L OCAL LIVING
District
In tech-saturated times, Scouts opt for traditions
scouts from 16
generation of Boy Scout uniforms will have a pocket designed to store an MP3 player. Mazzuca said Scouting’s future will be about finding a balance in “learning how to use technology while engaging in healthy out- door activities.”
Although Scouting has
evolved, much of the jamboree remains the same. The first National Jamboree was supposed to take place in 1935, but the epidemic of polio among boys in the United States forced officials to delay the event. In 1937, the debut jamboree took place in the District, with the boys camping in tents that cir- cled the Washington Monument. (The term jamboree, according to the official Boy Scout etymology, was coined by Boy Scouts found- er Lord Robert Baden-Powell to mean a gathering of Scouts.) This could be the last jamboree
held at Fort A.P. Hill. The Boy Scouts of America have been de- veloping a camp near the New River Gorge in West Virginia that will allow for white-water rafting and other outdoor activities. It will also give the organization more space and, ultimately, more control, because they will own the land on which the jamboree is taking place instead of the U.S. military. The organization is unsure
whether the new location, which will be called the Bechtel Family National Scouting Reserve, will be ready for the 2013 jamboree, but the event will permanently move to the new location as soon as it’s ready. For many attending this year’s jamboree, Scouting has become a family tradition. “My grandfather was a Scout;
my father was a Scout,” Mazzuca said. “By golly, my kids are going to be Scouts.” Andy Kossowski, a scoutmas- ter for the jamboree, was intro- duced to Scouting by his father, an immigrant from Poland who maintained a secret Scout troop
This Metrorail rider express- es the themes of summer tran- sit 2010: Too many air condi- tioners and escalators don’t work.
Dear Dr. Gridlock: I read your advice [Dr. Grid-
2005 PHOTO BY GERALD MARTINEAU/ THE WASHINGTON POST
Eric Reynolds, a Covington, La., Scout, tries to stay hydrated, something Scouts will be espe- cially urged to do this summer.
after the Nazis outlawed Scout- ing. He formed another troop at the labor camp he was sent to by Nazis. Zedan said that some of the
“best memories I had in life with my father were through Scout- ing.”
Some Scouts planning to at- tend were looking forward to gaining some of the same experi- ences.
Being a Boy Scout “keeps me
involved and trying new things,” said Dakota Snyder, 17, an Eagle Scout from Sterling. “I love the outdoors. I love to create memo- ries and be with friends.” Garrett Pan, 17, an Eagle Scout from Great Falls, said his time in Scouting has taught him one thing he probably wouldn’t have learned elsewhere. “I’m a very big knot guy,” he said. “I would not have learned that if I weren’t a Boy Scout.” Garrett Fraino, a 14-year-old
from Potomac Falls, said he spends too much time indoors. Scouting, he said, “gives me the chance to make my own fire, pitch a tent and relax.”
rojasr@washpost.com
lock, July 11] about escaping a rail car without air condition- ing, and I had to chuckle. On July 7, I got on a Red Line train at Judiciary Square between 5 and 5:10 p.m. I quickly realized there was no air conditioning in my rail car, so I dragged my 34-weeks-pregnant belly and my large rolling litigation bag down the platform at the next station and sought refuge in a different car. The second car was no bet-
ter. I lasted in it until the Van Ness Station, where I dragged myself out onto the platform, hoping to try a third car. Of course, the doors shut before I could get in. So I waited for the next train and recuperated on the air-conditioned platform. I was hopeful that the next train would have air conditioning. No such luck. I got into the
next train, and it was at least as hot as the cars on the previ- ous train had been. At this point, I started sending e-mails to my husband containing lan- guage that cannot be repeated here. I was determined to make it to the Bethesda Sta- tion without passing out, but the hot, stagnant air was really getting to me. So, at Friendship Heights— one stop short of Bethesda — I got off the train at about 5:25 p.m. Again, I was unable to make it into another car be- fore the doors closed. Surely, the next train, my third of the evening, would have air condi- tioning.
Again, no such luck. Fortu-
nately, I only had one stop to go. Then, to add insult to in- jury, as often happens at the Bethesda Station, where the escalator from the platform to
Metrorail riders lose their cool over broken air conditioners, escalators
17 DC
MEGAN ROSSMAN/THE WASHINGTON POST
dr.gridlock IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
ROBERT THOMSON
the station has been under re- pair for an inordinate amount of time, perfectly able-bodied patrons crowded into the el- evator in front of me and left me standing on the platform with my huge bag and belly, feeling nearly faint from the ride, to await the next elevator. Shame on Metro. There is no
excuse for anyone to have to endure such a commute. ELLEN EPSTEIN Bethesda
DG: The burden on Metro to fix the equipment problems is quite clear. So I want to ad- dress the things we can do to help ourselves and each other. First, we shouldn’t let the equipment problems become an excuse for bad behavior. In the winter, we discussed Metro platform etiquette. Only the season has changed. We still have too many people compet- ing for too little space on the platforms. We need to form lines when the escalators are broken and, yes, even yield the right of way on occasion. With the heat in the cars, there are two problems. One is
gridlock continued on 21
briefs from 16
people with limited English skills and tracking complaints about police responses to reported hate crimes. To download the report, go to
policecomplaints.dc.gov.
Georgia Ave. redevelopment up for community review
The Georgia Avenue Community
Development Task Force has scheduled a community review to discuss redevelopment in the Georgia Avenue NW corridor, from New Hampshire Avenue to S Street, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Aug. 7 in the Howard University School of Architecture, Sixth Street and Howard Place NW. The task force has been meeting twice a month to track city plans, identify vacant properties and
current businesses and conduct a major survey of the neighborhood. To view the survey, go to sites.
google.com/site/pleasantplainsdc/ survey.
Issues to be discussed include
housing, safety, retail options, environmental initiatives and recreation, with small group discussions between 9:30 a.m. and 1 p.m. and a large group meeting from 2 to 4 p.m. Lunch will be
provided. For information, call 202-462-2285 or e-mail sylvia@
ecacollective.org.
UDC seeks feedback from grads, employers, faculty
The University of the District of Columbia is seeking feedback from graduates, employers of graduates and present and former faculty members for an accreditation visit
by the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education this fall. Comments should relate to the quality of professional education programs offered. Respondents can send their written comments to Board of Examiners, NCATE, 2010 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Suite 500, Washington, D.C. 20036-1023 or e-mail
callforcomments@ncate.org. — Compiled by Terence McArdle
THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, JULY 22, 2010
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