My Fifteen Seconds of Fame

by | Oct 29, 2020

A Weeping Cherry at the U.S. National Arboretum, photo courtesy U.S. National Arboretum


Earlier this month, I was speaking with someone on the phone about scheduling a medical test. The conversation went something like this:
She: “Ann McClellan? I know that name.”
Me: “Do you watch WETA?”
She, hesitantly: “Yes.”
Me: “Well, I am a ‘talking head’ in a video they often run each spring about the cherry blossoms in Washington, D.C. Maybe you saw it?”
She: “Oh yes, that’s it! Those blossoms create a traffic nightmare for me.”
Me: “Have you ever been to the Arboretum?”
She: “You mean the place off New York Avenue? I visited just last year when a friend performed in a jazz group there. It is beautiful!”
Me: “Yes, I know, and they have LOTS of flowering cherry trees to see and it’s less crowded than visiting the Tidal Basin.”
She: “Oh, thank you. I’ll go next spring. I hate what those blossoms around the Tidal Basin do to my commute.”

As I write at the end of October, spring might seem far off, but the flowering cherry trees will be blooming before we know it, no matter what. When they do, I’ll be smiling, remembering my 15 seconds of fame, thanks to the delightful scheduler on the other end of the phone.