Washington in January
Wednesday, December 31, 2008
In 1993 I moved to Washington, DC and have never considered moving. To me my neighborhood, Capitol Hill, combines the best of two worlds – it’s like a small town where neighbors run into each other on the streets but it’s attached to a major city. In the past 20 years I have visited every major American city and many in Europe and, while I’m not saying Washington is the best place for everyone to live, for me it’s a great place to be.
I know this isn’t something people say about Washington very much. Politicians work hard to make our city’s name synonymous with all the evils affecting the country. You’d think from listening to these folks (who can’t wait to win an election and move here), that Washington, DC is nothing but a vast network of government buildings brimming with people scheming about ways to waste the taxes paid by hard-working Americans. It’s not.
A few months ago I was standing outside the National Archives building and got into a conversation with a family visiting from North Carolina. When I told them I lived in DC, their young son asked, “You mean people actually live here? Where?” Unfortunately, that’s what many people think. To them Washington has the President and Congress, some pretty cool museums, and big marble monuments. They don’t appreciate this is a living, thriving city with lively neighborhoods and communities less than a mile from the Mall and downtown area.
Actually there’s so much going on in this city I often hear friends complain they don’t have time to get out to every performance, game, show, dance, or event they’d like to see. Into theater? We have one of the most vibrant theater communities outside New York City. If you like sports, there’s professional baseball, hockey, basketball, and football, along with a number of college teams. A history buff? We weren’t built yesterday (or even 100 years ago). Interested in poetry? Hear nationally renown poets read at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Prefer alternative music? Check out The Black Cat, Rock and Roll Hotel, and others. Want to go dancing – salsa, swing, ballroom? You pick.
So if you live here, or if you’re thinking about coming to visit and want a fuller experience beyond the National Mall and the memorials, I’d like to tell you about some things going on here now.
Of course, the first BIG event of 2009 will be Barack Obama’s inauguration – now just 19 days away.
I know this isn’t something people say about Washington very much. Politicians work hard to make our city’s name synonymous with all the evils affecting the country. You’d think from listening to these folks (who can’t wait to win an election and move here), that Washington, DC is nothing but a vast network of government buildings brimming with people scheming about ways to waste the taxes paid by hard-working Americans. It’s not.
A few months ago I was standing outside the National Archives building and got into a conversation with a family visiting from North Carolina. When I told them I lived in DC, their young son asked, “You mean people actually live here? Where?” Unfortunately, that’s what many people think. To them Washington has the President and Congress, some pretty cool museums, and big marble monuments. They don’t appreciate this is a living, thriving city with lively neighborhoods and communities less than a mile from the Mall and downtown area.
Actually there’s so much going on in this city I often hear friends complain they don’t have time to get out to every performance, game, show, dance, or event they’d like to see. Into theater? We have one of the most vibrant theater communities outside New York City. If you like sports, there’s professional baseball, hockey, basketball, and football, along with a number of college teams. A history buff? We weren’t built yesterday (or even 100 years ago). Interested in poetry? Hear nationally renown poets read at the Folger Shakespeare Library. Prefer alternative music? Check out The Black Cat, Rock and Roll Hotel, and others. Want to go dancing – salsa, swing, ballroom? You pick.
So if you live here, or if you’re thinking about coming to visit and want a fuller experience beyond the National Mall and the memorials, I’d like to tell you about some things going on here now.
Of course, the first BIG event of 2009 will be Barack Obama’s inauguration – now just 19 days away.
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