Burning down the House

So the Capitol Lounge burned down. Sort of. A devastating fire at any rate. Now where will all the snot-nosed young hill staffers wear their badges and try to pick up other staffers and Georgetown Law students?

I had a friend who lived on the hill but who has since relocated. We occasionally went to Capitol Lounge and my only memory of the place is shooting pool and having the wanna-be hardcore chicks at the other pool table trying to start something with our group. I must have looked pretty soft I guess.

Anyway, I'm back from my second August vacation and let me tell you Woodstock was a great time. I saw some wild turkeys and some deer and came pretty close to seeing a bear and her cub, but I was taking a nap. Did some good hiking and hit a tennis ball for the first time in about five years. Also went to the Dutchess County fair.

Woodstock has a nice bookstore called the Golden Notebook that's really what a bookstore ought to be: staff that actually know their stock and have an interest in it, a wide variety but still something that gives the store a flavor. In this store, it was a heaping selection of left-leaning and outright left cultural/political texts. All I picked up was a cookbook, but I was on a budget. Saw a book I'm probably going to buy at some point: Teachers Have It Easy: The Big Sacrifices and Small Salaries of America's Teachers.

Now it's four days until DC public schools open and my son starts kindergarten. He had a great Pre-K year and he's excited about getting back to his school for this coming year. I remember the dread, anticipation, and excitement of the final days of summer and the opening of school. I hope he keeps his enthusiasm for many many years.