Washington Fourth

It seems like everyone in Washington who isn't at the beach goes to watch the fireworks on the Mall. Doreen and I have done that a couple of times, attending the free concert they usually have by the Washington Monument. But this year, instead of Alison Krauss or Tito Puente as the headliner, the National Park Service booked a decidedly B-list act: "Sesame Street's Elmo will join dazzling singer and actress Vanessa Williams for a patriotic medley." It reminded me a bit too much of Long Island University's commencement a few years ago, when they gave an honorary doctorate to Kermit the Frog. Who wants to see a glorified sock sing?

Since Doreen is still a DC insider, we decided to do an insider thing: a picnic at her office. Now, I know that doesn't sound fun, but it really was. Her office is in an old Victorian mansion on Embassy Row, and there's a rooftop patio where we had a view of the Al Gore's boyhood home. Ok, I guess looking at Al Gore's boyhood home doesn't sound like fun, either. Guess you just had to be there.