Even the Seagulls Left Town

It’s a Tuesday late morning on Capitol Hill. You’d never know by the looks of it - except now there isn’t as much trash on the National Mall because there aren’t any visitors, hardly any traffic, and no food trucks. The place is deserted. You can look in any direction and it feels like we are the only ones left in town. You could say it’s a nice break from all the noise and the crowds, but I won’t even go that far. Even the seagulls have left town. Where there were dozens of them flyers around the reflecting pool last week, there remain just a few. There’s no food to be had so what’s the point? If there are parking spaces in our neighborhood when we come home after lunch in Alexandria that will be the true test. If that’s the case I won’t mind it at all. 

Government Shutdown and the Empty Streets of DC

Watching TV last night waiting to hear if we should go to work today was very strange. So at midnight I knew I would not need to report for work at the Library. I checked my email and the official notice had not yet been sent, but it was there this morning. We took a little drive about town and it was eerily quiet, even quieter than on a Saturday evening. The weather is simply gorgeous, but there was no one in the streets.  The only activity was tour buses that could show landmarks from a distance. Even the scenic overlooks along the George Washington Parkway were blocked off. Barricades were all over town, traffic was non existent, the rickshaws were empty. The police cars and circling helicopters were the only obvious activity apart from congressional staff wandering between the office buildings and the Capitol. All the monuments were blocked off, with park rangers taking questions from the tourists wondering why they couldn't get any closer. I suppose I should be glad to have the day off, but there is something really sad about it all when it's not your choice and you don't know how long it will be. After thirty years working in the private sector, this is simply unheard of. 

Empty Halls and Spaces of a Government Shutdown

It hasn't even happened yet, but this is what it might look like if the government shuts down at midnight tonight. We have received all the official notifications and a lot of people have spent a lot of time preparing for it. These photos were actually taken in the Madison Building cafeteria at around 3:30 in the afternoon. Since I still can't walk from a toe mishap about a month ago I sometimes wander up to the sixth floor to get a change of scenery. All is quiet at this time of day and I can see our house from here. I'm looking forward to having a few days off. Wouldn't you know I already had a sick day planned for doctor appointments and Friday is a scheduled day off. But every extra day off for me is wonderful. Let's hope it actually happens. Working in the private sector for thirty years makes this all seem very strange, and completely avoidable. But that was in Milwaukee.