A Hippo for Hope

A plaque on the campus of The George Washington University in Washington, DC reads:

GW'S RIVER HORSE

Legend has it that the Potomac was once home to these wondrous beasts. George and Martha Washington are even said to have watched them cavort in the river shallows from the porch of their beloved Mount Vernon on summer evenings. Credited with enhancing the fertility of the plantation, the Washingtons believed the hippopotamus brought them good luck and children on the estate often attempted to lure the creatures close enough to the shore to touch a nose for good luck.

So, too, may generations of students of The George Washington University.

Art for wisdom,

Science for joy,

Politics for beauty,

And a Hippo for hope.

Alongside is this lovely bronze hippopotamus. Hippo whispered something in his ear, eliciting a brassy guffaw. I didn't get what was so funny. It must have been hippo humor.