Springtime in DC

Aaahhh, it's spring time in our nation's Capitol. The cherry blossoms are in full bloom, heavy coats have been shed, and the sun is shining beautifully. Spring time also brings the throngs of church groups and school field trips.

Given my work location, you can see the MASSES of tweens and chaperones working their way from the hotels to the tour buses waiting in long lines in front of the mall. Distinct luck of working next to a central meeting location. They take their buses across the Potomac to DC to take in their living Civics lessons. Most of them just seem to stand around wholly disinterested in the wonder and living history around them though, with the exception of taking photos, experimenting with camera perspectives so as to produce the biggest "gag" factor. Wonder how many millions have taken pictures of their friends or themselves licking or squashing the Washington Monument?

At lunch time they make their way back to the mall, where they convene RIGHT in front of the entry ways. They stop in the middle of walk ways and have their insipid little conversations while they peruse the store windows for things their travel budgets don't allow. The working lunch crowd, who is trying to make the most of their half hour lunch break, must compete with the glaze-eyed teens in order to get their food. I just want to tell them, look, the McDonald's/Taco Bell/Sbarro/Popeyes/Panda Express/Hagen Daas menus are the EXACT SAME as where you came from! Make a decision or move OUT of the way!

I can't help but stop and shake my head at how much more enthusiastic the kids are at the prospect of buying "FBI" or "You Don't See Me" shirts than they are at the National Archives or the National Gallery of Art. I just keep hoping that some day soon down the road they reflect and appreciate this experience and become aware of all the things that happen here that have and will shape and affect their lives profoundly.

But in the meantime, GET OUT of my way! I've only got 5 more minutes to get back to work!