Shoulder to shoulder

Wednesday was the 100^th anniversary of the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution. That was the one that granted women the national vote.

This was a major milestone on the journey to making real the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, that all humans are created equal. Generations of women fought, suffered indignities and died—literally—for the right to vote. We still have miles and miles to go, but we should still honor them.

So today, my Friday earworm is the anthem of the women’s suffrage movement, “The March of the Women”, with lyrics written by Dame Edyth Smythe in 1910. Crank up the volume and thank them.

Summer colors

The restaurants around Lake Anne Plaza, where I had brunch on Sunday, use big planters of flowers to rope off their outdoor seating areas. And there were some glorious hibiscuses among them.

I know hibiscus isn’t particularly unusual, but they certainly are glorious in their presentation of color, so I’m sharing with you.

Futureworld

We’ve been getting right much rain here in the environs of the District They Call Columbia, so I suppose it’s not surprising that mushrooms are, er, mushrooming.

These little dots are fetal ‘shrooms, I’d suppose:

And then there are all of these:

I kind of view them as the post-apocalyptic rulers of the planet. Along with mosquitos.

Picante

The work environment has changed for most of us since March. All those freakin’ meetings are now all those freakin’ conference calls, frequently with video to spice things up.

Even without video, there are…comment dit on…moments.

Sometimes it’s the dog barking at someone at the door. Sometimes it’s your tea kettle going off. Most often it’s kids related. Several times in just the past week, one or another of my colleagues has had to veer off from the Important Business Topic at Hand to deal with a young-un’s query. Or to adjudicate a sibling spat. It’s just the way things are.

Yesterday morning was definitely a Zoom moment for someone.

Let me say up front that I was not on the call in question. And—sadly for everyone who did not star in it—it was not recorded. But those who witnessed it were still cracking up at close of business. I do not know who the person was, except that she was apparently not a company employee—one of the vendors who’s helping with our launch. Things were progressing on the IBTaH when suddenly this cut through the discussion:

“No. Do not touch your penis after holding a jalapeño. Go talk to your dad.”

(I'm not entirely sure of the second sentence, because everyone who told the story was laughing too hard to be fully understood.)

I think she instantly realized she had not been on mute. I hope to God she was not on video, because the one saving grace of this incident would be the knowledge that people would not be able to recognize her if they ever met her in person.

And—let me just say: kudos to Mom for calling it a penis and not a pee-pee.

Gratitude Monday: Brunch à Montmartre

Following on the joyous success of having an in-house yoga lesson and lunch with my instructor (16 days ago, so past the incubation period as currently understood), I had brunch yesterday with a friend.

We used to do this with some regularity, and then covid19. In the past month or so, we’d cautiously discussed where we might have our Saturday/Sunday breakfast, but we weren’t ready to eat indoors, and the places I’ve seen with outdoor dining are heavily deuces, which means we’d essentially be talking straight into each other’s faces.

Then I remembered Café Montmartre, a French-Viet bistro at Lake Anne. Lake Anne Center is the oldest in the People’s Republic and it’s one of two that’s allowed to have restaurants that aren’t part of chains. Café M’s food is wonderful and its outside dining space has always been larger than its inside, so I knew we’d be okay. And we were.

For two wonderful hours, we ate pain perdu, eggs Benedict, flan and tarte aux fruits, and we talked and laughed and talked and laughed some more. I realized this was the first restaurant meal I’ve had since February (when I was at RSAC), and I’d missed it and my friend so much.

I know that the old “normal” is not coming back. But whatever new normal emerges just has to include meals with friends at family-run eateries with the entertainment of families passing by on a weekend morning. (It better include hugs, at some point, too.) I am so grateful that I got to have that once again.

Everybody look

For this Friday’s musical interlude, I’m giving you several performances from the Democratic National Convention.

First, John Legend singing “Never Break”:

And Jennifer Hudson promising “A Change Is Gonna Come”:

And finally, Billy Porter teaming with Stephen Stills on the old Buffalo Springfield classic, “For What It’s Worth”:

This one is still so painfully true after all these decades.

Getting around

My 19-year-old car passed both mechanical and emissions inspection yesterday. Which means I can renew registration here in the Old Dominion.

That’s because I can do that online. Getting a driver’s license, now—that’s a whole other thing. I have to get one because my California license expires at month’s end. (Turns out that California has automatically extended licenses for anyone due for expiration until the end of the year, but I have no confidence that local LEOs will listen to that if I’m stopped for anything.)

With no indication at all on their website, the Virginia DMV has moved to an appointment-only system. And you have to check each of the [open—because at least half the ones in Northern Virginia have been closed] offices for availability. You can’t just search for openings across the site; you have to do each one. Individually. And let me assure you that most of them have no availability until November.

Also—the one, single non-tollfree number for the entire state is basically answered by a recording stating that they’re too busy to talk with you. Last Monday I finally got through and talked with a chick called Emily, who could only give me information about how the appointment system worked; she couldn’t tell me anything about documentation required or even verify an appointment. She did put me on hold to check with a supervisor about my expiring California license.

According to Emily’s supervisor, the Old Dominion will view any out-of-state license as valid for one year after expiration “during these challenging times”.

Well, I’m going with that, then.

I have an appointment for 28 September, in Arlington. If you don’t hear from me after that, check the news for “incidents” in the environs.

Fauna

It’s not all flora out here in the People’s Republic. Viz:

A somewhat sizable bird left this token of passage:

This guy was taking kind of a snooze before metamorphosis:

And I liked his coral tips.

And then there’s this:

I do not know what that is, but he got crabby when I poked him a little.

Not peonies

Lordy, I was thinking that “a couple of weeks ago” I posted about a shrub I mistakenly posited was a peony, which I subsequently learned was hydrangea. Turns out it was more than two months ago, and where did that time go?

Anyway, I was enchanted by all the color variations; I couldn’t get enough of them.

Well, this week I rediscovered them again, and marveled at how beautiful they are even in the later stages of blooming.

Whaddaya think?

Gratitude Monday: back to school

For the first time in about forever, yesterday was not stinkin’ hot, as a friend of mine says. It was in the upper 60s when I made my 0800 Trader Joe’s run, so after I got the groceries put away, I decided to take a real, actual walk.

You know—#homework.

Dang, but it was grand to get out and take a look at what Mother Nature’s been up to in the heat and humidity. Here are a few waterlily-related shots from the pond at the corporate HQ behind my house:

  

 

 I don’t recall seeing water lilies so tall before; these were at least four feet out of the water:

Here’s a lily thing on the hoof:

And one decomposing:

A pond snail shell:

Some other water plants:

And a bee attending to them:

And I just liked this:

That’s my gratitude for today: back into homework.