via a Facebook friend
***
At 2:15 pm today (1/23, 2016), seldom have I seen persons in upper Northwest Washington (where I live) looking merrier.
Image from, with [edited] caption: USGS satellite image of Washington, D.C., The Northwest quadrant is the largest, located north of the Mall and west of North Capitol Street.
I was walking -- into what seemed an interminable snowzilla and wind gusts -- to a nearby Giant supermarket to buy a bottle of red wine (my excuse: How else can I live through a blizzard)?
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Needless to say, once in the store, with quite a number of its shelves near-empty, I thanked members of Giant's staff most profusely for being on duty under such trying circumstances -- as I'm sure most customers did.
Image from, with caption: Washington DC to shut down for blizzard as it takes the greatest hit
Most of all, it was, during my 25-minute rather hazardous, slippery walk to and from the store, the festive mood in my neighborhood, truly all-American (at its best, some would say, expression).
As I wrote (if I may humbly quote myself) in an earlier "edition" of this blog entry:
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On Connecticut Avenue gone were the masks of constipated bureaucrats. Gone were the masks of uptight students (many of whom, I suspect, have daytime jobs) striving for credits at the University of the District of Columbia. Gone were the slightly bearded (à la Middle East?) masks of gender-free millenials (geared up with tight-fitting, Euro-looking suits and brown leather shoes) mumbling into their mobile phones on their way via the Metro to DC "power centers." Gone were the anguished, masochistic masks of overly thin joggers of all sexes obsessed with burning calories before the sun even rises. And gone were cars!All of these citizens -- no matter their age -- are hard-working (may the All-Mighty bless their masks) for the good of our beloved USA. All of them are struggling to achieve the American dream, in their own way, dutifully wearing their masks to cream the Dream.
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And actually looking at each other's real-world faces!
Here was the American dream at its best, in my modest opinion.
Who needs Facebook? So, if you want a real face-to-face "experience," stroll up/down Connecticut Avenue during a snowstorm that shuts the USA uber-capital down ...
Well, ok, but all this joy on my part at being human was caused by this "hey-no-work-no-class-kids-today" because of the Snow.
This is what a hard-working Giant employee -- R*** -- suggested to me when I was paying at the heck-out (sorry, I meant check-out) counter for my bottle of USA domestic wine ($8.99; 10% discount). (Giant employees who agreed to be on duty were housed at a nearby hotel in compensation for their devotion to consumer exploitation.)
Still nothing lifts the spirit of this city (at least at 2:15 pm today, from my corner of the woods) more than a humongous blizzard that shuts most of the System down ...
Or so I say until there's a power outage in my apartment. ...
It's now 4:19 pm. I hear sirens.
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Maybe I should delete this entry. Public safety first.
But still it was a magical human moment walking on Connecticut Avenue during a real snowstorm. (A sensation a bit similar to "singing in the rain.")
Let's just hope nature doesn't take too strong a revenge on Washington, D.C.
BTW, here's a video on the blizzard, "Hitler Finds Out that OPM Won't Close the Government for Winter Storm" that may be incomprehensible to persons outside of DC (especially overseas), as a FB friend pointed out to me, but which does provide some humor ...And one more pix:
via DK on Facebook
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