This week I’m at a training course (RH423) at Red Hat in Tysons Corner. Commuting in this morning was almost like a dream—the beautiful, peaceful sort in which many of the idiots have been vaporized, kind of like the NHL season or Cuba Gooding Jr.’s chances at another Oscar. It’s as if the entire D.C. Metro area had taken massive doses of Sudafed over the weekend, so that the roads are decongested and moving at or above speed.
But lo, it was not a dream, but rather George Washington’s birthday, and the holiday means that all the Federal Government employees are still sleeping in their beds, instead of crowding the roads so they can get in to their offices to sleep at their desks. Well, all of them except the ones going to training classes, I suppose. HOV restrictions were lifted, but there were still quite a lot of “CF” (clean fuel) license plates in those lanes, which might lead a less charitable soul to the conclusion that the only people buying those cars are not smart enough to get jobs that give them the day off on Washington’s birthday.
Speaking of which, I hope that people will remember that the holiday is for Washington’s birthday, not some namby-pamby “Presidents’ Day.” The reason we honor George Washington is not just because he was our first President, nor is it due to the fact that in his day, he was considered hunkier and more popular than Brad Pitt, George Clooney, Will Smith, and Tom Cruise put together. It’s because, against all odds and in the face of centuries of historical wisdom to the contrary, Washington—famed military leader, beloved hero of the people, and eschewer of partisan politics—stepped down after two terms and created the first in an unbroken series of Constitutionally mandated transfers of power from one Presidential administration to the next. No president, regardless of economic or political vision or achievement, can match his legacy.
Last night, after a yummy dinner of chicken parmesan, then bathtime and bedtime for the munchkins, Eleya and I finished watching the first season of HBO’s The Wire, which was extremely satisfying. After we catch up on some regular theatrical releases that are now crowding the top of our Netflix queue, we’ll likely add the second season to the list.