437. Final post from Our Nation's Capital

We'll be leaving the exhilarating, interesting, and challenging environs of Washington DC here in a few hours. It has been an enjoyable trip coming to see Barack Obama's inauguration as the 44th President of the United States. While we didn't have the view we had sought, we had plenty of views nonetheless. But, not nearly enough.

As in my past trips to DC, I've always had something of an agenda - this time an inauguration - which has limited the ability and timeframe to simply sightsee. For the last few days, mornings have started early and in darkness; time and travel take place well underground on the Red, Yellow, Blue, Green, or Orange lines of the Metro; then hours have been spent waiting (in one significant instance) for literally nothing; and then after standing and waiting, nights have similarly ended in darkness, although more from nature's clockwork than anything else. While Washington and Louisville are both on the Eastern Time Zone, nightfall seems to come about an hour earlier, given here were are much farther east than we are there.

While here we've visited people and places throughout the District, although very little outside of it. We've visited with friends living here in DC and others up from Kentucky for the Inauguration, last night mixing the two at a party organised by my dear friend Stuart Perelmuter in the Old Diminion Restaurant, a little gathering complicated by the fact that it was in the same complex of five of the ten Inaugural Balls the new President and First Lady attended for a few short words and turns on the dance floor. We took some pictures - lots of pictures - including some sitting at the desk of Congressman John Yarmuth and a few more standing in front of the desk of Congressman Brett Guthrie. And we spent hours walking around the area immediately surrounding the Capitol. It occurred to me that in Louisville it would never occur to me to walk out to say Central Park or up to Cave Hill from my office on Jefferson Street. Yet, I probably made hikes of such distances several times over the last few days. I'm sure my infrastructure wasn't hurt by the activity.

None of these little details can take away from the euphoric feeling I get every time I am here which has not been nearly enough in my life. But it is euphoria which later today and tomorrow will give way to a return to normalcy once we've retunred to the Left Bank of the Ohio River near Milepost 606. If I were younger, Washington DC might be an object and option worth pursuing. It was something I did pursue once over twenty-five years ago, and then again, if only briefly, after Congressman Yarmuth's initial election. I spoke with him at length about it and left open the idea of revisiting the subject one day in the future. But then he and I passed over the idea of Mr. Noble goes to Washington and life has since been pretty good for me.

And just as I am returning to normalcy in Louisville, so too is Washington DC. But normal life here seems anything but normal and I expect the pulse of the Federal City will change greatly under the leadership of our new president,

*****

Along the way back to Louisville, if I can get my travelling companions up and on the go, I am hopeful to make some stops down in Virginia. We have a few things on the agenda for the trip back home. I had wanted to attend a few DNC meetings being held today here in Washington, but that is not going to be.

The next post will be made upon my return to the Commonwealth.