Enough with the Sippy Cups on the Bus

The drunks on the bus are bad enough with their retching and careening and stinky clothes, but it's the far more often seen passengers clutching cups of coffee or other hot drinks on the bus that I find most annoying. One young lady squeezed past me recently, sat down and calmly sucked on her little sippy cup of coffee, the odor wafting towards me, for the rest of the bus ride. Every time the bus lurched, I was afraid that she would slurp her drink on me or the cup would fall and spill on my clothes. Another passenger sat openly on the bus holding his styrofoam cup of steaming coffee and taking the lid off every once in a while for a big gulp. I really don't know why the WMATA drivers let people on with their sippy cups as the signs are quite clear that passengers are not supposed to eat or drink on the bus and there's even a new sign that says "a bus is not a deli so don't treat it like one."  Scoffeelaws?

Gassy Pizza and Coffee at Emilio's

On the way to visiting my mother in Leesburg, VA recently, I discovered I had arrived a little early and decided to have lunch by myself at Emilio's in Lansdowne, a "village" development on the outskirts of Leesburg. Feeling like one of the Real Housewives -- who always seem to be eating out in brand new restaurants with trendy Italian or similar themes in brand new buildings -- I sat down and ordered a coffee and a pizza. It was a thin crust, the kind I like, and layered with thinly sliced zucchini, red bell pepper strips, some black olive slices and cheese. Not a tomato in sight! Well, it tasted fine except there was a faint odor of the cooking gas underneath the flavors, which is something I really don't like. But the service was very good and the waiter quite professional and friendly, so I didn't really have much to complain about except that gassy taste which is significant in my opinion. You really shouldn't be able to taste the cooking fuel unless it's hickory smoked or something. So, I found myself contrasting this restaurant with downtown DC restaurants. One, there really aren't pizza restaurants in downtown DC. There's a pizza van, but not a restaurant. Two, I was the only customer at 12 noon, although several others came in later to fill about 4 tables of the 20 tables they had. Everyone was white, or seemed to be anyway in this location although I think I did espy one Black person in a car driving by. A typical DC downtown daytime restaurant is usually very busy with most of the tables filled. Three, I parked my car in the street right outside the restaurant. That is highly unlikely in DC, to say the least, where just a couple of hours parking can cost $10 at least. Then, the other patrons were not what you see in DC restaurants at lunch time which are suited men and women, or otherwise dressed in office smart clothing, with a high proportion of "single" people it often seems. In Emilio's was a grouping of suburban ladies in baggy blue jeans and pants, loose tops and anorak coats, and none of whom seemed to have combed their hair or put on any makeup or jewelry that day. They were gaily ordering a pizza and salads and beers and just didn't look like DC lunchtime restaurant patrons. The other table was an older couple, a man and a woman, who seemed to be staring vacantly out the window in between eating their chicken salads. Not really lunchtime patrons in downtown DC either.I'm not sure where I'm going with this commentary other than to say I enjoy living in the city, which is much more bustling and diverse than are the far exurbs and where pizza either comes delivered to your door or you buy it off a truck. 

Burrito Expresso Guy Dies

Carlos Guardado at work

Commemoration At K and 17th Sts NW

Today I write with sadness about Carlos Guardado who died recently.  I'd wanted to buy an expresso a few times recently in the morning, or go get one of the delicious black  bean burritos with guacamole for lunch, but his stand wasn't there at the usual corner of 17th & K Streets N.W.  Perhaps he's gone back to El Salvador for a trip to see his family or went on vacation, I thought, but it turned out he'd died unexpectedly of a heart attack.  I found out word of mouth as someone from my office had passed by the commemorative signs and flowers that were taped up on the scaffolding where his stand stood and that now told the story of his demise. Then, it turns out, there was a story in the Washington Post on Carlos which provided details about his family and about how many people also missed him.  I'd gotten used to the wonderful food service he provided and had talked with him a few times about the weather, or coffee, or El Salvador or whatever.  It seems a lot of people noticed his absence as there were several stories in the paper about him. I will certainly miss Carlos and those marvelous black bean burritos and expresso coffee he served. It is a reminder of how all things pass and we all will too.

Good Eats on DC Streets

Today I saw my friend John chatting with the nice guy who sells the best burritos and expresso coffee at the corner of 17th and K Street so of course I had to snap it with the miracle of a cell phone camera. After a quick hug I was on my through Farragut Square and saw the pink Sweet Bites van with cupcakes for sale. I noticed on twitter later that they announced they were running out of some of the cupcakes! Then on my way to the bank I saw a brand new food truck on the sidewalk, where they sell Thai food and it must be good as people were happy to wait in line for it. Then of course I saw the DC Slices van again which, at 9:30 am had the door closed as they were cooking up some amazing pizzas. Just a few hours later, with a line15 minutes long, I was sorry to rush by and miss grabbing a slice for lunch. One of these days, though, I'll get a pizza slice there so I'd better watch their twitter for when they arrive!  What bounty is brought to us and surrounds us! I think their Twitters are @DCSlices and @Sweetbitestruck.

Shoe Shine Men in Plain Sight

Outside the Starbucks store on K at 14th Streets NW I espied a shoe shine man waiting, apparently, for some customers with shoes that needed shining but to no avail as everyone was wearing flip flops, or open shoes or sandals where the toes don't need the shiny stuff he was selling. He sat there chatting with a friend glancing at the passersby in the morning sun as I sipped my coffee. Did he get any customers that 15  minutes I was there? No. Did anyone stop by and ask how much it cost? No. Did he try and get pedestrians to stop and have their shoes shined? No. Was there a sign about how much it cost to have one's shoes shined? No. So I came to the conclusion it might have been a surveillance unit of some sort, especially as the white truck behind the set-up was unmarked and I've heard they do surveillance in plain sight, whoever they is and there's certainly little need for shoe shine men on K Street on a hot August morning.

They Still Sell Newspapers, Don't They?

There was this row of brightly colored newspaper boxes on the corner of K and 15th streets NW so I just had to photo them, wondering how many people still read newspapers. I went into the nearby Starbucks for my customary small mild coffee made with an inch of hot water -- since I love the taste of coffee but find it's too strong -- and sat and watched this corner for a while. No one either bought a newspaper or took one of the free ones from the eleven boxes hanging out there. Someone was reading a newspaper in the coffee shop but mostly people were talking or on their cell phones. Sometimes people ask me if I saw a particular story in the newspaper, but generally I don't read the paper as I just don't seem to have time. I will read an article if someone sends me something or it's about something I'm interested in or I will click on a headline electronically or go look something up. My mother and mother-in-law are both in the habit of reading the newspaper but I think it's a generational thing with younger people getting their news electronically. How things change! It's the absolute that stands.

Watching the Gardening Flower

On Sunday mornings I usually have an hour or so to relax since we usually go to Church at 5 p.m. and this morning was no different. I sipped my coffee and watched my garden grow from the front porch and it was just a delight. The new rose bush has the brightest crimson flowers, the pink crepe myrtle is about to peak with its frothy fronds, the roses of Sharon are blazing away, the little red gold marigolds are starting up and even a few day lilies are still hanging about. An interesting smoky dark blue bird, slightly larger than a sparrow, hopped along the neighbor's fence with something wriggly in his beak, catching my eye due to his (her?) lovely color. There was an amazing breeze that swept into the tree across the street making the leaves rustle and rattle and making me think of rivers and trees. Feeling energized, I watered every plant that called out to me, "Me thirsty!" and then transplanted a few seedlings into bigger spaces so they could grow better, taking care to make sure I didn't rip my back out again. But it was glorious and sunny and stayed that way all day even when I went inside and cooked Sunday dinner.

Thirsty Bus Passengers

It's summer and I've had it with the large paper cups of slushees, slurpies, and other icy cold drinks people are bringing on the buses with them. Not only are they not supposed to do this as the sign on EVERY SINGLE BUS says this but they suck away through straws oblivious to the concerns of those around them that the drink might slop its way onto us next time the bus lurches to a stop or as they get up. I just don't want to deal with the person responsible or the cleaning bill. One woman put a LIDLESS paper cup of some foamy orange drink on the baggage rack and just left it there not in the slightest bit concerned about how the liquid was tilting and about to splash over every time time the bus turned a corner and slowed to a stop. Another passenger put her half filled (half empty?) paper cup of some sweet syrupy sugary thing on the floor. Of course, it fell over when the bus stopped suddenly. The liquid trickled its way across the bus floor towards my feet and bag. I pulled my feet up annoyed. When she got off the bus I told her off and she just glared at me like she had a right to have a drink on the bus and to leave it unfinished on the floor for someone else to pick up. Not a single bus driver has asked a passenger to put the drink away or drink it up before getting on the bus. So I wonder how the bus system thinks the requirement not to drink or eat on the bus is to be enforced. God only knows, that's for sure!

Lazy Bus Passengers

I was waiting for the bus on K street to my therapy session, disgusted by the litter left at the stop. Underneath the passengers' bench was the freshly opened peel of a large orange fruit, bright orange and pale yellow, curled up in coils, emptied of its juicy fruit center by whoever last had sat at the bench. A few feet over was a carefully placed Starbucks paper cup for coffee, straw poking out the top, and cardboard hot grip still clasped neatly around the cup. It was standing upright, obviously left there intentionally by someone else who had been waiting at the stop. So they think they are doing the right thing, not taking food and drink on the bus itself (the subject of another blog!). BUT what is so hard about taking one's trash away or putting it in the public waste bucket just a few feet away? Do these people think there is maid service, someone going around and picking up after them their moldering orange peels and discarded half-drunk cups of coffee? Who are these lazy bus passengers who must eat and drink at the bus stop and who can't remember to trash their trash? Don't they see that at just about every bus stop there's a trash bin nearby? It is too much! God save me from yelling at someone!