Copacabana

A passenger looking for meaning

UPDATE: Can't believe I forgot to mention the whole reason I wanted to write this post...Brother Christian, you are the best brother a girl could have. Thank you for taking care of Stella. I think she fell head over heels for you. And the yardwork -- i'll never be able to repay you. I love you.

Hello my loves -- It's been a while and I've been neglectful but for very good reasons! Promise. The trip to DC was a success. I met some people that I believe I will see again -- and that's about as expository as I can be without bringing down the curse of the jinx by talking about things too much. Also, I finally felt like I fit. I haven't felt that way in a very, very, very long time. And, while anything can happen, that feeling has made me hungry for more. Ravenous actually. My brain is still waking up from Amtrak and subway cars and cab rides and kickball and 12-inning baseball games and being informed that I apparently have a niche skill that I had never considered before. Like I said -- successful trip. But before I post the few pictures I took -- not too many this time. I was a busy girl -- there is one thing that I wanted to throw out at you in my silly stream-of-consciousness way because I haven't worked it out yet for myself and this writing business helps me to clarify...

While talking to one organization about the differences in American political ideologies, it occurred to me that I snidely accused the left-leaning side of the isle of absolutism. "It's either black or white; this or this; or this or not this," I said with flip derision to the gentleman I was chatting with. Here's the thing: the right-side does this proudly. My father, for example, a staunch conservative, believes absolutes are the cornerstone of good principle and character. I happen to agree -- most of the time. So I'm confused by my quick, offhand assessment that lefties are quick to dismiss the gray areas. I found a quote toward the end of my trip in Levin's book, "Liberty and Tyranny" (um, Happy Father's Day Pops...Surprise!) that I think might be related and I have a sneaking suspicion that the answer to my conundrum is somewhere in between his quote and one I found today on the SCOTUS blog. Here they are respectively:

"As such, the individual in the civil society strives, albeit imperfectly, to be virtuous -- that is, restrained, ethical, and honorable. He rejects the relativism that blurs the lines between good and bad, right and wrong, just and unjust, and means and ends."

and then SCOTUS:

"Put to the side the emptiness of the labels – i.e., that one person’s principle ... is another’s 'activism.'"

I haven't worked it out but I have this idea that the answer to my confusion lies somewhere in there. I'll let you know when I work it out.

Aaaaanyway, my last day in DC I had many hours to kill before my train home so I went to church -- Catholic churches in DC are the best -- and then found a little pub. It turned out that my pub adventure was where I had some of my most interesting encounters. I met Mona and Maurice from Texas, who helped alert the bartender to my presence; then I met Meghan and Mike from NY City. Mike was an actor so I talked to him about plays and literature while Meghan and I discussed the "hardness" of DC in relation to NY. I told her about the disabled man that sneaked into the movie theater while Jr. and I were watching Star Trek and how, in the South, they would have let him finish watching the movie and yelled at him on the way out the door not to come back. It's a politeness thing we do down South. Disturbing the other patrons would not have been in order. The effort to remove him was distracting. I didn't really get that. They also told me about a restaurant and pub they were going to later that evening with friends that I won't reveal here -- I'm going to wait till I go back and then I'll write about them.

And then I met Geraint and Sue, bikers -- did I mention the Rolling Thunder thing? You can look it up -- from England. Geraint was actually Welsh by heritage so he pronounced the longest town name for me (and I hope he was impressed that I knew about it at all) and schooled me on the continuum of bike enthusiasts, from the Hell's Angels to the weekend warriors who tow their bikes behind state of the art motor homes. Good times. Oh yeah, and Doris, who got my bags on the train an hour early and who talked about finding God. It could have been a bad day since I was leaving and all. But ya know, these people made it great.

And, some reading for you because it's along the lines of what I discussed with one of the organizations I met with and also a really good song that sums things up nicely. Glad to be back. Now for photos...

posted by Lola @ 4:20 PM