time travel on the potomac
though born in DC, living here all of my 43 years, i didn’t hear about one of the coolest joints around until someone happened to mention it at a dinner the other night. who knew there was a ferry across the potomac river between maryland and virginia? stopped by today and had fun just hanging out, crossing as a pedestrian (50 cents each way), then doing it by car.
though i’m always puzzled (and at least a little pissed) by those who fly the rebel battle flag alongside the USFG goon flag (almost always below it, which makes no sense), i guess a rebel battle flag’s better than not having it, assuming a flag must be flown. the owners of white’s ferry do fly a rebel flag on shore under the USFG toilet paper replica, and the ferry boat’s named Jubal A. Early, which is superior to 99.9% of the other names they could’ve adopted.
after grabbing a snack at the store/restaurant near the landing on the maryland side, i asked the lady at the cash register if i could drink beer bought there at the picnic tables across the street. she said (bless my soul), “it’s all private property, so you do whatever you want.”
walking to the beer cooler, i said, “beautiful. private property; the only kind there should be.”
“that’s right.”
no shock i loved hanging out at white’s ferry today. apart from the obviously independent spirit of the owners, who last year told the US “coast guard” to fuck themselves, there’s a strange time warp element about a ferry so close to DC. while run very efficiently (the shore cycle takes only a few minutes), it’s also very inefficient compared to a bridge or tunnel. but a bridge or tunnel would fuck away the entire area. the ferry draws a nice mix of people either ideally situated geographically, or temperamentally suited for the enjoyment that goes with waiting for the ferry, soaking up the view and the neato factor of crossing water old school, on a barge linked to each shore by submerged steel cable. that cable makes landings a reliable matter of merely backing the engine at the correct point. the same guy operating the gates and directing traffic hits full power immediately after the cars are loaded — no steering. the ferry eases back from the ramp, gently accelerating to a leisurely pace across the narrow river, during which the same guy collects the $4 fare from each car. if it’s a full load, he barely has time to get to each car before it’s time to do the cycle again.
drivers are generally quick and organized getting on and off the barge. the mood of the participants seems appreciably different from those at the 3 other metro crossings of the same river. unlike those bridged, congested, unfiltered throngs, white’s ferry’s an adventure where waiting has merit. i congratulate the men responsible for this.
White’s Ferry Defies Coast Guard Order To Shut Down
September 13, 2006
WHITE’S FERRY, Md. — The operators of White’s Ferry defied a Coast Guard order to shut down.The Coast Guard said it revoked the 24-car ferry’s certificate of inspection because it was using an unlicensed operator and due to safety concerns. Coast Guard officers boarded the ferry and revoked its certification Wednesday.
Lt. Connie Williamson said the family-owned business has been cited previously for the same violation, but this is the first time it has been ordered to stop operating.
But Malcom Brown, one of the ferry’s owners, said the boat is still running despite the Coast Guard’s order. He said the Coast Guard has overstepped its bounds and the ferry will continue to operate until it gets a court order.
The boat is named for confederate Civil War Gen. Jubal A. Early. The ferry has shuttled passengers between the Maryland side of the Potomac River, near Poolesville, and the Virginia side, near Leesburg, since the 18th century.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:57
That’s great with the coast gaurd. Pigs. It’s nice to see someone standing up to the thuggery every now and then.
I’m planning a trip to Costa Rica in the next couple of weeks. Almost got side-lined when my buddy received a notice in the mail that he had been enslaved by the state, err, I mean, assigned jury duty, but he’s getting an extension so the trip shall go on!
Funny thing on that article you linked to about Jubal A. Early… the logo below the page has the Confederate flag and what looks like not even the time period appropriate Union flag but the modern day, 13 bars and 50 stars flag! Is there some law somewhere that says Rebel memorial websites must depict both a stars n bars and federal flag, or are people, like you say, actually just a bunch of bent over pussies?
July 24th, 2007 at 15:58
egads — hadn’t noticed the yankee flag of horrors on that page. WTF.
here’s an article your friend may enjoy.
July 24th, 2007 at 17:02
Thanks salty, I just e-mailed it to him after reading it myself.
I got depressed at dinner the other night. Someone at the dinner table mentioned something unappetizing, which lead one of my sister’s to shriek about losing her appetite. The conversation changed to a new topic, which was even less appetizing than the first, though no one complained– the story about Michael Vick and his role in dog fighting.
My father became obviously enraged just thinking about this, and muttered something about how “people like him should just be… locked up for good!” You could tell right around the ellipsis he was contemplating saying something like “shot and thrown in a ditch” but finally settled on something more “civil.”
Anyway, while I had to agree with my dad that what Vick did was pretty despicable, I’m not sure if it deserves life punishment or not. But what burned me up was the fact that I’ve never heard my father talk like that about the people who launched and orchestrated the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. In fact, just the opposite– I often have to sit and chew my food silently as my dad gives some kind of support or praise for Bush or his policies, even if it happens to be something he grudingly supports because he thinks the Democratic alternative would be worse.
It seems like a real moral failing to me, to get enraged by a dog abuser but to support a human abuser. My dad might try to argue that what Bush does is, while perhaps unsightly, still necessary. But that doesn’t change the fact that innocent and non-innocent alike are being blown to pieces and shot apart every single day. It’s a holocaust!
I may have to confront my father and my extended family sometime soon, if not this week when I go to Wisconsin for our annual “family reunion” vacation, to let them know what I think on this issue and why. In regards to the type of sentiments put forth by William Norman Grigg in one of his recent blog posts, I would be absolutely appalled if my father would continue to support these violent policies if my life via a draft was at stake. I don’t think you can make an honest claim to loving your child if you would willfully let the State bond them and destroy their lives in war.
July 24th, 2007 at 22:03
went through the same bumming when i was hanging out at a parrot board because of that rescue bird i took on. these people would cry over this parrot, then turn around and spew the usual “support the troops” bullshit. so warped. they need to be shaken into sanity or something. “americans” have become the new 1930s germans. call me crazy/ignorant, but i didn’t see it coming.