Ole Wreck of a Bloomingdale House

On another alley walk I found this gem that surely is a thorn in the side of its neighbors. I didn't go around and check out the front of this house but the back was this lovely ole wreck of a thing, with busted windows, broken fence, rotting upper floor walls and a big tree trunk with vines growing all over. I think I was in one of the alleys behind First Street NW but I can't be sure. You just know it's home to a lot more creatures than humans: it's sure to have a few birds and a mouse or two who have taken up residence, and maybe one of those mysterious raccoons I keep hearing about.
 

Sharing a Ride with the Taxi Driver's Underwear

I got a taxi cab today in a hurry but who really looks inside a cab before getting into it? Anyway, in a hurry to a meeting on Capitol Hill, I hailed a cab and got in. After telling the driver where I wanted to go, I looked down and in some disgust saw a discarded sweaty slightly soiled undershirt -- presumably the cab driver's -- in a basket between the two front seats. Now I've been in cabs with broken seats, cabs with litter, cabs with windows that won't close, or open, cabs that stink of cigarette smoke, cabs with drivers who won't stop talking at you, cabs with blaring radios, but this was the first time a cab driver had his underwear there for passengers to enjoy. AARGH!

Chinese Dragon In the Neighborhood

Apparently the owner of the Chinese Dragon take-away food store on the corner of Rhode Island and First Street in our neighborhood got some money from the city government's facade improvement program (that is, from us taxpayers) to improve his store front. Previously, this was just block letters and there was not a little dragon logo over the store windows. I think the front wall was also repainted yellow and the windows have also been washed too so the whole effect is to make this place look a lot smarter. You would never know it but this food establishment was the scene of some drug related shootings back when we had a serious crack cocaine problem in the 'hood. I think someone was even killed right in front of this place, shot to death on the sidewalk. Back then, this corner was a thriving drug market, thanks to the Washington Post for putting the corner on a map of drug dealing locations they routinely printed (to help suburbanites find inner city drug markets).  Today, however, the neighboring store is a more up-market grocery and wine store than what used to be there -- a liquor store -- and the Chinese Dragon has also gotten fixed up.  I've never bought anything to eat from here as I don't "eat on the street" nor have I thought to go in and see what that's there but maybe I should try it.  Does a cleaned up facade mean the food might be more appealing? Some people think so as two people have given positive reviews of this Chinese Dragon here on Yelp.