BT in DC Part 1: Moparpalooza Style

Over the weekend of May 18th thru May 20th 2012 The Billet Technology Team traveled to Washington DC for Moparpalooza. This is the first segment reporting on our events from that wonderful weekend.

Our day started in DC with Billet Tech customer and more importantly BT friend Paul Immo stopping by our hotel on Saturday morning, May 19th to take us to The Metro Station for our foray into the DC area. Our first stop was at The Pentagon.

As soon as we stepped off The Metro Rail we took the escalator up to ground level putting us outside The Pentagon Grounds. Pictures are absolutely forbidden and we certainly did not want to test what would happen should we decide to take our cameras out for a sneak shot. There are cameras everywhere and you could feel that “eyes” were upon you. While our team certainly understands the need to be secure, the moment was very surreal.

One of the things that you always remember about The Pentagon is the shape. From the ground it’s a massive structure and your mind immediately attempts to reconcile what you see from the sky to what you are seeing at ground level. We all found ourselves looking for those joining points that create the shape you see from news reports or photographs.

We made our way to the west side of the Pentagon where The 9.11 Memorial is. As the writer of this piece, it was a very sobering experience. Such a blue bird sky day and yet, I felt those souls that passed because of the evil that men do. We witnessed a woman sitting by her loved one’s memorial stone in deep thought. We contemplated pictures, but decided to respect this ladies privacy in this big open space. She no doubt was finding comfort as the pool of water flowed underneath her loved ones memorial stone; gentle water flowing with hopeful promise that life is still worth living for in spite of those who wish to rob us of living.

The thing that strikes you is how big the memorial is, and how many lives were snuffed out that day, a day much like this day was, with a deep blue sky, warm sun, and a promise of better things tomorrow. It was then as I looked out over that vast space and all those memorial stones representing a life taken away too soon that I thought, how many on that day went to work or boarded a plane with thoughts towards saying I love you to those they were going to see. Was there a parent who went to work awaiting an evening recital at their son or daughters school that coming evening? How many good byes that never came? A powerful sense of grief overtook our party and we stood in silence as a bird flew by and landed on one of the memorial stones. Was there a message to be had there as the creature landed gently on the stone with the sounds of a jet passing close by? The entire BT party walked back to The Metro Concourse in Silence taking comfort that we had each other.

We took The Metro and headed on over to The National Holocaust Museum to pay our respects.

Cameras are not permitted inside of the Museum at all, but the information we took in will never be forgotten. We all took stock in the fact that many of the things going on today have an uncanny and eerie resemblance to things that are happening right now. We all must never forget the evil’s that lurk so close that you can breathe its scent. Most people want to live, love and gather as friends, and there are those in the minority who will co-opt that hope and twist it to a sickness. We all took pause here as we left the building knowing that we shall never forget and vowed to be better people than when we came thru the door.

Our next several hours were spent touring the city by foot and on a double decker bus. The end of that tour put us at Union Station a gateway by rail to points beyond. You could almost hear the train horns from days gone by as the train cars moved thru the station dropping off passengers and picking up passengers delivering or taking them to destinations close to the heart.

The day ended late with a return to our hotel at 5:30 P.M. It was there where we met more good friends both new and old to begin the adventure all over again that night and into the next day.

This is not a car piece or a piece on a new product. Its a piece about how a community of car enthusiasts embraces us as people, invites us in their homes, takes us on tours and makes us feel like family. These are the greatest gifts we can receive and you find this kind of hospitality all over the country when you gather with fellow Mopar owners. The cars bring us together as people, however long after the cars are gone we have lasting relationships with friends. Simply put there is nothing better than that.

Part 2 coming the week of May 28, 2012……..

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