius, math wizardry, leadership or you just might be a thug all your life. This explained it to him and he to us. Mozart and Washington were born just over a decade apart and Washington, leading (kidding) a more proper life outlived the composer but thing about it. This was the same planetary air that also was breathed in by Jefferson, Adams, Franklin and a huge number of persons who took us into the Enlightenment. Let's hope that comes about again.