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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at
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Each week, our photographers bring you images from your community. Today, take a look through Jahi Chikwendiu’s lens at a scene from Congress Heights in Southeast Washington.
JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
Tourists ask: Name that horse
around. For example: What is the name of the horse that Andrew Jackson sits upon in Lafayette Square?
A I said this was unanswerable, because
Jackson owned several horses. As luck would have it, the new issue of “White House History,” a journal published by the White House Historical Association, includes an article on Clark Mills’s sculpture by local historian James M. Goode. In it, James writes that Gen. Jackson’s horse at the Battle of New Orleans was named Duke and that sculptor Mills modeled the bronze horse after his own, Olympus. Mills “taught it to rear up on its hind legs during the modeling process,” James writes. The statue was
JAHI CHIKWENDIU/THE WASHINGTON POST C ✔
harles Grayton, 68, gets twirled by Sandra Curtis, 64, during a dance class last week at the Congress Heights Senior Wellness Center. Their conversation about the class played out much like their moves on the dance floor, one’s words twirling about the other’s.
“I love my dancing,” Curtis said. “It’s just aerobic exercise.” “Dancing is aerobic exercise without the pain on your face,” Grayton
said. The wellness center is one of four run by the D.C. government. Member- ship is free to city residents 60 and older. In addition to fitness and nutri- tion classes, the Congress Heights facility offers courses on massage thera-
py, sign language, arts and crafts, and computer training. Says Linda Grymes, acting director of the center: “Our mission is to
keep our seniors moving, keep them alive. We like to do preventative things that keep them off medications for illnesses like high blood pres- sure and hypertension, especially here in Ward 8. “We’re in the business of enhancing their lives, for longevity and qual-
ity.”
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BY CATHY KAPULKA/ THE WASHINGTON POST
This statue of Andrew Jackson, erected in 1853, was first bronze statue cast in this country.
erected in 1853, and it’s significant for two reasons: It was the first bronze statue cast in this country (at a foundry Mills built at 15th Street and Pennsylvania Avenue NW). And it was the first equestrian statue in the world to be balanced on the horse’s hind legs. It must have been the 3-D Imax movie of its day. Washington has
You voted
72% 26%
. . . said they would pick Fenty
What does it mean?
PostLocal.com readers responded:
efavorite: “This is truly a nonscientific poll, which The Post well knows. It does suggest where the energy is, which is overwhelmingly for Gray. Now Fenty’s millions will be spent trying to overcome that.”
bumstead: “Crime is down and education’s up. That’s enough for my vote.”
hillrat: “Longtime D.C. resident. Fenty has lost ALL my previous support because he’s failed across the board to deliver. Gray has demonstrated he’s only interested in enriching his friends and embodies all the old corrupt style of D.C. politics. Doesn’t leave any good choices that could take the reins of the city and lead it forward.”
Share your thoughts on this and other Washington area issues at
PostLocal.com.
Help us report Is talk dead? Does anyone make long cellphone calls anymore?
What about leaving voice mails or checking messag- es?
Post reporter Ian Shapira suspects that many peo- ple use their cellphones mainly to text, e-mail or play with apps. Is there a story to tell about the de- cline of the phone call? Tell Ian what you think at shapirai@washpost.
com. (If he interviews you, he’ll try to do it in per- son.)
Help us improve Post storytelling at the Story Lab blog at
washingtonpost.com/storylab.
Today on
POSTLOCAL.com
Like what you see? We want to know what you think of this page — and all of our local coverage. E-mail us at metro@washpost. com.
THE DAILY QUIZ
Which of the following does not appear on Consumer Reports’ list of supplements to avoid?
EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to
washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.
o
of voters in a nonscientific online Post user poll said they would vote for D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray over Mayor Adrian M. Fenty in the Democratic primary next month; with 1,190 votes cast as of 4 p.m. Monday. . .
Hot Topic: Transportation
Post commuter columnist Robert “Dr. Gridlock” Thomson took reader questions during a live chat Monday, tackling topics ranging from roads to rails and beyond.
A Gridlock ‘grab bag’
Q: I entered and left the Rosslyn Station a week ago Friday without ever getting on a train. The Orange Line was just a mess. Anyway, I was charged $1.95. Is that common? If it is, then consumers are really getting ripped off. A: Yes, if you go into a station and then decide
to leave without boarding a train, you’re going to be charged. If there’s a huge delay, Metro managers will sometimes allow riders at those stations to leave without paying, but that’s pretty rare, and it’s not done on an individual basis. (I’d go see the station manager, though, if that happens again, and explain your situation.)
Q: I have a 7:10 a.m. flight out of National this Thursday. I live one Metro stop away. If I catch the first train in the morning, I should be fine for getting through security, right? I only have a carry-on, and I’ll be checking in online the night before. Thanks! A: Sure sounds like that ought to work with
Metrorail on a weekday morning. One way for anybody to check a similar schedule is with Metro’s Trip Planner, on the top left of Metro’s Web site, at
wmata.com.
Q: Why can’t they fix the traffic signals around the Lincoln Memorial during the morning rush? The red lights used to stop momentarily and then turn green right away so that traffic could go quickly. Now, the lights turn at the same pace as during the afternoons when tourists are around. This is a ridiculous waste of time and gas. Can’t the traffic signals be changed back to their faster pace?
“ POINTS EVENTS
Greater DC Cares Needs You! PostPoints members earn 25 points every time they volunteer through Greater DC Cares. You can serve as a nonprofit board member, work with children, help the homeless, and more. To get started, you must attend one brief orientation session.
Get a jumpstart on a new and very rewarding “off time” activity—call and RSVP for the next orientation now! For a complete schedule and more information about Greater DC Cares, email
volunteer@greaterdccares.org or call 202-777-4447.
A: Drivers often complain about the two lights in the
Lincoln Memorial Circle, the ones at 23rd Street and at Bacon Drive. I recently asked the D.C. Department of
Transportation about them, in response to another complaint. I think the department has been checking on them but so far thinks they are timed correctly. I understand the concern: The lights are very close together — just a few car lengths separate them. Traffic can get backed up across Memorial Bridge in the morning.
Q: I am being relocated and am facing the prospect of a commute from the District to Frederick. I am frantically searching for a mass transit option from D.C. . . . to the Monocacy area of Frederick in the a.m. and back in the p.m. All of the trains and buses that I have found run in the opposite way. Are there any other options for me? Any help would be greatly appreciated. A: That’s a tough one. I’m not aware of a solution involving Metro, MARC or the MTA commuter buses. Other travelers have anything to suggest?
the original statue, but Mills’s achievement so entranced the public that three more were cast. You can find duplicates in New Orleans (dedicated in 1856), Nashville (dedicated in 1880) and Jacksonville, Fla., (dedicated 1987). James Goode is best known for his books on outdoor sculpture in Washington and the city’s grand apartment buildings. But he has led tours, too, mostly for Smithsonian groups, and has his own tales from the front lines. He told me he once gave a tour of James Monroe’s 1822 Greek Revival plantation house near Leesburg. In about 1920, the then-owner found a large slate boulder on the property and had it sawed into strips and used as flooring. The rock contained dinosaur footprints, a feature visible when the floor was laid to create a terrace that was later enclosed as a Florida room. After the current owner of the house recounted all this to the group and pointed out the dinosaur footprints, a woman said, “You are very lucky he didn’t hurt your house.” Speaking of tourist utterances, a reader who was a tour guide at Arlington National Cemetery one summer said a colleague told her about the memorable question he once received. The guide had just explained the significance of the Tomb of the Unknowns and how it contained a service member from each war.
A tourist asked, “Are their wives buried there,
too?” The guide thought he was joking and said, “Yes, but we don’t know their names, either.” The tourist was not joking, and he was not amused.
Needed: Blasts from the past
Answer readers’ questions, read more Dr. Gridlock, send him questions and interact
with other commuters at
washingtonpost.com/ drgridlock.
What if you threw a history conference and nobody came? That’s not exactly what the organizers of this year’s Washington Historical Studies Conference are worried about. The conference isn’t until November, but they are sweating it a little bit. That’s because by the time the May 28 deadline rolled around to submit panel proposals for the conference, only 10 had come in. “We’re used to having 30 to 40 submissions
“Having lived on a sailboat in all corners of the world . . . [I think] living aboard in
foreign countries can be wonderful, but it can also be isolating, lonely and frightening. . . . The divorce rate among people living aboard must be 75%. When people would ask me, ‘What was it like?’ I would say, ‘Sometimes like a dream, but a lot of times, it was a nightmare.’ As for the Craftons, I congratulate them on their journey. They might not admit it, but it’s not
as easy as they make it sound.” — Reader K_harper14, commenting on Steve Hendrix’s story about a Severna Park family of five that recently returned from seven years together sailing the world. Paterfamilias Tom Crafton told The Post: “We just seemed to get along better the longer we were out there. The day we moved onto the boat, the sibling rivalry stopped. I don’t think they ever complained, not once."
POINTS & REWARDS
Arthur Murray Dance Centers Learn to dance this summer! Try ballroom, salsa, tango and more at
arthurmurray.com.
Rodman’s
Invited to a party? Stop at Rodman’s for a great bottle of wine or an unusual hostess gift. See
rodmans.com.
Warner Theatre Enjoy a show at one of Washington’s most beautiful historic venues. See
warnertheatre.com.
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and getting to pick and choose,” said Mark Greek, the head of the conference committee and a photo archivist at the D.C. Public Library. With 12 slots to fill over the two-day conference, 10 just won’t cut it. This will be 37th annual conference. I try to
attend every year because it’s a great way to meet people who peer into obscure corners of Washington’s history, suburbs included. (“The story of Washington cannot be told without its suburbs,” Greek said.) Organizing a presentation is a great way for beginning academics to get their start, but the conference committee also welcomes amateurs. If you have an idea for a panel or presentation that you’d like to give, send it to Greek at
mark.greek@
dc.gov. The deadline for proposals has been extended to Aug. 25. And if you’re content to be in the audience,
mark Nov. 5-6 on your calendar. The conference will be at the Sumner School, 17th and M streets NW. For information, visit
www.historydc.org.
kellyj@washpost.com
Read more of Kelly’s columns at
washingtonpost.com/johnkelly
A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at
washingtonpost.com/postpoints.
few weeks ago, I wrote about the unusual questions that Washington tour guides receive from the visitors they squire
TUESDAY, AUGUST 3, 2010
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