It took me 90 minutes to go 8 miles today. I’m going to repeat that, because it bears repeating. 8 miles. 90 minutes. That’s a little over five miles an hour, all the way home.
I left my garage at 12th and F tonight, turned slowly on to F St heading west toward 15th. Folks, it took me more than half an hour to cross 14th Street. That’s two flipping blocks. In half an hour. None of the intersections had their usual traffic control, allowing buses and cars to block the box for rotation after rotation of the lights. Does a little rain cause us to so grossly lose our human courtesies? Is your hurry really that much more fucking important than mine? We all want to go home. It’s been a rough goddamn week and I’m sure a lot of people are going home to water damage and all manner of frustration, but that’s no reason to turn the roads into Lord of the Flies with your giant SUVs and Tour Buses blocking the box in rush hour. That’s only going to make life worse.
I totally lost my zen on the way home tonight, and I think no amount of alcohol or food or philosophy is going to bring me back into balance until we get a nice sunny day instead of this nasty day-in/day-out rain, which appears to be straight out of Kim Stanley Robinson’s Forty Signs of Rain (DCMB posted a Q&A with Robinson back in November) which drops 20″ of rain on DC in a day or two, which seems to be what we’re approaching over the last week.
What happens to a city when it’s demoralized? Is that what we’re seeing? Is this the slow and painful grinding away of what’s left of our civility until we all slowly snap? I really don’t think I can take another day of rain. Apparently, neither can a lot of the city, as we’re losing trees left and right and even George’s house is showing some wear in the process. Is this how climate change starts? Rain after rain after rain?
I just know I’m cracking up.
This post appeared in its original form at DC Metblogs
I live and work in the District of Columbia. I write at We Love DC, a blog I helped start, I work at Technolutionary, a company I helped start, and I’m happy doing both. I enjoy watching baseball, cooking, and gardening. I grow a mean pepper, keep a clean scorebook, and wash the dishes when I’m done. Read Why I Love DC.
