America's Mayor

Last weekend was beautiful. The sun was out, it was warm enough to forgo a coat and spring was in the air. To take advantage, Neil and I went on long walks on Saturday and Sunday. On Sunday, we were on our way home when Neil said, "There's Giuliani, I'm going to talk to him." And before I could process the sentence, I was whisked across the street and found myself standing in front of Rudy Giuliani who was stylishly dressed in a powder blue v-neck sweater with a collared shirt underneath. As soon as I thought, "What is Neil going to say?" Neil opened his mouth and very enthusiastically said, "It's America's Mayor!" Rudy smiled, and shook Neil's hand as Neil asked, "What are you doing in Washington." The reply: "Just enjoying the beautiful day." And then, Rudy and his advisor and security guard began crossing the street as oncoming traffic barreled toward them. Rudy jumped back to the curb before getting hit by an SUV and said something like, "I just can't get used to not being in New York. In New York, you walk out and they stop."

I was struck by how, in person, Rudy looked like a charicture of himself. His wrinkles were deeper and his features seemed exaggerated compared to the magazine and television images I have seen. He was very friendly and was obviously flattered by Neil's characterization of him as America's Mayor. Did Neil make that up? Neither of us are sure...

Once the light changed, Neil and I walked quickly and were a couple blocks ahead of the Giuliani three and so Neil began telling people walking by, "Giuliani two blocks ahead!" or "Giuliani straight ahead!" Which had me in stitches.

Sure, I'd probably rather run into movie stars on the street, but Washington is really cool in that way. As one student on a summer program through my work said, "Washington has the stars of Reality and LA has the stars of entertainment." It's cool to run into Rudy Giuliani on the street a few blocks from my condo. Next time maybe I will open my mouth and say something, too.