This is All Souls Unitarian Church and tonight's full Moon. All Souls is one of three churches and a Masonic Temple that stands near the intersections of 16th St and Columbia Rd NW. Of all the grand structures at the corner this may be the oldest. Founded as the First Unitarian Church in 1821 it celebrated its first ceremony June 9, 1822 under the Rev. Robert Little. The bell use to be sounded for a variety of reasons including a local fire alarm. However, in 1859 the bell was sounded publicly for the last time mourning the hanging of abolitionist John Brown.
My friend and webmaster Jen and I went to Chu's Cafe, a chinese place on Prospect St in Georgetown specializing in "healthy Chinese food." We went there after Jen helped me put my portfolio up on this site. The portions are small, but cheap. And it is probably the best Chinese food you're going to get in the District. This is a picture of the ginger tea that comes in big glass mugs. It's very tastey but the floating ginger pieces get annoying.
Dan poses for a picture near the White House on 17th St NW. He is an artist who graduated from the Corcoran. He's also the manager of an online football team.
Tonight's Forcast: Dark
It's been raining for a few days now. It's still getting dark at night.
John Sack was a great and creative writer. He had a personal style of storytelling that was truely unique. I had the pleasure of meeting him while he was covering the activities of an old unit of mine in the North Arabian Sea. He later met up with us in Kandahar. I had a lot of time to talk to him on the ship and in Kandahar. When he got back to the states his health suddenly declined. This past holiday season I had the chance to visit him several times while I was in San Francisco. I am greatful that he had the time to spend with me and considered me a friend. Towards the end he told me he was in a lot of pain and would welcome death ... I know he's in a much more comfortable place now. And pieces of him will live on in everyone lucky enough to have met him. {obituary}
This is a freight train crossing the trestle from Washington, D.C. to Alexandria, Va. I took this picture earlier today from the Yellow Line Metro. I was on my way back from National Airport seeing off my friends Karl and James. They are headed back to the sun of Florida.
The Famed 42 Route
This is the 42 bus. It starts in Mount Pleasant, goes through Adams-Morgan and Dupont, and straight through the majority of downtown. This is the bus I ride most often.
Been riding the Metro trains around a lot lately. There's something about this time of year ... I ride the Metro more often during the changing seasons. This guy in the picture got off at the same stop I did, Eastern Market. He walked over to the area by the Marine Barracks on 8th and I Sts SE. It use to be a seedy neighborhood, now there's a new Starbucks.
Looking Through Metro Center
On the way home I panned this shot of the other metro headed in the opposite direction. I grabbed a transfer from the subway and used it on the bus. Usually the bus guy charges you 35 cents with a subway transfer. He let me go with just the transfer. Lucky because I didn't have any change.
Went to the zoo with my brother to check up on the animals. It looks like they are really taking care of them now. Why do they call them "Giant" Pandas? Were there once normal and small sized Pandas that were eaten by the giants? This is Mei-Xiang chomping on a bamboo stick. Her name means "beautiful fragrance" in Chinese.
The Sights We Could See, My Brother and Me
My brother Rog is in town this week from San Francisco. He has a few long meeting to attend. He is an engineer for the Environmental Protection Agency. He is in charge of keeping the drinking water safe on American Indian reservations on the West Coast. We could use more people like him in D.C. Our water has so much lead it could make any alchemist a fortune. I met up with him after my morning class and we walked all over like a couple of tourists. The Cherry Blossom Festival is a beautiful time of the year.
This weekend started Spring and the Cherry Blossom Festival here in D.C. However, the above picture is a tulip tree in the Capitol's front yard. The tulips bloom at the same time as the cherry blossoms and a larger and more colorful. Why don't they have a tulip fest? My friend Karl flew into town from Tampa Bay today to do some more training down at the Marine base in Quantico, Va. A group of us walked down to the National Mall from my friend's house on Capitol Hill. It was a fun walk because ... it just was. Good people create good times. They had the kite festival today down by the Smithsonian Castle. I had my wide-angle lens and no other equipment, less options and more finding good light. I felt like a jerk (more than usual) running around with my camera while my friends all waited for me to catch up.
I don't think anyone was hurt in this fire. There were four fire trucks and no ambulances. I was walking past 18th and New York Ave NW today after attending the wake of a bartender friend who died last weekend. Tommy didn't show up for work a couple days in a row. His boss went to check on him and found him lying on the couch. They believe he died peacefully.
Over the River and Through the Woods
I decided to take the quiet way home today, down past the zoo. Even there I caught a glimpse of a patrol car on Adams Mill Rd. taking the back way to Mt. Pleasant St., a reminder of the mayhem of weekends in D.C. Sometimes I get tired of living in the center of town, out-of-towners fill the streets with reckless driving and sidewalks with discourtesy.
