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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at
postlocal.com Focusing on your community
Each week, our photographers bring you scenes from your community. Today, take a look through the lens of Mark Gail at a scene from North Bethesda.
JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
Goodwill comes in small cigar boxes
B
ob Schapiro explained how he arrived at his latest obsession two years ago. “It was a day like today: hot,” said the
92-year-old. “I was walking down the street and I passed a cigar store.” Bob doesn’t smoke — “Why take a poisonous plant and rub it on your lungs?” he said — but the store was nicely air-conditioned, a respite from the heat. Inside, Bob fell in love. “They were so handsomely made,” he said, not of the cigars — the Cohibas and Montecristos— but of the boxes the cigars came in.
Some were glossily varnished, with dovetail joints and beautiful brass hinges. Others were slightly rough to the touch, their wood aromatic and infused with the spicy smell of tobacco. Some had the name of their contents stamped in gold, others had the name burned into the wood. They were like tiny reliquaries. The boxes said hello
THE WASHINGTON POST MARK GAIL/THE WASHINGTON POST
Mercedes Milam, center, and her friend Shakty Asencio, right, follow the moves of teacher Robyn Kneubuhl during an introductory hula-dancing class. The session was part of Uke Fest 2010 at the Music Center at Strathmore on Thursday. The event also featured live music and ukulele workshops.
T Q&A
The Capital Weather Gang’s Greg Postel discussed the outlook for Hurricane Earl during a live chat with readers Tuesday at
PostLocal.com.
Whither the weather?
Q: “The five-day forecasts seem to say that the weekend will be a real cool-down compared to these mid-90s. Is that due to Earl? Or is there a cold front on the way from the Northwest?”
A: “A strong cold front moving through will be primary reason for cool-down. Earl will interact with the front offshore and perhaps make the cooling and breezes behind it a bit more noticeable.”
Q: “As long as it stays out to sea this is going to be the best surfing of the summer so far! Woo!”
A: “Please be careful. Hurricane surf and tides are particularly dangerous.”
Q: “Why is it so unusual for a hurricane to work its way up the East Coast? It doesn’t seem to happen very often. What makes this storm unusual? And lastly is the storm surge more dangerous then the high winds or to soon to tell at this point?”
A: “Hurricanes, in general, are a relatively rare phenomenon. And ones that move along a longitude that impacts the East Coast are only one kind of an already unusual event. Aside from that, there’s nothing unusual about Earl.”
Get the latest forecasts, the Capital Weather Gang blog and more at
washingtonpost.com/weather. Today on
POSTLOCAL.com Public safety
Get local crime and courthouse news and send us tips.
washingtonpost.com/crime Dining ideas Looking for a new place to eat lunch? Ask Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema at 11 a.m.
washingtonpost.com/discussions Getting around Traffic alerts, construction projects and more for commuters and travelers.
washingtonpost.com/transportation Tell us What do you think of this page and our local coverage? E-mail us at
metro@washpost.com.
THE DAILY QUIZ
Seedless watermelons sure look like they have small white seeds. What are those things, according to the story on the front of today’s Food section?
EARN 5 POINTS: Find the answer, then go to
washingtonpost.com/postpoints and click on “Quizzes” to enter the correct response.
he traffic sounds from Rockville Pike and the screeching noise from a train’s brake at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro station couldn’t drown out the ukulele and island sounds Thursday at the Music Center at Strathmore, where 25 young — and not-so- young — women and a few brave men participated in an intro-
ductory hula-dancing class as part of Uke Fest 2010. On the backyard theater stage, the group learned the hand and dance
movements of “A Song of Old Hawaii.” The class was taught by Robyn Kneubuhl and Ginger Johnson, who
make up the group the Hula Honeys. The two are natives of the island of Maui.
Focus on your neighborhood! See more of Mark’s photos of the Hula Honeys and their dancing students at
PostLocal.com.
Conversations
Readers responded to a story reporting that D.C. Council member Kwame R. Brown (D-At Large) holds a double-digit lead over former council member Vincent Orange in the race to succeed council Chairman Vincent C. Gray for the District’s second-highest elected office. The results also show that in the at-large council race, longtime incumbent Phil Mendelson (D-At Large) is trailing shadow senator Michael D. Brown (D), whommany voters have confused with at-large council member Michael A. Brown (I).
Watching the D.C. Council field
20009matt: “Too bad that Clark Ray’s campaign [for an at-large council seat] hasn’t gotten any traction. The guy has some great ideas and he’s the hardest-working candidate out there in any race.”
pluperfectdc: “Clark Ray should withdraw from the race and urge his supporters to vote for Mendelson. Their platforms are almost identical and Mendelson has a track record — unlike Brown.”
IsidoroRDL: “I have known Mr. Kwame Brown for a number of years, when he interviewed me for his video on the violation of father’s rights. Since then he consistently demonstrated a desire to assist all citizens by assuring the accountability of government employees for bad acts. Thus, I support him completely.”
voter20: “Kwame is popular with the City Council members who will be telling him what to do next.”
johng1: “It seems if you change your name to Brown, you are a shoo-in to win. Orange, no good. Brown, good.”
TheHermit1: “It would be a travesty if Mendelson were to lose because of Michael D. Brown’s name shenanigans.”
Stay on top of the latest news in D.C. politics and elections at
washingtonpost.com/dcpolitics.
Show off
If you know why there’s no J Street, which states don’t have avenues named after them and which area university invented the football huddle, you’re ready for Washingtology.
The third installment in our D.C. area video quiz show — in which you show off your insider knowledge of the area and try to stump our panel of experts — takes place today at 2:30 p.m.
Send us questions (and answers) that only a true Washingtonian would know and then tune in to see if they can get past our know-it-alls. Watch the first two episodes at
washingtonpost.com/washingtology.
POINTS EVENTS
Save More—Double Up! When you link your accounts, you can collect PostPoints at the same time you earn rewards from your Comcast, CVS, GEICO, and Giant memberships. Just go to
washingtonpost.com/postpoints, and click on My Account Profile.
Live debate!
You can watch the sold-out debate be- tween Mayor Adrian M. Fenty and D.C. Council Chairman Vincent C. Gray, who are competing for the Democratic nomination for mayor, at noon today at PostLocal .com. Post columnist Mike DeBonis will live-blog debate at washingtonpost .com/debonis, then hold an online Q&A with readers at 1:30 p.m.
✔ card.)
Watch the videos and leave your vote at
washingtonpost.com/30-second-summer. Voting runs through Sept. 7.
POINTS & REWARDS
Arena Stage: Enjoy a great show during Arena’s 60th anniversary season. See
arena-stage.org.
Colony House: View the elegant furnishings in the photo gallery at
colonyhouse.net, and then head over to the Arlington showroom!
CVS/pharmacy: Don’t panic! CVS has of your back-to-school needs in stock, all at great prices. See
cvs.com.
Leisure Fitness: Treadmills, rowing machines, free weights—you name it. Shop here and get the shape you’ve always wanted. See
leisurefitness.com.
washingtonpost.com/postpoints
Not a PostPoints member yet? Log onto
washingtonpost.com/postpoints for more information about this exciting free program.
“When I stop collecting, you’ll know I’m gone,” Bob Schapiro, says.
JOHN KELLY/
to Bob. “There are three rules of collecting,” said Bob, who owned a Long Island antique shop for decades and is thus qualified to list them. “Number one: Don’t buy it unless it says hello to you. Number two: Good stuff gets better. Garbage remains
garbage forever. And number three: Buy it when you see it.” Bob bought a few boxes. Then a few more. It was a process he’d first undergone as a child in Manhattan. “You start out as a kid living in New York, you collect marbles,” he said. “Marbles are one of the few games you can play in the street. Then you collect stamps and coins.”
When he got older, Bob graduated to books. “Limited-edition Bibles,” he said. “When that collection started to take over the house like the boxes here, I sold it. Did quite well.” The cigar boxes — as many as 400 at one point, Bob estimates — haven’t quite taken over his one-bedroom apartment, but they have become a dominant part of its decor, stacked atop one another on shelves, leaning against the wall in his bedroom, crowding his nightstand. But they don’t look out of place. “There’s no such thing as too much stuff,” Bob said. His walls are covered with paintings, the horizontal surfaces are adorned with clocks, plates, statues, bronzes. In his living room, the gaze from a Japanese Kabuki mask intersects that of a severe-looking bust, a reddish figure with a scowling face. “That’s Tecumseh,” Bob said. “That I bought from a house in Sag Harbor. They bought it from a cigar store. People try to buy it, but I won’t sell it. He’s my friend.” This year, Bob was out at lunch with a friend. On the way home, she said needed to make a stop. She had some Girl Scout cookies she wanted to drop off for the patients at Walter Reed. And that’s how Bob’s stock of cigar boxes began dropping. Every couple of weeks now he loads dozens of them into a folding shopping cart and heads to the Army hospital. He starts on the seventh floor and works his way down, stopping at any open hospital room door. “I just hand them out,” he said. “It’s
something they can keep by their bed.” When Bob told the people at Georgetown
Tobacco that he was donating boxes to injured soldiers, they gave them to him for free. When employees at the TD Bank down the street from the retirement home Bob lives in, Friendship Terrace, heard about what he does, they donated pens and playing cards for him to put in the boxes.
Does a wounded soldier need a cigar box, Vote
Post readers submitted short videos that attempted to capture part of their local summer experiences. Judges trimmed them down and chose the finalists; now it’s your chance to vote. Which will you choose?
The veteran skydiver The bubble-blowing dog Long board riders on the move A man’s ruminations on summer heat (The winner gets a $200 American Express gift
even a cigar box as beautiful as the ones Bob hands out? Maybe not, but maybe the box isn’t the point. Maybe the gesture is. “They’re very happy,” he said. “Here’s somebody they don’t know giving them something because they want to. When you get something out of the blue, it has a good effect on you.” Poor vision kept Bob out of the Army at first during World War II, but he thinks he knows what the patients at Walter Reed are going through. He eventually joined the Army as a medic. The war ended before he shipped out to Japan, but he cared for many a patient stateside. “The toughest part was riding the hospital
trains,” he said, growing silent at the memory. Then: “I can’t stop collecting. When I stop
collecting, you’ll know I’m gone.”
kellyj@washpost.com
To see a video profile of Bob Schapiro, go to
www.washingtonpost.com/johnkelly.
A complete list of PostPoints Spots can be found at
washingtonpost.com/postpoints.
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 1, 2010
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