SUNDAY, JULY 18, 2010
KLMNO
S
C3 Kid comics bask in limelight, if not laughter by Rick Rojas JOHN KELLY’S WASHINGTON
‘Collecting highpoints’ is natural hobby for Va. man
transfer station in Fairfax County — the result of methane being burned off from the now-closed landfill — caused some readers to get downright nostalgic about the place, which contains 5 mil- lion tons of buried waste. Wrote Colin Harding of Fairfax
A
Station: “We always used to tell our kids as we drove by that this is Mount Fairfax, a geologic aber- ration like Ayres Rock in Aus- tralia. Now our daughter has passed the same story on to her kids. Got to keep these stories go- ing.”
Marsha Thompson of Water-
ford, Va., and C.H. Mitchell of Al- exandria both wrote to say they’ve always called the feature “Mount Trashmore.”
Don has visited the highpoints in all 95 Virginia counties, a task he
completed in July 2005.
As Answer Man wrote, the offi- cial — well, semiofficial — name of the mound is Mount Murtagh, after the county engineer who oversaw the landfill. With an ele- vation of 573 feet, it’s the highest point in Fairfax County. Make that the highest man-made point. That’s an important distinction
to Don Desrosiers of Falls Church. Don is among the people whose hobby is “collecting highpoints,” the highest natural places in vari- ous jurisdictions. “There’s a whole subculture out there that does strange things,” explained Don, a 58-year-old who runs computer systems for the Pension Benefit Guaranty System. This particular subculture in- volves topographic maps, GPS units, compasses and a desire to stand like a colossus atop the highest point for miles around. Or to stand next to a fence by an of- framp at Chain Bridge Road and Route 7. That’s where you’ll find Fairfax County’s highest natural elevation — 520-plus feet — near an orange and white radio tower just behind Da Domenico restau- rant in Tysons Corner.
Don has visited the highpoints in all 95 Virginia counties, a task he completed in July 2005. He completed Maryland a year later. He’s also bagged highpoints in
nswer Man’s column last week about the flames em- anating from the I-66
independent cities, such as Falls Church (440 feet, in someone’s back yard) and Alexandria (280- plus feet, on an athletic field at Episcopal High School). “You’ve got to touch it,” Don ex- plained of the county highpoint- ing rules, which are spelled out — in eye-watering detail — at a Web site devoted to the pastime,
www.cohp.org. That stipulation can make for some rough hikes, such as when Don visited Charles City County, Va., which is be- tween Richmond and Williams- burg. “It is flat,” he said. The topo-
graphic map he was using indicat- ed 70 points that were over 150 feet but under 160 feet. “We didn’t know which was highest,” Don said. “I had to go to all of them.” Don has visited the high- points in 438 U.S. counties, in- cluding those of every county in 10 states. He has visited the highpoints in the District of Co- lumbia (at Fort Reno Reservoir, 420-plus feet) and all but six states. “I haven’t done the really hard
ones,” he said: Wyoming, Mon- tana, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii. The highest point in the country is Alaska’s Mount Mc- Kinley, which is roughly 20,000 feet higher than the fence near Da Domenico.
Despite the fact that Mount
Murtagh is man-made, Don wishes that it were easier to get to and that the sign noting its ele- vation, which seems to have dis- appeared over the years, would be put back. “You kind of mark some of these things, and they become tourist attractions,” he said.
Answer Man wonders whether we will someday see bumper stickers that read, “This car climbed Mount Murtagh.”
Send a Kid to Camp The terrain around Camp Moss
Hollow? It’s 805 feet where you turn off the gravel road onto the camp driveway, 930 feet at the basketball court, close to 1,000 at the summit of the mini-mountain that campers hike up. You can help us go sky-high as we raise money for the camp, which pro- vides needy kids with a week in the woods. Make a tax-deductible gift by mailing a check or money order, payable to “Send a Kid to Camp,” to P.O. Box 96237, Wash- ington, D.C. 20090-6237. Or con- tribute online by going to www.
washingtonpost.com/camp and clicking on the donation link. To use MasterCard or Visa by phone, call 202-334-5100 and follow the instructions on our taped mes- sage.
Have a question? Perhaps Answer Man has the answer. Write
answerman@washpost.com.
ANIMAL WATCH Fishhook snags dog, owner
POTOMAC, Little Creek Dr., 12000 block, June 30. The Ani- mal Services Division received a call from Montgomery County Fire and Rescue about a dog that had gotten a fishhook lodged in its nose while rummaging in a basement. The hook then be- came lodged in the dog owner’s hand when the owner was trying to remove it. With the hook em- bedded in the owner and the ani-
mal, rescue personnel were called. The responders cut the hook to separate canine from caregiver, but they were unable to remove the metal pieces from either. The dog was taken to a veterinarian and the human to a hospital for removal of the hook fragments.
Among cases received by the
Montgomery County Animal Ser- vices Division
Maybe it was the heat, or per- haps a lack of comedic inspira- tion, but the jokesters were few and far between Saturday at the Fenton Street Market in Silver Spring. The setup for the JokeFest was simple: a wooden platform a few inches above the ground, a micro- phone, a tent and a few chairs. Children were invited to step up, tell a joke — even an animal sound would qualify — and get a book autographed by author Ed- ward Faine. The jestful emcee spent much of the day cooing and whistling at children as they came into the market, luring them up to the mike with the prospect of a book. Audrey Hailes, 2, ambled up to the stage with a cup of colorful ice cream, probably thinking more about having an audience than a free book or even getting the joke right. “Knock, knock.” “Who’s there?” “Banana.” “Banana who?” “Um, bananas.” As other children waited their turn, she kept wandering back, attracted to the little bit of lime- light shining under that tent. When Faine asked her where she lives, she curtly replied, “the house” (which is located in Silver Spring).
Brian Wilmarth, 9, of Silver Spring was more rehearsed in his performance; he said he’d been waiting all week to tell a joke that got laughs in the past. “Why is two plus two equals
five like your left foot?” Brian asked. “It’s just not right!” His younger sister, Ellie, 8, also had a joke that involved a little arithmetic. “What’s an owl’s favorite math
subject?” “OWL-gebra!” Other kids at the market
walked away, and some cowered as Faine bellowed for them to come up and give it a shot. A few were dragged in by their parents, and one mother offered to give her young son candy if he’d make
an animal sound.
During one of the lulls between comics, Faine, a Takoma Park res- ident and author of 10 children’s books, said he’s been doing events like this for about 10 years. He first called it Karajokie, but that just led to a cease-and-desist letter from an inventor in New Zealand. “It better be fun or you’re out of it, because there are a lot of nega- tives,” he said of life on the circuit of festivals, schools and camps. It’s hard to make money, espe- cially with this economy, and the weather — a cold winter, windy spring and sweltering summer — hasn’t been on his side. On Satur-
day, thanks to an anonymous sponsor, he didn’t have to worry about hawking books.
At one point, when the crowd had thinned, a comic not quite the targeted age took to the mike. Tom Zebovitz, 55, had to give a bit of a setup for his joke: He defined “cannibal” to the puzzled looks of a couple of girls rejecting Faine’s pleas to come up. Two cannibals were eating a clown, he said. One cannibal looked at the other and asked, “Did he taste funny to you?” A few of the adults nearby chuckled, but Zebovitz walked away without a book.
rojasr@washpost.com
D.C. hospital’s weight-loss effort draws wiry, well-spoken advocate
by Kevin Sieff
A wiry man, clad in a top hat and coat, approached a table of volunteers at Providence Hospi- tal in Northeast Washington on Saturday, signing on to one of the largest community weight-loss initiatives in the District’s history. “Abraham Lincoln,” he called out when asked to identify him- self, requesting that dietary and fitness tips be sent to
Abe@whitehouse.gov. “We appreciate you participat-
ing, Abe,” said Sister Elaine Jor- dan. “But I’m not sure how much weight you can afford to lose.” The man shrugged, not ad-
mitting to a glimmer of irony, and the 16th U.S. president’s name was added to a growing list of participants in the hospital’s 150,000-pound weight-loss chal- lenge.
If the anachronism could pass
anywhere, it would be here, at the hospital chartered by Lincoln in 1861. The facility is so proud of its connection to Honest Abe that a Lincoln impersonator is invited to address the crowd at public events. The hospital that once treated soldiers injured in the Battle of Bull Run now is battling a mod- ern epidemic: rampant obesity. “This is a major problem in the community,” said hospital
No damage reported in quake’s wake by Martin Weil More than 20,000 reports of
the earthquake that struck the Washington area Friday have been received by the U.S. Geologi- cal Survey, authorities said Satur- day. But so far, there have been no indications of any substantial damage. The USGS created a map based on reports it received from peo- ple in 641 separate Zip codes, which indicated that the quake was felt almost everywhere in the Washington metropolitan area, as well as in Delaware, southeast- ern Pennsylvania and possibly New Jersey. However, a scientist at the
USGS’s National Earthquake In- formation Center said that more than 36 hours after the quake, no
reports of damage have been re- ceived. “Not at this time,” said geo-
physicist Dale Grant at the center in Golden, Colo. “We were lucky,” said assistant
chief Scott Graham, a spokesman for the Montgomery County Fire and EMS Department.
At magnitude 3.6, the quake, whose epicenter was northwest of Rockville, had the potential to cause damage, and the absence of such reports “surprises me a little bit,” Grant said. The quake was strong enough to be felt at considerable dis- tances from the metropolitan area. Four reports came to the USGS from Newark, Del., Grant said. The same number of reports were made by people in the Ruck- ersville, Va., area, he said. Ruck- ersville is about 80 miles south-
west of the District. The quake, and a smaller after- shock, came as no surprise to sci- entists, but a detailed geological explanation was not immediately available. Saturday evening brought an- other indication that the unex- pected may occur beneath the feet of Washington area resi- dents.
A sinkhole caused the tempo-
rary closure of part of 18th Street NW in the Dupont Circle area, and a car was reportedly trapped for a time. The vehicle was removed from the hole, near a curb in the 1500 block, according to spokesmen for the District’s fire and trans- portation departments. No specific cause for the sink- hole was immediately available.
weilm@washpost.com
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spokeswoman Marin Hedin dur- ing the facility’s 150th anniversa- ry Health and Fitness Day. “Our approach to dealing with it will be challenging, but we think we can do it.” That approach is to build a net- work of participants who, cumu- latively, intend to lose 150,000 pounds by July 2011. Participants will be able to track individual and collective progress online, as well as receive advice on healthy living through the initiative’s
providence150.orgWeb site. Lincoln’s name, volunteered by impersonator James Hayney, was one of many added to the hospi- tal’s sign-up sheet Saturday.
Wanda Ellison, 54, committed to losing 50 pounds in the next year. “I’ve been meaning to do this for a while,” Ellison said. “I want to be healthier, and this is the kind of encouragement I need.”
Ellison then joined the crowd outside to hear Hayney’s address, which fused Lincoln’s words about the Civil War — “shall it be peace or the sword” — with some more contemporary thoughts on the hospital’s weight-loss initia- tive. “Abe, you’re the man!” a man yelled after Hayney finished speaking.
sieffk@washpost.com
XIAOMEI CHEN/THE WASHINGTON POST
Caitlin Bierwirth, 8, and her brother David Bierwirth, 6, of Silver Spring try to decide which jokes to tell at a JokeFest, held in the Village Square at the Fenton Street Market in downtown Silver Spring.
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