Growing up as a lower middle class southerner in the fifties
and early sixties provided an interesting lens through which to see and
perceive Washington, DC. First of all, there wasn’t a lot of difference in my
young mind between the Emerald City in the Land of Oz and Our Capital City.
They both seemed mysterious, curiously interesting, powerful and not even
remotely related to my life in any tangible way. My earliest memories are in
grainy, black and white period movies. There was Shirley Temple, that once in a
generation, cute bundle of talent, singing and dancing her way into President
Lincoln’s heart. There was the constant revisiting of our historical march across
this continent, from early colonists to pioneers, to settlers and miners,
industrialists, inventors, warriors and the list goes on. A very idealized
version of who we are as a people seemed to always pass through DC at some
point or another.
The word “abstract” refers to something existing in thought
or as an idea, but not having a physical or concrete existence. Washington, DC
is most definitely a city of abstracts; what really powers this town is a
kaleidoscope of ideas, conversations, speeches, dreams, concepts, strategies,
greed, education…and the list goes on and on. While DC can be a pressure cooker,
it is also energizing in very unique ways, as well as thought provoking. For
instance, there is the District of Columbia’s plethora of fowls.
The official District bird is a crane, and they are clearly
seen in every direction. No, not the kinds of crane you would see in marshes,
these are cranes used to build huge buildings. And boy, are they ever building
a lot of them! The DC skyline is a flock of cranes. Seated in the Delta Sky
Club at Ronald Reagan National Airport overlooking the Potomac and our capital
city beyond, I counted 19 huge cranes.
Another fine-feathered species in Capital City is “The DC
Songbird”. It is a sound you will hear at anytime and in every place; the
screaming cacophony of the most bizarre sirens I have ever heard anywhere. I
have no empirical evidence, however, I am fully convinced sirens for emergency
vehicle use around the world are first tested in DC…constantly and loudly.
Then again, there are the “Whirlybirds”, regularly passing
overhead in such a hurry. Marine One is a common sight, but so are many others
in the same species. Occasionally they even flock together as they perform
low-level passes, shaking the ground and adding deafening noise to the clamor
of the DC Songbirds. But I digress. Most of these Whirlybirds seem to come and
go from the big white house at the dead-end of 16th street; you know, the one with the huge lawn and lot’s of scary looking guys who hang out on the
rooftop. I figure they must be hunters.
And I cannot leave the subject of DC fowls without at least
mentioning the “Floaters”. Oh, you know them. They get on the Government
payroll and just float through for a lifelong career in DC. They are nested in
buildings throughout.
Yes, DC has become my home away from home, and while there
are many things to dislike, it is a beautiful, busy, quirky place that holds a
special place in my heart.
