the week ends, the week begins...

Ernest Hemingway describes his early writing processes while living in 1920’s Paris in his book “A Moveable Feast”. He began writing this work in between trips to Cuba, Spain, and Idaho of all places during the late 1950’s. The title of this work, which was published posthumously, was derived from a letter he penned to a colleague in 1950.

“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you are for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast.”

Although I presume to understand his intended meaning, I found it difficult to draw a true parallel to his words at first. Given some time to reflect, I think I have come to a greater understanding of what old Ernie was saying. I think anyone could substitute Paris for anywhere that is the setting for formative experiences, whether it be Paris, France or Paris, Arkansas. This is apparently a rather unvarnished thought and it is difficult to articulate exactly what it means to me at this moment. Thus, I will continue onward.

The last week and change have been pretty nice here. My petition was accepted and so long as lodge voting goes well, I can reasonably expect to be raised to an Entered Apprentice sometime in the next 6 weeks or so. One of our customer relations reps here called to ask if I would like tickets to the Boeing corporate suite in the new Washington Nationals stadium last Friday. I told them I could probably stand to work it into my schedule and even though the home team lost, it was a pretty sweet setup…Everyone and their mothers had Cinco de Mayo parties and so Saturday was mostly spent trying to stay upright and coherent amid a maelstrom of cheap tequila. I even managed to speak quite a bit of Spanish with some nice Chileños that were patrons at one of the fiestas we made it to. Sunday was a glorious day here and full of fresh sunshine. Jacqueline and I made brunch and proceeded to do nothing the entire day, which was enjoyable to the maximum.

The next few weeks will be fraught with good times and great oldies. This weekend, one of JQ’s roommates from Italy will be staying, so we get to play tour guide. I don’t really mind doing this, since I still think that this stuff is all pretty cool. I realize that I need to learn more about things still so I have some background on some of the museums and monuments to relay to our guests, much akin to what I did while working in the Capitol.

The following weekend is what I am truly ready for. A small group of us will be heading up to Baltimore on Friday for the Orioles game in Camden Yards. I have heard that if you are a true fan of baseball, Camden is one of the ballparks that you must make it to. Saturday will be the Preakness Stakes and my first experience with a Triple Crown horse racing event. One of these years, I would like to make it to all three events, but in the meantime it cannot hurt to make it to one or two. I am especially excited for the port-a-let racing. Check it out on YouTube if you don’t get know what I am talking about. I plan to buy some boxed wine and pack a picnic lunch with our compatriots and hopefully the weather will hold us as well. On Sunday, JQ and I will hit up the National Aquarium, also in Baltimore. This is something that the both of us have wanted to do for a while now, and finally our plans for going are coming to fruition.

All in all, life is good here. You never really know where you can find a moveable feast, but there seems to be one right here with my name on it. As the good doctor wrote in the Vegas book, “You could strike sparks anywhere”. I feel you Dr. T.

Now, who wants to go to Spain next year for the Fiesta de San Fermin and run away from large and ornery bulls?

Live triumphantly.