back in ny

after an amazing weekend away---DC---an "urban paradise" one might say, but that means both good and not so good things. I arrived after a decent bus ride that let off at Union Station, then I walked from there to my hotel, on Rhode Island Avenue and 16th street. A much longer walk then I expected, but the grid in DC is so easy to navigate that I had no problem finding it. As I walked west on G street, I was struck by the number of new luxury buildings that I saw; This continued until I reached the hotel--I don't remember seeing this kind of housing on previous trips to DC---granted I have not been there since 2013, and that was a  one day trip---but the city seemed overwhelmed with luxury buildings. 

Saturday evening--took the Metro to Judiciary Square and was able to get a rush ticket to An Octoroon, the play by Brandon Jennings-Jacobs that I really wanted to see. I got the ticket at 6---the play began at 8, so again, I had a lot of time to look around. The Theater (Wooly Mammoth) is on D street, I followed 7th street north to F--again I was confronted with an amazing "strip" of bars and tourist restaurants. I was hungry, but all of those places seemed really crowded and really expensive---for a while, I thought I would not be able to find a place at all (no grocery stores around) but next to the Harmon theater on F near fifth, there was a gourmet coffee shop with prepared sandwiches. Had a very nice filling turkey-swiss--then with about 45 minutes left, continued walking around the area, and finally went into the theater and saw the play.
  This is a very tart play which begins with a black playwright, discussing his identity, then moving onto his  fascination with a play written in 1859 called, The Octoroon. That very playwright, Dion Boucicoult then makes an appearance, confronts the playwright and then some version of The Octoroon is presented for us. An Octoroon was a mixed race child out of slavery who was only one eighth black, but still could be treated like a slave. The rest of the play was a fantastic and inventive "hodgepodge" of both the original play, and the playwright's updating of it. The production and the acting were amazing---I wonder if the NY production of the play that I missed could have even come close to it. In this production, the play and all its ups and downs, seems to explode in front of you. Left the theater feeling very invigorated, really happy that I had taken the trouble to see the play. 

  Sunday, woke up early---no coffee at the hotel, walked a little bit towards 14th street, at one of the (more upscale) hotels in the area, the outside porter heard I was looking for a coffee and invited me in to take some that his hotel had made available. Really nice (and the coffee was very good).  I was to meet Tessa at about 1, so with plenty of time, wandered around the area and again found it to be very homogeneous. Trolled the hotel internet for a while, and then it was time for brunch with Tessa, and, though I did not know it then, her sister Taylor, Tessa's boy friend, and an older woman named Jane. We were all given a nice table at the Logan Tavern and settled in for a warm and friendly meal. Good conversation, Jane, who lives nearby, left us soon after the brunch, and so I walked a bit with the girls. Again, good and interesting conversation-- as I tried to describe to them my overall vision of the world, as I perceived it at the moment, and as it evolved from the sixties, which was the first part of my adult life. I walked them to Taylor's car---we said goodby; it was a fun and invigorating time, and I hope that the conversation with Taylor and Tessa continues. 

   Amazing how much walking I did on this trip, but after the girls drove off, I did not return to the hotel. Instead, I walked north on 18th until U street, they walked east until 14th street. There I encountered another incredible "strip" of mostly bar-restaurants and a few coffee places that were loaded with people who seemed to be really enjoying themselves. Was this only about a mile a way from the White House and the Capital, where so many unpleasant things were taking place? Hard to believe it. What I saw was a world created for young professionals to enjoy themselves--an almost never ending series of places to go into and have fun. The vision of it seemed very planned. Different from NYC where luxury high rises are built not just for people to live in but for wealthy people to store their money and for European investors to get a good return on that investment. Say what you will about the intense aggression of NYC developers. these neighborhoods, for the most part, don't eliminate the elderly or the disabled. There can be an apartment house filled with elderly people paying very little rent in the city next to one of these high rises---where in DC, the neighborhood vibe almost seemed to be about the elimination of anything unattractive or unpleasant, I may have seen one or two people needing assistance on this journey---but mostly everyone was incredibly well fed and fit. Is this such a bad thing? Well, I think it needs more discussion to figure that out, certainly I can't complain because on all these walks, I felt incredibly safe, and the scenery on the side streets was calm and pleasant. The discussion will be continued at a later date.

    Returned by train yesterday---went to the BAN meeting yesterday evening, today is free-may mostly rest ( or maybe not) but still have the energy from the weekend. Will report tomorrow.