Okay, so I admit it, it is a little strange, but the coincidence had me worrying a little. Not to fear, it was only a fleeting thought. So it’s spring, and time for my return to DC and New York. The cherry blossoms are blooming in DC, and at the same time, the weather starts to warm up in New York. I get to experience cool evenings and warm sunny days. Everyone is free spirited and fun loving…what else could a girl ask for? I hear sirens go by my window at the hotel, and they seem to be going on and on and on. In DC, at any given time, I always expect to see limos go by, flags waving, secret service detail whizzing along in unmarked black sedans, somewhere in the middle of that is the occasional bullet proof SUV, and a trail of police cars and motorcycles following along. I was right, same old parade, probably some king, president or other dignitary going by. Right at that moment, I hear on the TV that the pope was in DC for a papal visit, and of course the same scene I just saw outside my window is replaying on the local news. By the end of week, I knew the Pope’s schedule almost as well as he did (even knew where he was staying – not quite sure if that was public knowledge).
I found the whole thing to be a rather interesting experience. Afterall, I did visit his home last summer when I went to Rome…ok, perhaps not quite “visited” his home, but I was in the Vatican and got to look around for a bit, and he was somewhere on the grounds at the same time. So now that I’ve gotten “up close and personal”, I can safely say that I truly did the whole Vatican experience.
With that said, I then head to New York as planned. It’s Saturday morning and I’m going down 5th avenue, and lo and behold there goes a parade of cars, flashing lights, unmarked dark sedans, police on motorcycles and police cars whizzing by. Oh yes, let’s not forget the bullet proof SUV…déjà vu…hmm wonder who is visiting NYC? It’s early, I need coffee, so into a coffee shop I go. I sit down, order, start reading the paper, and then I hear, “Pope Benedict XVI is in New York on his first trip to the U.S. as pontiff.” You have got to be kidding me! This “hot on the trail of the heels of the pope” is not how I normally see myself, but it certainly was starting to look that way. As with all girls who have had some exposure to religion in one way or another, one starts to wonder if there is a message in all of this. I wrestled with several ideas, but who am I kidding? Here’s the real scoop, I’m really hot on the trail of the heels of a man who wears Red Prada leather loafers! Someone should’ve have told Lauren Weisberger (the Devil Wears Prada) that the Pope wears Prada too.
