From Tuesday through Thursday I attended a retreat/team-building conference held a mile or so from my former place of employment.
Work neighborhoods aren't the same as home neighborhoods, but over time they make an impression, so the day before yesterday I took a sentimental stroll over there before my day officially began.
The soundtrack was Charlotte Church singing "
When at Night I Go to Sleep," which long ago became associated with this particular walk, especially the eastbound version of it.
It's big, florid, sweet music, and when I hear it I remember those walks into the rising sun, the freedom I felt before I entered the office, the fact that it always seems to be summer in my memory, pavement shimmering, folks already dragging in the heat.
I walked east on F Street, down 8th to E, then across the bridge. A major public works project was completed there in the four years since I've been gone, so the building looks different, more expansive. But arriving at the place wasn't the point. It was the walk there.
