Just a matter of perspective, I guess

I requested D.C. tour tickets from my Congressman in November, but never heard back. So I called his office yesterday for more info.

The phone was answered by an 18-year-old intern. (I hope he was an intern. Otherwise, I am worried about my Congressman's hiring abilities!) I gave him my name, and told him I was calling about the status of our tickets.

He seemed to recognize my name. "Yeah, I sent you an email," he said. "Didn't you get it?"

(Yes, I did, I thought, rather snarkily -- that's EXACTLY why I'm taking time out of my day to call you and ask again!)

What I said (in a much politer tone) was, "No, I didn't. That's why I'm calling. Can you tell me which tickets you're helping us with?"

He ran down the list of options. "White House...no, White House is closed all month. Library of Congress, no, also closed. Supreme Court -- maybe, but they only take a few people. Oh, you have tickets to the Capitol Building tour on the 22nd at 10:10 a.m."

Now that was good news! Except that...

"How long does the tour last?" I asked him. "We have tickets for the Washington Monument at 11."

"Oh, you're never gonna make that," he said helpfully.

I waited for alternative suggestions. He had none.

"Um yeah," he said, breaking the silence. "And all the other Capitol tours are full."

Fine. I moved on. "What about the Bureau of Printing and Engraving?" I asked. I really want to take Mark there -- I think he'd dig seeing how they make money.

Mr. Helpful Intern replied, "Nope, closed for the month."

(Busy printing all that worthless bailout money, I'm guessing!)

I was surprised to hear that. "That's closed for the month, too?"

"Yup," he answered, and then, he actually chastised me, saying, "You picked a really bad week to visit Washington. There's like 4 million people coming to town that week!"

I almost burst out laughing! A really bad week, huh? Funny, I planned my trip for the exact OPPOSITE reason -- because it's gonna be a really GOOD week! Crowded, yes, but worth every minute of the crowds, I'm sure.

Guess I shouldn't be so hard on the kid. It really is a matter of perspective. My Congressman's a Republican, and they are swearing-in a Democrat as President next week. So maybe to the Congressman and his employees, it really is a bad week.

Whatever. Political beliefs aside, I'm excited to share this historical event and the nation's Capital with my son (and the other 3, 999,997 visitors coming to town).

I also bought new tickets for the Washington Monument on Friday, so everything worked out.

Oh, and today's D.C. weather report -- according to weather.com, it's 28 degrees but feels like 8. EIGHT DEGREES! In the words of the immortal Jar Jar Binks, "Wesa gonna DIE!"