Saturday, November 29, 2008

Philadelphia Story



Yesterday morning I watched the Capitol dome shrink and finally disappear altogether. I was watching from the window of the train, so don't worry, the Capitol dome is still there, it just looked like it was shrinking and disappearing.

It's always good to get out of town, even just for a day. The buzz of DC is something I've learned to ignore in the same way that people who live on busy streets learn to tune out the traffic sound. But anytime I find myself even a few miles beyond the perimeter of my beloved swamp, suddenly I realize there's a whole world out there that's completely different from DC's jaw-clenching, hard-working, power-loving feng shui.

It was a whirlwind tour of Philadelphia but it was an excellent tour, guided by someone who grew up there and knows it like the back of her hand. It was so much fun! Fun seeing old friends, fun touring Philly, (especially now that I've regained some hope for the soul of this country). It was a great day!

Just as fun as going out of town was coming back, seeing the Capitol dome grow from a tiny white dot to its full fledged hugeness, walking through Union Station, sleeping in my own bed where my dreamscape unfolded, as it always does, within the framework of the jaw-clenching vibe that I call home. There truly is no place like home.


Betsy Ross's house

6 comments:

Washington Cube said...

There's this....voodoo shop in Philly on South Street. Multi-generational owned. One visit I went in to buy some High John the Conqueror root, and the owner was putting "Follow Me Boy" love oil on a local woman's foot to draw her love to her. How come I never see that in D.C.? ;) All we get are people nailing dead chickens to door frames and making flour pentagrams under them. This begs the question, "What were you doing with High John Conqueror root?" I'm tryin' to make you LAUGH, Reya.

Reya Mellicker said...

I'm laughing ... and I am really curious about the High John the Conqueror root!!

ArtSparker said...

Also crazy mosaics all over the sides of buildings there I've heard...by a man named Isaiah Zagar.

Reya Mellicker said...

OMG. The mosaics are truly crazy. Truly. I'll post some on Facebook. ArtSparker - are you on Facebook?

Ulysses said...

Next time I go, I'm going to spend the whole day at the Barnes Museum, then out to Conshohocken (sp?) to see some bands. Taking the train sounds like a good idea...

Gary said...

I was in Philly last night to see the Tina Turner concert at the Spectrum. It would have been quite the surprise to run into you.