President's Day

Ok, you can spend your money however you want, even if it's on the previously-mentioned Lincoln French Fry. But isn't it going a bit too far to claim that your purchase marks "a great day for marketing and a great day for Abe Lincoln"?

This has been a strangely good weekend. My uncle is still in the hospital, and was holding on by a thin thread, the doctor warned on Friday. My cousin from California and my uncle from nearby came in on Saturday for the occasion of the removal of the ventilator-if he hadn't been able to breathe on his own, it could have been his last breath. (Long explanation, so never mind. It was serious, anyway.) So in an impromtu reunion, the house was full of relatives: two cousins, a cousin-in-law, a first cousin once removed, an uncle, an aunt-in-law-ish, and a family friend whose relation I am not quite sure of. It made for a crowded dining room and some fascinating conversations. It was great to catch up and gab and play with the baby. On the other hand, the only reason we were all there, from Boston and California and DC, was because death seemed imminent.

All that gabbing around the dinner table, and all those stories about distant cousins and crazy aunts renewed my interest in seriously keeping track of geneology. It's an idea I've toyed with a few times, and I know my grandma has kept track of some would-have-been-lost information from the Range side. If I could just start writing things down in an organized way, collect stories when I can, and keep it up. For me and for my family, for future family, you know...something to have and refer to and think about. Plus, there are some great anecdotes.

Besides spending time with family contemplating serious issues of hospice and nursing homes, I Did Social Things this weekend, like eat Egyptian food, courtesy of Loay and his miniscule kitchen. Rami provided the manoushe and we had a foul and egg breakfast Mubarak would be jealous of. Then, thanks to Google, I found a happening dance community and hit the dance floor on Saturday night. When I parked and saw all the people walking in, I thought, there must be something else going on...this many people can't be going swing dancing. But there wasn't, and they were. It was great, lots of people, live band, information about upcoming classes and dances, non-creepy guys to dance with. Fatema and I hit the Smithsonian and are now Well Educated on various subjects, like First Lady's dresses and the Ipswitch house and Brown vs. Board of Education. We also saw Hitch, the first movie I've seen in a long time where I consistently laughed out loud in the theater (Recommended! See it!) in Union Station, also home to a great food court and some excellent architecture.