High-Brow |Low-Brow #2

The most important question you’ll be asked all week - have you listened to starcrossed yet?

HIGH-BROW

We Built DC Into an Urban Fortress After 9/11. And January 6 Proved It Was Penetrable (Jane Recker, Washingtonian) - One time, when I was flying into DC, my plane was nearing the ground to land at DCA, the airport right across the river from the city and minutes from the Pentagon, and pulled up abruptly instead of finishing its descent. My first thought wasn’t, “Oh, I guess they weren’t able to come in at the right angle or something and need to try again.” It was, “Oh gosh, is something horrible about to happen?” 

I may not remember 9/11, but I know the way it’s made us fear for the worst. I think January 6th reinforced that - security isn’t guaranteed, even in the places we assume would be the safest. On my run this morning (Saturday, September 18th, a week after the 20th anniversary of 9/11), the Capitol complex was once again swarming with police, surrounded by fencing, and my specific office building was being sniffed by bomb-detecting dogs in preparation for what, thankfully, turned out to be a poorly-attended rally for the arrestees of the January 6th insurrection. 

I came across this Washingtonian article in the lead up to 9/11, and it was another stark reminder of how much the world has changed since that day 20 years ago, especially in Washington. It, along with the rally planned for today, brought up some weird feelings about what it looks like to respond to fear with wisdom. The reflection in the Washingtonian talks about how DC went out of its way to implement security measures in ways that highlighted the beauty of the buildings, instead of bringing attention to the fact that by the nature of the business of the city, we’re a target. My first reaction was thankfulness - Washington is beautiful and meant to welcome Americans and foreigners alike to the beacon of the free world. It’s hard to do that when it’s surrounded by barbed wire and looks like a military state. But boy am I ready for the images like what we saw on 9/11 and January 6th and what I saw on my run this morning, things that have imprinted fear on my heart and mind, to go away.

When the Capitol office buildings open back up fully to visitors, will I be nervous? Yeah. It’s the ugliness of days like September 11th and January 6th that make it so. But I’ve had Ephesians 6:10 stuck in my head since I read it a few days ago, and I hope my heart’s primary reaction to both these big things that are legitimately scary and to the little things that make me fear is to “be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

LOW-BROW

• Library Cards - Y’all. I finally got my DC library card this week, and I am thriving. Why did it take me this long? Idk. I think the Little Free Libraries have been getting me by (which, as a side note, I am the number one fan of Little Free Libraries - they are little boxes of joy)? In any case, I feel more at home in DC because of it, and I’m just pumped to go to the library all the time now. 

• Shaving Method - This is for the girls, and the girls only. A decade plus into my shaving life, I learned this week that women’s razors are double-sided, MEANING YOU CAN SHAVE UP AND DOWN. You may be thinking that isn’t a big deal, but I tried it and I swear it took less time and made my legs noticeably smoother. If you need a video demonstration, here’s a helpful TikTok. Plz let me know if you try this out. I’ve clearly fully bought into the hype, and I want to be told this is as life-changing as I feel like it is.

IN CONCLUSION

Here’s what I want your takeaway to be: you’re shaving your legs wrong and we get to be brave because our strength is found in Christ. Have a great rest of the week my dudes :)