DC

I’m in DC this week and had to stay in “DC proper” instead of Arlington due to a lack of availability at the hotels where I normally stay. I got back to my hotel in time to do some walking around tonight before it got late. I walked down to the White House and sat on a park bench across the street to watch for a while.

I saw a woman change from her flip-flops to leopard print high heels before having her picture taken in front of White House. I’m sure it was important to her, but it seemed rather silly to me. Will anyone really notice her shoes when she shows off those pictures?

I thought I saw Barney Frank talking to a film crew, but I don’t believe it was really him. The guy did look an awfully lot like him, just not as old and gray. Then I wondered: was that just a coincidence or does this guy intentionally try to look like Barney Frank? It would take a truly weird person to want to look like an eccentric character like Frank, but DC is full of truly weird people.

Two guys in ankle-length oilskin coats, Indiana Jones hats, and huge walking sticks (probably four inch diameter and seven feet long) walked up to peer through the fence. They looked like they had just walked out of the Outback…the continent, not the restaurant.

Of course there were lots of tourists. Some were stereotypical like the huge group of Asians that I originally thought was a protest march. Others were more unusual like the group of wheelchair-bound folks in white shirts and bright red caps, each being pushed by a person wearing a white shirt and bright red cap. Mostly though, it was just regular folks who wanted to take a look at the White House. It was one of these families that really made me appreciate being there. Their two children were bickering as they sat at the base of the White House fence. They were behaving like regular kids right in front of the residence of the President of the United States where decisions about the course of world events are being formulated. We live in a pretty stinkin’ cool country.