A Year in DC: The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Prompt — Two Truths and a Lie
hive-170798·@jayna·
0.000 HBDA Year in DC: The Ink Well Creative Nonfiction Prompt — Two Truths and a Lie
This week's [creative nonfiction prompt](https://peakd.com/hive-170798/@theinkwell/creative-nonfiction-in-the-ink-well-prompt-14) in The Ink Well challenges us to write a creative nonfiction story that contains two truths about ourselves, and one lie. Let's see see how I do on the lie detector test! ## Which Stories to Tell? In my six decades, I have been many things, and have gone many places. I have visited many countries, and known many people. When I sit down to tell the stories of my life, I see it as a vast field to be harvested. But where to start? How do I choose among the many bizarre and exhilarating moments in my upbringing, my travels, my education, friends, jobs, and family experiences? After thinking about it for a while, I decided to tell some of the many stories that came out of a single year of living in one of the most glamorous cities in the world... where abject poverty juxtaposes against political ambition, wealth, fame and fortune.  <sub>[Source: Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/washington-dc-capitol-building-85531/)</sub> ## A Year in DC I lived in Washington D.C. — the U.S. Capitol city — for just one year. There were some spectacular things about Washington that captivated me and my love of history and the arts. For example, I loved touring the Smithsonian, which is one of the most spectacular features in the city. It’s so huge that you could spend weeks visiting it and never see everything. Yes, there’s the Lincoln Memorial, the U.S. Capitol building, the Library of Congress, and so much more. But the Smithsonian stole my heart. So many things happened to me there. It was a time of exploration and coming-of-age, as it was my first experience living away from home after college. Here are three of my stories. #### The Story of the Incident on the Dark Street The streets of DC are not always safe. I won't talk about the time two guys chased me in their truck, when I was riding my bike, and tried to run me down, or the time I was mugged almost right outside of my apartment. I'll have to tell those stories another time. This story is about an awful incident that occurred one night when I was walking home from work. I first lived in a run-down part of town and as I neared home that night, I was walking swiftly, eager to get inside and safe. That's when I saw a strange form in the middle of the road. It was a moving lump of some kind. It seemed to be writhing there, like a trapped animal inside of a burlap sack. In the dark, I could not figure out what I was looking at. <center> <sub>[Source: Pixabay](https://pixabay.com/photos/night-urban-dark-street-evening-434244/)</sub></center> Naturally, I was nervous. But I didn’t want to have to go back the way I came in order to walk all the way around the block to get to my apartment from the other side. These were huge city blocks, and it was so dark out, and I just wanted to get home. Like I said, it was not a good part of town, so the sooner I could get in my door, the better. I thought: > “I’ll just cut a wide circle around that thing so I can get to my house. I’m only a half a block away.” As I passed the writhing thing, I heard it moaning. I realized that it must be human, and that it seemed to be stuck inside a big threadbare coat. I decided I would call the police as soon as I could get inside. (We only used landlines in those days.) Then all of a sudden, the head of a drunken man burst out of the neck hole of the coat and vomited on the road. I ran the rest of the way home. *Sorry, that was gross!* Why was the guy buttoned inside the coat like that? I will never know. Okay, let's move on to the next story. #### The Story of the Secret Service Agent I worked several jobs while I was living in D.C. One was a restaurant with old oak furnishings and an array of neon signs. The place always smelled of beer and continually played a track of oldies music from the 1960’s. I remember how those songs would plague me in my sleep, because I heard them over and over again all day long. I even had fantasies of smashing the sound system when *Teen Angel* came on again for the 5th or 6th time in the same afternoon. One day a man who was there with some friends started flirting with me. I didn’t want to have anything to do with him. He was a very large man, a little intimidating, and he seemed like a womanizer. I shrugged him off. (Servers get hit on all the time!) <center> <sub>[Source: Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-gray-shirt-looking-at-his-watch-5342002/)</sub></center> But he came back the next day. Realizing he was getting nowhere with his schmoozing techniques, he softened his approach and decided to talk to me like a friend. I found myself joking around with him. He was no longer a stranger and a womanizer, but a guy that I was warming to — someone who made me laugh. I was far from friends and family, and a little lonely at that phase in my life. Of course I fell for his new ploy. So… one thing led to another, and I ended up in a rather interesting affair. I learned that he was an agent with the U.S. Secret Service, and he was regularly on assignment to protect the president of the United States. He traveled frequently, but whenever he was in Washington we would get together. He had the most interesting stories from the work he did. And I was amazed at how he and his buddies all had these very serious security clearances, and yet they were also a little crazy, like frat boys. I never took the relationship seriously, and always imagined that he had girlfriends in multiple cities he regularly visited. One day, we met at a coffee shop. I had a strange feeling in my stomach. I somehow knew that our relationship had run its course. And I could see it in his eyes. Maybe he had too many girlfriends. He could even have been married, for all I knew. I really didn’t know that much about him. I just loved the strange adventure of having an affair with a man who worked for the Secret Service. He sat down and put his hand on mind. I looked at him and shook my head. I didn’t want to hear the words, the reasons, the excuses… whatever it was. > “Don’t say it. It’s okay. We’ve had a wonderful time together. And I knew this wasn’t destined to last.” Even as I said this, a little piece of my heart was breaking. How strange, I thought, that even the most casual relationship can hurt when it ends. He smiled. Maybe he was relieved to not have to formally break up with me. > “I have something for you,” he said. “I hope it will make you smile when you remember me.” From out of his pocket he brought a letter. It was written on official stationery from the White House. I opened it and began reading. I could not believe it. It was a letter from Ronald Reagan, who was President of the United States at the time. <center> </center> <center><sub>[Source: Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ronald_Reagan_1985_presidential_portrait.jpg)</sub></center> The letter read as follows. > Dear Jayna, > I understand from my friend Tom that you are not fond of politics, and would rather have nothing at all to do with it. But I think you will find that there is much to be gained by dipping your toes in the waters. You don’t have to dive deep. > Just remember from time to time how fortunate we are to have democracy, and legislation, and the rule of law, and how it serves each and every one of us, every single day and throughout our lives. It is not our burden, but our honor. > Take care, young lady. > Sincerely, > Ronald Reagan, President of the United States I gently put the letter back in the envelope and thanked my paramour, from the bottom of my heart. Even though I was not at all a fan of Reagan, I knew I would treasure the letter all my life. It was a lovely and bittersweet parting gift. Ready for one more story? Read on. #### The Story of the Incidents at the International Hotel Around that time I changed jobs. I had heard that a new hotel was being built, and that they were hiring many people to staff it. So I went to their human resources office, which was in a nearby low brick building filled with stark offices that looked nothing like a grand hotel. I imagined it was like going into an underground building to apply for a job as a ski instructor. They hired me right away, and ultimately I helped to open the hotel, and worked for quite a while as a server in the formal restaurant. <center>  <sub>[Source: Pexels](https://www.pexels.com/photo/man-in-black-suit-standing-beside-woman-in-white-blazer-6474588/)</sub></center> While employed there, I met rich and famous people from all over the world. Fortunately, I had moved to a better part of town by then, and my life was not such a bizarre dichotomy as it would have been if I still lived in the slum. I had so many experiences. One time I got trapped in the hotel when an enormous snow storm hit the city. The hotel was filled with guests, of course, and in fact the entire entourage of the famous designer [Hubert de Givenchy](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hubert_de_Givenchy) (pronounced Oo-bare Dee Gee-van-shee) was snowed in too. So I waited on all those people for dinner, then stayed overnight in the hotel and served them again for breakfast. One evening, I was told I had a special guest in my section. I strode over with my pen and ordering pad in hand, and could not believe my eyes. Right there at a table in my section was none other than the famous comedic actress, [Lucille Ball](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucille_Ball). This was incredible. I had idolized this woman the entire time I was growing up, because she was not only talented and beautiful and funny, but because she was a pioneer in television. A leading woman in a sitcom, paving the way for others. <center></center> <center><sub>[Source: Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LDBALL1950s.jpg)</sub></center> I was amazed when I saw her. She had big red lips, as she always had, but she was much older than she had been in her sitcom. Her famous red lipstick would no longer stay where she applied it, and looked almost clownish, which was a little sad. <center>  <sub>[Source: Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LucilleBall.jpg)</sub></center> I wish I could tell you that it was an enjoyable experience, and that she was funny and nice. But unfortunately she was not a pleasant person in that phase of her life. Or perhaps she just had little regard for lowly staff members. I’ll never forget how she pushed away her bowl of soup with distaste. > “This isn’t tomato soup,” she said. “This is marinara sauce.” I waited on many other famous people too, including George Burns and others. But Lucille Ball was the most memorable. A legend! It was a crazy time of my life. I saw so much. I met so many people. So many amazing things happened. All in the space of one year. It amazes me now to think back on it. #### To Tell the Truth... Thank you for reading my creative nonfiction story. Well, I guess it was really three stories in one. Did they all seem true to you? What was your guess about which aspect of these stories was a lie? Okay, I’ll tell you. Every single detail is true, except for one thing. And that is the letter from Ronald Reagan. That never happened, and in fact I cannot remember how my relationship with the Secret Service agent ended! But it was very fun embellishing the story with that part. -------------------- ## Thank You! https://files.peakd.com/file/peakd-hive/zord189/Njx6CoFS-jayna.gif <be>Photo credits</b>: All of the photos in this post were taken by me with my iphone and belong to me, unless otherwise noted. <h2>Want to Join Hive?</h2> Hive is a social blockchain where you can join communities, blog about your favorite topics, curate content and earn cryptocurrency. <b>Get started</b> Sign up an account by clicking this referral link: [HiveOnboard](https://hiveonboard.com?ref=jayna) or go to [hive.io](https://www.hive.io/). ## Already on Hive? 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