An Urban Boychick Takes on the Outdoors

In a way it's surprising that I haven't been hit by a car before. I mean, there was that time years ago when a car very slightly clipped my wheel out in Falls Church, but that doesn't count. And there was the time back in Brooklyn when I was stopped behind a bus which suddenly decided to back up, causing me to do a superhero-like leap to the sidewalk, pulling my bike behind me. But actual Jesse-to-vehicle contact? Until now I had been lucky. Last Sunday morning had started off in a lazy way, just reading the paper and puttering around the house. I decided that I wanted to get out and get at least a little exercise so I set out on a random bike ride around Arlington. In randomly riding with no real direction I always discover new areas, and the topography of Arlington begin what it is, I always wind up doing some nice hills. On this day I hadn't meandered far - only up as far as Marymount, when I decided I had met my minimum movement quotient for the day and started ...

If I tell you that every gig is its own disaster you may accuse me of plagiarizing the sentiments of Tolstoy , or perhaps of being pessimistic and cynical (but who would ever accuse me of such?). But the truth is, each gig presents its own set of challenges. Each venue has its quirks. Yeah, I really enjoy playing music, but sometimes I wonder why. Cut to a dingy hallway behind the swanky Carlyle Club in Alexandria, VA. Magnolia Blue has been booked to play at the club. Unusually, the opening act (a duo called Free Floating Musical Experience) booked the gig and brought us in as headliners. That left us at a disadvantage, as FFME had done all the communicating with the venue. All we knew was that there was supposedly a nice green room and we were going to be fed dinner. Well, the green room turned out to be a tiny space, maybe big enough for two people if it hadn't also been put into service as a storeroom. The dozen of us (between the two bands) weren't going to fit there. ...

If you mention the anacostia River to most people in DC, if they've heard of it at all (it's our "other river") they'll think of the grimy, industrial portion near its mouth. Just a few miles upstream, however, it's a totally different river. I launched at Bladensburg Waterfront Park in PG County, Maryland - an under-rated launch, if you ask me. No launch fee. Real bathrooms and a water fountain, and even a hose to wash the muck off your boat when you're done (the river is better up in Bladensburg, but not quite pristine). I did a double-take as I approached the entrance to the park, because I had never before noticed that the Bladensburg Peace Cross, which was the focus of a recent Supreme Court decision  (really recent - like two weeks ago), sits right outside the park's gates. My choice to launch at Bladensburg was driven by its proximity to Kenilworth Aquatic Gardens. I had heard the lotuses were in bloom and I wanted to see if I could find the...