Still Life with Robin: The CP Listserv Hits the Quarter-Century Mark!

 by Peggy Robin

Happy Anniversary to the Cleveland Park Listserv!

It was 25 years ago today that Bill Adler and I set up the Cleveland Park Listserv. Correction: Bill set it up, and then casually mentioned  to me that he'd made me co-owner and moderator. "What's a Listserv?" I asked innocently. Then Bill spent the next ten minutes explaining to me what a Listserv is, and what fun he thought we'd have with it as a little hobby on the side.

 

Later that day, he walked down the street to the Cleveland Park Club, where he put up a flyer telling people about this new neighborhood chat space, giving them information on how to join. That's how it all began.

 

You can read the first posted message here: https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/message/2 (It's actually the second message, as the first post had a typo and Bill deleted it.)

 

The first substantive post (meaning one that sparked a discussion) was the one below, from Jeff Itell (who no longer lives in the neighborhood -- or indeed, in the US), asking about the name change from "The Park 'n'  Shop" to "Sam's Park 'n' Shop." He also mentions the closing of the Kohr's frozen custard shop in one of the storefronts & makes a nice play on words about it. Here's the whole message:

 

Who is Sam?

https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/message/5

 

I may be the last person in Cleveland Park to notice, but when did the Jemal Park 'N Shop become Sam's?  Is Sam Friedman* back in town?

 

I'm aware that Doug Jemal sold the "Wait, Park, and Shop" to Federated years ago.  But I missed the sign switch.  Is there a Sam behind the Sam? Or is it a fictitious, cheap way for the new owners to change the name.

 

(If Kohr's had lasted, I would have preferred the name, "Custard's Last Stand.")

 

Jeffrey Itell

 

Pretty good beginning, yes?

 

In the first full month, December 1999, we had 20 messages, and by the end of the  third month there were 228 -- and quite a few helpful, informative ones, including: good recommendations for home repair and other services, notices of neighborhood events and activities, and giveaways and good stuff for sale. 

 

Word of mouth led to fast growth and our learning curve in moderating led to better spam-blocking, prevention of shilling, and enforcement of rules against the kind of name calling and shade-throwing that was already giving many other forms of social media a bad name.. 

 

By 2002 the Listserv had grown to over 900 members, and I was asked to write about it in a "local voices" column that ran in the Washington Post ,back in its heyday under the Grahams, who truly cared aboutthis city and what its residents think, do, and need.. 

 

Moderators Are Masters of Their Domain on Local E-Mail List

Author: Robin, Peggy

Date:     Nov 14, 2002

Section: WEEKLY - DISTRICT Start Page:  T.04o

Moderators Are Masters of Their Domain on Local E-Mail List

Full article is here:  https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2019/10/still-life-with-robin-those-old.html 

 

I'm sure I could fill a 600-page book with the history and trivia of the CP Listserv, but it's the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and so I think I'll quit now and not take up any more of your time. 

 

Oh, but one more thing: What makes this Listserv a thing of beauty is the 12,373 members who read, post, sponsor messages, and spread the word about this online community publication -- qho have been doing so for 25 years! So happy anniversary to YOU!!

 

Most sincerely,

Peggy

--

Peggy Robin & Bill Adler

Owners & Founders

The Cleveland Park Listserv 

Home Page: https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark  

CP Info Pages: www.cleveland-park.com 

FAQ: www.cleveland-park.com/faq.html

Sponsorship FAQ: http://www.cleveland-park.com/advertising-faq.html 

Moderator email :clevelandpark+owner@groups.io

Post a messages: clevelandpark@groups.io 

* [Editor's hIstorical note: Sam Friedman had been an ANC Commissioner for Woodley Park, but he left DC around the time the Listserv got started.]

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays

Get Out! The US Botanic Garden Holiday Display Is Open!

 by Peggy Robin

Season's Greenings 2024 

United States Botanic Garden

November 28, 2024 – January 5, 2025

Location: Outdoor Gardens, 100 Maryland Ave SW

Our popular annual holiday display “Season’s Greenings” features model trains in the gated outdoor gardens, festive lights throughout the Garden, and the poinsettias, holiday decor, and D.C. landmarks made from plants inside the Conservatory. On the lawn in the gated outdoor gardens, G-gauge model trains  circulate from 10:00-5:00 daily through displays of pollinators made from plant parts. These scenes  range from oversized models of native U.S. flowers like milkweed and bats pollinating a banana to an orchid bee pollinating a vanilla orchid flower, a chocolate midge pollinating a cacao flower, a lemur pollinating a traveler’s tree flower, and more!

 

The Garden will be closed on December 25.

 

Visiting Tips 

• The Garden is busiest on holidays and the weekends surrounding holidays. For a less busy experience, visit during the week if possible.
• For safety, it is recommended that visitors wear a mask and maintain social distance between your group and others.
• Strollers are welcome at the Garden, but personal property must be kept in the owner’s possession at all times.
• The outdoor train display may not run during inclement weather.
• Please be mindful of terrain changes (stone, gravel, grass, etc.) as you make your way through our outdoor gardens. For additional accessibility information, please visit our Accessibility page.

 

Hours

• The outdoor train display and Conservatory hours are both 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. daily between Nov. 28, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2025, closed Dec. 25.
• On Dec. 8, the gated outdoor gardens will open at 10:00 a.m. to accommodate the Garden’s sensory-friendly programming. For additional information on programs for special audiences, please visit our Accessibility page.
• The Terrace Gardens and Bartholdi Fountain and Gardens are open dawn to dusk daily.
• There is no admission fee and no tickets are required to visit any area of the U.S. Botanic Garden, including the holiday train display.

Evening Hours and Music 

On select Tuesdays and Thursdays -- December 10, 12, 17, 19, and 26 -- the Conservatory and outdoor train display will have extended hours, staying open until 8:00 p.m. There will be live holiday music and food and drink vendors during these evenings.

 

Outdoor Train Display 

This year, the holiday display includes a model train display in the gated outdoor gardens, with trains running from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. between Nov. 28, 2024, and Jan. 5, 2025, closed Dec. 25. The train display will run until 8:00 p.m. on select Tuesdays and Thursdays.

 

The trains will run through a display of pollinators and their related plants all made from plant parts. Tickets are not required to view the trains or any part of the USBG’s outdoor holiday display, and the train display may not run during inclement weather.

 

The pollinator-plant scenes made from plant parts include:

• Euglossine orchid bee pollinating a vanilla orchid flower
• Chocolate midge pollinating a cacao flower
• Bat pollinating a banana flower
• Lemur pollinating a traveler's tree flower
• Gecko pollinating a Trochetia flower
• Honeycreeper bird pollinating a lobelia flower
• Pygmy possum pollinating a banksia flower
• Mosquito pollinating an orchid
• Yucca moth pollinating a yucca flower
• Milkweed flower and milkweed beetle
• and more

About 75% of all flowering plant species need animal pollinators for reproduction. As a result, pollinators contribute to ecosystem health and a sustainable food supply.

 

Conservatory decor featuring DC Landmarks Buildings and Poinsettias

 

Inside the Conservatory, explore more than 20 landmarks and monuments from around D.C. made from many different plant parts. Each building is a unique plant-based masterpiece. Distinctive architectural details are fashioned from hundreds of dried plant materials. Learn about the plants that make up our famous DC landmarks buildings:

• DC Landmarks Building Materials Guide (U.S. Capitol, Washington Monument, Lincoln Memorial, and more ...)

 

Gift Shop and Coffee, Drinks

 

A gift store run by the Friends of the U.S. Botanic Garden and local D.C. small business Rewild will offer a variety of botanically-themed gifts for purchase in the Conservatory's West Gallery, open 10 a.m. - 5 p.m. daily.

 

Vintage Views will offer coffee, hot chocolate, and other drinks and snacks for sale just inside the gated outdoor garden near the trains. 

Sensory-Friendly Program Dates

These early or late openings provide museum access to individuals with cognitive and sensory processing disabilities and their families by offering early entrance for registered participants, pre-visit materials, and a take-a-break space. 

 

Upcoming events:

 

• Sensory-Friendly Evening at the Garden, Dec. 7, 5:30 - 8 pm. Registration required.
• Sensory-Friendly Morning at the Garden, Dec. 8, 8:30 - 10 am. Registration required.

 

Poinsettias

Our Horticulture team grows thousands of poinsettias each year. Learn about growing poinsettias, their history, varieties new and old, testing more sustainable growing media, and more!

 

• Poinsettias - Growing, Living History, and More >
• Growing Poinsettias More Sustainably >

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local, usually on Thursdays, but this week, was delayed until Friday, due to the Thanksgiving holiday.

Still Life with Robin: Bone Up on Thanksgiving

by Peggy Robin

How much do you know about Thanksgiving? Think back to what they taught you in elementary school: Pilgrims sitting down for a friendly celebration/feast with the indigenous tribe that helped them make it through that first year. Well, that's the basic outline. Some of what you learned is true, some is myth, and there are a whole lot of things that went into turning that first Thanksgiving feast into a national holiday in November that I'd bet you never would have guessed. Like the identity of the person who spearheaded the campaign to have Thanksgiving celebrated across the nation on the same day every year. That would be Sarah Josepha Hale, the first successful female author/magazine editor in our history.

If you'd like to come to your family's Thanksgiving table armed with a ton of odd trivia about the origins of the holiday, then have I got a podcast for you! It's "The Mother of Thanksgiving" by the Throughline team at NPR:

https://www.npr.org/2024/11/21/1214380338/mother-of-thanksgiving (50 min)

Have a listen! And then try not to sound like a know-it-all when you tell people what you learned!

Happy Thanksgiving, Listserv Community!

Smithsonian magazine image

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! An Outdoor Thing on Sat (Tree Lighting) & An Indoor Thing on Sun (Literary Launch)

Both FREE!

Why wait till after Thanksgiving to light the TREE! Why not do it while your Thanksgiving guests are here? After all, the holiday markets are open and the gift-buying season has begun! It's especially good for families that are trading off visits to families/in-laws in different cities!

Kick off the season with the THIRD ANNUAL TREE LIGHTING at City Ridge in Tenleytown:

Saturday, November 23, 2024 from 4 - 8 PM

City Ridge, 20 Ridge Square NW

It's that time of year again for our holiday tradition. Join us for a fun filled evening at City Ridge throughout the neighborhood.

https://www.cityridgedc.com/happenings/2024/10/2024-city-ridge-tree-lighting/ 

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Then on Sunday, November 24, attend the launch of the region's newest literary review:

The MID-ATLANTIC LITERARY REVIEW

LAUNCH READING

Sunday, November 24, 2 - 4 PM

MLK Library, 901 G St NW

Join the contributors and editors of the Mid-Atlantic Review 2024 for a launch reading Sunday, November 24th, 2:00-3:30pm at the MLK Library in downtown D.C. Publication of The Mid-Atlantic Review 2024 was made possible by individual donors to Day Eight and support from the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities and Mayor Muriel Bowser's Office of AAPI Affairs.

During this event contributors will read from the magazine.

This is an in-person event, free and open to all, that will take place at the MLK Library, 901 G St NW, Room 401-A. Space is limited and advanced registration is requested. Several modes of public transportation are easily accessible to the library. Day Eight is happy to provide translation or ASL services and we ask that those requests be mad at least one week before the event - by November 17.

Three ticket types are available: free attendee tickets, free contributor tickets (for those published in the magazine), and “gold tickets” that include a copy of the magazine. Copies of the magazine will be available for purchase at the event.

Unable to attend the event? Purchase your copy of the magazine from Day Eight's online bookstore.

Posted by:

Peggy Robin

Cleveland Park Listserv Moderator

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The "Get Out!" event of the week (or in this case, events of the week) is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Resurrected....but not for long!

by Peggy Robin

 

Here's a story that I hope is instructive in some way or another. Personally, I find it mystifying. But if you can glean a moral from it, by all means, tell me what you think it is.

 

It starts some weeks ago when my HP Envy (a/k/a my back-up computer, a/k/a the family room computer, as opposed to the main, home office computer) started crashing a lot. It was positively ancient by any computer-life actuarial table -- an eon past its sell-by date -- so I was not surprised. For the past few days (OK weeks, maybe months), I had been thinking it was time to wipe the hard drive and either donate it or e-cycle it, but I guess I was a bit too optimistic about how much longer I could keep it going. Either that, or just too lazy to take the necessary action.

 

Then one evening it crashed and wouldn't reboot, despite multiple attempts. I left it alone for a few days and then tried again. Nothing. Not even the slightest flicker of light from within. It's dead, Jim.

As it couldn't be booted up to run a program to wipe the hard drive, I thought I had better destroy it. I did not want to send it to e-cycling until I was assured that no one would be able to access the data. So I went on the internet and googled some methods of destroying a computer. The first piece of advice I found was to remove the hard drive and smash it with a hammer and/or pierce a hole through it with a sharp tool. But I couldn't figure out how to do that, so I did what I thought was the next best thing:  I pounded the whole laptop with a hammer till it broke.

While I was pounding away at it, breaking the laptop frame.....guess what happened?! The computer started to boot up!! I'd already shattered its casing, and yet....the notes of the Windows awakening song started to play! How was that possible??!

 

You might think I'd be so moved at these miraculous signs of life -- signs of its apparent, unbroken will to live -- that I would stop my assault on the poor thing and let it finish its amazing self-resuscitation. In retrospect, I wish I'd done that. But in the heat of the moment I was so intent on finishing what I started, I doubled down on killing it -- this time inserting a large boring awl deep inside the broken case. I kept stabbing madly until the screen finally went dark. Well then, that was it.

 

Yet my unease continued. Maybe this thing could come back from the dead to haunt me? So I took it down to the basement bathroom where I filled a large basin with water and dropped the whole thing in it, then shut the door and walked away. (Have you seen Fatal Attraction? Then you know that short-term immersion is not to be trusted!) 

 

After a few days of not hearing from it, I was at last satisfied that it was really, most sincerely, dead.

 

While it was soaking, I looked up the next date and location of the DC e-cycling event or collection truck. When the day came, I drove out to the event, dropped off the dead thing -- and started thinking about Black Friday sales to come. 

 

Still, from time to time, I find myself revisiting that strange sequence of events and wondering, could that old HP Envy be lying in a  computer graveyard somewhere and suddenly that eerie boot-up song will rise from the ground? You know, I wouldn't bet against it....

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! UMBRELLA Art Fair - 3 days (Nov 15-17) at Union Market - Free admission!

 by Peggy Robin

UMBRELLA ART FAIR 2024 WHERE THE HEARTBEAT OF WASHINGTON, DC’S ART SCENE CONVERGES WITH THE AVANT-GARDE TALENTS OF GLOBAL ARTISTS AND MAKERS.

Umbrella is a declaration of artistic independence, a rebellion against the mundane, and a celebration of the daring. But more importantly, Umbrella is a space to provide economic opportunities for artists and creative entrepreneurs as a platform to showcase and sell their works.

Join us for three days of art and culture. Umbrella Art Fair 2024 will feature works by over 100 artists from the DMV and beyond.

Friday, November 15: Noon–10:00 PM

Saturday, November 16: Noon–10 :00 PM

Sunday, November 17: Noon–8:00 PM

Dock 5 @ Union Market 

1309 5th Street NE

Washington, DC  20002

Meet the exhibitors: https://www.umbrellaartfair.com/exhibitors

Detailed schedule: https://www.umbrellaartfair.com/schedule

More about the location: https://www.umbrellaartfair.com/location

RSVP: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/umbrella-art-fair-tickets-1048159241507 

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Still Life with Robin: Migrate over to BlueSky to see the birds!

 by Peggy Robin

 

If you've been reading this column since that dark day in 2022 when Elon Musk took over Twitter, you know I've been fretting over the question of if and when I should extract myself from that increasingly toxic waste dump*.

 

Despite my desire to thumb my nose at the Musk-rat, I still haven't managed to tear myself away, mainly but (not entirely) due to my unbreakable addiction to New York Times word games.

 

I have to admit, the Site Formerly Known As Twitter (which I like to turn into the acronym SiFoKAT -- pronounced pretty much like "suffocate") is still the best place for fans of NYT games to gather to chat with one another, give hints, and argue (amicably) over what words should and should not have been included in the NYT Spelling Bee, and which groupings in today's Connections game were the most baffling, and whether the #2solve in Letterboxed was really two words or should more correctly have been counted as three.

 

It's also been the place where I still find useful news updates from DC agencies and local news outlets, up-to-the-minute weather info and marvelous local weather pix from Capital Weather Gang and contributors, and an almost unending supply of stunning wildlife photos. And then there are wonders I haven't reliably found anywhere else -- like the phenomenal aurora pictures from all over the world. 

 

While many frequent posters have left SiFoKAT for other chat sites, they haven't all gone to the same one, so there really no critical mass of NYT fans on any of the alternatives, e.g., Threads, Facebook, Mastodon, and BlueSky.

 

Even though I have established accounts at all of them, I seldom bother to visit, continuing to post my daily NYT games hints on the Musk-rat's increasingly poisonous pit of a site.

 

However, every now and then I will wander over to those other sites just to see what's cooking. The day after the election, when Musk's site was particularly rank with nasty gloating memes, was one such day. Amid the gloom of the day, I took refuge in BlueSky, where I was uplifted and delighted to find photos posted by a local nature photographer I'd once followed on Twitter: It's this site . There you will find some incredible shots of birds and other wildlife taken by Cleveland Park resident Tom Hentoff, winner of the 2023 Cleveland Park Listy for Photo of the Year. (Find his winning photo here: #197671   )

 

I just spent a good ten or fifteen minutes going over his work on BlueSky, madly hitting the "like" button on each one of them, going back as far as 60+ days. 

 

Now I'm his devoted follower on that site, and if you want a day-brightener, I recommend that you become one, too. I think I'll be hitting his BlueSky feed every day for at least the next four years.

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Still Life with Robin is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

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* NOTE: Here are my previous musings on my reasons for sticking with Twitter, despite everything:

 

Why I Stay https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/05/still-life-with-robin-why-i-stay.html

Why Stay on Twitter? For the Recycling Tips! https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2023/05/still-life-with-robin.html

Did You See It? Aurora Photos on Twitter (From All Over) https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/05/still-life-with-robin-did-you-see-it.html

Best Show in Town (Local Aurora Photos on Twitter) https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/10/still-life-with-robin-best-show-in-town.html

Sunrise/Sunset Photos on Twitter: Still Life with Robin: Sunrise, Sunset

Squirrel Photos on Twitter https://alllifeislocal.blogspot.com/2024/02/still-life-with-robin-well-always-have.html

Get Out! Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour - Sunday Nov 10 at 2pm - Free

 by Peggy Robin

What:

Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour 

Join us for a special Veterans Day Tour at the National Museum of Health and Medicine. This free, docent-led introductory tour highlights the remarkable changes in American medicine over the past 160 years, with a special focus on military medicine.

When:

In person at NMHM

Sunday, November 10, 2024, 2 p.m.

Medical Museum Veterans Day Tour

Where:

National Museum of Health and Medicine

2500 Linden Lane, Silver Spring, Maryland, 20910

Cost:

FREE! Open to the public. No RSVP required.

Contact:

For more information, email USArmy.Detrick.MEDCOM-USAMRMC.List.Medical-Museum@health.mil

Request ADA accommodations 10 business days in advance at (301) 319-3303 or by email to: USArmy.Detrick.MEDCOM-USAMRMC.List.Medical-Museum@health.mil.

**NMHM events are subject to change. Follow NMHM on Facebook and Twitter for updates.

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The "Get Out!" event of the week is posted on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Thursdays.

Still Life with Robin: Cleveland Park Does Halloween Right!

 by Peggy Robin

Hope you had fun on Halloween night! 🎃👻🦇🕸️🧛😈

Some scary scenes captured in digital images might get you in the right spirit for a thrills 'n' chills election night on Tuesday, November 5.

First up is the photo below, shown in a tweet by the DC Tourism site, Visit Washington, DC @washingtondc, because the decorated house they picked to represent this city was one of the Sears "kit" houses in Cleveland Park (3000 block of Macomb St, south side). It's got that classic "gingerbread house" look, and the Halloween decorations are creatively but tastefully displayed -- nothing over-the-top. No 12-ft skeleton, no blow-up Frankensteins....but  maybe a little more fun than you would expect in a neighborhood with a reputation for stodginess.

Here it is:

https://x.com/washingtondc/status/1851334473012441214

Ghouls just wanna have fun. Need Halloween plans this week? Check out our recs: http://washington.org/visit-dc/halloween-dia-de-los-muertos-events-in-around-washington-dc… : dccitygirl / Instagram #Only1DC

Visit Washington, DC @washingtondc

This particular Sears kit house style is called "The Barrington" -- and yes, you ordered it from the Sears & Roebuck catalog (it was the Amazon of its day). Read all about it here: https://accidentallywesanderson.com/places/the-barrington/

Here's the most mind-blowing statistic of the article:

When first listed by Sears, the home sold for $2,458. In 2016, the Leggett family listed the home for $1.19 million. [Skeletons not included]

All the other photos are available in an album I've put together in the PHOTOs section of the Listserv at: https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/album?id=298464

Full disclosure: They're not all Cleveland Park houses. There's an amazing house on Utah Avenue and another on 49th Street. And the Kamala pumpkin was carved by my daughter Karen in Queens!

Anyone can add photos to the album - so if you took some Halloween-appropriate shots, feel free to upload them.

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p.s. You may need a Groups.io password to view the album, If you don't have one or if you once had one but no longer remember what it is, go to the "sign in/sign up" link in the upper right-hand corner of the home page at  https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark, enter your subscribed email address in the box, and if you need a password, click on "Forgot your password or need to create one?." Then check your inbox for an email from Groups.io with a link that allows you to create a new password. More about signing in and registering with Groups.io on our FAQ page at:  http://www.cleveland-park.com/faq.html

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.

Get Out! Cleveland Park's Annual Halloween Parade Is Hotter Than Ever!

 by Peggy Robin

Capital Weather Gang says we're in for a hot one!

D.C. to see warmest Halloween in 50 years, with possible Election Day record highs

Temperatures could hit 80 degrees on both days.

By Jason Samenow and Ian Livingston

Washingtonians may want to consider a lightweight costume for Halloween and shorts when headed to the polls on Election Day as two pulses of exceptional warmth sweep over the region.

Halloween will feel more like Labor Day... Highs are forecast to reach near 80 degrees four different times over the next eight days: on Wednesday and Thursday (Halloween) this week, and again on Tuesday (Election Day) and Nov. 6 next week.

The predicted high of 80 degrees on Halloween would mark the warmest Oct. 31 since 1974.

So you might want to lose those capes, whether for a superhero or Count Dracula. Mummies, leave those bandages loose! Ghosts, wear light, breathable cotton sheets; witches, you don't need to wear all black! Or consider a last-minute character switch and go as a beachcomber or surfer dude or dudette...

Whatever you're wearing, you will want to show it off at the Annual Cleveland Park Halloween Parade. It starts at 3:30 at Macomb Street Playground, today, October 31st.  

After the parade there's a pizza party and refreshments!

All are welcome!

Hosted by the Cleveland Park Community Association

https://www.cpcadc.org/

Still Life with Robin: Enough with the Spook-tacular Halloweens!

by Peggy Robin

Halloween has been one of my favorite holidays since I was a little kid (even though it scared me then!). I still decorate the house with pumpkin lights, flying bats, and spiders, and I rush to the door to greet each little trick-or-treater with candy and effusive praise of their costumes -- even those I can't make head or tails of. I love them all.

And you know what else I love? Complaining! And if there's anything to find fault with about this holiday, I'm on it. So here's my pet peeve for this coming Halloween: too many over-used monikers. If I see one more Halloween party called "Spook-tacular" I will scream! Well, screaming is what you are supposed to do for Halloween, isn't it? So on top of the scream, let me add a Bronx cheer.

Are pets involved in the party? I guess it must be called Howl-o-ween. But really, can't anyone come up with anything else?

Having the kids over to decorate pumpkins? So you must be having a Pumpkin-Palooza -- but wouldn't it seem more special if you could come up with a fun, new name?

I could go on, but you get the idea. Everyone in America by now has gotten the idea. I'm by no means the first to point out how overworked these terms are. In such an august publication as The Atlantic, a journalist took the matter seriously enough to seek out the earliest appearance in print of "spook-tacular"...and he came up with a venerable date: 1897. That's several decades before the term "trick-or-treating" came into common use (1927). Read it for yourself:

https://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2016/10/spooktacular-etymology-halloween-linguistics/505385/

Want even more useless facts about Halloween words and customs? Here's an up-to-the-minute piece (10/1/2024) from the marketing blog, DriveResearch, about what's popular this Halloween and how it compares to Halloweens past: 15+ Fun-Sized Halloween Statistics [2024]

https://www.driveresearch.com/market-research-company-blog/2022-fun-sized-halloween-statistics/

Here are a few of the more intriguing factoids from the article:

• Up to 97% of Americans will be giving out Halloween candy. 
• Up to 94% of Americans are planning to celebrate Halloween in 2024
• 47% of people wear costumes to celebrate the day
• Spending for Halloween 2024 is expected to reach $11.6 billion dollars.
• Spirit Halloween will open 1,525 new locations this fall.  

About that last statistic... If you don't already know, Spirit Halloween is the largest of the seasonal stores that pop-up about six weeks before October 31st and vanish as if by magic in the first week of November. It's one of the fastest growing businesses in America, usually found in one of the otherwise vacant spaces that once was a big-box stores, bringing the location back to life, if only for a while. For a deep dive -- and an entertaining and seasonally appropriate one -- into the world of Spirit Halloween, I recommend the latest episode of the podcast 99 Percent Invisible, all about Spirit Halloween explosion:

https://99percentinvisible.org/episode/600-spirit-halloween/

Definitely worth a listen. Added bonus: If there's ever a vote on who has the greatest voice in radio, the winner by rights should be the 99% Invisible host Roman Mars (and he should win some kind of award for the magnificent name, too!)

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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.