You can buy a bootleg of just about anything in China. From DVDs to CDs to Louis Vuitton bags, the streets of Beijing are oozing with pop-shops intending to take advantage of the Chinese government’s pretty-much-hands-off policy regarding fakes.
But, regardless of how ubiquitous the knock-off culture is, I didn’t expect it to extend to books. I just figured books were…off-limits to dealers. I mean, Usher and Prada are going to make millions no matter what they do, but it’s a rare author who pulls in that kind of cash.
6,500,000 copies sold.
But, I was pleasantly surprised when Emily bought me a copy of Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. Not only is DB one of the only author’s to crack the million dollar mark, but he also happens to be a guilty pleasure of mine. And so, it was with great gusto that I sat down to page one while in Bangkok.
For those of you unfamiliar, the plot focuses on Robert Langdon (again) and his adventures in our nation’s capital while on the quest to uncover the deepest secrets of the Freemasons. The book is peppered with street names, building schematics, and other DC-trivia that will excited anyone with a passing interest in things that are awesome.
The Washington Monument is huge. And I've never been up to the top. For shame!
Fittingly, the number one thing on my To Do list in Baltimore was to visit Washington DC, a short 45-minutes jaunt down I-95. And so, we did. We visited the Smithsonian Museum of American history. We brushed up on our Tea Party knowledge (the Samuel Adams Tea Party, not the Kevin McCarthy Tea Party). We also took the opportunity to remind ourselves what the hell the Whiskey Rebellion was, in addition to seeing an exceptionally cool map outlining America’s naval strategy during the Revolutionary War.
I will be honest: I didn’t remember much of that stuff. It took a few times of reading the placards to really commit those facts to memory. But, I was glad I did. As embarrassing as it is to say, it took Dan Brown to get me excited about visiting some place that has always existed. And for free!
But, so what? So what if it took a novel to spur me into action? The only thing that matters is that I went, I (re)-learned a lot, and I paid nothing (even the parking was free!).
Now, generally I have shied away from giving advice on this blog, mostly because I know that people get enough of it already. So, let’s not consider what I am about to say as advice. Let’s just say, I wish I had known this stuff before I left (because the true ramifications on this around-the-world trip are all but breathing down my neck). I wish I had gone to my nearest museum. I wish I had toured Baltimore and St. Louis and New York like I was a tourist. I wish I had sucked it up and paid the fee to see the Empire State Building (still never been), and the Walter’s Art Gallery (ditto, although I may have gone when I was a youngin). I wish I had driven in the city enough to not get lost. And I wish I knew more places to tell people about when they came to visit.
And so, now is my chance. I commit myself to becoming a tourist is New York and Bakersfield, and to rediscover Charm City and DC, without shame or reproach. Wish me luck.
Again, huge! I don't know what building this is, though. The EPA?
George Washington as a Greek God. Hmmm.
We're back (for a little while).
