I’m here in suburban Maryland, just outside DC at our friary. FrancisCorps was just participating at post-graduate recruiting fairs at Loyola University, Maryland and The Catholic University of America. Last night got to visit with a high school classmate who lives in DC with her two wonderful daughters. It has been like over 20 years since we saw one another. It was good to see again how strong wise and faith-filled a woman Cathleen is. I am thankful that in her and my high school friend Mary I have two of the most principled and decent human beings. They are both women of great integrity. I realise now how much they helped shape who I am today, as a person and as a friar-priest. Thanks guys.

So…. from the sublime to the ridiculous. Right now I am in a quiet annex to the friary. It’s a lovely cottage. I have nothing to do that is scheduled. I could be tempted to go and explore parts of DC that I haven’t seen but I find it even more alluring to be somewhat quiet and home bound. I want to get to stuff I haven’t had time for since I started FrancisCorps; stuff like writing a post on my blog, writing some articles, doing laundry or getting my car washed.

So where do you get your car washed in Silver Spring? Google will know! Yesterday I found a place called Mobii The Auto Spa. It had a great website offering all kinds of services. I called up talked to Iani Perez and made an appointment for this morning.

My GPS got me there and I was kind of confused. It looked like a regular garage, except for a friendly guy who greeted me. It was Iani. At first I was a little disappointed. This didn’t look like an auto “spa”. But then I was quite amused. This young guy got me to come to his shop with marketing. His website is what made him stand out from the other car washes. Pretty smart. He told me The Deluxe Car Wash ($25) would take about 30 minutes. It’s a hand wash plus cleaning and vacuuming of the interior and trunk.

I went across the street to a deli for some breakfast and came back to a clean a shiny car. As Iani was finishing up and dressing the tires and fixing some minor scratches he found, he explained his dream for “the Auto Spa”. His father owns a body shop near by and he’s been working for three years to build up the business. The guy has a dream, ambition, great customer service, a good car wash product and a well executed marketing plan.

If you’re in DC and need a car wash — go and visit Iani.