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[plural]

back from DC
had a wonderful time

Friday evening I arrived
and spent the evening with Patrick [budhaboy] and his wife
we went out for a delightful dinner and
a most excellent irish whiskey was enjoyed by all

The minister among us
found it quite tasty
and professed an understanding
for why people
become addicted to the stuff

The next morning
around eight patrick and I
went out for a drive
and I shot some black and whites
for my class

Then we came back
and took his darling son Oliver to some sort of farm/petting zoo
which was good fun
I am hoping I got some good photos
even though I ran out of film halfway through

All in all the both of them were darling
and much pleasant and intelligent conversation
was shared, something which I have been missing recently

I do have to say
his wife tickled me pink a few times
you see, she is a minister
and like many ministers
she would substitute "gosh" for "god"
in exclamatory statements
of course
this by itself is common and not amusing
however when contrasted
with the comfort with she used the word
fuck

it was highly amusing
then again
I have never really thought of ministerial types
as people
sort of viewed them
like the military
with a big stamp on their forehead

"Property of God, all rights reserved"

I headed up to visit my sister
a sophomore
[she chided with this often]
at an all girls boarding school

I stopped in town
before arriving to change
into some nicer clothes
as to make a good impression
on all those at her school

you see
I remember when I was in boarding school
and my older sister came to visit me
I greatly benefited from her appearance
having a "hot" [their words not mine] sister
seemed to boost my social standing
so
I figured I would polish myself up
and look presentable

from the bus
full of girls
craning their necks out the windows
and hollering to my sister

"Hey, who is that"

I would say that the thought
was validated

I walked along side the outside
of the bus
while my sister introduced me
to her friends
and shook the hands of those
not overwhelmed with temerity

we went to meet her horse "Horton"
and a beautiful beast he was
had I more time
I would have loved to ride him

they had just returned
from a fox hunt that morning
and he looked as if he had enjoyed himself

we went to her room
to pick up a stereo she wanted to return
and a piece of luggage of mine
which she had for safekeeping

and went out shopping

we spent the afternoon
tooling around
I picked up some DVDs
and she got a book of creme brulee recipes
[it is one of her specialities]
from William Sonoma

I educated her on the difference thread count makes
when shopping for sheets
and how the evils of kitsch are to be avoided
while picking up a few things for the apartment

We went out to a delightful italian eatery
they didn't serve wine but allowed you to bring your own
and as I happened
to have a delightful red in the car
[I never travel without wine]
I brought it in with me
it took but a moment
to convince the waiter
that my fifteen year old sister
was actually benjamin franklin
and he should be quick about fetching two glasses

we talked about our trips to italy
over dinner and she threatened
to become a permanent house guest
should I ever reside there

My sister, with training shall become the other
true aesthete in the family
granted most of us have it to one degree or another
but with some work, I can refine her to the degree
which I enjoy

She knows quite a bit about wine
[not as much as I did at her age]
[but then again, I always was a lush]
and was quite pleased with my selection
and I promised to send a bottle
to New York for her trip there in a week or so

Not wanting to return her a moment before curfew
as it would be a shame to waste any off campus time
we went and saw a movie
we were hoping to catch one hour photo
but missed it so we saw red dragon instead
which I was disappointed with
having read the book

the quality of the move was fairly good
but it rather butchered the book
and I find such things distasteful

I returned her safely and mostly sober
to campus a fashionable half hour after curfew
with a glib apology to the dorm-mistress
who assured me that it was quite acceptable
as she was sure that she had been safe with me

it was rather late
and I decided to grab a hotel room
rather than attempt to drive home

I had intended to visit some cousins
but was having difficulty getting ahold of them
so decided it could wait for another time

I woke up early
and decided to hit the capitol
to snap some more black and whites
got a variety of somewhat interesting photos
and was heading out of town
when I saw a sign for arlington national cemetary

I swung by the cemetery to pay my respects
and continue taking photos

I saw a man
sitting in a lawn chair
before a simple tombstone
his dog laying at his side
and was struck by the image

I approached him and asked if I could
photograph him, as I felt it would be disrespectful
to photograph such an intimate moment without permission
I explained that it was for a class and he was more than happy to oblige
it turns out that he had been a photographer in the navy
many years back

he spends his sundays in that spot
to be with his wife
and while I did not say so
I could understand the emotions involved

he asked how I wanted him positioned
and
I used the ever famous line
of photographers
"oh just pretend I am not here"
which got a laugh from him

I shot most of a roll
and am most excited to develop them

I headed out
took the scenic route out of washington
as my intended route was blocked by a marathon of some sort
and eventually
arrived home
to a kitty most eager for my attentions

such home comings are a goodness

in other news
various conversations and thoughts
relating to relationships and life
have been brewing
if I can shake them out of my head
and onto a page

you may see them soon

love love