Washington DC Again
April 17 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 22 °C
Washington DC is beautiful this time of year. The weather is temperate; trees are that soft green with the dogwoods and azaleas showing off. Bob met me at Union Station for a short walk to his Capitol Hill apartment.
Bob walks everywhere. He has never been a fan of bicycling and doesn’t own a car. Once I dumped my stuff, we headed off to the Eastern Market area for lunch. What strikes me about the city is all the men in suits and women in business skirts and dresses. I didn’t spy stockings, but everyone is dressed up like they are ready for a serious job interview. Shoes are shined and even sneakers are crisp and clean. I do remember this, but is has been a very long time.
We made our way up the mall and on to Pennsylvania Avenue comparing political notes. We passed by the DC City Hall with a larger-than-life statue of the “Mayor for Life”, Marion Barry. Back in the mid-80s, I worked for his re-election campaign (slogan - Making a Great City Even Greater) and then in the Community Services office for a couple years. I learned a lot in my time as one of only a couple of white people in that office. I remember having very little to do at the time. Barry wanted us to lay low as the community hated him in that moment - which was a reoccurring theme. To keep busy I read about this new-fangled approach to keeping track of constituents - an Rbase database. I read the dense manual and built us a database that their office used for nearly ten years! Walking down memory lane.
We were on our way over to be a part of the reenactment of the first White House picket for gay rights which was held on April 17, 1965. Yup, the 59th anniversary. Only one of the original picketers, Paul Kuntzler, was there to participate. I knew Paul back in the day when I was an officer and member of the Gertrude Stein Democratic Club. I also am recalling Dr. Frank Kameny, the founder of the Washington DC Mattachine Society - for gay rights. Frank was a cantankerous, tenacious, and generally right on target kind of fellow. He had been kicked out of the US Army for being gay. In a letter Kameny wrote to President Lyndon B. Johnson, he said, “We ask, Mr. President, for what all American citizens - singly and collectively - have the right to ask that our problems be given fair, unbiased consideration… consideration in which we, ourselves, are allowed to participate actively and are invited to do so.” I can hear his voice in this.
Today, I visited with a dear friend and former mentor and boss, Mary Jean Collins. She and I along with Gail Gabler (my travelling pal) organized the Chicago ERA Reunion just before the pandemic. You can read about it in earlier blog posts of mine. Mary Jean was one of the leaders in NOW (National Organization for Women) from its inception in the 1960s. I had just read a book that outlines the history of the organization that centers itself on telling the chronology and story of NOW through three very different and very consequential leaders. Mary Jean is one of them.
She has a political analysis that is steeped in a practical, positive and solutions-focused views. Her bookcases display both contemporary and historical non-fiction that informs her thinking. It was exhilarating to spend and hour and a half talking with and listening to her. It wasn’t all politics though. We got into talking about our families and health and getting old. Mary Jean is just a tad older than my mom - 84 years old. I forgot to take a photo - but I’m seeing her tomorrow night.
Mary Jean lives just across the street from National Zoo. I used to visit the seals and sea lions all the time. I got to know their personalities and names. I felt like I needed to see them again. Since they only live about 20 to 25 years, none were the same individuals. More walking down memory lane.
I caught up with Bob for lunch and a walk over to the National Museum for Women in the Arts. The newly renovated building was spectacular and the art was a wonderful smattering of styles and disciplines. I really enjoyed being in a really great museum. It’s something I miss in Victoria.
Later that afternoon, Bob and I walked along Massachusetts Ave up to Logan Circle. It is unrecognizable. Highway 395 is partially buried and dozens of new buildings and green spaces have been erected. Some of the streets nearby would have been frightening when I lived here. While it is super nice to stroll, I do wonder where all those poorer families have gone.
Bob had a bocce ball game with the Stonewall Bocce league. Couple hundred gay men in their colour-coded tees were clumped in their teams tossing balls and trying desperately to keep score while chattering. Since Portland doesn’t have a very large population of gay men, it was fun to be a spectator to all that. Boccesaurus Rex (Bob’s team) lost, kinda badly to a team that hadn’t yet won a game all season.
I’m averaging over 18,000 steps every day after lots of sitting around at my dad’s. My dogs are tired.Read more
