Because I’m Not Too Cool: Medieval Times

Medieval Times

Because I’m Not Too Cool is a new series about things that some people might think they are just too cool to do, when in fact, when done, turn out to be some of the best things ever.

I know what you are thinking, because well, I thought it too.  Before committing to this adventure, I thought Medieval Times would be the last place you’d catch me on a Saturday night.  It is expensive, it is kind of weird, and it is for kids, right?  Well, partially.  It is definitely expensive, it could be considered weird, but I think I had a better time than any kid there.  We found some discounted tickets, a good crew, and a reason to go.  Kareem’s life long dream of becoming a knight was about to come a birthday reality.

They have a pretty brilliant business plan.  They force you to get there early, in order to get the best seats, and trap you in while selling you anything from handmade swords to overpriced knight paperweights.  While we didn’t get any souvenirs, the bar certainly made a few of our bucks.  After all, what better way to celebrate the knighting of Sir Kareem than a Medieval Margarita, served in a killer commemorative chalice?

The feast turned out to actually be one fit for kings.  Everyone was fed soup, half a chicken, ribs, potatoes and dessert.  All of it surprisingly well seasoned and tasty, and all served without utensils.

But the food was nothing compared to the show.  I think it probably helped that our view was slightly blurred with vodka, but man was it exciting.  Each section is given a Knight to cheer for.  We had the Black and White Knight.  Our crew cheered on his successes and moaned when he was struck.  We booed his opponents, and were on our feet when he was victorious.  It felt a little like I imagine a kid feels like when he/she goes to their first sporting event.  They didn’t care who won before arriving, but would be devastated when the team they started cheering for lost. Thank God we won, because I don’t know what I would have done had we been defeated.

It really was a hilarious night.  When you are surrounded by 200 other people (some of them actually Medieval buffs, others just as hesitant as you), it is hard to not let lose and have a great time.  A true Knight (get it?) to remember.

Or the Starbucks

Urban Farms

Photo taken from http://www.commongoodcityfarm.org/

I saw this on NBC’s Nightly News the other night and thought it was great.  Glad to see DC can make it to the news for something other than crime and Obama.  Be sure to check out the video and the Common Good City Farm website.

If you plant it, they will come.  MSNBC

Litterbug for Life?

International Tidy Man

DC neighborhood blogs, like the Prince of Petworth have been writing about this for a long time.  PoP even started a neighborhood Clean Up day because of it.  For the most part, I’ve just been able to blow it off as “part of living in the city,” but today I saw something that really rubbed me the wrong way.

I was sitting out on my porch talking on the phone when I saw a guy walking down the sidewalk.  I didn’t think anything of it, as he was just strolling down the street.  I did notice he had a brown bag, most likely with a 40 of Old English nestled inside, but that seems far too normal around here, so I didn’t take a second glance.  Surprisingly, a cop rolls up from around the corner and asks the man to dump out the beer.   He seemed a little pissed (as anyone who just bought a new bottle of booze would be), but complied without trouble.  It was when the cop started to slowly ride off that the man got angry.  He yelled something, threw up his hands, and slammed the bottle on the middle of the alley he was standing in.  The bottle smashes, and 40 oz of glass spew all over the street.  The po po, who I’m sure saw the whole thing, didn’t seem to care.  What got me was that the cop cared enough to make the man pour out his beverage, but not enough to get angry about breaking a bottle all over the street!  Clearly the neighborhood would have been better off with a drunk guy walking home, than a street full of glass.

I’d say that most people will agree with me that littering goes hand in hand with economic levels.  Around the world, trash lined streets haunt poor neighborhoods.  Yet it would be hard to find a gum rapper in McLean.  So what is it that makes people litter?  Do people litter because they don’t care?  Because they don’t know better?  As a way of sticking it to the man?  No one wants to live in a dumpster, so why treat your community like a trash can?

I think it is probably a combination of several reasons.  First off people don’t care.  If you take no ownership of your neighborhood, why does it matter if you throw your empty cigarette box on the ground.  I’d say that most people who litter have seen their parents, friends, and neighbors do it their whole lives.  They know that maybe someone will come by and clean it up, and if they don’t, oh well.  Secondly, because they have never learned not to.  I’m sure people say, “don’t litter” when you are in elementary school, but they probably have not learned the effects of trash on local rivers, water supplies, and children’s hygiene.

While I think that neighborhood clean ups are great, and I love the initiative, it isn’t curing the problem.  Children need to learn from day one that it is not ok.  The problem lies when their families don’t know that.  It creates this never ending cycle, forming litterbugs that will most likely be littering lifers.  How can you make someone care?

Did You Know?

Breaking Down White Lightning

Parked in Van Ness

It finally happened to me.  Someone busted a hole in poor little White Lightning.  Just before I set off to the ‘developing world’ a few weeks ago, I received the unfortunate reminder that the place I call home is still far from perfect.  It was a very weak moment for me.  One filled with frustration, anger, curse words, and fist slams.  Who would have thought my car was safer in Columbia Heights than Van Ness?

By getting me and another car down the street, they caused over $300 in damage, 7 hours (between the two of us) of lost vacation time, and two royally pissed off drivers.  All for 1 cell phone charger.

So I’m left asking myself, why would anyone do this?  Are times tough, and you need any buck you can get?  If that were the case, you would have thought they would look through the cars a little better to get a few cds, bike seat, and a couple of Frisbees.  Instead I’d say it was a bored, lazy, good for nothing, looking for a cheap thrill.  I’m sure he sold my charger for $5, but that obviously isn’t worth the risk of jail time.

Just the other day, when I was out for a run, I noticed two smashed windows near U st.  This is a huge problem in the city, with no solution, that I know of, in sight.  So what can we do about it?  Keep kids in school?  Set up a curfew?  Have a more noticeable police presence around the city?  Probably all of those would help, but I just don’t think it would fix the problem.  We have to start at the root.  Figure out the motivations, and fix them.