A Touch of Class

Two cool things happened in D.C. today and both of them took place on "The Mall." For the uninitiated, The Mall is the Smithsonian complex. Contrary to some belief there are many Smithsonian museums, The Museum of Natural History, The Air and Space Museum (but there's no air in space), and so on and so forth. Around one I went for a jog after a week and a half hiatus. I needed to get back into my groove. Anyway, on the way back on my jog I ran past some war protestors. They get pretty fancy on the weekends, public address systems, big tents, et cetera. This particular group had a stage with speakers and some microphones, I can only assume they were trying to rouse rabble at some point. But, the story has gotten off track. The song that was being played while I ran past their booth was Masters of War, a classic Dylan song from his second album, “The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.” For those of you unfamiliar with this song I would direct you here. The point of this story is to say, nothing like a little Bobby Zimmerman to put a spring in your step as you go jogging.

Now, as awesome as Bob Dylan is, he isn't the touch of class that I am referring to in my title. Today I was reminded by an old pal of something I had intended on doing on The Mall. Today was the day that La bohème was performed on the aforementioned mall. Once a year, for three years now, the Washington National Opera Company simulcasts their performances on a large screen with large speakers. The audio-visual display is set up on the north side of the Washington Monument, the side facing the White House. For those of you who are not familiar with La bohème, I would direct you here. This was my first opera experience and it was pretty cool. It began at two and was a two and a half hour performance with intermission included. I have to say, though, that if I knew these people in real life I don't think that I could stomach them. Everyone was quite melodramatic and the fact that they never talk but sing could become a little taxing. Like all good opera goers I had Coors Light and cashews. Not exactly caviar and one hundred year old scotch, but it was classy enough for me. Anyway, things are shaping up.