"There's something about August going into September where everybody in Washington gets all wee-weed up," President Obama remarked Thursday as he tried to rally support for health-care reform. "I don't know what it is, but that's what happens."At least he admits that he doesn't know that is, but what on earth is the President talking about? There is a phenomenon in Washington where everyone involved in government, running the city, and basically well, everyone who lives and works in or around the Beltway gives themselves the entire month of August off. (Anyone left in the office, by common consent, plays on Facebook.com all day, takes two hour lunch breaks, and pursues an online degree with the University of Phoenix. You have no idea how many MBA's are created this way.)
Off. You know. Vamanos. Off. Why? Well, it's tradition borne of necessity. Washington, DC was built on a swamp; the heat, humidity and mosquitoes all reach critical mass in August so the President, the Supreme Court, Members of Congress all pack up and leave. The kids are going back to school in a few weeks, so everyone who has seniority takes advantage and goes on vacation. (It seems President Obama is hip to this tradition. He's already gone to Martha's Vineyard with Michelle and the girls. Can you imagine seeing the above... and 6 guys in dark suits talking into their hands coming up the beach at you?) In the month of August, by general consensus, no work gets done, none of the nation's business is moved forward, nothing gets accomplished in the District of Columbia. The city is a ghost-town. (Which in my business means... thank heavens celebrities are dying on the West Coast! Whew! Relief!)
But wee-weed? Yeeeeeaaaahhh, no, we don't know that term here in the District of Columbia.
In fact, it reminds me of an old Steve Martin comedy riff from the 1970's on his "Let's Get Small" (or was it Ramblin' Man?) album, in which Martin said it would be hilarious to teach your kids to speak using the wrong words. You know, if you used the wrong words every day of their first few formative years, think how screwed up they would be on the first day of kindergarten when they needed to be excused to use the bathroom.
"Hey mon, hamma ney banana pants gondaga go summa cum laude pe-pe?"Maybe somewhere in the first formative 100 days of his Presidency, President Obama heard vacation referred to in terms of getting wee-weed? It does give one pause, doesn't it?
(Imagine what will happen when those "Birthers" start holding meetings with the "Make English the Official Language" guys. Hahaha! "Ohhhhhh Lou??")
1 comment:
Suggest reading prescriptive books targeted to Asperger's community. Some of the same issues apply.
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