Friday, October 29, 2010

Sara Benincasa of Comedy Central interviewed me! Rally to Promote Sanity/Fear tomorrow!

Waiting in front of the Air & Space Museum yesterday, I was interviewed by comedian Sara Benincasa, http://sarabenincasa.com/ Delegate from Comedy Central to the Rally to Promote Sanity/Fear.  Sitting in my pedicab, she asked me to imagine what I would do if I were in my first day as Senator. Then  what would I say if I were indicted in a scandal. I told her I would deny it, then vociferously impugn my accusers.  She was impressed with the two-bit words.
She asked what was an ex Appropriations lobbyist doing in a pedicab?
I also told her it was the most American thing we could do, to start one's own company, Permanent Tourist in DC, LLC.

http://www.rallytorestoresanityandorfear.com/

http://sarabenincasa.com/

Thursday, October 21, 2010

National Christmas Tree Lighting Tickets

Tickets for the lottery for the National Christmas Tree lighting on Thursday, December 7 will be available Nov 5-7

5th grader knows First Amendment!

As I drive past the Newseum , I read or collective we read the First Amendment aloud. This time when I told a father and his fifth grader what we were about to do, he chimed in,"Oh yeah, the one that says you can believe whatever religion you want." Out of the mouth of babes, indeed! I was impressed.

"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------



Tickets for the lottery for the National Christmas Tree will be available Nov 5-7.  Kudos to about.com for the heads up.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Honeymoon in Italian is Viagge di Nozze

Took nice Italian newlyweds on a slightly longer ride when I heard they were on their honeymoon, viagge di nozze. This Venezian radiologist and the new Sardengan wife were unaccustomed to our uniform sized money where the $20 bill is the same size as the $1 bill, quite different from the multiple sized, different colored Euro. We took pictures at the Capitol as the sun was close to setting.  It brought back fond memories of my honeymoon, and the huge hands of gondola oarsman we hired for a ride in Venice.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

Beautiful Day for a Pedicab Ride

Free ride for pregnant ladies is my personal policy.  Took a Marine infantryman who survived Fallujah and his small family to the White House.  He is a CBRN expert who is retiring from the Corps to go into architectural and environmental engineering.

Then delivered a ring bearer, first grader Nathan, from the White House to the Grand Hyatt with Grandma and Grandpa, Wayne Harbin.  They are from South Carolina and own Skins Hot Dog Company.

Will be out there again tomorrow offering rides and tours.

Saturday, October 9, 2010

Driving from Washington Monunent to Lincoln Memorial.

Driving from Washington Monunent to Lincoln Memorial with a father from Connecticut and his 7th grader who likes world history, I told some of the stories along the way.  Anti-Catholicism and conspiracy theory paranoia kept the Washington Monument 1/3 built for almost twenty years. The golden flaming sword shows the battles of the Second Division over time. Simon Bolivar near the Organization of American States was the George Washington of Venezuela.

Took a picture of father and daughter in front of The White House. When this nice manufacturer of things to hold jet engines said, "If you see Nancy Pelosi, run her over.", I had a chance to speak my own little truth. I told him I would not and that I liked Speaker Pelosi, then turned around and shook his hand saying something like, we may disagree on some things but we both care about America. 

He left me a pretty big tip.

Kennedy Center matinee

Kennedy Center matinee of Beethoven violin concerto and Bruckner symphony was amazing! Live music thanks to Jim E. passing on free tickets. Parked the pedicab and listened joyfully.

Spoke with an FBI agent at intermission on the balcony overlooking the Potomac and Rooselvelt Island tasked to the Counter Terrorism Center.  I asked if he thought social institutions and legislation would evolve to preserve our liberties even though there will most likely be another catastrophic attack on US soil?

His answer was that he was surprised habeas corpus wasn't already rescinded after 9/11 (as Lincoln did during the civil war) and they weren't just rounding people up rather than having to actually investigate and prove guilt.

================
  Drove a nice elderly couple from the Kennedy Center to Georgetown. When he asked about my quadriceps and gastrocnemius muscles I smelled a medical background. He was a retired cardiologist, glad I was in good cardio shape.