D.C. Blossoms

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Using Periods to Differentiate Our Nation’s Capital from Skaterwear

Generally speaking, I like to write Washington, DC just like that. Those periods always seem so stuffy and technically incorrect, since you don’t abbreviate Ohio O.H. or California C.A. I also prefer the comma over Washington DC, but, then, I’m a bit of a comma-addict. And a hyphen addict. And a dash addict.

Punctuation is like the time signature, the notes and the sharps of writing. The words tell the story, but the cadence is in its dots and lines.

Most of the time.

The dots in my title are solely for the purpose of not getting people too excited over a hip new line of floral-printed skate shoes or a new comic line about prepubescent superheroes. For our intents and purposes, D.C. is the District of Columbia, and if I had chosen to add Washington to the title, I could have spared everyone 150 words of explanation.

Of course, if brevity is what you’re looking for, you’ve got the wrong blog, my friends.

Living near enough that DC is a relatively short drive has proven rather advantageous. It’s good for international flights, it’s where I’ll be seeing both Beth Hart and Bonnie Raitt/Mavis Staples next month, and it’s home to this country’s most famous Cherry Blossom Festival. Sorry, Philly, but it is.

Being free of a typical work schedule has proven advantageous for travel. In this case, it was possible to follow the bloom watch and hold out for peak bloom, though, in the end, it was luck, and a little poor work planning, by which we ended up in DC on the exact day of peak bloom.

As per usual, nothing went exactly as planned. Instead of seeing the blossoms at sunset Tuesday night with another stroll Wednesday morning, there was a five a.m. rising to beat the sun to the Tidal Basin, and we only half succeeded.

Still, though, it was early enough that the trees and sky retained that pre-reality surrealism that diminishes in the glaring light and stifling heat of day. Especially that day. And though nothing seemed to go right, nothing at all went wrong.

Here’s some photographic evidence. They get bigger if you say “Engorgio”… while clicking them.

This terrible photo is terrible. But this was my only tree with sunset. Obviously, I was outside dining. Which is a story in itself. For an upcoming day.

After rising at 5 a.m., we determined this time of day the ass-crest of dawn. The ass-crack of dawn is the hours of 3 to 4 a.m., while the ass-crest rounds right around 5 to 6 a.m.

It’s early, but one thing can certainly be said for the ass-crest of dawn. It does give good picture.

The sun coming up in East Potomac Park.