A Volcano Erupts

Notwithstanding the chaos that can be a construction site, Bruce generally remains poised and pleasant, a small smile on his face, while others around him are freaking out. That is not to say he too, is not freaking out, but rarely does he let it show. The box kicking incident was inconsistent with his character. His toe nail bed is still black btw.

Now that the restaurant is up and running, all those months of frustration had to finally erupt, happening on Friday at home. I, was not the recipient of anything, however, the people at Fed Ex will not be considering him a client they want to deal with again any time soon!

Here's what happened.....

A new desk chair I'd ordered for Bruce from Crate & Barrel was, according to the email, to be delivered on Friday. Yeah! A treat for Bruce. Checking my email Friday morning I learned it was on the truck to be delivered. Woo hoo! A little after lunch, he asked me to recheck when it might arrive. Much to my chagrin I read that it was already delivered at 10 in the morning. Except that it wasn't.

Where, pray tell was said package? NO ONE knew. My first call to FedEx was answered in the Dominican Republic with a response that they would get back to us within 48 hours. Well, as you can imagine, Bruce was having none of that! HOURS later, after multiple calls, the driver returns to our door around 5:30 PM. Mind you, no one, up to this point, could tell us where the package was. Reading this narrative, two questions probably have come to mind. Did we check all of the front porches of the seven houses in our cul-de-sac? Several times. Why don't they just call the driver? Turns out the drivers are mostly contract workers who work under multiple bosses, most of whom Bruce talked to. Well, realistically, he had some very LOUD conversations with said bosses.

Anyway, the driver arrives, apologizing for leaving it on a neighbor's porch. Asking the driver to stay put until the package was in our possesion, I had B go over to another neighbor's house to get their phone number as no one answered the door when the driver tried to rectify his mistake. If you can imagine, John Utley, whom we have lived across from for TWENTY years claimed it was his policy not to give out phone numbers! Instead he said he would call them. Bruce then knocked on Matt and Lauren's door, and again no answer, in spite of the fact that John said someone was home because the dogs were out. With no response, the driver left. About ten minutes later Matt arrives with package in arms. Apparently Lauren brought it inside and could not be bothered to walk three doors down to check on our availability. The exchange was not as pleasant as you've come to expect from this easy going couple.

The good news is the chair is assembled, comfortable, and Bruce likes it as much as he'd hoped. As well, once the volcano erupted, things settled down, not without damage mind you, but he's once again cool, calm, and collected. :)

Now back to DC! Bruce has been using the Ronald Reagan airport, and when not using the Metro to get to the job, he drives the scenic George Washington Parkway, running alongside the Potomac River. He stopped for a moment to let me have a look for myself.

Very lovely indeed.

My first afternoon I went to a super cool place I found on Trip Advisor...the Newseum. Dedicated to journalism and news photography, was it ever cool. With only a few hours before closing time, I covered a fraction of the place, but I'll show you a few of my favorite exhibits. Beginning with every Pulitzer Prize winning photograph since the awards began in the 1940's.

Sadly the above photograph did not turn out the way I would have liked, however, the image of the escaping immigrant children is worth showing for it's beauty. There are explanations on how the photographer took each image; in this instance, he was laying on top of a MOVING train!

Then there are others, that you had to be in the right place, at the right time, like the one below of the couple on a beach.

It is an incredibly moving image, taken by a photographer who lived within blocks of the beach and heard something was going on. Grabbing his camera, he ran, taking the image of grieving parents as their 19 month old child was washed out to sea. This 9/11 image, shot by a freelance photographer, was developed at a one hour drugstore because his regular lab was unavailable.

He took it at the moment the second plane hit, thinking it was a bomb. Speaking of 9/11, an exhibit of the front page of world wide newspapers is really something, as is a film about the local reporters, including a feature on the first report of the tragedy from a traffic helicopter.

You are seeing the mangled antennae from one of the towers. On the upper right wall is a message from a visitor, penned at a station for remembrances.

An exhibit about the Berlin Wall, with six actual pieces of the wall, is seriously mind boggling.

I learned that although the West side of the wall was covered in graffiti, the East side was constantly being repainted white, all the better to see people trying to escape over it.

Magazine covers from the 60's begin the exhibit about reporting on the Viet Nam war.

As you can see, it is all incredibly well done. On the fifth floor there is a large outdoor patio space with wonderful views of the city, including the Canadian Embassy and the Capital building covered in scaffolding.

Center bike lanes along Pennsylvania Avenue...

The lack of traffic? Columbus Day is taken seriously in our nation's Capital. Barely a soul anywhere as I walked the streets.

Back in the museum, a news satellite is displayed along with a helicopter.

It is crazy hard to imagine how a satellite conveys so much information on a daily basis, or at least it is to me! Another neat display is on Lincoln and the SEVEN editions put out by The New York Herald, the most widely read newspaper of the time, on April 15, 1865. I learned the reason the newspapers look as good-as-new is because they were printed on rag paper, rather than pulp, as is the custom today. Rag paper, it seems, does not yellow or fade.

Howard Buffett, one of Warren's sons, is spending his time and fortune on world hunger solutions. His daughter gave him his first camera and since then it has been an important part of his life. His portraits of hungry people from around the world are striking.

Although the Newseum is not free, unlike most museums in Washington, I can't recommend it enough. I decided that I can see art in other cities, whereas, this one is really unique. As is my wont, I overheard a fellow speaking quite loudly to a couple, and figured he was "somebody."

Pictured above, he is wearing the dark jacket and light pants, I saw this group again in the room with newspapers, beginning with the first ones printed shortly after Guttenburg invented the printing press. I decided to ask him who he is, and it turns out he is "somebody", Shelby Coffey III. The third! Wonder what number I and number II were like? Anyway, he proceeded to tell a funny story about Katherine Graham and Art Buchwald during the Watergate scandal time. I'm dating myself...

Reluctantly, having seen not nearly enough, I made my way back to the Judiciary Square Metro station, which, as you exit on to F Street, a fantastic view of the Building Museum presents itself--- probably right up my alley as well.

The Metro was my friend, once I got the hang of it!

Whew...this is only day one, and you're probably thinking yikes...will all the posts be this long?

Probably,

Gail