Shake it, Baby!

Hey, East Coasters! Yesterday was fun, wasn’t it? Nothing like a little plate-tectonics to really ramp up the heart rate. Especially considering that, for at least a half-breath, everyone in my office wondered if we were experiencing a “man-made” incident. Thank goodness it was just Mother Earth having a hissy fit, eh?

Ironically, it’s been less than 24 hours since the shake-shake and already I’m burnt out on the news. Yes, it was a 5.9 earthquake and yes, we rarely get them on this coast. It was exciting, but rather than show the same broken spire from the National Cathedral, perhaps we should focus instead on, oh I dunno, our crummy emergency evacuation plans.

I’m looking at you, Washington DC.

For a city that hosts Congress, the White House, a ton of monuments, and hundreds of thousands of tourists every year, our ability to handle a “crisis” is pretty disappointing. Here are a few items that stood out after yesterday’s incident:

1)      Building emergency lighting that did not come on in a real emergency. Gotta have working generators, otherwise office personnel are stumbling over each other in the stairwell.

2)      Mass Transit: Some Metro stations were closed and the trains were running at 15 mph. I understand the need to check structural and track integrity, but this is where activating the fleet of Metro buses would have been key. The three blocks of people waiting to get on a bus that runs every 30 minutes meant a lot of people got home later than normal, despite being released early. Crisis management means having a back-up plan. In this case, we needed to get every bus possible on the road. This was especially critical because the majority of offices and parking garages were closed, so people could not access their cars.

3)      Roads: VDOT made the right call to remove HOV restrictions for Route 66 and the

Dulles Toll Road

. Opening those roads all the way helped decrease traffic. Other roads in the area needed to do this as well.

4)      Information Flow: Companies and government offices MUST do a better job to push information to their employees. Waiting till 7 in the morning to notify people about which buildings are open or closed is not good planning. Those employees are already in the city. Calls like that need to be made much earlier (remember Snowmaggedon, gang?).

5)      Leadership: This is a dove-tail off of Item 4. Good leaders make a call early and adapt as need be rather than waiting till the last minute because they don’t want to make a “wrong” decision. One thing I learned in my previous career is that, as a leader, the quickest way to get someone killed is to do nothing. And you have to keep your people informed, otherwise their fear and confusion will only cause more problems.

6)      The Internet: While cell and land-lines were slammed and completely unable to handle the load, the Internet became the champ for information. Apparently there were tweets on Twitter that reached New York 30 seconds before the quake arrived and people from Toronto to Atlanta were able to communicate that they were okay within seconds of the quake passing. Twitter also allowed people to instantly pass along photos of the devastation, like this Tweet from @scalzi*:

That being said, I will throw a major “kudos” to the folks who run my parking garage. They had people stationed all over the garage, controlling the traffic flow out of the single exit. It was an organized departure instead of the massive cluster it could have been.  I was also impressed to see several people in my building take charge in the absence of leadership. Good job.

Overall, I hope this will be an eye opening experience for the city and the people who work here. We have regular fire drills and piles of paperwork listing what to do in an emergency, but when something actually happens, it seems that people are caught completely off guard. I realize that no plan survives first contact with the enemy (who in this case, was the shifting of a fault line near Richmond), but inaction is not the right reaction. We follow a rehearsed plan (i.e. where to meet up after evacuating a building) or we develop a new one that will work. But between the recent snows and yesterday’s “crust merengue,” it’s obvious that when push comes to shove, our emergency actions plans are ineffective.  

*courtesy of retweets by @Papa_Kosh and @JRVogt. Also see http://famousdc.com/2010/07/16/dc-earthquake/

Back in the Swing. . .

There have been a lot of changes in my life recently, all good, but all of which took me out of the writing game for a while. Now that things have settled, I sat down to reassess which gear both I and my WIPs are in.

Suffice to say, “Neutral” doesn’t cut the mustard.

Real Life is busy and demands a lot of attention. Between day jobs, spouses, dating, kids, responsibilities at home, etc, it’s hard to sit down and focus on a hobby that, for many of us, doesn’t pay. Or at least, not yet. And while some excuses are certainly valid, the reality is if we want to succeed in this world, we have to make time.  The Next Great Idea is just that until you actually sit down and put fingers to keyboard. Or pen to paper if you’re old school.

There are WIPs to grow (just add words and water!), MS's to submit, queries to polish (*cough*rewrite*cough*), and blogs to keep updated. But as I get back into the swing of things, I’m curious how others get the ball rolling again.

What do you do when returning from a writing hiatus?

We're Not in Kansas (City), Anymore.

This past week I was in Kansas City, MO attending the annual Barbershop Harmony Society’s International Competition. While the contest was an amazing venue and the music shared with friends and strangers alike powerful, this post is 100% dedicated to the city itself. 

Why? Because it may be the most fantastical location you’ll never know.

A quick history of my annual BHS trip: Every year, my buddy Scipio and I try to find quirky places to visit between rehearsals and one of those is always a hat shop (more on that in a moment). Last year we competed in Philly and had a slew of adventures that included stumbling upon the Wanamaker Organ in Macy’s, a quest/agenda item/mission to find Civilization IV, a house that I cannot describe in words and will have to add a photo of later, and (of course) a hat shop.

This year, however, Scipio and I were forced to make our own housing accommodations due to a clerical error with our chorus’ admin team. But rather than stay at a typical hotel, Scipio made reservations at The Aladdin Hotel in the Power and Light district.

And thus began our amazing journey. (see pics below for proof.)

A boutique hotel run by Holiday Inn, the Aladdin is neither the largest, nor the most “refined” place in town, but it is certainly the most memorable. Doormen greet you every time you enter/exit and the small, 1940’s era lobby is attractive. The complimentary glass of champagne provided upon check-in is welcoming and the staff is always smiling. The Martini Loft looks down upon the lobby and although it isn’t big enough to hold more than a small party, the drinks are strong and the bartenders cordial and attentive.

The Aladdin is a very good representation of the soul of Kansas City. The entire Power and Light district is fashioned in Art Deco with attractive red brick buildings butting up against more modern edifices that seem designed to “go” with the classic look. Individually these classic looking buildings would be impressive, but collectively, they create a city that belongs in a Silver Age DC comic. The new convention center's four spires point towards the imaginary death ray in orbit and is just waiting for the right mad scientist to purchase the newly renovated evil lair from his Lair-Estate agent. The rooftops beg for a spandex-clad hero to leap from building to building. There's even an area called Blue Valley which, according to DC lore, is the birthplace of Wally Went (aka "Kid Flash" and the "Third" Flash).

But all comic book styling aside, Kansas City is impressive with it's ability to maintain a "classic" look while leaping forward as a modern city. Want to watch a movie? The Main Street theater looks like the one from Jim Carrey’s movie The Majestic. Inside, however, you’ll not only sit in plush seats, but there’s a waiter call-button in case you have a sudden craving for Junior Mints or a Scotch and Soda. Feel like getting your hair cut? The Men’s Locker Room will give you a great trim and you can play a round of pool while you wait for your buddy to finish his straight-razor shave. And for the hat connoisseur, there’s The Missing Piece. This year, Scipio and I took 4 others and, with the exception of one reluctant participant, the owner outfitted everyone.

Everything about Kansas City points to a love affair with the Art Deco era. Yes, there is a Burger King across the street, but you’d never guess from just looking at it. That building over there with the ornate carvings in the marble window frames? A shoe shop. Need a new cell phone? Just visit your local retailer in the gorgeous brick building with elegant iron fire escapes. It’s as if the town decided that if it was going to be forced to modernize, it might as well do it in style. And do so without forgetting the elegance of days gone by.  

Which is why the Muehlebach was both sad and moving. Located in what I can only call the “basement” of the Kansas City Marriott Downtown, the remnants of the Muehlebach consist of a stunning lobby, a long concierge desk, and a closed speakeasy, all of which are in perfect condition. There is access from the street, but the stairwell from the Marriott lobby was small and almost hidden. There was no sign, but my friend Noah swore that the tiny stairwell lead to a tomb of treasures. Descending the worn, marble stairs, we were immediately transported to another time and place. My footsteps on the smooth marble floors echoed off the dark hardwood walls, stirring up visions of what hotel accommodations were like when men wore fedoras and Artie Shaw was on the radio. Although empty and buried beneath the modern, if rather bland-by-comparison, lobby of the Marriott, the Muehlebach is far from abandoned. Every light bulb is operational, the bookshelves in the reading area are packed and dust-free, and the artistic, brass water fountains are polished and operational. It’s a time capsule hoping to be rediscovered.

In addition to the wealth of architectural wonders, there was also a special treasure waiting for us. It was in this lobby where the Barbershop Harmony Society (formerly SPEBSQSA: Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barbershop Quartet Singing in America) was born. In 1938, Owen Cash and Rupert Hall, two men in love with Barbershop music, met and sang in the lobby. Soon afterwards, they returned to Tulsa and formally created SOEBSQSA. The plaque commemorating this event still hangs in the lobby and, like the rest of the Muehlebach, is polished to a shine.

The only surprising thing about Kansas City was the lack of people. As a resident of Virginia near Washington D.C., my definition of “city life” requires that the sidewalks and roads are always congested. By comparison, Kansas City seemed almost dormant. But after the first night, everyone I was with realized we preferred it that way. Sure, the bars filled up in the evenings, but no one bumped into you on the sidewalk and cars waited until you were across the street before accelerating.

My time in Kansas City will make me smile for years to come. Having returned home to the busy, hurried life on the east coast, it will serve as a reminder that, for better or for worse, all cities evolve. But not all do it in the same fashion.  While some may replace old with new without batting an eye, some, like Kansas City, keep an eye on the past while creating their vision of the future.

Kansas City Photos (aka: the proof): 

Scipio in the Martini Loft.

Lighting in the Zebra Louge

More Zebra Lounge Lighting

"Original" Kansas City Arena

Flag poles at one of the entrances of the Kansas City Area

The Midland Theater

Wind Turbine and Clock in the Power and Light District area just outside the Sprint Center.

"Walk the Solar System" at the Asteroid stop. And yes, Noah, I know that Ithaca had one long before Kansas City. Doesn't make this one any less interesting.

"Walk the Solar System" - Sun Stop. All stops had their "planet" displayed in ratio. Note the size of the sun. Earth was the size of a pinhead. (kinda' appropriate). 

SPEBSQSA plaque in the lobby of the Muehlebach.

Brass drinking fountain in the Muehlebach.

Lobby and fireplace in the Muehlebach. The SPEBSQSA plaque is on the left column.