For those of us either not American, or not extroverted, enough to enjoy a day cooped up with many other people, watching the incomprehensible start-and-stop of football players on a large screen, gorging ourselves with American fare…
This year the cracking cold finally took pity on the DC area, the temperatures jumped to an unseasonal but oh so welcome 60 degrees.
The bike was dusted off and taken out for the first ride of 2014.
The ice still held on parts of the Potomac, the better for geese to walk around without fighting the current.
There were no cherry blossoms, yet.
The better for monuments to be admired in their entirety
Silently free from tourists’ twaddle
Stillness 
The better to hear one’s self, not cheering crowds or riotous halftime acts
The better to hear the heart of the nation.
To appreciate the guardians of order
Albeit from a different, better time
The better to appreciate the sunset and mute but cheery companions who accompanied me back home.
I’m not sure what it is about the statue pictured above, named “The Hiker”, but I always find myself wishing I knew more men like him.
Until then, Super Bowl Sundays are best spent outside.
Where Is My Suitcase 