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I am facilitating an after school program at Arts & Technology Academy, in the NE. Coming from Dupont I can either take the bus, along U street, across DC, nipping into a corner of the South East, then over the Anacostia River, and into the North East to reach school; or I can take the Metro subway at Dupont Circle, change at Metro Center, from the Red Line to the Blue, take that to Benning Road, come up onto East Capitol Street, catch the #97 to 53rd and East Capitol, and cross over the few blocks I need. ..or, I can take the W4 at East Capitol Street.

It’s a fine art; a daily function of a writer, of course. But last night, the wrestling of a word was the spark for a lively after presentation debate by a room full of seasoned academics, savoring the deep intellectual, cultural refractions, ramifications and subtleties, which were presented by such options of choice.

Classes have begun; public schools and DC colleges. And, luckily, I find myself engaged in dealings with both! Last week I gave an introductory lecture on Tosca to the incoming class of Stanford in DC, an opera they are going to see at the Kennedy Center this Friday evening. ..the class had started the morning touring, visiting monuments, and the Mall, and being given a succinct orientation in neighborhoods and institutional layouts. I wanted to start the talk with some trivia; some delicious entry into the ’suspension of disbelief’ the art form requires..

..the compass of dangerous love is perfect ground for opera.. Here are some glorious moments, skirting imminent betrayal, or self destruction.. Dalila's seduction..

Leonora pleads with the Count de Luna to free her imprisoned lover.. The Count, agreeing, is deceived, as Leonora, taking poison, knows that he will only have victory over a corpse..

As if being rattled by an earthquake wasn’t enough for one week.. The east coast is braced for another “historic” flex of Nature, that has the potential for inflicting damage.. The sky is already textured with an armada of clouds; dark, bruised, white, grim; the horizon is leaden, and the humidity is cloying.. ..the wind scuttles in, and is picking up; later, even at 38 mph, it could cause damage in the region, and all along its progress ..–though certainly not as great as the damage that would come with greater wind strength, or gusts of 90 mph..