Wait - was the girl Stephanie Tanner?
I overheard a tourist say this while walking behind me last spring while my friends and I were walking on the Mall.
Girl: *points to Washington monument* Um, so like, is that where the President lives?
Mom: Uh, I don't think...so...maybe?
Girl: It's big and white, so it has to be the White House.
Me: Actually, that's the Washington Monument.
Girl: But I thought his name was Bush...does the W stand for Washington? Why would they call the White House the Washington Monument if the guy who lives there isn't named Washington?
Me: NO. President Bush lives in the White House--two streets over and a few blocks down. This is the Washington Monument. It's a memorial to our first president, George Washington. No one lives there. It's not a house.
Girl: That doesn't make sense. People in DC are sooooo ruuuuuude!!
Labels: Tourons (Tourist + Moron)
posted by EavesdropDC @ 10:56 AM
2 comments
2 Comments:
I normally never comment but this is a gem. Kudos to the author who possesses restraint far exceeding my own. MORON does not begin to describe those two...
Just returned from a day in DC -- crowded with tourists and workers who seem to spend more time at lunch and then jogging than at work.(DC is a great place to practice typing -- stereotyping.)
The day was beautiful. Blue sky, fluffy clouds, people picking the tulips, taking pictures while standing in the middle of the roadm and generally oblivious to the world around them.
We headed to the White House to see if it looked less like a fortress and more like the people's house these days. As we approached, something was not right. Folks had gathered at the snow fence in place about mid-elipse. They were taking pictures, chatting with two foot patrol officers while a mounted police officer stood by.
At first we thought it was the activity on the South Lawn that we could glimpsed through the trees (turns out that was the garden planting) We had to walk to the far side of Lafayette Park before we could head east towards our car.
Pennsylvania Avenue was cordoned off, and, again, a crowd was gathered looking towards the White House from the far side of the park. The park had a major police presence and police tape.
Turns out a suspicious black bag had appeared against the PA Ave fence. Never a dull moment in DC.
Still, I found plenty of bright spots. The flowers are gorgeous. Our free museums are without equal, and I gave some folding green to a street musician. He was playing a classical piece, the melody of which now eludes me as I try to identify it. He was playing it on a steel drum -- I was impressed.
The best thing about DC is that you can be thoroughly entertained without spending a dime whether you're going to museums, walking through gardens, or listening to tourists.
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