Politics makes and breaks, especially in the fraught days of a new and bewildering government scene.
So there may be little to do but stand watch and prepare to move, whenever or however.
Meanwhile, keep an eye on good omens, weather, judges.
---------------
As always, I try a bit of underground resistance by currying favor whenever I can with strangers, and especially so with strangers on the street or in stores - those not too strung out their phones or URL codes that have become annoyingly ubiquitous. Seek 'em out where they are to create an instant community of two or three. Spontaneity will help save us all sometimes. Hence, on my way home from the local Trader Joe store, I stop two uniformed guys with shovels outside the luxury apartment building called the Residences on Capitol Hill . I want to know what is the substance they are about to put down on the sidewalk, in preparation for a major snow fall likely to happen that night. Is the pink stuff - looks like candy fluff - really ok for animals with sensitive feet? The chemicals undoubtedly are strong. One of the two goes immediately to the trash can nearby to show me the cover of a big plastic bag that contained the 'poison,' known as ice melt. (So pedestrians won't sue the rental company should anyone get injured in a fall???!!) I see the words pet friendly, or pet safe - what is invariably how the manufacturer covers its bets. I learn from the man in charge that there are basically three levels of such protective commercial covering, dependent on price. The ultimate product is very expensive, he indicates; his team has chosen the middle ground.
My message is something of a cliche - since normally who would argue against strangers meeting up and exchanging civil words.
Right - and at home I've also bought similar stuff from my local hardware store, the only difference being that it is an off white color. So what is its composition and how much should I apply? SUch are the mysteries of everyday life. It turns out (after a long night of falling snow) the medicine only works under certain situations, dependent on temperatures. We guess out way through this life and these times..
My here message is something of a cliche - since normally who would argue against strangers meeting up and exchanging civil words. But these are not normal times, to judge by public harangues. Why should Apple feel it necessary to add cautionary, even pleading, words automatically up front whenever a person is dialing/seeking help on Apple Support. The brief but insistent phrase asks a caller to be kind to the person on the other line - a professional paid by the company to help the caller. It implies the company has no faith their customers will be civil - and so a common sense reminder is necessary.
"Hmm, that must be new," said the in-store Apple employe when I quizzed her shortly afterwards about the practice. So, we have to conclude, manners are in short supply and rudeness reigns.
------------------------------------------
"Only connect" - politely. Which - to continue the theme - is primarily what Travellers Aid volunteers do when strangers seek their help to navigate what is likely an entirely new and changing scene. Such goodwill messengers are there to invite passersby to use volunteers knowledge of airport layout and services. For many of the public it is a big learning experience to know about the Sunflower program that helps identify passengers with 'special needs,' usually accompanied by someone; that over 1300 lanyards (showing a sunflower sysmbol visible to all) were passed out in 2024. The program still is new and growing.
As for the volunteers themselves, they are as varied on airplane passengers: a 94-year-old woman only recently considered retiring from the job she has had since 2015. Another is a retired eye doctor wanting to be out among people - mindful that his professional background is not really applicable. There are military veterans, single adults wanting company and liking helping others. Their training is intense, given that many such positions are in sensitive secure areas of the building. True to form, some potential dramas can occur. Such as the time a young new to the job volunteer was confronted from behind her stand (where buttons exist for emergency help in case of need) by a man's seemingly off the wall question:"Where can I turn myself in?" Was he meaning to report some illegal substance in his carryon or possibly some seemingly more practical question, such as where might he report mistakenly holding another person's property? Ah, the volunteer took no chances and immediately called on airport police to take care of the man. They came within minutes...
And some peculiar lost possessions might get left behind by people - boxing gloves, for instance - that eventually find their owners when a volunteer knows where such missing objects are housed in the vast territory an airport covers.
--Intermission of sorts ----------------------------------------A- Preview of coming attractions.....
A garden of delight is promised soon, when the annual camellia show takes place in my yard.
And a reminder that this blog exists for two reasons:
One is to highlight what some people might call lesser attractions to be found in the greater Washington area: programs, exhibits, even behaviors that are unusual and usually welcoming. Just recently while standing on a Metro platform during a three-day interruption of normal service, I was trying to figure out what train I needed to take to a station I seldom visit. Seeing my confusion, a young man nearby asked if he could help and then asked how long had I been visiting the city. A startling statement for someone who has lived here nearly 50 years....though, of course, you can always teach an old dog new tricks. I followed up his kindness by offering help to a couple sitting near me on the next train I took; they seemed bewildered by the system, and suitcases gave me the idea they were real visitors. Smiles ensued...
A second mission : share personal experiences living in both rural and urban places (D.C. and Montana) when it would seem the words rural and urban are out of date and apply only subjectively. 'Urbanities' has a long reach these days.
-------------------------------------
A reminder: What's old is always new or at least reinvented again, as a visit to the latest exhibit at the handsome and imposing Folger Shakespeare Library proves. In spades, one could say - if spades include lace ruffs, diamonds, garters and such ilk. "How to be a Power Player: Tudor Edition" runs through July 22 on Capitol Hill. The address is clue to the exhibit's theme - one that mirrors the power plays and status games taking place there and down the hill on Pennsylvania Avenue today. (If we didn't really install a new monarch, we have elected someone who acts like a king with courtiers all around.)
A pity on us all, one might say. But the Folger says it better with a bountiful display of old manuscripts and letters, pithy explanatory material brought together in a top-notch very readable and beautiful design. Imagine being able to glimpse at real materials (letters, etc.) from the 15th and 16th centuries. Technically, we are talking 1485 and 1603 during the reigns of three generations of monarchs in England and Wales - including, of course, that of the famously famous Queen Elizabeth 1.
Yes, it's a complicated history, and fascination with it only grows as you circle the display cases taking in the complex rules of deportment, behavior and dress from birth to death. The latter matter was also informed by custom and status above all. The rules are many and fulfillment of them required a heavy investment of time and money. There is so much material to be taken in by a visitor, accompanied by stunning photos and artifacts It's difficult to understand how people lived under such strict codes but the staff seems to have assembled an entire college history course on the early modern world within a few walls.
So much, too, to grasp in our understanding of how the politics of that time is reflected in current jostling for power, albeit under slightly different rules. (The White House today, we can assume, does not follow the marvelously complex patterns for folding linen table napkins that the Tudors inherited largely from Italy. We don't seem to go overboard impressing foreign visitors with our cuisine - not beyond what is normal for a formal meal in contemporary times. A round white blurb on the front of the exhibition's name tells all: 'Learn How To Expand Your Brand, Navigate Scandal, Dominate the Power Lunch, Increase Your Charisma And More!'
Need we say more before wishing much of the political hustle tustle of modern life were not so exhausting, though in quite different ways...
And this:
Saturday, March 1, 11am | Free, registration required
From celebrations of identity to shows of protest, parades have been central to our culture. With Mardi Gras on the horizon, the Folger considers how pageantry has led to civic participation and provided shows of power.
Join us for a drop-in crafting session from 11am-1pm to make your own paper plate tambourine and learn more about how parades are represented in the Folger collection with a pop-up collection viewing of items not usually on display at 11:30am and 12:30pm.
All ages welcome!
---------------------------------------------
