I’d like to thank all of you for the concern you expressed about my welfare in the middle of Hurricane Isabel. (Oh, that’s right — I didn’t get any such expressions.)
Washington has a reputation as a city that overreacts to weather. Predict a half inch of snow and the whole district shuts down. Yesterday, the city shut down the Metro (subway) network at 11 a.m. — with the sun shining bright and barely a breeze in the air. Isabel was a big nothing here.
We Pew Fellows decided the time was right to have a hurricane party, and shortly after midnight (when Isabel was supposed to be doing its worst to D.C.), we felt the time was right for a walk. We moseyed, a bit tipsy, down 17th Street, past the Old Executive Office Building, past the Ellipse, through Constitution Gardens, and to the Vietnam memorial. The weather was gorgeous, the wind was great, and the streets were abandoned. A terrific night.
On the other hand, every event/class/meeting/interview I’ve had scheduled for the last two days has been cancelled. Lack of structure typically means lack of productivity for me — must battle that.
Hmph! I'm pretty sure I sent hopes for your survival up DC way. Plus, everyone knows how tough you Louisianans are, we all knew you'd be fine.
Joshua Benton is the director of the Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University, among other things. Before that, he was a staff writer and columnist for The Dallas Morning News. (More.)
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