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Hello Everyone! Welcome to November! Temperatures took a dip here in our Nation’s Capital this week, but when I see pictures of snow on my Facebook timeline from other parts of the country it doesn’t seem so bad. We had a big weekend celebrating my birthday and Halloween, Mason and I continued our adventures when the weather allowed and of course the 2020 election happened this week as well. It’s been busy, busy, busy here in Washington but we’ve made it through another week and another month and the end of the year is within sight.
It wasn’t a week without sadness though as I also found out that my aunt passed away on Tuesday morning. She has been struggling with Lewy Body Dementia and had been in a care facility since the beginning of the year. She came down with Covid19 last week and quickly deteriorated. She was only 63. I hadn’t seen her very much in the last 20 years except at the odd wedding or on a quick visit, but she was always kind and ready to have a good time. Sadly this brings this pandemic very close to home. While I have friends who have had the virus, this is the first person I’ve known who has died from it. Say what you will about her underlying conditions, but she’d be alive today if she hadn’t gotten the coronavirus. I know none of our family has been able to visit her for 7 months to protect her from this virus, and she ended up getting it anyway. It’s possible that she may have caught it no matter what precautions were taken, but I can’t help but think of all of the parties and gatherings I’ve seen happening in Wisconsin lately which I really hope were worth it. It makes me angry and I don’t get angry often. When only some of the people are serious about containing the virus, other people’s bad behavior affects us all and with no national policy, plan or guidelines, our fellow Americans are going to continue to die. No matter what happens in the election, this president has been more focused on his reelection than on the pandemic and that is very apparent. No matter what, he will be president for the next few months at least, and I sincerely hope he starts listening to the two actual experts on his advisory team who are telling him the truth instead of what he wants to hear. If you’ve got a problem with your sink, you may call in another plumber for a second opinion, but you wouldn’t call in an electrician. The president is currently listening to a neuroradiologist who may be an MD but has no specialty in autoimmune disorders. He is essentially an electrician working on your sink. Currently an American is being diagnosed with the virus every second and someone is dying from it every minute. We need to start taking this more seriously entering the colder months. Wherever you are, please know than your actions don’t just affect you, they affect the people around you and the people around them.
Thankfully the counter to the anger I feel in losing my aunt this week comes from the time I get to spend with Mason who doesn’t know or care about the pandemic or the election. He cares about big trucks, mushrooms, bumblebees, acorns and making me laugh. We had a couple of bad weather days at the end of last week and ended up inside working on his ABCs, building things with blocks and reading books together. On Friday, even though it was cold, we headed down to the creek to throw some acorns and rocks which he really enjoys. He doesn’t like throwing dirty rocks from on shore though, but nice clean rocks which he pulls from the water. As the weather has gotten colder, the water has gotten colder, so we spend less and less time doing this, but we still go when we can. When we were leaving on Friday, I took his little cold hands between mine to warm them up. Yesterday when we were putting his mittens on his stuffed monkey and I told him that Monkey’s hands were cold, he took them in both of his like I had last week to warm them up. It warmed Monkey’s hands, but it warmed my heart. Monkey introduced Mason to a fun phrase last week which he really enjoys: “neat-o mosquito”. Now if I see something which is cool and different, I say “neat-o” and he says “’skeeto” – it really is too cute. Monday and Tuesday were pretty cold, and while he seems to really like the wind on his face, I want to keep him bundled up so we can continue our outdoor adventures as long as possible. It’s a little sad to see him interacting with his favorite mushrooms and berries with mittens on because he’s such a tactile little guy and I know he’s not getting the same feelings from things through his mittens. We also said goodbye this week to all the wonderful Halloween decorations in his neighborhood which he has been chatting with and enjoying for the last month. It’s amazing how he seems to remember each little zombie or skull and where it was because yesterday he kept pointing to the places they had been and saying “ooohh, no skull” or “oooh, no ghost”. We had talked about them going inside until next year most of last week, and he seems to be taking it in stride. Soon enough the Christmas decorations will be up though which is something to look forward to.
Last Thursday I celebrated my birthday with my folks at home. My mom whipped up some Manwiches and Tater Tots for lunch, knowing they are a particular favorite, and then we had a cookies and cream ice cream cake which was delicious. This was the first time in many years that I decided to take my birthday wish for myself. Usually I wish for something for someone else, but this year I decided I could use it for a change. I’ll let you know if it comes true, don’t worry! Thursday night I cooked up some lasagna and a nice salad and we sat in front of a nice fire in the fireplace and sipped some hot rum drinks and listened to music. It was a very nice day and a nice way to celebrate another turn around the sun. Friday afternoon was the real celebration though. After Mason went to sleep I ran out to Southern Maryland and picked up a couple of dozen steamed blue crabs. We spent the afternoon in the kitchen, eating crabs and drinking beer and chatting. That was a real treat. After that, we drank a few beers and played a couple of long games of Carcassonne. After my folks went to sleep I got on a Zoom call with my friend, Peter, who lived in the next town up from me when I lived in Japan. He and his siblings were having a game night and it was a lot of fun to be able to join them. It was definitely a wonderful two day birthday celebration.
Saturday was Halloween, one of my favorite holidays and one connected to my birthday from the beginning. In the morning, I put together my post on some of Washington D.C.’s most haunted places. Then we went to the basement for a Haunted Happy Hour in the afternoon and listened to the best of horror movie theme music. After that we came up to watch for trick-or-treaters (we only had one), but also watched Night on Bald Mountain, which my mom remembers always used to be on for Halloween, followed by the visually stunning Sleepy Hollow (the Johnny Depp version). After that, we watched the scariest thing of the night – the Penn State/Ohio State game. Ohio State definitely ruled the day and I publicly acknowledge that I lost a bet to one of my long-time readers and longer-time friends, Mike Vasko. I owe him one very large beer payable the next time I am in Cleveland. Long-time readers may remember that Mike looked after my van for a couple of weeks two summers ago when I had to fly out and run a trip on the east coast. He used to work with me in the guiding industry many years ago and I’m happy we’ve stayed friends since. Cheers, Vasko, we’ll get you next year!
Sunday was a day to take down our Halloween stuff and I tried to catch up on a few little things as well. Since Thursday was by birthday and I chose not to do it then, I had a math lesson to prepare for Monday night. I also wanted to do a few little things on my van, get some laundry done etc. It was nice to have a quiet day around the house to catch up. Monday I was back with Mason and tutoring in the evening.
Tuesday, after Mason went for his nap, I scooped up my folks and we went for a picnic lunch. My mom and I are usually out exploring something or other on Tuesdays, but with the election happening and lots of protests downtown, we decided to keep it closer to home this week. We stopped into Stachowski’s in Georgetown, which is a wonderful little butcher shop and deli, and got one Grinder sandwich which was big enough for the three of us. Then we went over to Mitchel Park, a little neighborhood park in Kalorama, to enjoy it. The park is right on 23rd Street, which was the perfect place to picnic and celebrate the 23rd Amendment to the U.S. Constitution which gave Washington D.C. residents the right to vote for president. It was passed under JFK in 1961 and 1964 was the first election in history that my fellow Washingtonians had been allowed to vote in. While my mother was not quite of voting age at that point, I know my great-grandmother, my grandmother, and my grandfather, who was a veteran of two wars but had been disenfranchised when he moved to Washington, would have all been proud to vote in that election. Because of our history with this issue here, it will always bother me when any form of voter suppression takes place. Win or lose I would rather everyone’s voice be heard (and heard equally for that matter). It was a good celebration for our Election Day trip, and a delicious sandwich to go with it. Afterwards, we visited Robert Emmit Park and saw its namesake statue dedicated to the Irish patriot who was executed trying to bring American democracy back to his home country. Then we drove around Kalorama, which is currently home to the Obamas and Ivanka Trump as well as several embassies and residences. Our election day festivities done, we came home and enjoyed Taco Tuesday and a post-Halloween screening of Arsenic and Old Lace.
Today has been busy in the news, but pretty quiet otherwise. Mason and I enjoyed the morning outside and just wonderful weather for November (and no mittens today!). Once I finish this, I’m going to whip up some nice steak salads and we will finish off our Halloween movies with the classic Beetlejuice which I don’t think I’ve seen since it was in the theaters.
The rest of the week should be pretty quiet too. I’m going to try and continue sorting out and publishing some older photos from the parks and definitely try and enjoy whatever nice weather is left this year. We’re going to get the brewing equipment back out and have a try at an Irish Stout. I’m going to get my van winterized so that when the freezing weather comes it doesn’t burst my pipes, and maybe flush the radiator while I’m at it. I hope to finish the book I’m currently reading and move on to one that I got for my birthday which I’m looking forward to reading. And that should keep me pretty busy. I’m also going to keep praying for a peaceful end to this election cycle and for us to start moving forward as a nation in its aftermath, come what may. Stay safe out there y’all and have a wonderful week. I’ll see you right back here in seven days’ time.
-Mike
On the Road in Monument Valley - Click This Photo For More From Navajo Country