The District Sleeps Alone Tonight

I guess I picked an interesting weekend to re-visit all the old haunts of Maryland and DC. I was there this past weekend. And wouldn't you know it, the day after I get there, Reagan dies. I'm not really sure what to think of that. Maybe it's a sign. So there was that. And the next day was D-Day. And that's a big deal too, more for the French than for us, and with good reason. And yet, somehow with all of this going on I managed to almost completely avoid the media superhypermegablitz, thanks to my three good friends -- alcohol, Chipotle, and the Metro. I'd have to say that I spent about 75% of my weekend with, or on the way to, one of these three treasures. And I certainly wouldn't have made it through the weekend without them.

I got to see my mom and sister, as well as my uncle, aunt, and cousin, and his girlfriend, all of whom happened to be there at the same time too. My cousin had never seen the White House before, so we went over there, following the throngs. Once we got there, it was the usual, "Yep, there it is" type of reaction. Not much to see that you haven't seen on The West Wing or that movie "Dave", where the regular Joe Shmoe guy becomes the president. (I only mentioned that because I just saw some of it on cable again the other day. Great movie. My favorite part is when they sing "Tomorrow" out on the street in front of the cops). Anyway, that was the White House. I think my favorite part about being there is seeing the tourists who, instead of photographing the place, are actually taking video of it. Like they expect at any minute it will sprout legs, pull up its roots, and start running down the Mall, followed closely by Lincoln, Jefferson, the Washington Monument, and all of the World War II vets.

Other events of note from my trip:

-On one of my flights, I was sitting behind someone whom I was convinced was Michael Moore. I think it was the baseball cap and the thick neck. Anyway, it wasn't him.

-I became even more enamored (yes, enamored) with this album by the Shins. It's called "Oh, Inverted World". You have to sit with it and give it a chance, but once you do, kablam-o. I would recommend getting it. In the words of Ben Stiller in "Starsky and Hutch" -- "Do it. Do it."

-I must have seen about 14 trillion dead cicadas. It was pretty impressive, almost Biblical.