Miles looked up from the screen at the end of the Conference Table. Rocket and Splash had gone away someplace they claimed needed attention. Deirdre and Holly were working on some emerging issues in the Galley. Kieth and the Kids were attempting to figure out how we are going to manage things next week, and what is going to be happening a week from today.

Miles rose from his seat to face the seven faces at the table. “If you thought things had cooled down a little after the frenzy around the Fourth, the big 250th anniversary celebration and the FIFA World Cup, think again.”

Apparently, it isn’t over.

They are going to hold a Grand Prix racing event on the National Mall in downtown Washington.
The roaring, high-speed spectacle will take place Aug. 22–23, 2026, on the same Mall that saw an attack on the World War Two Memorial yesterday and trouble at the Reflecting Pool a few weeks ago.

Unless that one was just shoddy construction. We deal with that sort of thing around here all the time.
The big anniversary has brought some unusual entertainment to the capital this summer. There was professional freestyle wrestling at the White House and World Cup watching over at Ireland’s Four Courts, a special place recently voted the best soccer bar in America.

Now comes something louder.

The Freedom 250 Grand Prix will bring INDYCAR racing to the National Mall, showcasing some of the monuments, statues and fountains that have been cleaned up after years of benign neglect.

This will mark the first-ever INDYCAR SERIES race on the Mall. Organizers say admission will be free for the two-day event next weekend, which presumably means some fairly spectacular changes to downtown traffic—not to mention operations over at Reagan National.

It should be quite a show.

We hope this one goes a long way toward closing out festivities that seem to have been running most of the year. We have to get ready to go back to school and start the Holiday season, you know.
The recent elections seem to indicate we’re going to have Thanksgiving after all.

Miles grinned. “We intend to enjoy this one, too. It isn’t often you get a chance to celebrate America’s 250th anniversary with world-class racing against the backdrop of the Washington Monument, the Capitol and some of the most familiar landmarks in the country.”

“Hell,” someone said from the other end of the table, “some of us intend to get buried over there.”

“Interred,” Miles said.

“Whatever.”

It has been a great summer.

And it ain’t over yet.
Copyright 2026 Vic Socotra
www.vicsocotra.com