Stop

Taped to a stop sign in front of the Russell Senate Office Building is a sheet a paper with a photograph of a young man with a serious expression and a blue military uniform printed on it. Under the picture is the man’s name, and the date September 22, 2005. It is the middle of the day, sunny and warm. I sit nearby for about half an hour, and while this is a high foot-traffic area, particularly now, I only see a couple of people actually notice the sign. One woman, nicely dressed in a burgundy pants-suit, glances up while she is waiting to cross the street. She has no visible reaction to it. Another woman stops at the corner and is talking to a man. Both are in business attire. She stops talking mid-sentence to look at the photograph. Her eyes narrow and brows furrow, mouth slightly open, but after a moment she continues on. Midway through the street, she glances over her shoulder.