Two months in D.C. and still alive. After reflecting on a previous post, "Five Things I've Learned About DC," I found myself wishing there were things I'd included. Some point soon, I'm sure to run out of things to learn. But for now, here are five more lessons from D.C.
(5) Visiting the monuments is like going to war- On my first attempt to bring family to see the touristy sights like the Capitol building, the White House, etc. I realized why I don't go by myself. A mad house isn't a fair way to describe it because everyone else is trying to get out of a mad house. But here, everyone wants to stay and take pictures, but you're the lone soul trying to escape. Plan to duck, stop and hide to avoid getting in the way of pictures. On one side of you are smiling folks, waiting for a camera shutter and on the other side are people with cameras. Both will kill you if you get in between them. Safest bet to get through the gauntlet? I vote for a Jack Bauer-esque shoulder roll.
(4) Churches are pretty polarized- Do you like extremely progressive churches? You're in luck. Do you like extremely conservative churches? You're also in luck. Are you one of the 30-40 percent of Americans in the middle? You're in trouble. All those divisions you read about in the paper are here. Presbyterian PCA Churches vs. Presbyterian USA Churches. American Baptist Churches vs. Southern Baptist Churches. Heck we've even got an African-American Catholic Church in town.
(3) The 42 bus only goes to cool places- There's really not a whole lot more to say about it. I've ridden many buses, but every time I get on the 42 bus, I end up in places often considered "hip." Adam's Morgan, DuPont Circle, Mt. Pleasant--all of them are pretty cool. Word to the wise: those transfers you get on the bus are only for other buses. If you try to use them in the metro, people will laugh at you.
(2) Customer service is non-existent- Needless to say, customer service issues are everywhere, but I can honestly say, I've never noticed it more than here in D.C. (And I've heard people say that it's worse in New York City. Yes, you're right: the seventh circle of hell is worse than the sixth.) At local coffee shop in Mt. Pleasant, I ordered some breakfast pastries. Twenty minutes passed. Folks came and went with coffee and pastries. Eventually, I went to the counter and asked about it. "Oh, we must have given it away." There was no "sorry" or "we'll get another one." That was the end of the story. When I did ask if I could get another to replace it, the lady sighed and looked at the ceiling to make sure I realized that I was really putting her out. If I was more of a jerk, I would have reminded her that I'd already paid her for the pastry, I just wanted the pleasure of eating it.
(1) Even the homeless have blogs- I've known that DC was a blog-happy community, but I never knew how blog-happy. Anyone who walks the route from Union Station to Capitol Hill probably knows Peter Bis. He's one of the biggest celebrities of Capitol Hill--his home is the street corner in front of the Congressional Exxon gas station on Massachusetts Ave. Pete shouts out good mornings to folks going to work and on Thursdays at 5 p.m., he reminds commuters "one more day." In my conversation with him, he shared that the CIA was after him for an operation he bungled 10 years ago. In that same conversation, he encouraged me to check out his blog. Please feel free to check it out as long as you remember that the viewpoints expressed there are not necessarily those of WJC or of the CCCU. It gave me some fascinating reading and led me to information about the "reptile-enhanced capabilities" of Sen. Hillary Clinton and Chief Justice John Roberts.
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