A week in Washington ...

Wednesday
- Washington in its usual flutter of over reaction to cold closed itself down - the two inches of snow meant the world and his wife spent the entire day congratulating each other and exclaiming loudly how pleased they were for each other that they had managed to make it out of the front door and to work, or to the cinema, or wherever it was you that had reached. Even the emails I received that day were full of "keep warm" and "thank you so much for emailing - I have heard that it's snowing in DC so I'm sure it's been difficult". It is a strange element to the DC citizens that I don't think I will ever really understand - it has snowed here four times since I've been here - and from what I can make out this is not at all unusual - yet there is still the mass hysteria I associate with Cardiff snow showers. Our doorman puts "SNOW STORM WARNINGS" in the elevator and we are all advised by the television and helpful posters in places to "KEEP ABREAST OF CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS IN WEATHER PATTERNS" and to "ONLY LEAVE IF YOUR TRIP IS NECCESARY" - as a result of which all the schools close down (school of course not been considered a neccesity in the same way as say coffee shops or clothes stores - which remain stogedly open rain or shine - much to the relief of my caffeine addicted self).

Maybe it's the result of the years of fear that has grown up in DC over the years - America is a country under seige, at war --- and DC is at the extreme center of that seige -- it is under attack like no other place in America - and feels the fear. Maybe this sense of its own importance and its own symbolic value to terrorists or attackers makes the city ever so slightly paranoid.
Paranoid that everything - even the weather - is out to do them harm -
- Trust no one or nothing -- especially all that very suspiscious white stuff - bound to mean to do you harm.

My Wednesday was actually spent in bed watching the snow - and recovering from food poisoning from some very suspiscious chinese food we'd enjoyed the night before. The Chinese food had decided to exert revenge for our enjoyment at about 3am wednesday morning.
And so on Wednesday I learnt the power of suspiscion - and why you cannot really trust anything in DC. The Chinese food was just yet another reason to fear that things were out to get me -
and so if you can't trust the food, the weather, the politicians -- who can you trust???? ....

Maybe I'm starting to understand this DC logic after all.