DC

As strange, improbable, totally out of left field as it may sound, I'm completely at home in DC.

Okay, not completely. I have no intention of leaving Boulder for DC but I must say I'm having a most unexpectedly moving experience and I do feel far more comfortable here than I would ever have imagined.

I'm here on travel for a few days with some co-workers to present a scientific paper which I co-authored. As usual, I was initially nervous about going to a "big dirty city" but, if New York was any guide, as usual I turned out to have a completely different opinion of the place having actually been there. That's one of the things I love about travel. It expands my horizons and generally turns my pre-conceived notions upside down.

Of course I always wanted to come to DC, but I expected a big dirty city full of crowds and traffic and crime and headache. But maybe, just maybe, the "headache" part all depends on the perspective and attitude of the observer. I think this is something I'm still trying to extract from my personality which I may only have in the first place because of my small town Texas upbringing. Whatever the case, I love DC and no one is more surprised to hear me say that than I am.

My first day was mostly flying and arriving and checking in and finding food and conferencing. Today was much more relaxed. I already know downtown pretty well as I've walked it about a million times. You know one of the things that's cool about this city? You can't go anywhere without bumping into some major history. My first day we were walking to find a quick bite to eat and someone pointed out, "Oh there's the theater where Lincoln was shot. Oh and that's where he died."

WHAT!?!? I felt like I'd been whisked into a history textbook. Everywhere someone very important died, something historic happened or there's a 200 year old Romanesque building of great significance.

Other than the actual presentation which was today (Thursday) I managed to ditch my co-workers and set about doing my own thing. For lunch I went down to Bread Line which Google tells me is a "must eat" place here in DC. Truly it is. I daresay I've never had a better sandwich, though the service is a bit like the soup nazi. You better know what you want when you get in the very long line or you may well be skipped when the shaved head guy points to you and expects you to call it out. Crazy, but awesome. We don't have that kind of thing in Texas or Colorado. And the walk to Bread Line took me right by the front steps of the White House. We most definitely do not have that out west.

Tonight, after the presentation was done and the co-workers were organizing dinner plans, I headed to the National Mall. I heard the famous monuments were best viewed at night. I heard correctly.

I decided not to change out of my suit and tie to walk the mall. Everyone in DC dresses, and men almost universally are dressed in suit and tie and long black trenchcoat. It was 24 degrees and breezy tonight so I stopped into one of the clothiers downtown and picked up a trenchcoat myself. Now I really look like I belong here. I felt like it too.

So I walked down to the mall and before I knew it there I was. The Washington Monument. Wow. It's huge. And white. And, wow. I ascended the long walkway to the monument. It was cold, quiet. There were few people on the mall tonight and I had a lot of time to thing and soak up my surroundings. I walked slowly around the monument, running my hand along it as I went. As I rounded the east side a most unexpected sight greeted me. A whole group of kids was running up the hill gasping at the enormity of the thing, at at the very same moment a massive helicopter painted like Air Force One appeared out of nowhere not 150 feet above my head. I thought it was going to land on me, but I watched as it landed on the White House lawn. So there I stood, among a sea of children marveling at the Washington monument, with the Capitol in the distance to my right, the Lincoln Memorial in the distance to my left, the city sprawled before me and watching Air Force One deliver someone important to the White House (Obama? I'll never know.) I was frozen with awe.

It wasn't until I reached the World War II Memorial that my emotions finally caught up with me. I was completely alone in the night now. The sounds of the city were distant and faint and there wasn't a soul in sight. The memorial is a huge ring of massive stone pillars with the state names individually inscribed on each. As I ascended the walkway, a crisp wind blew a swirl of dead leaves around my feet. The lights cast my 20 foot tall shadow across each pillar as I walked slowly past reading the state names. A million thoughts about war and death and history swirled through my mind and I couldn't help being swept away by the moment. Tears came down my face and all I could think about was the ties that bind us all as humans, gay or straight, republicans or democrats, conservative or liberal. We're all Americans, and despite our problems and our mistakes I'm proud to be a citizen of this nation.

And then there was the Lincoln Memorial. I'm really at a loss for words. I just stood there silently in the cold looking up at the image of that great man and thinking. The whole experience really moved me in unexpected ways. I want to express it in writing but I just can't. Lordy it was a beautiful thing. I did buy a flag pin at the Lincoln Memorial and pinned it to my lapel.

I spent hours walking the mall and still didn't make it all the way around. I'm told it's over 4 miles round trip. By this time hunger and the cold wind were starting to get the better of me. I stopped into an exquisite looking restaurant that had caught my eye earlier. I found a choice seat at the bar right next to a young, fun, very nice looking gay man and his female friend. I was attended by a hot gay bartender, a beautiful female bartender, and a riotous host of servers who had me rolling with laughter. Between them all I was never without someone to entertain me. I think I ended up staying about three hours and having at least as many drinks. What a truly fantastic night.

So now I'm sitting here in the lobby of my $350/night hotel at 3AM DC time (1AM Colorado time which I'm still functioning on) and trying unsuccessfully to put into words how amazing this trip has been. The presentation went as perfectly as I could have hoped for and I made some really interesting contacts at the conference. And then there's all the amazing DC stuff which I've only touched on here. I still have a full day tomorrow to spend museum hopping before I have to catch my flight home in the evening.

I feel like the luckiest person in the world.