A State Funeral At The White House? Tourists Find Curious Sight On Sunday In Washington

Yesterday I had the pleasure of addressing the American Association of Clinical Urologists on recent developments in law and medicine as well as the controversy over the Supreme Court vacancy left by the passing of Associate Justice Antonin Scalia. I walked past the White House to the speech at the Willard Hotel and was stopped in my tracks by a state funeral in the making. The gun carriage and white horses seemed eerily familiar. It turned out to be the shooting of a scene for a movie called “Jackie,” which I gather is a reference to the former first lady. The procession was meant to reenact the JFK processional.

Ironically, the speech was held in the Crystal Room of the Willard Hotel where we held our marriage reception some 25 years ago. (We first eloped in Alexandria on New Year’s Eve and then held a religious ceremony at the Willard). I love the Willard, which holds one of my favorite bars: The Round Robin where Henry Clay introduced the Mint Julep to Washington. Here are a few pictures from the movie scene and the hotel.