Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t know what you might know about Arlington National Cemetery. If you are a regular DC area commuter you might know that Arlington National Cemetery is that infrequently visited Metro stop on the Blue Line that only seems to add countless needless minutes to your commute. If you aren’t a DC area person you might think of Arlington Cemetery as the place where the Tomb of the Unknowns and graves of John and Robert Kennedy are located. Indeed, if you are a tourist you might think that a visit to the Tomb of the Unknowns and the Kennedy graves is worth the time if you have time. The cemetery is a little way away from the primary tourist areas, but it is a nice (and quiet) change from the Mall area.

Of course, if you have time (and one supposes the inclination) Arlington National Cemetery is a wonderful and moving place. Some of your Maximum Leader’s favorite places in the cemetery are among the least visited, places like the USS Maine memorial. But just walking down a row (especially in some of the older areas of the cemetery) will result in surprises. Your Maximum Leader remembers walking down a row of graves, reading the anonymous names off stone after stone. Then suddenly he had a double take. That name wasn’t anonymous, that was the grave of John Pershing… It is an amazing experience. You should do it one time if you can.

Today there was a great piece in the Washington Post today about the groundskeepers and arborists at Arlington Cemetery. If you didn’t see it you should check it out.

Carry on.