Welcome back to The Cleveland Park Listies Show! Only two more weeks till we reveal the winners!
Tonight's two categories:
BEST ADVICE OR CREATIVE WAY TO SOLVE A PROBLEM
BEST LONG DISCUSSION THREAD
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In the Category of BEST ADVICE or CREATIVE WAY TO SOLVE A
PROBLEM: So much good counsel on the CP Listserv this year, it was tough to
winnow it down to just five nominees. Easily could have had ten….but here are
the five we’ve selected for you tonight:
Got a swarm of bees? Rehome them!
Are you apiphobic? (scared of bees!) Do you know what to do
if you encountered a whole swarm of them? Don’t panic! Just follow the calm,
friendly advice posted on the Listserv by Kristina K. on March 5, Message #198719 . She’s part of
the DC Beekeepers volunteer force, and they LIKE bees. And they will come out
for free and get rid of that swarm you suspect doesn’t much care for YOU.
In fact, they’ll give 'em all a welcome home somewhere far away. And if you haven’t
ever encountered a swarm of bees but would like to BEE prepared if and when you
do, BEE sure to view the photos in this message. But BEE warned: I’ve seen
trailers for horror movies that were not as scary as those four photos!
Tips for a Hospital Stay.
The great majority of us were born in a hospital….but does
anyone among us ever want to return? Yet at some point or another, we must, and
when that happens, we don’t want it to be any worse than it needs to be. All
too often, though, it’s far worse than we imagined. When Carren relayed her bad
hospital experience and Warren asked if another hospital would be any better, I’m afraid the responses added up to "No, not really." Still, amid all the sad and cautionary
tales were some takeaways that we can use to help make things better. Among the tips: Use the hospital ombudsman's office (or patient advocate's office when you encounter problems; choose your surgeon carefully, paying attention to the rating of the hospital where they operate, not just their own record; pick the hospital most associated with the specialty needed in your case.
There were 31 messages under the subject line, "Tips for a hospital stay" and 7 more under various other subject lines, but the standout -- the one that wins the nomination for the Listy -- was Amanda's Message
#199377 on March 23 [with my emphasis added]: “
There are four level-1 trauma centers in DC: GW, Washington
Hospital Center + Children’s Hospital, and Howard.....Having
done a tour of local hospitals for clinicals in nursing school and accompanying
relatives, my choices would be Washington
Hospital Center in a life threatening emergency, Georgetown for physician
appointments, and Suburban Hospital for a scheduled surgery."
Now that is the voice of someone who clearly knows her subject – and
so her message is the one in this thread that gets the nomination for the Listy.
Who has the best crab cakes?
Twelve list members weighed in with votes for both local and worth-a-drive restaurants
and seafood markets -- some as far away as Baltimore or the Eastern Shore. Each poster had their arguments for why this or that place had the best crab cakes, but the one who
clinched the nomination was Jim G., who said, with winsome confidence, “I do!” With his plug for do-it-yourself home cooking, he assures you that you, too, will want to "Invite friends for dinner to enjoy [your culinary creations] and amaze them, too." He closes with this promise: "Be bold and mighty culinary forces will come to your aid!" (Message https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/message/204975 on September 5.)
Our pock-marked lawn – ideas?
The problem: A lawn like a battlefield, pock-marked all over with tiny foxholes dug by some furry little soldiers. OK, I'm paraphrasing -- but I'm not exaggerating! You can read the exact quotation at Message
#205969 , posted by David H. on October 2.
In the "show compassion" vein,
Greg C. urged understanding, because: "The squirrels are manic this year. They are on the porch trying to bury their acorns in our flower pots. Dirt is spread everywhere. I think perhaps they need therapy." .
Deborah L. agreed, and added
some biology/climatology-driven reasons for the squirrels' manic behavior: "
This is a mast year for oak trees. They occur every two to five years. In a mast year, oak trees produce an unusually large number of acorns. The number is large enough that some of the acorns can germinate and turn into new oak trees. The squirrels are trying to bury as many of those acorns as possible. Scientific research has shown that they remember where they have buried those acorns and will retrieve them throughout the winter. Expect more baby squirrels than usual next spring."
But the Listy nomination goes to Tam, who was clear, confident, and experienced in coping with the problem. You have the tools you need in your kitchen and bathroom to deal with the problem, she asserted,
“After much research and experimentation I found
that sliced onions and Irish Spring soap were amazing at keeping animals at
bay. The skunks, raccoons, squirrels and rabbits disappeared forever. I do have
to reinforce the soap and onions occasionally, but nobody digs or chews
anymore." (Message
#205998 on October 2)
Best sources of local news.
There's widespread agreement among Listserv members (and when has that ever happened before?) that the Washington Post is falling down on the job of local news coverage. The original message from Joe P. on October 22 declared flatly, "Washington Post doesn't care to report much if any real local news anymore." So what’s a good
alternative? There were 8 responses, offering suggestions such as DCist, Popville, local news tweeters Alan Henney and DC Crime Facts, The Hill, 730dc, The DC Line and of course, the CP Listserv. Without a doubt the most helpful post -- that one that stood apart from all the others on this thread (thus cinching the nomination on this topic) the post from Meghan K., a librarian, who compiled a list -- complete with working links! -- of 43 different, reliable sources of local news, divided into different types (e.g., TV News; Radio & Audio; Blogs & Websites; et.al, -- which ought to earn her some kind of librarian prize as well as the nomination for a Cleveland Park Listy! It's all there at Message #206961 on October 26.
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Moving on to: BEST LONG DISCUSSION THREAD.
To recap the rules for
this category: To qualify as a “long discussion” there must be a minimum of six
messages, from at least four different posters. Most importantly, the
discussion needs to be lively, informative, entertaining and/or of practical value. In other words, there will be NO nominations for any of the type of discussions that come back around on the Listserv periodically, featuring stand-offs between well-defined opposing camps, which quickly devolve into a round of (I'm paraphrasing here) "You’re wrong"…."No YOU’RE wrong!” You might think that Listserv arguments are all of that ilk, and it would be hard to find examples of anything else....but if that's what you think, YOU'RE WRONG!
We had no trouble at all coming up with these five productive, positive, and highly readable nominees:
I ❤️ Rodman’s!
A paean to this "great resource to have in the community" was started on July 7 with a post by Rich M., and continued and amplified by 8 more from: Sarah;, Debbie ("on (ahem) Rodman St"!); Marie; Charlie; Andrea; Andrew; Jay; and Eleanor., spread out over the next 3 days. Some highlights:
It's always a treat to walk their aisles and see the various international foods that they carry
Pharmacy is great for meds and vaccinations as well as other drugstore stuff; the produce is always nice and fairly priced; something tasty and interesting is always on sale; lots of housewares and cleaning supplies; great selection of wine, beer and now booze.
The poster who best summed it all up is Marie S. who posted this appreciation:
"....they have excellent and varied selections, and nice, informed clerks, and parking -- win win win! When I go in for one item I usually find an interesting gadget or unusual gift item. The wines, beers and food shelf items are so international. Christmas displays are always amazing. Pharmacist very good and nice variety of medical sickroom items with others available on order."
-- and she ended her post with a call for neighbors to "stop by frequently and support this neighborhood treasure." Message
#202966 on July 7)
Let’s make laundry jugs refillable.
This discussion was kicked off by Eleanor on August 14 with
this sensible question: "If I must bring my personal, reusable, grocery bags to the grocery store, why can’t I bring my personal, reusable, detergent jug back to the grocery store to be refilled? Landfills would be spared the millions of plastic laundry jugs from thousands of American households. Every household would have its single, reusable jug. It could come in two sizes, large and small."
There followed 12 different takes on the matter by 12 different posters, demonstrating that there's more than one environmentally sound way to clean your clothes, including:
"
Remember powdered laundry detergent? It still exists — it’s not only very economical — you measure exactly how much soap to use (vs. pods) — and it comes in a cardboard box."
"
Forget Tide! Use
https://www.grove.co/member/home/, They deliver, they have pods you throw in your washing machine and dishwasher that comes in recyclable paper or reusable tin cans. Stop using plastic or trying to refill them or sending them back to refill -- all is unnecessary."
And the nomination for the Listy? It goes to Marianna S., who posted the 13th and final message in the thread. It was the one pointing out that there is indeed such a thing as a store that lets customers bring in an empty jug to fill with laundry detergent -- you just need to hop on your E-bike and cruise on over to crunchy Takoma Park and you're in the right place! It's called the
Fulfillery and you can learn more about it in Message
https://groups.io/g/clevelandpark/message/204321 on August 16.
The Razing of American City Diner. This discussion took part in two segments, with the first seven messages posted back on March 8, starting with the announcement that the American City Diner was going to be razed. A couple of posters regretted the impending loss of the mural above the Diner --that's the one based on Margaret Bourke-White's famous photograph of the billboard of a happy, prosperous white family driving along a highway, with the motto underneath, "There's no way like the American way" -- and at the bottom of the frame, a breadline of hungry black families, patiently waiting for something to eat. But in the version that was painted on the wall above the American City Diner, only the cheery image on the billboard was reproduced -- the sadly contrasting breadline in the foreground was simply erased.
Two posters, Jay and Jean, both on March 8, were not sorry to hear that the mural would be going. As Jay's post (Message #198855) drily observed, the version above the diner took "the bitterly ironic Margaret Bourke-White photograph" and turned it "into some attempt at fun nostalgic kitsch." That was followed by a critique from Jean P, a professor of English, Women & Gender Studies, and Asian Studies at the University of Delaware, who wrote: "The mural spoke to an era that never was and erased the fantasy of a thoroughly white and prosperous city that surely did not come to pass for most— then or now." (Message #198866 )
Almost seven months later, when the building and the mural both came down, the discussion resumed. There were seven more posts (from Sept 30 to Oct 2), mainly about the loss of a fun, casual eating place, which served comfort food at modest prices -- but again there was some regret expressed that the mural was soon to be gone. Jay reminded everyone how the mural had stripped the real meaning from the photograph. So, for popping the nostalgia-bubble with a worthwhile art history lesson, we give the nomination for the Listy for best post in a long discussion thread to Jay's Oct 2 Message #205961 .
On Oct 2 Stephen S. had the last word: :As of Sunday, the mural is also gone. Painted over with white." (Message #206005 )
Neighbor’s right to breathe smoke-free air.
This topic, under the subject line, "From the Washington Post: Sick of smelling her neighbor’s legal pot, this woman sued" got started on Jan 16 with Josefa's greeting to her neighbors and invitation to comment on the court case she had filed, acting as her own attorney, to block a tenant from smoking pot in the neighboring apartment, the smoke and smell of which pervaded her apartment and was making her sick.
Dear neighbors,
I am reaching out to ask for your kind advice on how to address a neighbor's Cannabis smoking foul smell that enters my home and permeates the surrounding area, which makes me violently sick. Yes, I have talked with my neighbor, many, many, many times, and called the police a couple of times. Unfortunately, I have not been successful, as the smoking and skunk smell continues during the day and night hours, making me violently sick. This situation has significantly limited the use of parts of my home and outdoor space.
I understand that it is legal to smoke pot in DC, but I wonder what are the rights of non-smokers, if any, especially for the ones that get sick due to the horrible and sickening smell of Cannabis.
Have you encountered this issue? Any advice is very much appreciated.
A 16-message thread followed with posts from 13 different posters. We had an M.D. two public health officials, a couple of lawyers, and quite a few others who had experienced similar second-hand smoke problems, weighing in with medical, legal, and practical advice about how to proceed.
Seven months later, the topic was back, under the deceptively bland subject line: "Update on the CP Listserv member who sued over marijuana smoke invading her apartment" -- but the outcome made the front page of the Washington Post: Complete victory for Josefa! (See the
Post's story:
Bothered by pot smell, she sued her neighbor to stop smoking — and won (published June 6, 2023).
Of course, the nomination for the Listy in this case rightfully goes to Josefa.
Nostalgia for the old stores.
This was the longest of all the long discussion threads of the year: I pulled up over NINETY messages, from Feb 20 all the way through March 2, under a variety of subject lines, most frequent among them: "Nostalgia for old stores" but also morphing into subtopics such as "Nostalgia for old stores on the Conn Ave side of Cleveland Park," "Wisconsin Avenue Favorites," "Macomb and Wisconsin Memories," and, well, I don't have space to list all the variations on the theme. I repeat NINETY messages!!
Let me race through some of the long-departed stores our posters named -- and clearly, still missed: On the Connecticut side there was the Roma Restaurant/ Poor Robert's (both owned by the Abbo family); Yenching Palace, Howie's Chicken Bucket, Young Playways, Crown Books, Lavandou, L'escargot.... And on the Wisconsin side: deKun Photo, Sullivan's Toy Store, the Cleveland Park Bookshop, Murphy's, Modern Shoe Shop, Moon Palace, Friendship Flowers, and University Pastry Shop. I think I'll stop at Z for Zebra Room....
Who among all this great crush of posters should be the nominee for this thread? They're all good! I could throw darts at all the names on Post-its stuck on a corkboard....or I could just make the nominee the first poster on Feb 21 to take a long-ish walk down Memory Lane, under the subject line, "Macomb and Wisconsin Memories" That would be Sally C. in Message
#198168 .
Here's that post:
We had a surprise 16th birthday party for my daughter Katie at the Zebra Room (half price Tuesdays and Thursdays) The Chinese restaurant was not a small one and I wish someone would remind me of the name. [Editor's note: It was
s Moon Palace.] I can still conjure up the smell of that dining room. Burka’s Liquor was on the corner and delivered. Murphy’s also had a pet store downstairs. Modern Shoe Shop and De Kun’s Photo were go-to places for shoe repair and photo processing. Friendship Flowers and University Pastry have been mentioned and have flooded me with happy memories.
Further up Wisconsin, before the old Johnson’s Flowers, was the Hot Shoppe. Now that was a real treat for kids.
-Sally, former Macomb resident
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Whew! Done for today!
Now I must briefly backtrack to
last week's Listies, with a CORRECTION to my write-up for one of the nominees for
Best ISO: Kathy R. got the nod for her quest to have her uncle's World War II letters published as a small-circulation book. Her late uncle's 100th birthday was December 9th (the date of the appearance of the nominations last week) -- but I completely missed the fact that he was no longer with us, having passed on at age 77. The book will serve to preserve memories for this generation and those to come. Sorry for the error!
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Tune in again next week when we'll have the final round of candidates for a Listy in the two remaining categories:
Photo of the Year
Post of the Year
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Still Life with Robin is published on the Cleveland Park Listserv and on All Life Is Local on Saturdays.
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