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Dec 17, 2010 13:43

Yesterday was the first time we had a snow that stuck for more than a couple hours. It has snowed twice earlier this week, but it was always gone by 9am. Yesterday it didn't start snowing until 10am, and continued to around 3pm, dumping about 2" of snow. Keeping in mind, huge fluffy flakes, but it was pretty. All federal employees had a half day, and I didn't really want to hang out in the house anymore since Judy and David were home, and schools closed too. So I decided to go out and do something in town, and I was going to go see the lights at the zoo, but the zoo was closed too.

I called up Justin before I left and learned that he was going to Happy Hour with his coworkers who were celebrating after the office Christmas party. I said okay, and went over to Union Station to hang out for a bit. I was going to look around for more Christmas presents, but instead spent a long time in the food court reading Infinite Crisis that I borrowed from the library.

Afterwards I caught the train to where Justin works, and as I got off I was struck by how many homeless people were bundled up for a very long night. Most of them chose the overhang at the Metro Station so they'll be dry, but it's still cold out - the lows last night were in the low 20's, and tonight it might go down to 10 degrees Fahrenheit. At least there was a van giving out free hot meals, but it's unfair that there aren't more shelters in the capital of the United States. Justin says it's because DC doesn't have the rights of a states, and the government officials just don't give a shit about it. The license plates all read Taxation Without Representation, and there are a lot of things wrong with DC. But when it's less than 2 blocks from the White House, I just can't imagine how important and rich people ignore it.

I caught up with Justin at the White House next to Lafayette Square (where the classic picture of the front of the White House is) and we walked around to the National Tree. It was very pretty, and I took lots of pictures of the train sets surrounding it. It was really cute to see the toy village covered in snow. Then we walked around to find the Michigan Tree (there are little 4 foot trees for every state and territory). I gave Justin a large kiss in front of the Guam tree. Then we walked over to the bonfire and watched kids get their pictures taken with Santa.

And by then we were cold and tired, so we walked over to an Indian restaurant and had a lovely dinner and came home. We watched Jon Stewart at 11pm, and boy was it depressing. He dedicated almost the entire half-hour to ripping into the Senate for filibustering the bill for compensating the First Responders at 9/11 their medical care. Stewart even had 4 First Responders on stage to interview, and they represented the different branches of NY emergency services. It was not a feel-good moment, but it was a righteous outrage. I said to Justin that I'm proud of Jon Stewart for realizing that serious issues are more important than comedy. I'm sure there was a lot of pressure for Jon Stewart to do his usual routine of jokes, especially since is his last episode for 2010, but instead he focused on an issue that he thinks desperately needs the attention. (http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/12/17/jon-stewart-the-advocate-on-the-911-health-bill/)

I also watched a movie later called The Hardys Ride High (1939) starring Mickey Rooney. I turned it on because it was about them going to Detroit, and it was very interesting to see what flying into the Detroit airport was like in the '30s! (http://www.andyhardyfilms.com/hrh.htm)

It was very interesting and feel-good. I liked it a lot. A refreshing change from all the drama and mean shows that are on today. Justin compared it to The Cosby Show.
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