DANICA PATRICK TO RACE AT INDY AGAIN! YOU GO, GIRL!

We are not in the habit of using phrases such as "You go, girl!". But this year's return of Danica Patrick - who has come closer than any female driver in Indy history to winning the race and is a superb Indy driver - has our admiration. We forget which race it was, but Patrick had to "Pit" several times, including once to replace a damaged nose cone on her car; and each time came roaring back to the front group of cars in the pack.  (That time, however she ran out of gas just as a pedal to the metal could have won the race.)

But after trying to win eight times, she went into a snit and took her act to NASCAR, a culture not particularly welcoming to woman drivers. We don't watch a lot of NASCAR but it's the only racing shown in most clubs we go to. And when Danica was racing on the TV in those watering holes, the fans wanted her off the track since she was always causing problems and wrecks. 

And we were upset with Patrick because all she had to do was learn a bit about fuel management and she could probably win. 

Now Danica Patrick is going to try for a win at Indy again. And if you are wondering why we're rooting for her, it's NOT because we think it's "time for a woman to win" or some such twaddle. Rather the fame she would gain from such a win could provide an inspiration for perseverance by our youth. And if she loses, tough. As long as she learns and applies that learning, she'll do better every year.  Go Danica! We'll be watching.

BE AWARE IN ALEXANDRIA! METRO MAKING PLANS TO TOTALLY SCREW THE POOCH IN 2019

We must say, even we could not come up with an idea more stupid than what the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Administration has come up with. First there was the "Safe track" project a couple years ago where they shut down whole lines for half a month to do inspections and repairs. Now they plan to completely redo the parking lot and bus facilities at the King Street Metro Station when there is nothing wrong with the way the station functions in its present configuration. But that's not the worst of it (although it will eliminate 32 parking spaces and really cheese off a lot of people). 

METRO PLANS TO COMPLETELY CLOSE DOWN EVERY METRO STATION IN THE CITY OF ALEXANDRIA AND HUNTINGTON AND SPRINGFIELD IN FAIRFAX COUNTY FROM MEMORIAL DAY 2019 TO LABOR DAY 2019 TO COMPLETELY DEMOLISH AND REDO THE STATION PLATFORMS AT A COST OF HALF A BILLION FUCKING DOLLARS even though these stations work perfectly well without spending all that money. 

This move will play havoc with Alexandria's summer tourist industry and the hospitality and restaurant industries that feed in its orbit. Not to mention the hordes of federal workers that don't take the summer off but have to work anyway. You should see the crowds on weekday mornings and evenings. There is no way in hell that shuttle buses will handle these crowds without majorly screwing up traffic between the shuttle points.

We have been riding Metro pretty regularly since we retired from the taxi business last March, and there is NOTHING WRONG WITH THE DAMNED STATION PLATFORMS! Certainly nothing that justifies a complete replacement of all of them at a cost of nearly half a billion dollars. 

We have often said here that we try to be cynical, but it's hard to keep up. This is a case in point.

In our opinion Metro is BLACKMAILING THE CITIZENS OF D.C., MARYLAND AND especially THE COMMONWEALTH OF VIRGINIA by denying Metro service for three months to the unfortunate residents of Alexandria and vicinity. We think the intent is for everybody to be absolutely begging for tax increases to keep Metro running after they see an example of what happens when it's cut off.

Sure, there were cases of falling concrete at a few Metro stations in D.C.; but these were due to lazy inspectors just re-wording the previous year's reports and declaring everything to be okey-dokey. There is NO reason to replace these platforms, and the people's representatives should be throwing a fit; but these jurisdictions in Virginia are all run by Democrats; and Alexandria is a one-party show. Republicans rarely even bother to run, knowing that they would be neutralized by the rest of the City Council. 

There is a silver lining, we suppose. This may just outrage enough of the citizenry that Alexandria and vicinity turns Republican.  There's always hope.

NATIONAL POLICE WEEK 2018

The police officers from across America and their families are arriving in droves this weekend to observe National Police Week, when the contributions of our law enforcement professionals are commemorated.

I say "commemorated" because also arriving with them are the families of officers who made the Ultimate Contribution of their very lives. This week is a living memorial to them. 

One of the most emotionally impacting images I have ever seen is of a little boy of about ten years, at his father's funeral and wearing his father's service hat, trying to come to grips with why his father had to give his life in defense of ours and why what happened happened. 

I have tried to come up with an appropriate phrase for this occasion. For while part of the week will feature fun and entertainment, obviously "Happy Police Week" doesn't quite cut it. 

As I sit here in the lobby of the Old Town Hilton writing this, kids of families here for the occasion are ripping and tearing around as the adults distribute tote bags, pamphlets and stickers and agendas for the coming days. These are normal people with normal lives except for one thing: They put their lives on the line daily, and sometimes that line claims one of their number.

If you are one of them, I think I speak for just about everyone when I say "Thank You".  When I consider what you do, this seems wholly inadequate. Nevertheless, thank you.

FREE NOVEL OFFERED IN HONOR OF NATIONAL POLICE WEEK

EVERY YEAR AT THIS TIME we offer one of our police procedural novels for free on Kindle.  This year we offer "The Resurrection of Sergeant O'Bannon", the story of the solution of the 32-year-old unsolved murder of a D.C. police officer. The story (as is my custom) is full of twists and turns and has a very wry twist at the very end.  If you pick it up, you won't put it down until you have finished it. 

Available on Kindle for five days beginning Tuesday May 15th 2018.