one beautiful man

premonitions

Flying out of Dulles International Airport is a surreal experience. When I’m there, I always think of the infamous day that hijackers pretended to be Americans and boarded that fateful American flight. Out of Dulles came the plane that flew into the Pentagon on September 11th. To me, Dulles is a part of that experience eternally branded into our minds.

On Sunday, I was getting a little more acquainted with someone from church. As I asked her questions about her life, she told me that she’s worked for American Airlines for 20 years. With my interest grew, she ended up telling me that she was actually the American employee that checked all 58 passengers onto the soon-to-be-hijacked Flight 77, from Washington, DC to Los Angeles. She said that a co-worker was a passenger that day and was extremely suspicious of the man sitting across the aisle from her. He was one of the hijackers. But what does one do with just an instinctual premonition? What does one tell the FBI until 3 a.m. the next morning?

Needless to say, my friend still wrestles with the responsibility of this nightmare…the faces of the children on a National Geographic trip to LA, a Georgetown professor, her husband and their two tiny daughters, and the man on his way back to Orange County to get his family's yellow Labrador, who had been left behind until they settled into their new home in Arlington, Virginia.

But who could have predicted?

je ne sais quois

If you've ever found yourself in the unfortunate position of riding in an elevator with or using a dressing room next to two (or more) unknown female friends and being forced to listen to them talk about the latest in fashion, maybe you've felt that clothes are shallow and trite, at best, afterwards.

Ahh...but how you've misbranded which one is shallow and trite - fashion, instead of these status-ticians.

What today's average female consumer doesn't understand is that fashion has very little to do with the latest "it" items - the newest Louis Vuitton-Murakami bag, Seven jeans and that repulsive Tiffany chain-link, dog tag bracelete. Fashion is not about the attainment of clothing and accessories that most of us think will one-up ourselves over everyone else. Fashion is about personal style. Personal style reveals what you believe, how you feel about who are you, and enjoying yourself through the medium of fashion.

The body is a canvas. You are the artist. Fashion is the paint. What great artist ever willingly set out to devise a masterpiece just like those of his contemporaries? Certainly not Picasso, Warhol or Hopper.

Every woman has the capacity to be referred to as having ...umm...ahh... je ne sais quois.

dc

Last month I celebrated my year anniversary of being a Washingtonian. Over the year I’ve observed a lot of people from every educational, socio-economic, experiential and professional background. Of each of them, I’ve wondered what brought them to Washington. Do people actually set out to create a life here? With the less than stellar prospect of homeownership, crime and corruption, the District is less than desirable to those of us who find the bureaucracy beyond boring. As such, I've frequently brushed Washington off as a minor player in the game of the most sought after cities.

But within the last month, D.C. has been illuminated. It’s literally an empty canvas for fashion, cinema, literature, and music (This is the birthplace of Duke Ellington). My thoughts were confirmed when I found a great description of Washington that I had never imagined someone had articulated. Dr. Richard Florida, an amazing pop economist, said that D.C. is “that ultimate creative center.” Hollywood has celebrity. Boston has education. New York has money. Washington, D.C. possesses all three. It combines influence with power, intellect with imagination, art with ambition (Brewing Culture).

Here I’ve been, living in an eight mile by eight mile area carved out of Maryland and Virginia, and I had no idea that amongst these five million people is a congested, Club-bearing, flow of creative traffic.

my fellows

I spent my entire weekend with some of Washington’s finest young professionals. These are my up and coming, bright, thoughtful, and authentic counterparts. I have derived so much knowledge from each of their unique perspectives. I’m persuaded in my faith and ambitions by their fresh approach to the pursuit of success and Christ. I am empowered. I can only imagine what this group will accomplish both together and as individuals within our lifetimes.

my love affair

The colors, the lines, texture and movement
saunter in a thousand inaudible words;
the backdrop of a drink in hand or the clutch of someone’s arm.

Memorabilia and transportation;
where one’s been and where one’s requesting to go.

The sophisticate’s vernacular;
a conversation in the ensembled tongues
of muted Park Avenue voices.

Apple cherry tulle, magenta organza, sapphire chiffon;
a late-night narrative read to a stranger on a glistening city street.

dress up for the occasion

I am sending you out like sheep among wolves.
Therefore, be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.