5.08 - A.C. to D.C. (Part 1)
"Given up the good fight,
You're as strong as anyone,
You're back where you started from."
Drowzy and slouching in the shower, I laid out the next few days out before me like a hand of solitaire, trying to consolidate the disjointed schedule into one concise mess. My Darling Girl and I were driving down to D.C. She was going to see her cousin, Diana, I was going to see a Diana of a different color - Dixie. After over four months and a continent between us, it was time to see her again. We'd get there around two or three depending on traffic and at eight, we had a special tour of the White House (Diana works in the Sit Room). Wednesday we'd putz around then head back to Carlisle. Thursday or Friday, I'd drive back to Meadville with my Mom (Dad and I still aren't speaking). It seemed like a good plan, orderly and flexible. But when does planning ever indicate anything other than disappointment and conflicted schedules?
I waited for Maritza to call, expecting the call around noon. It came around 1:20, in the middle of my Primetime in the Daytime Judging Amy viewing. She said she and Justin were on their way. Justin? Close to 1:30, they arrived and it turns out we were taking a hike. We went to Pine Grove Furnace and hiked until about three, our course taking us to the top of a rock outcropping which looked over the Furnace. I would have objected, time being tight and Diana expecting us by three at the latest - but I thought they could use the time together. So I swallowed my inherent dislike of aimless walking and took to entertaining myself with games like "The Forest Floor is Made of Lava!"
After dropping Justin, My Darling Girl and I were on the road by three thirty. The trip should have taken about an hour and a half, but with rush hour traffic outside D.C., two seemed the more accurate guess. We got in to Arlington shortly after five and that's when Dixie called. Between her and Diana, we figured out how to combine the Metro and American University shuttle bus to get me from Diana's to Dixie's. Diana offered to drive me to a nearby station and I accepted. Maritza and I learned that the White House tour wasn't Tuesday night, but Wednesday night. It shifted our plans, but since My Darling Girl had to work Friday, it looked like we were driving back Wednesday night.
Diana and Maritza dropped me off at the Rosslyn station and I told them I'd call sometime the next morning. Remembering my Metro instruction from Dr. Bluhm the previous summer when we were at APA, I rode the orange line to Metro Center, changed to red and made it to the A.U. stop without incident. I called Dixie once I emerged from the depths and she said she'd hop on the bus and come meet me.
Standing around, I was soon approached by two clueless college students who thought I looked urban and knowledgable in my pinstripe pants, white diamond shirt, and black blazer. And I did look the part, but alas, did not know where the A.U. shuttle was. That's why Dixie was coming for me. Hanging around a little longer, I saw a familiar face. Boy of about ninteen or twenty, I thought I should know him, but the name escaped me. He saw me, we shook hands, and I mentioned I was in the city to visit a friend. I didn't ask anything else and let the conversation drop while my brain searched for a name - any name - to put with the friendly young man. I'm ashamed to admit that it was three full minutes after he walked away that I realized who he was. Colby, one of the '09er senators from ASG. We'd seen one another around Senate all year, but never really talked for more than a few lines. I started pacing, not anxious for the next mystery guest to wander out of the woodwork. I wanted to see Dixie. Then there she was.
She called my cell and I looked around hopelessly for a moment before turning 180 degrees to see her walking up the street. We embraced and connected, instantly slipping back into the camraderie we had last January and let settle for several months. Both hungry, we settled on a Japanese/Korean restaurant less than a block away for sushi. A fan of the eastern confection, but unable to get it in the sticks of northwestern PA, I always try to get sushi when I'm in a city.
We ordered beer, neither of us getting carded, then ordered food and began talking. Recounting my lackluster love life, I told her the story of Audra, the near-miss last April and our escapades at the Strip. Dixie immediately latched on to two aspects of the story which had nothing to do with me - they had to do with Vahid and his behavior. She texted him, called him, then I called him, and within five minutes of being back together, she was insecure in her relationship and I had been the one to plant the doubts. What a great friend I am.
After we ate, we went back to A.U. and talked in the lounge, mostly about her relationship. I recounted some A.C. gossip - ASG, the way the semester had wound, but it was filler. We were squarely focused on her relationship. We didn't go out and on a walk around campus, she called him and patched things up. But I could tell it was just that - a patch job. It wasn't going to hold either. I'd stirred something up - causing grief for a fellow who has been nothing but great to me and causing disillusionment for a friend who has stuck around longer than most everyone else. Again, what a fucking great friend I am.
Wednesday morning, Dixie got up around seven, showered and dressed for work, along with her roommate - who told me to help myself to food if I got hungry. Both left around eight and I still sensed some heat below the surface for Dix, but didn't want to pursue it. I went back to bed for awhile, reflecting on the incident. A question came up in my musings which I didn't quite know how to answer and could be harmful in several ways if I don't find an answer for. As a trickster, it's my nature to stir things up, cause trouble to strengthen and champion that which is good in the lives of people.
What if my mere presence in someone's life can cause trouble for them? Thinking on it, I realized how many people I'm a "great listener" for, how many I consult on relationship blues, and the strife of life. Not that I'm not certain people are completely capable of fucking up their own love lives, but does my interaction and influence exasperate an already present condition? Inflame embers of trouble simply by being there? If so, how close can I get to someone before hurting them? And how do I live with myself at arms length from everyone?
You're as strong as anyone,
You're back where you started from."
Drowzy and slouching in the shower, I laid out the next few days out before me like a hand of solitaire, trying to consolidate the disjointed schedule into one concise mess. My Darling Girl and I were driving down to D.C. She was going to see her cousin, Diana, I was going to see a Diana of a different color - Dixie. After over four months and a continent between us, it was time to see her again. We'd get there around two or three depending on traffic and at eight, we had a special tour of the White House (Diana works in the Sit Room). Wednesday we'd putz around then head back to Carlisle. Thursday or Friday, I'd drive back to Meadville with my Mom (Dad and I still aren't speaking). It seemed like a good plan, orderly and flexible. But when does planning ever indicate anything other than disappointment and conflicted schedules?
I waited for Maritza to call, expecting the call around noon. It came around 1:20, in the middle of my Primetime in the Daytime Judging Amy viewing. She said she and Justin were on their way. Justin? Close to 1:30, they arrived and it turns out we were taking a hike. We went to Pine Grove Furnace and hiked until about three, our course taking us to the top of a rock outcropping which looked over the Furnace. I would have objected, time being tight and Diana expecting us by three at the latest - but I thought they could use the time together. So I swallowed my inherent dislike of aimless walking and took to entertaining myself with games like "The Forest Floor is Made of Lava!"
After dropping Justin, My Darling Girl and I were on the road by three thirty. The trip should have taken about an hour and a half, but with rush hour traffic outside D.C., two seemed the more accurate guess. We got in to Arlington shortly after five and that's when Dixie called. Between her and Diana, we figured out how to combine the Metro and American University shuttle bus to get me from Diana's to Dixie's. Diana offered to drive me to a nearby station and I accepted. Maritza and I learned that the White House tour wasn't Tuesday night, but Wednesday night. It shifted our plans, but since My Darling Girl had to work Friday, it looked like we were driving back Wednesday night.
Diana and Maritza dropped me off at the Rosslyn station and I told them I'd call sometime the next morning. Remembering my Metro instruction from Dr. Bluhm the previous summer when we were at APA, I rode the orange line to Metro Center, changed to red and made it to the A.U. stop without incident. I called Dixie once I emerged from the depths and she said she'd hop on the bus and come meet me.
Standing around, I was soon approached by two clueless college students who thought I looked urban and knowledgable in my pinstripe pants, white diamond shirt, and black blazer. And I did look the part, but alas, did not know where the A.U. shuttle was. That's why Dixie was coming for me. Hanging around a little longer, I saw a familiar face. Boy of about ninteen or twenty, I thought I should know him, but the name escaped me. He saw me, we shook hands, and I mentioned I was in the city to visit a friend. I didn't ask anything else and let the conversation drop while my brain searched for a name - any name - to put with the friendly young man. I'm ashamed to admit that it was three full minutes after he walked away that I realized who he was. Colby, one of the '09er senators from ASG. We'd seen one another around Senate all year, but never really talked for more than a few lines. I started pacing, not anxious for the next mystery guest to wander out of the woodwork. I wanted to see Dixie. Then there she was.
She called my cell and I looked around hopelessly for a moment before turning 180 degrees to see her walking up the street. We embraced and connected, instantly slipping back into the camraderie we had last January and let settle for several months. Both hungry, we settled on a Japanese/Korean restaurant less than a block away for sushi. A fan of the eastern confection, but unable to get it in the sticks of northwestern PA, I always try to get sushi when I'm in a city.
We ordered beer, neither of us getting carded, then ordered food and began talking. Recounting my lackluster love life, I told her the story of Audra, the near-miss last April and our escapades at the Strip. Dixie immediately latched on to two aspects of the story which had nothing to do with me - they had to do with Vahid and his behavior. She texted him, called him, then I called him, and within five minutes of being back together, she was insecure in her relationship and I had been the one to plant the doubts. What a great friend I am.
After we ate, we went back to A.U. and talked in the lounge, mostly about her relationship. I recounted some A.C. gossip - ASG, the way the semester had wound, but it was filler. We were squarely focused on her relationship. We didn't go out and on a walk around campus, she called him and patched things up. But I could tell it was just that - a patch job. It wasn't going to hold either. I'd stirred something up - causing grief for a fellow who has been nothing but great to me and causing disillusionment for a friend who has stuck around longer than most everyone else. Again, what a fucking great friend I am.
Wednesday morning, Dixie got up around seven, showered and dressed for work, along with her roommate - who told me to help myself to food if I got hungry. Both left around eight and I still sensed some heat below the surface for Dix, but didn't want to pursue it. I went back to bed for awhile, reflecting on the incident. A question came up in my musings which I didn't quite know how to answer and could be harmful in several ways if I don't find an answer for. As a trickster, it's my nature to stir things up, cause trouble to strengthen and champion that which is good in the lives of people.
What if my mere presence in someone's life can cause trouble for them? Thinking on it, I realized how many people I'm a "great listener" for, how many I consult on relationship blues, and the strife of life. Not that I'm not certain people are completely capable of fucking up their own love lives, but does my interaction and influence exasperate an already present condition? Inflame embers of trouble simply by being there? If so, how close can I get to someone before hurting them? And how do I live with myself at arms length from everyone?