Virginia Is For Families

I was coming home this afternoon and feeling a little bit crazy.  It started out when I was in a school earlier and had to go to the bathroom.  This was a public school and a public bathroom but it was primarily used by kids.  Young guys to be exact.  And the first thing that I noticed was that there was no door on the stall.

And I was reminded of a story Tim Allen told about being in jail and having to use the toilet.  It was sitting there in the middle of the room and I can imagine how humiliating it was to use it in those circumstances.

But this situation is different.  Or, at least, it should be different.  And then there was the sign that said “Please don’t forget to wash your hands”  and it explained about germs.  But when you try to turn on the water it won’t stay on unless you hold the knob.  And there is no plug for the sink.  I tried several times but couldn’t actually wash my hands because the water just went down the drain.

What kind of messages are we sending here?  I don’t know.  I’m just asking.

So I was driving home and it’s only about a twenty minute drive.  I described it one time in another post called. . .

THEY ARE DRIVING ME MAD

And then I was home.  Nobody is here right now.  It’s very quiet and I have the opportunity to sit and think or write.  And I am very grateful for the fact that I live in a smaller city in a conservative area where I can get around without dealing with major mayhem traffic-wise.

Because if I lived in NYC I would just go nuts in a short space of time.  I don’t know how they do it up there.  The sensory overload would burn out my circuits.  I would end up being a mascot for Circuit City perhaps.

It’s bad enough here sometimes.  But I am so glad I left Boston in the seventies and ventured down here.  We had the marathon this past weekend and it was advertised as the “friendliest” marathon in the US.  Aside from a marathon worker telling a guy on a bicycle he was a  jerk for riding in the race area I saw no unfriendliness while we were downtown.

Zachary told me once again this past weekend how happy he is going to VCU.  We were standing on the Lee Bridge as I took photos of the marathon race leaders.  The weather was pleasant and we could see the James River stretching for miles on either side of the bridge.   The historic Hollywood Cemetery basked in sunlight up on a hill to the right.  And he told me about some of his adventures on the river.  The VCU campus is not an isolated affair.  It’s part of the city and it’s affordable too.  Next year he plans to spend a couple of semesters in Spain as part of a coop program.

When it was announced that Senator Obama would be the next president thousands of VCU students headed for Broad Street to celebrate.  The police shut down traffic just as they did for the marathon and everyone headed for the State Capitol.  He won’t forget that anytime soon.

And I won’t forget many experiences that I have had in this fine old city.   It’s a place where you can raise a family and enjoy the arts and entertainment.  It has history and it has a future.

The mountains, the ocean and Washington DC are just a couple of hours away.

It’s a nice place to call home.