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KLMNO POSTLOCAL Talk to us. Talk to newsmakers. Talk to each other. Join the conversation at
postlocal.com “ ✔ Hot topic Doggy dining in D.C. Build it now!!
— reader 10bestfan, commenting on a Dr. Gridlock item alerting readers to public meetings, planned for Monday and Tuesday, at which planners will present designs for the second phase of the Metro extension to Dulles International Airport.
Read more about the meetings and comment on the project
on the blog at washingtonpost. com/drgridlock.
Readers had lots to share with Post restaurant critic Tom Sietsema during a live online chat Wednesday when the subject of dogs in restaurants came up.
JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
The library: Are you a card-carrying member?
T
here are not many things in this world that will enable you to travel without leaving your easy chair, to slip into the mind of another person, to expose yourself to the educational, the inspirational and the subversive. A library card is one of them. When you get right down to it, which would
you rather be without: a library card or a credit card? I know which one gets me in more trouble. September is Library Card Sign-up Month. In honor of that, I wanted to go to that beacon of learning, the Library of Alexandria. But since it burned down about 2,000 years ago, I instead went to the Alexandria Library on Duke Street. Rose Dawson, head of
Alexandria’s library system, remembers her first library card. There is nothing, she said, quite like putting your very own signature on your very own card. “I still have that library card,” she told me. “I am the librarian in the family.” Rose’s daughter, Alicia, got her first card when she was 4. She demanded a new one when she was 7. “She was embarrassed by her signature,” Rose said. “That was a baby card, as far as she was concerned.” Babies do get library cards, actually. Beatley
Rose Dawson
Central Branch manager Karen Russell said parents come in cradling their newborns to get them their first card, setting them on the path that will bring them from gnawing on board books to gazing at picture books, from hopping on Pop to harping on Harry Potter. Iwondered: Is it possible to do something so heinous that you are dramatically stripped of your card, the way the sword of a disgraced officer used to be broken over the knee? No, Rose said. She couldn’t remember anyone
ever having a library card revoked. It can be suspended if you rack up $10 in overdue fines, but all you need to do is pay it down under that, and you can use your card again. It has been a tough couple of years for public
BIGSTOCKPHOTO LINDA DAVIDSON/THE WASHINGTON POST You voted
way you’d swim in the Potomac River was “if my boat sank,” according to a nonscientific user poll Wednesday on
PostLocal.com.
63%
“Don’t break out the ‘Mission Accomplished’ banner just yet.” — reader VikingRider, commenting on an article citing a study saying the river is the cleanest it has been in decades.
Vote on this issue and others at
washingtonpost.com/user-polls.
of you said the only
a couple of times. The other dog was drinking out of a restaurant water glass. Frankly, it all grossed me out. I don’t want to upset or offend dog owners, and I know that “dog friendly” is the order of the day. But is there a limit?
Q. A.
from. 2) Outdoor space is different than indoor space. Pets
are typically welcome in the former by virtue of the fact they’re, well, outside (along with the flies and the breeze and whatever else might be happening al fres- co).
3) Pets are like children. Some are quiet; others are restless. I wouldn’t like a pet begging for food, but what’s the harm if a pooch is quietly sitting nearby?
Q. Having recently moved to Denver after living in
D.C. for a decade, it’s been interesting to compare. While Denver is extremely dog-friendly, dogs at restau- rants in public places in general are very well-behaved and unobtrusive, while I found them to be more mis- behaved in D.C., a much less dog-friendly town. I guess
Lots of stuff to mull over. 1) I think pets should have separate bowls/cups/whatever to eat or drink
We were having a lovely meal at the patio of a casual restaurant, and two people had dogs. The patio seating was crowd- ed, and one of the dogs came to our table
when you are a city more open to dogs, there’s more of an unspoken code of conduct. A: Thanks for sharing.
Q. If people are going to bring their dogs, fine, but
have some courtesy, people. BRING A WATER DISH!!! A. Good advice.
Q. I cannot stand dogs, and I do not want to touch one, nor do I want one touching me. Having one sitting quietly nearby, however, would be no problem, assum- ing it doesn’t smell terrible. But dog owners need to re- alize that not everyone is as enamored of your pooch as you are. A. I know people who are deathly afraid of dogs.
Q. Chances are, my two collies are better behaved than you are, and cleaner! They do not take calls or text while dining! Can you say the same thing? A. More pressing: Do they tip on the pre- or post-tax amount?
Q. If a dog gets seated next to you on a restaurant pa- tio, just pull out a big ’ole cigar or cigarette and light up. I’ll bet they move without even being asked. A. Well, that’s ONE way to make a bunch of legs move (or try to, or eat in displeasure).
Share your reviews of area restaurants and get new dining ideas at
washingtonpost.com/restaurants.
libraries. When the recession started, they were celebrated for their thrifty offerings. Don’t buy books, borrow them! File your job application on the free computers! Use the free WiFi! Now local governments have cut back library hours and trimmed staffs. We need roads, obviously, and fire departments, but we need libraries, too. In Alexandria, Rose looked at her colleague
Mark Schwartz’s library card. He’s the system’s public information officer and designed the card, which features a drawing of a book next to a PC. “It needs to be redesigned,” Mark said of the card. The computer’s monitor is big and chunky, a cathode ray tube in a flat-screen world. Libraries have changed a lot since that one in
Egypt. They’re probably going to change a lot more. But I hope we’ll be visiting them for centuries to come.
Love in the stacks
The American Library Association is looking for the loveliest librarians in the country. Well, not the loveliest, but the most loved. Nominate your favorite librarian from a school, public or college library for the I Love My Librarian Award. The 10 winners will each get $5,000 for their libraries. Go to
www.ilovelibraries.org. The deadline is Sept. 20.
The card quotient Which is our area’s most library-loving
Q&A
Reliable Source columnist Roxanne Roberts took a break from reader questions about Renee Zellweger and the Kennedy Center Honors to tackle one about the National Zoo’s new lion cubs.
They’re ‘lion’ around Q: I haven’t seen all four lion cubs on the National COURTESY OF NATIONAL ZOO
Viewers can check in on the National Zoo’s recently born lion cubs through a cub cam.
Today on
POSTLOCAL.com THE DAILY QUIZ
Who designed the lamps in the newly redecorated Oval Office? (Hint: check today’s Home section)
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POINTS & REWARDS
American Film Institute: When you join AFI, you become part of a non-profit group that honors today’s artists and educates the next generation of storytellers. More at
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Zoo’s cub cam for a while. Can you check on this? The Zoo’s Web site says that sometimes one is in a corner, but I am not sure I trust the zoo. I (un- knowingly) watched the cub born this spring while it was dying and am not quite over that yet. Thanks. A: Sorry about the previous cub experience, but rest easy. I discovered the cub cam and was instantly smitten. It took most of the day to see all four cubs
together, but they looked fine. So cute and tiny, and they stagger around like little drunks. I can’t wait until they’re a little older and friskier.
Web key: You can get to the Zoo’s cub cam at
nationalzoo.si.edu, and you can read more
Roxanne at
washingtonpost.com/reliablesource.
Read more of Kelly’s columns at
washingtonpost.com/johnkelly
county? I performed a calculation: the number of library cards issued divided by residents. The result is the LCQ: the library card quotient. Alexandria came out on top, issuing more library cards (172,504) than there are residents (150,006). That’s possible because, as with most Washington area libraries, you needn’t be a resident to get a card. The results: Alexandria: 1.15 Howard County: 0.92 Prince William County: 0.71 Montgomery County: 0.66 Arlington County: 0.54 Loudoun County: 0.54 District of Columbia: 0.49 Prince George’s County: 0.49 Fairfax County: 0.47
kellyj@washpost.com
Join me at noon Friday for my online chat. Go to www.
washingtonpost.com/discussions.
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 9, 2010
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