Old Town Crier- September 2017 Full Issue

Since 1988 • Priceless

From the Bay to the Blue Ridge

September 2017

Road Trip

BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY Join the Industrial Evolution!

Personality Profile

LINDA K. GLOVER Author and Adventurer Bit of History

THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE Dining Out

RAMPARTS TAVERN & GRILL Football Fare - Something for Everyone!

Grapevine

NO MORE STICKY FINGERS!

oldtowncrier.com

september’17 A Division of Crier Media Group OTC Media LLC PO Box 320386 Alexandria, VA 22320 703. 836. 0132

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office@oldtowncrier.com oldtowncrier.com Published the first week of every month.

Worth waiting for!

PUBLISHER Bob Tagert

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MARKETING & ADVERTISING Lani Gering Bob Tagert SOCIAL MEDIA & WEBSITE Ashley Schultz DESIGN & PRODUCTION Electronic Ink 9 Royal Street, SE Leesburg, VA 20175 703. 669. 5502 Chris Anderson Peggie Arvidson Nancy Bauer Sarah Becker F. LennoxCampello Steve Chaconas Jimmy Deaton Judy Eichner Doug Fabbioli Nicole Flanagan Lani Gering Miriam Kramer

CONTRIBUTORS Sarah Liu Jeff McCord Kim Putens Julie Reardon Ashley Schultz Chester Simpson Bob Tagert Carl Trevisan Ryan Unverzagt Lori Welch Brown Molly Winans

© 2017 Crier Media Group, Inc. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The Old Town Crier is published monthly and distributed to select Alexandria residents, hotels, restaurants and retail shops. Also distributed in the Annapolis, Fredericksburg, Blue Ridge and Washington, DC areas and St. John, USVI. Since 1988 • Priceless

A Bit of History.................................................................. 8

First Blush.........................................................................44

Personality Profile............................................................ 4

After Hours.......................................................................10

Fitness................................................................................42

Pets of the Month.........................................................17

Alexandria Events............................................................ 2

From the Bay….............................................................24

Points on Pets.................................................................16

Art & Antiques................................................................13

From the Trainer............................................................43

Publisher’s Notes.............................................................. 2

Behind the Bar................................................................30

Gallery Beat.....................................................................12

Road Trip...........................................................................20

Caribbean Connection...............................................18

Go Fish...............................................................................45

Social Media Message................................................... 7

Chef's Special..................................................................32

Grapevine.........................................................................37

Spiritual Renaissance...................................................41

Cooking Corner..............................................................34

High Notes.......................................................................11

The Last Word.................................................................... 9

Dining Guide...................................................................36

History of Labor Day....................................................... 5

To the Blue RIdge..........................................................26

Dining Out.......................................................................29

National Harbor.............................................................47

Urban Garden.................................................................14

Exploring Virginia Wines............................................38

On the Road with OTC................................................... 1

Financial Focus.................................................................. 6

Open Space.....................................................................46

From the Bay to the Blue Ridge

September 2017

Road Trip

BALTIMORE MUSEUM OF INDUSTRY Join the Industrial Evolution!

Personality Profile

LINDA K. GLOVER Author and Adventurer Bit of History

THE SOUNDS OF SILENCE Dining Out

RAMPARTS TAVERN & GRILL Football Fare - Something for Everyone!

Grapevine

NO MORE STICKY FINGERS!

oldtowncrier.com

about the cover Monarchs and bees along the Blue Ridge Highway in Shenandoah National Park. Photo

by Bob Tagert.

on the road with OTC The OTC’s own Caribbean Connection writer, Jeff McCord, is sitting outside of “Fred’s Bar” in the cozy piazza of Moncalvo, in the Piedmont region of Italy.

Moncalvo is called “The Littlest City in Italy,” so named because even though it is town-sized, the forefathers applied for and received a city charter. It is a medieval town, with the remains of the fortress wall surrounding it. Fred’s is off of the Piazza Garibaldi, a square which attracts the whole town towards 5:00 p.m. when everyone has an espresso or a beer.

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PUBLISHER’S NOTES

BOB TAGERT

Alexandria

Courtesy of C. Davison for VTC

SEPTEMBER TOURS, EXHIBITS, EVENTS

SEPTEMBER 10TH GEORGE WASHINGTON PATRIOT RUN

Well, we have made it to the last month of summer and the air temps are beginning to cool off as the temperature of the country continues to rise. Maybe fall and winter can become a cooling off period. This month’s Road Trip is a blast that takes you to a museum that we all helped build… the Baltimore Museum of Industry. The watering holes nearby are pretty awesome too! You will have to check out Little Havana and the Tiki Barge!

If your artistic side is looking for an adventure, check out the Solomons Plein Air Festival piece in the Arts & Entertainment section. Speaking of Solomons, Maryland, dolphins were sighted just last week in the Patuxent River. Read about "Dolphins in Our Midst" in From the Bay. I have been fortunate enough over the past two years to see these beautiful animals in the river and watch them swim alongside as I sailed.

With the baseball playoffs right around the corner and football gearing up, we stopped into a renovated old favorite…Ramparts Tavern & Grill for the September Dining Out. If you are looking to watch a game and have some good eats and drinks, this is the place.

Lori Welch Brown addresses how labels affect us over the course of our lives in her Open Space column. In light of the events that took place last month in Charlottesville, this is a welcome piece. The subject of our Business Profile opted out of being written about due to a conflict they are having with the “City”. We respect their wishes and have filled that space with a feature about the history behind Labor Day. This falls right in line with the piece about the Museum. I think you will learn some interesting facts about how the holiday came about.

This past month we lost one of Alexandria’s greatest. Patsy Ticer was a neighbor of mine and her cat CiGi would sneak into my place when I wasn’t looking. She and I spent several occasions coaxing CiGi out from under the dining room table. I would like to share with you a portion of a press release that we received from the Living Legends of Alexandria: Patsy Ticer, the first woman to serve as Mayor of Alexandria and a four-term Virginia State Senator, was recognized with the designation in 2007; she passed away Monday, August 14. A dedicated volunteer for many years before entering the political arena as a member of the City Council, Ticer was a leader in many areas including issues related to progressive childcare and early childhood education that has left a significant impact in Alexandria. A celebration of her many contributions to our community can be found on the Living Legends of Alexandria (LLA) website at alexandrialegends.orf/ patsy-ticer/ Take some time to enjoy the last few weeks of summer – fall is fast approaching and before you know it we will be gearing up for the holidays!!

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8 a.m. 10K and 5K 9:45 a.m. Kids Fun Run Admission: $50 per runner; $10 for spectator tickets at the finish line George Washington’s Mount Vernon 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy 703-780-2000 www.MountVernon.org.

Dash through history during the George Washington Patriot Run 10K and 5K, which finishes at George Washington’s Mount Vernon. A children’s “Fun Run” will take place near the finish line in the historic area.

SEPTEMBER 16TH & 17TH 15TH ANNUAL KING STREET ART FESTIVAL 10 a.m.-5 p.m.

Admission: Free King St., from Washington to Union Streets 703-746-3301 www.VisitAlexandriaVA.com/ArtFest Old Town Alexandria’s King Street from Washington Street to the Potomac River waterfront is transformed into a gallery filled with art from more than 250 artists from the U.S. and abroad. Visitors can purchase original artwork, participate in hands-on art activities at the Torpedo Factory Art Center, and enjoy a scoop of ice cream at The Art League’s Annual Ice Cream Bowl Fundraiser.

SEPTEMBER 16TH & 17TH MOUNT VERNON COLONIAL MARKET & FAIR 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Admission: Included in general admission ($20 adults; $10 youth) George Washington’s Mount Vernon 3200 Mount Vernon Memorial Hwy 703-780-2000 www.MountVernon.org Colonial-attired artisans demonstrate 18th-century crafts and sell traditional wares such as baskets, woodcarvings, tin and ironwork, leather-workings, weavings, furniture, and much more. “General Washington” will be on hand overseeing the festivities: 18th-century entertainment including music, a balloon-launch, fire-eating, puppet and magic shows, plus hearty specialty food for sale on site.

Costumed interpreters will be demonstrating the 18th-century chocolate-making process using an authentic colonial recipe! The Colonial Market & Fair takes place rain or shine.

SEPTEMBER 23RD 76TH ANNUAL HISTORIC ALEXANDRIA HOMES TOUR 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Admission: $40 in advance; $45 day of Old Town Alexandria 703-823-1273 www.thetwig.org/Homes-Tour Part of Virginia’s Historic Garden Week, the 76th Annual Historic Alexandria Homes Tour features eight homes and gardens in Old Town Alexandria, all within walking distance of one another. On tour day, exchange your tickets for the tour book and map either at the Twig Shop, 106 N. Columbus Street, or at the Alexandria Visitor Center. All proceeds benefit Inova Alexandria Hospital.

FALL EVENTS U.S. Coast Guard Tall Ship Eagle Tours September 4 and 6

George Washington Patriot Run 10K/5K September 10

15th Annual King Street Art Festival September 16-17

Mount Vernon Colonial Market & Fair September 16-17

76th Annual Historic Alexandria Homes Tour Sep September 23

21st Annual Fall Wine Festival and Sunset Tour at Mount Vernon October 6-8

22nd Annual Art on the Avenue October 7

42nd Annual Virginia Wine Festival October 14-15

Fall Harvest Family Days at Mount Vernon October 21-22 21 Annual Del Ray Halloween Parade 21st October 29 For a full list of events, tours, and fall fun go to:

VisitAlexandriaVA.com/Fall

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PERSONALITY PROFILE

Putting CDR shoulder boards on a staff member at his promotion ceremony at the National Ocean Conference in Monterey, 1998.

BOB TAGERT

An unusual encounter on the ice-edge near McMurdo Station, Antarctica

LINDA K. GLOVER

It ain’t about the dress.

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have said it numerous times, “Ever since we started writing about personalities thirty years ago, I am continually amazed how many interesting folks we have met”.

We have met them everywhere but, like this month, our profile is about another person we met at Landini Brothers restaurant. Do not fall for first impressions, because there is much more to Linda K. Glover than meets the eye. A soft spoken, strikingly professional woman does not reveal her life of living and working in a man’s world.

The daughter of an Air Force officer and English war-bride Mother, Glover has lived in many places. Her first school was in London, England. From there the family moved to Frankfurt, Germany where she attended an American military school, Demarest, New Jersey; Belleville, Illinois; and finally Andrews Air Force base in Prince Georges County. It was here, while still in her teens (17), Glover began doing lab work for the Naval Oceanographic Office, where she worked on and off all through college.

She attended Duke University where she graduated in 1970 with a degree in chemistry. The ongoing debate at the time on seafloor spreading, continental drift and plate tectonics prompted her to take graduate courses in marine geology and enter that field.

During her time at the NAVOCEANO labs, Glover improved lab techniques, designed the shipboard labs to move lab work to sea, and went to sea in 1968 to train the guys on how to do it.

For seven years after college, Glover worked at the Navy research lab in Chesapeake Beach, Maryland. Fifty years ago I would ride my motorcycle 4

past this facility on the cliffs of the Chesapeake, and I often wondered what was behind those 12- foot fences. Now I know. “This was where the Navy developed radar back in World War II but was converted to oceanographic research later”, she tells me. “I worked there in a concrete building that had no windows, so it was a relief when we could take some time at lunch and take a swim in the Bay”.

This is also where Glover entered a man’s world. Besides doing research in the lab, Glover began going to sea on Navy military survey ships for three months at a time gathering core samples and mapping the seafloor. To obtain the core samples, sometimes at depths of over 2 ½ miles, they would drop long sections of steel pipe with a 2,000-pound weight attached to the top. This assembly was dropped over the side and would sink to the bottom where the weight would drive the core pipe into the sea bottom; a oneway valve at the opening would keep the mud sample in the pipe when the assembly was hoisted to the surface, Glover loved being in the midst of the physical action of collecting the core samples at sea.

The science cruises also included mapping the bottom of the ocean using multi-beam bathymetry.

The term, in Latin, means depth measurement. But in the same way that topographic maps represent the three-dimensional features (or relief) of overland terrain, bathymetric maps illustrate the land that lies underwater.

One of her science cruises took her to the eastern Indian Ocean where she helped discover the extent of the Ninetyeast Ridge, and developed the

Navy's first antisubmarine At the helm of SV Chardonnay C, an 80-ft ultralight, in warfare map Monterey Bay. of the Indian Glover and analysts in two other Ocean, showing where seafloor agencies to find out the conditions characteristics support the hiding or before the race. “Surface movement finding of submarines. Another cruise of the water can be critical to winning in the northern North Atlantic found that race, and there was friendly the best places for Navy listening competition among the three of us to devices on the seafloor, and provided help our boats win,” she explains. samples for several published research In the early eighties Glover was papers on "paleoclimatology", the a Marine Policy Analyst for the study of ancient climates.

Presidential Commission on ocean I forgot to mention that Glover is policy under President Ronald also a sailor so we sort of understand Reagan. “I finally felt like I was the same things. Although her making a difference,” she tells me, “I knowledge is much more than mine, was tackling significant problems, I was interested in the time that she working with the Hill, writing worked for NOAA...the national recommendations to the President and weather service, which never seems Congress. I was dealing with topics to get it right. She worked in the like Law of the Sea, Shipping and Ocean Services Division to help Shipbuilding policies, Ocean Dumping improve marine weather forecasts. and Coastal Flood Insurance. In one She went on an inspection of Thomas particularly effective study, the Coast Point Lighthouse, which is in the Guard said they needed more funding, Chesapeake Bay south of Annapolis, but we found a way to streamline Maryland and a data collection point some of their policies and reduce their for marine weather forecasts. Glover costs.” found that the wind anemometer One recommendation of this study (that thing you see on the top of was that the Coast Guard cut back sailboat masts that spin in the wind on non-life threatening "rescues," and translate that into wind speed) and allow industry to fill this niche. was located on the railing on one side Glover's recommendations expanded of the lighthouse structure. She had commercial towing for private boat it moved to the roof where it could owners and allowed Richard Swartz, measure winds from all directions! the founder of Boat U.S., to establish Another fun thing she did was towing insurance and services for Boat publish the magazine Gulf Stream for U.S. members.

NOAA. She did weekly analyses of In 1985 she went back to work for the location of the Gulf Stream and the Navy at the Naval Observatory its’ eddies, which helped the Navy, for the Oceanographer of the Navy.” fishermen, commercial shipping, I managed a division in Ocean and recreational sailors. Soon the Policy that took on International and navigators of sailboats in the Newport to Bermuda race were tracking down

PERSONALITY PROFILE > PAGE 7

THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY

LABOR DAY: WHAT IT MEANS

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abor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-

being of our country.

Labor Day Legislation Through the years the nation gave increasing emphasis to Labor Day. The first governmental recognition came through municipal ordinances passed during 1885 and 1886. From these,

CAN YOU WEAR WHITE AFTER LABOR DAY? This old tradition goes back to the late Victorian era, where it was a fashion faus pax to wear any white clothing after the summer officially ended on Labor Day. The tradition isn’t really followed anymore. EmilyPost. com explains the logic behind the fashion trend – white indicated you were still in vacation mode at your summer cottage.

DID YOU KNOW… Labor Day is the

unofficial end of Hot Dog season. The National Hot Dog and Sausage Council says that between Memorial Day and Labor Day, Americans will eat over 7 billion hot dogs.

a movement developed to secure state legislation. The first state bill was introduced into the New York legislature, but the first to become law was passed by Oregon on February 21, 1887. During the year four more states — Colorado, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and New York — created the Labor Day holiday by legislative enactment.

By the end of the decade Connecticut, Nebraska, and Pennsylvania had followed

suit. By 1894, 23 other states had adopted the holiday in honor of workers, and on June 28 of that year, Congress passed an act making the first Monday in September of each year a legal holiday in the District of Columbia and the territories.

Founder of Labor Day More than 100 years after the first Labor Day observance, there is still some

doubt as to who first proposed the holiday for workers.

Some records show that Peter J. McGuire, general secretary of the Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners and a cofounder of the American Federation of Labor, was first in suggesting a day to honor those “who from rude nature have delved and carved all the grandeur we behold.”

But Peter McGuire’s place in Labor Day history has not gone unchallenged. Many believe that Matthew Maguire, a machinist, not Peter McGuire, founded the holiday.

Recent research seems to support the contention that Matthew Maguire, later the secretary of Local 344 of the International Association of Machinists in Paterson, N.J., proposed the holiday in 1882 while serving as secretary of the Central Labor Union in New York. What is clear is that the Central Labor Union adopted a Labor Day proposal and appointed a committee to plan a demonstration and picnic.

A HISTORY OF LABOR DAY > PAGE 7

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FINANCIAL FOCUS

CARL TREVISAN, CFP© & STEPHEN BEARCE

Help Take the Guesswork Out of Choosing Investments

A

sset allocation is a strategy that can help take the guesswork out of choosing investments for your portfolio. Instead of putting all your eggs in one basket, you spread your eggs (dollars) among a variety of baskets (stocks, bonds, and cash). The baskets can be further divided within each type of investment.

Although many investors understand they should invest in a variety of securities, they often stumble when it’s time to choose an asset allocation that’s right for them.

The allocation that you choose should be based on how much risk you are willing to assume (risk tolerance), why you are investing (goals), and when you will need to tap your investments (time horizon).

However, in some cases, once investors choose their allocation, they are afraid to change it. As you experience changes in your life, it can be appropriate to redistribute your assets.

So, when should you change your asset allocation? It is important to maintain balance in your portfolio.

Accordingly, you should reevaluate your allocation strategy at least once a year or when you experience a major life change, such as marriage or the birth of a child. It’s not always necessary to make a fundamental change to the

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allocation, but you should make that evaluation on a regular basis.

Sometimes your portfolio might just need a tweak to rebalance assets that have either increased or decreased in value. For example, a booming stock market may mean the value of the stock portion of your portfolio exceeds your original allocation. If that occurs, you may want to consider selling some stocks to bring your portfolio back into line with your initial allocation. Rebalancing is a strategy every investor should consider as a way to help ensure their portfolio reflects their current investing goals, time horizon, and tolerance for risk.

Further changes to your allocation also may be appropriate depending on your particular investing style.

Strategic investing. Many investors take a strategic approach to asset allocation, meaning they have at least 10 years before they anticipate needing the money they are investing. Strategic investors look at the long term and typically do not make

frequent changes to their allocation strategy. A strategic investor would change the way his or her money is invested if there was a fundamental shift in the economy (a recession, for example) or if inflation began to outpace the earnings that his or her investments were generating.

Cyclical investing. Because the economy is cyclical, meaning it moves in stages of prosperity and recession, some investors change the way they allocate their assets based on the cycle of the economy. This is called cyclical investing – it typically means an investor will reallocate his or her funds every three months to three years. A cyclical investor might invest heavily in stocks when the economy experiences growth and, conversely, invest more in bonds when the economy experiences a period of contraction.

Tactical investing. The third type of investor looks at the short-term – a period of one year or less. The tactical investor changes his or her portfolio based on trends in the market. A tactical approach to asset allocation isn’t for

everyone as it typically requires an investor to trade rather actively and sometimes trade with greater risk.

Each investor has unique goals for his or her money and a distinctive investment style. It is a good idea to talk with your financial advisor about what kind of asset allocation would be right for you and how often you should redistribute your assets. Bear in mind that although asset allocation diversifies your assets, it does not protect against fluctuating markets and uncertain returns.

This article was written by/for Wells Fargo Advisors and provided courtesy of Carl M. Trevisan, Managing Director-Investments and Stephen M. Bearce, First Vice PresidentInvestments in Alexandria, VA at 800247-8602.

Investments in securities and insurance products are: NOT FDIC-INSURED/NOT BANKGUARANTEED/MAY LOSE VALUE Wells Fargo Advisors is a trade name used by Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer and non-bank affiliate of Wells Fargo & Company. © 2017 Wells Fargo Clearing Services, LLC. All rights reserved.

SOCIAL MEDIA MESSAGE ASHLEY SCHULTZ

THE HISTORY OF LABOR DAY | FROM PAGE 5

The First Labor Day

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Rules to follow when using Social Media Marketing

The first Labor Day holiday was celebrated on Tuesday, September 5, 1882, in New York City, in accordance with the plans of the Central Labor Union. The Central Labor Union held its second Labor Day holiday just a year later, on September 5, 1883.

In 1884 the first Monday in September was selected as the holiday, as originally proposed, and the Central Labor Union urged similar organizations in other cities to follow the example of New York and celebrate a “workingmen’s holiday” on that date.

The idea spread with the growth of labor organizations, and in 1885 Labor Day was celebrated in many industrial centers of the country.

A Nationwide Holiday The form that the observance and celebration of Labor Day should take was outlined in the first proposal of the holiday — a street parade to exhibit to the public “the strength and esprit de corps of the trade and labor organizations” of the community, followed by a festival for the recreation and amusement of the workers and their families. This became the pattern for the celebrations of Labor Day. Speeches by prominent men and women were introduced later, as more emphasis was placed upon the economic and civic significance of the holiday. Still later, by a resolution of the American Federation of Labor convention of 1909, the Sunday preceding Labor Day was adopted as Labor Sunday and dedicated to the spiritual and educational aspects of the labor movement.

The character of the Labor Day celebration has undergone a change in recent years, especially in large industrial centers where mass displays and huge parades have proved a problem. This change, however, is more a shift in emphasis and medium of expression. Labor Day addresses by leading union officials, industrialists, educators, clerics and government officials are given wide coverage in newspapers, radio, and television.

The vital force of labor added materially to the highest standard of living and the greatest production the world has ever known and has brought us closer to the realization of our traditional ideals of economic and political democracy. It is appropriate, therefore, that the nation pay tribute on Labor Day to the creator of so much of the nation’s strength, freedom, and leadership — the American worker.

t can be scary and challenging when entering the world of “Social Media” marketing for the 1st time! Success with social media and content marketing requires less talking and more listening. Read your target audience’s online content and join discussions to learn what’s important to them. Then you create content and spark conversations that encourage them to focus and purchase from your brand.

Quality over quantity. It’s better to have a few thousand connections who read, share and talk about your content with their own audiences than millions of connections who disappear

after connecting with you the first time. You also have to be patient, it won’t happen overnight, you have to be consistent! Don’t give up!

Take advantage of platforms such as Hootsuite, which place all your social media sites in one place. They also allow you to schedule posts for the future on all sites and determine the best time to reach your target audience. Find those that promote your brand, also known as influencers.

Develop relationships with them so that they can further market your product. It is best to not bombard your followers with posts every couple hours, it is better to develop

interesting and engaging content and just post once or twice a day. Always acknowledge anyone that reaches out to you, never ignore a message or a comment posted on your page. This person could be critical in developing a successful social media marketing initiative!

Finally, you can’t expect others to share your content and talk about you if you don’t do the same for them.

So, a portion of the time you spend on social media should be focused on sharing and talking about content published by others, especially those that are relatable to your brand.

PERSONALITY PROFILE | FROM PAGE 4

time,” she continues. “Honga River, Crisfield, Smith's Island, Solomons, Baltimore, Magothy and always St. Michaels and Oxford, and favorite Annapolis Harbor. I loved working on the boat…and I loved the routine onboard...especially steering with my feet." Apparently she was serious about her sailing. Like many of us she was overcome with heat stroke, has run aground, but always came back for more.

On retiring from the Government in 2002, Glover established her own firm GLOVERWORKS Consulting, and has had even more adventures. In addition to advising Navy and DoD, she led the effort to put the seafloor into Google Earth, did two books with National Geographic, supports global ocean observing policy, and has recently worked for the Aspen Institute on a plan for high seas protection.

How did all of this come about for this young girl? “Once I saw a Life Magazine article about the 7 seas, and I cut out all of the pictures…that started it,” she says. When she was 11 years old her family took a vacation to Cape Cod. It was bad beach weather so they decided to visit Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, one of the leading ocean research facilities in the world. Near their hotel one night the research vessel Knorr was tied up at the dock with people going aboard. “I asked my Dad if I could go down there but he said, ‘see that sign…Authorized Personnel Only.’ I couldn’t help it so I ran down there anyway and asked ‘Where are you going? What will you Source material supplied by the United be doing?’ It seemed so exotic"” States Department of Labor.

“Girls can’t go to sea, they said.”

“You can’t make any money at it” “Problem was," Linda K. Glover says, "The more people told me I couldn’t do it, the more determined I was!”

Interagency issues,” she says. “Most of my staff were military officers and we negotiated international agreements, mainly to get access to foreign coastal waters for mapping.”

Glover also led high-level efforts on export control, NATO, Law of the Sea, and declassifying Navy data for public use.

Even though Glover carved out a career in what is perceived as a man's world she also made time for herself. In the mid-seventies her “long-time sweetheart, now a great friend” Randolph taught her to sail and scuba dive. “He bought a 41-foot wooden boat built in Nova Scotia,” she says. "Randolph kept his boat in Parrish Creek off the West River.

We sailed everywhere in the Middle Bay, sometimes for two weeks at a

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SARAH BECKER©

A BIT OF HISTORY

The Sounds of Silence

I

n 1966 Simon & Garfunkel had a number one song, President Lyndon B. Johnson created the U.S. Department of Transportation, and U.S. Senator Harry F. Byrd, Sr. (DVA) died at his Berryville home. The Byrd machine passed politically from father to son, Johnson appointed the first black U.S. Cabinet member, and U.S. Senator Willis Robertson (D-VA) lost Presidential favor. Virginia’s failure to comply with the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1954 Brown decision, Byrd Sr.’s co-authorship of the Southern Manifesto left many Civil Rights issues unresolved.

“We regard the decision of the Supreme Court in the [bundled] school cases as a clear abuse of judicial power,” the Manifesto said. “It climaxes a trend in the Federal Judiciary undertaking to legislate…to encroach upon the reserved rights of the States and the people.” Virginia massively resisted Brown.

In Alexandria, in 1966, the subject was integration of the all-white Thomas Jefferson Middle School.

If integrated, the re-fashioned school, located at Cameron and N. West Streets, “would draw from nearby census tracts designated as ‘poverty stricken.’” The Rosemont neighborhood protested and the building was torn down.

“Alexandria quietly is making plans for a model community-centered facility to replace its least integrated elementary school, Charles Houston,” The Washington Post reported in January 1968. “But present indications are that the new Jefferson-Houston Elementary School [K-5] will be as segregated as the old one.”

“The new building is now on the drawing boards and expected to open in 1969,” The Post continued. It could provide an opportunity for the city to redraw attendance boundaries and promote integration, if it chooses... [but]…Alexandria school authorities

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Thomas Jefferson

Charles Houston

have no plans to cross the Richmond, Fredericksburg and Potomac Railroad tracts that have been the traditional boundary between the city’s Negro district and white, middle-class neighborhoods [like Rosemont] to the west.”

At its opening, Jefferson-Houston Elementary School was 94.6% black, 96% black in 1979. It is 79.5% of color today. Economically disadvantaged, 73% of today’s Jefferson Houston School students receive free and reduced lunches. To what extent is Jefferson Houston School’s $45 million, modified, 2014 pre-K-8 facility a continuation of yesterday?

In 1870 Virginia segregated its schools. It was able to do so for two reasons. First, Reconstruction left public education firmly in the hands of state governments. Second, Virginia was merely following a pattern of school segregation pioneered in the North. Abolitionist and attorney; U.S. Senator Charles Sumner [RRMA] wrote Equality before the Law: Unconstitutionality of separate Colored Schools in Massachusetts

in 1870. The racially divisive phrase separate but equal originated in 1849 with Roberts v. City of Boston (5 Cushing R. 198).

“The prospect of integration sparked three highly divergent reactions among 1950s Virginians,” biographer Bruce J. Dierenfield wrote. “Two of these groups occupied the political backstage…The momentum and popular opinion belonged to the diehard segregationists. Dominated by the Byrd politicians, this group demanded complete disobedience of Brown. Its chief exponent in the media, James J. Kilpatrick, drew upon the antebellum doctrines of states’ rights and interposition....”

Not until black attorney Samuel W. Tucker’s 1968 Green v. School Board of New Kent County, Va.—the U.S. Supreme Court’s “extension of the Brown decision”—did Virginia School Districts implement full desegregation.

In Green v. County School Board of New Kent County, Va. the U.S. Supreme Court decided “the Court had not merely the power, but the duty, to A BIT OF HISTORY > PAGE 40

THE LAST WORD

MIRIAM R. KRAMER

Generation Wealth

“E

veryone wants to be rich. If they can’t be rich, the next best thing is to feel rich—and if they don’t want to feel rich, then they’re probably dead.” So says David Siegel, the time-share billionaire who continues to build a house planned to be the biggest in America, a mansion modeled on Versailles near Orlando. He is not wrong. In the photo book Generation Wealth, the author and photographer Lauren Greenfield has subtly and effectively documented the American dream of wealth and fame, and how it has spread globally through interconnected financial systems, exported pop culture, social media, and increased disparity between the uber-wealthy one percent and ordinary people.

“Greed is good,” the motto of the Reagan-era Wall Street movie character Gordon Gekko, has proved prophetic. Greenfield pictures countries as diverse as the United Arab Emirates, Russia, and China, which have also become obsessed with luxury, accumulation, and self-image. They too value the wealth, fame, status, and celebrity they see on television, in movies, and on social media as the keys to the best, most fulfilling life.

Greenfield has synthesized carefully curated photos taken over twenty-five years of globe-trotting and interviewing. Her subjects include Chinese millionaires going to finishing school to learn how to act wealthy, Russians making up for years of communism with conspicuous consumption,

teenagers getting plastic surgery and attending $90,000 bat mitzvahs in Beverly Hills, bling-studded American rappers collecting status sneakers, reality TV stars like the Kardashians serving as role models, and millionaires “making it rain” in Las Vegas and Atlanta strip clubs.

Her weighty, beautiful coffee table tome comes purposefully printed with a luxurious gold cover, flaunting its own riches while thoughtfully and subtly picturing her subjects. Albeit a lovely book with compelling photos, its value runs far deeper than its surface.

On one level Greenfield has collected images that will fascinate anyone interested in sociology, body image, female beauty culture, globalization, finance, and celebrity. Going deeper in interviews with the subjects of her photographs, she lets them speak for themselves about their aspirations towards our current version of “la dolce vita,” and the accompanying emptiness that many feel despite their celebrity or luxe lifestyles.

Covering the 2008 global financial

THE LAST WORD > PAGE 15

9

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music festivals17 ' If you like music and the outdoors, these festivals are the best for you, your family and friends to attend. Come for the day or camp the weekend. Support local and international artists performing around our area.

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105 King St. fishmarketoldtown.com King Street Blues 703.836.8800 112 N. St. Asaph St. La Portas 703.683.6313 1600 Duke St. Las Tapas 703.836.4000 710-714 King St. lastapas.us The Light Horse 703.549.0533 715 King St. lighthorserestaurant.com Murphys Irish Pub 703.548.1717 713 King St. murphyspub.com

O’Connell’s 703.739.1124 112 King St. Rock It Grill 703.739.2274 1319 King St. Shooter McGees 703.751.9266 5239 Duke St. shootermcgees.com Southside 815 703.836.6222 815 S. Washington St. St. Elmos 703.739.9268 2300 Mt. Vernon Ave. Taverna Cretekou 703.548.8688 818 King St.

TJ Stones 703.548.1004 608 Montgomery St. tjstones.com Trattoria da Franco 703-548-9338 305 S. Washington St. Two Nineteen 703.549.1141 219 King St. These establishments offer live entertainment.

Call to confirm show times, dates and cover charges. Check our advertisers’ websites

HIGH NOTES

CHRIS ANDERSON

Twiddle: Plump

V

ermont has given birth to some of the jam scene’s heaviest hitters, most notably Phish – the big daddy of them all - as well as a host of others such as Raq, Max Creek, the legendary Strangefolk, and the increasingly popular Grace Potter & The Nocturnals. Joining those luminous names is the oddly-yet-aptly-named Twiddle, who has been delivering its signature brand of uplifting, sunshinefilled, weed-soaked grooves for over a decade now. More song-oriented than many of the bands on their particular level, Twiddle has a sound that is highly reminiscent of early Dave Matthews Band and Blues Traveler (in fact, singer/guitarist Mihali Savoulidis has a voice that sounds exactly like a cross between Dave Matthews and John Popper) but with perhaps a slightly Phishy twist. While they are all magnificent players, and they do have a tendency to stretch things out a fair bit on stage, this is a band that is definitely about songs just as much as instrumental antics, and they sure do bring the goods, on both counts.

Twiddle’s latest release is the alsoaptly-named, Plump, a mammoth double studio album that features some 28 songs spanning well over two hours. That sounds daunting but it is, however, two hours very well spent. The first volume was originally released in a low-key edition in 2015 but was remastered and updated for

this current edition, which adds an additional album worth of music.

Almost every song on Plump is topnotch….I just don’t get the rap-metal of “Juggernaut” that sits in the middle of this otherwise beautiful album but most of the other songs are fantastic.

I will admit that, as a recent convert, a lot of their songs sound the same, or at least many of them have a very similar vibe going on – sunny reggaeinspired grooves mixed with old soul sounds, sometimes a bit of a Band feel, lots of DMB in the sound, but every so often they slip a funky or proggy instrumental bit in there, probably to make sure we’re all still paying attention. Sometimes they will do that right in the middle of a song, such as with “Nicodemus Portulay”, or the first half of “Orlando’s”, or sometimes it will be its own thing like the ubersick “Blunderbuss”, which reminds me a lot of moe., or “Milk” which moves between funky grooves and complex prog-rock. And it’s great when they do that – Twiddle definitely has the skills to pull this sort of thing off.

But if it’s solid song craft that you are looking for, you can find that in the opening “When it Rains It Pours”, “Five”, and “Syncopated Healing”, which is probably my favorite song of theirs, along with the fantastic “Amydst The Myst”. “Complacent Race” is another one that will get stuck in your head – an all-too-poignant lyric wedded to a killer lead riff. And

then there is “Indigo Trigger” which is also solid, and “The Fantastic Tale Of Ricky Snickle”, which sounds like a lost outtake from an early Blues Traveler album, and features an intricate instrumental interlude that leaves plenty of room to jam out. Yeah, there are some killer songs here.

This is the kind of music that makes you want to smoke a joint and kick the hacky-sack with some buds on a warm day, if that’s your thing. If not, well, this album is perfect for any other occasion. It’s laid back enough that you can have it on in the background while reading, doing chores, or hosting a dinner party, but it is also energetic enough to make for some solid driving music and is compelling enough for in-depth listening. I won’t lie – this is one long ass album. And that is often very, very dangerous for the artist. There are very few double albums that are flawless, from start to finish – Electric Ladyland and Exile On Main Street are the only two that come to mind. Usually double albums will be totally solid for two sides and then lose focus somewhere on side three before picking up steam towards the end. True to form, this album’s only real flirtation with weakness lies somewhere past the halfway point.

Wisely, they top-loaded this album and the first twelve songs or so are

utterly perfect. The last several songs on the album are solid as well but, to be perfectly honest, I’ve had a more difficult time connecting with them because they aren’t as strong as the rest of the songs and also, well, two and a half hours is a long time to spend with any album. It also probably doesn’t help that, the band gets pretty experimental towards the end of the album but there is still plenty to dig here, the main highlights being the prog-inspired instrumentals, “Blunderbuss” and “Dinner Fork”, and the acoustic bluegrass-tinged “Fat Country Baby” is a fun tune even if it is completely out of place on this album. The whole affair ends with the dramatic, piano-cello instrumental, HIGH NOTES > PAGE 15

11

GALLERY BEAT

F. LENNOX CAMPELLO

Let's Get Touchy-Feely!

T

here are always pleasant and enriching surprises where one least expects them. Please allow me to use this month’s “Gallery Beat” column to get a little verbose on the touchy-feely side of art.

Such a surprise experience happened to me as a few years ago while I was jurying an art show in one of the Carolinas. I found a particularly unique piece of sculpture in a show where it was all alone amongst its brethren assorted media; a seminal piece which tempted me into considering awarding it a Best in Show but ended with a lesser Honorable Mention because I thought that the artist had a lot more to explore in order to push the concept behind the work. He needed to enter the world of electricity and lights, and videos, and then he will be there.

I just saw some of that artist’s recent

work and he’s there now!

At that show, in a place where I had never been, and artists whose work I had never seen, there was also the enriching experience of meeting artists who were truly and deeply enamored of their art. And the shock of awarding a Best in Show to a small work whose merit may be overseen by most, like the flower in a dandelion is seen as a weed in a garden of manicured flowers.

And there were memorable and most unexpected images of predatory jacks-in-the-box dressed like harlequins being fed honey. They made me shiver with concern as to their creation seed, like a character in Stephen King’s “Duma Key” reacting to one of Edgar Freemantle’s hypnotic paintings.

And green trees everywhere, clean manicured lawns and mailboxes guided by Homeowner’s Association standards.

And the unexpected and welcomed surprise of having a rich conversation while being driven to the airport that struck a special chord, and triggered thoughts, both light and dark, and ideas, both harsh and moist.

Sometimes a very talented and special artist flourishes amongst a field of good

artists. They stand out in a special way, viewed by some as outsiders and out layers and by others as beautiful. Like the powerful yellow of a dandelion flower is seen as a bad weed by the vastness of the majority, and also as a pretty flower by those with a delicate eye for beauty.

But beauty demands the delicacy of steel, shiny and flexible, and composed of mixed components, each strong on their own merit, but not as strong as when they are forced to couple together in the cauldron of molten ingredients. The scent of beauty has iron ore and coke and alloys and eventually it becomes steel.

The old conversation many years ago floated around art, beauty, and the creative process. The words and idea revolved rapidly around love for art and love for being an artist and how love helps to create art; love as a driving force.

“Not just love,” I added, “also hate.”

After some exploration of this idea, we quickly agreed that what was really needed in order to be an artist was passion.

Poets and common folk have struggled with the nearness of love to hate and the quickness of how they can be molten into one by events and perceptions. Molten like iron and coke and alloys are molten to make steel.

Can art be created from hate?

“From the hells beneath the hells, I bring you my deathly fruits,” wrote Robert Ervin Howard in his dark, some would say hateful poetry.

It is a dreadful question and one that I hadn’t really thought about much until that wonderful exchange of ideas with an unexpected kindred art soul brought it to my mind and then to my lips.

Was Goya driven by hate when he etched his horrible “Disasters of War”?

I think so; but Goya’s was a very special GALLERY BEAT > PAGE 15

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SOLOMONS PLEIN AIR FESTIVAL The 32 selected Plein Air artists from 12 different states and Canada will soon be arriving in Solomons Island, Maryland to spend the week of September 18 – 24 painting outside capturing the beauty and culture of the Island and surrounding areas. From dawn to dusk, they will paint wherever their imagination leads them whether the brilliance of the Chesapeake Bay, rural landscapes, or sun rises and sun sets (which, by the way, are beautiful in Solomons). Come to meet the artists, watch them paint and learn about their techniques. All paintings will be for sale at the Affaire of the Arts event on Saturday evening at the Holiday Inn in Solomons. The award-winning artists and their bios can be found on the website at www.solomonspleinair.com.

A Message from the First Lady of Maryland Yumi Hogan: Solomons Plein Air Festival is happening before too long. We are pleased that Maryland’s First lady – Yumi Hogan has expressed best wishes for a memorable and successful event.

As an accomplished artist, the firs lady especially understands and appreciates the important role that artists play in our community. In a letter to the Festivals organizers, she stated, “The Solomons Plein Air Festival is a wonderful event that allows artists to share their creativity and gives the public a look into the artistic process and a chance to watch an artist’s vision come to lie.”

You are invited to join in the fun of the event filled week of artists, paintings for sale and fun family events.

WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 20

Quick Draw Competition at the Solomons Small Business Association. Non competition artists are welcome to participate in the competition, fee $25.00

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

Sponsor Thank You Event at the Holiday Inn in Solomons. A Private party for Sponsors and participating artists. Event starts at 7:00 pm.

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

Paint the Town for a Cause, at the Town Gazebo, 10:00 AM to 1:00 pm. Three hour painting competition with awards given out to top paintings and will be for sale at the Gazebo area. Food trucks and sodas and water will be for sale during the competition.

Haircuts $15 Shampoo, Cut & Blow Dry $18 (extra charge for long hair) Scissors Cut $17+up Color $43+up Permanent $45+up (including haircut & conditioner)

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Beautiful Perm!

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Van’s Hairstylists 107 North Washington Street (near corner of King & Washington streets)

703-836-1916

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 23

Affair of the Arts Event at the Holiday Inn in Solomons from 7:00 pm to 10:00, tickets are on sale through the website Please purchase early as this event sells out fast.

A Very Good Price!

Monday-Friday 9 am-7 pm • Saturday 9 am-6 pm We care and will give you only the best!

Biolage • Vital Nutrient • Socolor • Matrix Perm • Paul Mitchell • Nexxus

ART&ANTIQUES ANTIQUES Spurgeon-Lewis Antiques 112 N. Columbus Street BW Art, Antiques & Collectibles 108 N. Fayette Street Imperfections Antiques 1210 King Street The Antique Guild 113 N. Fairfax Street Silverman Galleries 110 N. St. Asaph Street

Sumpter Priddy III 323 S. Washington Street Henry Street Antiques 115 S. Henry Street Curzon Hill Antiques 108 S. Columbus Street The Hour 1015 King Street

GALLERIES Torpedo Factory Art Center 105 N. Union Street Principle Gallery 208 King Street Potomac Fiber Arts Gallery 105 N. Union Street St. George Gallery 105 N. Alfred Street

Printmakers, Inc. 105 N. Union Street Kelly’s Art & Frame 510 N. Washington Street Oerth Gallery 420 S. Washington Street Jeffrey Winter Fine Arts 110A S. Columbus Street Johnston Matthew 105 N. Union Street

The Art League 105 Union Street

Huddy Studio 105 N. Union Street

Random Harvest 810 King Street

Local Colour Old Town 218 N. Lee Street

Mezzanine Multiples 105 N. Union Street

Washington Square Antiques 425 S. Washington Street

Acme Mid-Century + Modern 128 S. Royal Street

Icon Galleria 101 N. Union Street

Silverman Galleries 110 N. St. Asaph Street

Susquehanna Antique Co. 608 Cameron Street

Van Bommel Antiek Hous 1007 King Street

B&B Art Gallery 215 King Street

Cochran David 105 N. Union Street

Old Town Antiques 222 S. Washington Street

Lloyd’s Row 119 S. Henry Street

Gallery West 1213 King Street

Betty Grisham Studio 105 N. Union Street

Enamelist’s Gallery 105 N. Union Street

Imagine Artwear 112 King Street

Red Barn Mercantile 1117 King Street

Verdigris Vintage 1215 King Street

Cavalier Antiques 400 Prince Street

A Galerie 315 Cameron Street

13

URBAN GARDEN

MELINDA MYERS

FROM THE GARDEN TO THE PARTY

M

salad and mint leaves a top a slice of chocolate cake.

Include a few herbs and vegetables that can be blended, muddled or added to your favorite beverage. Use the hollow stems of lovage as a straw for your tomato juice or Bloody Mary. You’ll enjoy the celery flavor this edible straw provides. Or pluck a few mint or rosemary leaves to flavor iced tea and lemonade.

Just be sure the vegetables and flowers you select are free of pesticides. Remove the bitter tasting pollen from edible flowers.

Start your party preparation in the garden. Once you compile your list of favorites prepare your garden and containers for a productive growing and entertaining season.

In the garden, add several inches of organic matter such as compost to the top eight to twelve inches of soil. You’ll improve drainage in clay soil and increase the water holding ability in sandy soils. This is also a good time to incorporate an organic nitrogen

ake every meal a special event by bringing the garden to the table. Serve your favorite dishes made from homegrown ingredients.

Then allow guests to add their own herbal seasonings right from the garden or container.

Start by growing the ingredients for your favorite recipes and beverages. Consider those, like tomatoes, that taste best fresh from the garden. Or create a salad bar by filling window boxes and raised beds with greens, hot peppers, green onions and more.

Just hand your guests a plate and let them create their own fresh salad.

Dress up the table or balcony with a few containers of herbs on your patio, deck or near the grill. Use small herb containers as edible centerpieces. Just include a pair of garden scissors and allow your family and guests to season the meal to their taste.

Add a bit of color to your meal with edible flowers.

Try nasturtium and daylily blossoms stuffed with cream cheese, calendula petals sprinkled on your

September Garden Tips:

BY JIMMY DEATON I consulted with my friends at Home Depot and we agreed that the following tips will keep your garden in tact throughout the rest of the year. For more information log on to GardenClub.homedepot.com.

Annual/Perennials • After blooming, perennials may be divided and/or moved.

The roots will have time to reestablish before frost.

• Pull out or prune off dead flower stalks from hostas, daylilies and other plants.

• Don’t deadhead perennials, biennials and annuals if you want to collect seeds (nonhybrids only), or plan to let some self-sow.

• Peonies are best divided and transplanted in late August through September. Remember that the “eyes” must not be buried more than an inch or two beneath the soil surface.

• Container gardens, hanging baskets and window boxes dry

14

out quickly and need frequent watering and fertilizing.

Vegetables • Start spinach and kale under row covers or in a cold frame for tasty winter salads or cooked greens.

• Plant a variety of garlic cloves and shallot bulbs now to overwinter and develop into spring. Mulch the sprouting seedlings to protect them through winter’s cold.

• Extend the season for beets, carrots, leeks, onions, radishes, and parsnips by mulching. Light frost makes root vegetables sweeter, so leave them in the ground to harvest before the ground freezes.

• Clip off flowers on basil, oregano, mint, and marjoram.

All herbs are best used fresh, especially basil and marjoram.

Oregano and mint hold their flavor when dried and stored in airtight containers.

Trysha Taylor

Trees/Shrubs • Stake, move or attach rose canes to a trellis or fence to tidy them. Don’t prune or fertilize now since pruning stimulates growth and they need to store food to prepare for winter.

• Clean up and remove fallen fruit from fruit trees; decaying fruit harbors pests and disease.

• Pruning in late summer and fall can make plants more vulnerable to injury during an early freeze. Prune dead or broken branches now, but wait to do major pruning until late winter or early spring.

Lawn/Turf • Don’t bag or rake grass clippings. Let them lie on the lawn to return nitrogen to the soil.

• Now is a good time to seed a new lawn or patch up bare areas in existing lawns. The new grass will grow until late fall, when the ground freezes, but frost will eliminate any annual weeds that have sprouted.

URBAN GARDEN > PAGE 15

• Core aeration is the best way to revive a lawn that’s developed a thick layer of thatch or to improve areas where the soil has become compacted.

• For a better lawn next year, remove the weeds in early fall since they’re storing food energy for winter. Hand-pull individual weeds or use leasttoxic herbicides.

• For hard-to-mow areas, spots too shady for lawn grass, or hard-to-water places, plant suitable groundcovers. Consider planting them over spring bulbs to camouflage the fading foliage after the bulbs have bloomed.

Jimmy, also known as Farmer D, is a native of the DMV and has resided in Del Ray, Alexandria, Va. for 24 years. He and Angie currently share their home with their two cats — Jax and Scooby. Questions or comments about Urban Garden or a garden question for Jimmy can be directed to: office@oldtowncrier.com.

Write “Urban Garden” in the subject line.

THE LAST WORD | FROM PAGE 9

crash, Greenfield also documents those who leveraged themselves into financial ruin in such places as Dublin, Dubai and Southern California, and how their fall served as a cautionary tale that inspired some to redefine their values. As Greenfield writes in her foreword, “Still, even [David] Siegel admits that money doesn’t make you happy. It just makes you ‘unhappy in a good section of town.’”

Generation Wealth deserves to be absorbed

HIGH NOTES | FROM PAGE 11

“Purple Forrest”, a perfect closing song, the credits rolling, the audience moving on. Or, as it keeps on happening to me, pressing play and restarting the album from the top.

It is refreshing to see the jam scene continue to thrive. It seemed like it had wound up in the wilderness there for a while but it has really come together and gotten very interesting again.

Fortunately there is an ever-growing crop of new talent keeping the flame alive, in one way or

URBAN GARDEN | FROM PAGE 14

fertilizer, like Milorganite (milorganite. com) into the soil. This slow release fertilizer provides needed nutrients for six to eight weeks. Then be sure to add a mid-season boost to keep your garden healthy and productive.

For container plantings, select a pot with drainage holes and fill it with a quality potting mix. This is also a good time to add an organic nitrogen fertilizer which will eliminate the need for weekly feedings. Just give containers a second application mid-season.

Mulch the soil with shredded leaves, evergreen needles or other organic matter to suppress weeds and conserve moisture. As the mulch breaks down it improves the soil for future plantings.

Harvest regularly to keep your plants looking good and producing. Cut the outer leaves of

in all its visual and verbal complexity. Through her images, Lauren Greenfield leaves us to make our own conclusions. She offers up a multidisciplinary masterwork, a picture-book mirror depicting the addiction that consumes us. With our status handbags and pricey cars, we too often cultivate image and wealth fantasy over reality and personal fulfillment.

She points out that a prime example of that wealth addiction and posturing is our current president, who values money, glitz, self-interest, and gilt without guilt above all else. In voting for him, Americans voted for their own aspirations.

We got the president that many aspire to be.

another. Other artists worthy of a listen include Spafford (their latest album, Abaculus, is one hour-long improvisation and is fantastic); the prog-infused Mungion (who has one album that will completely knock your socks off); Aqueous (fans of moe. would dig them); the instrumental TAUK; Cycles (who sounds like a cross between early Phish and Primus), and the lovely Holly Bowling (who has made a name for herself by arranging Phish songs and improvisations for solo piano). All of this music can be found online. Check it out!

leaf lettuce when four to six inches tall and it will keep growing new leaves. Pick peppers and tomatoes when fully ripe, so the plant continues flowering and forming new fruit.

And dress up the table with a bouquet of your favorite garden flowers. Pick a few extras to send home with your guests and they’ll surely remember your special gathering filled with homegrown flavor and beauty.

Gardening expert Melinda Myers has more than 30 years of horticulture experience and has written over 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening and the Midwest Gardener’s Handbook. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything: Food Gardening For Everyone” DVD set and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio segments. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and spokesperson for Milorganite.

Myers’ website is www.melindamyers.com.

GALLERY BEAT | FROM PAGE 12

kind of hate.

The same Goya who so loved the Duchess of Alba, a woman that he couldn’t have, that he painted her with brushes and paints loaded with love, and with desire, and even with direction and wishful thinking.

I think that I think that any passion can drive an artist to create meaningful and powerful art. The fervor of religion has given us some of the greatest masterpieces of art in the world, and not so curiously, as man steps away from God, so has the importance of contemporary religious art.

But it is so disturbing to me to think about pure incandescent hate as a driving force in the creativity of art.

Maybe I should diminish hate.

I hate green peppers.

I had a really good Greek salad for a lovely lunch a couple of days ago, and I was so engrossed in the conversation that I forgot to ask the waiter to skip the green peppers.

The salad was bountiful and tasty, and loaded to the brim with the offending vegetable.

And the guilt of wasting food was there as I piled strips of green on the edge of my plate while consuming the rest of the salad voraciously. It is odd how often I’m not aware that I am hungry until food is presented to me.

I eat too fast.

My mother’s aunt once told

me that she chewed each bite 33 times. But then you’d spend too many precious minutes chewing food. The answer to this mundane tragedy is somewhere in between three and 33. On the other hand, she lived to be well over 100 years old, 103 or 104 I think.

I hate how allergens can penetrate your body’s defenses and torment your nose, throat and eyes and make never ending days full of physical misery. As someone whose DNA results showed me to have a significant amount of pre-Homo Sapiens DNA (I’m 2% Neanderthal and 1% Denisovan), I often wonder how my ancestral kin cavemen survived in moldy caves in a world of sneezing. They must have been killed by their companions. How can a sneezing caveman sneak silently during the hunt? And they really couldn’t be demoted to gatherers instead of hunters, because they’d be sneezing their hairy heads off as they gathered berries and nuts and roots among the pollen rich world in which they lived.

I hate that HBO cancelled “Rome” all those years ago and left us hanging with Pullo walking away with Caesarian.

I hate that George Raymond Richard Martin killed Ned Stark so soon in “Game of Thrones.”

I know, I know… different kinds of hate.

Still, I will never paint or draw green peppers.

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POINTS ON PETS

CINDY MCGOVERN

Area Advocacy Organizations Bring Animals and Volunteers Together

I

t’s estimated that 7 million animals are taken to U.S. shelters every year. No one knows the exact number, because there is no requirement to report it. But suffice to say, there are a lot of animals in shelters across the country. “Seven million” normally refers to our most common companions, cats and dogs.

It doesn’t begin to account for the bunnies, guinea pigs, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Then there are the large-animal rescue centers that are home to goats, sheep, pigs, and horses.

All totaled, that’s a huge population of animals who hope to find safe, loving forever homes. Some of course won’t, and in that case, they will live out their lives at these shelters and facilities.

Why Does This Matter?This homeless animal population could not be cared for without the support and dedication of a large cadre of volunteers nationwide. Some shelters have paid permanent staff, while others are 100 percent volunteer run and funded. All need volunteer support to continue their work and are always looking for help.

KING STREET CATS ADOPTION CALENDAR FOR SEPT 2017 FOR DETAILS & MORE INFO website: www.kingstreetcats.org email: contact@kingstreetcats.org Are you or someone you know free during weekday mornings? King Street Cats is looking for weekday morning caregivers and vet taxis to transport our cats to the vet. Please email: contact@kingstreetcats.org for details.

King Street Cats is looking for foster homes! You provide the spare room and TLC and we can provide food, litter and all vetting. Please email: contact@kingstreetcats.org for details.

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THE SMALLEST ACT OF KINDNESS IS WORTH MORE THAN THE GRANDEST INTENTION. —OSCAR WILDE Each shelter or rescue facility has its own set of requirements and philosophy about rescuing and caring for animals. Before volunteering, research the facility and learn about their mission and vision for animal care to ensure it’s consistent with your own. The organizations and facilities highlighted here are intended to pique your interest, tug at your heart strings, and encourage you to seek out some of these volunteer opportunities.

What Do Volunteers Do? Volunteer opportunities depend on KING STREET CATS 25 Dove Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Every Saturday and Sunday from 1.30pm-4.30pm PETVALU Bradlee Shopping Center, 3652 King St, Alexandria, VA 22302 Every first and third Sat/Sun from 1pm4pm PETCO UNLEASHED 1101 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA 22202 Every first Sat and third Sat/Sun from 1pm-4pm

the facilities and type of animals, but the list of duties is long, varied, and not glamorous. You may be washing towels and blankets used as bedding, scooping and washing litter boxes, cleaning cages, sweeping and washing floors, or restocking supplies.

Other common duties include working at adoption events, conducting home visits, photographing the animals, writing animal biographies, marketing, advertising, writing articles, designing and updating websites, transporting ill animals to veterinary appointments,

PETCO UNLEASHED 1855 Wisconsin Avenue, Washington, DC 20007 Every fourth Sat/Sun from 12pm-3pm THE DOG PARK 705 King Street, Alexandria, VA 22314 Every second Saturday from 1pm-4pm NATURES NIBBLES 2601 Mt Vernon Ave, Alexandria, VA 22301 Every second and fourth Saturday from 1pm-4pm

and supporting fundraising events.

Depending on your interests, there’s most certainly an organization with a volunteer opportunity for you. For instance: Rikki’s Refuge (rikkisrefuge.org/) is a 450-acre, no-kill, all-species sanctuary in Orange, VA. The refuge is home to almost 1,300 animals of at least 22 different species. Given their population, Rikki’s has unique volunteer opportunities. The Grounds

POINTS ON PETS > PAGE 17

POINTS ON PETS FROM PAGE 16

Gang mows the lawn, weeds, puts gravel in pens to keep the mud down, and does general landscaping duties. Another team builds and/or repairs enclosures or other buildings.

Friends of Homeless Animals (foha.org/) focuses on the rescue and placement of homeless dogs and cats in Northern Virginia and Washington, DC. It has been home to many Eagle Scout and Gold Award projects, as well as corporate or group volunteer activities.

The Animal Welfare League of Alexandria (alexandriaanimals.org/) offers students in grades 3 to 12 an opportunity to gain service hours for school through its Book Buddies program. Students are invited to read to cats (and other small animals) in the adoption room. The program helps children improve their reading skills while they offer socialization and human interaction to the animals, who find the rhythmic sound of a soft voice comforting and soothing.

What About Volunteering to Foster?

If you can open your home and heart to a homeless animal, volunteers are also needed to foster. Many animals, particularly older ones or those with medical conditions, find shelters stressful. A foster home offers them the love and stability they need to adjust

to their new situation. For abused or neglected animals, fostering gives them time to learn to trust humans again.

Puppies and kittens benefit from early human interaction and socialization, making them more likely to be adopted when they’re old enough.

Friends of Rabbits (friendsofrabbits. org/), an all-volunteer organization dedicated to rabbit rescue, has an active foster program. After dogs and cats, rabbits are one of the animals most commonly surrendered to U.S. shelters.

FOR’s foster program provides for spay/ neuter services and arranges adoptions into loving, indoor, forever homes.

Healing Hearts Rescue Group (hharg. rescuegroups.org/) focuses primarily on senior and special-needs dogs. Healing Hearts doesn’t have a brick-and-mortar shelter, and all of their dogs are with foster families until they find their forever homes. Healing Hearts provides all of their veterinary care.Fostering does require a certain degree of selflessness, because the ultimate goal of fostering is to find a permanent, loving home for the animal. When that time comes, the fosterers must be prepared to give up their charges to their forever homes, where they will receive the love and attention they deserve. But, in many cases, the best foster may a failed one, where the animal becomes your beloved pet and stays with you and your family forever!

What Are the Requirements for Volunteering?

Just as the duties vary at each facility, so do the requirements. Most groups have training or orientation to acquaint new volunteers with their processes and procedures. Many also require a volunteer agreement and/or application.For example, King Street Cats (kingstreetcats.org/) requires all prospective volunteers to attend a 1-hour new volunteer orientation. KSC also hosts Family Days to get entire families involved and allow students to earn service hours.

Most organizations also require volunteers to make a minimum time commitment, such as 2 hours per week or 4 hours per month for a minimum of 6 months. These requirements will be spelled out in the volunteer agreement, so before you commit, make sure you understand the expectations. This minimum commitment ensures the shelter or facility has a predictable pipeline of volunteers to staff shifts so they can plan for the care of their animals.

But however you decide to volunteer to help homeless animals, know that you’ll always get back much more than you’ll give.

Cindy McGovern is a volunteer at King Street Cats in Alexandria and lives in Springfield with two spoiled Siberian cats.

Resources In addition to the animal advocacy groups mentioned above, here are a few more local animal rescues and/or shelters that rely on volunteer support: ANIMAL WELFARE LEAGUE OF ARLINGTON AWLA.ORG/ DOGS DESERVE BETTER OF NORTHERN VIRGINIA DDBNOVA.ORG/ FAIRFAX PETS ON WHEELS, INC. FPOW.ORG/ HOMEWARD TRAILS ANIMAL RESCUE HOMEWARDTRAILS.ORG/ ABOUT/#.WVP52XMWZXG HUMANE SOCIETY OF FAIRFAX COUNTY HSFC.ORG/ LOST DOG & CAT RESCUE FOUNDATION LOSTDOGRESCUE.ORG/ LUCKY DOG ANIMAL RESCUE LUCKYDOGANIMALRESCUE.ORG/

PETS OF THE MONTH

BOB THE CAT

MUGSY

BOB THE CAT Meet the bodacious Bob! This big, beautiful boy is looking for a best buddy who loves munching on tasty snacks and napping the day away. Bob is partially blind, but don’t let that label fool you!

He gets around great and needs no special care, just an extra-large litter box. During his stay with a foster family, he got the hang of their apartment in no time at all.

Bob’s adoption fees have already been paid by a generous donor, so if you are looking for a comical cat to relax and unwind with after a long day, Bob is ready to chill with you!

MUGSY Handsome Mugsy is so named because his sweet mug will melt your heart and make you smile!

LOLITA

His favorite people have fingers that smell like hot dogs, and he makes quick friends over lunch.

Mugsy has the best ears for rubbing and the warmest brown eyes that you will ever look into! If you are looking for a soulful hound dog to make your heart sing, Mugsy is your man!

LOLITA Lolita is a friendly bunny who loves attention and munching on fresh produce. She is living it up in a foster home where she has a Siberian husky as her best buddy! Lolita adores playing with toys and carrying around her hay ball.

Lolita is available from a foster home, so if you’d like to schedule a time to meet her, please call 703-746-4774 or email adoptions@ alexandriaanimals.org.

4101 Eisenhower Avenue • Alexandria, VA 703-746-4774alexandriaanimals.org Mon-Fri, 1-8 pm • Closed Wed • Sat & Sun, 12-5 pm

17

CARIBBEAN CONNECTION JEFF MCCORD

Virginia, a Base for Caribbean Privateers

A hundred years before Blackbeard and Captain Kidd sailed Virgin Island waters in the early 1700s, the first Queen Elizabeth backed privateers whose Caribbean successes made later pirates look like petty thieves. With accumulated loot from Spanish ports and ships estimated to total more than 120 million dollars in today’s money, Sir Francis Drake led the pack in the late 1500s. Drake, the son of a commoner farmer, is memorialized by Sir Francis Drake channel, which weaves through British and U.S. Virgin Islands, and “Drake’s Chair,” a mountain top spot on St. Thomas from which the Admiral supposedly watched Spanish Puerto Rico.

Few realize, though, that Virginia was first colonized by the English in part to provide a base from which to protect vital Caribbean shipping lanes and support raids by such privateers against Spanish New World fleets and colonies, says James Horn, a College of William and Mary scholar in his book “A Land as God Made It.” It was no coincidence 18

that Privateer Christopher Newport transported the first permanent colonists to Jamestown in 1607. Twenty years earlier, in 1586, Drake himself rescued the first settlers from Sir Walter Raleigh’s fabled colony called “Virginia,” although located on Roanoke Island between North Carolina’s Outer Banks barrier islands and the mainland.

Tobacco, indigo, coffee and potatoes from the New World were certainly valuable back in England. But, these fruits of hard, risky farming couldn’t compare with Spanish gold and silver from Mexican and Peruvian mines, pearls

from the Spanish Philippines shipped to Panama for transport home, and emeralds mined from what’s now Columbia. Superior British seamanship and naval technology placed these unbelievable spoils within reach for those daring enough to go after them.

On just one voyage in 158586, Sir Francis Drake’s “Great Expedition” fleet captured and sacked the entire ports (including store houses) of Cartagena, Columbia, and Santo Domingo, the city founded by Columbus and capital of the Spanish island

CARIBBEAN CONNECTION > PAGE 19

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of Hispaniola. Recognizing the value of a regional base, during that voyage Drake also played a role supporting a North American colony.

With 25 ships and 2,300 sailors and soldiers, Drake’s Great Expedition fleet was the most powerful armada to cross the Atlantic. In an earlier adventure, Drake had circumnavigated the world, plundering Spanish Pacific Ocean assets. His second in-command on the new Expedition was Martin Frobisher, a successful privateer who had also led three expeditions to the arctic in search of the Northwest Passage.

Although Spain couldn’t match the power and leadership of Drake’s fleet, the English were still vulnerable to Caribbean “fevers” such as Yellow Fever and malaria.

At a time when half the Europeans serving in the Caribbean died of disease, Drake’s subordinate, Captain Walter Biggs, described a fever that struck the fleet

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CARIBBEAN hISToRY AND ADvENTURE Where did the villain General Santa Anna of Alamo infamy retire? Is time travel possible?

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ROAD TRIP

BOB TAGERT

W

e were invited to attend the Distillery Showcase presented by the Maryland Distillers Guild on June 25th. We had tickets to see the Steve Miller Band and Peter Frampton perform at the Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons that Sunday so we decided to make a twoday excursion…Saturday at the Museum and Sunday in Solomons Maryland. As it turned out, I misread the information. The Distillery Showcase was also on Sunday. The embarrassment grew as we reported to the museum receptionist that we were there to taste and write about whiskey. All was not lost.

We had discovered the Baltimore Museum of Industry by mistake.

Last month we went back to the Museum as our September Road Trip. What a cool place! Even though we who live in the Washington D.C. area have access to the greatest museums in the world, this one about industry in Maryland brings the experience so much closer to our lives. I have heard of these names. I use Maryland inventions like Sweetheart straws every day. I remember some of these exhibits from when I was a boy. I can’t remember a World War I tank, but I do remember the AM radio in my dad’s car. I knew about the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, America’s first railroad. I had heard of Stieff Silver, Crown Cork and Seal Company and Black & Decker, and it is all here.

Out on the Patapsco River resting along side her dock is the Baltimore, a preserved steam-powered tugboat, built in 1906 by the Skinner Shipbuilding Company of Baltimore. She is the oldest operating steam tugboat in the United States. The Baltimore was built and operated as a harbor inspection tug capable of acting as a municipal tugboat for city barges, as well as an official welcoming vessel and VIP launch, an auxiliary fireboat and an icebreaker. She was declared a National Historic Landmark in 1993.

The entire museum is a hand’s on experience. In addition to early electric cars, truck and fire engines, you will find galleries that recreate parts of a cannery, a garment loft from 1900, a machine shop from 1900, a print shop,

20

SOLOMON’S ISLAND > PAGE 20

ROAD TRIP | FROM PAGE 20

Dr. Bunting’s Pharmacy (where Noxzema was invented), as well as exhibits on the food industry in Baltimore (McCormick Spices, Domino Sugar, Esskay). Who can forget Cal Ripken’s commercials for Esskay ballpark franks? In the Decker Gallery, the Milestone wall documents inventions and processes discovered first in Baltimore and other parts of Maryland.

The museum is located on Key Highway along the southern side of Baltimore’s internationally famous Inner Harbor. The museum is in the former oyster- packing house of pioneer packer L. B. Platt. Mr. Platt arrived in Baltimore in 1864. He was an oyster packer with experience in Connecticut, Chicago, Buffalo and Delaware. “The sterling of his character and the genial kindness of his nature won for him a host of warm friends…”

The museum looks out over the Patapsco River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay. Off to the right you can see the Domino Sugar factory, which has been operating in Baltimore for 90 years. Today it is a leading supplier of molasses to the growing distiller business in Maryland. The museum also has a calendar of events

in the summer months.

If you make the trip, and it is well worth the 40- mile drive, also stop in next door at Little Havana. This is my kind of place! There is a big bar in the middle of the “old world room” that makes one think they might be in Cuba in the 1950’s. The food is very good and they have a large selection of good rums. Our bartender, Colby, was very informative and friendly. From the patio we could see the palm trees of the Tiki Barge surrounded by boats.

After a 15 minute walk down the promenade of this beautiful marina we came to the Tiki Barge AND pool (yes, the in ground/barge swimming pool is in/on the barge) tied up at the end of the dock. The pool, with its two bars, is open through Labor Day. The Tiki Bar sits on the top of the barge and gives an unparalleled view of the harbor.

Allow a good bit of time for your visit…there is a lot to see and experience. There is much here that we can identify with and remember hearing about. It is like walking into my parents and grandparents world.

This is a great museum for folks our age and Little Havana and the Tiki Barge certainly round out the day. If you decide to visit the Inner Harbor or Fells Point I am sure that you can catch a water taxi from the Baltimore Museum of Industry.

21

Colby Winget at Little Havana

22

This handsome guy welcomes you aboard the Tiki Barge!

CARRIBEAN CONNECTION | FROM PAGE 19

half-way through the Expedition. Biggs, who wrote a narrative published by the contemporary British historian and colonial promoter Richard Hakluyt, said the sickness “seized our people with extreme hot burning and continual agues, whereof very few escaped with life.” Those who recovered still suffered “great alteration and decay of their wits and strength for a long time after.”

Caribbean fruits and vegetables helped restore the spirits of invalids and keep all the men free of scurvy, the then little understood debilitating sailors’ disease caused by vitamin C deficiency. Of all the novel fruits, Captain Biggs seemed most pleased with coconuts, which he described in detail: “Cocos nuts are a very pleasant fruit; it hath a hard shell and a green husk over it as hath our walnut, but it far exceedeth in greatness, for this cocos is bigger than any man’s two fists. Of the hard shell, many drinking cups are made in England and set in

silver, as I have often seen.

Next, within this hard shell is a white rind, resembling the white of an egg when it is hard- boiled. And, within this white of the nut lieth a water, which is whitish and very clear, to the quantity of a half pint or more; which water and white rind are both of a very cool fresh taste and as pleasing as anything might be.”

Nevertheless, by the time Drake had sacked Santo Domingo, the tropical fever had killed as many as 500 men and weakened many more. He decided to return to England by way of Florida where the Spanish were known to have an outpost.

The fleet sailed north, rounding the cape of Florida and proceeding up the Atlantic coast in May/June, 1586. Eventually, they came upon a barrier island, inlet and river and saw look-out masts on-shore that marked the small Spanish colony of St. Augustine. As Captain Biggs tells it, the English landed a force of men and came upon a “newly built fort” of log

stockades. “[Beyond] the fort was a little village without walls, built of wooden houses; the enemy grew fearful of our full force and with all speed abandoned the place after shooting off some of their pieces.”

From the abandoned fort, Drake’s men took more than a dozen “brass” (or, possibly, bronze) cannons and a chest of gold valued then at 2,000 Pounds Sterling that was to be used to pay the 100 or so Spanish soldiers stationed there. Leaving behind the Spanish settlement, they continued up the Atlantic coast and found “some of our English countrymen who had been sent thither [to establish a colony called Virginia] the year before by Sir Walter Raleigh.”

These men, who had been exploring the coast, led Drake’s fleet north and through Ocracoke Inlet to Raleigh’s Roanoke Island settlement in June, 1586.

There, they found 103 men under the command of Governor Ralph Lane.

Although Lane had written back to England describing the new land as the “goodliest

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and most pleasing territory in the world,” Drake found the colonists seriously short of food and other supplies.

They had alienated the local Native Americans who became hostile and refused to help them grow local crops.

Judging their situation to be desperate, Drake offered to either leave behind adequate supplies and a ship or take Lane and his men back to England.

But, what Captain Biggs described as a major “extraordinary and very strange” storm (likely, a hurricane) struck. The storm “put all our fleet in great danger to be driven from their anchoring; [to avoid that fate, some ships put to sea] and would not see us again until we met in England.” The storm, which lasted four days, unnerved Governor Lane.

In his own book about the adventure, Lane praised and thanked Sir Francis Drake “for our relief.” The storm, he said, caused “more peril of wracke then in all his former honorable actions against the Spanyards.”

Lane decided to return to England with Drake. They had no way of knowing that Sir Walter Raliegh had separately sent a relief expedition with supplies and more men that arrived in Roanoke a short time after Drake and Lane had departed.

When Drake’s fleet reached home in July, 1586, the Roanoke colonists introduced tobacco (in the form of snuff), corn and potatoes to England. The products (and Drake’s Spanish plunder shared with the Queen) built more support for colonization among the ruling class.

Sadly, England’s costly defense against invasion by the Spanish Armada and other developments in following years helped doom the Roanoke colony.

Nevertheless, Governor Lane’s “Virginia” publicity and the success of Drake and other privateers set the stage for founding the first successful English North American colony at Jamestown in 1607.

Jeffrey R. McCord is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the Wall Street Journal, Gannett newspapers and Truthout. org, among other publications.

For more than 20 years he’s called Northern Virginia home. Jeff is the author of two fact-based Caribbean novels available on Amazon. com: “Undocumented Visitors in a Pirate Sea,” a quarterfinalist in the 2014 Amazon Breakthrough Novel contest; and, “Santa Anna’s Gold in a Pirate Sea,” a finalist in the 2016 Next Generation Indie Book contest. He now divides his time between Virginia and St. John, USVI.

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23

FROM THE BAY …

JULIA TRAVERS

Dolphins In Our Midst D id you know that there are many dolphins living nearby, in the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay? Researchers from the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project (PCDP) have set out to better understand them. Dolphins have been sighted in the Potomac as far back as the 1800s and as far north as DC but many people are still unaware of their local presence. Janet Mann, vice provost for research and a professor in the Georgetown biology and psychology departments, is co-directing this marine science endeavor with Eric Patterson, an assistant research professor of biology. They’ve been learning about the animals’ population structure, distribution and disease risk, among other factors and qualities, since 2014.

“There are a lot of questions. Are the same animals coming back?

Where do they go? How stable are the groups? Who are they with?

What are they feeding on?”

Mann asks in a conversation with The DCist. She has spent much of her career traveling to Australia to study bottlenose dolphins in Shark Bay. Her husband convinced her

to find a vacation cottage on the Potomac to unplug from work.

Much to their surprise, they were quickly greeted by dolphins in the backyard. “My husband is a patient man. We’ve turned what was supposed to be a little retreat for us into a field station,” Mann says in a Georgetown press release.

One of the main inspirations for the founding of PCDP was the tragic death of more than 1,000 East Coast dolphins between about 2012 and 2014, due to the morbillivirus. Mann felt that if the project had already been underway at that time, it could have been helpful and provided insights. The Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project’s mission is now “to better understand and protect the bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) of the Potomac River and Chesapeake Bay.” PCDP is carrying out the first major research project focusing on the dolphins in the Potomac and Chesapeake Bay, the largest estuary in the United States.

So far, as of May 2017, Mann and the team of graduate and undergraduate researchers have observed more than 500 dolphins and they think there may be closer to 1,000. They estimate the overall population is likely much higher than those they’ve seen, given that their sampling is monthly and in a limited geographic area.

While on board the project boat named Ahoya, the group FROM THE BAY > PAGE 28

Chesapeake Biological Laboratory Hosts Open House Campus and Labs Open to the Public September 9th September 9, from 1-5:00 p.m. “Come tour the campus, visit labs, learn about the work, and meet many of the researchers,” said Dr. Tom Miller, professor and director of CBL. Last year’s Open House was attended by more than 500 people.

This year’s exhibits and hands-on activities include experiments on toxicology, dockside tours of the research vessel the Rachel Carson, driving an underwater robot, and a scientist selfie station.

24 | September 2017

• Developing a citizen science program to understand dolphins in the Bay (Chesapeakedolphinwatch. org) in Southern Maryland

to have the passport stamped for prizes. Drawstring

bays and creeks

About CBL

CBL invites the public to an Open House, Saturday,

blue crab in the Bay.

and move through the different labs and experiments

celebrating more than 90 years as a national leader in

Chesapeake Bay and around the globe.

management to support the resurgence of

• Monitoring water quality

backpacks will be given to the first 200 attendees.

and toxicology. Our scientists conduct research on the

• Advising agencies on blue crab

Children attending the Open House receive a passport

The Chesapeake Biological Laboratory (CBL) is fisheries, estuarine ecology, environmental chemistry

Highlights from 2017 include:

Located where the Patuxent River meets the Chesapeake Bay, the CBL is the oldest publicly supported marine laboratory on the East Coast.

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September 2017 | 25

TO THE BLUE RIDGE

JULIE REARDON

Notes from a Lazy Farmer:

Fall chores you can skip and those to do for a nice yard and garden next spring!

S

ome people are out dividing unruly iris and daffodil patches and planting new bulbs right after Labor Day. Not me, it’s generally too hot for that and I’ve never had much luck with iris, at least, not to the point I ever had enough to divide. And in my world, daffodils that have gotten too crowded are divided in spring, after they’ve bloomed but before the foliage completely dies off, preferably after a soaking rain to make the digging easier.

Yes, you are supposed to divide daffodils in the fall, say the experts. But daffodil bulbs are too hard to find without their foliage, and that’s if you even remember they were so crowded they didn’t bloom very well months after the fact. If their spring blooms were anemic, their ugly dying foliage will remind you daily that you should have divided them last year and you need to do something about them.

So forget dividing your daffodils now. Mine always handle division just fine in spring, a trick I learned from a wise old friend who used to divide hers then and give me the extras. I still have some that have survived several moves and divisions—all in spring. While it’s better to wait until the leaves start yellowing to dig them up, even that’s not absolutely necessary. If a patch is too crowded to bloom well, who cares? You’re just rearranging greens for next year’s blooms. The only bulbs I plant in fall are must-have new ones, because that’s the only time you can find them for sale. Believe me, if I could find them for sale in spring, that’s when I’d plant them, even if it meant I had to wait a full year for them to bloom.

It would be so much easier to know just where to plant them if the location of the ones you already have were still visible.

In fall you never remember their exact location unless 26 | September 2017

you’re organized enough to have a detailed map of your garden (and in that case you’re reading this and laughing at the rest of us!).

Whoever said mulching shouldn’t be done until the ground freezes, probably enjoyed gardening in frigid weather. Mulching is not something you have to do here, but it looks nice, and protects roots from drying out and helps with weed control so if you mulch, there’s no harm in adding to what you have for winter. Ideally, organic mulch should be used year round. If you do feel you need extra for winter, add it well before the ground freezes.

Ignore all those ads that say your lawn needs to be treated in fall for strong roots to survive winter with an application of a high phosphorus fertilizer mix.

Nonsense: this is Virginia, not Minnesota. Phosphorus is probably the most overused fertilizer in home gardens and commercial landscaping and the runoff makes its way into streams, rivers and the Chesapeake Bay, contributing to pollution. And most landscape soils have plenty of it; besides polluting the water, overdoing the phosphorus is actually harmful to beneficial microbes in the soil that grass and other plants need. Top dress your lawn with compost, either bagged commercial or homemade. Compost provides plenty of slow release nutrients to nourish lawns through the winter so they look good in the spring.

Those of us with small yards or who utilize containers for deck or patio gardening will have a few chores even if you have little or no lawn, and lugging big pots around can be hard, dirty work. The good news is, you don’t have to do everything at once since many annuals and container plants bloom beautifully in fall, right until the first

Photos by Julie Reardon frost or later if they’re in a protected location. So you can stagger your pot cleaning right up until Christmas.

Discard plants when they stop blooming, become unsightly or die off from frost. Unless a container is specifically made for outdoor use year round, empty the soil and store them in a shed or garage.

If you don’t have room, at least turn them upside down and move any lightweight ones someplace they won’t be knocked over or blown by winter winds.

Stored containers last

longer and look better than the ones left exposed. Pots left with soil in them freeze and thaw causing them to crack and split. Wood rots, pottery cracks and clay crumbles. A little maintenance now goes a long way. The real bonus of tending to the containers in fall instead of letting this chore wait until spring is that

you will enjoy your outdoor space much more on those balmy winter and early spring days if it’s not festooned with pitiful dead plants in cracked containers, but left tidy for the coming season. We’re fortunate here to have mild days in winter and many more in early spring before official planting season arrives.

Old Town Crier

VisitRAPPAHANNOCK background photos by John McCaslin

Events

RAPPAHANNOCK COUNTY FARM TOUR

September 23 & 24th Saturday 10 am – 5 pm Sunday 11 am – 5 pm Free self-guided tour offering a behind-thescenes glimpse of working farms.

Experience Exceptional Beauty & History Affordably

LITTLE WASHINGTON THEATRE PRODUCTIONS

Visit our 1760s Southern Georgian-style mansion on 83 acres in gorgeous Rappahannock County and enjoy:

Sunday, September 10th, 3 pm Cambridge American Stage Tour Presents Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”

Stunning mountain and pastoral views A wealth of history and nearby activities for all

Saturday, September 30th, 8 pm Smithsonian at Little Washington Theatre Concert Series

Unmatched Southern hospitality Rooms available at $189 per night. 15% off your two-night stay. Visit GreenfieldInnVA.com or call Audrey Regnery at 540.675.1114.

Classical Music abounds!

We look forward to welcoming you soon!

30 September Song Lane Washington, VA 22747 540.675.1114 ▪ GreenfieldInnVA.com

HORSE N HOUND 667 ZACHARY TAYLOR HWY. FLINT HILL, VA. 22627 Store Hours: Monday – Saturday 10-5pm

SADDLERY • GIFTS • PET FOOD • OUTDOOR WEAR

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Full Service Tack Store for the English Horse & Rider

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Assorted Gifts – some local, leather bags & belts

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All Natural Cat & Dog Foods, leather collars & leashes

•

Pet tags engraved while you wait

•

Outdoor Wear – boots, hats, rainwear, gloves & socks 540-675-1650 • www.horsenhound.com

www.TheInnatLittleWashington.com/market

Town Crier Old

horsenhound.va

September 2017 | 27

FROM THE BAY | FROM PAGE 24

has learned that the Potomac is an important area for breeding and birthing. “We know they’re giving birth in the Potomac and the Chesapeake; we see tiny babies just a week old or less,” Mann tells The DCist. The dolphins’ eating habits, where they migrate in the winter and many other questions remain unanswered.

About one-third of the animals are repeat visitors. They’ve been given apt and amusing names, like “Hillary Clinton,” and “Lyndon Johnson.”

Supreme Court justices and speakers of the house are also being awarded marine namesakes. Meet and peruse photos of some 200 members of the identified Potomac-Chesapeake dolphin community on the PCDP website at pcdolphinproject.org/dolphins.

Dolphins are known to be both a flagship (popular ambassador for an ecosystem) and indicator species.

Being an indicator species means that their health is a good measure of the well-being of the waters they inhabit. As reported by the Potomac Conservancy in its “State of the Nation’s River,” publication, the Potomac River is considered to be in a state of ongoing recovery. “Pollution levels are decreasing, fisheries are rebounding,

and more people are getting outside to enjoy the river,” the clean-water advocacy nonprofit explains. Good news: the Potomac’s 2016 “report card” is a B-. That’s an improvement over a C in 2013 and a lot better than the D the river received in 2011. Along with the endearing dolphins, the Potomac Conservancy shares that after many years of decline, the river is now

home to growing populations of game fish, including white perch and shad.

However, while pollution levels are sinking, tidal grass habitats still have a ways to go before they are in line with the Environmental Protection Agency’s restoration goals.

If you’d like to get involved with the Potomac-Chesapeake Dolphin Project, there are opportunities available

PRIVATE

YACHT CHARTER

potomac belle

docked in old town alexandria

Cruise the waters of the Potomac River with its postcard views of the DC skyline.

Business entertainment, private parties, weddings, birthdays and anniversaries are our specialties. We take the art of entertaining to a whole new level, no matter what the occasion. You and your guests will remember the cruise for years to come. Quality service begins with custom planning to suit your needs.

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to contribute GPS information, photographs and sighting data. You can also stay up to date with PCDP’s research and community engagement on Facebook at facebook.com/ pcdolphinproject.

Julia Travers is a Virginia journalist and writer.

DINING OUT

OLD TOWN CRIER

Football Fare at its Finest

W

e have to start this column out with a bit of a true confession….it has been a “while” since either one of us has been in Ramparts to drink or dine. In fact it has been well over a year – I believe they still allowed smoking! One of us is there every month dropping off the current issue but are always double parked and in a hurry so no time to patronize the place. We are also creatures of habit and tend to stay closer to the heart of Old Town so heading to Fairlington isn’t in our wheelhouse. Well….that is going to change.

Ramparts was originally called The Cole Bin and has been around for almost 40 years. In 1978 it was renamed and quickly became a real neighborhood “watering hole”. During the 80’s it grew into more of a pub and a grill serving good bar food to the residents of the popular Fairlington area of Alexandria. A little over a year ago, proprietor Stephen Mann and his partners decided that it needed a face lift and boy did they ever do a good job! Gone are the dingy dark brick and smoke soaked furnishings on the Tavern side and the non-descript feel in the Grill area. The place now sports dark hardwood floors, white washed

brick walls and soft leather seating on both sides. The new fixtures and wall art are a nice touch as well. There are 4 rooms including the bar and dining room on the Grill side, the pub on the Tavern side and the Fairlington Room which is a private dining space for up to 30.

Let’s talk about the food and beverage. We aren’t going to regurgitate the menu for you since most everyone is tuned into an app on their communication device or have the technology to surf the internet to scout out the entire menu.

That being said, Ramparts has a very extension beer and wine list.

They have over 200 beers and ciders and a wine list for every palate and wallet. The menu is diverse and has something for everyone without being overwhelming. Our mission on this trip was to get some scoop on what they have going on during football season but we were really impressed with the brunch menu (served Saturday and Sunday until 3 pm) offerings. I guess since they serve it until 3 pm, if you aren’t up for wings, sliders, a Bud Light and all of the other “football” fare, you can have eggs benedict and a Bloody Mary during the 1:00 games!

I guess we should actually consider what we were doing is checking out “Sporting Event” fare since they run specials during the baseball season as well as football. Through the rest of the baseball season you can always find Budweiser cans for $3.25 to celebrate the Nats and $3 Natty Boh’s if you follow the “O’s”! These specials continue throughout the NFL season with no particular loyalty to a team.

There is a separate Pub Fare menu as well as the regular menu available during events. We sampled two of the starters and were very impressed.

On a traditional vent, we picked The Jack Daniels Minis – Angus beef mini burgers with melted smoked provolone, sautéed onions, and a pickle chip on a potato bread slider bun with a side of Jack Daniels glaze – and they are fantastic. If you are a medium to medium rare beef eater, order these on the medium rare side.

The hint to order mine on the medium rare side - from our server Sean – was a good one. Since they are smaller, they tend to keep cooking as they sit. On the wild side, we ordered the Shrimp Kickers – half pound of peeled shrimp sautéed in a spicy Gator sauce with white wine and garlic served over bacon, onion, cheddar cheese grits –

and they were killer good. Another good hint Sean gave us was to order the Gator sauce on the side – it is really flavorful but it packs some heat.

It isn’t for the faint of heart or tongue!

The menu features the ever popular wings, Loaded Tater Tots, Chili Nachos, a Chicken Quesadilla and something a little different with Hot Peas, and a Grilled Brie starter. And…. of course….a killer burger cooked to order with some of the best fries around. Gotta be something that interests you!

The Tavern is the place for everything sports. There are 30 HD televisions, surround sound for major games and local team specials - mentioned above. I am definitely going to find a seat for a couple of my Denver Broncos games this season!

If you haven’t been to Ramparts in a while, do yourself a favor and stop in. You won’t be disappointed! They also have a very popular Happy Hour at both the Tavern and Grill bars week days from 4 – 7 and weekly and monthly dinner specials. Be sure to check out their ad in this section for the September fare.

29

BEHIND THE BAR

Kat conjurs up a Creole 75 #1. A variation on the French 75. It has Leopold’s small batch gin that is infused in house with pear and rosemary, fresh lemon juice, house-made ginger syrup, topped with champagne, and garnished with a lemon twist.

Kat Warren How did you get started in the bartending business?

My first bartending gig started at a local restaurant in my hometown of Maryville, Tennesee. I was barely 21 at the time and I was really excited to try something new. However, my love for the trade really transpired while working at a jazz and martini bar. This was in the days before mixology and craft cocktails had become what they are today. A regular of mine came in one day with a book for me called Aerobleu written about a nightclub in Paris in the late forties. It documents 30

KAT WARREN IS BEHIND THE BAR AT R.T.’S RESTAURANT 3804 MOUNT VERNON AVENUE ALEXANDRIA, VA 703-684-6010 RTSRESTAURANT.COM

anecdotes of the great jazz musicians, like Miles Davis for example, who performed at the club and the libations and martinis that were created for them by the bartender, Jean-Pierre.

I found that the stories would be only half as interesting without the cocktails that were created expressly for the artists that were drinking them.

I was inspired to experiment with all types of alcohol to create fun martinis for different seasons as well as special holidays. I became a bit of a celebrity with the local ladies who would come over for happy hour after getting off work excited to try any and all new

creations. It was all fun and games until the first Sex and the City movie came out while I was working there.

I couldn’t tell you the exact number of cosmos I made that day, but I am pretty sure I made at least 20 cosmos in just one round of orders. Although I am a bourbon girl myself, I am still finding myself making cosmos like they are going out of style. I can guarantee you, they are not!

What is your biggest bartender pet peeve?

I am very lucky to work in such a wonderful restaurant with the most amazing staff and lovely guests that frequent our restaurant. After working here for over 6 years, I could go on BEHIND THE BAR > PAGE 40

dine out!

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LIVE MUSIC 7 NIGHTS A WEEK WITH NO COVER IRISH HAPPY HOUR 4-7 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY Featuring all draft beers, rail liquor plus half price on select appetizers 713 King Street • Old Town Alexandria 703.548.1717 • murphyspub.com

COMING EVENTS SEPT 18 - Our New fall

MENu

Plenty of Old Favorites and New Seasonal Treats!

CRaB fEaST

SEPT 24, 2PM

Hard Shells, Soft Shells, Sides and Cold Desert, Beers from PORT CITY BREWING CO. RESERVaTIONS are a MuST - $65

HOG aND OYSTER ROaST OCT 29, 2PM

WHOlE HOG from Southern MD and 3 kinds of OYSTERS…Half Shelled, fried, Stewed and Pot Pie’d with Sides and Wine Pairing, Reservations Req’d - $65

Fine Seafood, Historic Setting Outdoor Seating • Happy Hour • Private Events 119 King Street • Old Town Alexandria 703.836.2836 • wharfrestaurant.com

Free Wine Tastings Every Sat. 2-4 pm 7966 Fort Hunt Road

Call 703-347-7545 RiverBendBistro.com

31

CHEF’S SPECIAL

CHESTER SIMPSON

Photos © Chester Simpson (L to R) Bangers & Mash, Steak & Kidney Pie, Nicoise Salad, and Maryland Soft Shell Crab Tempura Burger

Declan Horgan When did you first become interested in cooking and what made you choose a culinary career?

During my whole childhood and into my adult years my mother and her mother and my mother’s sisters all have been a big influence on my cooking and also my father who was an avid hunter and fisherman .With my Mom’s input and her side of the family, I got to prep lots of different food and different styles of cuisine from vegetarian to the whole of Delia Smith’s repertoire and the mad man himself, Keith Floyd. These two television shows were religion in my house. When growing up, one of my aunts will tell you a story of when I cooked her honey and mustard glazed grilled lamb chops with creamy garlic potatoes and steamed green beans at the age of 8 .With my Dads input I got to see, catch and butcher all sorts of fish and game birds as well as venison.

Apart from the foraging we would do while out hunting and also summers spent with family, we picked black berries, gooseberries and raspberries off in the countryside in Ireland.

Who or what has been your biggest inspirations during your career?

My biggest influences in the professional cooking world were the likes of Conrad Gallagher in Peacock Alley.

32

I ran his 1 star Michelin restaurant at the age of 20, Jamie Oliver, Adian Byrne Manchester House, Charlie Trotter, Nico Ladenis, and Frederic Robert of La Grande Cascade where I worked in Paris on one occasion. My biggest inspiration of all the chefs was Dylan Mc Grath of Mint and Fadestreet Social and now Taste; but above him there is one other Irish chef who has inspired me and guided me partially through my career and is a big mentor of mine and a great friend - Patrick Faye who is the owner of a little lovely Irish restaurant in Tinahely called Madelines.

What dish on your menu reflects your personal style?

They all reflect my cooking as my team and I push to make everything in house and to be cooked fresh from scratch, did I mention we make all our own stocks for gravy and all our sauces and dips are made in house. My creative juices flow when doing the specials and when getting a new menu ready. My bangers for my sausage dishes are my own recipe sausages produced by Logans sausages in Alexandria.

It is my own recipe and it is close enough to the sausages I remember at home.

What do you feel sets your cuisine apart from others in your field?

I am trying to move away

from the Walt Disney style Irish food and to show people of this great country of America what Irish food is all about. It is so diverse now and an eclectic mix of many nations and cooking styles.

If any chef in the world (past or present) could prepare you a meal, who would you want that to be?

Well….Paul Bocuse would be one and Emeril Lagasse would be one. I would love to have him “BAM” me up something and of course I would want Action Bronson to sit down and break bread with me - that “boy” knows what to eat.

What’s your guilty food pleasure?

I love lasagna - not just any lasagna, only my Mom’s “lol just like momma used to make”. Seriously, hers is the best I have ever tasted and I have eaten it in Italy - still not the same - and her moussaka.

Her food is elysuim. I do have a particular liking for my wife’s handmade Brigaderio’s - “My Lovely Brigadeiro” – which, by the way, are for sale in Misha’s coffee Shop -and a Dolce Latte. They are both devine.

If you would like to see your favorite chef featured in this space, send contact information to Chester@ ChesterSimpson.com.

DECLAN HORGAN DANIEL O’CONNELL’S RESTAURANT & BAR 112 KING STREET OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 703-739-1124 DANIELOCONNELLSRESTAURANT.COM

“The Finest Lebanese Cuisine” –Washington Post, 2001 Family Owned & Operated Come and Enjoy a Cozy Candlelit Dinner Carry-Out Available • Free Delivery Open 7 Days for Lunch & Dinner

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Now open for BRUNCH Saturdays & Sundays at 10AM 121 South Union Street, Old Town Alexandria 703.548.1785  unionstreetpublichouse.com

A local favorite since 1978 American comfort foods and over 250 wine & beer from around the world

September Sea Scallops!

See our website for details

Specials Every Day Saturday & Sunday Brunch Wine Bar and a Sports Pub Private Party Room

RampartsTavern.com 1700 Fern St, Alexandria 703.998.6616

SUMMER TIME

LUNCH SPECIA

$19 for 2 Courses

* $22 for All 3

L

Appetizer Choice O f Potato and Leek So up w/ W hi te Truffle Oil Field Green Salad w/ Herb Mustard Vina igrette, Oven Dried Tomatoes & Walnut s Roasted Golden Be et Salad w/Baby Aru gula & Shaved Parm esan Entrée Choice Of Warm Salad of Spin ach w/Seared Salmon & Warm Mushroom Dressing Traditional Caesar Salad w/Grilled Chick Parmesan Risotto w/ en Grilled Zucchini, As paragus & Shaved Parmesan Wild Mushroom Ri sotto w/Pancetta, En glish Peas, Shaved Parmesan & White Truffle Oil Angel Hair Pasta w/ Fresh Tomato Sauc e & Basil Pesto Homemade Lasagna w/Spinach Pasta & Tr aditional Bolognese Dessert Choice Of Tiramisu w/Homem ade Mascarpone Dark Chocolate Mou sse w/Hazelnuts & Ra spberry Coulis Selection of Homem ade Sorbet

33

COOKING CORNER

JUDY EICHNER

S

icily, like many other cities and areas of Italy is a wondrous place. It is geographically in the Mediterranean Sea – part of Europe and Africa, but arguably belonging to neither. There is much evidence of rich cultures left behind by a plethora of conquerors.

As a result, Sicily has evidence of varied customs, languages, cooking, architecture, art, etc.

The Romans ruled Sicily in the 3rd century BC. They were followed by the Vandals, Ostrogoths, Byzantines, Normans, Spanish, Phoenicians, Greeks, Arabs and French…not necessarily in that order. There is evidence of many other conquerors from many other countries, but it would take pages to fully explore the impact they all had on Sicily.

In researching this article, I found the World Book and Encyclopedia Britannica reliable sources of information.

In addition to its unique history, the food of Sicily is exquisite. Some Sicilians still eat the same food, and prepare it exactly as their ancestors did centuries ago. That cuisine consists mainly of fish from the sea and home 34

grown vegetables.

I had a wonderful dish from Palermo that was made by a native Sicilian, now married to an ItaloAmerican and living right here in Northern Virginia. The recipe is a little unique because the only ingredient cooked is the pasta! If you try it, I think you, too, will find that it is worth the time it takes to prepare this fresh food the Sicilian way.

Sicilian Pasta 6 medium to large cloves of garlic, minced finely 1/3 cup of extra virgin olive oil ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil for the sauce 6 medium very, very ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded and cut into ½ inch chunks. Do not use canned tomatoes as it changes the taste

and the thrust of the recipe 1 cup of tightly packed, fresh basil leaves *1 lb. to 1 /1/2 lbs. of spaghetti 2/3 cup of pine nuts or walnuts ½ to 3/4 cups of freshly grated Parmigiannno Regianno cheese Salt and pepper to taste Pour the olive oil and garlic into a serving dish or platter. Add the peeled and seeded tomatoes. Season lightly with salt and pepper. Do this early in the day so the tomatoes and garlic can macerate for at least four to six hours.

Put the basil, pine nuts and ¼ cup of extra virgin olive oil into either a mortar and pestle or a food processor.

Mix until the ingredients become “lumpy” but not liquefied. Then cook the pasta according to package directions. When the pasta is al dente,

drain (do not rinse) and add to the tomato, garlic and oil mixture. Then add the “lumpy” mixture. Working quickly, mix in the grated cheese and more pepper. Toss well and serve immediately. If the pasta gets too cool, reheat in a 350 degree oven until it is warmed to your liking. If there is any left, it can be reheated in the oven, or in a non-stick, large frying pan on a very low heat. It does not microwave well.

If you feel the pasta is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of oil at a time until you reach the desired consistency. *This recipe will feed 4 to 6 people depending on how hungry they are!

Enjoy!

Judy Eichner supplied the OTC with several recipes over the years, including this one for Sicilian pasta.

She was an avid and accomplished home cook who relied mostly on instinct and watching other cooks, from her grandmother to professional chefs. She was as happy to learn a recipe from an Italian neighbor as a chef in her travels abroad. She passed away this past December but she lives on through her food.

t.j. stone’s

To

O’Connell’s

Eat Drink & Be Irish Open Mon–Sat 11am, Sun 10am

Kids Eat Free Mon–Wed 5-8pm

grill house and tap room

Brunch

Sat: 11 to 3 Sun: 10 to 3

celebrating american cuisine with libations from around the world

$.99 Bloody Mary and Mimosa Refills

HAPPY HOUR

BEER CAN CHICKEN MONTH!

3 to 7 Mon - Fri

Live Music 6 Nights/wk Best Irish Sessions

MOTOWN THURSDAYS

Daily Food Specials Sunday Jazz 1:30-3:30pm Photographer: K Summerer for Visit Alexandria

112 King Street Alexandria | 703.739.1124 DanielOConnells.com

GRAB ABITE

ourdoor patio dining private event room over 300 beer & wine

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FOR CONNOISSEURS OF GOOD FOOD, GOOD FRIENDS AND THE PERFECT STEAK, MACKIE’S IS WHERE YOU’LL FIND ALL THREE AT THEIR UNCOMPLICATED BEST

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907 KING STREET OLD TOWN ALEXANDRIA 703.684.3288 MACKIESBARANDGRILL.COM 35

AMERICAN ASHAR RESTAURANT AND BAR 116 South Alfred St. 703-739-6090 BILBO BAGGINS 208 Queen St. 703-683-0300 BLACKWALL HITCH 5 Cameron St. 703-739-6090 BURGER FI 111 N. Pitt St. 703-746-9242 CARLYLE CLUB 411 John Carlyle St. 703-549-8957 CHADWICKS 203 Strand St. 703-836-4442 chadwicksrestaurants.com An Old Town tradition since 1979 and an original Georgetown pub and restaurant since 1967.

#1 Marina Dr. Washington Sailing Marina 703-548-0001 JACKS PLACE 222 North Lee St. 703-684-0372 JACKSON 20 480 King St. 703-842-2790 JOE THEISMANNS 1800 Diagonal Rd. 703-739-0777 KING STREET BLUES 112 N. St. Asaph St. 703-836-8800 LAPORTAS 1600 Duke St. 703-683-6313 LIVE OAK 1603 Commonwealth Ave. 571-312-0402 LOST DOG CAFE 808 North Henry St. 571-970-6511

CHART HOUSE One Cameron St. 703-684-5080

MACKIE’S BAR AND GRILL 907 King St. 703-684-3288

CITY KITCHEN 330 South Pickett St. 703-685-9172 fatcitykitchen.com USA City inspired menu choices that bring together traditional American and global cuisine with their own personal touch. Casual dress. $30 and under. Lots of free parking. Open 7 days a week with brunch on Sat & Sun 11-3. AMEX, Discover, MasterCard, Visa

MAGNOLIA’S ON KING 703 King St. 703-838-9090

COLUMBIA FIREHOUSE 109 S. St. Asaph St. 703-683-1776 EVENING STAR CAFÉ 2000 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-549-5051 FIN & HOOF 801 N. Saint Asaph St. 703-836-4700 FIRE FLIES 1501 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-548-7200 FIVE GUYS 725 King St. 703-549-7991 FLAT TOP BURGER 529 East Howell Ave. 571-970-1006 FOSTERS GRILLE 2004 Eisenhower Ave. 703-725-1342 GADSBYS TAVERN 138 N. Royal St. 703-548-1288 HARD TIMES CAFE 1404 King St. 703-837-0050 HEN QUARTER 1404 King St. 703-684-6969 HUNTING CREEK STATION 801 King St. 703-836-5126 INDIGO LANDING

36

MAJESTIC CAFÉ 911 King St. 703-837-9117 MASON SOCIAL 728 Henry Street Old Town Alexandria 703-548-8800 mason-social.com MOUNT VERNON INN Mount Vernon, Va 703-780-0011 MURPHYS IRISH PUB 713 King St. 703-548-1717 murphyspub.com Old-world Irish pub featuring a roaring fireplace, serving a variety of imported, domestic and non-alcoholic beers in a friendly atmosphere. Serving robust American-Irish meals at fair prices. Favorites include fish and chips and Irish stew.

Irish-style entertainment nightly.

MYRON MIXON PITMASTER BBQ 220 North Lee St. 703-535-3340 NICKELLS AND SCHIFFLER 1028 King St. 703-684-5922 NINAS DANDY Potomac Party Cruises Zero Prince St. 703-683-6076 dandydinnerboat.com NORTHSIDE 1O 10 East Glebe Rd. 703-888-0032 OCONNELLS RESTAURANT & BAR 112 King St. 703-739-1124 danieloconnellsrestaurant.com PORK BARREL BBQ

2312 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-822-5699 RAMPARTS 1700 Fern St. 703-998-6616 rampartstavern.com REYNOLDS STREET CAFÉ 34 S. Reynolds St. 703-751-0830 RIVER BEND BISTRO 7966 Fort Hunt Rd. Hollin Hall Shopping Center 703-347-7545 riverbendbistro.com

ASIAN ASIAN BISTRO 809 King St. 703-836-1515 MALAYA 1019 King St. 703-519-3710 MAI THAI 9 King St. 703-548-0600 NASIME 1209 King St. 703-548-1848

ROCK IT GRILL 1319 King St. 703-739-2274

RED MEI 602 King St. 703-837-0094

RT's RESTAURANT 3804 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-684-6010 rtsrestaurant.com

STREETS MARKET AND CAFE 3108 Mt. Vernon Ave. 571-431-6810

SAMUEL BECKETTS IRISH GASTRO PUB 2800 S. Randolph St. Villages of Shirlington 703-379-0122 SHOOTER MCGEES 5239 Duke St. 703-751-9266 SOCIETY FAIR 277 S. Washington St. 703-683-3247 SONOMA CELLAR 207 King St. 703-966-3550 SOUTHSIDE 815 815 S. Washington St. 703-836-6222 sweetgreen 823 King St. 571-319-0192 T.J. STONES GRILL HOUSE & TAP ROOM 608 Montgomery St. 703-548-1004 tjstones.com American cuisine with libations from around the world. Bar specials Mon-Fri, 4-7 pm. Brunch served Sat & Sun. TRADEMARK 2800 Jamieson Ave. 703-253-8640 UNION STREET PUBLIC HOUSE 121 South Union St. 703-548-1785 unionstreetpublichouse.com Old Town’s favorite neighborhood tap and grill.

Southern style menu, fine steaks, fresh seafood. Sunday brunch, private parties, happy hour.

VERMILLION 1120 King St. 703-684-9669 VIRTUE GRAIN & FEED 106 South Union St. 571-970-3669 VOLA’S DOCKSIDE GRILL & THE HI-TIDE LOUNGE 101 North Union St. 703-935-8890 THE WAREHOUSE BAR & GRILL 214 King St. 703-683-6868

THAILAND ROYAL 801 N. Fairfax St. 703 535-6622 TOKYO JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE 66 Canal Center Plaza 703-683-8878 CAPHE BANH MI VIETNAMESE 407 Cameron St. 703-549-0800 SANG JUN THAI 300 King Street 571-312-3377 KAI ZEN TAVERN 1901 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-836-1212 THE SUSHI BAR 2312 Mount Vernon Avenue 571-257-3232 CONTINENTAL BRABO

by Robert Weidmaier 1600 King St. 703-894-3440 BRABO TASTING ROOM 1600 King St. 703-894-5252 CEDAR KNOLL INN GW Parkway at Lucia Ln. 703-799-1501 RESTAURANT EVE 110 S. Pitt St. 703-706-0450 TEMPO 4231 Duke St. 703-370-7900 temporestaurant.com Northern Italian, French provincial & American cuisine featuring fresh seafood, meats and pasta served in a contemporary, romantic atmosphere.

FRENCH BASTILLE 606 N. Fayette St. 703-519-3776 bastillerestaurant.com LE REFUGE 127 N. Washington St. 703-548-4661

TWO NINETEEN RESTAURANT 219 King St. 703-549-1141 YVES BISTRO 235 Swamp Fox Rd. (in Hoffman Ctr.) 703-329-1010 LA BERGERIE 218 N. Lee St. 703-683-1007 labergerie.com ITALIAN

BUGSYS PIZZA RESTAURANT 111 King St. 703-683-0313 bugsyspizza.com FACCIA LUNA 823 S. Washington St. 703-838-5998 THE ITALIAN PLACE 621Wythe St. 571-777-8981 GERANIO RISTORANTE 722 King St. 703-548-0088 geranio.net Still Old Towns highest-rated Italian restaurant (Zagat).

Discerning Old Towners flock here for refined cuisine in this comfortable, yet sophisticated restaurant. With entrees from $14, there is no reason not to enjoy a selection from their Wine Spectator award-winning list, while being attended by the friendly staff of seasoned professionals. Reservations recommended and casual attire welcomed.

HANKS PASTA BAR 600 Montgomery Ave. 571-312-4117 IL PORTO RESTAURANT 121 King St. 703-836-8833 LANDINI BROTHERS 115 King St. 703-836-8404 landinibrothers.com Elegant, classical Italian cuisine served in a lovely historical setting. Fresh veal, homemade pastas, and fresh fish are some of the daily choices.

An extensive list of wines and champagnes served in a sophisticated and friendly atmosphere.

LENA’S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA & TAP 401 East Braddock Rd. 703-960-1086 PARADISO 124 King St. 703-683-5330 PINES OF FLORENCE 1300 King St. 703-549-1796 RED ROCKS FIREBRICK PIZZA 904 King St. 703-717-9873

FONTAINES CAFFE & CREPERIE 119 S. Royal St. 703-535-8151

TRATTORIA DA FRANCO 305 S. Washington St. 703-548-9338

LA MADELEINE 500 King St. 703-729-2854

MEDITERRANEAN LA TASCA 607 King St. 703-299-9810

TAVERNA CRETEKOU 818 King St. 703-548-8688 tavernacretekou.com PITA HOUSE 719 King St. 703-684-9194 thepitahouse.com Family owned and operated; carry out available and free delivery.

DELIAS MEDITERRANEAN GRILL 209 Swamp Fox Rd. Alexandria, VA 703-329-0006 SEAFOOD HANKS OYSTER BAR 1026 King St. 703-739-HANK FISH MARKET-OLD TOWN 105 King St. 703-836-5676 fishmarketoldva.com Internationally known and locally owned! We serve shrimps, a few crabs, tall people and lots of nice people, too! Live music and lively food!

ERNIES ORGINIAL CRABHOUSE 1743 King St. 703-836-0046 THE WHARF 119 King St. 703-836-2834 wharfrestaurant.com "Its All About the Seafood," traditional and creative coastal cuisine.

FISH MARKET-CLINTON 7611Old Branch Ave. Clinton, MD 301-599-7900 INDIAN BOMBAY CURRY COMPANY 2607 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-836-6363 DISHES OF INDIA 1510A Bellview Blvd.

703-660-6085 NAMASTE 1504 King St. 703-970-0615 MEXICAN LATIN SOUTHWESTERN DON TACO TEQUILA BAR 808 King St. 703-988-3144 LOS TIOS GRILL 2615 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-299-9290 LOS TOLTECOS 4111 Duke St. 703-823-1167 TAQUERIA POBLANO 2400-B Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-548-TACO (8226)

GRAPEVINE

NANCY BAUER

STEALING FROM WINERIES WHAT WOULD YOUR MOTHER SAY? The cat, well. Everyone agrees that was the worst.

It wasn’t a pet. More of an outside cat, a vineyard cat, if there is such a thing.

But it had its peeps: Keswick Vineyards staff, and customers who kept an eye out. Pounce was her name. And then one day, gone. Pffft. Buh-bye kitty.

No, not the long slink over the rainbow bridge. Misappropriated.

Nabbed. Catnapped. One bright, happy day at the winery, a customer stole Pounce.

For real, people?

Pounce wasn’t the only goodie customers helped themselves to.

“When I was working in the tasting room I remember we had lots of glasses taken,” said Kat Schornberg, whose parents own Keswick Vineyards. “Also corkscrews, wine chilling buckets (we used to be cleared out of those like every weekend!), cutting boards, wine, decorations.”

“We started our year with almost 2,000 Riedel [wine glasses] and I now have 180,” Jen Breaux at Breaux Vineyards in Purcellville said. “I’ve had 42 bread knives stolen, 20-something cutting boards, and this past weekend somebody literally was walking out of my grounds with my corn hole boards in their hand and the beanbags, too.

“I’m so incredibly dismayed,” she added.

Meanwhile, on the opposite side of Northern Virginia, Cindi Causey, coowner of Potomac Point Vineyards, reports equally ballsy thefts: a painting, a 4-foot by 3-foot tapestry…statues stolen right off the winery’s patio.

“We even had a half barrel stolen from the tasting room,” Causey said.

“Is this exclusive to Virginia?” Breaux wondered. “Or is this epidemic?”

IT’S NOT ALL ABOUT US I asked Donniella Winchell, executive director of the Ohio Wine Producers Association, to pose the issue of customer theft to her members. The replies immediately poured in.

“You must have hit a nerve,” Winchell said.

In Ohio wineries, patio chairs have gone missing. Staff cash tips on the tasting counter. A wine competition medal, right off the bar. Framed art work. Photos of the winery from years gone by. Bathrooms signs. Even a decorative stone pediment.

“They stood on the stair columns and pried the stone free of the epoxy cement,” according to one aggrieved winery owner. Bacchus must have been keeping an eye out; a fisherman found it a month later in a nearby river. He recognized it and returned it to the winery.

YOU CAN’T SEE ME Is this a big winery versus small winery phenomenon? When the owner is pouring and creating a personal connection, are we less likely to walk away with her cornhole boards?

Maybe. Both Breaux Vineyards and Potomac Point Vineyards are large by Virginia standards, and have dozens to hundreds of customers on the grounds any given day. Both work hard to connect with their guests, but it’s not the same as Granite Heights Winery in Warrenton, where visitors enter through the front door of an 1800’s farmhouse, – Hi, Mom! I’m home!Sitting in the cozy parlor or library, there’s no avoiding eye contact with owners Toni and Luke Kilyk—they’re right there.

Toni Kilyk says they haven’t experienced this sort of theft, yet.

“Maybe because we’re small and new still, or because the seating areas are

close by the house such that we can see, or because of the intimate and personal tastings where our guests meet us and hear our story.”

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION Craig Root, a consultant in Napa Valley who advises winery clients on theft prevention, says it’s important to greet customers within 15 seconds. It’s just good customer service, but it also lets the customer know they are being observed, so they’re less likely to steal.

“There’s almost a curtain that falls behind the first row of customers at the tasting bar,” Root said. “Tasting staff need to look beyond the first row, use their ‘big eyes.’”

Other tips Root shares with clients include keeping an eye out for people who work in pairs—typically, a man, who creates a distraction, while a woman slips wine or gift shop items into a large purse—and to be aware that shoplifters tend to scan the room much more than others.

“Shoplifters typically look around 80 percent of the time and spend only 20 percent of the time looking at the merchandise—the opposite of actual shoppers.”

Root also suggests having a designated staffer make regular rounds of the patio and picnic tables, chatting with customers to help build relationships, and also check for the dumb-drunk sort of behavior that leads to lawsuits—and to stealing corn hole boards and statuary.

STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES “Stupid alcohol syndrome” is what many wineries blame as the biggest driver for petty thieves, though they’re much too polite to say this for attribution.

“As we all know, alcohol makes people

do really stupid stuff. Really stupid stuff,” Adale Abel Henderson of The Local Taste/Slater Run Vineyards in Upperville said. “I could write a book.”

“I believe that it’s more of a ‘what can I get away with’ mentality that we’re seeing here after people have been drinking,” Aubrey Rose of Rosemont Vineyards in southern Virginia said, diplomatically.

WHAT’S YOURS IS MINE Some wineries report what may point to a growing sense of entitlement by customers.

“When the guy was walking out with the corn hole boards, his answer to me for taking it was that he spent enough money here,” Breaux said.

Aubrey Rose thinks that sounds right. “[Jen] brings up a good point— perhaps people think that it’s okay to take it. Like the wineries are making enough money off them—purchasing wines and tastings—that they feel that they are ‘owed’ something.”

And that behavior hurts.

Rose said, “Especially with smaller wineries that don’t have the sales numbers that the larger wineries have, it really does hurt the bottom line.”

As your momma said, money doesn’t grow on trees.

YOU BROUGHT THIS ON YOURSELF At Potomac Point Winery, “Our policy now is to hold guests’ licenses when they take wine outside so we get our glasses and chill buckets back,” Cindi Causey said.

Rose shared one of Rosemont’s solutions: “I think smaller things tend to wander off easily—especially wine glasses. That’s why we made the decision GRAPEVINE > PAGE 39

37

EXPLORING VA WINES

T

here is a lot of tradition in the wine industry.

France is probably the most consistent enforcer of the traditions. Their laws insist that only certain grape varietals are planted in certain areas. We in America are fortunate that we have the right to plant any varieties anywhere we choose. Mother Nature will decide which vines will thrive, and which ones will be more challenging to grow. Some may show promise but don’t develop the flavor. Some may have great flavor, but only produce a small amount of fruit making it inefficient to grow.

We make the choices, but many times Mother Nature feeds us the answers.

The great thing about this process is that we can discover varieties that can grow here that would not have been considered in other systems. Viognier, Tannat, Petit Manseng, Albariño and

DOUG FABBIOLI

Petit Verdot have all found success in our state because we have the ability to try new things. Virginia has somewhat committed that Viognier is the state grape, but I am hard pressed to find a grower or a winemaker that is all in on this decision.

Some other regions have latched onto a certain variety and make that their signature.

Oregon has made a strong commitment to Pinot Noir.

This has worked well for them but it has its downside as well.

There are microclimates in every growing area. Some smaller pockets of land may be great for Cabernet Sauvignon, but the general public will assume that only Pinots can be grown in Oregon. The state is kind of big, and not all sites are the same.

Also, wines can go in and out of favor with the American wine public.

Fifteen years ago, Rose

styled wine was out of style like bell bottoms. Well, now I hear they are back and more popular than ever.

Now Rose is a style, but the consumer preference game can shift at any given time.

Ask the Zinfandel growers in the 1970’s. Before White Zinfandel, you could not give away a Zin grape.

At Fabbioli Cellars, we have been quite diverse in our product line by including a few fruit wines, ciders and ports along with our more classic reds and whites. As a smaller producer, we can make smaller batches and have the ability to increase or decrease production based on demand. We may sell off excess fruit or create a new blend with the juice that needs a home. I never suggest that other wineries copy what we do, but I believe that Virginia is still a very new wine region and needs lots more history to find concurrence on a few

real people. earth friendly. fabulous wines.

HOLD YOUR ‘FABB’ EVENT AT FABBIOLI CELLARS! WEDDINGS • CORPORATE OUTINGS • GRADUATIONS • CELEBRATIONS

email us at info@fabbioliwines.com 15669 Limestone School Rd • Leesburg, VA 20176 703.771.1197 • fabbioliwines.com 38

grape varieties. Winemakers and grape growers like their freedom to work their fruit and styles. By picking one variety for the state, we automatically downgrade all of the other varieties we have planted.

Virginia can make some outstanding classic Bordeaux styled reds as well some beautiful varietal wines that

show the purity of the fruit as it is grown here. We also produce stylistic wines with artistic flare using techniques or fruits that may have been rediscovered by the latest generation of industry leaders.

All of this comes down to embracing our options. A well-made wine can always find a following even if it’s small. Enjoy our diversity!

The Wineries, Cideries & Distilleries of Virginia It's an impressive list — pick a region or wine trail and check out what the Old Dominion has to offer

2 WITCHES WINERY & BREWING CO 2witcheswinebrew.com 434-549-2739 209 Trade Street Danville 24541 50 WEST VINEYARDS 50westvineyards.com 571-367-4760 39060 John Mosby Highway Middleburg 20117 612 VINEYARD 612vineyard.com 540-535-6689 864 Shepherds Mill Road Berryville 22611 8 CHAINS NORTH WINERY 8chainsnorth.com 571-439-2255 38593 Daymont Lane Waterford 20197 868 ESTATE VINEYARDS 868EstateVineyards.com 540-668-7008 14001 Harpers Ferry Road Purcellville 20132 ABINGDON VINEYARD WINERY abingdonwinery.com 276-623-1255 20530 Alvarado Road Abingdon 24211 ABOVE GROUND WINERY www.agwinery.com 975 McKinley Road Middlebrook 24459 ADVENTURE FARM adventurefarmvineyard.com 434-971-8796 1135 Clan Chisholm Lane Earlysville 22936 AFTON MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS aftonmountainvineyards.com 540-456-8667 234 Vineyard Lane Afton 22920 ALBEMARLE CIDERWORKS albemarleciderworks.com 434-297-2326 2545 Rural Ridge Lane North Garden 22959 ALTILLO VINEYARDS altillovineyards.com 434-324-4160 620 Level Run Road Hurt 24536 AMERICAN WAY COUNTRY WINES americanwaycountrywines.com 434-262-1250 13750 VA-47 Chase City 23924 AMRHEIN'S WINE CELLARS AmRheins.com

540-929-4632 9243 Patterson Drive Bent Mountain 24059 ANKIDA RIDGE VINEYARDS ankidaridge.com 434-922-7678 1304 Franklin Creek Road Amherst 24521 ARTERRA WINES arterrawines.com 540-422-3443 1808 Leeds Manor Road Delaplane 20144 ASHTON CREEK VINEYARD ashtoncreekvineyard.com 804-896-1586 14501 Jefferson Davis Highway Chester 23831 ASPEN DALE WINERY AT THE BARN aspendalewinery.com 540-364-1722 3180 Aspen Dale Lane (GPS: 11083 John Marshall Hwy) Delaplane 20144 ATHENA VINEYARDS & WINERY athenavineyards.com 804-580-4944 3138 Jessie Dupont Memorial Highway Heathsville 22473 AUTUMN HILL VINEYARDS BLUERIDGE WINERY autumnhillwine.com 434-985-6100 301 River Drive Stanardsville 22973 BARBOURSVILLE VINEYARDS bbvwine.com 540-832-3824 17655 Winery Road Barboursville 22923 BARREL OAK WINERY barreloak.com 540-364-6402 3623 Grove Lane Delaplane 20144 BARREN RIDGE VINEYARDS barrenridgevineyards.com 540-248-3300 984 Barren Ridge Road Fishersville 22939 BELIVEAU ESTATE WINERY BeliveauEstate.com 540-961-0505 5415 Gallion Ridge Road Blacksburg 24060 BELLE MOUNT VINEYARDS bellemount.com 804-333-4700 2570 Newland Road Warsaw 22572 BLACKSNAKE MEADERY

GRAPEVINE | FROM PAGE 37

to raise the price of our tasting and give the wine glass as a souvenir. People were stealing them and taking them in their purses or bags, so why not just give it to them and actually recover our costs for the glasses they want anyway?”

Wendy DeMello of DeMello Vineyards/Third Hill Winery in the Shenandoah Valley reports that they’ve lost about one-third of their glasses.

“Now we taste out of branded glasses, but serve unbranded glasses with bottles purchased,” she said.

“At First Colony, we have at least a case of wine glasses a weekend walk off. We used to use Riedel. No more,” says Heather Austin Spiess, owner of the Charlottesville winery.

blacksnakemead.com 540-834-6172 605 Buffalo Road Dugspur 24325 BLENHEIM VINEYARDS blenheimvineyards.com 434-293-5366 31 Blenheim Farm Charlottesville 22902 BLOXOM VINEYARD bloxomwinery.com 757-665-5670 26130 Mason Road Bloxom 23308 BLUE BEE CIDER bluebeecider.com 804-231-0280 1320 Summit Avenue Richmond 23230 BLUE RIDGE VINEYARD blueridgevineyard.com 540-798-7642 1027 Shiloh Drive Eagle Rock 24085 BLUE VALLEY VINEYARD AND WINERY BlueValleyVineyardandWinery. com 540-364-2347 9402 Justice Lane Delaplane 20144 BLUEMONT VINEYARD BluemontVineyard.com 540 554 8439 18755 Foggy Bottom Road Bluemont 20135 BLUESTONE VINEYARD bluestonevineyard.com 540-828-0099 4828 Spring Creek Road Bridgewater 22812 BODIE VINEYARDS bodievineyards.com 804-598-2240 1809 May Way Drive Powhatan 23139 BOGATI WINERY bogatibodega.com 540-338-1144 35246 Harry Byrd Highway Round Hill 20142 BOLD ROCK CIDER boldrock.com 1020 Rockfish Valley Hwy Nellysford 22958 BOXWOOD ESTATE WINERY boxwoodwinery.com 540-687-8778 2042 Burrland Road Middleburg 20117 BREAUX VINEYARDS breauxvineyards.com 540-668-6299

36888 Breaux Vineyards Lane Purcellville 20132 BRENT MANOR VINEYARDS brentmanorvineyards.com 434-826-0722 100 Brent Manor Lane Faber 22938 BRIGHT MEADOWS FARM brightmeadows.com 434-349-5349 1181 Nathalie Road Nathalie 24577 BRIGHTWOOD VINEYARD & FARM brightwoodvineyardandfarm.com 540-717-2165 1202 Lillards Ford Road Brightwood 22715 BROOKS MILL WINERY brooksmillwine.com 540-721-5215 6221 Brooks Mill Road Wirtz 24184 BURNLEY VINEYARDS burnleywines.com 540-832-2828 4500 Winery Lane Barboursville 22923 BYRD CELLARS byrdcellars.com 804-652-5663 5847 River Road West Goochland 23063 CANA VINEYARDS & WINERY OF MIDDLEBURG canavineyards.com 703-348-2458 38600 John Mosby Highway Middleburg 20117 CAPITOL VINEYARDS capitolvineyards.com 845-598-2662 3600 Sage Road Delaplane 20144 CARDAMON FAMILY VINEYARDS cardamonfamilyvineyards.com 540-668-9018 12226 Harpers Ferry Road Purcellville 20132 CARDINAL POINT VINEYARD & WINERY cardinalpointwinery.com 540-456-8400 9423 Batesville Road Afton 22920 CARET CELLARS caretcellars.com 540-413-6454 495 Meadow Landing Lane Caret 22436 CARROLL VINEYARDS carrollvineyards.com 703-777-3322

Spiess also said that patrons walk off with the toilet paper.

So if you don’t knock it off, you know where this is headed, right?

KNOCK IT OFF Stealing is stealing. A glass, a corkscrew, a cute little necklace in the gift shop (which, by the way, you just stole from the artist, not the winery). It’s not yours to take. If you want a souvenir, buy one. And when a friend tells you that hilarious story about how she catnapped Pounce, the winery cat, don’t laugh. Shame her.

Let’s leave the cats alone.

Nancy Bauer is co-owner of Virginia Wine in My Pocket, a travel website and smartphone app for Virginia Wine Country.

Contact her at Nancy@ VaWineInMyPocket.com

29 South King Street Leesburg 20175 CASANEL VINEYARDS & WINERY casanelvineyards.com 540-751-1776 17956 Canby Road Leesburg 20175 CASTLE GLEN ESTATES WINERY castleglenwine.com 804-837-0703 18185 Narrow Path Trail Doswell 23047 CASTLE GRUEN VINEYARDS AND WINERY 540-229-2498 1272 Meander Run Road Locust Dale 22948 CASTLE HILL CIDER castlehillcider.com 434-296-0047 6065 Turkey Sag Road Keswick 22947 CATOCTIN CREEK WINERY catoctincreekwinery.com 14426 Richards Run Lane Purcellville 20132 CAVE RIDGE VINEYARD caveridge.com 540-477-2585 1476 Conicville Road Mt. Jackson 22842 CEDAR CREEK WINERY cedarcreekvineyard.com 540-436-8394 7384 Zepp Road Star Tannery 22654 CHATEAU MERRILLANNE ChateauMerrillAnne.com 540-656-6177 16234 Marquis Road Orange 22960 CHATEAU MORRISETTE thedogs.com 540-593-3647 287 Winery Road SW Floyd 24091 CHATEAU OBRIEN AT NORTHPOINT chateauobrien.com 540-364-6441 3238 Railstop Road Markham 22643 CHATEAU Z VINEYARD chateau-z.com 1219 Main Street Lynchburg 24504 CHATHAM VINEYARDS ON CHURCH CREEK chathamvineyards.com 757-678-5588 9232 Chatham Road Machipongo 23405 CHESTER GAP CELLARS

chestergapcellars.com 540-636-8086 4615 Remount Road PO Box 108 Front Royal 22630 CHESTNUT OAK VINEYARD chestnutoakvineyard.com 434-964-9104 5050 Stony Point Road Barboursville 22923 CHRYSALIS VINEYARDS AT THE AG DISTRICT ChrysalisWine.com 540-687-8222 39025 John Mosby Highway Middleburg 20117 COBBLER MOUNTAIN CELLARS cobblermountain.com 540-364-2802 5909 Long Fall Lane Delaplane 20144 COLTSFOOT WINERY coltsfootwinery.com 276-623-7653 19158 Stone Mountain Road Abingdon 24210 COOPER VINEYARDS coopervineyards.com 540-894-5474 13372 Shannon Hill Road Louisa 23093 CORCORAN VINEYARDS & CIDER corcoranvineyards.com 540-882-9073 14635 Corkys Farm Lane Waterford 20197 CREEK'S EDGE WINERY creeksedgewinery.com 540-822-3825 41255 Annas Lane Lovettsville 20180 CROSSKEYS VINEYARDS crosskeysvineyards.com 540-234-0505 6011 East Timber Ridge Road Mt. Crawford 22841 CRUSHED CELLARS CrushedCellars.com 571-374-WINE (9463) 37938 Charles Town Pike Purcellville 20132 CUNNINGHAM CREEK WINERY cunninghamcreek.wine 434-207-3907 3304 Ruritan Lake Road Palmyra 22963 DAVIS VALLEY WINERY dvwinery.com 276-686-8855 1167 Davis Valley Road Rural Retreat 24368 DELAPLANE CELLARS delaplanecellars.com 540-592-7210

2187 Winchester Road Delaplane 20144 DELFOSSE VINEYARDS AND WINERY delfossewine.com 434-263-6100 500 DelFosse Winery Lane Faber 22938 DEMOCRACY VINEYARDS democracyvineyards.com 434-263-8463 585 Mountain Cove Road Lovingston 22949 DESERT ROSE RANCH & WINERY desertrosewinery.com 540-635-3200 13726 Hume Road Hume 22639 DEVAULT FAMILY VINEYARDS devaultvineyards.com 434-993-0722 247 Station Lane Concord 24538 DOUKÉNIE WINERY DoukenieWinery.com 540-668-6464 14727 Mountain Road Purcellville 20132 DRY MILL VINEYARDS & WINERY drymillwine.com 703 737-3930 18195 Dry Mill Road Leesburg 20175 DUCARD VINEYARDS ducardvineyards.com 540-923-4206 40 Gibson Hollow Lane Etlan 22719 EARLY MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS earlymountain.com 540-948-9005 6109 Wolftown-Hood Road Madison 22727 EDEN TRY ESTATE WINERY EdenTryEstate.com 540-786-0037 6818 River Road Fredericksburg 22407 ELK ISLAND WINERY elkislandwinery.com 804-627-3929 5759 River Road West Goochland 23063 FABBIOLI CELLARS fabbioliwines.com 703-771-1197 15669 Limestone School Road Leesburg 20176 FINCASTLE VINEYARD & WINERY fincastlewine.com 540-591-9000 203 Maple Ridge Lane Fincastle 24090

FIREFLY HILL VINEYARDS www.fireflyhill.com 540-588-0231 4289 Northfork Road Elliston 24087 FIRST COLONY WINERY firstcolonywinery.com 434-979-7105 1650 Harris Creek Road Charlottesville 22902 FLYING FOX VINEYARD FlyingFoxVineyard.com 434-361-1692 27 Chapel Hollow Road Afton 22920 FOGGY RIDGE CIDER foggyridgecider.com 276 398-2337 1328 Pineview Road Dugspur 24325 FOX MEADOW WINERY foxmeadowwinery.com 540-636-6777 3310 Freezeland Road Linden 22642 GABRIELE RAUSSE WINERY gabrieleraussewinery.com 434-981-1677 3247 Carters Mountain Road Charlottesville 22902 GADINO CELLARS gadinocellars.com 540-987-9292 92 Schoolhouse Road Washington 22747 GAUTHIER VINEYARD gauthiervineyard.com 703-622-1107 5000 Farmer's Drive Barhamsville 23011 GENERAL'S RIDGE VINEYARD generalsridgevineyard.com 804-472-3172 1618 Weldons Drive Hague 22469 GILES MOUNTAIN VINEYARD & WINERY gilesmountainwinery.com 540-267-4125 290 Moye Road Staffordsville 24167 GLASS HOUSE WINERY glasshousewinery.com 434-975-0094 Tasting Room 5898 Free Union Road Free Union 22940 GLEN MANOR VINEYARDS glenmanorvineyards.com 540 635-6324 2244 Browntown Road Front Royal 22630

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39

BEHIND THE BAR | FROM PAGE 30

for days about all the good things that I encounter on a daily basis. However, as my friend and co-worker told me, people want to hear the “crap”. So here goes: People who say they are ready to order, perhaps even wave you down, to have you come over and have NO idea what they want. This always seems to happen when you are the busiest. And there is poor cell phone etiquette. We live in a world where it seems that cell phones are our life source. Whether you are my bartender, my guest, or my co-worker, there’s a time and a place.

What is the cleverest line anyone has given you in order to garner a free drink?

As any good bartender will tell you, there really isn’t a magical line patrons can use to get this mystical free drink.

But I do know a time when I witnessed a guy who should have at least tried with the A BIT OF HISTORY | FROM PAGE 8

render a decree which will so far as possible eliminate the discriminatory effects of the past, as well as bar like discrimination in the future.”

“School boards,” the Justices wrote, “were clearly charged with the affirmative duty to take whatever steps might be necessary to convert to a unitary system in which racial discrimination would be eliminated root and branch.

[Furthermore] school officials have the continuing duty to take whatever action may be necessary to create a ‘unitary, nonracial system.’”

There is, for federal purposes, “a difference between ending segregation and achieving integration.”

In 1968 Jefferson-Houston Elementary School was built as a “replacement of the ‘racially identifiable’ Charles Houston Elementary school.”

Soon after the feds decided Jefferson-Houston was a “de jure segregated school” whose elementary purpose was “tailored to a black neighborhood.”

“Improvements in facilities and equipment,” the Green decision concluded, “have been instituted in all-Negro 40

bartender. He came into the bar and ordered his drink, paid, and left no tip, saying, “Sorry, I have to take a cab, so I don’t have any money to tip you.” Rightfully, the bartender had no qualm with letting the guy know that if you don’t have money to tip, you don’t have money to drink. Perhaps if he had a clever line to get a free drink somehow, he could have tipped the bartender and all would have been well with the world.

What is the best/worst pick up line you have overheard at the bar?

Being a female in a bar environment, no matter which side of the bar you are on, you get your fair share of the good, the bad, and the plain ugly pickup lines. I don’t know if there really is a “best” pickup line, but I do always love it when I tell a guy I’m from Tennessee and they say, “Tennessee, huh, you’re the only 10 I see!” It goes straight to a southern girl’s heart.

On the other hand, I have a couple stories about just awful pickup lines. Both schools…in a manner that tends to discourage Negroes from selecting all-white schools.” Typically, the 2014 replacement JeffersonHouston School includes an observatory and rooftop classrooms.

In 1972 the Department of Health, Education and Welfare asked Alexandria school officials to notify it “promptly” of their plans to “eliminate the last vestiges of the dual school system” at the elementary level. Samuel W. Tucker’s law partner, Richmond’s Vice Mayor Henry L. Marsh III told The Washington Post “Alexandria’s problem was the failure to deal with predominantly black elementary schools and what he said was a silence on program quality.”

“In Arlington, where blacks generally scored 10 to 15 points lower than white students, school officials kicked off a home skills program designed to promote parent involvement,” The Washington Post continued.

“In Alexandria, school administrators say the problem is not one of black and white, but rich and poor.”

Alexandria remains a southern city and, sadly, ACPS School Boards like

stories happened while out at local bars rather than in my own restaurant. I had just gotten off work and gone to enjoy a nice cocktail of my own when I walked into the bar and straight into a crazy man’s path. He came over with a mission and looked me dead in the eyes (as much as someone three sheets to the wind can) and said, “You’re pretty.” And I said, “Thanks,” in a mildly polite, but not so appreciative tone. Trying to move around him he jumps in front of me and goes, “You’re pretty, can I kiss you?” Of course my response to this was, “No.” Once again I try to maneuver my escape, at which point he blocks me again and says, “Can I French kiss you?”

I don’t know what segway he saw leading him from my response to his, but he was definitely determined. I’ll give him credit for that at least.

Tell us about an interesting encounter you have had with your customer(s).

This particular story I segregated drama. Jim Crow lives a de facto life, Alexandria’s public housing remains 91.2% black, and “the gifted gap” is fact. School policy, to borrow Daniel Moynihan’s 1965 phrase, is a “tangle of pathologies.”

Once integrated, now resegregated; accredited in 2008, now a Priority School Partnership School Jefferson Houston has again fallen short. School administrators describe the reconfigured, renamed Jefferson-Houston School as built anew. Still the School, Alexandria’s first pre-K-8 school as of 20092010, is the system’s stepchild.

“Southern schools are quietly re-segregating, particularly by sequestering poor black students in schools of their own,” The Atlantic’s Nikole Hannah-Jones wrote in May 2014. “[The] story now is of backroom deals, difficult compromises and devastating consequences….” Like ACPS’ 2017, 1999 redistricting schemes.

Today—nationwide—“the typical black student is in a school where almost two out of every three classmates (64%) are low-income, nearly double the level in schools of the typical white or Asian student (37% and

would describe as being more embarrassing, but interesting, none the less. Working at RT’s Restaurant, we get our fair share of famous musicians who venture across the street from the Birchmere Music Hall. I remember it was a booming Friday night and everyone was doing their best to help out anyway they could. A couple of ladies walked in the door with more people following behind, but I couldn’t see them just yet.

The manager wasn’t at the front to greet them so I said something like, “Hi there.

How ya’ doing? Do you guys have a reservation?” I could see one man step inside and hear another man’s voice behind him say, “Yes”. In a hurried state, I asked, “What’s the name?” I could see the guy who was speaking enter the doorway and say, “Uh, Bacon,” in an almost questioning manner. It was then I realized this was Kevin Bacon with his brother, Michael, and crew who were performing that night. I could feel my face turning red as I told them I would get their table ready

for them. Best part of it all, they didn’t actually have a reservation. They still got a table needless to say.

39% respectively),” UCLA’s Civil Rights Project Brown at 60 concluded. The UCLA study also showed how “double segregation,” a term used to describe schools that are segregated by race and economic status, “is becoming more prevalent.”

In 1966 Virginia Gov. Mills Godwin convened a statewide education conference. “Our education trails the nation— 38th place among the 50 states in almost every aspect,” Godwin said. “This must seem incomprehensible to the outsider since we are near the top of the heap in the matter of per capita income.”

“We have nowhere to go but up,” an Alexandria Gazette editorial then concluded. The University of Virginia, Curry School of Education delivered its updated audit report on February 27, 2017. The interim Superintendent has arrived and together we wait for the September publication of Jefferson-Houston’s 20162017 Standards of Learning scores.

“There is an evident purpose on the part of all… to avoid an opening on the discussion of the South’s race problem, its progress on educational lines,” The Washington Post reported

in 1903. In 1984 The Post addressed Alexandria’s “trend toward resegregation in some schools.”

“Separate schooling for rich and poor, and for students of different races, is fundamentally at odds with the American Dream,” The Century Foundation’s School Integration in Practice Report concluded.

If you could sit down and have a drink with anyone – past or present – who would that be?

One of my greatest friends and colleagues passed away in December last year. His name was Eric Evasic, but I knew him as Drock. He was one of the coolest dudes you would ever meet and he was talented in ways the world will never truly know. At only 29 years of age, he rocked out every day of his life and accomplished so much I forget sometimes how young he was. I would love to spend even an hour to sit down and share a drink with my beloved friend just one more time. I love you, Drock, and you are truly missed!

If you would like to see your favorite mixologist featured in this space, send contact information to office@ oldtowncrier.com.

Sarah Becker started writing for The Economist while a graduate student in England.

Similar publications followed.

She joined the Crier in 1996 while serving on the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board.

Her interest in antiquities began as a World Bank hire, with Indonesia’s need to generate hard currency.

Balinese history, i.e. tourism provided the means. The New York Times describes Becker’s book, Off Your Duffs & Up the Assets, as “a blueprint for thousands of nonprofit managers.” A former museum director, SLAM’s saving grace Sarah received Alexandria’s Salute to Women Award in 2007. Email: abitofhistory53@gmail.com

SPIRITUAL RENAISSANCE PEGGIE ARVIDSON

WHAT’S A MYSTIC CROSS?

I

was trained in a school of palmistry that didn’t talk about the Mystic Cross much. Still, it’s hard to study hands and read as much about palmistry and hand analysis as I do and not come across references to this mystical marker.

The more I read about it and the more I looked at my own hands I realized that I do have one of these!

In fact, I’ve had it for as long as I’ve been studying hands.

During my certification process I asked about this X between my heart and head lines and it was identified it as a marker of change and upheaval in my life occurring in or around my 41st year.

This made sense then and in hindsight. In my 41st year my entire life changed – dramatically. I knew it was coming and it was underway during my hand analysis certification process. The culmination came later that year, but since I don’t believe in coincidences, I made the connection that a cross between a head and heart line, with its center point directly below the Saturn (middle) finger would always indicate some sort of massive life change.

(If you’ve been reading for a while, you know that I believe that change is inevitable – neither good or bad – so go ahead and lean into it.)

Massive life change isn’t the easiest sort of change to lean into, however, now that I’m through the process I can assure you it was completely worth it.

Fast forward 11 years and this cross is still one of the most common questions I’m asked regarding palmistry! There are currently 81 comments on the post I wrote about this on website!

Still for years I ignored the questions responded cavalierly that this cross simply reflected a lifechange around the person’s 40s.

But I couldn’t really shake this Mystic Cross mystery so I went back through my library of palmistry books and started digging into the meaning of a Mystic Cross. Most books (and websites you’ll find) simply state it’s an indicator of psychic ability, which is probably why I wrote it off at first – I feel strongly that EVERYONE has psychic ability.

Then I started to meditate on that – what if a Mystic Cross is a type of gift marking? What if a Mystic Cross appeared on your hand to remind you that you got an extra dose of this intuitive/psychic/ mystical/alchemical gift in order to go deeply into your purpose and service in the world? What if it showed up when you were NOT using it to its fullest advantage and you had a penalty to work through?

In hand analysis sessions I am trained to take note of specific gift and wisdom markings in the palm.

Gift markings, by definition are there to remind us to use the specific gifts we were born with in pursuit of deepest happiness and purpose in the world.

Most people are excited when they hear about a

gift marking in their hands. They often sit up a little straighter and smile when I describe the gift. That is until I tell them about the penalty that is likely kicking them in the gut right at the moment. Gift markings come with a penalty for disuse. You have to use the gift or otherwise you end up in the penalty box.

My insight about a Mystic cross worked in alignment with my original understanding that there would be a life change in the early-mid 40s. On the surface the change I underwent didn’t seem to be connect to doing psychic work, hindsight is awesome and I see that I needed to clear out all the things that were keeping me stuck in my pre-psychic life in order to do my healing work more fully.

I’ve never been one of those believers with a big B. I’m not a person who goes to a psychic already enamored of the wisdom they’ll bestow on me.

I’m intrigued by things mystical and other-wordly, but I face them all with a skeptic’s eye and a strong need for authentication. Frankly, I’m the Doubting Thomas of the Psychic World.

Still…I can’t shake the idea that a Mystic Cross

shows up to push us into accepting and using our intuitive gifts. It shows up to require us to explore not only what is seen, but what is unseen, and to face the fear of mockery and ostracism that we believe will accompany a more intuitive life.

A Mystic Cross means more than simply dabbling in the magical arts for giggles, it means stepping deeply into the quest for spiritual truth and answers.

Finding those answers and making peace with the spiritual, natural and material world is the gift of the Mystic Cross.

Are you at a crossroads and need to make some serious decisions?

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FITNESS

NICOLE FLANAGAN

Workout Smarter, Not Harder

I

f someone told you right now what the absolute best exercise to lose weight was, would you do it? Of course you would. Guess what that exercise is, the one that you will do. The biggest things that stop people from exercising are boredom and injuries. If you can find an exercise, or some type of workout that you enjoy doing, it is much easier to stick to it.

The truth is that weight loss is about creating a calorie deficit, in other words, burning more calories than you take in. While running at

an 8-minute-mile pace might be a great calorie burner, if you’re not going to do it, it’s not going to help you. Instead, start with something you can do, like walking or working out on an elliptical machine or exercise bike. You will burn more calories by doing cardio that you will with strength training. Strength training itself will not lead to an appreciable amount of weight loss because it just doesn’t burn enough calories.

A combination of cardio and strength is going to be the best approach to sustainable

weight loss. That’s not to say that strength training isn’t important for the overall health of the body. But when it comes to burning the most calories, go for cardiovascular exercise. And vary the intensity.

Cross training is another key that will help amp up your workouts. Doing a range of different activities during your workouts helps you keep from getting bored and it’s better for your body. Doing different activities recruits different muscle groups. You’re also less likely to develop an injury,

since doing the same thing day after day creates wear patterns on your joints.

Keep in mind that exercise is just one portion of a successful weight loss program. Eating and exercise are not separate issues. They’re intimately connected. Too many people think these large doses of exercise are an excuse to eat whatever you want.

Unfortunately, today food is everywhere. It’s so much easier not to eat calories than it is to try and burn them off.

So how much exercise is needed to lose weight? You need to burn 3,500 calories to lose a pound. So if you’re burning 300 calories in one workout, it will take you nearly 12 workouts to lose one pound. If you cut your calorie intake by 300 calories in addition to burning 300, it will take you half as long to lose a pound. If you want to lose weight, shoot for at least 200 minutes (more than three hours) a week of moderate intensity exercise with everything else consistent. If you cut calories and exercise, you can get away with a minimum dose of 150 minutes (2 1/2 hours) a week.

If you’re a beginner, start with 50 minutes of exercise a week and work up to 200.

Here are a few tips to keep your workouts consistent: 1. Have an exercise buddy or partner. Having accountability to someone else, even if it’s your Labrador, keeps you honest. It’s much easier to say no to yourself than to someone else.

2. Schedule your workouts.

Keep a calendar that lists specific times for your workouts. Make an appointment with exercise ahead of time,

42

and you won’t have the excuse of running out of time.

3. Weigh yourself. This is one of the best tools to see if you’re slipping up.

Weighing yourself once a week can keep you on track so that you don’t let 300 extra calories a day or one missed workout set you back.

4. Don’t do too much, too fast. Don’t get overmotivated. Lifting weights that are too heavy or starting out with six days a week of aerobic exercise is a mistake. People end up hurting themselves in the first week and then they give up.

5. Log your steps. Logging the time that you work out will help you achieve your weekly goal, even if you get off track one day.

It will also inspire you at the end of the week, when you can look back and see what you’ve accomplished.

6. Cook more often.

Portions, and calories, are out of control when you eat out. You’ll almost always consume fewer calories in a meal cooked and eaten at home. Save restaurants for special occasions, and get together with friends for a walk instead of a meal.

7. Don’t turn water into wine. Not only does a glass of wine or beer add a couple hundred extra calories, after a few glasses, you’re not as conscious of consuming more calories in your meal. You don’t have to give up drinking, but do cut back.

FROM THE TRAINER RYAN UNVERZAGT

Today’s lifestyles seem busier than those of years past. You might find yourself saying, “I don’t have enough time to exercise.” But the reality is everyone has 24 hours in a day, and it’s just a matter of prioritizing your schedule to fit in some daily exercise. I know that getting to the health club is half the battle, but wouldn’t it be nice to know what to do when you finally get there? As a result, you need to find ways to help maximize your time at the gym. There are a few ideas I would like to share to help get you going.

Develop a plan of action: Your individual goals will determine a plan of action.

Since the majority of us are seeking to lose weight, try to burn at least 500 calories per day through cardiovascular exercise (i.e. treadmill, bike, rower, or elliptical machine) at least five days a week. Two of those days, you should add 10 to 12 resistance training exercises that work the entire body. Perform two sets of 15 to 20 repetitions for each exercise. This will help increase your total energy expenditure.

Superset your exercises: Pair up two exercises that work opposing muscle groups.

Perform these back-to-back without rest in between. For example, the bench press could be followed by lat pulldown. By doing this, your

chest and triceps (bench press) will be getting a break while you’re working your back and biceps (lat pulldown). This will eliminate the time spent resting between sets that work the same muscle group.

Add cardio between resistance training sets: This is a great way to keep your heart rate up if you are looking to increase your stamina. Instead of waiting for the next set, add three to five minutes for higherintensity cardio, then lift anywhere from three to six weight-training exercises.

Keep alternating cardio and weights, and you will definitely find yourself sweating. You can get a great workout in less than 30 minutes doing this.

Hire a qualified personal trainer: This is the best way to make sure you are getting the most out of the time that you spend at the gym. Let a fitness professional take all the “guess work” out of your workout routine (or lack of routine).

Even if you’re a regular at the gym, a trainer can provide great variety to keep workouts fun and exciting.

Most importantly, workout intensity will determine how much your body will change. Trainers can ensure the correct intensity for you, depending upon your fitness goals.

Unverzagt holds Bachelor of Science degree in Wellness Management from Black Hills State University. He is a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist through the National Strength & Conditioning Association and a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer through the American Registry for Diagnostic Medical Sonography.

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KIM PUTENS

FIRST BLUSH

“H

ow can I get rid of the fine lines, dark circles, and puffiness around my eyes?”

The eye area is the most delicate and where the first signs of aging begin to creep up on us. Most often, it is the area that is most neglected until we see that first wrinkle.

The most important thing to realize is that prevention is the best defense against the inevitable aging process.

Choosing to use an eye cream at an early age is the best defense against those fine lines creeping in before we’re ready. There are also a few other remedies to weaken the defenses of those fine lines and to address other eye concerns.

Aging - When we begin to age, the eye area is the first to show those signs. That is why it is the most important area to take care of. Taking care of our eyes is quite simple – moisturizer. Keeping the eye area moisturized is key to maintaining its elasticity and keeping the crows feet and wrinkles away. Choosing an appropriate moisturizer is important. Too light of a moisturizer won’t be effective and too heavy of a moisturizer will just make your make-up a runny mess. To determine the right weight of a moisturizer, look for a moisturizer that absorbs into the skin just enough to still provide relief and still be a little slick. Furthermore, the right moisturizer must not be too

Experience the Difference

The Eyes Have It!

intense. The eye area is the most delicate skin on our face and requires that we take great care to ensure it is treated accordingly. A moisturizer designed specifically for the eye area is the best choice. Choosing any facial moisturizer isn’t appropriate because they often contain too many active ingredients that are too much for the eye area to handle. It’s also important to recognize that, for most of us, our eyes are more sensitive than the rest of our skin. A moisturizer should be delicate in addition to being the appropriate weight.

Dark Circles – As a lifelong dark circle sufferer, I have particular sensitivity to these concerns. I also understand what it is like to try every eye cream under the sun to attempt to deal with my dark circles. I’m here to tell most of you – put down the eye cream, walk away and grab a concealer.

The reality is that eye creams formulated to combat dark circles do not address most

dark circle concerns. Eye creams that claim to fight dark circles are designed for dark circle conditions involving broken capillaries.

These broken blood vessels create a darkening under the skin that these dark circlefighting creams work to disintegrate. Unfortunately, for the majority of us (myself included), our dark circles are the result of discoloration or excess pigment around our eyes. This is a function of the way we are built and no eye cream can change that.

But, there are ways to reduce them and hide them. Most effective is making sure to get good sleep because those dark circles will only get darker from the lack of sleep.

Puffiness – Puffy eyes come in two forms: chronic and circumstantial. Chronic puffiness is typically a condition in which pockets of fluid (or bags) have collected under the eye area. Aside from surgical methods to treat this, there are some eye creams available to address

these issues. Circumstantial puffiness is the result of a lack of sleep, hay fever or an allergic reaction. These types of puffy eye conditions are easily treated with cold compresses to the eye area when there is an occurrence.

Using something - like a bag of peas - that can mold to the eye area will be the most effective. In both circumstances – chronic or circumstantial – there are eye creams loaded with an antiinflammatory to help regulate the puffiness. To know if a particular eye cream will work for you, test-drive it in the store. Most of these eye treatments have immediate results that can be seen from the moment they are applied.

Try this – apply the eye treatment to one eye and leave the other untreated. Check in the mirror to see if it has made a difference. Continued use of these eye treatments will improve the continued puffiness over time and help to enlighten the eyes area.

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GO FISH

W

hen the FLW Tour brought 160 top professional bass anglers to the Potomac River, anglers wanted to know where and how they fished. Many fished community holes.

Most locals already knew swimming a jig is the best way to cover the river’s massive grass beds.

The winner was Ranger Mercury pro Tom Monsoor, coming as no surprise as he is credited with developing jig swimming. For more than 40 years he’s tweaked and honed this swimming method of catching bass into a top technique, especially on the Potomac. About 30 years ago, he started to spread the word and the secret was out.

Until then, jigs were pitched and flipped. Heavy jigs, heavy hooks, presented with heavy line and heavy rods hauled bass out of heavy cover. Nothing secret about jigs for big bass. Monsoor noted fish liked long distance presentations, but jigs needed to be modified for greater efficiency. A narrower head came through grass easier.

Line ties in line with hooks enabled snapping jigs from grass. Replacing heavy flipping hooks, with thinner wire hooks and thinned weed guard, allowed hook sets to stick fish at the end of long casts. A bait-keeping wire secures trailers, but Monsoor still carries Super Glue.

Looking at over 30 hook styles and manufacturers, Monsoor decided on 3/0, 4/0 or even 5/0 Yamamoto Sugoi hooks, custom made by Gamakatsu.

Heating allows bending hooks to fit his original mold. He says ¼ ounce jigs are the most versatile.

Slimmed down swimming jig packages mimic whatever fish are eating, baitfish evading predators or crawfish racing from grass clumps to find

STEVE CHACONAS

Take a Jig Swimming sanctuary on the river bottom.

Monsoor says contacting grass is the Potomac key! The Wisconsin angler wiggles the jig, threading it through grass allowing it to hesitate and then fall. He says the moments the bait spends in grass actually draw fish to the bait. Sudden freeing either triggers strikes or attracts attention as baits fall, often into bare spots.

These are river gold, areas where nothing grows either because there’s a solid object, gravel or a spawning bed. The drop from grass often lands jigs in these hard to find fish spots. Slow presentations are best.

His favorite swim jig conditions are the Potomac’s shallow and weedy waters, but the right tackle is key.

Because his hands get wet when removing grass from his jig, Winn grips on Lews rods and on Lews reel paddles help him keep his grip when snapping jigs from grass or setting the hook. Monsoor pairs a 7’ medium-heavy Team Lew’s Custom Lite Magnum Bass casting rod with a Team Lew’s Custom Pro Speed Spool SLP Series casting reel (7.5:1ratio) spooled with 16-pound Sugoi fluorocarbon line. This sensitive set up allows him to feel everything.

When feeling a bite or moving fish, he sweeps the rod to the side while winding to drive the hook home.

To find fish he starts with swim jigs tipped with a Swimming Senko, powerfishing to cover water. Then he hops or pitches Flappin Hogs, covering water to locate groups of big fish, while focusing on types of weeds he is catching fish and where tides are. He used to overcomplicate tides. Now he considers tides are either in or out, up or down. “This was the

first year I figured this out. You move up and move out, it’s just that simple…first year that hit home for me.”

For colors, he keeps it simple. In stained water, it’s black/blue. Clear water colors, basic white to green pumpkin and rusty craw. Monsoor makes an annual trek to skirt Mecca, Skirts Plus, in Minneapolis. Finding this skirt sanctuary 30 years ago, he doesn’t have to create patterns.

They have everything. “I’m like a woman in the shoe store.

Every color imaginable. I go there once a year and go nuts.”

He says the new Bio-Silk Ultra Tone series is similar to old school living rubber. The flat material really breathes, but doesn’t melt and stick together like the old skirts. Mixing materials creates unique combinations.

Staying on fish in the middle of vast grass beds is a Potomac key. “Power Poles are a big deal when fishing. Put them down as soon as you get a bite because there’s a good chance more than one fish is in the area. Move 30 or 40 feet and put them down again.” His ¼ ounce homemade black/blue swim jig with a black/blue Gary Yamamoto Custom Baits Flappin’ Hog was the winning combination. Monsoor uses several Yamamoto trailers, like 3.5-inch Swimming Senkos, 3.75-inch Flappin’ Hogs (removing side appendages), and 3.5 and 4-inch craws. “I let the fish tell me what they want…depending on what they’re eating to match color to the shape. Just like matching a crankbait.” Monsoor tosses swim jigs just about everywhere he fishes. After 40 years, swimming a jig isn’t a fad.

tides are best as it pushes fish to edges of grass beds.

For high tides, try Lucky Craft G-Splash poppers and walking Gunfish. Use 14-pound Gamma Copoly line or 30 pound Torque braid.

Look for clear water and make long casts.

For lower water, cover areas with Mann’s Baby 1-Minus crankbaits on 14-pound Edge fluorocarbon line. Try swim jigs with HardNose Mullet trailers. Use white in clear water and black/blue in stained.

Pitch Mizmo tubes, Texas rigged with a 3/0 Mustad Mega Bite hook on 14-pound

Edge. Go with the lightest weight to allow baits to drop into the strike zone, 3/16 or so. Target grass edges at low tide and docks at high. Soak in garlic flavor Jack’s Juice Bait Spray. Texas rigged Quiver Stix, weightless, on 3/0 Mustad hooks with 14-pound Edge fall slowly into grass or under docks.

Author Capt. Steve Chaconas is Potomac bass fishing guide & contributing writer for BoatU.S. (BoatUS.com) Potomac River reports: nationalbass.com. Book trips/ purchase gift certificates: info@NationalBass.com.

Potomac River Bassing in SEPTEMBER Water is cooling and grass is beginning to break up. Low 45

OPEN SPACE

LORI WELCH BROWN

A Label-Less World

A

s a professional organizer and Virgo, I love labels. They can magically transform a closet or file cabinet. Labels work great for sifting through piles and identifying ‘like’ things. The Container Store has made a business out of categorizing and labeling. Praise be to bins and label makers! Labels, however, take on a different meaning when we attach them to people. Unlike socks and Beanie Baby collections, human beings have way too many characteristics to pigeon hole. Most of us learn Labeling 101 early, however.

Tattletail, liar, cry baby, and teacher’s

pet all start the moment we step foot on a playground. By the time we progress to gym class and lockers, the labels carry even more weight.

Slut! Loser! Freak! Fag! And then we become full-fledged, voting adults and the labels not only hurt us, they divide us. If, however, we are going to wear 46

the label ‘adult’, we have to agree that there are just some labels that we won’t tolerate. Unfortunately, those labels are sometimes self-appointed and/or are aimed at deliberately hurting others.

Sadly, those are the ones making headlines lately.

I’ve worn a lot of labels in my life: daughter, friend, sister-in-law, niece, cousin, aunt, assistant, organizer, manager, etc. And, probably quite a few I wasn’t aware I had earned: b*T#H, snob, control freak (ok, maybe just a wee bit true), etc. You don’t put this many miles on the ol’ odometer without a few barbs thrown at you.

I don’t believe any of us really wants or likes labels, but they seem to magnetically attach themselves like dog hair to black pants. It’s awesome when the labels make us stand tall and proud. “Lori—you’re a genius!” “What? Me? Really?! Oh, stop!”

Unfortunately, more often than not, labels weigh us down.

Recently I found myself with a label I didn’t ask for—Bionic Lori—due to the fact that I’m about to embark on my second hip replacement in a span of three months due to some bad genes and painful arthritis.

While I wouldn’t wish this on anyone, this new ‘label’ has helped initiate dialog with complete strangers who are eager to share their stories and make me part of their tribe. As I hobble by they ask, “Knee?” When I stop to explain, they share their stories of remedies, surgeries, scars, recovery, etc. Their stories make me

feel comforted, hopeful and like I’ve become part of a new club. I had the same feeling after my mom died when I became part of the grieving and loss club. I suddenly had a shared bond with people whom I would have never imagined—people I had relatively little in common with beyond this ‘shared’ experience. Their stories, hugs and words of encouragement buoyed me beyond belief and I am eternally grateful.

Unlike socks or utility bills, our tribes can’t be identified by a single marker or label. We find our tribe through shared experiences, common paths along the journey, passions pursued, heartfelt beliefs, loves and losses. When I draw or paint, the blank page starts to become art through the mixing and blending. No one person or color can stand alone. You just have to look outside your window to see that’s a law of nature. The beauty in all that we see comes from an array of shapes, colors and characteristics.

When I was at the hospital doing my pre-op stuff, I realized that the volunteer, Barney, who signed me in lived on my street. We are neighbors who see each other occasionally and wave as we drive past. Our only common bond seemed to be our address, but during the span of the morning, I learned so much more about this man who is of a different generation/gender/color.

He brightened my day (and the others in the waiting room) in ways I can’t explain. I am so blessed that he crossed my path beyond a wave and a smile. To this day, I’m wondering how many Barney’s I’ve missed out on because I didn’t take the time to stop and listen.

Regardless of our differences, for certain our common bond is that we all believe that evil and hatred don’t belong in our communities. Less labels and more listening is a good starting point.

NATIONAL HARBOR

LANI GERING

Summertime is Winding Down…

T

he month of September hosts the final days of summer and the beginning of fall. Here in the Harbor that means that some of the events that make this a fun place to live and visit cease only to make way for upcoming holiday happenings. The Thursday “Date Night” and the Sunday “Family Night” movie screenings end this month along with the Friday Night Fun Night activities and the Sunset Concert Series.

I celebrated 6 years of living here in the Harbor last month and I have to admit that I probably haven’t taken advantage of as many of the free events that have taken place over the years that I should have, but this summer has been different. My schedule has been such that I have spent several Friday evenings having some fun on the plaza with old friends and making new ones and have watched my fair share of movies on the big screen on both Thursdays and Sundays. I’ve only made it to two Sunset Concerts since they are on Saturday and it is a rare occasion that I am home on a Saturday during the summer – sailing on the Bay and the Pax River get in the way on most weekends.

I am hoping that this column will Town Crier Old

get you revved up for joining in on some of the last of the summer fun.

Unless you plan to get to the Plaza early to score a seat in one of the Adirondack chairs available or don’t mind sitting on one of the several granite benches, you might want to bring a cushion for the benches, a camping chair or a nice blanket to sit on during the movies. The “astro-turf ” that compiles the “lawn” does have a padding of sorts under it to add a bit of cushion. Folding chairs are set up on Saturdays for the Sunset Concerts but if the weather is really nice, they fill up fast so bringing something to sit on as a backup is a good idea. As far as food and beverage are concerned, there are several good places to grab something “to go” and special food vendors that set up (hot dog stand, popcorn/kettle corn and lemonade, etc.) on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. Feel free to bring a picnic of your own, however, no alcoholic beverages are allowed outside the confines of established restaurants. If you want to imbibe during a movie or concert, you can enjoy them from the outdoor patios of Bond 45, Rosa Mexicana, Fiorella’s and a portion of the McCormick & Schmick and Redstone patios.

The movies and concerts start while the sun is still up and I have to admit it has been a tad hot on the Plaza on a few nights and getting in just the right shadow on the east side of the big screen was a challenge – mostly on Sundays since the crowd involves lots of kids. The up side is that you get to witness the beautiful sunset as it drops down behind the Capital Wheel and the shore of Old Town Alexandria.

The selected movies are all ones that everyone can watch and the concerts will definitely bring out the patriot in you. There are many, many talented musicians and vocalists in our Armed Forces. The Singing Sergeants are one of my favorites. A list of the September movies and concerts is on the next page in the calendar of events.

I think I will miss the Friday Night Fun the most – festivities run from 4 pm – 8 pm. This weekly event draws a very diverse crowd from both an age and ethnicity perspective. There are babies in strollers and Senior citizens with walkers and everything in between. There are people from all over the world enjoying each other’s company. Just what we need in this day and age! Games the likes of the still popular Corn Hole, Giant Jenga, Hula Hoop, and Tic Tac Toe are just

a few. Sometimes you find kids who have never met before kicking a soccer ball or tossing a football around. One of the highlights of Friday nights is the arrival of Bobby McKey’s Rolling Dueling Pianos! Two of McKey’s talented performers entertain the crowd with requests as well as some old favorites. They arrive around 5:30 or so and their performance is followed by a DJ who rocks the Plaza out with popular tunes from yesterday and today. They always have the crowd up and dancing – even in the rain!

Mother Nature doesn’t spoil the fununless it involves lightening and a down pour!

If you are a regular reader of the OTC and this section, you know that we have FREE fitness classes on the Plaza as well spring, summer and fall.

Umm…I haven’t actively participated in any of them….Umm….they run through the month of October so maybe I will give a couple of them a try this month and report back to you afterward. I know that a little CardioHIT, Zumba and Yoga wouldn’t hurt me – not sure about the kickboxing!

Come on over and take advantage of these events. Looking forward to winding down the summer with you.

September 2017 | 47

It’s cooler at National Harbor

National Harbor Calendar of Events - September 2017 FREE FITNESS CLASSES On the Plaza Through October Participate in a free fitness classes on the Plaza brought to you by No Excuse Workout. All classes run from 7-8 pm except Saturday morning yoga that runs from 10-11 am.

Mondays - CardioHIT Tuesdays - Kickboxing Wednesdays - Zumba Saturdays – Yoga (Please refer to National Harbor’s Facebook page for any weather related cancellations.)

MOVIES ON THE POTOMAC On the Big Screen The Plaza Nothing says summer like an evening under the stars—and there’s no better way to enjoy the season than a date night at National Harbor. Join us on the Plaza every Thursday night - Date Night Style - and Sundays –

Family Night Style!

Please note that movies will begin at 6 pm on Sundays and 7 pm on Thursdays and will be shown once, so end times may vary with each movie. Double Features start at 4 pm.

A schedule of movies to be shown can be viewed below.

Date Night Screenings: 7th – Footloose 14th - Sleepless in Seattle 21st - Back to the Future 28th - Beauty and the Beast (2017) Family Night Screenings: 3rd - DOUBLE FEATURE: Cinderella (1997) & Cinderella (1950) 10th - The Little Mermaid 17th – Mulan 24th - Beauty and the Beast (1991)

SUMMER FRIDAYS ARE A BIG HIT! Through the 29th 4 pm- 8 pm Start your weekend right with

NATIONAL HARBOR DINING GUIDE

Summer Fridays at National Harbor!

Play Corn hole, Connect Four, Giant Jenga, hula hoop, hopscotch, and more with family and friends. Enjoy performances by Bobby McKey’s, giveaways, and listen to the DJ spin your favorite summer jams. And of course, joining us means you get front row seats to the best sunset view in the DMV. Get your cameras ready and your flip flops on!

CARABANA JERKFEST

16th - Air Force Concert Band & Singing Sergeants 23rd - Army Blues *Please note that times/dates may be changed or cancelled due to weather.

Updates will be made via social media, so please make sure to follow the Harbor on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram for the latest updates!

MILLER FARMS MARKET

SUNSET CONCERT SERIES

American Way Saturdays and Sundays Through October 10am-5pm

Saturdays Through the 23rd 7 pm World-class performances by bands from the nation’s Armed Forces at National Harbor will stir the hearts and souls of civilians and military personnel alike, while their tuneful stylings in a variety of genres please music lovers of all ages. Don’t miss these FREE shows on the Plaza stage.

DAS BEST OKTOBER FEST September 30th The Plateau 12 Noon – 6 pm

Miller Farms Farmer’s Market returns to National Harbor with their wide array of fresh fruits and vegetables, baked goods, beautiful flowers and plants, and much more. Located on American Way by the fountain. Miller Farms is a 267-acre farm in Clinton, MD that has been family owned and operated since 1840.

2nd - Navy Cruisers 9th - Navy Sea Chanters

September 23rd Waterfront East Pier 12 Noon – 9 pm Party on the Pier – “Celebrating Caribbean Culture”. Music by Lion Vibes Sound with special guest Image Band. For complete information check out CarabanaJerkFest.com.

All you care to taste International, Domestic and Local beers, Wines and Schnapps. Traditional German food and music along with several beer games and contests! All events are under cover – don’t let bad weather keep you away! For ticket information check out DasBestOktoberfest.com.

Potomac RiveRboat comPany SightSeeing – Private CharterS – Water taxiS

AC LOUNGE 156 Waterfront Street 301-749-2299 BOND 45 149 Waterfront Street 301-839-1445 BRASS TAP 164 Fleet Street 301-965-9116 BROTHER JIMMY’S BBQ 177 Fleet Street 301-909-8860 CADILLAC RANCH 186 Fleet Street 301-839-1100 CHIPOTLE MEXICAN GRILL 158 National Plaza 301-749-2016 CRAB CAKE CAFE 140 National Plaza 240-766-2063 ELEVATION BURGER 108 Waterfront Street 301-749-4014 FIORELLA PIZZERIA E CAFFE 152 National Plaza 301-839-1811 GRACES MANDARIN 188 Waterfront Street

301-839-3788 GRANITE CITY FOOD & BREWERY 200 American Way 240-493-3900 IRISH WHISPER 177 Fleet Street 301-909-8859 McCORMICK & SCHMICK 145 National Plaza 301-567-6224 McLOONES PIER HOUSE 141 National Harbor Plaza 301-839-0815 NANDO’S PERI-PERI 191 American Way 301-567-8900 NATIONAL PAST TIME SPORTS BAR & GRILLE Gaylord Resort 301-965-4000 gaylordnational.com OLD HICKORY STEAKHOUSE Gaylord Resort 301-965-4000 gaylordnational.com PIENZA ITALIAN MARKET Gaylord Resort 301-965-4000

48 | September 2017

gaylordnational.com POTBELLY SANDWICH WORKS 146 National Plaza 301-686-1160 PUBLIC HOUSE 199 Fleet Street 240-493-6120 REDSTONE AMERICAN GRILL 155 National Plaza 301-839-3330 ROSA MEXICANA 135 Waterfront Street 301-567-1005 SAUCIETY AMERICAN GRILL 171 Waterfront Street 240-766-3640 SUCCOTASH 168 Waterfront Street 301-567-8900 THAI PAVILLION 151 American Way 301-749-2022 WALRUS OYSTER & ALE HOUSE 152 Waterfront Street 301-567-6100

alexandria – national harbor Water taxi

washington by wateR monuments cRuise

National Harbor is a waterfront destination across from Alexandria. Round-trip and One-way service provided.

Enjoy our nation’s monuments and historic landmarks on a narrated cruise between Old Town Alexandria and Georgetown Washington D.C.

george WaShington’S mount veRnon by wateR cRuise

Water taxi to the national Mall

Arrive by boat and spend the afternoon exploring the 45-acre estate, grounds, Museum and Education Center.

Arrive in style at the National Mall to view the Roosevelt Memorial, Jefferson Memorial, World War II Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, and more!

For additional information, visit our ticket booth located in the Alexandria City Marina, behind the Torpedo Factory Art Center.

703.684.0580

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Old Town Crier

The Washington, D.C. Region’s Must-See Holiday Attraction Returns!

November 18, 2017 – January 1, 2018 ICE! is an indoor winter wonderland featuring: • Walk-through holiday attration, kept at a chilly 9 degrees • Depicts the story of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer

Book Early & Save with ticket purchase by Oct. 1*

32 28

$

$

Tickets Starting at* ADULT

(ages 12+)

24 $20

$

Unlimited Priority Entry to ICE!

CHILD

(ages 4-11)

with overnight packages, starting at $219**

Tickets and Packages on Sale Now! ChristmasOnThePotomac.com |

(301) 965-4000

• Enjoy five two-story ice slides

Also, don’t miss JOY – a new live spectacular atrium show, part of Christmas on the Potomac.

Located in National Harbor, MD –Just minutes from Washington, D.C. and across the river from Old Town Alexandria.

ICE! PRESENTED BY

PRESENTED BY

*Early bird ticket prices are available on select dates only. All ticket prices are subject to 10% entertainment tax and transaction fee per ticket which is automatically added at the time of purchase. Package pricing, components, show schedules and entertainment subject to change without notice. See website for restrictions. PEPSI, PEPSICOLA and the Pepsi Globe are registered trademarks of PepsiCo, Inc. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer and all related elements © & ™ under license to Character Arts, LLC. FUJIFILM and INSTAX are trademarks of FUJIFILM Corporation and its affiliates. © 2017 FUJIFILM North America Corporation. All rights reserved.

GN17ICE010[ad]OTC_Early_Bird_9-625x6-5.indd 1

8/17/17 2:36 PM

With seasonal menu changes, a waterfront patio, and a fireplace in each room, Cedar Knoll is the perfect setting for a romantic evening, a gathering of family and friends, or special events small and large.

Ask us about our private event space! Walk-ins Welcome, Reservations Recommended 703.780.3665 reservations@cedarknollva.com 9030 Lucia Lane Alexandria, VA 22308 cedarknollva.com

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