Date: 2002-09-14
To: A moon light Urbanite Hike
Miles today: 0.0

I had a very peaceful experience last night and I got to see some really cool things.I had posted a personal ad on match.com. I dont know what posessed me to ever do such a thing but it has sorta become acceptable and possibly even a social norm to meet people from the net. It is a slight bit different than meeting you folks who are keeping track of life on here, but I guess that one in the same this online info-sharing that takes place is just another way of networking.So I met this girl from Silver Spring MD. She has an engineering degree from a school in DC and she is currently working for the DEPT of energy. We talked on the phone a few times, e-mailed a few times, and earlier this week I asked her if she wanted to have a drink or something Friday or Saturday night after I got off work. I am not a real big "bar" person. I actually sorta hate the whole bar scene unless it is a bar that is slopeside, or riverbank, or completely decked out in black and gold for the Steelers.Last night was quite possibly one of the most unique settings for a first date, meeting, blind date, what ever you want to call what ever last night was... We started out at an Apartment Bldg some place in Silver Spring and while driving into down town in my Jeep, with no doors or windows mind you, we avoided the right lane to stay away from the curbside junkies of sorts that creep the streets of DC at night. Once we got close to the center of town I think that I ran two or three red lights by accident. I am really not that familiar with driving in down town DC with all the red arrows and green arrows and traffic signals that are really hard to figure out... I even took a wrong turn through one of those blue tour bus drop off curb areas... We parked near the sovineer stand that sits to the west of the Washington Memorial and walked around between the Washingon and the Lincolin and past the reflection pools and the rest of the monuments. I had been on a similar walk when I was a kid once at the tail end of a family vacatio that my parents took us on before there divorce. I have been to DC a few times since I have been living here in DC but really I have not dont the whole monument walking thing...The wierd thing was that the youg lady in my presence is so convertered from what the social norm is in suburban America these days were kids get a license and a car for there 15th birthday and go off to some college at some resort town in Colorado when they are 18. She is the product of a smalltown Ohio family, 4th of 6 kids, and amazingly lives in Suburban DC, does not own a car, and uses mass transit to get to and from work. She appears to be totally content and happy with that. I just think that is so not the social norm. She told me about sitting on the steps behind the Lincolin doing her college home work a few years back and now that is all closed due to 9-11. She also showed me the profile of General Lee's face that is on the back side of Lincolin's head and the positions of his hands that spell out AL in sign. I knew about the mistake in the Decleration of Independance that is on the wall to ABE's right. We sat on the steps in front of Old Lincolin chatting, watching some guy frolic with his GF, and stick his hand down her pants (the things you see in public) but it was rather interesting.I have to admit that it must be the Engineer in the two of us... because I have decided that my favaroite monuement of the evening was definatly Albert Einstin. The thing looks like gobbs of copper just heaped in a pile from up close, but from a few feet away it is definatly one of the coolest things that I have ever scene. Supposidly if you make a wish in his ear it will come true... We'll see about that.So at almost 2:30 AM the two of us were laying on the lawn back by the souvineer stand by the Washington watching the bats fly and the planes bank turn into Ronald Regan Airport, and then finally we walked back to the Jeep. The driving experience back home was better than the one there as I did not make any Illegal traffic manuvers...Very interesting young lady, very interesting evening. It was rather refreshing to just walk around, with no inentions, and with no schedule or plan. It was like a brief return to the simple simple life that I hope that I might find on the Trail.This morning I am at peace with my self.