The Smithsonian is vast collection of museums that could take weeks to see, but we hurried through two or three of the most popular. One of our favorites was the Air and Space Museum, which features everything from the original Wright brothers’ aircraft to displays of advanced space exploration. Before a major renovation, the Air and Space Museum used to have a life-sized diorama of a World War I airfield command post.
Behind the door of an old, dimly lit shanty, you could hear the scratchy, tape recorded voice of an angry, blustering officer discussing aerial strategy and his plans for the day. And through the window, on the far wall of the little shack was a hulking, moving shadow, an imposing silhouette of the commander pacing back and forth in nervous concern.
I wonder how they did that? I thought to myself. So I leaned over the anti-tourist barrier and stuck my head through the pane-less window. There on the floor was what looked like a record player with a tiny – maybe six inches high – cardboard figure going round and round in front of a sixty watt light bulb. The imposing silhouette was merely a clever illusion! Nothing was in the building! “Just like the devil!” I whispered.
Without a doubt, there is a devil
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