High Heel Race 2008 Photos

http://flickr.com/photos/philandscoop/sets/72157608492850501/

Once again, our Dupont neighborhood celebrated a great local tradition of the High Heel Race that combines Halloween and Mardi gras on the Tuesday before Halloween. The race began decades ago when drunken drag queens raced from one bar to another in high heels along 17th Street NW. The event now draws many thousands including DC Mayor Fenty. Spectators watch participants parade up and down Seventeenth Street NW before the race and afterwards get to pose with them. Dupont’s two-legged dog, Scoop, paraded before the race wearing a tasteful orange and black witch’s hat. Sorry, I don’t have photos of Scoop. There were more Sarah Pallins than the photos show. The most common accessory this year was carrying a baby. The last photo is me with MPD’s Sergeant McDonald, Deputy Chief Groomes and newly appointed District Commander Matthew Klein. I want to thank all the volunteers and MPD who made our fabulous event possible.

Steve and Phil's Garden

Steve and Phil’s Garden is for Everyone to Enjoy

Steve Aupperle and I transformed bare and abandoned ground into a beautiful year around urban oasis about seven years ago. We created and continue to maintain a garden in the triangle park just east of Dupont Circle and between P Street NW and Massachusetts Avenue NW. Every day thousands drive by and thousands walk by and can enjoy our garden.
Years ago, the now defunct Dupont Down Under leased the little triangle park along with the old trolley system under Dupont Circle. Probably to make a good impression in court before one of his many court cases, the owner mulched and planted several dozen rhododendrons. Only three remain, the rest stolen within days of planting. Otherwise, the triangle park was untended and offered only weeds and litter. After Dupont Down Under went out of business, legal wrangling over the lease between the bankrupt owner and the ever so slow moving DC government ensued. We had started maintaining the triangle park years before the city finally reclaimed title. Because the triangle park is part of the underground trolley system, we are still not sure what agency has the responsibility for the property. I hope that the DC government will respect what we have created if or when the city writes anther lease for the underground system. Two recent proposals for developing the old trolley space are for an art gallery and space for Gay and Lesbian History Project.
For several years, I tried cleaning, weeding and sprucing up the bare abandoned property. Retired and with limited funds, I had some limited success in improving the park. At that time, Steve Aupperle operated his own landscape company. He offered to help and began to provide me with dug up plants and flowers that he was replacing on job sites. Rather than trashing the old plants and flowers, Steve passed them on to me. I recycled the hand me downs into the garden. While I gained Steve’s help with his time, money, and recyclables, most importantly, I gained his valuable professional gardening expertise. Eventually Steve returned to his original career of teaching. He now works for DC Public Schools and teaches first grade and continues to work on the garden.
The first growing season that we worked together was mostly about cleaning and weeding. In addition to the recycled plants and flowers, we tried growing from seeds but that did not work too well. The second growing season, we started buying plants and flowers, but struggled with needing to water regularly because of a drought. Both years, the garden looked good, but it was nothing exceptional. The third growing season began like the others and the garden looked OK. Then within about one summer week, the garden burst into bloom as never before. The garden transformed from looking good into looking spectacular. We had created a garden miracle that continues each year with each season offering its own special beauty. One goal that Steve has had is for the garden to be attractive throughout the growing season and we have accomplished that.

However, urban gardening has its downsides. Every winter, we do not do a clean up with the help of several friends until late February in the hopes of keeping people from walking on and trampling the dormant plants. Every year we complain about drunks who damage plants by hiding their alcohol and belongings among them and use the park as a bathroom. We caught one drunk who liked to sleep on the flowers. We griped endlessly about the one drunk who pulls sunflowers out of the ground because he, “Don’t like the gays.” Then there are the people who walk through the garden and trample our growing and grown plants. Neighbors who “borrow” for themselves alone the flowers we grow for everyone to enjoy. We did catch one neighbor who had pulled up plants, “for my sister to grow.” A friend told us about seeing a well dressed middle aged woman with a vase walk into the garden and pick tiger lilies until she filled her vase.” That one was a low blow for us.
One time when I was out of town, Steve had too much caffeine for breakfast and went shopping. At one Home Depot, Steve found bulbs priced at 50% off. He bought some and then went to another Home Depot and found bulbs priced at 75% off. Eventually he bought enough bulbs to fill a car trunk. Those bulbs look great now, but planting all of them gave us both backaches.
The joys of urban gardening do far surpass the negatives. For us, the February cleanup and mulching is the beginning of another season. Steve and I love watching the evolving growth from the earliest sprouts in March, through the magnificent flowering blooms flowers of summer, to the flowers and plants that thrive into late fall. We love to plant, weed, and water and tend the garden. We also value that many people appreciate and enjoy our efforts. People stop and say thanks. Especially during the peak blooming season, some people stop and stare at the garden in awe, enchanted with the beauty. Once a friend surprised me with, “Oh I think about you every day when I walk by and enjoy the beauty of your garden.”
Several summers ago, the drunk who hated sunflowers uprooted almost all of them, pulling up a few at a time. The drunk not only pulls up sunflowers in our garden, but also pulls up sunflowers throughout the neighborhood. We have planted sunflowers in another little triangle park bordered by Eighteenth, New Hampshire and Corcoran Streets NW as well as numerous neighborhood tree boxes.
One day, Steve and I were complaining about the never-ending loss of sunflowers when a friend walked up and profusely thanked us for our efforts and for the beauty of our flowers. It dawned on us then that no one else noticed the losses. No one else noticed the myriad of other problems. Only Steve and I see and notice what is missing, stolen or destroyed. Everyone else only sees the beauty of what is growing in our garden.



After this summer’s damaging rampage, several neighbors offered to help with new plantings. One neighbor generously offered to pay for a fence to protect our garden. Both Steve and I greatly appreciated such generosity. A fence would unfortunately be a barrier to the garden and we hope we can continue the garden as open welcoming space.
One website reviewed various small garden spaces around DC and called our garden, “lush, but did not invite one to linger.” So we added a garden bench. It is a great joy to see someone sitting and enjoying the garden or reading.
Despite the occasional small damage and sometimes major damage, Steve and I try to focus on what is good and fun about gardening. Maybe we can learn from our neighbors and simply enjoy the beauty of what survives in our garden along with everyone else. Maybe neighbors will both enjoy and help us to protect our little neighborhood treasure.

Church Keys to Church Keys

Church Keys to Church Keys

Growing up, my family helped start two Methodist churches. One small church is in Doraville, GA and one today is a not so small church in Jackson, MS. I remember both first services and the request for someone who could play the piano. My mother volunteered both times, continued playing until each new church building was completed and she could start playing an organ. Dad was an engineer. He designed and built the signs and a brick wall with chunks of colored glass for the first church. For the second church, he redesigned the church building. He also designed and built a figure of Christ carrying the cross out of wrought iron and railroad ties. I helped weather the cross with hammer and stain. Dad’s art remains the church’s symbol. What started with a groundbreaking in a cow pasture with cows and cowbells is now the largest Methodist church in Mississippi and one of the largest United Methodist churches in America.

Back then, one spring afternoon friends and I washed/waxed and cleaned up my car. This was back in the days before pop tops and cans required a triangle shaped metal can opener and bottles required a bottle opener. We always called them church keys. We all laughed when a few church keys were found in the car. Everyone else continued to laugh as the church key count eventually rose to over a dozen. I was embarrassed, but I had been a Cub Scout, Boy Scout and Explorer. When it came to church keys, “Be Prepared” was my motto.

To supplement my retirement income I have a little part time job at Foundry United Methodist Church. Once again, I have church keys, only this time they are real keys. I am proud that Foundry is a Reconciling Congregation and welcomes everyone. I am proud of Foundry’s strong commitment to mission work and to doing good work both in and beyond our community.

Meeting with DC Fire Chief

Fire Chief Meeting
On Monday, October 20, I joined Federation of Citizens Associations Vice President Dave Mallof, Elizabeth Elliot, ANC2B Commissioner and 20-year Fire/EMS Advisory Committee member Bob Meehan for a meeting with DC Fire Chief Rubin and two Deputy Fire Chiefs. Problems with the Fire Department and lack of facilities maintenance is long standing. Many stations are over 100 years old and some have had no significant work for from decades to half a century. The neglect over the decades was inexcusable. Mayor Fenty and Chief Rubin are now renovating an astounding three fire stations at a time. Three station renovations at a time is about all the system can handle, since the fire department has to remain on call at all times.
ANC2B and other groups fought for transparency in the public/private replacement of station #1 in Foggy Bottom. That station serves much of our Dupont neighborhood. We were successful in stopping the giveaway of this valuable property. However, the station has been dropped from the schedule for future renovations. We urged the Chief to put our fire station back on the list for badly needed renovations. Whatever the final resolution for the property, either as public or public/private, we want transparency in the process and we want the best for our fire department in renovating fire station #1. We also want federal funding for renovation of this station since it serves the White House, Executive Office Building and Marine Chopper 1.
Our other DC fire station serving our neighborhood is just west of 16th and U Streets NW and has been renovated. Stop by and see how a station should look like. Then go by 23rd and M Streets NW and see what most of DC fire stations look like.

Military Service

Military Service

THE DRAFT
In retrospect, I now believe that the draft and the threat of being drafted was a basic ingredient of American democracy. The draft and the possibility of being drafted brought together the broad diversity of Americans who otherwise would never have met, much less lived and worked together. The draft helped shape the greatness of mid-20th century America.

Long before the movie, while stationed in Texas we were the Three Amigos-a black man from south side of Chicago, a Puerto Rican from Brooklyn and me, a white middle class Midwesterner transplanted to Mississippi. Never would we have met, much less become friends. Without the draft, the awesome diversity of Americans never meets and never gets to experience what we have in common, rather than what separates us. Today Americans are divided because we no longer get the opportunity to get to know one another. The draft, as much as I hated it, brought our country together.
ALMOST DRAFTED
A woman at church worked for the draft board. In those days, if you were drafted, you had plenty of time to enlist. One morning, she called with two life-altering bits of news. Effective that day, once your draft notice was mailed, you were drafted and my notice had come in that day. She could only hold the notice until 4 pm, so I had about 5 hours to find a solution. I joined an Army Reserve unit to avoid going to a war that I did not approve of even back then.
RESERVES
I served four years in the Reserves Then with only two years left; I enlisted to active duty with the Army Security Agency for four years. I have never decided whether that was an act of patriotism or insanity.
ACTIVE DUTY
I enlisted for one year of training in Monterey, CA. So typically, the Army sent me for training in DC. Our barracks were about where the Arlington National Cemetery Visitor Center is located today. I was then transferred Texas for more training. After one and a half years of training, the Army did not need us and we stayed in Texas. Months later, a Pentagon flash message came in. There was a “critical mission essential shortage effecting National Security” for someone with my training in Korea. I flew halfway around the world with only verbal orders and the highest priority. Arrived in Korea and they did not need me. An Army buddy threatened to call his Congressman and that is the only reason I was put to work in the job I had been trained for.
GREAT MOMENTS IN MILITARY HISTORY
Everyone is our unit had at a minimum a Top Secret clearance and most of us had many more clearances beyond that. One night there was a fire drill and after we had left the barracks, MPs brought in a drug-sniffing dog. MPs carried out an overflowing grocery paper bag of drugs. We know for a fact that the poor dog did not find all the drugs (Not mine, but good friends). Before sunrise, our security officer was shipped out of the country. We were told that the toughest security officer in the Army would be shipped in. There was tension in the following weeks as we waited for this toughest security officer.

He finally arrived, called a meeting and announced, “Real men don’t use drugs, we get rid of the homosexuals and we get rid of the drugs.” For the next few days, every straight soldier held hands, walked arm in arm, kissed, embraced, patted butts and skipped around our compound. Only Gay soldiers behaved. Walking to the mess hall with two good friends, I walked, and they held hands and skipped along, and we met a Second Lieutenant. In a priceless incident, he begged us, “You don’t have to salute me, OK, just please keep your hands off my butt, please” as he walked by us sideways. No one was discharged and the toughest security officer in the Army was never heard from again.

In Korea, our Chief and Assistant Chief were lovers. It was never an issue until we learned that Bob had been in country for a month before Greg arrived. Bob had dated a Korean girl during that month and did not want Greg to know. We all worked in a large room and we knew Greg had left the area when a loud voice would ask, “Don’t tell Greg what?” No one ever told Greg, but we never let Bob forget that we knew he had cheated on his boyfriend.

Welcome Brooks and Leander

Welcome Brooks and Leander
Historic Dupont Main Streets has hired two men to clean up commercial public space in our Dupont neighborhood. We welcome Brooks and Leander to our neighborhood. They will be sweeping and picking up trash to help keep our neighborhood clean, welcoming and attractive.

Dupont's Two Best Places To Eat

The Washington Post's 2008 Annual Dining Guide gives high honors to two Dupont restaurants.
KOMI gets four stars.
OBELISK gets three stars.
In the entire DC metro area,
only four restaurants were awarded four stars
and only nine were awarded three stars.
Congratulations to both.

Komi
www.komirestaurant.com
1509 17th St NW
Washington, DC 20036
(202) 332-9200

Obelisk
2029 P St. NW
Washington, DC 20036
Phone: 202-872-1180

Dupont residents know that our neighborhood has many more outstanding and exceptional restaurants.

Friends of Ross Elementary

Friends of Ross

Friends of Ross are a small group of neighborhood residents who work on a variety of projects to benefit Dupont Circle’s public school-Ross Elementary School at 1730 R Street NW.

When Debby Hanrahan and I first started Friends of Ross many years ago, most people in the neighborhood did not even know what or where Ross Elementary was. Debby spent much of her time simply informing and educating neighbors about our only neighborhood DC public elementary school. Debby is the talker and I do things. Debby’s grown sons attended Ross years ago and I do what I can do.

Friends of Ross are responsible for the annual Christmas Tree Sale, annual Mother’s Day Book Drive and school cleanups/renovations. Our first renovation was to improve everyone’s first impression of the school. The front door, doorframe and window frame above the door was an ugly mix of unpainted, primer and several dirty faded paint colors. Everyone’s first impression was, “What a dump.” Neighbor Michael Johnson advised us to paint the front area aquamarine and another neighbor; the late architect John Wiebenson had the idea for the round white portholes on the front door for signs. I did the front door area painting while Debby painted the surrounding brick-although typically I painted while Debby spent most of her time talking up Ross to passers-by. When we finished, for the first time, Ross had a welcoming face.

Our Christmas Tree Sale was actually started in the mid-1990s to raise funds and distribute $500 increments to folks in Ward 2 who were actually doing something to help kids, versus talking about doing something. The reason we were not yet helping Ross Elementary was simple and best explained in this example. A neighbor recently retired from the Foreign Service wrote to Ross asking to become a volunteer. The then Principal responded with, “You don’t think we’re competent and insult us by implying we need your help.” With a new Principal, Gloria Smith, later in the 1990s, that attitude changed. Ross went from viewing community as the enemy to asking for and wanting community support and help. We continued the tree sale-now as a fundraiser exclusively for Ross. The money raised from the first two annual sales went to renovate the library, transform a long walk-in closet into a teacher workspace, and break area. In the following years, money raised went to help pay for specialized training and to buy supplies that otherwise teachers would have had to pay out of their own pockets. Several years ago, the Ross PTA had become organized enough that we could gratefully turn over the responsibility for the tree sale to the Ross PTA. This year we are concerned because many of the parents responsible for previous tree sales have moved or their children are no longer at Ross, so we hope other parents will step up and run the sale this year.

Our annual Mother’s Day Book Drive came about from a conversation at Trio Restaurant with Millie Pacl, Donna Beuttell, Debby and me. Millie was a Ross library volunteer and quietly fussed, “It is such a shame that the school system doesn’t have any money to buy library books.” She got our attention. People complain about a problem, community activists complain about a problem and then work on a solution. The next holiday was Mother’s Day so Friends of Ross tied the book drive to that annual event. Volunteer librarian Kathy Nelick solicits from teacher’s lists of books for each grade level and for a suggested donation of $25.00 you get to select a book, dedicate the book in honor of anyone and we send a letter acknowledging your gift to the honoree and add a bookplate to the book with your name and their name. This year we raised over $5,000 to buy books which, when combined with the book discount rate that Ross gets through the school system, equates to $9,000 worth of books.

I was chaperone and photographer with the Ross third grade class for the National Zoo’s official opening of their Asia Walk. We were the first official visitors to enter the newly opened exhibit that includes everyone favorite-the pandas. I had my photo taken with a costume of a Panda. I identify with such folks. My favorite moment was when the small-clawed otters all ran to their window to watch us humans parade past them.

I have also been the Ross gardener. For several years, I worked only in the sidewalk tree boxes. One time I was walking past the neglected Ross front yard and thought how ugly were the four old park benches visibly chained together in a rigid row and how someone should do something. I stopped and asked myself, “Whom am I kidding?” I went in, angled the benches, and did my best to hide the chains. The front yard looked 100% better and I realized that I had yet another gardening project. Getting ready for the new school year of 2008, I spent one day repairing benches, three days shoveling and spreading mulch, and several days water sealing/water proofing ten benches with three more to go.

Friends of Stead Recreation Center

Friends of Stead

BEFORE

Our Dupont neighborhood has limited green space and that makes Stead Recreation Center at 1625 P Street NW all the more important. For too many years, I have argued that Stead should be a green welcoming and inviting neighborhood treasure. For too many years, Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) did no maintenance. I was so fed up with how ugly and dirty Stead looked that I started doing regular cleanups. Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA) bought me the first weed-eater to cut down the weeds in front of the playground. After about ten years, I had worn out two weed-eaters and was using a third one before Parks and Recreation started their own regular maintenance.

In years past, I regularly picked up intact beer bottles, broken beer bottles, and even the occasional shell casing. The arrival of MPD Lt. Diane Groomes, now MPD Deputy Chief, meant strict police enforcement and the end of finding shell casings and broken beer bottles.

FIRST FRIENDS OF

Dupont resident and now City Paper Editor, Erik Wemple, started the first Friends of Stead to help me out and provide some structure for making improvements to Stead. During this time, The University Club did a major cleanup one year, followed by building a pergola to provide shade for the sandbox. Over the years, the Club has sponsored annual events for kids at Stead.

The biggest boost during this time was when a landscaping company donated and installed an irrigation system in the field, smoothed out the playing field and put down new sod. They also beautifully landscaped the front of Stead. One unforgettable memory was a meeting just before the installation. The landscaper spoke to Friends of Stead, Parks and Recreation Maintenance Manager, Stead Manager, other city officials and residents. He said, “Stead will look great when we put in everything, but the key will be maintaining what we’ve done.” Every single person including Parks and Recreation Managers turned and looked at me. DPR managers all knew that they were not going to take responsibility. Their lack of accountability and responsibility continues unfortunately to this day.

SECOND FRIENDS OF

The first Friends died from lack of Parks and Recreation support. The second Friends of has had success and while it took too many years we now have the current Stead renovations in progress. The improvements cover the area from the sidewalk to the building. Finally, the ugly unwelcoming chain link fences are gone. The new steps and handicap access are welcoming and inviting. The playing field remains in use. Wendy Meltzer deserves several gold stars for heading Friends of Stead and for persistently fighting to get the Stead renovations started and hopefully completed soon.

RATS AND CHILDREN

Stead provides a perfect situation for rats. Multiple restaurants along 17th Street NW with their trash in the alley adjacent to the Stead field provide a food supply. Stead playground provides plenty of space for rat burrows. DPR’s rat abatement contact for most years was so low that it barely payed for gas for the exterminator to come by, much less do proper abatement. However, the contract allowed DPR to claim they were doing something. While cleaning up, I frequently counted dozens of rat holes-both in the field and in the front area. At one point I made signs with arrows pointing to the rat holes and reading, RAT HOLES.” Department of Public Works (DPW) agreed to start abating the rats at Stead. DPW’s Ronnie Herrington gets credit for any progress against rats at Stead, not DPR.

MAINTANENCE?

The irrigation system sometimes gets a needed inspection and turned on in the spring and off in the fall and sometimes not. It should not require citizen’s complaints in order to get the irrigation maintained and used, but it does.

Parks and Recreation maintenance has been only somewhat successful. I always loved planting liriope because it was dog pee resistant, drought resistant, green year around and I thought indestructible. Parks department showed me that you could kill liriope. In the heat of summer, cut the liriope down to the ground with a weed eater and killed all the liriope that I had planted.

All the great landscaping mentioned earlier had become overgrown and needed trimming. Did Parks and Recreation trim and clean? No. They removed every healthy green growing plant in the front area and as replacements put in half-dead plants. Most of them died. Eventually, DPR did replace the dead plants. I was so upset by that fiasco that I stopped doing anything at Stead. Some time after that, a grandmother visiting from Atlanta, GA, was so horrified by the appearance of Stead after taking her grandchildren there that she asked if I would help her weed the front area. How bad is it when visitors to our city are embarrassed by the appearance of our DC Parks and Recreation public property? I did help her weed and clean up Stead.

Several different growing seasons recently, there were hundreds of blooming flowers in the front area and Stead looked so much better. Parks and Recreation fixed that improvement, by chopping down all the blooming flowers. The following year they again chopped down the blooming flowers, but did spare the daffodils and tulips that I had planted over the years.

ACTIVITIES

Stead should provide programs and activities for kids and adults of all ages. Individual groups, primarily adults, may rent the field, but Stead conducts no activities for kids or adults to use the field. Can Stead rightly be called a recreation center without any programs and activities?

MURAL

Any mention of Stead must include a grateful thanks to the owner of Skewers and now Busboys and Poets, Andy Shallal. When there was a kid’s ball team, he bought uniforms and equipment for the kids. He has twice provided money to paint a large mural on the west side of Stead overlooking the full sized basketball court.

ENVIRONMENT and Oh RATS

ENVIRONMENT and Oh RATS


MY INVOLVEMENT

I have been an active member of the various versions of such community organizations as the Dupont Environment Committee, Rat Patrol, and League of 8,000 Voters. I am certified to trim city sidewalk trees. Most of my efforts have been with rat/sanitation violations and graffiti. In 1997, I won a Distinguished Service Award from Dupont Circle Citizens Association for “…steadfast fight against rodents and those individuals who contribute to that menace has earned him the utmost respect and gratitude of the residents of this community…” In 2008 received a DC government Pathfinder Award in 2008 for “leading the way in the fight against rats.” Dupont resident Kathryn Kailian is nicknamed Ms Rat and I am nicknamed Mr. Rat. While Ms and Mr. Rat are no relation, we have both persistently fought the good fight against sanitation violations and rats.
Much of my service as an ANC Commissioner since 2007 is a continuation of the same volunteer work I have been doing for decades.

RAT PATROL

Our neighborhood’s Rat Patrol received recognition from coast to coast, but we never received any recognition from the District government. Although Mayors and their administrations have changed over the years, the District government remains underwhelmingly committed to the necessarily endless war on rats.

Dupont Circle Citizens Association’s (DCCA) Dupont Environment Committee in the 1990s started our neighborhood Rat Patrol. The logic was simply that no one knows our neighborhood better than people who live in our neighborhood. DC Department of Public Works (DPW) sanitation inspectors were understaffed and could not adequately cover sanitation problems in our city. Rat Patrol volunteers would work in pairs, walk around a few neighborhood blocks once a week and report sanitation violations to DPW Inspectors for corrective action. The program worked really well mainly because neighbors soon learned that someone cared enough to be checking for problems and peer pressure encouraged residents and businesses to clean up. What eventually doomed the program was DPW Inspectors finally realizing that Rat Patrol was generating work for the Inspectors that they did not want to do. Rat Patrol slowly ended because we got no action or response from DPW. This great exercise in community involvement died from lack of support by the District government.

RAT FOR THE MAYOR

While Sharon Pratt Kelly was Mayor in the 1990s, rat infestations were increasing and the city was not responding to complaints. Out of frustration, I double bagged a dead rat and at a Dupont public forum presented the Mayor with the dead rat. That night she was not offended, sympathized with me and said that she understood the frustration over the lack of city services. However since it was an election year, the next day there was political spin about offending the Mayor. Still, I did make my point and the Mayor did understand.

LEAGUE OF 8,000 VOTERS

Following Marion Barry’s election as Mayor again in the 1990s, but before he took office, Barry announced that he would fire all the city’s sanitation inspectors. We were outraged and joined with residents throughout the city to collect one thousands signatures in each ward. In less than a week, we had 8,000 signatures. Thus was born the League of 8,000. This organization brought everyone from throughout our city to work together. Rats are everywhere. DCCA’s then President Marilyn Groves co-chaired with Hillcrest Civic Community Association’s Vincent Spaulding. The league was able to save the jobs of all the Inspectors, add more inspectors and push DPW to make badly needed improvements.

Collecting 8,000 signatures from throughout the city and bringing people from throughout the city to work together was very important. My favorite League moment was from one League of 8,000 meeting. My alter ego in a dog costume, Scoop the dog, had made an appearance. We were waiting for someone important to appear, forgotten whom. A policy wonk talked endlessly about trash-transfer station policy to Scoop the dog.

DC ENVIRONMENTAL PLANNING COMMISSION

The first DC Environmental Planning Commission was begun decades ago. Over time, the Commission squabbled itself to death. In the 1990s, the City Council recreated the Commission. The Commission reported to Councilmember Schwartz. Councilmember Jack Evans appointed me DC Environmental Planning Commissioner for Ward 2.

We were unsuccessful in fighting to get CSX to stop endangering our city with rail shipments of hazardous waste. If a railcar of chlorine ruptured near the Capital and if the wind is in our direction, then every living creature in our neighborhood dies. Interstate transportation is federal and President Bush refused to act. CSX halts hazardous waste shipments through our city for only two reasons-when Bush goes to the Capital and for Britney Spears performing on the Mall.

SCOOP, MAYOR’S CLEAN CITY COORDINATOR and SWEEP

Vincent Spaulding, then Clean City Coordinator for Mayor Williams, organized a pilot program for Ward 7’s elementary schools called “Safety and Sanitation.” Participating in this informative and entertaining program was DPW, MPD, US Park Police, US Attorney’s Office, a high school’s drama class along with McGruff the crime dog and Scoop the dog. The presentation was about safety and then a short play about sanitation. The show usually started with the song, Who Let the Dogs Out and out came Scoop and McGruff.

Despite the success, or maybe because of it, DPW’s Solid Waste Education and Enforcement Program (SWEEP) stopped the program because SWEEP was responsible for education. Since then SWEEP has done nothing.

SANITATION ENFORCEMENT

One of the more frustrating efforts for the Dupont Environment Committee is trying to get simple sanitation violation statistics from Departments of Public Works and Health (DPW, DOH). DOH has been reasonable. DPW has argued that to protect the innocent they cannot release the actual address of any ticketed violation until all appeals are completed. Rather than provide a computer printout, DPW Inspectors must manually hide the exact address of each violation before the information can be released. I am sure this has nothing to do with the fact that on the rare occasions that we have been able to nag DPW enough to get any statistics they show that usually about one ticket is written per Inspector per workday.

SOME PROGRESS

DPW has continued to show an underwhelming interest in fighting rats and supporting citizens. DOH to their credit has made efforts to fight the rat problem. Our DOH Ward 2 rat abatement expert, Ronnie Herrington, has day after day persistently made a valiant effort to eradicate rats. DOH manager, Gerard Brown, has organized a successful pilot rat abatement/cleanup program in our neighborhood and that program has now expanded to Georgetown. Mr. Brown has also organized several rat-training seminars taught by a nationally recognized rat expert for District workers and citizens.

PROBLEMS

One of the more regrettable characteristics of the DC government is the old joke (Or is it a joke?) that the only problems the DC government has are DC residents who complain about problems. Until that systemic attitude is changed and residents are no longer viewed as the enemy, the DC government will continue to fail to provide adequate and appropriate services to residents.

RAT SUMMIT

When Tony Williams became Mayor in 1998, he held a Rat Summit. Citizens were hopeful of improvements to come. The only action out of the Summit was the rearranging of deck chairs at Departments of Public Works (DPW) and Health (DOH). Williams promptly lost interest in one of our city’s major public health problems. Although since then, DOH has done a much better job since the realignment than DPW ever did. Scoop the dog also appeared at the Rat Summit to make the point that rats eat dog poop and spread disease.

We did learn from the Summit that only exterminating rats is not enough because they breed too fast. The only progress against rats is a combination of cutting the rat’s food supply and killing the rats. That means correcting sanitation violations must be a priority.

FLAT RAT ALLEY

There is a long alley in our Dupont neighborhood that has justifiably earned its nickname of Flat Rat Alley. Flat Rat Alley is parallel to and east of Connecticut Avenue NW and between Q and R Streets NW. You could walk the alley and count the number of car smashed dead rats. Department of Health’s Gerard Brown organized a multi-agency pilot program to clean up Flat Rat Alley. For me, the best aspect of this pilot program was for the first time DC agencies, property owners, business owners and managers and residents worked together instead of against each other. Some sanitation problems continue, but overall there has been real progress. The pilot program shows that everyone working together can make a difference. The only downside was typically the underwhelming support we got from DPW’s SWEEP.

The fight against rats and the sanitation violations that feed them is never ending. We can and must continue to make progress. As the Flat Rat Alley showed, it really does take everyone working together.

TREES

In the years before the DC government resumed pruning city sidewalk trees, Dupont Environment Committee stepped in. A professional horticulturist and arborist taught the hands-on tree trimming sessions. Residents were certified to trim city sidewalk trees. Dupont Environment Committee provided the needed tools. We were restricted to trimming only city sidewalk trees and had to keep both feet on the ground when trimming.

DUPONT ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE

This all-volunteer committee has had several incarnations over the years. Originally, this committee was responsible for Rat Patrol. For the past several years, Don Jones has ably led the committee. Don and the committee have been involved actively with sidewalk trees, graffiti abatement, rats/sanitation violations, and a myriad of other neighborhood environment concerns. This past spring for a neighborhood cleanup, the Committee asked neighbors to clean up their block and got Foundry United Methodist to provide a neighborhood drop off collection point for hazardous waste materials. Don has retired and the committee may continue as is or be reconstituted with separate committees to each deal with specific concerns/issues.

GRAFFITI

I started cleaning graffiti in public space about 15 years ago. I have continued to clean graffiti in public space on a regular basis. More recently, Dupont Environment Committee and Historic Dupont Main Streets formed a Graffiti Task Force. Volunteers clean graffiti in public space once a month. Throughout the year, we report graffiti to the DC government.

I probably average over two dozen graffiti hits cleaned every week.

We are grateful for the progress that resulted in the DC government hiring professional graffiti cleaners. They remove larger graffiti in public space and with the permission of the property owner, will remove graffiti on private property.

Now in the planning stage, Historic Dupont Main Streets hopes to hire someone to remove graffiti in our Dupont neighborhood.

PRO-GRAFFITI RALLY
A few years ago, Steve Aupperle, my gardening buddy, and a DCPS teacher called about a rally at our Dupont Circle fountain. The rally was pro-graffiti and paint cans were available and free for the taking for would be vandals. Steve and I debated what to do. Since the signs for the spray paint read, “FREE” we loaded up armfuls of cans and put them into a nearby US Park Police cruiser. The pro-graffiti people were not happy. Steve and I then tried to start a dialogue with the pro-graffiti advocates. Interestingly, all the graffiti advocates we talked with were young and lived in the Maryland and Virginia suburbs. We talked to no one who lived in DC, but they chose to hold their rally in our city and neighborhood. All argued that graffiti was constitutionally protected free speech. I always responded with, then why don’t you express your free speech and spray paint your parent’s home. I never got a satisfactory answer to that question. Never got a satisfactory answer to why they did not spray paint in Maryland and Virginia, but had to come into our city to “express themselves.” I am proud that we tried to talk with and understand these young people. Also, glad that a US Park Police Officer stood nearby just in

Our Neighborhood Mascot, Scoop

Scoop’s Story

Years ago, Dupont pet owners walked their dogs on the sidewalk and their dogs pooped on the sidewalk. Pedestrians in our neighborhood literally had to watch where they were walking or arrive home with messy shoes to clean.

Then Dupont Circle Citizens Association (DCCA) President, the late Marilyn Groves, bumped into a neighbor on the 1700 block of Q Street NW. The neighbor had a new and very large puppy. The conversation went from that’s going to be a big dog to the dog poop sidewalk problem. People complain about a problem, community activists complain about a problem and then do something to solve the problem. Marilyn found a neighborhood artist to design a sign. The artist created the message of “Scoop Your Pet’s Poop.” To lighten the message, the artist created a white dog wearing a dog tag-“Scoop” with one paw on hip and the other paw holding a pooper-scooper. DCCA got permission from the city to put up the signs in public space. DCCA made the anodized aluminum signs and sold them at cost. The signs worked. The improvement in sidewalk cleanliness was noticeable.

The original signs read, “It’s the law, $25. Fine.” DCCA successfully lobbied to get the fine for not cleaning up after your pet raised to its current $100 fine. That outdated all the original signs. The new signs read, “Be Considerate, It’s the Law.”

Some time later, then DCCA President Margaret Young called me with an idea that she was too embarrassed to tell anyone. Please note that she called me. It took awhile to get her to confess what this embarrassing idea was. Finally, she asked what did I think about getting a people-sized Scoop costume based on the sign? When I stopped laughing, the rest was history.

Margaret found a company in Bethesda to make the suit. I made the big dog tag. Since a big dog needs a big pooper-scooper, I borrowed Marge and David’s red snow shovel. They never got their snow shovel back and I feel bad about never buying them a new snow shovel.

Scoop’s first appearance was at the newly opened Studio Theater. Frank Chalmers was a DCCA member, dignified retired engineer and the person responsible for distributing the Scoop signs. Backstage, an embarrassed Frank helped an equally embarrassed me to put on the suit for the first time. Then with trepidation Scoop walked to and then through the stage curtain. It was absolute magic. People laughed. People smiled. People waved. Scoop forever went from embarrassing to great fun.

Scoop’s first public appearance was for the 20th anniversary of Earth Day at a celebration at Meridian Hill Park followed with a parade to the Mall. Scoop is a hot puppy with limited vision and more importantly-no ventilation. I wore the suit for the celebration and then Catherine Groves wore the suit for the parade. To be honest, she was a much better dog than I was. From her I learned how to be a better dog.

Since those first appearances, Scoop has wandered the neighborhood and Scoop loves to see pet owners wave their plastic baggies. He has been part of an elementary school safety/sanitation program, appeared with dignitaries and famous celebrities, made assorted public appearances throughout DC, even visited a hospice and appeared in our neighborhood’s biggest event-the Pride Parade.

At a Keep DC Beautiful event with the Mayor, Scoop appeared for the first time with Smokey the Bear. I was thrilled and emotionally felt like a little kid. It took awhile before I could figure out why. Smokey is Scoop’s role model.

Scoop’s weirdest moment was one Pride Parade when the parade stalled to a stop. I was melting in the heat. A not too sober woman started stroking Scoop and asked if I know what furries were. Thanks to the TV show CSI, I did know. Sitting on the back of a car I’m thinking, “Oh great, she is turned on by the dog, Scoop is getting hit on and I’m dying from the heat.” She finally announced that she needed another drink and said goodbye. Then I was very grateful when someone came up and rubbed an ice cube on my neck.

When Friends of Ross co-founder Debby Hanrahan’s son Tim was in college, he asked his mom for a Scoop sign for his dorm room.

Has Scoop been successful? My observations over time are that the signs made about a 50% sidewalk improvement and the two-legged Scoop has helped raise the sidewalk improvement to almost 100%. That is an impressive success rate and it all started with a chance encounter between neighbors discussing a problem, finding a solution and later, one embarrassing idea.

Whitman-Walker Clinic

Whitman-Walker Clinic

BEFORE

The Washington Free Clinic rented space in a Lutheran Church in Georgetown. The Free Clinic started and provided space for the Gay Men’s VD Clinic (GMVDC). Also in the 1970’s I helped Tom Ziebold started the Gay Council on Drinking Behavior (GCDB). Tom wanted a peer counseling volunteer group to help educate and provide counseling for our community. Then as now, by conservative estimate, one-third of GLBT people in the DC metro area have problems with alcohol abuse, alcoholism, and drug abuse. When Lambda Rising was on S Street NW, we used their loft for counseling.

One summer an old Army buddy who was also my first and my first ex visited town and thought he might have caught something. I went to the clinic with him as moral support. We were both so impressed that we offered to become volunteers. He got a call right away while apparently my number was lost. Eventually I called and joined a training class of three for medical screeners taught by a med student. Some time after that, the only GMVDC employee resigned. Dr. Tom Ziebold was hired as Director and psychology student Bill Carroll was hired as a half time employee. I had recently left a job. Since neither Tom nor Bill knew the clinic procedures, I was hired to help train Bill and eventually stayed on as the plot thickened so to speak.

BEGINNING

Over time, the GMVDC had become the tail wagging the Free Clinic dog. This was further complicated because the Lutheran Church wanted to remove the GMVDC from their property because the church ran a child day care center. Although the hours of operation of the day care and the clinic were never the same and although a clinic volunteer’s lover worked for the day care, the so-called Christians wanted us homosexuals out of their church for the sake of the children. It was out of this homophobic conflict that the idea of creating an umbrella organization came about. We would take four struggling volunteer groups and combine them under one administrative group and hopefully the sum would be greater than the parts. The four groups were GMVDC, GCDB, Gay Men’s Counseling Collective (GMCC) and a Women’s Group.

The Washington Free Clinic refused to allow the GMVDC to separate. They argued that the GMVDC medical records belonged to the Free Clinic. During a negotiation between the Free Clinic and GMVDC, we loaded up the records and moved them to our new location on 17th Street NW. Out of homophobia and our pulling a fast one, we started a new clinic.

NAME

It was decided early on that the clinic would have an identifiable Gay name, but to encourage closet cases to get tested and helped, the clinic would not have Gay in the name. Walt Whitman was the easy and obvious choice. He was readily identifiable as a Gay man and equally important he was a medical volunteer in Washington during the Civil War or War of Northern Aggression (Depending on where you’re from.).
That was fine until the woman demanded a woman’s name. We thought that was reasonable, but we were stumped until someone suggested Susan Walker. There was no evidence that she was a Lesbian, but she wore men’s clothing, held a man’s job (MD) and she won the Congressional Medal Honor (She is the only person to lose the Medal and then had the Medal of Honor restored.) The women were happy. Then the women demanded that the woman’s name should come first. They didn’t win that argument.
Thus was born Whitman-Walker Clinic.

LOGO

One discussion that literally took place several times a day with various volunteers was what to use for a clinic logo. Meanwhile a Gay man had started doing pen and ink sketches. He presented us with his sketch of the new clinic location. While logo discussions continued, I reduced to the sketch to several small sizes and as I created clinic forms and documents, starting adding the sketch. It took awhile, but eventually folks realized that we had a logo. When the clinic moved to 18th Street NW, I flipped the sketch negative, changed a few lines and we had another new logo.

CLOSING

After about one year, we held an afternoon meeting with the Clinic Board President, a wonderful volunteer and retired teacher and our 2 and a half employees. The Clinic was deeply in debt (under $10,000) and we had to close the clinic. The afternoon meeting was about how best to put a positive spin on closing to the Board of Director’s meeting that night. While listening to the discussion, I started rearranging the office furniture. At one point, Tom asked, “Philip, what the bleep are you doing?” I explained that I was listening and would speak up if I had anything to add. I then explained why and how I was rearranging the furniture. There was long pause and the discussions continued. I do not know if my “rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic” made any difference, but…. The presentation to the Board that night was, “We are deeply in debt and don’t know how we can get out of debt, but if Board members are willing to help, we are willing to keep trying.” I take seriously the suggestion that when you don’t know what to do, just keep trying and do the next dumb thing.

IRONY

For those who love the symmetry of life and irony, not that long ago a financially struggling Washington Free Clinic merged with and became a part of Whitman-Walker Clinic.

Around Our Neighborhood

There are several ways to stay informed of neighborhood projects, events, and meetings.

I'll be posting many here. Other links for information and updates include:

The Dupont Forum Listserve

The Dupont Circle Citizens Association

Dupont Circle Historic Main Streets Program

ANC 2B

Councilmember Jack Evans

DC Goverment website

Sign up for DC Emergency Management Alerts by email, text, or pager at http://textalert.ema.dc.gov

On October 19th, the Dupont Circle Citizens Association will hold their annual Dupont Circle House Tour and Tea.

You can purchase tickets at our local businesses (see list) or online. This is a great way to meet neighbors and

see homes and historic sites (the Tea is being held at the Belmont Mansion) that you've always wondered about.

The tour stops include the Anderson House/Society of Cincinnati and private homes (traditional to contemporary).

More news coming soon.

Phil

Welcome to my site!

Welcome to my site, which I've created to keep you abreast of my work in the neighborhood.

For friends and supporters who have worked with me over the years, this first entry will be "old" news.
So, bear with me! So many newcomers to the community have asked me about community service, the ANC, and the history of our neighborhood. I find these questions refreshing and hopefully these entries will offer some answers. Below are some of the roles that I've played, projects that I've initiated and/or contributed to and, in some instances, I continue to participate. During the thirty some years that I've served the community, I've been amazed and inspired by the commitment and dedication of neighbors working together to make this THE place to live. I hope that with your vote on November 4th to continue to work for improvements in our community as your ANC Commissioner.

Community Service 'then and now"':

• Cofounder of Dupont Rat Patrol
• Cofounder of the first Friends of Stead Recreation Center
• Dupont Circle Call Box Committee (Historic Preservation Award)
• Citywide League of 8,000 Voters Committee
• DPW/MPD/Clean City Coordinator/DCPS Safety & Sanitation Education Program
• Federal employee (D.O.D. and Treasury)
• Veteran
• Volunteer with Gay Men’s VD Clinic and Gay Council on Drinking Behavior
• First employee of Whitman-Walker Clinic
• Cofounder of Ross Elementary Christmas Tree Sale and Ross Mother’s Day
Book Drive
• Friends of Ross Elementary
• Ward 2 Commissioner for the DC Environmental Planning Commission
• Dupont Environment Committee
• Dupont/Main Streets Graffiti Task Force
• Friends of West End Library
• Gardener for triangle parks east of the Circle between Mass. Ave. and P
Street, south of the Belmont Mansion, many tree boxes and Ross Elementary
• “Helper” for Scoop the dog
• Resident of the Copley Plaza for 30 years

Community Service Awards & Accolades:

+ “…his dedicated work with the Environment Committee to improve the quality
of our neighborhood, the safety and appearance of the Dupont Circle area...
earned him the utmost respect and gratitude of the residents of this community”
-Distinguished Service Award, 1997
+ “…volunteering his time and energy towards various neighborhood beautification
projects in the Dupont Circle area…”
-Gold Star Award, 2002
+ “Most turned in around 100, Phil Carney turned in just over 1,000.”
-Keep DC Beautiful Citywide Cleanup Contest Winner, 2002 + “…a kind of street ministry, preaching the import of clean sidewalks, rat-free alleys and litter free public spaces.”
-Dupont Current, 2003
+ “Retiree Fires Missives to Rid Area of Rodents…fighting for more than a decade
to rid his Dupont Circle neighborhood of rats.”
-Washington Post, 2003
+ Meritorious Service to Law Enforcement Award, awarded to 159 law enforcement
officers and two citizens-Phil Carney and…
-DC US Attorney-2006
+ “He’s been active in the neighborhood since God was a boy.”
-Mary Myers, Department of Public Works Spokeswoman
+ “For “leading the way in the fight against rats.”
- DC government Pathfinder Award, 2008