Arlington Ridge Road is as it sounds, a long hilly road that offers a magnificent view of the District stretching out underneath it to the east, past the Potomac. We ran along it a lot in the recently-concluded DCRRC 10K/10M Group Training Program, for which I was a roving coach. I loved going up there because I like to do hills on 6-10 mile runs; it throws variety and difficulty into the workout.
The houses up there are magnificent, in the million dollar range, I imagine. Even now after the meltdown. They're big, usually white and columned, and nicely spaced out. Between the imposing structures you can see snatches of the Washington Monument, the Capitol, and the Lincoln as you run past.
Lately, practically each front yard up there has been festooned with campaign signs. And guess what they all say? McCain/Palin. Even though Northern Virginia is not the real America because it's going to deliver Virginia into the blue column for the first time since 1964. 
As we ran by each week, I joked with other runners that a midnight sign-gathering foray might be in order. (Just kidding! I wouldn't do that.) Practically anywhere else in Arlington, Obama signs pre-dominate. It's clear up there, though, what wealth does to political preference. (Right: This is part of the Not-Real America, the District as seen from Northern Virginia.)
But there is one funky house up there that sports an Obama sign. Just one. That house is a little different from the rest, sort of angled into its large lot, so it affords passerbys a better view of the vista below. It's more ramshackle than the rest too, and has vans and old VW buses out front instead of sleek long black sedans with tinted windows. I call it the hippie house. Maybe they grew up in the 60s and made their money in a dot.com instead of in the 80s and making their money managing or mis-managing other people's money.
I wonder if the occupants of the hippie house have to replace their Obama signs each morning in that little blue island in the sea of red up there.
7 comments:
Interesting place in Arlington - don't think I've ever been to this area- I like that photo too. Living in TX, it's a sea of McC/P, with the exception of the hippy city of Austin!
And, thanks for visiting my blog - and..of course, you are right about the grassy knoll photo!
Whoever came up with "people vote their pocketbook" didn't have to think too hard about that one.
I wonder if people really think putting those signs up persuades others to vote a certain way? I for one am sick of all the signs!
Back when I lived in Minnesota, it seemed all of the luxury SUVs were sporting "W" bumper stickers. Surprisingly, I see a lot of McCain/Palin signs in the wine country, but I think that's more because of the fundamentalists/evangelicals trying to grasp more political power so that they can silence the rest of us. Cambria seems to be pretty liberal. Go 'Bama!
First, congratulations on a successful season coaching. I bet you are quite the motivator -- and a caring coach at that.
I admit that I was surprised by the proliferation of McCain/Palin signs in my neighborhood, more of them planted just about each morning I run. I'm kinda hoping for a close race, just so everyone walks away believing their vote was worth it.
We cheered as we ran past many Obama lawn signs on the historic north side in Indianapolis yesterday.
Congratulations on your great work of encouraging new runners.
I can feel the build-up over on this side of the atlantic.. Am planning to go to sleep early tomorrow night and set the alarm for 3am so I can follow this. I can barely watch anymore coverage I am so nervous he won't get it after all of this...
What you do over there affects us so much here - I think we really need Obama as much as you do!
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