Home– Well I have invited a few of you over to take a look at the house. Some of you have made it over, some, not. For whatever reason you haven’t stopped by to visit here is the short picture tour.
Garden– Purslane. You’d think something labeled as a weed would be flourishing. But nooooo. A few weeks after taking purslane found on the streets and sidewalks of Shaw and transplanting them into happy little pots, they just, I don’t know. The leaves looked like something attacked them. I was thinking the flies, maybe something to do with water on the leaves and the scorching heat. But maybe, they hate pots. So I’m transplanting them to the front yard where they have to take whatever nature can give ‘e because the handle on the spigot is broken.
Category: Uncategorized
I don’t trust you
Well I finally finished reading and marking up E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the 21st Century by Robert Putnam, and yeah, I’m low on trust. According to his article, diverse communities like ours people are less likely to trust people different from them as well as people like them. Equal opportunity lack of trust. Well, that’s how I read it.
Putnam does recognize the good thing about diversity in that it does foster tolerance in the other. However tolerance is not love, or even like. There is ‘bridging’ between communities but little in the way of ‘bonding’.
One of the things I was worried about before reading the article was lack of city services and amenities due to a neighborhood’s diversity. That wasn’t so much an issue and what was all included in as an amenity was too wide of a net (religious institutions, day care facilities, schools, etc). Things like schools and churches could have been in an area long before the place got diverse and are just holding on. Anyway, Putnam writes “If anything, such community resources turn out to be positively correlated with ethnic diversity….” The negative is in the low trust people, who are withdrawn from actively participating in the surrounding community.
A few other negatives of a diverse community is that there is a higher turnover. Well that just describes Washington DC right there. Someone who is a close friend of mine is moving away to the Midwest because of her career and as far as friends go she’ll be irreplaceable. The specter of someone you’re close to up and moving away is always there in this town, and it does not inspire you to form those deep strong bonds, knowing that there is a chance that bond will have to be ripped apart. There is turnover in Shaw too, and I know that neighbors you grow close to may up and move with the next best career opportunity or when their kids get to a certain age.
This Saturday Blagden Alley Picnic
|—————————————-|
| THE |
| Regular Yearly Picnic |
| of the |
| Blagden Alley |
| and |
| Naylor Court |
| Peoples |
| |
| Saturday, August 25, 2007 |
| Historical, Brick-Paved |
| Naylor Court |
| 6:00pm-9:00pm |
| (See map in newsletter) |
| |
| THIS SATURDAY! |
| (This is NOT a Drill!) |
|—————————————-|
Food.
Fun.
Frivolity, or an approximation.
Door Prizes (lots!).
Good weather.
Real people (us!).
Special this year: Old Dominion Brewery is supplying the keg.
The announcement and newsletter is at
http://www.pro-messenger.com/Blagden/Monthly%20Pages/2007%20Monthly%20Pages/BAN_2007_08_P1.html
(OK. It’s the same flyer as last year, with a minor updates.
But the newletter (Pages 2 and 3) has current stuff.)
Packed Big Bear
Saturday, around noon, I walked into Big Bear and the place was packed. Where the heck did all these folks come from? Well I know where three people came from, but I couldn’t get a seat inside. Not even at the counter. That crowded.
I’m happy to see the place hopping and lively and active. I see often groups meeting there. Groups as in organized meetings, not a bunch of friends wandering in. I never would have thought there was a great need for meeting spots for groups in the hood, but apparently, there is. Besides the group taking up the big table, there were people with strollers, people with computers, and people. And poor little me, banished to the outside tables.
Ugly naked man
The azzh*le across the alley from me decided to show off what he was. For some odd reason, but in line with his periodic jerky behavior, had his rear deck doors wide open and was running around buck naked, showing off his rear. I’m almost convinced that he was doing it on purpose. Not knowing where I put my camera, so I could post the fat chunky dark side of the moon for your enjoyment, I just called the cops. More accurately I called Dispatch, who then called me back 30 minutes later, asking if I wanted to talk to the police. By then he had already blasted 3-4 songs from his stereo (I decided to let someone else call the cops for that), closed the doors and abandoned his large dog on the deck.
I and B. feel bad for the dog. Poor thing howls constantly at night and doesn’t appear to be properly socialized. B. is wondering when I’ll call the city to investigate the dog’s care. I don’t know what exactly the jerk is doing that is illegal, cause ignoring your dog, not illegal. No, I’m not going to call the city. Not until he starts leaving the poor puppy out in bad weather, again. And I couldn’t tell if the dog was left out in last night’s rain, as it could have just wandered under the deck.
Pitfalls in Diversity: Diversity and Social Capital
Since I finally got around to hearing about Robert Putnam’s study “ E Pluribus Unum: Diversity and Community in the Twenty-first Century” in less conservative circles I thought I might approach it here in this blog since out community is so diverse. My own observations in Shaw are that like people do come together and sometimes those groups that come together do have ‘cracks’, not breaks, along other differences.
I’m half way through reading the article and I find it disheartening about what is written about investment in the community. But I want to be a realist, especially in what I can do about getting the neighborhood to that bright happy future many of us hope for. So read the article and tell me what you think and how it applies to our changing hood.
Marion St Yardsale this weekend
Hi Mari,
I was wondering if you might post a note on your excellent blog about
this Saturday’s yard sale over on Marion Street.
Us
neighbors on Marion and Q streets are organizing a yard sale from
9:00am-2:00pm on Saturday, August 18th, in the empty lot on Marion. The
lot is located between 1515 and 1521 Marion Street. And of course
Marion Street is the 2 block long street between 6th and 7th, as I’m
sure you know.
We’re hoping to get a good turn-out, or in the
least turn it into a social event and hang out with the neighbors for a
few hours.
Here’s what I just posted up on the MVSNA blog:
http://lifein.mountvernonsquare.org/index.cfm/2007/8/16/Marion-and-Q-Street-Neighbor-Yard-Sale
Thank you in advance. And I’m looking forward to following your
blogging as you shift to a more historical focus.
Cheers
InShaw: A historic blog
I’ve decided that September I will slowly start doing more history related posts as I semi-retire this. I’ve been inspired to go into a historical direction because of the work I’ve been doing at that place where they pay me to show up and do stuff. However, the problem is though I’m dying, dying I tell ya, to talk about all the gems I find while, doing the stuff they pay me to do. Since I’ve shown an interest in local/regional DC history I’ve been given (and I’m so thankful) projects that deal with the District of Columbia. However, I can’t write specifically about those cool things I find on the blog, something about ethics and abusing my position. I can yak about it to friends, but not publish it on the web, or that’s how I interpreted what my boss said. Any government lawyers read this blog? Wanna offer any advice?
In general, and I think I’m safe speaking generally, it seems to take projects that transform neighborhoods in this city decades from start to finish, not years, decades. Also I’m amazed anything gets done, ask me in person what I mean. I am amazed when I spot something that I swore was a 21st century fixture in the city, being advocated for/ or protested against, back in the 1980s. Oops, maybe I was too specific there.
Yes, and 1980 is history. I used to say that if I was alive during that time period it isn’t history. I had to stop saying that once I hit 30. And in general 1980s DC is a whole ‘nother city. Walk around downtown, and there are buildings that are just part of the landscape that weren’t there in the 70s. The mayor was Barry.
Our neighborhood history, and that is everything that happened, oh yesterday on back, is interesting because we live here. It explains to an extent of why certain things are the way they are. Knowing what happened can enrich our lives here as residents and give a sense of our place in space and time. The other history stuff, the packaging to tourists crap, I have no care for. Nor do I care for simplified sanitized history, life is messy. And even worse, a sort of invented history, where you take a long period, say a 75 year span, pick and choose parts a la cart, slap them together in a vague narrative that puts an image in others minds that was never reality.
Okay, I’m ranting, I gotta stop.
Better living through Real Estate
Y’all west of NJ Ave won’t be interested in this, but my TC brethren, particularly those of you who showed up at the last BACA meeting ( the notes are up at the super secret site user-thismeeting/ psw- neverhappened).
I remember the houses or vacant apartment building on the unit block of Q St mentioned during the public safety section of the BACA meeting. It seems that there have been some squatters who invaded the buildings and caused concern for some of the neighborhing residents. There were some fire marshall signs up but someone mentioned that those signs went missing. Anyway, it appears that those problem houses are up for sale. So if you have a couple of mil laying about the house you could buy 1/2 a block.
The phrase ‘better living through real estate’ came up in a conversation with a Realtor and TC resident, who believes purposeful RE transactions can aid in the betterment of the neighborhood. Well a row of tall townhouses with 2,000 sq ft per lot, are 30, 32, and 34 Q St (MLS DC6490583, DC6490599 & DC6490587) offered at $440K each. According to the listing you can try for a whole package deal. I wonder if you get a discount?
Review of Jimbo’s OMG party and Guyness
I came and I stayed until my voice started going hoarse and my natural dislike for crowded spaces kicked in. The chopped shrimp asian salad on a cucumber finger food was delish. And I had some decent conversations with people other than Jimbo. Of course, it is always nice to talk to Jimbo.
One topic between Jim and I was guyness. Guy-ness has been on my mind since one young gay man made a remark to me that a gay roommate was equal to a female roommate. Ah, no. A gay man, still a guy.
For one you got the toilet seat. Jimbo and I debated the question of up or down. Jim claims men are doing women a favor by leaving the seat up. I say no, put the seat down. Jim countered with the problem of aim and waste liquids hitting the seat. The seat being up wasn’t a problem when I was staying at Scott & Matt’s because its their house, and they could have the seat up. But every so often I would experience this small disorientation when encountering a lifted seat. I got over it. Besides I’m back where if I walk into a dark bathroom there is a 99.99% chance the seat is down.
Another test of guyness is the girlie baby-shower. Jimbo failed to endure a full blown baby-shower. I think he said it was the moment where participants had to guess the circumference of the mother’s abdomen, he left. Maybe that was too close to the trick question many a woman has presented to a man, ‘Am I fat?’