After 4 glorious days in New Hampshire a few weeks ago helping friend Rose Marie turn 39 (again) I flew to Washington D.C. to celebrate another birthday with gal pal Melodee Hanes. I love people born in September. Maybe it’s because when I was 7, I got home from school one day and found a note on the cupboard saying our family owned a new September baby brother. I was finally old enough to understand it was OK to have siblings. Before then, I didn’t get the concept. (I’m sorry Lynne…I love you twice as much now to make up for not being too crazy about you when you were a baby.)
Anyway, my stay in DC lasted exactly 39 hours and we made the best of every minute. I arrived about 7 PM, and Mel and I headed to meet her significant other, Max, for dinner at a wonderful little outdoor bistro with stunning fare and nice wine. Afterwards we headed back to their home where I was sure Max was going to suffer a hernia after insisting he drag my 49.9 pound bag up a long flight of stairs. Their home is notable DC…18 feet wide, 50 feet deep, 2 stories high and historical to the max (no pun intended.) It’s also a beautiful work in progress since it is still being 'Melinized!' It has an iron fenced yard in front, an enclosed patio in the back, and warmth, charm and happiness in between.
Mel took her birthday off from work and after wishing Max the best of luck trying to keep our country out of hot water, we took off on bicycles to do the town. We started at the US Capital, then headed down the national mall, the long land corridor between the Capital and Washington Monument, to see what we could see. 
Mel wanted to visit Dorothy’s Ruby slippers so we pedaled to the Museum of National History where we found the Emerald City…well, not really. It was on the 3rd floor and wasn't green at all. The bad news was there was no Wizard of Oz waiting for us, but the good news was we didn’t have to put up with 3 inept men, namely, a scarecrow, tin man, or cowardly lion. We saw the original Star Spangled Banner, tattered and torn while quietly humming, “oh, say can you see, by the dawn’s early light…….” It was almost an eerie feeling thinking of what the actual night looked like with the bombs lighting up the sky. We then wandered into the exhibit displaying all the 1st ladies’ inaugural gowns, and onto other displays of history. We visited a very impressive sculpture garden, lunched on cheeseburgers, then headed to the war memorials to honor the fallen. I’ve seen them all before, but it didn’t matter, I still had the same feelings. WW2 brought memories of my Dad’s brother, Don, who lost his life during the war and what it must have been like for my grandparents to get the knock on their front door. Viet Nam took me back to what it meant to my family with my brother, Bob, right smack in the thick of things. And the Korean War memorial made me think of Paul and his call back to duty. From there we beat feet…or pedals, if you will, to return my steely steed to the bike rental so we’d be on time to meet friend Johnny Isakson, Senator from the great state of GA. He graciously carved out time to get together in between Senate duties and evening obligations. Johnny is Paul’s longtime friend who came to Iowa many past years to try to forget Washington, play golf and hang out with his buddies. He is a wonderful man and I am so glad he had an hour to visit and catch up. Let me tell you, after staying in the home of the Senator from Montana and then getting a glimpse of what Johnny’s schedule is like, if you don’t think those people work for America, you should go to Washington to see for yourselves. You may not agree with the goals they are working for, but it’s clear they aren’t afraid of long days. I came away with new found respect.
We stayed in the last night and dined on steaks, pasta and birthday cake…Mel’s idea. Her daughter, Kate came and some of the discussion was about her job with ‘Teach For America’ Her school is in inner, inner, and then a bit further inner DC. One of her students is named Douglas, a boy with multiple personality disorder…or so he thinks. Kate’s intuition is he may be a good actor and if he can get a one way bus ticket out of DC someday, he may show up on the silver screen. But, more than likely, he won’t have a chance at a life other than what he knows.
Kate was late because of Parent Teacher conferences that evening….all of 2 parents showed up. Sounds like a new program called ‘Every Child Left Behind”…thanks to parents who are not parents. I applaud her for trying her best to make a difference in the lives of the kids who are products of such misery.
So there you have it. I loved being in our nation's capital and the time spent with my friend of 25 years. I also enjoyed getting to know Max better. Mel + Max = great Match!
If you find yourself in Washington and can ride a bicycle, it’s a tremendous way to see the sights. I've invited myself back since there is so much to see. A day isn’t nearly enough time….a month, maybe??
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