01/28/2010 10:36 EST
Poem for passing through Springfield
Malaise or Evolution?
Driving through Springfield just off 95, where we lived 30, no 40, years ago when Dad was transferred here from VietNam, I noticed a few little changes.
What a surprise to see Mickey Dee’s now a Saigon City selling pho and an orange neon sign saying, OPEN. Gone are those golden arches touting how many billions sold. Where is that idealist on the bus on the way to Lee High School dividing the Earth’s population and wondering how many days McDonald’s could feed us all?
And Pizza Hut is now Kabul Kabob. (I imagine Paul Simon’s “My Little Town” song floating through my multi-media mind…) Do we invade countries then adopt the cuisine of their refugees?
My old Little League field is now an office complex that has my destination, a coin counting machine so that cup full of $64.04 minus a few wheat pennies and silver dimes, will keep things from bouncing. (And Joni Mitchell’s “Pave Paradise, Put Up A Parking Lot is enervating cells in my auditory cortex…)
We’re just doing the best we can. Or are we? Depression era Marine Corps parents had flabby kids who woke up too slowly to join the struggle. (And Jackson Browne’s “struggle for the legal tender..)
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Friday, January 22, 2010
Free Chinese Terra Cotta Warriors Exhibit at National Geo. every Wed 6pm
At National Geographic Society Museum at 17th and M Sts., until March 31 when the exhibit leaves, 200 free day-of tickets will be available for the 6:00 p.m. exhibition viewing every Wednesday. Tickets will be distributed at 5:30 p.m. with a limit of two tickets per person. $5 for an audio tour was well worth it.
An entire necropolis of an army made of clay with 100 rivers of mercury was discovered in X'ian province from the Qin dynasty, just after the Warring States period in China.
"Qin Shihuang, the first creator of a unified dynasty in Chinese history, died at the age of 50 during his tour of inspection. Emperor Qin Shihuang's experience, life and merits and demerits are noticeable, even the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum sitting at the foot of Lishan Mountain has drawn great attention due to many unresolved mysteries."
An entire necropolis of an army made of clay with 100 rivers of mercury was discovered in X'ian province from the Qin dynasty, just after the Warring States period in China.
"Qin Shihuang, the first creator of a unified dynasty in Chinese history, died at the age of 50 during his tour of inspection. Emperor Qin Shihuang's experience, life and merits and demerits are noticeable, even the Qin Shihuang Mausoleum sitting at the foot of Lishan Mountain has drawn great attention due to many unresolved mysteries."
Monday, December 14, 2009
The Willard Hotel, Frito's, Nixon's Inauguration, Lobbyists and more...
Two close blocks from The White House is the Willard InterContinental Hotel, and a grand hotel it is! Some Suites go for $3,000 per night! Some say the word lobbyists came from the Willard Hotel and the days of hard-drinking President Gen. Ulysses S. Grant nightly wandering over to the Willard bar for a whiskey. There were gladhanding throngs lurking in the lobby only too happy to buy the President a whiskey and succor federal favor. Martin Luther King wrote his "I Have A Dream" speech he delivered on the steps on the Lincoln Memorial in 1963 there.
Some of my own personal history include my mother's habit of taking her sons to lunch around Christmas-time and eating surf and turf at the Occidental Restaurant inside the Willard. But my favorite story comes from a cold January 20, 1968 when Richard Milhous Nixon was to be inaugurated President. I was an 11 year old new Boy Scout, and our Troop 881, was to a be a back up Honor Guard. That meant we froze in our little uniforms and were allowed to warm ourselves and wait interminably inside the now dilapitaded run down Willard Hotel, paint peeling and graffiti abounding.
Marriott had given up one box lunch each, Pepsi all the Pepsi we could drink and Frito's all the Frito's we nervous, cold Boy Scouts could shovel into our fat faces. It was only a few years ago that the smell of Frito's didn't bring on a nausea.
Some of my own personal history include my mother's habit of taking her sons to lunch around Christmas-time and eating surf and turf at the Occidental Restaurant inside the Willard. But my favorite story comes from a cold January 20, 1968 when Richard Milhous Nixon was to be inaugurated President. I was an 11 year old new Boy Scout, and our Troop 881, was to a be a back up Honor Guard. That meant we froze in our little uniforms and were allowed to warm ourselves and wait interminably inside the now dilapitaded run down Willard Hotel, paint peeling and graffiti abounding.
Marriott had given up one box lunch each, Pepsi all the Pepsi we could drink and Frito's all the Frito's we nervous, cold Boy Scouts could shovel into our fat faces. It was only a few years ago that the smell of Frito's didn't bring on a nausea.
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
Colder and Merry (Greek) Christmas!
Four hours passed this cold gray day before a penny was made. Oh sure, I like pedalling around the Mall and getting some exercise, but this is a job and that means I need to get paid for it.
But there was a lighting of a Christmas tree on the grounds of the Capitol at 5pm . Several pairs of ladies paid for my words and legs. A Greek pair told me the way to say Merry Christmas in Greek - phonetically - Kala Christougena.
But there was a lighting of a Christmas tree on the grounds of the Capitol at 5pm . Several pairs of ladies paid for my words and legs. A Greek pair told me the way to say Merry Christmas in Greek - phonetically - Kala Christougena.
Thursday, December 3, 2009
"The whole world is waiting for your Congress to pass a climate bill."
"The whole world is waiting for your Congress to pass a climate bill." said a young woman from Italy I picked up in front of Smithsonian Air and Space Museum tonight. She works on climate change for the Italian Ministry for the Environment, Land and Sea, Environment Research and Development Department in Rome.
Vanessa has a Ph.D. in Microbiology; she worked on biological remediation methods for hydrocarbons (oil) pollution. She also has a Masters degree in International Law.
I feel like I disappointed her when I gave my jaded ex-lobbyist perception that the current priorities for the Obama Administration were The Economy (stupid !, as President Clinton campaigned), Afghanistan, health care, then maybe, climate change. I thought about Steven Covey's quadrants for prioritizing: urgent/not urgent vs important/not important. Global warming may be important (IT IS!) but not collectively perceived as urgent yet. It will take the Great(er) Communicator President Barack Obama many speeches and press conferences to convince the American people and thus their Congress that time is now, even overdue, for substantive action on climate change legislation.
She mentioned Obama's excellent campaign speeches promising action onclimate change legislation. I thought of that joke about heaven and hell where hell was golf courses, lobster and steak dinners, strolling violins etc. and heaven was quiet and harps. Something like one was advertising and one was something else. (OK, I can't remember the joke exactly so will edit the blog later..)
We took a 45 minute tour to the Lincoln Memorial, passing where the President was about to light the National Christmas tree! It looks great! Buon Natale!
Vanessa has a Ph.D. in Microbiology; she worked on biological remediation methods for hydrocarbons (oil) pollution. She also has a Masters degree in International Law.
I feel like I disappointed her when I gave my jaded ex-lobbyist perception that the current priorities for the Obama Administration were The Economy (stupid !, as President Clinton campaigned), Afghanistan, health care, then maybe, climate change. I thought about Steven Covey's quadrants for prioritizing: urgent/not urgent vs important/not important. Global warming may be important (IT IS!) but not collectively perceived as urgent yet. It will take the Great(er) Communicator President Barack Obama many speeches and press conferences to convince the American people and thus their Congress that time is now, even overdue, for substantive action on climate change legislation.
She mentioned Obama's excellent campaign speeches promising action onclimate change legislation. I thought of that joke about heaven and hell where hell was golf courses, lobster and steak dinners, strolling violins etc. and heaven was quiet and harps. Something like one was advertising and one was something else. (OK, I can't remember the joke exactly so will edit the blog later..)
We took a 45 minute tour to the Lincoln Memorial, passing where the President was about to light the National Christmas tree! It looks great! Buon Natale!
Wednesday, December 2, 2009
2 doctors, a lawyer and a Texan
Several more interesting folks I drove today, Tuesday, usually slow. At the Capitol I picked up a young couple who's family came from Kerala in southern India. a family physician and a radiologist couple. It was right next to the James A. Garfield statue so I had a good story to tell I heard from Stephen Pinker podcast on the mind.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield
Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors attending him been more capable.[27] Several inserted their unsterilized fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, and one doctor punctured Garfield's liver in doing so. This alone would not have caused death as the liver is one of the few organs in the human body that can regenerate itself. However, this physician probably introduced Streptococcus bacteria into the President's body and that caused blood poisoning for which at that time there were no antibiotics.
Guiteau was found guilty of assassinating Garfield, despite his lawyers raising an insanity defense. He insisted that incompetent medical care had really killed the President. Although historians generally agree that poor medical care was an element, it was not a legal defense. Guiteau was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882, in Washington, D.C.
.........
Next, a Texan wanted to go to the Rayburn House Office Building to tell his Congressman why he opposed the health care bill. He paid me to wait 45 minutes, then take him to WWII and VietNam Memorials. He was a paratrooper "jumping out of perfectly good airplanes" in VietNam with the 101st and 82nd Airborne. He is a small businessman and we talked about as a small businessman, success or failure is all the owners fault, the American Way!
..........
Finally, on the way back to the shop, I picked up a a well dressed man and his wife. Today this man from Minnesota argued before the Supreme Court, suing the government for laws he said were written by Citibank and Visa that allows lawyers to give bad advice on financial matters. We both loved Mondale.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_A._Garfield
Most historians and medical experts now believe that Garfield probably would have survived his wound had the doctors attending him been more capable.[27] Several inserted their unsterilized fingers into the wound to probe for the bullet, and one doctor punctured Garfield's liver in doing so. This alone would not have caused death as the liver is one of the few organs in the human body that can regenerate itself. However, this physician probably introduced Streptococcus bacteria into the President's body and that caused blood poisoning for which at that time there were no antibiotics.
Guiteau was found guilty of assassinating Garfield, despite his lawyers raising an insanity defense. He insisted that incompetent medical care had really killed the President. Although historians generally agree that poor medical care was an element, it was not a legal defense. Guiteau was sentenced to death, and was executed by hanging on June 30, 1882, in Washington, D.C.
.........
Next, a Texan wanted to go to the Rayburn House Office Building to tell his Congressman why he opposed the health care bill. He paid me to wait 45 minutes, then take him to WWII and VietNam Memorials. He was a paratrooper "jumping out of perfectly good airplanes" in VietNam with the 101st and 82nd Airborne. He is a small businessman and we talked about as a small businessman, success or failure is all the owners fault, the American Way!
..........
Finally, on the way back to the shop, I picked up a a well dressed man and his wife. Today this man from Minnesota argued before the Supreme Court, suing the government for laws he said were written by Citibank and Visa that allows lawyers to give bad advice on financial matters. We both loved Mondale.
Monday, November 30, 2009
"Happy wife, happy life." the secret to 30 years together.
It was dark and the temperature was dropping. Picked up a joyful couple from Bay City, Michigan on the last day of their 30th anniversary trip. So the 1/2 hour tour started from the Washington Monument. "Foundation laid in 1848 but the civil war interrupted things. See the two colors of stone 1/3 of the way up? They ran out of money and it laid unbuilt for a couple decades until a Federal Commission was appointed and it was finally finished in 1884, at 555 feet it was the tallest building in the modern world until the Eiffel Tower surpassed it in 1889."
Then off to my favorite, the Jefferson Memorial, where I learned the couple was on an anniversary ride.
I pointed to the Tidal Basin and told them about my first anniversary 4 months earlier. I used to tell my wife several times as we passed the blue paddle boats, that while I have been here for most of 30 years (permanent tourist, eh?) I had never taken a rideon these little boats. So Trish started our amazing anniversary soiree with a ride on the paddleboats and a picnic.
Then, from the Jefferson, we went to the Capitol and time was well passed the 1/2 hour so I stopped the clock and drove them partly back as I was late to return my pedicab.
I asked this happy couple, she a nurse installing cardiac stents and catheterizations, he a school janitor, the secret to their 30 years?
She ginned and said"Happy Wife, Happy Life!
I had to call my wife on that one....
Then off to my favorite, the Jefferson Memorial, where I learned the couple was on an anniversary ride.
I pointed to the Tidal Basin and told them about my first anniversary 4 months earlier. I used to tell my wife several times as we passed the blue paddle boats, that while I have been here for most of 30 years (permanent tourist, eh?) I had never taken a rideon these little boats. So Trish started our amazing anniversary soiree with a ride on the paddleboats and a picnic.
Then, from the Jefferson, we went to the Capitol and time was well passed the 1/2 hour so I stopped the clock and drove them partly back as I was late to return my pedicab.
I asked this happy couple, she a nurse installing cardiac stents and catheterizations, he a school janitor, the secret to their 30 years?
She ginned and said"Happy Wife, Happy Life!
I had to call my wife on that one....
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