A Different Kind of Day

Many might assume that since I live a mere five miles from the nation's capital that I can often be found roaming the halls of any of the many museums found in the area.   The truth is that I spend most of my time across the river living my life in Alexandria and Arlington.  Like most people I get caught up in the daily activities of my existence and don't think too much about the artistic and cultural opportunities that are so close--which is why I love when visitors come.

Visitors arrived late yesterday afternoon, which meant we had just enough time to view the Capitol as the sun was setting.  With Mars shining brightly in the night sky we headed over to the Lincoln Memorial to stand in the shadow of the grand marble statue that is Abe.  Yes it was cold but we didn't let that stop us from walking around to the back of the building to see the eternal flame of JFK's grave light up a small section of the hillside across the Memorial Bridge.  We did a drive-by glance of Mr. Jefferson before heading back to Virginia to see the illuminated Iwo Jima Memorial.

Today we put on our tourist footwear, grabbed our cameras and headed back downtown to the Natural History Museum and National Gallery.  Seven hours of acting like a tourist was fun, educational and exhausting.  Not surprisingly, I drove back over the Potomac thinking about how I really need to get downtown more often.

A Tough Job

It was only a year ago that I wrote about a good friend of mine who was taking charge by shaving her head before the side effects of chemotherapy took control.  She's battled her cancer with that same kind of attitude ever since.  Debbie has continued to lunch with friends, walk her dog and travel.  She saw the architecture of Chicago, the beauty of Paris and spent a few weekends in New York to take in a show and shop.  She was determined to live her life as usual---and she did.  Unfortunately the cancer inside her had its own plan.

I spent a good part of my day yesterday on the phone with various friends to let them know that Debbie had been admitted to the hospital earlier in the week after collapsing at home.  "She's taken a turn for the worse" was the phrase of the day.

It wasn't easy to be the bearer of bad news, to be the one to let so many know that we were now looking at what seemed to be the beginning of the end.  There were a lot of tears, but there was a whole lotta love too.

No Reservations Needed

After a day spent inside cleaning I ventured down to the nearby shopping/restaurant village to pick up a little Indian food for dinner.  The weather was grand; there was a slight chill in the air but it was the kind of night that definitely made me believe that true spring was around the corner.

I was shocked at the number of people who were out.  Really the village of Shirlington was bursting with people.  Restaurants were packed full--waiting customers spilled out onto the sidewalk in front of the Mexican restaurant.  Even the Indian restaurant, which is usually only about 1/4 full, was doing a brisk business.   For a moment I felt like I was the only one who wasn't out to dinner.

No matter, I'm back at home now and happy about that.  I'll watch a little basketball and finish up a few small cleaning projects.

In Need of Gadgets

That pesky little check engine light came on again a few weeks ago...and then yesterday it was gone.  I'm not sure why and for now I'll continue to not worry about it, but even so, I must admit that I have been noticing other cars lately.  A few weeks ago I heard about the return of the VW Microbus and spent the next few days picturing myself driving one around town. 

I love my car.  But...it's getting to the point where I know if I want any sort of trade-in I might need to go car shopping sooner not later.  It runs just fine and other than the check engine light that illuminates and darkens for no apparent reason there's not much else to complain about.


Except maybe the headlight thing.  The newer cars have a handy little gadget that turns the headlights off automatically.  Daytime running lights were big a few years ago and so it seems many cars were built with the ability to shut off the headlights when the driver forgot.  My 2003 Honda doesn't have that fine feature.  Lately I wish it did.  In the last year I've ended up with two or three dead batteries because of my own failure to turn off the lights.  That being said, I've been on a pretty good run lately.  Until today.  (Isn't that always the way?  I mean otherwise why would I be writing this?)


I left work after a long day and made my way across the parking lot to my car.  With a steady rain falling and a chill in the air I was clutching my keys with thumb on the remote to unlock the doors.  I pressed unlock over and over again and noted that the lights were not blinking to signal the doors were unlocked.  It didn't take too long to realize I was stuck on a rainy afternoon with a dead battery. 

Fortunately, there were still a few people left at work so I started to scan the cars in the parking lot to see who I might hit up for a jump.  I saw two good options and headed toward the front door. 

It turns out I wouldn't make it past that door.  It was there I ran into the PE teacher who was on her way out.

"Hey," I called, "Can I use your car to get a jump? I mean it's nasty rain and all so you won't even need to get out I just want use of your battery."

"Actually, I have a thing in my trunk you can use to jump the car.  I've used it myself in this very parking lot."

She was right.  Within three minutes the Black and Decker jump starter had done the trick and we were both in our cars and on the way home.

I'll keep imaging myself in other cars, including my very cool and dreamy red Microbus, but I'll also look into the purchase of one of those nifty jump starter things.

A Noisy Change

“The birds are back in a big way.”  

That’s what one of my students said to me early this morning.  Interestingly enough we had opposite reactions to that observation.  Just as I was getting ready to tell him how much I enjoyed hearing the frenetic, joyful chirping outside of my window he let out of a puff of air.

“They’re so annoying!  I can’t stand it!”

I countered with, “Okay, but don’t you love how happy and cheerful they are?  I wish I had their energy so early in the morning.”

That conversation stopped pretty quickly, as most do in homeroom, when another student interrupted with a somewhat related thought.

"It's the squirrels that bug me.  They're always scratching on my roof.  They wake me up, it's terrible."

"I know, but have you ever watched them as run around and jump from tree to tree?  They aren't always annoying. Ya know, sometimes they can be pretty cute." I responded.

Yes, the wildlife has been pretty busy the last few weeks.  The robins are back along with the much quieter daffodils.  Spring is a showy time in the DC area, it's only fitting that a little bit of noise comes along with its arrival.

An Odd Connection

In November of 1979 I found myself in Moscow enjoying a performance of the Moscow Circus. Yes, the dancing bears and such were great but still as a 17 year-old sitting in a communist country I was also guarded. Communism was bad, that's what I'd heard and certainly all these Russians sitting around me couldn't be as happy with their life as I was with mine. You might say that although I was enjoying the circus I was also looking around with one eyebrow raised trying to figure out what was really going on. I remember noticing that no one seemed to be wearing glasses. It freaked me out, my young mind started racing and in no time I was quite sure that whoever was in charge around there must have taken all the less-sighted people and shipped them off to Siberia or somewhere. I studied the crowd a little longer to make sure I wasn't imaging things and grabbed my friend's arm.

"Ed, did you notice no one around here is wearing glasses? What the hell do you think they do with all the people who have less than perfect vision?"

Ed probably said something snarky, because that's what he usually did and then proceeded to point out to me the many people sitting near us with glasses resting on their nose.

My theory was busted.

Tonight, I was out on a walk around the neighborhood when I came across not one, but two pair of prescription glasses lying on the ground near the sidewalk. I can't recall the last time I've seen a pair of glasses just laying on the ground. Immediately my mind started racing with the plot of a possible episode of The Twilight Zone. Were Martians in the area? Were they plucking innocent people from the earth as they walked to their cars?

Who knows, maybe it was the solar flares.

A Day of Surprises

It's hard to say what surprised me more today, the afternoon snowfall that I'd heard no mention of or the absolute oddity of the thirty minutes I spent in the allergist's office.

The snow was a nice surprise. The flakes were pretty big at times and did a fabulous job of giving the drab trees a little pop. Is there anything more beautiful than a bare tree with a new coating of fresh fallen snow? Today, there was not.

Oh yeah, and then the allergist's office. Timing is everything with that kind of visit. I usually try to get there by 3:15 in the afternoon. That allows me to get there before most of the elementary school kids. Really, it's not the elementary kids that are so bad; it's the whiny younger siblings. Either the pre-school types are there for their own shots and not happy about it or they are bored out of their minds waiting for someone else to get a shot. Either way it usually isn't a pretty, or quiet, scene.

I didn't get to the office until almost 4:00 today, well past what I know to be the best time. Sure enough I was greeted as I walked towards the door by a gal a bit older than myself who was on her way out.

"It's getting crowded in there," she warned.

My smile fell a bit and I shrugged my shoulders, "Oh well, I guess I'll be here awhile."

I was surprised to see at least 3 empty chairs. For a second the passerby's warning confused me, it didn't seem crowded at all.

And then I understood. There was a father with his 2 or 3 year-old son sitting on his lap. They had a book open in front of them and the father was reading him the story of The Three Little Pigs.

I'm used to parents reading to their children in the waiting room, and it usually doesn't bother me at all...but this guy did.

I can only think he had no idea how loud he was reading, because his voice was what this teacher would refer to as definitely not an "inside voice."

I paged through a magazine of the 50 best local restaurants trying my best to ignore the strains of all the huffing and puffing. I was doing okay with it all, really I was, until Loud Father reached for his phone.

"Oh look, Mommy called us and we missed the call. Should we call her back?" he questioned.

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am. He proceeded to make the call using the speakerphone option. Myself and everyone else in the office got to hear his conversation with his wife that included an update on the road conditions (they were fine) and the proud announcement that his son had a big day. He had gone poopey in the potty for the first time. He was now a real, big boy!

It was then I reached for the headphones in my purse and tuned way out.