A friend and I did a walkabout in Columbia Heights yesterday. We talked with a woman who had lived there for several decades. She talked of the changes over the years...white to black to white to hispanic to mixed. She mentioned that she saw people passed out on the street and that bothered her. She also mentioned that things seem to be getting better...houses were being improved, new building, etc. 

The first two shots are of two old buildings, one has been cared for...the other not so much. There is an historic walk in the neighborhood with placards showing you where the historic buildings and sites are located. Scroll down below house pictures for more of the neighborhood.

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When I first saw this shawl and the shoes that had been abandoned on one of the main streets of the neighborhood, I smiled because I thought of romantic music, smiles and happy things. But as I thought about the transitional nature of the street and the young women murdered by gangs in Virginia, I wondered if this really wasn't a happy ending. Or maybe someone just left it here when they got on the bus...  you know how my imagination sometimes runs wild. Keep scrolling for more.

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 These mannequins really made me smile. The colors and positioning and the line...they must made me want to have fun.

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We continued our walk and found a small group in the park. Ladies from El Salvador selling gifts for Mother's Day. Mother's Day is ALWAYS celebrated in many Latin American countries on May 10. Which is kind of cool because that's my mother's birthday. She would have been 101 today.

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