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Part of the Pushy Press

Today, I became part of the pushy press...or at least got pushed by a lot of them.

At the conclusion of a press event where Mike Huckabee spoke about his new book, “A Simple Government: Twelve Things We Really Need from Washington (and a Trillion That We Don’t!),” and the  possibility of him running in the next presidential election (no, he did not confirm his candidacy like  many of the journalists in attendance were hoping), I ran in his direction wanting an autograph for the free book I received upon entrance into the event.

I didn't get very far. The cameramen and women basically formed a blockade around the former governor and there was no chance of him seeing my pleading glances with the hefty filming equipment blocking my view. But, I was determined.

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Missing those “Little Lights”

The first week at my internship is complete and I am already missing those "little lights." Little lights are what I affectionately call the elementary school students that I tutored during service-learning days at the beginning of this semester, prior to starting my internship.

(These service-learning days are built-in to the Washington Journalism Center semester in order that we, the participants of the program, get to encounter parts of this city other than just the federal Washington side).

What I was able to encounter were some hard working adults and some really sweet kids.

Steve and Mary Park, two of the hard working adults about which I am speaking, founded Little Lights Urban Ministries in order that urban children could receive some of the help they need, such as: tutoring, teachings about Christ and just a safe environment to go after school. For Steve and Mary, this organization is their life's ministry and requires a lot of hard work.

There are also other people who put effort into this ministry.

An Oasis in the City

After only a few days on the job, the commute to work has easily become natural and routine for my roommate Gretchen and me. On the walk to Union Station, we must risk our lives to cross Maryland Avenue NE. It reminds me of Frogger, and I frequently wish I had a few extra lives in my back pocket. The metro route is always the same: Union Station to Metro Center, on the Red Line. And there’s a bundled-up man passing out The Examiner when we reach the top of the Metro Center escalator.

Of course, there are day-to-day differences too. The fellow commuters vary and some days we wait longer than others to catch the next train at Union. But overall, it’s pretty consistent. And my favorite part of the trip doesn’t come until the very end, when we take a sharp right out of the Metro Center stop and glimpse the little church with the bright red door.

Handful of Miracles

 
The chilling anniversary of Roe vs Wade has always been a hot topic for the media to hold in their hands as they toss around the idea of publishing certain stories, some being more fair then others. 

The story that is never told is the story before this story, about the miracles that helped bring these hands and voices together at the annual March for Life.

It was January 23rd, the Sunday before the big march around the capitol, and I was heading away from Washington D.C. to a small church in Gaithersburg, Maryland, called St. Martin of Tours.  I was told by a parishianer that the day before the pro-life rally was one of the biggest days for their parish.   

This little church opened its doors to a large community from Indiana who were on their way to the march.  Not only were they given a place to stay the night along with a home-cooked meal, served by the St. Martin's youth group, but entertainment was provided by a spirited local band who came together to open for the legendary guitarist Tony Melendez.

I was struck to see that Melendez had no arms and played his guitar with his feet, yet he performed as if he it were only natural.  His presence of life in the midst of struggle was such an inspiration to me and all the youth that it renewed the tired zeal in everyone's hearts to stand up for the dignity of life the following day. 

An average night in Washington

As I rode the Metro bus back to the apartment, it felt pretty cool to have notes in my pocket taken from a question and answer session featuring New York Times Executive Editor Bill Keller and the Time's Washington Bureau Chief Dean Baquet answered questions at The National Press Club Building for CSPAN’s “The Kalb Report: a series of forums on journalism and public policy.”  The event was called “All the news that’s fit to print” a behind the scenes look at The New York Times.  Major talking points included feature and opinions verses hard news, the digital age, Wikileaks and Rupert Murdoch.

Keller described creating an issue of the newspaper as more of an art than a science, being more selective but more in depth.  ”What you need to know to be a well informed citizen across the board,” he said.  

Kalb asked why the New York Times seems to have so many features style writing than straight hard news.  Keller responded by saying the Times was selective about what they feel is newsworthy.  Out of respect for the publication, Kalb argued as a subscriber and avid reader that the paper should be more hard news focused but Keller responded by saying shifts in history happen over time and those are the features that the Times has focused on.  He said that you can’t write shifts in history hard news style because of how they slowly immerse onto the scene whereas hard news happens fast!  

First Impressions

During our brief time in the District of Columbia, the instructors at the Washington Journalism Center have urged us to continually engage our new surroundings, not to give us a series of memorable events to blog about, but to challenge our perceptions of what defines our nation's capital.

Our first two weeks have delivered a plethora of experiences that encompassed much of the DC spectrum (and provided an abundance of blogging fodder). The quantity and diversity of these episodes is a testament to the scope of Washington and a reminder that our experiences this semester will only represent a minuscule microcosm of the city.

A new stroke of enthusiasm

The morning I left Kentucky for the last time was freeing and bittersweet.  After three and a half years, seven semesters, and countless adventures, I was ready to move on to the next step and begin a new chapter in my life.  Going away to college was the best thing I could have done.  Stepping out and living on my own in a new place, learning to (kind of) manage my time, adapt (or lack thereof) to a new culture shaped my character, taught me so much and opened so many new doors for me I wouldn’t have had otherwise.  If I had stayed home in Philadelphia, I would have been itching to get out and see the rest of this country and the world, whereas now, I have a greater appreciation for where I’m from and am excited to be back where my heart belongs:  the northeast.  What originally led me to Kentucky and why, I still sometimes wonder, but in the end, it was more than good, it was exactly right.  There I met lifelong friends and traveled to some incredible places.  When I came to Asbury University, I had an idea in my mind of how it would all work out.  Nothing went according to that plan at all, yet I wouldn’t trade it for anything.  What of real lasting value is ever what we plan anyway? 

Week One in DC...check!

 My first week here in DC at The Washington Journalism Center has been such a wonderful experience and it is hard to believe that it is already over!

This weekend was extremely exciting and fun filled, but let me back up a few days...

I finally cooked my first family dinner on Thursday night. I took it pretty easy and just made tacos. They were actually decent and no one got sick most importantly. After we had dinner a bunch of us went to Union Station to try out this new cupcake bakery called Crumbs Bake Shop. They had such a wide variety of cupcakes, but unfortunately they were out of red velvet and carrot cake flavored. So I just decided to go with the normal and I got a vanilla with chocolate icing and sprinkles. Can't go wrong with that!