doodlemaier | Doubt . . .

For Saturday I had a drum circle at Scott's Run planned

kafrin67 was supposed to meet me in Annandale, a mere 15 minutes away from the falls, at 11am so that we could make it there early. Everything went to hell the second I offered to pick her up in Woodbridge. Everybody else had to find their own way there and I bent the rules for her so that I could ensure that she made it - big mistake! No less than three non-essential, petty-ass, consumer-driven pit stops later we arrive one hour late to the falls, the weather's beautiful and we own the place. But it really was the piddily shit-ass like Slurpees, cigarettes and sodi-pops that fucked up my schedule, I should've been a dick about time (but which, for me, is very out of character), especially considering this whole idea of Liberty Drums evolved from the desire to be proactive with our leisure time and independent from mass consumerism in as many ways as possible. I have to admit that I was also banking on the assumption that the threat of thunderstorms would thwart the handful of folks who I invited to meet us there, but much to my surprise one,

jessie09, actually made it out, was on time and even hung around and waited for us (for a lot longer than I would have!) So, I feel terrible about standing her up. This is not a good first impression! Jessie, I apologize . . .

We did have a blast for a couple of hours before it started raining fo' real fo'real. We did get pretty soaked on the hike back to the car but missed the damaging soaking that was to follow. What did I learn?

· Be punctual!
· Bring a small water-proof tent for the drums in case of rain
· Bring 1 extra drum for random people

The plan for Sunday yielded results that weren't much better. I decided it would be cool to go and hear the Kazue Sawai Koto Ensemble at the Meyer Auditorium in Freer Gallery of Asian art. The plan was so cool that I couldn't help but to bring lil' D along. We visited the mummies in the museum of natural history first, had a late lunch (missing the demonstration of the koto, a traditional Japanese instument much like a piano in range, a guitar in versatility and style and a harp in tone) I had tickets lined up and everything was a go! What I didn't plan for was a very bored 6 year old who could give a shit about koto and Japanese music and culture.

I did have fun this weekend; it's not a total loss. It was just expen$ive, not just in terms of time and money, but also effort and energy and credibility, especially where Liberty Drums is concerned. I don't feel too bad about stranding Jessie out on a little corner of what's left of Eden, and I don't feel terrible about dragging my kid to a cultural event that she will someday appreciate, if only in hindsight. These are not errors in planning, but in judgement. What I'm really sorry about is the fact that

deviathan was home alone, post-operative and practically immobile . She needed me and that's where I should've been too.