Month: August 2005

|—————————————-|
| THE |
| Regular Yearly Picnic |
| of the |
| Blagden Alley |
| and |
| Naylor Court |
| Peoples |
| |
| Saturday, August 27, 2005 |
| Historical, Brick-Paved |
| Naylor Court |
| 6:00pm-9:00pm |
| (See map in newsletter) |
| |
| THIS SATURDAY! |
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Food.
Fun.
Frivolity, or an approximation.
Door Prizes (lots!).
Good weather.
Real people (us!).

The newsletter is at

http://www.pro-messenger.com/Blagden/Monthly%20Pages/2005%20Monthly%20Pages/BAN_
2005_08_P1.html

I am not totally familiar with what new urbanism is. I have a vague concept of it. There was an article in the Washington Post about it. Apparently it is a suburban planned community with some stores, amenities and schools targeted to the demographic that is buying in the community. All the comforts of urban living none of the hassles?
On the issue of community the author, points out there are conditions and structures that allow for members of the community to bump into each other. What was missing was whether the subject she was following, another mom, actually experienced what the planners were trying to create. The kids seem to get the most out of it but what about the adults?
Living in Shaw I get sometimes the benifits and the hassles of urban living. My Laurel cousin remarked how everything around here was so close. I like being able to hop on my bike an be downtown in no time. On my bike I can shop both Giant and Whole Foods, pick up drycleaning (I have baskets), and maybe pick up some Thai. I am two stops away from the movies and a short bus ride away from several of Washington’s highly rated restaurants. I also have high crime and drug dealers on the corner.
I’ve also got diversity where I get to know people different than myself on a down to earth level. Also I was a little disturbed by the mother’s idea of how to introduce diversity in her kids lives, a shelter. I wounder will they see things in extremes. We’ve got diversity out the ying yang on my block, not just economic and racial, but there are a variety of ages, nationalities, lines of work (not everyone has an office job) and familial structures. I wonder if diversity can be found in finding a girl scout troop or soccer team or camp or after school activity where the kids could interact with different kids as equals, so that ‘other’ does not always equal disadvantaged. But I’m not a parent, so I might be asking too much.

I was over at DCist looking at their manual labor mayor post and noticed up top a Google Ad for Adrian Fenty’s mayoral campaign. Fenty has not only taken up many a lawnspace, because those green signs are popping up like mushrooms in parts of Ward 5, but he’s taken up ad space. I’ve pondered Google ads. But given that I wouldn’t be able to choose which individual ads show up on my site, I’ve been wary about adding ads. I don’t know if I would want a Fenty or Orange or Johns ad popping up on my site.

Discovered slugs like tomatoes. One of the nasty things got to some low hanging tomatoes and I gather the tomato had split, like most of my tomatoes are prone to do, and the slug accessed it through the tear. So I tore off the tomato flung the offending slug in the street and waited for some passing car to squish it. Unlike split tomatoes where the ants have gotten to it, there was no saving this slug damaged one. Ants stick to the surface, the slug got into the juicy seedy core. I had to dump it into the compost bin.
I had tremendously good luck this Spring with growing salad greens in a large pot. I figured as Summer should be coming to a close I could start on some more salad for fall harvest. I planted some corn salad, arugula, and butter or Bibb salad, along with some cilantro and bunching onions. The salad greens are gone. %#@%! Inchworms. Nothing left of the salad leaves, nothing. The arugula stood up a bit better considering it does have a peppery bite, but after they ate up the softer tasting salads they attacked the arugula. They used the onions to move from one set of salad greens to another. The cilantro is just coming out so they hadn’t made much of a meal of them. So last night, I spent a good amount of time picking off the blasted worms by hand and crushing them with my loafers.

Basil giveaway
By the by, anyone in the hood in walking distance from the house needs basil, I got tons. I really should make a mint pesto (just add a bunch of mint leaves to your normal pesto recipie) but I haven’t had the time. So if your house is on one of the maps on the right hand side of this post, email me and I’ll send some basil your way.

Interacting with this neighborhood makes you figure out what kind of person are you when neighborhood harmony is disturbed. You may be either a fight person, confronting the issue, or in most cases the person head on with little regard to personal safety and not waiting for someone else to take care of the problem. Or you may be a flight person, with a super duper high regard for personal safety and a willingness to allow injustices to slip by or be handled by other people (ie the police).
At a recent gathering, some folks were retelling their stories of ‘fight’ when confronted with various quality of life crimes. Couples sometimes have one fight person and one flight person pulling the fight person back. We single people only have our own internal angels to say, “you know, that may not have been the smartest thing to do….”
I guess I can be a fight person, but not to the degree of other folks I know who can go from mild mannered citizen to crazy a$$ mofo. My last confrontations, well the last ones I can remember, were sorta semi- guided by the Miss Manners philosophy, which is you should pretend that people who are doing wrong are not aware that they are doing so.
I was in my back yard watering plants and ignoring the annoying contractor across the alley when a big U-Haul drove up in the alley. I can’t see over the fence well so I’m just going by what I hear. U-Haul guy gets out and goes into yard of contractor guy. Contractor guy is one floor up so U-Haul guy yells up and asks about some work (I think he was looking for a job). I think, as I was trying to ignore everything across the alley, contractor guy told U-Haul guy he had no work for him. So U-Haul guy stepped back out in the alley but not back in the truck. Next thing I know U-Haul guy is pissing on my fence. “Excuse you! Please don’t pee on my fence,” I say loudly. This startled U-Haul guy and he started in with some lame excuses then offered to wash it up if I gave him some soap and water. I wasn’t going to give him jack. “Just go, I’ll hose it down,” I repeated several times. Then U-Haul guy got into his truck and drove away.
The other recent confrontation was the thwarted break in. I don’t know what the two young adults were up to but once again, I’m in the back yard puttering. Screaming woman, who lived across the alley had moved away about 2 weeks before and the house was empty. Because screaming woman’s family used the back gate a plenty it was broken and the backyard open. So I heard the two people in the alley but I didn’t see them until the young woman was standing on top of the AC compressor-thingy (I don’t know, it’s big, sits outside, is related to the heating and cooling). She was reaching to open the unbarred window when I said, “Oh, are you looking for XXXXX? She moved over to CCC Street.” Pause. Then the young lady, still standing on the AC thingy, said, with a little ‘tude in her voice, “Oh YOU say she moved huh?” Then she looked at her accomplice, jumped down and they left. A few days later I bolted the gate to the fence so it wouldn’t open.
Confront people, but in a way that let’s them back out and away from the situation.

Dang it I was planning on wearing that jumper today, but can’t cause wearing the same dress that’s in the paper is just plain weird. And gawd, I take an ugly picture. I now see I really need to do something about the hair. Anyway, enough about me.

Not mentioned at all in the Post article is the excellent neighborhood blog Frozen Tropics covering Trinidad and more specifically the H Street corridor. I think her coverage of the area and the spirit of the neighborhood are captured beautifully in pictures and word.

In the spirit of using this portion of my 15 minutes of fame, let me also point out Nathan’s DC Education blog. Nathan is a father and has an interest in the schools in the District from a parent’s point of view. Go to his site, read what he has to say, and click on the ads because I’m sure the revenues go into the kid’s college fund.

I noticed one small error. I live in the Truxton Circle portion of Eastern Shaw, not near it. Truxton Circle, Scott & Matt’s site is far more informative than my crappy blog. If you really want to know what’s going on over here, go to their site.

I can give you no good reason to visit Jimbo’s blog, except he’s drop dead gorgeous, gay and lives in Shaw.

Lastly, if you want to comment be aware I’m a delete happy person. No cussin’ spittin’, tickin’ off the hostess, or trashin’ the hood. (see Comment Policy)

Once again. I have a mouse. I probably have mice.
I am forced to action because I have seen said mouse and not just his little mousy presents he leaves. My cousin who visited this weekend saw the mouse. I was absolutely embarrassed.
The mouse has been running around my house via the walls, along the pipes. I believe the mouse has been using the radiator pipes to get from one room to another as those are the only holes (that I know of) and the mouse has usually been spotted over by the radiators.
Armed with expanding foam in a can and steel wool I hope to make my house not hospitable to mice. It would help also if I could “rent” someone’s cat for a day or a week, just to get that eau de kitty in the house. Anywho I grabbed some soft expanding foam because the hard stuff is a huge pain to remove. In the basement I put some foam in the gap between the floor and the pipes. Upstairs, I stuffed steel wool around the pipes and behind the radiator. I’ve been told that mice don’t like steel wool. Well only time will tell if that is true.

Coming home yesterday, in the rain, I spotted a gang of Asian kids on the corner. This means one thing, the Korean Protestants are trying to figure out what good they can do for the community. That day’s good deed, pulling out weeds and grass from the sidewalk and street gutters. The did a pretty good job on the corner. Ah, showing the love of Christ, to his people, through weed pulling.
I’m not really making fun of them. It’s just that their missionary work in the neighborhood seems (to me anyway) directionless. Some churches in the area have various programs of childcare, breakfasts, free clothing, Summer Bible activities, etc. that they are known for and do regularly. I’m just having trouble figuring out what’s their thing.

From Jim Berry

Neighbors,

I write to remind you that the PSA 501 community meeting is taking place in our neighborhood this month. Specifically, it will be held on Thursday, August 18, 2005 at Mount Sinai Baptist Church, 3rd and Q Streets, NW,between the hours of 7:00 p.m. and 9:00 p.m.

A number of months ago, it was decided that the PSA 501 monthly meeting would be rotated throughout the various neighborhoods within its boundaries in order to give residents maximum opportunity to participate, particularly when held in his/her respective neighborhood.

Our neighborhood made a commendable turnout on Monday night at the special meeting to address community concerns about the ill-advised proposal to take away our green space and recreation options at New York Avenue Playground.
It has been a while since I’ve seen that many folks come out to let their concerns be known. However, if (as a community) we are unable or unwilling to show the strength of our resolve to tackle our myriad problems in a serious and a sustained way, then all we will have done the other day was participate in a mere exercise of catharsis that will be soon forgotten by public officials.

It is my contention that issue that brought folks out to the special meeting was as much one of public safety as it was of badly needed recreation and leisure resources for residents of all ages. So, if you are concerned about the open air drug dealing in the community, the constant sound of gun fire at night, the community violence, the loitering, an increased police presence in the neighborhood, the lack of safe recreation spaces for our children, and other such issues, then I hope your busy schedule of pre-existing commitments will enable you to join us on Thursday. The
meeting will definitely benefit from your participation and input!

Best,

Jim Berry
ANC 5C

PS: As a example of the increased attention that our area can receive
from
high level government officials, I include a picture of City
Administrator
Robert Bobb and Deputy Mayor for Public Safety and Justice Edward D.
ReReiskin — both of whom participated in our candle light vigil at the
park
on First and Florida Avenue, NW on National Night Out Against Crime
(8/2/2005).

Wow. The neighborhood really came out in the name of greenspaces and not tearing down Sursum Corda. Well also in the name of saving our parks and wondering, hey, when are we going to get a cool rec center like Kennedy?
I came late so I missed the dramatics when a jr. football team showed up as the important people spoke. They looked so cute in their jerseys and padding. The kids were a visual point that parks and recreation serve the children.
The politicos showed up. Our dear leader Jim Berry showed up, as well as Vincent Orange, Adrian Fenty (fuzzy man in center), Phil Mendelson, some guy named Perry running for the Ward 6 seat, some guy who I think was Leroy Thorpe, and various DC officials. When I showed up I think it was Vincent Orange who wanted by a show of hands who was for keeping the park. The majority carried. Marie Johns was not there. Of course, this was planned only a few days ago. Fenty’s folks were moving about the crowd getting contact info and chatting with people.
The crowd was mixed. White and black. Seniors to elementary kids. Based on the crowd no one can say this was solely a rich vs poor issue. As much as folks in the planning office or where ever want to say it is about income, the community showed that it isn’t. There were people from Sursum Corda in the crowd too. One old lady asked aloud to the crowd, why must Sursum Corda be torn down. A Sursum Corda fellow said because the buildings were over 35 years old. Oh, this got a small reaction. One fellow mentioned that he was 35 years old. Others in the crowd mentioned their homes were over 100 years old.
I think everyone knows once a greenspace is gone it is gone forever. Never to return. The poor will lose greenspace. The fixed income will lose greenspace. The middle class will lose greenspace. The well to do will lose greenspace. We will lose a public space that all the classes share and come together on if we just let the mayor and the planning office take it away.