Since moving to DC last summer, I’ve become enamored of the “Barbie Pond on Avenue Q,” a collection of Barbie dolls posed around their own exclusive pond outside a house at 15th and Q streets, Northwest. As far as I can tell, this hip coterie has never missed any holiday, and, by the looks of it, their work-life balance is definitely better than yours or mine.
Some examples:
I tried to get in touch with the gentleman who oversees the Barbie Pond, but he declined an interview request. He wants to stay “semi-under the radar,” I was told. The Barbie Pond may be a model for a life well-lived, but it is also an oasis of mysteries.
So what’s really going on here? Is this simply an innocent group of mostly topless Barbies and Kens exercising their right to progressive reenactments of Titanic and Frozen, or something more? Why are they submerged waist-deep in snow wearing nothing but scarves? How did they climb inside this pumpkin? Why are they advertising for House Call Family Doctor Ernest Brown, MD?
I have so many questions, and so few answers.
But I’m determined to find them. Until then, as you assemble your plans for Halloween and Thanksgiving, I urge you to look to the Barbies for inspiration.
Elaina Plott joined Washingtonian in June 2016 as a staff writer. She has written about her past life as an Ann Coulter fangirl, how the Obamas changed Washington, and the rise and fall of Roll Call. She previously covered Congress for National Review. Her writing has appeared in the New York Observer, GQ, and Harper’s Bazaar.
