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Gary Tischler • May 2, 2013

One fan, upon hearing that the legendary George Jones had died at the age of 82, said it was “the night that country music died.”

Many fans said the same thing: “RIP, Possum.”

Given the present day pull of pop on the country music world that exists today, it might be more accurate to say that honky tonk music of the kind that Jones with his twangy, rich voice, his every-which way sideburns and pompadour when it didn’t turn into a marine crewcut, his booze-and-bar filled life and his full-of-a-whole-lot-of-trouble marriage to country music’s tragic and gifted and unforgettable queen Tammy Wynette, personified had died with him.

He had his ancestors, not the least of which was Hank Williams, the skinny guy with the big guitar and cowboy hat and sports jacket who practically invented honky tonk and the fast-driving, hard-drinking life style, coming out of hard-scrabble. These guys came out of working class places and towns in Oklahoma, Texas and the smack-dab-in-the-dust middle of California that included Waylon Jennings and the lone surviving member Merle Haggard—not counting Willie Nelson who’s like an armadillo that always gets across the road, come taxes or whatever.

Jones came out of dusty parts of Texas wanting to sing because, according to the stories told, at least in part because his daddy would come home drunk and wake up his kids to sing to him. From there, it was only a step towards hustling and singing in the streets for quarters and doing a good job of it. Jones sang with a hitch and a twang, and the voice was clear as a slap in the face at closing time.

You could hear that aching heart experience in Conway Twitty, in Williams, Ronnie Milsap, Wynette and Loretta Lynn, and Dolly Parton, and Jennings on the road out in the big empty of Texas, in that gorgeous voice of Vince Gill’s, in the more gentlemanly voices of Marty Robbins and Ray Price, the latter a guy who had a voice that sounded both wounded and authoritative.

If you grew up in the Midwest in the 1950s, or hung out in Missouri or Kansas or West Virginia or the bottom part of Ohio near Kentucky, those voices made their way underneath the gyrating belly of rocking rollers.. The rockers—with the exception of Elvis who had a little gospel and country road hitch and high voice sometimes—hadn’t gotten around to serious heartbreak yet in those days. The likes of Jones, Haggard, Price, and not to forget Johnny Cash and Twitty wore black or fringed, glammed up jackets and every now and then socked it to the sock hoppers with a song like “Young Love” by Sonny James.

Jones was an adult—there wasn’t much question of that, his pains and wounds, received and handed out, were of the adult variety that caused friendships to end, and marriages and families to break up. Two successive wives endured his boozing, his volatility—both his second wife and the famously third one Tammy Wynette took his car keys away only to find out that he was barreling down the highway on a lawn mower toward the nearest honky tonk bar—to soak the cold beers, the sawdust on the hardwood floor, and have enough change to pump up the jukebox and play a Hank Williams song. Naturally, he made music out of driving a John Deere to a honky tonk.

No one questioned Jones on his authenticity or talent. When he sang a song it was like he stood there naked as a jaybird, exposing himself with such candor that you couldn’t turn away. Only Jones could pull off his most famous song “He Stopped Loving Her Today”, about a man who vowed to love his woman til the day he died. This is a song so full of schmaltz, you could cry it a river, except that Jones just barrels it through—voice-to-heart-to-you-and makes you catch your breath.

He had something—you didn’t have to listen between the lines or read between them either—best way to get Jones is listen to the music on U Tube, with and without Tammy and catch the titles, a life strung together: “White Lightning”, “We’re Gonna Hold On” (with Tammy, along with “Golden Ring”,)_“I was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool”, “Still Doin’ Time”, “I Always Get Lucky With You”, “She Still Thinks I Care”,”I’m a Long Gone Daddy…I’m a Leavin Now”, “I Just Don’t Give a Damn”, “If Not For You”, “How Wonderful a Poor Life is”, “The Cold Hard Truth”, “Brothers of a Bottle”.

There are parts of the Wynette-Jones marriage, love fest, brawl and trouble in there—but Wynette is also at least partly famous for the spit-in-the-wind marriage anthem “Stand By Your Man”, (a song that is text book heartbreak), although there were cynics who kept hearing “Can’t Stand My Man” in the song but she would later sing about “D-I-V-O-R-C-E”. Their duets were classics—he with his hair then abundant, she with a cascade of blonde going down her back. Only the Twitty-Lynn duets—which don‘t have the added raw paint of personal experience—come close to that sort of genius.

Wynette died in 1998. Jones went on singing and eventually stopped drinking and carrying on, and became a living legend—as in greatest living country singer, collected honors—a Kennedy Center Honor among them—and kept on singing, at times bemoaning country’s embrace of pop. Nobody would call him a pop singer—but he was a pure, and great singer of heartache and honky tonk—the kind that even Frank Sinatra—who admired him—understood.

As for Possum—his other nickname was “No Show Jones” for missing concert dates—well, friends thought his sharp features resembled that of a possum.

So, RIP, Possum. You stopped loving her today, but who knows what comes after that.

Robert Devaney • May 1, 2013

W.T. Weaver & Sons owner Jim Weaver, 81, died April 24 at Georgetown University Hospital of complications from kidney cancer.

Founded in 1889, W.T. Weaver & Sons opened as a hardware store and is a fourth-generation Washington, D.C., business, providing ornamental hardware and other high-end household fixtures for residential and commercial projects and serving architects, designers, contractors and homeowners. It is located at 1208 Wisconsin Ave., NW.

A wake for Jim Weaver will take place, 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., April 30 at National Funeral Home, 7482 Lee Highway, Falls Church, Va. A 11 a.m. memorial service is planned for May 1 at St. Luke’s Catholic Church, 7001 Georgetown Pike, McLean, Va. A private burial is set at Oak Hill Cemetery on R Street.

Speaking of his father, Mike Weaver who runs the business with his brother Bryce, said, “He loved everything about Georgetown.”

Retired Georgetowner publisher David Roffman learned of Weaver’s passing and had this to say about his friend: “Jim was a longtime champion of the mercantile interests of Georgetown, having served for years on the board of directors of the Georgetown Business Association. He is fondly remembered for almost single-handedly — along with Tim Jackson of Swensen’s Ice Cream Parlor and Arnie Passman of the Georgetown Lamp Gallery — organizing and staging the wonderful Georgetown parades that were held each September as part of the Francis Scott Key Star-Spangled Banner Celebration. Jim and his beautiful wife Peggy were always upbeat and cheerful and a delight to be around. I feel fortunate to have known him.”

The Georgetowner will update with additional details as they come it. Look for an appreciation in the May 8 Georgetowner. Visit the Citizens Association of Georgetown’s website — CAGtown.org/OralHistory — to read an interview of Jim Weaver.

Georgetowner •

Sam Bush at The Hamilton Live

April 25th, 2013 at 07:30 PM | $51.50-$56 | ashleyscott@lotosnile.com | Tel: 202-787-1000 | Event Website

Sam Bush with openers Mark Walbridge, Bob Shank, and Sam Morgan of Hickory Wind. Grammy Award winning multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Sam Bush, known as the King of Telluride and the King of Newgrass, has helped to expand the horizons of bluegrass music, fusing it with jazz, rock, blues, and funk. He’s the co-founder of the genre-bending New Grass Revival and an in-demand musician who has played with Emmylou Harris, Bela Fleck, Charlie Haden, Lyle Lovett and Garth Brooks, among others.

Address

The Hamilton; 600 14th Street, N.W.

STASH

April 26th, 2013 at 06:00 PM | 0 | info@heinercontemporary.com | Tel: 202-338-0072 | Event Website

April 26 – June 8

Opening Reception: April 26, 6-8pm

Heiner Contemporary is pleased to announce STASH, an exhibition culled from the gallery’s flat files and storage, featuring work by Polly Apfelbaum, Ingrid Calame, Tara Donovan, Deborah Kass, Kate Shepherd, Jon-Phillip Sheridan and Austin Thomas. STASH diverges from typical programming by presenting artwork that is usually viewed by appointment.

Address

1675 Wisconsin Avenue NW

Georgetown House Tour 2013

April 27th, 2013 at 11:00 AM | $45-50 | Tel: 202-338-2287 | Event Website](https://stjohnsgeorgetown.ejoinme.org/MyPages/GeorgetownHouseTour/tabid/203906/Default.aspx)

Come to Georgetown on April 27th for the Georgetown House Tour featuring eight to twelve of Georgetown’s most beautiful homes. Every home on the Tour will be open from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Included in your ticket price is a not-to-be missed Parish Tea in Blake Hall at the historic St. John’s Church from 2 to 5 p.m.

Address

St. John’s Church; 3240 O Street, NW

Bonhams Appraisals, Auction Highlights

April 27th, 2013 at 11:00 AM | Free | Tel: 202-333-1696

Bonhams will exhibit auction items and offer free appraisals during the Spring Exhibition Weekend. The exhibition is free and open to the public. Complimentary appraisals are available on April 27 by appointment. 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday. Contact Martin Gammon at Bonhams

Address

Four Seasons Hotel in Georgetown.

Washington Jewish Music Festival Opening Night: Noa

April 28th, 2013 at 07:30 PM | $38; $32 Member/Student with ID/Senior VIP (includes private reception and priority seating): $100 | [Event Website](http://washingtondcjcc.org/center-for-arts/music/wjmf/)

Celebrated Israeli artist Noa (Achinoam Nini) will kick off the 2013 Washington Jewish Music Festival with an homage to the beautiful Hebrew songs that inspired her personally and have molded Israeli culture and consciousness for the past 50 years. Noa, accompanied by musical director Gil Dor and the Yoed Nir String Quartet, will play some of her most famous songs from the past 23 years, as well as music from her most recent album The Israeli Songbook.

Sponsored by Louie and Ralph Dweck

Address

Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center; 7995 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20910

Opening of The Kreeger Museum Reflecting Pool and John L. Dreyfuss Exhibition

May 1st, 2013 at 10:00 AM | $7-$10 | visitorservices@kreegermuseum.org | Tel: 202-338-3552 | [Event Website](http://www.kreegermuseum.org/exhibitions/view/upcoming)

The Kreeger Museum is pleased to announce the opening of Inventions by John L. Dreyfuss on May 1, 2013. This inaugural exhibit around the Museum’s new reflecting pool includes several large-scale works from the sculptor’s Inventions series and marks a new exhibition space for the Museum.

In honor of The Kreeger Museum’s 20th anniversary in 2014, three additional pieces will be fabricated and installed next spring to complete this exhibition.

Address

The Kreeger Museum, 2401 Foxhall Road, NW

Blues Alley Jazz Night at the Fourth Estate Restaurant

May 1st, 2013 at 06:00 PM | jserwer@press.org | Tel: 202-662-7638 | [Event Website](http://www.press.org/restaurants/fourth-estate)

Through its exclusive partnership with Blues Alley, Georgetown’s iconic home for jazz, The Fourth Estate is thrilled to present “Jazz Night”.

On Wednesday May 1, The Fourth Estate restaurant will be hosting performances by musician-members of the renowned Blues Alley Youth Orchestra. Now is your chance to hear the Oscar Peterson or Joshua Redman of the future.

All attendees will receive 10% off their bill and will also receive discounts to Blues Alley shows in Georgetown.

Address

National Press Club; Fourth Estate Restaurant; 529 14th Street, NW., 13th Floor

Robert Devaney •

Who let this crowd through the door? The Georgetown Business Association met April 17 for its monthly networking reception at Smith Point, one of Georgetown’s celebrated prepster, 30-something hot spots which made headlines when first daughters Jenna and Barbara Bush made the scene in 2005. Owner Bo Blair — whose other ventures include Surfside, Jetties and Fairgrounds and the Bullpen — was the host.

Robert Devaney •

It’s really not about music or about grass, although the word sounds that way. Potholepalooza is the District’s month-long spring campaign to repair damaged roadways across the city.

The funny name of the program notwithstanding, D.C. officials have set lots of connections for citizens. Residents and commuters are encouraged to call, go online, tweet, or e-mail to submit requests for pothole repairs.

Residents and commuters can notify DDOT about pothole in a variety of ways:

1. Call the Mayor’s Call Center at 311;

2. Use the On-line Service Request Center at 311.dc.gov

3. Tweet to twitter.com/DDOTDC

4. Email to Potholepalooza@dc.gov

5. Use the District’s new DC311 smartphone application

6. Post a comment on the Potholpalooza Facebook page

The first-ever Potholepalooza was held in 2009, and since then District Department of Transportation crews have filled almost 21,011 potholes during the annual campaign. Through May 22, DDOT, the agency responsible for the repair of potholes for the District, will work to repair identified potholes within 48 hours of the request (normal response time is within 72 hours).

Residents can also track the repairs at www.gis.ddot.dc.gov/potholeapp.

Georgetowner • April 24, 2013

Shortly before midnight last night, it was announced that incumbent Anita Bonds, 68, would hold onto her at-large seat on the D.C. Council.

About 10 percent of eligible voters went to the polls April 23, with Bonds securing about one-third of those votes. Bonds beat five opponents for the seat, including Democrat Elissa Silverman who received 28 percent of the vote to Bonds’s 32 percent.

Candidates competed for the at-large seat left vacant by Phil Mendelson, who became chairman of the District Council in November of last year. Bonds had been serving as an interim councilmember since December.

The special election also presented a ballot referendum to amend D.C.’s Home Rule Charter and give D.C. more budget autonomy. The amendment will allow the District to use its local revenue without congressional oversight. Although residents have approved the amendment, Congress still has to vote to approve the measure in 35 days.

Gary Tischler • April 22, 2013

When the Chicago Bears defeated the St. Louis Rams, 24-0, in the National Football League championship game to reach the Super Bowl, in 1986, the win looked so decisive that it hardly needed a play-by-play commentary.

But sportscaster Pat Summerall, working with rambunctious John Madden, managed to put both grace and finality into the day, which was wind-off-the-lake, winter cold, after the Bears scored their last touchdown, putting scale and drama into describing a PAT (Point After Touchdown):

“The kick—like everything else today for the Chicago Bears—was perfect,” I remember him intoning.

That was actually a lot of words for Summerall, the former NFL placekicker who became a legendary NFL—and golf and tennis—announcer with Madden and other partners, known for elegant brevity who made every word count as in announcing a Redskin highlight: “Riggins barrels into the end zone, touchdown Redskins”—or not: “Riggins. Left side. Nothing doing.”

To hear of Summerall’s death, at the age 82 on April 16, is to realize just how much sports announcing has changed. There are no Pat Summeralls around, or even Pat Summerall wannabes. It’s talk, talk, talk, sports talk and cliches. Will somebody just call a homer a homer (instead of rockets and taters), instead of being one?

He and Madden were in some ways a perfect match of opposites when they called NFL games first on CBS Sports then on Fox Sports—a move that made Fox instantly respectable in football circles. Here was Madden, a jumping bean of a man, full of stats, drawings, a motor mouth of considerable heft, a one-time coach for the Oakland Raiders who made an industry out of himself. And here was Summerall, who, next to Madden, could have been Calvin Coolidge in terms of word count.

But Summerall could set the stage, describe the scene, and it was a voice that had a coal miner’s poetry to it, and a ringing authority. Watching a very fast running back score a touchdown: “Speed kills. Touchdown.” He had a voice that was great on television and radio, and a physical presence that resonated like a movie star’s, rugged, sage when his hair turned white, an athlete’s build with a gentleman’s manner.

As a kicker, Summerall famously beat a Cleveland Browns team with a last-second 49-yard field goal. I remember this because I lived in Ohio way back when. He battled—and triumphed over—alcoholism by checking into the Betty Ford clinic which tacked several days on his stay because of his anger over friends who engineered an intervention. He told one reporter that he didn’t want to go because he was having too much fun.

For years, the rather civilized CBS mega hit “Murder She Wrote,” starring the esteemed actress Angela Lansbury, racked up big ratings on Sunday. The suspicion remains that it was because of this: “Tonight, on CBS, after “60 Minutes,” “Murder She Wrote,” as practically commanded by the voice of Pat Summerall.

John Madden called him “the voice of football.” These are too many words for a Summerall tribute. He would have liked the comment from a fan, for the brevity, if not the sentiment: “He. Is. Legend.”