Still Around

Yes, I still am around but I guess you could say I have had "blogger's block".  A quick perusal of my post list shows three different posts in the last 4 months that are still in the editing stage but I can't remember what prompted the thought or where I was going to go with it.  Then there has been "life" - a couple of vacations to the mountains of Colorado and New Mexico, working some cattle one weekend with my family, and then some personal things I've been working through.  But now I'm wrapping up a work trip to our nation's capitol and have some time to sit and put down some thoughts since there isn't anything worth watching on TV and I'm trying to figure out if I ate something I shouldn't have today.

I really like visiting Washington D.C.  Being a history buff, there is something about being in the midst of what I think is living history.  Not only is there all the stuff that develops and moves day-by-day, good or bad, in this town but there is also the rich history that precedes the "now".  When I fly into Reagan National Airport, I look out across the city and can't help but think that our founding fathers may have walked on some of the same ground I may.  How many people in benchmark/milestone/historical moments were in the various places that I was/am walking that aren't commemorated by a marker, memorial, or named street.  Then there are the collections; the Smithsonian system, National Art Museum, Library of Congress, FBI, U.S. Treasury, and so on - all of which bring a wealth of educational knowledge for those who seek it out (as opposed to those who go to say they have been there or the schoolkids that view a field trip as only a day away from school).  The memorials also speak to those that have come before and fought for what I more often than not and so many definitely take for granted.

The other thing I can fill up on for a bit is the "closeness" of everything.  Being able to take a 10 minute walk to work (and it DEFINITELY helps that the weather is cool and relatively dry out here right now), shops, restaurants, a Whole Foods within a short walking distance, and a fairly routine scheduled mass transit system.  Yes, there are cracks in this; the Metro is really showing it's age, infrastructure construction has resulted in some traffic jams which I guess slows the buses down, and you can see some areas of urban blight in the midst of the renewal that is attempting to take place in Silver Spring where I am working.  I also can get my fill of a vast collection of cultures.  We had lunch at an authentic Italian Ristorante two days this week and neither time was I disappointed.  Then there was the outstanding Thai cuisine I had last night in Sterling with a good friend and former co-worker from the Panhandle.  Basically, I need two more days to try out the Ethiopian food place that smells so good when I walk by and the Indian restaurant that from the outside looks like a dark, dingy hole in the wall but is rated 4-stars by several reviewers and locals.

If there was a way that I could manage to do it, I would come back much more often and explore all that D.C. has to offer.  Matter of fact, I even made the comment to my friend that if my employer had a temporary assignment lasting a year, with close housing (basically here in Silver Spring) that allowed me to walk to work every day, and weather like we've had so far here year-round, I would have to give it SERIOUS consideration.  But then after five days here, I also realize that there are so many things I miss.  The trees, hills, and overall green are nice but I feel claustrophobic at times.  I can't see the horizon to know what is moving in thanks to the mass of steel and concrete around me and outside of the city has trees which do the same.  The cost of living is much higher here, I cannot honor our founding father's gift by practicing my rights under the Second Amendment in Maryland (or D.C. proper for that matter), and the traffic would drive me insane.  Drivers here feel entitled to the road therefore normal pedestrian laws don't apply because they are running late for work, the light is still red, but they could turn right and I'm in the crosswalk and give you a dirty look, honk, or cuss you out.

I also think I'm not ready yet in other areas: how do I respond to the homeless man that follows me for a while saying I look like a rich boy and could spare some change because I walk in fancy boots?  What do I do on the Metro when a stoned/drunk out of their head guy is confronting a lady because she won't take him home with her (they got off at Metro Station so I have no idea how it ended up) and I feel that it isn't a good situation?  Getting in my car and driving to think or unwind; impossible with this traffic and it would be pretty hard to find a place of solitude within 15 minutes like I can back home...

Too many things to think about right now and I've got an early departure in the morning.  So I bid you adieu once again Washington D.C. richer in some ways and yet empty in others.  We'll see what the next couple of years bring and (Lord willing) I'll be back sometime soon.