The nominations are in for Part I of our 4-part awards show, and now the curtain goes up! What you've been waiting for all year long is just getting started. Let's not waste any time and get right to the nominees in three of our seven categories.
To kick things off we have the BEST GIVEAWAY category. Giving stuff away is one of the things the Listserv does best. Right from the get-go (in November 1999!!), people have used the Listserv to give away all kinds of things: furniture; rugs; clothes; baby items; musical instruments; housewares; tickets; plants; books & music; appliances; school supplies; objets d'art; and of course, thousands upon thousands of moving boxes. So, what do we have this year? These were five giveaways that stood up and shouted, "Hey, you gotta have ME!" The Listy will go to the giver -- not the lucky list member who already got something for nothing!
Goat milk. Around the end of May, Caren R. ordered some oat milk from Whole Foods. Somehow they inserted a "G" into her order, and delivered some GOAT milk! Fortunately, all kinds of kids like goat milk! (May 28, Message #201564 )
Dollhouse. If you recreated this house at real-people-scale, I'm guessing it would be in the $3-5 million range, depending on location. But your little dollies could live here for free! Leaves you envious of the little plastic population, doesn't it? And of course, envious of the lucky child who came away with this spectacular manse, which the giver tells us "traces back to Westminster, Carroll County MD." (Posted by Karen S., November 22, Message #207796 )
Small boat anchor. This was not a solo thing but one of the giveaway items listed along with a bunch of other random stuff, including 5 boxes of blue tiles, some inflatable pool chairs with cup holders, assorted pool toys, black rain gutters, and 22 large white canisters to use as garden pots....and I'm sorely tempted to tell you it was topped off by a partridge in a pear tree. But alas, that would be my invention. Katrina B. offered the anchor and the rest of the stuff for free on July 18 (Message #203375 ). I hope that anchor has found good use keeping someone's boat from floating off down the Potomac. She also mentioned that it would make a good doorstop -- so perhaps it's right here in Cleveland Park, propping open a patio door(?) If you are the lucky new owner of this anchor, please tell us what it's doing now! In the meantime, the giver gets the nod of a "Best Giveway" nomination.
Piano. This was a Kimball Baby Grand. Take a look at it at Message #198735 . Too bad Peter wasn't also giving away all the wonderful knickknacks on the piano top, or the fancy gilt-framed mirror on the wall behind. Gorgeous, like a lush movie set! You can practically hear the Rachmaninoff in your head as you gaze upon the photo. (March 6)
Well-behaved houseplants. Lots of people gave away potted plants and hanging ferns. But Scott was the only one to promise us that his adoptable plants would not misbehave! They do look quite tame -- see the photo at Message #201223 .Was he telling the truth or over-hyping, and those "peace lilies" turned out to be wild little monsters! Only the list member who got the free plants knows for sure! (If that person would write in to update us, we're all ears!)
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Next up is the ever-popular category of BEST ANIMAL POST. This year we had the whole kit 'n' caboodle: Dogs, cats, crows, ospreys, hawks, sparrows, a budgie,, squirrels, groundhogs, lizards, possums, and BEARS! It was tough to whittle the nominations down to just five.... A dangerous job, but somebody had to do it. Here's what made the cut:
Is it a beaver? The full subject line of the August 24 message from Maria that kicked off the discussion was "Cute critter shows up on Macomb Street....Is it a beaver?" You can read her full message and see the two snapshots she included at Message #204458 . In practically no time there were 23(!) responses, ranging from wild guesses, to fantasy creatures to the definitive answer. Here are all the animals that got a vote: Beaver, Nutria, "Super-Squirrel," and something with mange.... And the top vote getter and scientifically correct response: Groundhog! The message that gets nominated for the Listy comes from our resident conservation biology professor, Megan D., who issued her official, expert opinion, first rejecting the pronouncement of a previous poster who said it was a beaver: "Beavers' tails are scaly in appearance, and broader and flat (see here and here). Groundhogs have longish, sort of flat tails too, but furry (see here and here). Beavers generally stick pretty close to water except when they're out in search of a new home, especially when they're younger. So it's not outside the realm of possibility to see a beaver at that site, but it would be unusual. But....the original photo...shows a groundhog." (Message #204521 on August 23)
Puppy can open a gate! Suzann's puppy is too smart for the usual puppy-proofing techniques. On September 18 Suzann reports that her dog had figured out how to open a gate. When a few posters responded with ideas to discourage the dog from manipulating the latch with her mouth, Suzann shot back to say that the dog was not using her mouth -- it sounds almost like the pup had opposable thumbs on her paws! (See Suzann's follow-up message later the same day: "Very smart girl. She watched how I opened each (a few times) and then did the same (except with paws)." Very cute girl, too! See the photo at Message 205418
There's no fishing in baseball! After a few posters wrote in about their osprey sightings (see posts from Elba, Greg, Linda, and Scott), Marjorie S. amused us with this little anecdote about how the fish-loving raptors interfered with her son's college baseball game in Orlando, FL (message #197427 on Jan 28). Full Disclosure: Yes, it's the same Marjorie who has been a Listserv Sponsor since the dawn of time, when we first began accepting real estate ads -- but even fuller disclosure (to assure everyone of our impartiality towards the submissions): After removing names and other identifying info, I sent all the entries in this category off to my daughter in NYC and asked her to help me pick the five best. She agreed this one was a keeper!
The bear with his own zip code. This thread started off with reports about Franklin the Brookland Bear but soon wound its way around to another, far more famous bear named Smokey, a real cub who was rescued from a forest fire in New Mexico back in 1950. An effective public service campaign turned him into the iconic spokes-bear for the US Forest Service, educating the public about their responsibility to prevent forest fires. Smokey the Bear received so much fan mail, the Post Office assigned him his own zip code! He lived out the rest of his life as a resident of the National Zoo right here in Woodley Park. While there were several posters who provided fascinating nuggets of information about his life and his image in art (including Carolyn, Margery, and Judith), we award this nomination to Amanda, who, in addition to giving us some biographical data on Smokey, adds her own personal connection: "He died in 1976 on the only day I ever visited the zoo with my father." (Message #201981 on June 10).
Collie finds a new home. I'm happy to close out the nominations in this category with a nice, heartwarming story that has a classic happy ending. On March 4, Nancy B. posted a message on behalf of her niece and her husband and kids (ages 8 and 5). They'd fallen in love with a friend's collie and now Nancy was asking if anyone could give them tips on finding one through a rescue program or in some other way. Three days later Nancy posted an update with the good news: "Yesterday a kind responder suggested she [the niece] should get in touch with a family needing to rehome their young collie. My niece got in touch and arranged an interview for today. She just texted the pictures -- total love and happiness, including the 5 year old on the floor giving belly rubs to his first dog. I recognize the floor in my niece's home. Wow! One family augmented, the other relieved their beloved pup will be safe and cared for. Thanks to everyone who responded, advised and sent suggestions. A happy ending for all! May every inquiry end so well." So how could I not nominate this post!? By the way, it was titled "Why I love this listserv!" (Message #198804 )
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Our third category is Best ISO (a/k/a Query). People use the Listserv to pose intriguing questions or seek obscure products or request items for unusual purposes -- as exemplified by these five nominees:
ISO Yuvafem & Vagifem Inserts. I'll let this one speak for itself: "This one's for the women! ;-) I'm an artist, collecting Yuvafem and Vagifem Inserts to use in a series on time after menopause. If you wouldn't mind saving them, I'd be grateful. I'll be collecting for a while, so if you let me know, I can come get from you, or you can drop off at my place in Tenleytown. Signed by the artist, Gayle F. (Message #206085 on October 4). Gayle, please feel free to send in a link to the art project when it's completed. I suspect there's a hidden but large and curious audience of older women who are waiting to see your work!
ISO metal detector. On November 19 (Message #207699 ), Thomas H. asked, "Do metal detectors detect non-ferrous metals, specifically gold as in a wedding ring? If so, does someone have one I could borrow or advice on where to rent?" On November 28, I'm sure every single reader was cheering along (at least silently) as they read, "I took the advice I got from a very nice guy from Metal Detecting Adventures and within 30 minutes of starting to look through the leaf bags, I had my wedding band back. While Thomas expressed his gratitude to the advice-giver and to other CP Listserv neighbors, it's good for us to express our gratitude to him for sharing this story and giving us all a reason to smile. (Message #207922)
ISO info on privately publishing WWII letters. Just last week (December 7, Message #208247 ) Kathy R. told us about her uncle -- today is his 100th birthday -- who "turned 18 two days after Pearl Harbor. He served from 1943-46 and wrote faithfully to his widowed mother and sister. Thank goodness they kept the letters. The result is a PDF running more than 600 pages....Does anyone have advice on getting this properly bound and printed?" As she noted in a a follow-up post the very next day (December 8, Message #208310 ), "This was the right group to ask." People gave great suggestions -- 9 of them! -- based on their own experiences in creating a small-circulation book. Kathy, we congratulate your uncle on his 100th birthday, and when you present this treasured volume to him, be sure to take a few photos and post them on the Listserv!
ISO binoculars. Not for use around the neighborhood to spot ospreys or groundhogs! All the donated binoculars will be taken to South Africa to be given to park rangers-in-training at wildlife preserves, to help them learn their jobs. On May 2, June K. posted the query found at Message #200660 . Hope some binoculars made the long trip from Cleveland Park to South African wildlife parks.
ISO monk's robe for a Halloween costume. Ho-hum, you may think, why is this one in here? Because the poster was not not dressing up as just any old monk but was creating a costume representing Luca Pacioli, the Italian Tuscan friar who invented double entry bookkeeping in the 15th century. You can find the image of the pious accountant at message #205440 on September 18. This post was so much more than an ISO; it was a small gem of historical trivia, and it's something I've stored away in my memory banks, and hope to bring up at tax time in April, to show my accountant I know a thing or two about her field -- even though my financial records are an unholy mess!
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And now, before closing out this part of the show, let me just mention at a few things that were considered for a nomination but ended up on the cutting room floor.....
In the animal category: An emergency call for a gecko-sitter; a post about possums and paper routes, a flying squirrel in the attic; loud catbirds and mockingbirds that wake you up at the crack of dawn; and a post about the creative woodworker who designed a picnic table/feeding station for squirrels.
In the Giveaway category there were: cow-themed items; a tall cat tree, no longer wanted because the cats have decided they are "too cool for their cat tree"; and a "treasure trove of 78 RPM records" (Hey, Gen Z'ers, if you're wondering what a 78 RPM record is.....just google it.)
In the ISO category: We had a post about a lost Texas driver's license that worked to find the owner. And someone seeking unwanted dolls and action figures, even if eyeless or limbless (never said what for!); ISO info on a Skull & Bones teapot from Yale; and a post seeking to swap one left Apple Airpod Pro earbud with someone who has two right ones. Finally, there were so many people looking to buy or trade in the following currencies: Czech korunas and Hungarian forint; Japanese yen and Moroccan dirhams; Turkish lira; Bermuda dollars; Thai baht...and probably a few others that my casual search failed to turn up.
Part II will be posted next Saturday, December 16th, featuring the nominations in these two categories:
Best Advice or Creative Way to Solve a Problem
and
Best Long Discussion Thread.
Nominations are still open! Here are the rules for "Best Long Discussion Thread":
- Must be at least six messages long.
- Must engage at least four different posters.
- Must convey new information and/or lead to some sort of resolution. In other words, no endless back-and-forth exchanges that can be boiled down to: "Did too!" "Did not" "You're wrong!" "No, YOU'RE wrong!"
Part III, Nominations for Photo of the Year and Post of the Year, will be posted on the Listserv on Saturday, December 23.
Part IV: THE WINNERS will be announced on Saturday, December 30!!!
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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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