Hello Everyone! We’re a week into October and the weather in Washington has been fabulous. The leaves are starting to change and while the days are getting noticeably shorter, they’re still long enough to enjoy some time outside in the evening. It’s probably just about my favorite time of year. It was nice to get away to New Hampshire last week and get away from the news for a while, but it’s almost like they were saving it up while we were gone because this week was a crazy one. When the president is sick, whether you like him or not, it’s hard not to keep checking the news. I certainly wish everyone who has contracted the virus, whether they are newsworthy or average Joes like me, a full and speedy recovery. Beyond that, it’s been a full week of getting back on schedule and trying to keep some of my projects moving forward while carving out some time for enjoying my friends and the weather.
It’s been a full week with my 2 year-old friend Mason who is really enjoying the leaves changing color and the Halloween decorations which have sprung up around the neighborhood. I think it’s fascinating that because he’s never really seen any of these things in the context of being scary, he looks at a dog skeleton as just a dog, hands coming from the ground as hands and giant spiders as, well, giant spiders which he likes (we saw our first daddy longlegs today in the woods and he thought it was hilarious). I guess he is demonstrating to me that fear is often a learned behavior, and this kid is pretty fearless. The weather has been so good we’ve been out almost all morning every morning which has been wonderful. We’ve been having some interesting discussions this week which I think are worth sharing here.
Since the acorns have been coming down, we’ve been picking up a pocket-full on the way to the creek so that we can throw them in when we get there. If I take two out of my pocket and hold them out to Mason, he will grab the first and throw it without looking while he’s already grabbing for the second one. I think many of us are guilty of this behavior in that we are always looking towards the next thing and are often unable to savor the experience that’s happening in the moment. If you enjoy throwing acorns in the water, focus on the acorn you have and the experience of throwing it and hearing the plunk in the stream and the ripples that come from it. Watch as it bobs in the current and makes its way downstream. Think about its course, watch it float away, listen to the leaves rustle overhead and feel the cool breeze of fall on your face. Then reach for the next acorn. If we’re just thinking about the next acorn and not the one we currently have in our hand, then what is the sense of bringing more than one?
Mason also really loves porcelain berries, and who wouldn’t? If you’ve never seen porcelain berries, they are really quite something. About the size of small blueberries, the porcelain berries ripen into truly beautiful shades of pink, purple, blue, green and turquoise – often in the same cluster. Mason loves just looking at the berries and touching them, but he also likes picking a few every day to see what that pluck feels like and has recently decided he wants to bring a few home with him. I admire his determination, but he keeps them locked tight in his palm for safekeeping and they often get crushed in his fist in the 3 blocks between the bushes and his house. I have tried to tell him that when you really like something, sometimes you hold it so tight because you’re trying to keep it safe but end up doing damage you never intended. If you keep a looser grip there’s a better chance you will lose the thing you care about, but also a better chance that it won’t be damaged in the end. I know that these are big lessons for a little boy, but it’s never too early to start learning them, especially when he gives me an opening. I continue to learn from him, and I hope he continues to learn from me. He sure seems to understand a lot more than he says, and he’s always good for a laugh.
Last weekend we got back to Forget About it Friday and opened our month-long celebration of Halloween. This week we went with the theme of Halloween in the French Quarter. I decorated the basement and we went with Bourbon Street Casual for our outfit choice. We listened to jazz, I whipped up some amazing New Orleans style barbecue shrimp, and I even cracked open a bottle of Absolute New Orleans which I’ve been saving for a special occasion since they stopped its limited run ten years ago. 2020 has taught us to celebrate today, because tomorrow is promised to no one, so October was reason enough to get me to open it this year and it was as good as ever. We also drank some Abita Purple Haze which is always an enjoyable beer.
Saturday I spent trying to catch up on some things around the house, do some reading and writing and just relax for a bit. I really need to learn to just take a day off once in a while and not feel guilty about it, but that never seems to happen. It was a good day though. And then Sunday I whipped up a delicious batch of Pan Perdue (New Orleans French Toast) and then rounded out the weekend at my friend James’ house watching our Washington Football Team stink as usual. The only good thing about them being so bad is that it will free up my Sundays again very soon.
Monday came too quickly this week and this Monday I was back to math tutoring, trying to get my friend Nick up to speed for his High School Placement Test in December. He’s such a smart young man, but he needs a little extra help to get him over the hump. It was good to see him and the rest of his family and catch up and always great to be doing a little math.
And then yesterday my mom and I went on another sweep through Washington, trying to visit some of the city’s most haunted locations. My mom is a big fan of ghost stories so she was the expert for the day and had done a lot of research to get us started. From a haunted fence in Georgetown made from old Mexican-American War muskets to Dolly Madison’s house near the White House to the Commandants House at the U.S. Marine Corps Barracks, it was another fun and fascinating romp around the city. While our hometown becomes ever more familiar with each new theme, it’s always good to be out and seeing it through a different lens. Because it was daylight, we didn’t see any ghosts. Or did we?
Also yesterday I shared the story I did a few weeks ago on Robert E. Lee’s Boyhood Home to my local Native Washingtonians Facebook group. I was somewhat surprised at how some people were really triggered one way or the other by the story. I think it’s an interesting story, but there isn’t really any controversy in the fact that that particular house was built when that part of Alexandria was a part of Washington D.C., and therefore Robert E. Lee spent most of his formative years before leaving for West Point in our Nation’s Capital. That’s a fact and not really open to interpretation, although almost every biography I’ve read on Lee pushes the idea that he grew up in Alexandria, Virginia. It became part of Virginia when that area was retroceded in 1847, but from 1790-1847 it was absolutely Washington D.C. I think it’s a bit sad that people will jump on something like that with their own opinion when as I mentioned it’s not about opinion – these were the historical facts. The Lees were very prominent in the early days of Washington D.C. and lived all over the city. They certainly had deep roots in Virginia, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t spend time in other places.
Today has been pretty quiet. I got some more photos published from my time in New Hampshire, and still have many more to get to. I hope to get some more done this week, and also to get to another post with older photos from the National Parks. Before I sat down to write this post, I threw some slow-cooker jambalaya into the pot which should be ready in time for tonight’s Dinner and a Movie which will include a screening of Disney’s The Princess and the Frog.
This coming week, in addition to getting to some more photos, I may actually bring Season 2 of my podcast closer to a reality. I have been working on some stories for it, and remembered how much I enjoy doing it. We’ll see if I can at least get it recorded this week. I’m going to keep exercising, keep working with these young people and keep trying to keep my chin up. I hope you’ll all be doing the same. Have a great week out there, enjoy the fall weather, get your flu shots and we’ll see you right back here this time next week. Thanks for reading.
-Mike