top o' the mornin'® 6/19/2014

[earendel]

It's very quiet around here. That's because our district is celebrating Corps Day, the anniversary of the founding of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The actual date is June 16, 1775 based on the work of the Continental Congress in establishing a "chief engineer" as part of the Continental army. The "corps" of engineers wasn't actually initiated until 4 years later, in 1779. But its current organization dates to 1802 and Thomas Jefferson. Each district picks a day in June to celebrate the Corps' "birthday". Most of the building is empty, with employees gathering at a state park in the city for games, a presentation of awards, and general conviviality. The temperature is supposed to be in the mid-90s and I don't do well in heat, so I volunteered to stay behind. Since we support 7 districts now, and we're the only one doing Corps day today, it seemed that someone needed to be left behind just in case.