My commute is other people’s vacation…
I board a bus within sight of the Potomac River. It drives through historic Old Town Alexandria with its colonial houses, quaint byways, and even the church first Washington, then Robert E. Lee attended. The scenic George Washington Parkway winds along the river, many days a-sparkle with the morning sun. Soon, we veer right onto the bridge over the river. From here I look north up the river at the Kennedy Center, the Lincoln Memorial, and in the distance, the oddly juxtaposed Gothic National Cathedral. At the end of the bridge, I see Jefferson’s statue’s silhouette in its memorial. I saw all this today as usual.
…but today it was even more. Then, its the Tidal Basin, that small, man-made lake south of the National Mall, and…wait a minute..I can’t believe my eyes. The cherry blossoms are starting to open. The sight thrills, the sight amazes, the sight entices. Having lived here four years now, they are less the strange, alien beauties they seemed when I first beheld them in all their impossible abundance. Now I see a crowd, a throng, a city of old friends, here again for their annual visit. I want to get out for a closer look but don’t. Work calls me. Survival wins over the beauty of the cherry blossoms for now.
A delightful rush hour to remember…
I was taken aback when my wife called at the end of the day and suggested she pick me up from work so we could go visit the cherry trees. We almost didn’t go. Is it starting to get cloudy, a little too chilly? Will we find parking? We decided to try. The worst that could happen would be that we wouldn’t be able to see the blossoms today. We live here. We can see them later. I can walk to the tidal basin and back to my office in almost under an hour. And yet, after an easy drive and easy parking, we were soon there. While so many others fought the traffic home as they do day after day, we walked along the water on the round sidewalk that encircles the Tidal Basin.
…strolling under a million cherry blossoms with my dearest love.
Few other people were there to hinder our view or get in our way. We took pictures, chatted and laughed, and enjoyed an hour with the blossoms. Many were not open yet, mostly the pinkish and darker maroonish ones, but the white were in full bloom. Different varieties on different blooming timetables made a lovely contrast. We walked about a third of the way around that big cement pond, up to the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial, still under construction. Then back again, we walked, but this time, through one of our favorite places in all of Washington, the FDR Memorial, always inspiring, always good-looking but today, even more, clothed in cherry blossoms.
We enjoyed the almost perfect date: floral, fun, and free. All we lacked was a picnic supper or at least some appetizers. Maybe next time. For now, satisfied and at peace, ministered to by the blossoms, we headed home for supper and sleep.
A Canopied Path
...bearing a billowy burden.
a pinkish lining
