The Time Keeper on the Hill
July 14, 2005
The Naval Observatory in Washington is the American counterpart to England’s Greenwich Observatory. It deals with all things related to time. The great interest here was at one time the official clocks, kept in an underground vault. My 1937 guide notes: “No one enters the vault except for the purpose of repairing the clocks, and the clocks are observed through a periscope arrangement..” But although the vault was off-limits, visitors were welcome: “They may visit the time room, where usually about $300,000 worth of clocks are being tested.”
The character of the Naval Observatory has changed greatly, needless to say. In 1974 the main residence was drafted by Congress to become the official home for the vice president, and thus today it is the residence of Dick Cheney and his wife. Some evidence for the earlier work of the Naval Observatory remains: a small digital clock posted outside the Massachusetts Avenue entrance to the Observatory, and two large white-painted anchors lying to the left and right of the same entrance. We get it: time and the navy are connected to this place. Still I could not see that visitors were allowed inside, and the security seemed as tight as the White House.
It is interesting to think of Cheney holed up at the Naval Observatory.. probably he has nothing to do with the time room where all those clocks once were synchronized, nor anything to do with the vault where people tell time by looking through periscopes.. but it nevertheless seems an oddly Cheneyesque environment.. One wonders if it was here that he bunkered down after 9-11 and read Hobbes.. Who would not turn apocalyptic?
Just down the street from the Naval Observatory is an odd shaded memorial for Kahlil Gibran, a mystical Palestinian writer. The fountain sports a bronze version of his entranced-looking face and bronze birds spouting water. Back of this front wall is a semi-circular stone bench, and anyone sitting here must choose a mystical quotation to lean back against. From a shady seat one can see the traffic on Massachusetts Ave.
Every time Cheney makes his way up this hill.. in a convoy no doubt.. he could glance at this memorial to Gibran. It could even be his sign that he is almost home. Certainly he has noted it, although I am sure he prefers the small statue to Winston Churchill on the other side of the avenue. But I am curious as to whether he has a soft spot in his heart for this little shady spot.. and whether he has ever wandered over here just to look at it a little more closely. It is interesting to think how different Washington must be to leaders who have access to the official houses and offices.. and how little they may ever know about Washington the city.
Further down Massachusetts is the Islamic Center. It is little more than a mosque with a connected religious book shop, but it must also provide some public services in order to earn the "center" in its name. I have been to several centers and mosques in the United States, and although I am obviously a visitor, nobody comes to welcome me or explain what they do. Especially in these years after 9-11 I would have expected there to be a great push for taking the time to talk with anyone in the public who showed an interest. The gift shop was full of musty Qurans and commentaries.. along with English books on popular religious topics: Islam and violence, for example. I walked around with nobody saying a word.. I was a tourist, and I would go away sooner or later.
When I did go away I noticed several cabs parked on the curb.. and then I noticed that nobody was inside the cars. I quickly realized that several drivers had stopped here for afternoon prayer, leaving their cars on the street.
The rest of Massachusetts Avenue, down to Dupont Circle, was filled with foreign embassies.. some newly designed and others settled in an antique house. I passed the embassies for Greece, Mexico, Brazil, Korea, Japan, India, Turkey, and others. The cars in the small driveways sported diplomatic plates. I know that the diplomatic corps tend to build up their own social networks.. and I could only imagine the various versions of Washington that these people know.
There is no one official time-keeper in our world.. no matter how much we want to trust that guarded clock on the hill. Each embassy represents a slightly different version.