Weekend Notes in Brief

1. This was a big book sale weekend, and I went to sales at Bethesda Chevy Chase and Wilson High School, and the Georgetown and Cleveland Park libraries. I also went to some book stores over the past week. Best buys: a signed copy of Sir Thomas Beecham's autobiography, published in 1943 (none available, but his autograph is a fairly expensive item generally), a copy of Helen Gehagen Douglas' book about Eleanor Roosevelt, with an inscription from Douglas (former Congresswoman, scourge of Richard Nixon and wife of actor Melvyn Douglas) to Chester Bowles, former U.S. diplomat par excellance; and an autographed copy of Norman Mailer's book about Pablo Picasso. Those three books together are worth several hundred dollars. I paid $3 each.

2. We had two meals out. A terrific halibut at Sea Catch in Georgetown (and you can park free in the garage for 3 hours, even though we sat and talked with our friends for 3 1/2 and had to pay $7); and a paltry lamb stew at Clyde's in Friendship Heights (I think their quality has gone down).

3. Pure enjoyment and excitement in watching the George Mason Patriots beat UConn to go into the final four of the NCAA tournament.