North Corner

Okay, so Whitney tells it better, but nice little adventure by Team Whitney Katie and Jeremy after Sara and Rachel took the early flight Easter Sunday morning.

Our goal? Avoid the Cherry Blossom crowds.

Literally get as far away from the throngs of fanny-packed masses trampling the cherry blossoms around the Tidal Basin...

So we dreamed a dream. A very W-K-J dream. Touch the four corners of the square that makes up (err, made up) the 10-mile-square District of Columbia. North and East abutting Maryland. West and South afronting Virginia, ten miles apart at the cardinal directions.


Well, a quick glance at the map proved that dream a bit unrealistic. Pragmatism set in. So we set out to touch not all four, but just one of the corners, and north seemed as good a destination as any.


In case you'd ever like to recreate the adventure: Take the Red Line north to Silver Spring. Out of the station, head toward Starbucks. Stop for a bagel if necessary. Take a right onto East West Highway. No worries, there’s a nice sidewalk. Cross 16th Street and wind yourself down a hill. Expect crowds as you cross to the left (south) sidewalk and spot closer to the magic spot.

Oh, and when you get there? Look for a little Easter egg surprise...if some other treasure hunter hasn’t found it first.

clickity clack down the track

Today I sat on the subway and typewritered short messages to friends. i would rip it off the typewriter and pass it down to them. it was like texting. With a reciept.

Strangely enough, i was not even the strangest person in the subway car. across the aisle, a man holding a clipboard was doing somersaults in his seat. awesome.

Portability

FYI - AirTran allows manual typewriters as personal items. Expect, though, cat-calls from security staff, especially re: the availability of ribbons.

How does a pirate say goodbye?

ALPs invited B. Johnson and I back - as legends - to run the winter retreat extravaganza. Desperate for a mid-winter reprieve, we opted for pirates.


A highlight? A new initiative centered on dowels: the Human Ladder. Give a large group ten 1.25 inch dowels and see what happens. Jump an electric Fence. Pass through a spider web. Or try see how high a vertical ladder the group can create.

And number of ALPs facilitators converted to typewriterism over the course of the evening? Four. Four good ones... It's been fun watching these kids grow up over the past four years. It's nice to hear the pleasure - and benefit - was mutual.

Will Me?

I recently created my first will that was not presumably invalid. Kind of exciting! I can only show off my favorite paragraph, though, otherwise there'd likely be hordes of folks trying to knock me off to get their hands on my sweet, sweet stuff.


Modest much, Jeremy?

Per Usual, It Wasn't That Good of a Knock-Knock Joke...

Broomball Oh-Ten

We Were Surprised When It Didn't Work...

Unfortunately I'm Not Anytime Soon...

Smith-Corona: Sterling

I have a new friend. My new friend gives my day meaning. My new friend cost $5 at the Oshkosh St. Vinnies. My new friend is a 1965(ish) Smith-Corona Sterling. A beauty. She works like a charm, without a single defect.


I take my new typewriter with me wherever I go. In December it was decorating half of Rachel's wall during an Ugly Sweater Party. New Years eve? Came up north with us to Nick's cabin. And there we set about, among other things, to understanding why the seven of us were in the room.

It started small:


But our ambitions grew:


Looking to make your own typewriter art? Great. Here's a suggestion, though. Instead of folding your paper over, use a square of paper with a diagonal that's just short enough to fit into the typewriter. Here's the formula:

Merry Christmas.

Just for you.