The Editor’s Note : Terror in the

A 2006 tour of the Capitol and its grand Rotunda was a memory the editor savored – now more than ever after the terrifying events that happened there on Jan. 6. (CHRIS COCOLES)

here’s something special about Washington D.C. I’ve been

Tthere twice and both times left feeling like I didn’t see enough. And I saw plenty.

I particularly remember a 2006 trip with my friend Chris. We had multiple reasons to pick this destination. I wanted to also check out nearby Baltimore for a few days and see my beloved Oakland Athletics play the Orioles. But we also planned to visit with our friend Laura, who was living in our nation’s capital on a Capitol Hill fellowship.

Laura’s perks allowed Chris and me to accompany her on a behind-the-scenes tour of the Capitol building. Walking the hallways shared by those serving in Congress was exhilarating, and we were in awe looking up to the ceiling of that spectacular Capitol Rotunda.

Watching the Athletics win two games in Baltimore was a great part of the trip. But being in that sacred building was bigger than me. It was transcendent. I felt the same way while checking out the museums of the Smithsonian, remembering American heroes at Arlington National Cemetery, honoring the sacrifices of the past at the World War II, Korean War and Vietnam Veterans Memorials.

I haven’t gotten back to D.C. since. But what happened on Jan. 6 in that same Capitol building brought me back to a more peaceful and humbling time; and at the same time, it had me pondering how in the hell could something like this happen here.

I watched that same Capitol Rotunda become a rallying point for hate, ignorance and insurrection. It was peak America in chaos and mayhem. And I can only hope it never happens again.

As I write this, the new President of the United States is being inaugurated on the steps of that same building. And I really don’t know how the next four years – let alone the next few months while we try to beat down this horrific pandemic – will unfold.

I want to go back to Washington and create another happy memory. I’ve had more than enough sad ones lately. -Chris Cocoles