By Michael Burkard
It's 11.9 miles to Mardela Springs.
The public school's a left away from
the town which is too small to be called
a town.
Past the school and heading
south is a road which
immediately kisses country,
a large pond there
with a house
beside it.
The shadows
in the fall morning
make a wind beside the house.
The students are tired.
It's Monday. It doesn't seem
to matter what day, most of the time
they're tired.
In the early fall dark
the road whispers to the pond.
"Amends." School is out, no one hears. In 216
the janitor replaces a fluorescent light.
He drops a screw from ten steps up.
The school is so quiet it hears the drop.
The school and the road begin their talk.
Soon the pond joins in.
"Amends."
--------
I had a lingering headache from Wednesday when I woke up -- why does having even a little bit of blood taken leave me feeling like crap for two days? So I took it relatively easy on Thursday, I had Kohl's Bucks that I had to use by today, so I went to Kohl's, where I intended to look at winter clothes but ended up buying two summer blouses from the 80% off rack. I came home to let younger son in, though I barely saw him before he went to visit his friends -- he was accepted this morning into his high school's Academy of Creative and Performing Arts, meaning that he'll get to take more arts classes, work on a portfolio, have more studio time, see lunchtime speakers, and graduate with distinction. I'm glad he's taking photography and theater instead of journalism and orchestra! Older son had his first robotics team meeting of the year; he's head of programming now, and apparently had a good enough time that he didn't mind walking home from the bus stop in the rain.
I watched Star Trek: The Next Generation's "Inheritance," the episode with Data's mother...whom I somehow never realized was played by Fionnula Flanagan, whom we were watching just last night in Brotherhood (having realized that we never watched the final several episodes because we feared it would end in a bloodbath, Paul (who made enchiladas for dinner for the Mexican bicentennial) got me the complete series set when Amazon had it super-cheap as their Deal of the Day, now that we know it ends surprisingly peacefully). I don't like the episode all that much, but she's lovely. Then those of us not doing homework watched the second episode of the new Nikita, which I still don't love anywhere near the way I loved the previous version, but it's got plenty of interesting women who occasionally even have each other's backs -- "Who the hell are you?" "Her fairy godmother." There are some silly elements -- who calls from a bathroom instead of texting when silence and secrecy are necessary? -- and too much gun violence, but I'll be watching next week.
This is the old entrance to Glen Echo Park, with one of the trolley cars that used to bring amusement park visitors from Washington, DC.
The view of the arcade from the onetime miniature golf course.
The former bumper car pavilion now hosts craft shows and performances...
...though in my youth, some of these bumper cars were still inside the structure.
The onetime candy and popcorn stands have been repainted and restored, though I don't think they sell junk food any more.
Instead of games, the arcade now houses Adventure Theatre and the Puppet Theatre, plus the Washington Conservatory of Music...
...while potters, weavers, and other craftspeople work in yurts.
This is the one remaining amusement park ride still in operation...the Dentzel Carousel.
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