"Don’t Tell Anyone Anything, Or Else You’ll End Up Missing Everyone.”

I miss D.C.

Less than two months ago I went cross-country and visited a few places. And all I really have to say is that the world’s largest McDonald’s was a major disappointment. It couldn’t have been more unimpressive and was clearly something done in principle, like everyone who goes around wearing those yellow Livestrong wristbands. Principle in accomplishment; in saying “I Care,” while not really caring.

Donate 75 cents to cancer research and then vote against universal healthcare. It actually makes some sad sense.

As for the rest of the country, I loved it, but you have to see it for yourself. Commenting on cross-country is like going through a photo album of strangers. Unless you want to sleep with the person involved, you could hardly care less.

The point is I miss D.C.

Last month I spent a little time in a few other cities. While a friend was showing me around Louisville, she told me that it was trying really hard to be a big city. We even passed a billboard that boasted Louisville recently becoming a Top 25 city in the U.S.

Louisville seems to share with all small major cities this ambition to be big. But even the big cities have their own identity anxieties. A few years ago Philadelphia applauded itself for no longer being the fattest city in America, and Los Angeles celebrated no longer being the most polluted. Seattle is making itself into a hip space station, while Boston is applying to be its own accredited university. Chicago hopes to be New York City, and New York City is just busy trying to be itself.

Meanwhile, Washington, D.C. is content.

And I missed it, and I miss my friends and family. So I made reservations to fly back for the weekend, though there were some initial missteps since the last days of the calendar year are the most confusing time to book a flight online. You forget to change everything to 2005. But I eventually found my way home.

It was weird being back. Great to see my friends and siblings, but sad to spend so little with each. A weekend is the perfect amount of time to inspire you to want to catch all you can, but guarantees that you will fail and drop pretty much everything.

Of course, part of me wanted to stay, but the automated warning said it best while I was struggling to book my flight:

This airline cannot make reservations in the past.


Fine, this may be a little much. But be wary of those you come across in your life who aren't sentimental. It only means they've surrounded themselves with people they don't really care for. And there's no need to mix with that sort.