Merry Christmas
Dear Perfection Seekers:
Thanks to all those who sent messages, both private and for
publication, about my introduction to the last issue of themail. Some of
the messages that weren’t for publication were affecting stories about
how snowstorms had brought other couples together. If you want to share
any of your personal stories with other readers of themail, I’d
appreciate it.
To encourage you, I’ll tell a seasonal story, even though it has
nothing to do with Washington. Two years ago, Dorothy and I spent the
last half of December in the Czech Republic. We specifically chose that
time of year because Prague is famous for its Christmas markets, which
are held in several squares and at several subway stops throughout the
city. We especially recommend the ones at Old Town Square and Wenceslas
Square. For a few days around Christmas, we left Prague to go to the spa
town of Karlovy Vary, which is better known to Americans by its German
name of Carlsbad. It’s a spa town because of its hot mineral springs;
the waters have a particularly foul smell and taste, which to their
users guarantee that they have healing properties. Karlovy Vary’s main
street is a picture-perfect Christmas village (see the photograph at http://travel.webshots.com/photo/1037175996013513563NpWFxv),
and the jewel at the end of that street is the Grandhotel Pupp de luxe (http://www.hotelsprague.cz/hotels-karlovy-vary-karlsbad/hotel-pupp-karlovy-vary-e.php),
one of the great hotels of Europe, where we stayed. Grandhotel Pupp was
the site of two recent movies, the James Bond film Casino Royale, in
which it was the casino, and the Queen Latifah comedy The Last Holiday,
where it was the ultimate fantasy vacation hotel. (I want to make it
clear that I’m not bragging about our expensive luxury vacation; we
got a great deal, and our daily room rate was at the low end of what a
Days Inn in Peoria would cost.)
On the day before Christmas, Dorothy and I spent the day exploring
the town, stopping at the crystal and jewelry shops, crisscrossing the
warm-water river canaled down the middle of the main street. In the
early afternoon, we went to the hotel’s sauna and hot tubs and got
warm again before going out for the evening. When the German and Russian
day tourists left town in late afternoon, the busy street turned quiet
and then abandoned. The cold kept nearly everyone inside. We went out
only far enough to cross a foot bridge over the canal to the Embassy
Hotel, and we were alone in the cold, clear night. The Embassy ran one
of the best restaurants in town, specializing in goose and game prepared
according to classic European recipes. After a fine dinner, we emerged
from the restaurant near midnight, and found ourselves once again alone
on the street, but now in a heavy Christmas eve snow that covered
everything in white, everything but the warm river in which ducks
continued to swim through the snowfall. Every so often, once in a very
long while, everything is perfect.
Gary Imhoff
themail@dcwatch.com
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I wish you a Merry Christmas and the best of what the new year has to
offer.
I saw an article online that claims we are near the top of a list of
“literate cities,” http://www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-12-21-literate-cities_N.htm?csp=24&RM_Exclude=Juno
Frankly, I don’t believe it. Tell me what you think.
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Snowbound, Unless You’re in Georgetown
Denise Wiktor, Denisewiktor@yahoo.com
On Monday, we took my husband’s pickup truck to deliver something
to a friend on a dead-end street off Reservoir Road. We put it in
four-wheel drive, as none of the roads in Mt. Pleasant except Park and
Mt. Pleasant had been treated. Imagine my surprise as we crossed
Connecticut and the roads were clear. So we started taking side streets,
hills, etc., and if they had not been plowed they had been treated. Even
more surprising, once we crossed Wisconsin even the side streets were
cleared with a few exceptions, and those exceptions had been heavily
salted. Now, both Mt. Pleasant and Georgetown are handled by the
Department of Public Works, not the Department of Transportation, so why
did it take until 2:00 a.m. on Tuesday to have salt dropped in front of
my house, and a half-assed attempt at a plow. On Sunday, an ambulance
was having trouble getting to Stoddard Baptist church due to the lack of
clearing, and it had to have a fire truck clear the way. That is on a
snow priority route.
The disparity between how the rich and rest of us are treated by DPW
is obvious.
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Trash and Recycling Collections Resume
Kevin B. Twine, kevin.twine@dc.gov
Regular trash and recycling collection services resumed on Monday,
December 21, while leaf collection remains suspended to allow crews to
finish clearing snow in residential neighborhoods. As of this morning,
all regular week day parking regulations will be enforced.
For a variety of reasons, DPW/DDOT does not clear the alleys in the
District. It may be difficult to collect trash and recycling from some
alleys, and the crews will use caution as their guide. Residents are
asked to place trash and recycling in their normal collection location
and to be patient. It will be a little easier to pick up from residents
with front collection service, but DPW will make every effort to collect
from the alleys as well. Due to the Christmas holiday, all Friday
collections will slide to Saturday. We will err on the side of caution
if an alley is determined too dangerous to navigate. Any trash and
recycling that we can’t collect on its regularly scheduled day will be
picked up next week on that day, with the exception of Friday, which
will slide to Saturday.
Collection from public litter cans resumed Monday at 10:30 p.m.
Residents are reminded not to place their household waste in these
receptacles. While leaves remain covered with snow and these collection
crews are continuing to work on snow removal, leaf collection will
remain suspended. An announcement will be made as to when collection
will resume.
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Gary! You ole rascal, you. What a wonderful story [themail, December
20]! Congratulations to you and Dorothy and yes, I adore blizzards! I
did all the things you mentioned (took naps, read books, had
grits/eggs/sausage for dinner, and caught up on 1,700 E-mails I needed
to clear up). I love it!
Happy holidays to you, Dorothy and all themail readers/contributors!
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Thank You. . .
Joan Eisenstodt, JEisen@aol.com
. . . for the lovely story of how you and Dorothy met and about your
third date. It made me grin from ear to ear, and is a great tale of that
snow.
Merry holidays and a good new year,
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Great story, with a happy ending. Happy holidays to you and Dorothy.
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That’s a great (romantic) story!
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I can well imagine Dorothy’s parents would not be happy to have you
living with her at such a young age! Shame on you for even considering
it. Now that you are much more mature, it’s entirely understandable!
All best wishes this holiday season and beyond.
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Gay Marriage and Land
Michael Bindner, mikeybdc@yahoo.com
Gay people will flock here to get married, not to relocate. When
domestic partnership passed and was then allowed to occur, there was no
mass influx of gays. They were already here. Joyce Little [themail,
December 20] need not worry over this issue.
As far as homosexuality being an abomination, the Texas sodomy case
pretty much negated the public’s right to enact laws against private
consensual sodomy. Marriage simply directs this activity to stable
relationships (where it has been for most gays and the vast majority of
lesbians for decades). The law is as much about rights of gays and
lesbians to equal dignity within families vis a vis the inlaws as
anything else (since the Defense of Marriage Act, which will be out
sometime in 2011, prevents the full economic rights associated with
marriage at the federal tax level). I wonder if Joyce objects to the
open selling of shellfish, which is also an abomination in Leviticus (as
is the eating of bacon). What does that make bacon wrapped scallops?
Tasty.
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CLASSIFIEDS — EVENTS
DC State Board Of Education Hearings, January
6 and 13, 2010
Beverley Wheeler, beverley.wheeler@dc.gov
The DC State Board of Education (DCSBOE) will be holding two public
hearings in January 2010. The first will be held January 6, 2010 at 6:00
p.m. on the Student Code of Conduct. The second will be held January 13,
2010 at 6:00 p.m. on the English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards;
please see the Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE)
presentation to the DCSBOE and the World-Class Instructional Design and
Assessment (WIDA) Consortium web site for more information.
The public hearings will be held at 441 4th Street, NW, in the
District of Columbia State Board of Education Chambers, located on the
lobby level of the building.
Constituents who wish to comment at the hearings are required to
notify the State Board of Education in advance by contacting the
Executive Director, Beverley Wheeler, by phone at 741-0884 or by E-mail
at Beverley.Wheeler@dc.gov twenty-four hours before the scheduled
meeting time. Please provide one electronic copy and bring fifteen
copies to the hearing for the State Board members to view. The hearings
will air live on District Knowledge Network (DKN) Comcast Channel 99 and
RCN Channel 18.
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Business Opportunity Event, January 10, 2010
Tolu Tolu, tolu2books@aol.com
You are invited to learn how start your own business with only a
thirty dollar investment. A reshaping business opportunity event awaits
you. Come see what everyone is raving about: the new Body Magic. Even if
you are perfectly satisfied with your body, maybe you know someone who
could use a boost in their appearance. Please bring them along. We’d
love to have them.
Saturday, January 10, 2010, 2:00 p.m., New Carrollton, Maryland
20784. RSVP to Tolu 331-4418, Tolu2Books@aol.com.
Also learn how to make extra money by starting your own business. Arrive
on time, because you don’t want to miss this.
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Dear Utility Consumer, January 23, 2010
Melanie L. Deggins, Office of the People’s Counsel, mdeggins@opc-dc.gov
The DC Council Committee on Public Services and Consumer Affairs will
hold a public hearing to learn what consumers think about “What’s
Right” and “What’s Wrong” with utility services in the District
of Columbia. This is an opportunity to comment on your experiences with
Pepco, Washington Gas, and Verizon, the three major utility companies
serving District rate payers, the DC agencies that assist you with your
utility related concerns, and the government officials who must act on
the issues you raise. Please take the time to put your concerns on the
record.
Saturday, January 23, 2010, 10:00 a.m., at the John A. Wilson
Building, 1350 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Room 500. Anyone wishing to
testify at the hearing should contact Davida Crockett at 741-0898 or via
E-mail at dcrockett@dccouncil.us
by January 20, to be placed on the witness list.
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