Here is the Washington Spanish Seventh-Day Adventist Church. It's right next door to the Gospel Chapel -- and looks quite a bit like it, only less pointy. I used Google Translate to look at their site, so I may be slightly off base, but one of their fellowship offerings is the By the Cross Cafe! Primarily for young people, it offers music and snacks on Friday nights. There are only a handful of churches to... Read more →
It's hot. It's humid. It's summer in Washington. It reminds me of my circus days, when I traveled around the country in the heat and humidity and the only air conditioning I had was... none. Circus tents get beastly hot in the summer, even when the sidewall is pulled up to let in whatever scanty breeze might be floating around. I think I was sticky the whole summer for three years running. On the first... Read more →
If you follow me on Facebook, you know that Joe and I went to Ocean City this weekend for our anniversary -- our 30th anniversary! No spectacular trip, no long cruise, no indulgent party -- just a weekend trip to the town where we spent our honeymoon 30 years ago tonight. It was perfect. We spent time alone in the family house, just as we spent time alone in my parents' condo -- only this... Read more →
The Tiempo de Gracia -- Time of Grace -- Ministries building looks more like an elementary school than a house of worship to me, but God is everywhere. I can't find a website for this particular place, so I have no idea whether they have a food-based fellowship. They do, however, have a van! Read more →
1. The handrail on the Metro escalators are just a tiny bit faster than the steps. I step on the escalator, hold the handrail, and go off to my happy place. Gradually my arm gets ahead of the rest of my body; I never it until it's stretched out tight. 2. I should probably pay more attention to the handrail shenanigans and spend less time in my happy place. 3. Speaking of happy places, the... Read more →
Now here's an avant-garde hair accessory: Or would you prefer the Meatball Toupee? Read more →
Up on a hill, overlooking New Hampshire Avenue, is Saint Stephen Lutheran Church. Written on the wall just to the right of the door is the phrase "God's Work, Our Hands." I really wish you could see the stained glass windows over the entrance better, but follow this link and you'll get a sense not only of the windows, but of the rest of the art that makes up this sacred space. And yes, they... Read more →
When I was a kid, there was a candy store in downtown DC that specialized in caramels. Velati's. The promised land of caramel. The store was at 9th and G Streets. It sold vanilla and chocolate caramels in two styles: crumbly and chewy. I'm pretty sure there were other flavors, and I know there were varieties with nuts. My Pop would sometimes stop at Velati's on his way home from work and pick up a... Read more →
Right next door to the Emanuel-Brinklow Seventh-Day Adventist Church is this stately mosque: It looked abandoned when I took this photo. The light shining in the second-floor window made me think that it was still an active place of worship, so I googled and wiki-ed (there, a new verb!) until I found their site. This masjid, or mosque, is the holy house of the Islamic sect Dawoodi Bohra, an Indian offshoot of Ismail Shia Islam.... Read more →
The sky is dark with clouds and rain is pelting down, soaking the unwary who thought that bright sunlight would be here all day. A streak of lightning zigzags down in an instant followed by the thunder, Hello! There's electricity in the air; power all around. Welcome to summer. I know; technically it's still spring. The turn of the season doesn't happen until our anniversary, two weeks and a couple days away. The wind's picking... Read more →