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Gary Tischler • July 12, 2012

I became a United States citizen in 1959 on my 18th birthday after I had already graduated from South Amherst High School, in South Amherst, a small (pop. 1,500 or so) town, south of Cleveland, Ohio, with all the requisite virtues of small town life along with some of its restrictions and limitations.

I raised my right hand and swore to uphold and all the rest in a county court in Elyria, Ohio. I think I loved this country, the United States of America, long before I swore to obey its laws and honor it in the company of other citizens-to-be who came from everywhere.

I started to love this country when I first set foot on American soil for real–the New York airport doesn’t count. That was in 1952 when I was put on a TWA propeller driven airliner that took me from Munich, to Paris to New York. I was all off ten years old, couldn’t speak a word of English or American, except “hot dog” and “GI Joe.”

I was the last installment in a three-pronged immigration plan begun when my step-father, Mihailo Radicanin, who came here for a job in the U.S. Steel mill in Lorain, Ohio, a mid-sized city near Lake Erie where many of his fellow Yugoslavians, a-k-a Serbs and Croatians, had come to join the great and soon-to-boom American work force. In time, Mihailo earned enough money to send for my mother, a factory worker, Bavarian, and a divorced mother whom he married here. Four years later, it was my turn to come to America.

I mention all this because at that age–even then–I wanted to be an American more than anything in the world except a cowboy, which was the same thing in my mind. I loved hot dogs immediately–ate a dozen at my first picnic and got sick–but I also loved the movies, the abundance of books, both comic and actual, the blue skies which I knew stretched to everywhere out there in this big country. Coming from a country which was still clearing out rubble from its major cities in the wake of World War II, the streets of Ohio, the farmlands surrounding South Amherst, the car-filled roads, the football and baseball fields, the homeyness of American homes seemed as fresh as a hearty baby to me. Mihailo drove a 1952 Pontiac which I would drive into an apple tree years later.

I fell in love immediately, much like an adolescent boy gets stone smitten by the sight of an impossibly beautiful girl except that the girl rewards the love in impossible ways. I heard that phrase a lot over the years: the pursuit of happiness and I think I understood it a little better than some because my memories of Germany were always close to the surface, with additions from studies in recent history. My stepfather and mother understood it too–they weren’t rich, not even without economic worry since strikes and layoffs were regular features of the economy in the 1950s. But they acquired a house on eight acres in the South Amherst area for $8,000, which included an apple orchard, a bunch of chickens, plowed lanes and a falling-down barn.

They retired to Sun City, Arizona, which did not have cowboys, but I was long out of the house by then. I grew up and was raised through an American childhood. I learned to love the country–not uncritically, without question–but with an enduring passion for the old verities of freedom of thought, diversity, tolerance and such even when they were not being practiced. There was a reason there were so many people named Washington and Jefferson in America.

I lapped it all up in my growing up in small town America. Every year in high school, I won an American Legion essay contest on patriotism and its American variations. This essay is probably not as good or as fresh as any of the ones from my youth.

I grew up in sunlight and the green grass of a long front yard which I mowed diligently. I know that in America, opportunity always beckons, not always obviously, not in equal ways, but nonetheless, in all manner of occurrences. I feel even at this advanced age, lucky to live here, in the nation’s capital, to take in its history, its celebrations of history, the closeby breath of history.

I thought about this going through the exhibition about the War of 1812, thinking of Decatur House, of Andrew Jackson in Lafayette Park. Lake Erie looms big in this tale, which is large and complicated, and the words of Oliver Hazard Perry, “We have met the enemy, and they are ours,” our part of Ohio junior high school history books along with Tecumseh. Here, the British torching of government buildings in 1814 is a local tale, but “the Star-Spangled Banner” is everyone’s song.

To this day, I remember, as Neil Diamond sings in his hokey but undeniably affecting song, “Coming to America.”

That was 50 years ago on a month in June, a summer in Ohio beckoning. Mihailo passed away in Sun City in the late 1990s; my mother followed in the post 9/11 world. And here I am, still in love with America, waywardly, critically, but always passionately.

Happy Fourth of July. Happy Birthday, America.

Gary Tischler •

Just when you think it’s safe to go out on a Friday night, you discover a new creature blasting out of the weather misery index headed straight to a neighborhood near you.

What we had here, folks, was a derecho, a storm phenom that occurs under conditions of extreme heat. All around D.C., we had all the fixings for a derecho visitation, which is short (maybe a half an hour) and extremely intense, as we found out in the morning.

It was as bad as it sounds, and it was enough to make you retcho. Along with sorrow for the deaths the storm caused, my sympathy—heartfelt and relieved—goes out to everyone who was otherwise most directly affected by the results of the derecho—trees falling on houses, power outages, loss of communicastions, loss of homes and shelter, loss of frozen food, loss of care, long lines spent idling in gas stations, of which there were precious few in the D.C. metro area. People lost power and resorted to eating by candlelight, and all their gadgets suddenly dimmed, or failed, or were of no use. There was maximum texting and tweeting but only if your gadgets worked.

Some of us were lucky, some of us were not—but the whole area, to some degree or another felt the effect of what’s basically a really extreme summer storm, full of hail, lightning, powerful winds, sheeting rain and thunder brought on by extreme summer heat—in June, no less. In D.C., temperatures had hit 104 June 29, and early in the evening, weathermen were already warning about the oncoming stretch and line of storms. “Everybody’s going to get it,” and “There’s no escape” and such and such a place “is getting hammered,” where common expressions of what was coming and what was happening. Of course, it’s tough to heed the warnings when your television shuts down.

We heard the 70 to 80 to 90 miles per hour winds in our Adams Morgan neighborhood, which for the most part escaped relatively unscathed, although all of us feared the worst, having experienced 50-inch snow, power outages and a real hurricane. But we could see the aftermath—branches all over the streets, some smaller trees down along with big branches. On Woodley Place near the National Zoo, a major, old, huge tree had cracked and uprooted, stretching itself across the street and on top of two houses.

Similar sights—in the forms of videos and photos on line were seen all over the District and in Maryland and Virginia. Huge power outages occurred—and Pepco, in spite of all those television commercials about caring for their customers and getting their act together, appears still not to have its act together, with at last count around 30 to 40,000 customers without power and not expected to bring back full power for another week — a situation Gov. Martin O’Malley of Maryland said was completely unacceptable.

We live, of course, in an age of extremes—extreme partisanship, extreme fighting, extreme Kardashian, and especially extreme weather, although not extreme global warming, according to some. Still, it’s 106 in Atlanta, Colorado is burning, and we’re facing 90-degree-plus heat for the next ten One of the things we find about events like these is that it brings people out to help each other—libraries open their doors and air conditioning to displaced persons, neighbors take in their neighbors, people check on their neighbors, their children and pets. Or not: a Motel 6 hotel apparently upped their rates to $500 a night, anticipating a huge profit. Deretcho indeed. [gallery ids="100886,127650,127627,127645,127637" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner •

On behalf of the Georgetown Media Group, we would like to welcome our new neighbor, Zoe Feldman. This local designer started her business, Zoe Feldman Designs in 2004 and relocated to her new office space above the Georgetown Media Group on Potomac Street June 29. We had the opportunity to sit down with Feldman and ask her about her company and what got her there.

Q: How did you get started?

A: A couple of good choices and a lot of luck. I went to school for advertising and found out it wasn’t my jam. So, I went to interior design school, and got an internship with Mark Hampton, Inc. It turned into an assistant job, and by the time I left I was a designer.

Q: How long have you been in the interior designing business?

A: I started my business in 2004, and I’ve been in the Georgetown area for almost five years. We just moved from down the street because it was too small. The new space is the perfect fit, and it was the push we needed to take a risk.

Q: What’s your design style?

A: Classic modernism. I grew up in a mid-century modern home with pop art. I use a blend of classical and modern, and I like to modernize traditional spaces but also pay homage to the history. My design style is always evolving.

Q: What kind of demographic do you try to appeal to?

A: I’d say young professionals. Cool couples in their 40s, a few bachelors and more established clients. Basically, people looking for a little more of a less traditional D.C. look.

Q: What inspires you?

A: I’m very inspired by art, nature-like colors and texture in nature and fashion. I look at what the space is begging for. The space I work in and the clients are the most important things.

Q: Is there any thing else you’d like the Georgetowner readers to know?

A: I’m a fan of Georgetown, and I’m for hire!

To see Zoe Feldman portfolio visit. zoefeldmandesign.com [gallery ids="100888,127652" nav="thumbs"]

Robert Devaney •

We all want to go green, but this is ridiculous.

The June 29 storm felled a huge tree at the corner of Prospect & 35th Streets, NW. The downed tree is a traffic-stopper and apparently wins the prize for biggest tree on the ground in Georgetown.

The entire tree snapped from its roots and landed directly along the sidewalk. The branches destroyed windows, damaged roofs and blocked access and egress to the several homes for a time. While cars were parked on the street, all but one BMW escaped serious damage.

At one Prospect Street house, which has no power, tree branches not only damaged the roof and smashed glass and paster into a second-floor bedroom, it pulled an electrical box off the outside wall of the house near its main entrance which is now blocked by tree branches. (All other homes on the 3400 block of Prospect Street have power.)

D.C.’s Department of Transportation stopped by the corner to look at the tree June 30 in the afternoon and recorded information into its system. (The tree is on District of Columbia land.) Advisory neighborhood commissioner Bill Starrels rushed to the scene when called July 1 by a resident. He, too, was astonished by the downed tree, saying, “It is the biggest one I’ve seen in Georgetown.” Starrels immediately contacted the mayor’s office.

Residents sawed off branches to clear the entrances to their homes. All the while, curious on-lookers photographed and posed alongside it — verifying the phenomenon, known as “disaster tourists.”

As for the powerless Prospect Street home, the owner who has lived there for decades said that she saw tiny sparks coming from the smashed outside electrical box. Pepco arrived to check the house without power around 9 a.m. July 2 and said tree branches were blocking its access to the box and walked away.

Meanwhile, the popular tree in front of six houses now poses traffic safety problems: curious amateur photographers take pictures of the tree, sometimes in the middle of the busy intersection, and cars stop to gawk and further block traffic. (Prospect Street is a mini M Street with delivery trucks, tour buses and commuters using it constantly.)

As for the Prospect Street residents, like many around D.C., they are fed up — and are chopping, sawing and clearing a pathway, waiting no longer. [gallery ids="100889,127683,127675,127657,127670,127665" nav="thumbs"]

Georgetowner • July 9, 2012

Volta Park MPD Meet & Greet

July 7th, 2012 at 09:00- 10:00 AM | Free | Tel: (202) 282-0380 | Event Website

Come by this Saturday and meet Meet Officer Atkins and strengthen ties with the community & our local MPD representatives! Join us to share strategies to improve neighborhood safety! Sponsored by : CAG’s Public Safety Program. Meet at picnic tables on the lawn and in Case of Rain, meet at the Safeway Cafe.

Address

Volta Park Recreation Center and Pool

1555 34th St NW,

Quest: Road Signs

July 7th, 2012 at 09:30 AM | Free | information@nationaltheatre.org | Tel: (202) 783-3372 | Event Website

A talented cast of deaf, hard of hearing and hearing performers celebrates deaf culture in an entertaining performance featuring a mixture of story theatre, mime, A-B-C stories, poetry and songs- all performed in American Sign Language.

Address

The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Castleton Festival at the Hylton: Grand Opera in Concert: Puccini’s “La Bohème.”

July 7th, 2012 at 08:00 PM | $30, $45, $60 | hylton@gmu.edu | Tel: 888-945-2468 | Event Website

Unencumbered by sets and elaborate costuming, this spectacular concert version of Puccini’s “La Bohème” conducted by Maestro Lorin Maazel allows the audience to be mesmerized by the Castleton Festival Orchestra and singers performing the beloved music of this heartrending opera.
Address

Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA 20110

CAPCS Online Summer Concert Series

July 11th, 2012 at 12:00 PM | free | Tel: (866) 339-9912 | Event Website

Online students don’t just hang out with their computers – they enjoy summer fun with their classmates, too. Students, families and staff from Community Academy Public Charter School Online (CAPCS Online) will be grooving to everything from funk rock to New Orleans jazz this summer during a series concerts throughout the summer. Interested families are also invited to see how the CAPCS Online community likes to have a good time and to get their questions answered by knowledgeable staff members.

Address

Woodrow Wilson Plaza
Washington, DC

NSLM Art Exhibit Chukkers: The Sport of Polo in Art

July 12th, 2012 at 10:00 AM | free | hreuter@nsl.org | Tel: 540-687-6542 | Event Website

Chukkers: The Sport of Polo in Art

July 12 – September 30, 2012

Museum Hours: Wednesday-Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday noon to 4 p.m.

Chukkers: the Sport of Polo in Art, curated by the NSLM and researched by H.A. Laffaye with loans from the Museum of Polo and Hall of Fame, explores the game and its history with over fifty paintings and watercolors, twenty sculptures and medals, and a selection of antique trophies.

Address

National Sporting Library and Museum

102 The Plains Road

Middleburg, Virginia 20117

Robert Devaney •

The Georgetown Business Improvement District is looking for a new executive director. Less than three weeks after its annual upbeat meeting, the Georgetown BID unexpectedly announced the resignation of James Bracco, its executive director since 2009.

“Jim Bracco, has decided to leave the BID after an exemplary three-and-a-half years of service,” reported Georgetown BID’s board president, Crystal Sullivan in a July 3 e-mail to its members. “On behalf of the BID’s board of directors, we would like to thank Jim for his great efforts on making Georgetown a clean, safe and enticing community for our businesses to thrive and visitors to enjoy. He has been a steady presence in not only the Georgetown community but in representing our neighborhood amongst city agencies and initiatives. We greatly appreciate his time and level of service to Georgetown, and he will be missed.”

At the June 13 meeting at the House of Sweden, Bracco gave an update on projects and said he was especially proud of the clean-up crews, whose work he admired each morning when driving to work. Among other projects, he also showed images of the holiday plantings to come as well as a sketch of the holiday ornament to be dramatically suspended over the intersection of Wisconsin Avenue and M Street, much like the lighted decoration that hangs each Christmastime at Fifth Avenue and 57th Street in Manhattan.

At its big meeting in 2011, the BID launched its new website and with its re-branding effort revealed the neighborhood’s latest retail motto: “Come out and play.”

No replacement for Bracco has been announced.

The next big BID event is Georgetown’s Fashion Night Out, Sept. 6. Its tagline is “Liberty and fashion for all.”

Gary Tischler • July 2, 2012

In the wake of the death of Nora Ephron at the too-young age of 71 from a complication of acute myeloid leukemia June 26, they’ve been running the same clip from “When Harry Met Sally,” the great rom-com that starred Meg Ryan and Billy Crystal for which Ephron wrote the screenplay.

You know the one: Ryan explains and demonstrates to a skeptical Crystal that women do indeed fake orgasms, and here’s how we do it, to which a female diner at a nearby table says: “I’ll have what she’s having.”

It’s as if that line somehow defined Ephron’s life and career, but then, we’re in the let’s-go-to-the-video or YouTube era, so that accounts for it.

More difficult to account for and easier to admire is Ephron’s life and its attendant accomplishments. She was funny, smart, graceful, charming, loyal and always curious, with the gift of making the specifics of her life universal to ours. She had courage, sharp eyes and sometimes sharp words that hurt like pinpricks but opened our eyes. She had an eagerness to know, to share and to experience.

What I would say — and I’m a man (not that there’s anything wrong with that) — I wish I had what she had.

As it was, she left behind a lot of evidence of her qualities and her impact. She was a writer, after all, and writers never think to think they’ve written too much. Born of show business parents, she started out as a reporter, worked on now nearly extinct daily newspapers, wrote personal-styled essays for Ladies Home Journal and Esquire Magazine, a pairing you’re not likely to see in the same sentence again any time soon.

Ephron was keenly aware of who and what she was: a woman working in a man’s world, which was especially true when she turned her scribbling gifts to screenwriting, and seduced that Hollywood macho part of town into mush with her fierce friendliness, her interest in everything and everybody around her and an ability—very important in Hollywood—to turn out hits. So, there was “When Harry Met Sally,” about life-long friend who try to keep a friendship from turning into sex and love and romance; “You’ve Got Mail” and “Sleepless in Seattle,” two Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan romances that charmed the country. She wrote “Silkwood,” a gritty movie about whistle blower Karen Silkwood, directed by Mike Nichols. She wrote, most recently, “Julie and Julia,” about Julia Child, starring Meryl Streep.

And perhaps most heartfelt and anger-felt was “Heartburn,” a very thinly disguised novel about her marriage to Watergate-famous reporter and writer Carl Bernstein, who had the caddish misfortune to conduct an affair with the wife of the British Ambassador to the United States, Margaret Jay.

This would become a movie with Streep playing the herself role and Jack Nicholson as the husband. Much of it was filmed in and around Georgetown in various locations, including a hair salon which made old Georgetown giddy as all get-out.

Efron was, by and large, of the species New Yorker even if she did spend time in La La Land. It didn’t matter what it was, she would turn everything into writing gold of the most appealing kind. Her inspiration and heroine was Dorothy Parker, the acidic, sharply funny, extremely smart writer, reporter, short story and fiction writer and wit of the 1920s and 1930s who held her own among the male verbal jousters of New York’s Algonquin Club. Famously, she wrote an abbreviated and to-the-point review of Katharine Hepburn’s first stage effort thusly: “Miss Hepburn ran the emotional gamut from A to B.”

The other day, we were walking in the neighborhood and saw a woman walking a little white maltese dog. She was wagging her tail in friendly fashion. “What’s her name?” we asked. “Dottie,” the woman replied. “I named her after Dorothy Parker.” Dottie eyed me skeptically. I fully expect to see a beautiful, skeptical, smart and funny little pooch, named Nora in neighborhoods across the country very soon. Or at least a statue. Or at least a movie. Starring Meryl Streep, saying, “I’ll have what she’s having.”

Georgetowner •

Castleton Festival at the Hylton: Gershwin and Company: An All-American Evening

June 28th, 2012 at 08:00 PM | $30, $45, $60 | hylton@gmu.edu | Tel: 888-945-2468 | Event Website

The young artists of the Castleton Festival perform “Gershwin and Company: An All-American Evening,” a musical celebration of the American spirit, under the baton of world-renowned Maestro Lorin Maazel. Pianist Kevin Cole joins the orchestra for a riveting performance of George Gershwin’s most popular work, “Rhapsody in Blue.”

Address

Hylton Performing Arts Center, 10960 George Mason Circle, Manassas, VA 20110

Smithsonian Folklife Festival

June 28th, 2012 at 11:00 AM | Free | Tel: 202-633-1000 | Event Website

Wednesdays-Sundays, June 27-July 8

The Festival is held outdoors on the National Mall in Washington, D.C., between the Smithsonian museums. Admission is free.

This year’s theme includes:

Citified: “Arts and Creativity East of the Anacostia River,” “Campus and Community” and “Creativity and Crisis.”

Address

The National Mall (Between the U.S. Capitol and the Lincoln Memorial) Washington, DC

Community Class at Down Dog Yoga

June 29th, 2012 at 04:00 PM | 6-10$ | Event Website

Every Friday, Down Dog Yoga offers a community class at a discounted rate to encourage new yogis to sweat it out. The reduced drop in rate is $10 per class or $6 for students. Register online beforehand to secure a spot!

Address

Down Dog Yoga, 1046 Potomac St NW

Georgetown Group Runs

June 30th, 2012 at 09:00 AM

Join Georgetown Running Company with a few friends a weekly weekend run. Every week, the community is welcome to join a group that leaves from the store.

Address

Georgetown Running Co., 3401 M St NW, Washington, DC

Penguin Bob Reading and Drawing

June 30th, 2012 at 09:30 AM | Free | information@nationaltheatre.org | Tel: (202) 783-3372 | Event Website

Artist, author and illustrator Joe Jamaldinian enthralls the kids with an exciting adventure featuring his children’s book character, Penguin Bob. With some help from the audience, Joe sketches a colorful story in which Bob follows his quest to teach children to pursue their dreams in a multi-cultural world of fascinating people.

Address

The National Theatre, 1321 Pennsylvania Ave., NW

Great American Festival

June 30th, 2012 at 03:00 PM | $39.00-69.00 | Tel: 877-628-5427

Ozomatli and Eve 6 are among the dozen bands and DJs taking over National Harbor’s piers, pavilion and beach area for a day-long pre-July 4 blowout. Local acts the Dance Party, See-I and Hot 99.5 DJ Chris Styles are also featured. Expect the usual mix of food vendors, beer tents and games, capped with fireworks over the Potomac River. Special VIP tickets include unlimited beer and access to a private area with acoustic sets by Ozomatli, the Dance Party and See-I.

Address

National Harbor, 150 National Plaza, Fort Washington, MD

GUATEfest

July 1st, 2012 at 08:00 AM | $10 pre event, $15 at the door, Kids under 12 are free | guatefest2012@gmail.com | Tel: 703-587-2720 | Event Website

GUATEfest is a Guatemalan Festival featuring cultural activities, music, food, crafts for kids and much more. Featuring bands- Radio Viejo, Giovanny Pinzon, Osman Broody, Sonora Concepcion, Invasores Musical, Banda FM zacapa, Tormenta Musical, Raibales and more. Come and join us to support the Latin Community on July 1st 2012. 8am-8pm. Please purchase tickets from Megamart, RIA/Bancomerico, Ticketlatino.com

Address

Gunston Middle School, 2700 South Lang Street, Arlington, VA 22206

Independence Day Ice Cream Social

July 3rd, 2012 at 01:00 PM | $5-10, Military Free | mkatz@tudorplace.org | Tel: (202) 965-0400 | Event Website

George Washington loved ice cream, and the founders of Tudor Place loved and revered their forebear George Washington. We’ll start with a special, family-friendly mansion tour focusing on its many George and Martha Washington connections. Then, make your own ice cream sundaes in the garden, and enjoy children’s games and crafts. All participants will receive a special copy of a rare, personal letter from Washington belonging to the Tudor Place archives.

Address

Tudor Place Historic House and Garden, 1644 31 Street NW

Whitney Saupan • June 29, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney will be showing in Georgetown June 27 for an exclusive fundraising dinner party hosted by Bob and Suzy Pence.

Unlike Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Romney does not appear to scoff at “Georgetown cocktail parties.”

The invitation-only dinner will cost $50,000 per person and will be held in the Pences’ penthouse at 3030 K St., N.W. That is the address for the condominiums of Washington Harbour, where Nancy Pelosi also lives. The dinner is one of three fundraising events for Romney taking place this month in or near D.C.

On June 25, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Sen. Rob Portman (R-Ohio), both potential vice-presidental running mates with Romney, will be at a reception geared toward young professionals. The reception will be held on a rooftop in downtown Washington. Tickets begin at $100 per person.

Ann Romney will headline a dinner fundraiser being hosted by former Maryland governor Bob Ehrlich and his wife, Kendel. The fundraiser will take place near Baltimore-Washington International Airport, and tickets will begin at $1,000 with dinner costing $15,000 per person

Robert Devaney •

After months of contentious discussions along with private and public meetings and press coverage as well as D.C.’s Zoning Commission hearings on Georgetown University’s 2010-2020 campus plan and the adjacent neighborhoods’ objections, the hour of decision is at hand. And it has taken the added weight of the District government to seal the deal.

The Executive Office of the Mayor of the District of Columbia issued a media advisory Tuesday: Mayor Vincent Gray, Georgetown University President John DeGioia and Ron Lewis, chair of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2E, “will make a major announcement regarding Georgetown University’s campus plan and engagement with neighborhood and city leaders” at the intersection of 36th and P Streets, N.W., just outside the university’s main campus, Wednesday, June 6, 2:30 p.m.

After a tense impasse on zoning discussions on the campus plan, Gray began to get his office more involved. The mayor had spoken at an October 2011 ANC meeting and said that he thought the issues surrounding the campus plan could be resolved. Last week, he spoke at the annual meeting of the Citizens Association of Georgetown and indicated that an agreement was 95 percent complete.

According to the mayor’s office, “District leaders have been working closely over the last several months to bring Georgetown University officials and Georgetown neighborhood leaders together regarding the school’s campus plan.”