Timing

I have this game I play when I walk to work in the mornings from bus 11Y. Don't ask me why, but it doesn't seem to work well going back to the bus in the afternoon. Google map says it's a 1.2 mile trek across many blocks (well Google didn't tell me the many blocks part - I knew that). At each intersection there is a traffic light. DC being a big city and all. My goal in life now is to make it from my bus drop off point (Pennsylvania Avenue and 14th Street) to work (50 F Street NW) without stopping for a single red light. Without cheating (as in slowing down to make sure I hit a light when it's green instead of red). Crossing against the red is allowed but would be insane and deadly at most intersections. DC drivers don't like jaywalkers and will take them out without a second thought.

Admittedly, this won't be easy. But great accomplishments never are. Going to the moon. Climbing Mount Everest. Human flight. Burning clean coal. That kind of stuff. It will take sacrifice. It will take persistence. But I think I can do it.

The hard part is the first leg of the trip where the north-south streets tend to get the longer green lights and my way (east-west) tends to get shorter greens. It seems the farther east I get toward work, the longer green lights I get. I thought the other day I might have cracked through that first barrier. I started on the south side of E Street, traveling east, and when I hit a red light going east I was able to cross the intersection in a northwardly direction just in time to go east again on the other side with the green light. My big mistake was that that is the one north-south running street with very low traffic flow and I could have crossed against the red light and saved my much-needed north-south green light crossing for later. I didn't. And I later paid the price.

Some day. I'll do this. I just know it. Then there will be the book. And the movie rights. And I'll get Joss Whedon to direct it. And Alan Tudyk will play my part in the movie. And I'll be rich. That's just the way these great accomplishments always end up.

Changes

My Mom is visiting from Pennsylvania so it was with extra rapt interest that we heard and watched the news yesterday of Arlen Specter switching parties. It was also big news where I work, since we work with northeastern and midwestern members of Congress in a bipartisan manner to help assure the economic and environmental sustainability of the region. But these days there are very few Republican members left in the region who fall into the middle and can easily work in a bipartisan manner. Specter had been one of those. Until yesterday.

Other changes happening: It's cooling off today after a few days of extra heat. Clouds instead of sun. The Celtics have a three to two advantage over the Bulls in their NBA first round playoff series. The Yankees broke a four game skid with a win last night. Lost is back on tonight after a two week hiatus. Kooper will want lots of walks. Oh. Wait. That's not a change.

Well at least some things are predictable.

Almost Light

It's nice to be able to wake up to the promise of breaking light and springtime instead of the dullness of nighttime and cold. When I opened my eyes today I noticed for the first time the brightening sky to the east through the guest room window. And Kooper and I didn't even need the porch light on to see our steps down to the street clearly.

Not that Kooper needs to see before he bounds down. But I can use the help of sight to make sure I'm well planted in case of another dog sighting. In that event Kooper will want to pull off in the direction of the other dog. He's getting "better" though. Instead of lunging and barking he is down to pulling and whining. We are "in the system" to bring home a springer spaniel at some point from a rescue group. Then it will be back to two dogs and a man walking in the morning. As long as we all tend to go in the same general direction it should work out okay.

I just opened a few windows and doors to let in the cool, nighttime tempered air before the heat hits in a few minutes. Once the sun makes its way over the horizon her first visit is into the dining room through its two windows. Starting to bake the air inside. Unfortunately, that's also the room where the house thermostat sits. So things get out of whack quickly in the morning if that room overheats and the rest of the house is still comfortable. Need to keep the thermostat happy.

Kind of like the world's forests in that respect. The Amazon sitting square in the southern hemisphere. The boreal forests ringing the upper third of the earth. Along with the open waters of the sea, the world's climate controls. Need to keep them happy.

Heat is on

It's summer in the city for a couple of more days as the east experiences a prelude to the coming months (and maybe years). 90s yesterday, today and tomorrow then a bit of a cool down to normality (60s). I'll still do my bus and walk routine this morning (it's only in the mid-60s right now) but may not by this afternoon. I think the decision to walk or not will depend on the humidity. That was low yesterday (a "dry heat"), which isn't so bad from a tolerability standpoint. Although Kooper doesn't seem to be taking to the heat - dry or moist.

Speaking of the heat, the debate in Congress over the climate change legislation is heating up. In addition to capping carbon and other greenhouse gases, maybe someone should cap political rhetoric. It tends to add to the heat of the moment and doesn't lend much to solutions in the end.

I'm thinking all of this is fairly fruitless anyway. The real cap that either humans need to impose on ourselves (or wait to have nature impose) is the cap on the number of people. At over six billion the earth is weighted down. Can't handle the load of that many people and that much stuff that comes along with us. The excess people and our excess baggage. Airlines place a human and baggage capacity on their flights for good reason - the plane won't fly very well above a certain capacity. Neither will the earth as we know it.

Numbers

Back from a whirlwind tour to Franklin to Edinboro PA and up and back through traffic and heat. The heat on the way back . . . it was dark going up. So we traveled 700 or so miles in 40 or so hours and in between saw some family and heard a wonderful violin performance by our granddaughter, Brid.

These trips are almost always movement, although I squeezed in two hours of sleep Saturday afternoon in between four hours of sleep Friday night and five on Saturday night.

Lots of numbers there. 700 miles, 40 hour trip, four, two and five hours of sleep. Thirteen hours of driving. Thousands of cars and trucks and things that go. Five family folk. One great violin piece.

Priceless.

Time to Type

My fingers may be off a bit and wander into a few typos. It's so early (4 AM or so-ish) but I'm up so I might as well put some figurative thoughts down on figurative paper. It was Kooper again. At about 3 o-clock or so I must have rolled over while asleep and there he was. A big, wet nose was poked into my face. I knew immediately that it couldn't have been Kate's nose. She's still out of town until this evening. Plus, I was on the couch. Normally a one-person (or one person and one cat and one dog) affair. My ecer (I mean "ever" - see, one of those typos) . . . my ever-sharp mind deduced that it was Kooper and that he wanted to go out.

"Go lay down," I mumbled. Trying to ignore the nose and wetness and sour dog breath (or maybe it was my breath). He snorted and walked toward the front door. There would be no escaping the reality of nature calling. So we walked. And I woke. And now . . . tired but too unsleepy to sleep.

Kooper seems unphased. He's curled up on the chair. Once in awhile his eyes open to make sure I'm still here. I will be until about 7:20 or so-ish, when I cross the street to catch the 11Y express bus into downtown DC. Then a brisk 20 minute walk to work. The walk should be in the sunshine today. It's rained during the past two morning walks to work. So, (when it's sunny) I walk east into the sun in the morning and west into the sun in the afternoon.

I'm going to try to sleep again now. But those two things are usually exclusive - trying and sleeping. Don't go well together. Like typing and tired.

Fog

My head's in a fog this morning. Kate is out of town down east (Lewes, DE) for a couple night retreat and I never sleep as well when she's gone. I think it's because I crash on the couch so that Kooper (who never comes up to the bedroom's top floor) and I can commiserate together as we doze off. But the dozing is less so on the couch.

The other fog this morning is a few blocks east over the Potomac. The remnants of the still-cool River water flowing south through the moist, mild air that is settling in. Mild yesterday except for a brief burst of a thunderstorm just as I got home from work. And just as mild today.

Kate will be back on Thursday. Until then it's just Kooper, Lucky, Zelda and me. Maybe we have a mouse or two. I don't know. Wishful thinking I guess. I think city folk have rats rather than mice. Mice are cuter. Not that there's anything wrong with rats. They are very smart in their own way.

Friday we venture north to Pennsylvania to listen to the latest music gift from our granddaughter and her violin (on Saturday). Should be a quick but nice trip. We'll be traveling Friday evening late over the mountains in Maryland and Pennsylvania. So, hopefully there won't be too much fog of the head or air variety.

Rain

It's raining here which is good because we can use some water about now. It's rained on and off lately but mostly too much off. Things need replenished. Yesterday was about the nicest day of the spring so far. Sunny. A bit of a breeze. And warm. Kooper and I went for loads of walks throughout the day. Two before church. And a large handful afterwards into the evening. Kate worked from 8 until 8 yesterday so Kooper and I had a lot of bonding time.

Kooper has been down in the dumps the past few days, I think the result of downing a few M&Ms that he got into. A small bag was on the coffee table tempting him left there by the children of our NW PA visitors. Although I'm sure he enjoyed the few that he ate, he's not eaten much since.

It's good to be back in a routine again after last week's travels. This week will be spent getting to know the ins and outs on Capital Hill. Meetings and introductions. Getting the lay of the land. Just figuring out where buildings and offices are. That sort of stuff. And with the rain it probably means my umbrella will be in the "up" position in between stops. Luckily my office isn't too too far from where I need to go. A few DC blocks - which are bigger than most big city blocks I've noticed. About twice as long between streets as, say, in Chicago, Pittsburgh, New York or Philadelphia. More time spent skipping over puddles and dodging raindrops.

Back to the Edge

After two and a half days in middle America, it's back to the eastern edge today as I catch a mid-morning flight to DC (Reagan National). And then I'll either Metro or hoof it (two miles) back to the house. It looks like the same sun will be shining at both ends of the trip. Breaking morning now is sunny and mid-afternoon then should be equally sun-filled.

We will have Meadville guests again this weekend (well northwest PA guests) which means a meal or two or three out to eat and some sightseeing. Always nice things to do. Especially with friends.

My thoughts on the three days here in the middle, based on what I saw and also what I heard from the people in my meeting: The people I met were friendly. Which is good because most of the non-meeting people I met were in the hospitality business one way or the other. But the friendliness seemed genuine regardless. The area seems to have been hit hard with urban flight over the past few decades. Prompted by a shifting economy and fear. Fear of others coming into the city - "others" as in not middle class not the same color not the same culture. Racism is pretty entrenched here as are middle lifestyle traditions ("It's the way we've always done things"). Taking a cue from last week's Dollhouse episode, it's very "vanilla."

I'm not so sure it's that much different from the rest of us. Maybe just a bit more concentrated and evident. Same dish just a bit saltier. People as a whole tend to exist in a fairly narrow continuum of personalities - in the middle or on the edge.

Middles

Sunrise in St. Louis. It seems later than the one in DC. Maybe because in real time it is. DC is on the eastern edge of the Eastern time zone. St. Louis the middle edge of the Central time zone. Middle America. Middle times.

Yesterday's trip here went smoothly. Even the flight wasn't the typical pack-you-in-and-treat-you-like-livestock variety. There was plenty of room. Maybe two-thirds full. So the middle seat next to my window seat was empty. Room to stretch a bit while I was looking out of the window at the clouds below. The whole trip. Clouds below. At least the sun was up there. Unlike below the clouds in DC and St. Louis.

But today there are no clouds. Here. In the middle. I see from the weather that there are still drizzle and rain and clouds back on the eastern edge of the continent. Back where the news is all of the new Obama puppy and traffic on the beltway and politics as usual inside the beltway. In the middle none of that seems to invade the conversation or even matter. Unless you turn on the talking heads on the TV.

So, today it's off to a packed series of meetings about what to do to clean up the mighty Mississippi River. I flew over it last night coming into St. Louis. Seems like the River is big enough to take care of itself, as long as we just leave it alone to meander its way down to the Gulf. But instead of looking at the River as a River we tend to view it as other things. A highway for ships. A sewer to haul off our waste. A pretty vista to build homes and offices right up next to.

Every once in awhile, usually in the Spring, the River floods and reminds us of what it really is. A River. Someday it will go back to being that again. Right down the middle of the continent.

Lately

I know I haven't been blogging lately. Michael, my son, was down for the weekend and we were somewhat busy there. And I guess you could say I've been busy at work (I have) and putting more time in going to and from there in the middle of DC. The commute is easy and not long, but I've been there from around 830 to 530 each day - trying to get a sense of what I'm doing and how I fit in.

Today (this evening) it's off to Saint Louis for three days and nights of meetings with a new group of people about Mississippi River issues. Should be interesting and fun. I've driven through Saint Louis and never been enthralled by what I've seen. But Yogi Berra grew up there so it must have something going for it.

I'll write more at some point. Probably. As the Spirit moves my brain and connects it to my typing fingers.

Part Two

Sequels are rarely as good as the original. Godfather II may have been the exception to that rule, since rules always have exceptions (that's a rule). And so it was in the case of the reprise of Ruff, Slurp and Cold (see two blog posts ago). The ruffs were more muted and less sharp, although wakening nonetheless. The slurp was passable but not too intrusive. And the coldness has been mollified by Holy Week springness. But it all started at 2:30 this time around. A half hour earlier in the morning. And the result was the same. No more sleep. Baggy eyes. Dull brain.

Maybe I should just wait up late before going to bed. One rule that has no exceptions is that sequels after the second one are never as good as what came before.

Wisdom from a Future King

From Prince Charles of England this past week: "As important and concerning as the global financial crisis is, its challenges and consequences will pale into insignificance when compared with the scale and extent of human misery and suffering, social and economic, if our actions to tackle climate change are too little or too late, or both."

This after the G20 leaders - meeting in the same city as the Prince and his audience - all but ignored the looming threat and failed to agree to even minimal carbon emission benchmarks. Much to the chagrin of developing nations.

The British monarchy is often belittled and ridiculed for being anachronistic and archaic. But it was that monarchy that provided a prophetic voice of wisdom. A voice that much of the world seems bent on ignoring. Seems as if we need more prophets and fewer bureaucrats.

Ruff

"Ruff!" came the sharp bark from two floors below. "Ruff!" at 3 AM barked Kooper. He woke me up. I slithered down two flights of stairs. Put on shoes and a jacket. Up to the kitchen went Kooper. He wanted a drink is all. I flopped onto the couch and covered up to sleep for a few more hours.

"Slurp," went Kooper's newly wet tongue on my face. "Slurp," at 3:05 AM licked Kooper. He wanted to go out now. Into the cold. Around the block to pee some and other stuff not suited for a PG blog.

So, I've been awake since then. Amazing how ruffs and slurps and cold have that wakening affect.

ZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!

Changing Weather

A cold front from the west will change our 70s and sunny weather of Sunday to 60s and thunderstorms today. Kate and I are still hoping to see the cherry blossoms in the District (post-peak) after work today in the evening. The front and storms should be passed through by then.

As will the other big change happening today - my first day at the new job. It's very similar to the change in the weather. Big shift from what I was doing just last week.

I spent yesterday morning buying some new "work clothes" for the new job. The office attire is dress casual but a bit more dress and bit less casual than what I've been used to. So I bought some new pants and shirts to match the expectations.

No rain or wind yet. It's still nice out. But I need to "pack" for the change. It will be cloudy, windier and wetter by the time I leave work. Everything changes.

Cherry Blossoms

Yesterday was the last "peak" day for cherry blossom watching around the tidal pool in DC. So after we met with some DC area Browncoats for a "meetup" in Crystal City, Kate and I metro'd over to town to view the sights. The blossoms were out in their full glory, as advertised.

It was a sunny but very breezy day and there were thousands being blown here and there in the wind and other natural and unnatural forces. Swept up individually and en masse across the Mall. Around the Washington Monument. Down to the Lincoln and Jefferson memorials. Across streets and parking lots. Not just pink but brownish, tan, tawny, colors of all varieties. They were so thick at some points that you could barely see a few feet ahead of you.

That was the crowds of people. Tourists.

And what we could see of the cherry blossoms were nice, too. But we didn't stay long. The mass of humanity was oppressive, so we wandered our way to a Metro stop and packed ourselves in with a hundred or so others in the train car. Standing all the way back to Alexandria.














I don't know how anyone could have really absorbed the essence of nature and beauty while squeezing through the crowd and being jostled this way and that by the surging masses. It seemed more a grand delusion than a walk among the trees. Almost as if the people had been hypnotized and were wandering around in a drug-induced daze thinking that there must be some reason why this is attractive. That there must be some reason why they were there. They just couldn't figure out why. I couldn't at least.

Next year a weekday. Next year at night. I hear the crowds are gone then. I hear the beauty surrounds you as the petals fall like snow in the glow of the of the path lights.

HIstoric Day

Words fall short, but pictures say it all about the new Yankee Stadium.

Earth, Wind and Fire

It's setting up to be a windy and rainy day in the DC area today, as thunderstorms are called for along with wind gusts up into the 30 mph range. Very spring - like. Nice how things work out that way, it being spring and all. Also coming in from the northwest (along with the wind, lightning and rain) will be a friend from the Meadville, who is staying the night. We were thinking of going to see the Cherry blossoms before they all blow away, but the rain has dampened those plans. It will be too windy. And rainy. And muddy. We'll think of something drier to do more in this area of town.

In the meantime this weekend is my "vacation" before going into DC Monday to start "DC Employment Part Deux." I have a feeling this one will go a lot better than the last! I'm actually off today. The mantle clock has just struck 9 AM. Time for me to clean the bathrooms. All 3 and 1/2 of them! Lots of places to pee in case of an emergency! I need to vacuum some, too. Before our guest arrives.

Oh and on the blog title for today. I'm not really going to talk of anything fire related. That was just a gimmick to get people to read this.

Fooled You!

In honor of yesterday, here are some goodies.

For all of you Battlestar Gallactica fans: Obama Depressed Since Battlestar Galactica Ends

A new theme park, as reported by NPR's Morning Edition crew

And lastly on NPR's All Things Considered last evening: Whale Farming

Mourning Dove

There is a mother Mourning Dove that has been sitting on a very skimpy nest of sticks and grass on top of a wall surrounding a patio in the townhouse complex where we live. She has been sitting there dutifully for about two weeks now. I'm not sure how long Mourning Dove eggs incubate, but it should be time for hatching soon I would think.

I have to admire her tenacity. The sidewalk is literally five feet from her. There is a dog (who barks) in one of the adjoining patios. And then Bashford Lane, a busy street, sits a mere 10 feet from the nest. But I've never seen her not there. Through the dark and chill and rain and noise she sits. I hope it all works out for the Dove and her eggs.

Starting this Friday I won't be a Development and Communications Director anymore. But starting next Monday I will be a Policy Analyst for Upper Mississippi River Basin and Great Lakes issues at the Northeast - Midwest Institute in DC. The office is a block from Union Station right downtown. So it will be an easy Metro commute. Either the Blue or Yellow line in from Alexandria and then a short hop on the Red line train to the office.

The new job happened incredibly fast. I sent in a letter and resume a couple of weeks ago. Got a call and had a face to face meeting last week. And then got offered the job yesterday. I guess I was expecting things to go a bit slower on the new job front based on my experience last summer and early fall. Remember my thought the other day about expected things not happening too much and unexpected things happening a lot more muchly?

I expect the mother Mourning Dove really doesn't care.