Happy New Year!

Cincinnati, part deux: The travel woes did not end with three mechanical failures and lost luggage ... on my return trip to D.C. on the 30th, I was rerouted through Cincinnati because the morning Delta flight from Cedar Rapids to Atlanta was overweight. Even though I wasn't too excited about going through Cincinnati again, I was supposed to arrive at DCA a couple hours early. Not bad, I thought. I ended up having to wait for 45 minutes at the gate in Cincinnati because of severe fog over the Potomac and concerns about landing. Once we finally got in the air and 35 miles from DC, the pilot announced that we were not cleared for landing at DCA and might have to land at Dulles, and for the next hour, we flew in circles over Washington waiting for word. Luckily, we were cleared and landed at Reagan National - only to discover that Delta had broken my bag! Oh, the joys of traveling ... but it was a fun Christmas at home with the family and neighbor friends.





Christmas at the White House: After getting back home last Saturday, I saw the national Christmas tree on the Ellipse (just south of the White House). As it was warm outside, it was quite busy. The large tree was surrounded by model trains, and each state had its own decorated tree around the perimeter. All ornaments were encased in a clear plastic globe to protect them from rain and snow. Iowa's tree was decorated - and quite appropriately! - with miniature quilts made my guilds in Iowa City and Des Moines.









Goodbye, President Ford: I had the fortunate opportunity to see President Ford lie in state in the Capitol rotunda Saturday night. Compared to seeing President Reagan two years ago, security was a bit more relaxed, and there was less fanfare in general about the proceedings. This time I waited just two hours and saw the flag-draped coffin at 10:20 p.m. - much better than the four-hour wait and 2:37 a.m. viewing for President Reagan. Since I didn't bring much downtown with me, I had plenty of time to people watch while waiting in line ... I had to smile at the parents entertaining their kids with games of tag and thumb wars and who told their impatient children, "You may never have this opportunity again!" Some men and women were dressed in suits, but most came in jeans and tennis shoes. One lady was beautifully dressed in a black suit with a veiled hat and stood next to a teenager in a mini-skirt. My favorite, however, was the boy in a Scout uniform with a coon skin cap playing his Game Boy. Mourners came in all shapes and sizes ...

No Times Square: I took the Chinatown bus up to and back from New York for a couple of days around New Year's to visit friends. I avoided Times Square this year (Waiting in a pen for eight hours to watch a ball drop once is plenty enough!) and spent my New Year's visiting my AmeriCorps friend Kerri in Brooklyn and eating fondue with my old roommate and others in my former apartment in Queens. I did, however, ring in the strike of midnight on a subway platform right underneath Times Square while waiting for a train and could hear the crowd cheer as the ball dropped. My only companion was an elderly Chinese gentleman snoring through it all!