Sealed packs of M. E. Swing Co, or MESCO coffee roll off the end of Walter Russell's conveyer belt and into boxes below. The MESCO roasting facility is located in Alexandria, Va. Russell worked at Swing's right out of high school. He worked for an area produce store for about 4 years, but he's been working at Swing's for the past 17 years.
[Russell has been with MESCO longer than anyone, except Patricia Swing.]
Locking the gates, Officer Ron Gaines of the Zoological Park Police secures the National Zoological Park. "A lot of people visit the Zoo, even in the winter," said Gaines. He said they get a lot of joggers and bicyclists at the Zoo because of the access from the trails of Rock Creek Park. "The Zoo is a family place," said Gaines. "Sometimes I come to the Zoo on my day off."
[The National Zoo is open from 6am to 6pm in the winter, and 6am to 8pm in the summer. The Zoo's exhibit buildings are open from 10am to 430pm in the winter, and 10am to 6pm in the summer.]
This is a lawn on Kilbourne Pl NW in Mt Pleasant. It seems like the traditional time to start putting up Christmas decorations is right after Thanksgiving. However, there is no customary time to take them down. Some christmas lights never come down. Some ornaments don't make it down until May. Others just dissapear.
[I went to Haydee's, a latin resturant on Mt Pleasant St, with my friend Sprengelmeyer. He is busy writing a fiction novel based on his experiences in Iraq. After a good dining experience we talked about past, present and what we want to do in the future. I mentioned I wanted to go to the liquor store for something cheap. I walked out of the Mt Pleasant Deli with a $2.79 bottle of Thunderbird, "An American Classic."]
Went to a show at the Black Cat. A friend of mine ended up being the bass player for one of the opening bands. I decided it would be cool to get up closer to the stage. I was adjusting the controls on my camera while holding a full pale ale. "Argghhhh," the next thing I knew the beer and some punk rocker were on my shirt. I didn't get mad, I thought, "Well, I should have known."
[This is the Goons' lead singer Serge Baptista getting some vocal backup from a fan.]
This is looking south down Columbia Rd. toward Adams-Morgan. The first snow of the Winter started off slowly today around 3pm.
[This is Nelson. He was walking home to Columbia Heights from work downtown.]
I was over visiting a friend in a building called The York on 20th St NW. I was taking some pictures in the hall when Bill Roberts walked off the elevator. I don't know Bill, he just looked photogenic. "Hey, this isn't for pornography, is it?" asked Bill.
[Bill has been living at The York for many years, although the majority of the residents appeared to be George Washington University students.]
This is Jen's black eye. Jen works at Swing's Coffee on 17th and G sts NW in the afternoon. In the morning she walks some dogs in her neighborhood. One of the dogs she walks hit her in the eye with his paw. I like the green color.
[I wish it was easier to get a job with no car.]
Jemala McCroee and his father Ellis stand in front of the Washington Monument and their flipped pick-up truck at 14th and Constitution NW. A woman in a small compact car hit the rear passanger's side of the truck while running a red light sending the truck and the McCroee's tumbling through the intersection. The McCroee's work for the Boeing Co. as renovation carpenters. This afternoon around the same time as the accident the CEO of Boeing, Phil Condit, resigned amid controversies. Smell a connection?
photo illustration
[Similarly to the woman who ran the red light because she wasn't focused on her driving, I didn't focus the camera when I took this shot. So I put a radial blur on the background and made it a nice-looking photo illustration.]
This is Brandon Karnes eating a plate of fried squid or calimari at the Dupont Italian Kitchen on 17th St NW. They give free refills there and it's just a block from Trio's, a dump which does not give free refills ... where would you eat? Karnes is a fine arts major at the Corcoran College who doesn't appreciate free refill as much as I do.
[I got the chicken fettucine alfredo. It was good. I prefer Cajun chicken fettucine alfredo. I tried to order cajun alfredo in Venice once. Then I asked for just chicken fettucine alfredo. Then I just asked if they wouldn't mind cutting up a chicken breast on my fettucine.]
I was walking by 17th and S Sts NW and saw this cluster of Vespas. My dad had an old Lambretta scooter. It still had it's original paint, red and white. It has crome trim everywhere, including around the seat cushions. He never rode it himself; I guess he bought it for me. I use to ride it around in the fields at the farm when I was a kid. I'd forget the brake was a clutch and fly into the brush at the edge of the field.
[Can you ride a scooter and still be taken seriously? I don't think I can answer this one. But sometimes when I want to know if something is really cool or not I ask myself, "What Would Johnny Cash Do?"]
