A drummer's generosity, and a cabbie's wisdom

Last night, when I realized I wouldn't be getting back inside my car for the evening, I was lucky enough to have a place to go for the night. One of the members of my Building Science Boogie Band also happened to be in Washington, D.C., and had already offered to put me up in his hotel room that night. Free rooms in D.C. aren't offered every day, so I quickly took him up on it! So thanks, Randy, for letting me crash on your very comfy recliner.

Getting to the Fairmont was easy. I just hailed a cab. Even the cab ride was a good experience! I asked the driver where he was from, and he said Somalia. You should have heard those wheels in my head turning: Where on earth is Somalia? When it occurred to me that it is a country in Africa, I asked him what he thought of the revolution in Egypt. He had two interesting comments.

1. The same kind of revolution happened last month in Tunisia, he said, and nobody was talking about it anywhere (except, I'm guessing, on NPR). The story in Egypt is on the front pages every day and on CNN. (In fact, Obama's White House press conference last night took place just minutes after I had photographed myself out front.)
2. The cabbie made me imagine that Ronald Reagan was still president, having been in power for 30 years. That's the way people in Egypt feel about Hosni Mubarak. Good ruler or not, they're just sick of the dude, plain and simple.