This is NOT a Hobbit's Unexpected Journey...

Greetings, shalom, aloha and welcome to the first post of 2013! I hope everyone enjoyed their holidays. Mine were interesting, as I, like our dear friend Bilbo Baggins, found myself taking an unexpected journey. (Never underestimate the utility of self reflection.) In doing so I was able to connect/reconnect with several important people in my life, and find some much needed clarity. The story below is dedicated to those friends and is meant to document my metaphorical journey.(SIDE NOTE: Thankfully my journey, unlike Bilbo's, did not involve Orcs, Gobblins, or Gollum.) (SIDE SIDE NOTE: I take that back - I did see The Hobbit, so I guess my journey did involve Orcs, Gobblins and Gollum.)

In any event, here's to 2013. May your year be filled with peace, prosperity, love, laughter, and fun. I hope you enjoy this, my first written work of the new year. 

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Every circumstance that led him to stand there, at that moment, faded away as he looked up. Like a beacon, the travertine and marble reflected the lights that shone on it, illuminating the night sky. Though it was cold, it wasn't seasonably cold and he was easily able to ignore the winter breeze that caused the flag far above his head to snap to attention. In that moment he knew why he had come. Smiling, he turned, thrust his hands in his coat pockets, and began the short walk to his hotel. The nation's Capitol glowed behind him as he walked. 

According to his watch it was nearly four in the morning when the hotel elevator reached his floor. He wouldn't sleep for another seventeen hours. In fact, he never even made it back to his room in those early morning hours. So full of excitement was he that he simply pressed the button to command the elevator to bring him back to the lobby. So many thoughts ran through his mind that he barely noticed he had walked the entire length of the National Mall until he found himself standing at the base of the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Turning to take in the image of the Monument and its bright reflection in the pool before him, he was nearly overcome with emotion. 

It is not every day that someone has an epiphany in that manner. There, in the darkness, all the monuments and hallowed halls within his vision stood as idols of hope, idealism, patriotism, and pride. There he contemplated his future, happily. Things had never been clearer. He was young, accomplished, respected. And he was going to run for Congress.

When the sun cast the Capitol in its golden hues, he was still sitting on the Lincoln Memorial's steps. It seemed fitting that he be there, at that moment, to witness the dawn of a new day, and a new beginning. He grinned like a schoolboy who had just convinced the prom queen to go steady. Not until she spoke did he finally stumble out of his euphoric stupor.

"I thought I'd find you here," she said softly as she sat beside him on the cold marble steps. "You made up your mind, haven't you?"

"Yes," he replied with glee. 

"You're going to throw your name in, aren't you?"

"I am."

"It's about time." 

The congressional seat he'd be seeking was vacated upon the death of the long standing Congresswoman whose name he shared. He had never considered entering politics, though he had gotten a taste of it when he worked on his aunt's campaign years before. She had been elected multiple times, and it was only her funeral that brought him to Washington. He was completely unprepared for the effect being there, in Washington D.C., would have on him. 

He let her words linger before he turned to face her. Her auburn hair glowed in the rays of the sunrise. She was beautiful, that was certain, but she was not the reason for his decision. It was something deeper, something intrinsic that drew him there now. He had a calling now, a purpose he hadn't understood before. Clarity was something that seldom visited him, but there was no questioning what path he was destined to take. He couldn't predict whether she'd join him. Not without asking. 

"Will you be there with me?" 

"Of course I will. What kind of question is that?" She asked indignantly. 

"It's not going to be easy."

She smirked. "I've never done easy."

"Then, we've got some work to do." And with a wink to his dear friend, he rose, took her hand, and led her down the steps. Together they began the journey towards the Capitol. 

© J.J. Goodman 2013. All rights reserved.