Happy Weekend, RVA: It’s really something

IT IS ALL HAPPENING AND BY IT OF COURSE WE MEAN SUMMER AND DEFINITELY NOT CLEARLY CANADIAN MAKING A COMEBACK.

May 23, 2015; 7:00 AM • by Susan Howson

It’s the unofficial beginning of summer! And Weather.com, taking a break from its quest to make weather more exciting with alarmist headlines, informs us that El Nino will make this summer not so bad, a fact I will believe when I see. And a fact you will believe when you realize I have complained about the heat a mere twice per day. I prefer my outdoors to be slightly warmer than room temp and my indoors to smell of baking bread. Just a tip in case you want me in your biodome. This weekend, temps will hover in the mid-80s with a “stray afternoon thunderstorm” possible on the holiday. Apparel translation: grill smoke and not much else.

In case you missed it

I attempted to clear up some of the confusion surrounding the number of “spectators” versus “visitors” for the Big Bike Race™. Was I successful? We only got one phone call about it, which shocked me, but there was some Facebook chatter. I’ll sum up: it doesn’t mean a whole lot, unless you were able to compare it with an equivalent Big Bike Race that we hold every year in Richmond. And we don’t. So we can’t.

Let us know which other stuff you’d like us to explore regarding the race! We are on a roll. You may do so by:

• Shouting loudly at the device upon which you are reading this
• Coming by my house and hanging out on my front porch until I stumble over you. You’ll have to guess the address though. Here’s a hint: it does not have an eight in it anywhere!
• Emailing us at this address, which also does not have an eight in it.
• Tweeting me @susanhowson or us @rvanews.
• Grumbling. I hear all grumbling! 

OK. I hear your grumbling. Let’s move onto another topic, such as Pete Humes’s Our House contribution about the calendar dance that is being divorced with children. Can I talk about how this perfectly describes the inside of my brain? My lone son has, more or less, seven grandparents. He cannot be pulled apart in seven ways for the holidays, and if he could, I would be displeased. I should have had seven kids and kept them in a constant rotation. Ugh, hindsight is 20/20. 

Should anyone attempt to pull my son apart in even two different ways, I will not be able to take him to a freestanding independent children’s hospital, as VCU and Bon Secours decided not to bite on the proposal. My stance is that it’s their business, and they don’t have to do a thing just because someone proposed it. 

I also got to chat with Paige Mudd, Valerie Catrow introduced us to the fascinating world of collaborating doulas, and Andrew Cothern made a legit complaint about shows starting at ungodly hours. Stop assuming I don’t want to see bands play just because I have to get up and go to work in the morning! And guess what, if I have a job to go to in the morning, it probably means I have money to buy more of your beers, venues! 

Last but not least, I gasped so many times in a row while reading Food News this week. Stephanie informed me–and thank goodness for her–that Clearly Canadian may be coming back!?!?! Suddenly, I can taste the Mountain Blackberry and feel the bottle in my hands. I miss you, 1990s. How long do you think it will take an RVA brewery to make a Clearly Canadian beer?

Heads up

It’s a holiday weekend, so you’re probably not trying to think about what you’re going to read next week while you’re pretending to work. But on Monday, when you’re all stuffed and happy until you realize that Tuesday is on the horizon, you’ll be glad to pull this up and get stoked.

• More about the Big Bike Race™ (yeah, you heard me) and how you can get involved
• The VMFA’s new Japanese tattoo exhibit
• An amazing piece by Hayley DeRoche on the Tomboy Trap
• An equally amazing piece by Abby Waller on how sweet it is to finally be able to marry her beloved, a privilege people whose beloveds are of the opposite sex may take for granted
• Three corresponding pieces by Capital News Service about native Virginia Indian tribes, such as Pamunkey, the tribe of Pocahontas
• Four books you will immediately buy, thanks to River City Reading
• This list is making me tired and anxious because it means I have a lot of work to do before I leave town to Memorial Day it up. 

Reasons to stay in bed

• Stay in bed long enough to read this article about plastic bottles and water and the awful ways we are contributing to the End of Days, then stay in bed for one more hour to weep, then get up and refuse to buy water anymore.
• Or, stay in bed to find me a way to justify my sparkling water addiction.
• OR, stay in bed to read this mildly interesting article, just for the amusing headline. 

Reasons to get up

• There are so many. It’s a beautiful weekend with gorgeous weather and tons of things to do for you and yours.
• Find the files you need to open a Virginia 529 before the month and the $10,000 possibility expires!!!
• It is high time you got yourself together and started planning the party to end all parties.

Have a great and safe Memorial Day weekend, and please do not hand out bottled water at your parties. That is all!

(And stop grumbling. It is enough to make me deaf.)

May 23, 2015 7:00 AM 0