The Monument, the Amazing Memory Man and Monumental Death Rates
Baltimore's Washington Monument has already been written about HERE, but there are two things Sarah didn’t mention in her review: One is that inside the monument it is very cool and has a water cooler, making it the perfect chill-out spot for one hiking through summer heat in Mt. Vernon.
The other thing Sarah didn’t mention is that the date on the monument is wrong. The monument claims Washington became president on March 4, when in fact he was inaugurated on the 30th of April. Nobody noticed this for years. Lots of years. The monument was completed between 1815 and 1829 and it wasn’t until 1985 that someone noticed the mistake.
That someone was the Amazing Memory Man, Phil Easter. Now, Easter is sort of an odd character. He’s in his fifties, I’d say, with an easy smile and a friendly demeanor. When we met he told me the story of the monument and later buzzed through a list of interrelated dates and historical events that would max out the memory on some hard drives. His memory is amazing. He’s got a fascination with the monument and why the city hasn’t corrected it even though he’s informed them.
That’s one part of the situation I think I understand better than Easter. Since we’re on break-neck pace to be the murder capital of the country once again, city officials can probably be excused for spending their time elsewhere. Though it’s not like they’re being successful in dealing with the murder rate either. Come on, Sheila, kids are going to start joining the army and going to Iraq just to stay safe. In Baltimore the city’s not run by bureaucracy, it’s run by mediocrity.
Check out Easter’s website for an interesting glimpse at a very interesting man, and if you ever meet him, ask him what happened on your birthday. He’ll have something interesting for you for sure. There’s just one thing I can’t figure out. What’s he do for a living?
