November 3, 2020
Hello Everybody,
I'm not in D.C. I'm in Davis. It's Election Day.
I highly recommend reading this summary of the day by the historian Heather Cox Richardson:
I returned a week ago and after two days of rest I resumed my daily riding of the beautiful and safe 12 mile Davis Bike Loop.
For me, this is the local analogy of the circumnavigations of the White House and the Capitol. It is a "ritual austerity" because I don't know what else to do.
My neighbor had this to say:
I liked that.
As today is Election Day I'm going to walk the loop instead of ride it.
What have I seen on the loop? Here are some pictures:
This was by a bench along the path:
This marquee outside a Junior High School was interesting:
A "spirit week" is, apparently, a week to get students excited about the school and raise the energy level. That event is now a "virtual" event because of COVID-19. At first I did not see that "spirit" was misspelled. I'm usually good about seeing that kind of thing. My only excuse is that as I ride I wear my mask and not my glasses because they tend to steam up.
On Saturday morning I saw this on the ride:
This was an event for the whole community so after riding in the morning I also rode the loop again with everyone else. It was simply good fun and it was heartening to see the many families and people of all ages enjoying themselves. After all the strife with the election and The Virus it was a relief to see a happy thriving community.
I did miss something by leaving D.C. The day I left (when Barrett was sworn in) a group of Trumpists tore down all the signs on the fence in front of Lafayette Park - in front of the White House and right near Black Lives Matter Plaza. Read about it here.
The local activists stepped up and recreated it "creating art on the spot".
One friend I met there helped out. She said,
"That was one of the really good nights to be here, but otherwise you're not missing much. A whole bunch of hate and impending violent civil unrest. You can continue the fight from there, while not at risk of getting gassed or shot."
Yesterday I thought that I could actually go back if it seemed necessary. I know where I would stay and do know how to get around...
Let's hope for the best.
Jon
P.S. I sent this email at 7:30 am but forgot to Bcc everyone. I'm now back from the walk around The Loop. My left knee just barely survived but I'm happy.
Here are 3 more pictures I saw on the walk:
