Washington … the fittest city

Hi all !Twinny hot and bothered!! Not only with the murky ‘ news of the day….’
But also …just

Can’t keep pace with Washington… Declared the’FITTEST’ city in USA… 3 years in a row…!

Paritosh … you not doing too badly either .. Denver Third fittest city in the US!

Everyone exercising , walking ,jogging.. the number of parks in this particularly green city encouraging physical activity!

Watched this trampoline gym video… Currently the rage… And died of exhaustion…just watching !!!

So outrageous and energetic was the jumping!!!

Americans name things simply…..

Oval Office because shape oval

Pentagon because shape pentagonal

The Monument called so ….because well …it is a monument.!

This obelisk is 555ft in height

( Eiffel Tower..984ft, Qutub Minar….. 393ft… Just for reference)…

….is Special because made of stones stacked over each other without any cement…! Quite remarkable…

Dedicated to George Washington … This structure took over 100 years to make ..!

One thing in which Americans were ‘snail pace’ slow…

The other being…. And Loomingly large….The abolishment of the slave trade…It took nearly 300 years to stop the buying and selling of slaves like they were cars ,cattle or commodities….

Abraham Lincoln fought for civil rights of blacks in 1863 … But was assassinated 6 days after the hour of triumph …

100 years later Martin Luther King Jr was still beseeching for equality of mankind in his moving

‘ I have a dream ‘ speech. Delivered extempore at the Lincoln memorial in Washington in 1963…..

It was only more than 50 years later that America got its first Black president …

Above are pictures of Martin Luther King Jr. , the Lincoln memorial and the gigantic statue of Abraham Lincoln inside it….

Being a slave to habit is bad

Being born a slave … A curse!

Millions of the strongest healthiest Africans dragged from Africa by Europeans and sold as slaves to work on tobacco and cotton plantations in the 16 and 1700’s…

Life was just ….

Blood , sweat, toil and tears !. Unpaid labour! Unfair ! Mean! Horrific! And the denial of education…the last nail in the coffin…

Without the means to think…slaves left handicapped and helpless … For life… Here is a picture of an AUCTION BLOCK Where slaves sold …

And fields where they toiled

And whipped… oh no!!

Black slaves had no choice… They denied Right to Education ….

But in nearby Pennsylvania and Ohio .. Live the ‘AMISH’ Americas Plain people… Who CHOSE NOT to be educated .. Beyond the 8th grade!!

They shun technology!

No radios, no computers, no photos ,no television, no vehicles… They use oil lamps and water heaters ( run by gas powered generators)

In this day and age!!

They spend their time in farming and carpentry ..Leading the straight and narrow life… With decidedly no frills….out of Choice!!

At age 16… is the ‘RUMSPRINGA’..Amish youth are allowed to leave the village and go forth into the real American world for 2 years..
They are allowed to choose whether they want to come back , get baptised and continue Amish way of life… Or carry on living their new life !