In the Papal Fashion

I think I mentioned earlier that the Pope is in town this week and the city is all aflutter. I guess it's a pretty big deal, since this is only the second time a Pope has visited the White House. Helicopters, motorcades, and endless streams of buses are transporting (very important) people all over town. I wish someone would enforce a noise ordinance or two, because the choppers, and sirens, and yelling has to stop! How is a lady supposed to get any work done when ambulances are screaming through Dupont Circle every 5 minutes? Anyway, I didn't bother to go out to see the spectacle yesterday morning, knowing full well that there would be more than enough photos to peruse on the internet. And there were.

Apparently, people were gathering on Pennsylvania Avenue at 9am and waiting over three hours to see the Popemobile go by. To a lot of that same crowd's disappointment, the Pope cruised along at a rather speedy clip (in what is quite possibly the most ridiculous-looking vehicle ever invented). If only the general public knew that on the other side of the car is a giant wind-up key. The Secret Service probably cranked it a little too hard, so it zoomed right up Pennsylvania rather than cruising at a moderate, more Popely (Papal?) speed. I hear that once the car reached Rock Creek Parkway (out of the public eye) it started to do random stunts - like spinning in circles and popping wheelies. Oh god, I'm laughing out loud here in the office. Is the Popemobile sacrosanct? I'm going to Hell aren't I?

Aside from learning a whole host of new words like "apostolic" and "nunciature," I think the most impressive thing that I encountered was this photo.

Look at those sassy red shoes. The Pope's garb may be a time-honored tradition (as we found through the unauthorized Pope bobble head controversy), but damn, that's one stylish old dude. I just wish the press would start capturing him in a pose where he's not waving two arms around like a zombie.