Delaware
JOE BIDEN, Vice President
of the United States: “Over
the years, Amtrak provided
me with more than a way
to get to Washington to
serve the people of Delaware every morning and
a way to get home to my
family each night. It has
provided me another family entirely—a community
of dedicated professionals
who have shared the milestones in my life, and who
have allowed me to share
the milestones in theirs.”
Washington, D.C.
Rock Creek Park,
Oh Yeah!
When I was in high school I used to groove
to this song called Rock Creek Park by
Donald Byrd and the Blackbyrds. It was
combination of funk and jazz and the lyrics
made it sound like you were eavesdropping
on a party for the ages in some big, leafy
city park. As a teenager I had no idea if
the song was based on a real place on the
map but whatever they were doing in Rock
Creek Park sounded like a heck of a lot of
fun to me.
When I moved to Washington, D.C., in
the late ’80s to take a job with the
Washington Post, I was tickled to discover that
Rock Creek Park was indeed a leafy oasis
that runs from one end of the city to the other. One day while I was
cruising through the park, struggling to find my way around a new
city, the song came on the radio like magic and I knew immediately
that D. C. was exactly where I needed to be. I now live near the park
and it has become a deep vein in my life. The trees and the rush of
the water over the rocks always helps melt away the stress of the
day. My kids learned how to ride their bikes there and on any given
weekend you will find my entire family on the bike paths, jogging
trails or the tennis courts nestled beneath the trees. It is always
a treasure. Green and shady in the summer. Shockingly beautiful
when the leaves show off fall colors. Serene in the snowy embrace
of winter. A constant in my life that offers something new and
wonderful with each passing season. —Michele Norris
Michele Norris is cohost
of National Public Radio’s
All Things Considered and
the author of The Grace of
Silence: A Memoir. She lives
in Washington, D.C., with her
husband and children.
ROCK CREEK PARK
