HLT August 2007 Issue

Is it ‘T’ time?

by Hugh Turley and Mark Wright

I

n the past, the limited selection of presidential candidate T-shirts offered for sale in Washington, D.C. souvenir shops has proven to be a predictor of who the winners will be. Once again, months before the first primary election, the souvenir shops have already severely narrowed the choices of T-shirts available.

Time will tell if they are good omens this time, but a survey of sales suggests that if these early front-runners prove to be the candidates, they will still not be all that popular.

Do you have any political tees?

HL&T wants to know what Hyattsville thinks about wardrobe campaigning. Call Michael at 301.864.5621 Months before the first primary, souvenir shops in the district are selling only the Tshirts of the front-runners in the polls. The candidates with shirts for sale at a National Airport shop are Democrats Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama and Republicans Rudy Giuliani and John McCain.

In June of 1999, months before voters had registered any preference in a primary for their preferred candidates, and with numerous declared candidates in the race, the souvenir shop at National Airport had already narrowed the choice of T-shirts to poll-front-running Democrats Al Gore and Bill Bradley and Republicans George Bush

TEES continues on page 7

Vol. 4 No. 8

n Locals compete in slaloms, races at AWS regatta

Hyattsville’s Community Newspaper

August 2007

Riding the tide

by Sarah Nemeth

A

fter donning life preserver vests and selecting their oars, Hyattsville Mayor William Gardiner and his captain Stuart Eisenberg lugged their canoe down a ramp and into the murky waters of the Anacostia River July 28 for the Anacostia Watershed Society’s 13th Annual Paddlesport Regatta.

The event, held at the Bladensburg Waterfront Park, is a fundraiser for the nonprofit river stewardship group and beckoned children and adults to the marina.

Eisenberg and Gardiner were contestants in a race with other elected officials including Prince George’s County Councilman David Harrington, Berwyn Heights Mayor Cheye Calvo, Cottage City Commissioners Isaac Blake and Aileen McChesney and others.

“I think we’re going the wrong

way,” Gardiner said from his perch at the boat’s helm as the two paddled out to the starting line. He and Eisenberg have won the Mayor’s/Council’s Cup sprint multiple times before.

Greener grass for ‘men in blue’

Hyattsville Life & Times PO Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781

n Police officers return to Hyattsville after brief stint in Bowie

by Melanie Lidman

T

PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit # 43 Easton, MD 21601

wo of Hyattsville’s protectors returned to the city police force last month after returning from five-month stretches with Bowie’s newly formed police department.

Officer Pvt. Jennifer Stuehmeier and Cpl. Keith Powell are “glad to be back,” Stuehmeier said during a recent late-night patrol.

“I am absolutely delighted they chose to return,” said Hyattsville Police Chief Douglas Holland. “Both were very good officers with very good records when they left. They served Hyattsville residents well and I fully expect they will continue their fine record of service.”

There is stiff competition among

law enforcement agencies in the Metro region to attract and keep police officers, he said.

Powell acknowledged there were some problems with the Hyattsville department but said that he chose to return because he is confident that positive changes will be made.

“Hyattsville has a good department, but we’re not perfect,” he said.

The Hyattsville City Council recently approved a pay enhancement package for the 2008 fiscal year.

Police officers will be given extra pay for second language skills, fitness proficiency and certification/ training - such as bicycle patrol and firearms training - beyond what is

This year, the honor went to Calvo and his rowing mate who came in first, followed by a frenzy of nine other canoes. Gardiner and Eisenberg - at times during the race going bow-to-bow with Blake and McChesney - swept across the finish line in fourth place.

“Of course it was fun,” Gardiner,

soaked, said after the race. “It was a good day for all the participants. Another super event by the Anacostia Watershed Society...”

Bladensburg Mayor Walter James probably stayed drier in his canoe than he did before the race while

RIDING THE TIDE ontinues on page 13

Markets offer traditional fair, specialty items

by Sarah Nemeth

F

or Lidia Benitez the benefits of owning a Latino grocery store in Hyattsville are ranked on a scale grander than simply the joys of owning her own business.

The Guatemala native has been operating Julia-Rosa Grocery, a small market on 41st Street near Nicholson Street, for two months and said stores like hers that offer niche victuals are a necessity, not just a convenience.

“It’s nice because you have a connection with the people,” she said. “And, you’re working for yourself.”

Benitez, who lives on Hamil-

ton Street with her husband and children, was brought to Hyattsville by her cousins and has found here a home and hope.

“In my country it’s so hard to find a job but here there’s always some work for me to do,” she said through tears. “I love this country.”

Business is getting better, but when Benitez first began selling foodstuffs, customers were the exception and not the rule. On opening day, Julia-Rosa Grocery brought in only $15.

“Nobody came,” she said.

“Now they’re coming and [we’re] selling a lot more.”

When she first moved to

MARKETS continues on page 13

MEN IN BLUE continues on page 13

Included: The August 8, 2007 Issue of The Hyattsville Reporter—See Center Section

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 2

Therapist, heal thyself

by John Aquilino

Y

ears ago I stopped to admire a portrait of an American Indian meticulously done in black magic marker. The stubby, short strokes were perhaps the modern version of the old, fine line engravings so popular in 19th Century magazines. It was magnificent.

I asked its owner, my friend Stewart, about the print.

“The father of one of my patients made it for me,” he replied. “His son was afraid to take a (bowel movement) and hadn’t done so for (I can’t remember the period of time but it was horrifically long—weeks or even months). I got him to (defecate) again.”

Stewart was loud and brash with all the street confidence of someone who thrived soaking in life growing up in the Bronx. He loved the ponies (the kind you bet on) and he loved what he was doing—mostly helping junkies kick their dependency and start to confront realitytoe to toe.

Stewart was what I call a “therapist.”

I’ve met very few worthy of the term since. Of course that doesn’t count the marvelous people who become speech therapists, occupational therapists, or physical therapists and who labor long and hard and create what “Coach” and his fellow security guards at National Rehabilitation Hospital call “miracles” on a daily basis. You can find these folks all over the place: at Children’s Hospital in the District; at Kennedy-Krieger Institute in Baltimore; at James E. Duckworth School in Beltsville.

No, the list of practicing therapists I’ve met since don’t measure up to Stewart.

One is the wife of a high school

teacher. After she discovered her husband’s untoward and quite illegal interest in his female students, she didn’t turn him into authorities. She became a family therapist.

Another is a top dollar therapist/ psychiatrist living in a multi-million dollar home/office in the District.

During sessions with her, she appeared to be dozing. At the end of the hour she brightened up and repeated what apparently was her mantra with others. “Do you think you could pay in advance for sessions?” How much I asked. “Oh, say a check for $5,000.” That should have been my first clue about the Alice In Wonderland world I’d just entered.

What brought me there was the request by my children to spend more time with their mother. For the past three years I’d been their custodial parent. Their mother was often late for her evenings for dinner with the boys. And every year missed taking them on a promised vacation for whatever unexplained reason. They wanted to spend more time with her. Believing that children should have the influence of both parents—unless issues like physical or sexual abuse, drug use, etc. are present—I agreed that joint custody would be a good thing for them.

Maryland, unfortunately, doesn’t believe in joint custody. For all its hypocritical rhetoric about being so “enlightened” and “progressive” Maryland’s family law structure is based on adversarial relationships and a meaningless legal phrase of “what’s in the children’s best interest.” Attorneys who have nannies raising their own children tend to make that decision, not the children or the parents.

At any rate the boys’ mother filed

Opinion: Open-ended

open-mindedness

M

y heart began palpitating while watching a recent episode of the TV show, “America’s Next Top Model.” The program, hosted by supermodel Tyra Banks, invites pixie-stickskinny women (with a few rare exceptions where a woman might have a body shape similar to actress Sandra Bullock and she is dubbed “plus size” by Banks) to sequester themselves in living quarters with a handful or so of others vying for a modeling contract and other related prizes.

I don’t watch television often, and I’ve only seen this show twice, but both times I sighed to myself as the credits rolled, wondering why any woman anywhere would subject herself to such emotional torture. Some of these women are absolutely spectacular in physique; and though the show only offers viewers snippets of the girls’ personalities, my head spins trying to understand how any of them could be deeper than a Petri dish inside.

The last time I tuned in, a woman named Anna appeared on the show. She was pretty but not beautiful; trim but not skinny. She had for custody to get the legal process rolling, or so I thought. Part of the process is to have both homes evaluated by a “professional.” (I’ll happily volunteer the name of the person we had so others can avoid the experience, but won’t use it here.) It didn’t take long for me to realize something was amiss. I think it was when the therapist asked,“How dare you take the boys to see an R-rated movie!” Her scorn was directed towards “The Patriot”—a portrayal of a war veteran turned pacifist who was forced by circumstance to fight

THERAPIST Continues on page 16

more personality than Styrofoam (unusual in much of American pop culture) and refused to pose for a photo shoot during which the women were photographed naked with only tiny jewels, paint and maybe a headdress of chain mail to cover them.

Anna refused to pose for the shots out of sheer decency - she didn’t want her husband and children back home to see her like that. She believed it was wrong.

And so she was kicked off the show.

To be fair, each week a woman is removed from the show by a panel of four judges, including Banks. What bothered me about the episode wasn’t so much that Anna got booted. She took that into consideration when she made her choice.What irritated me most was that the judges brought their decision down to two women: Anna, and a woman who used foul language and spouted off because her “roommates” failed to wake her up for the afore mentioned photo shoot. She was hours late to the studio and her irresponsible attitude left her unfit for a decent

photograph session, or so the photographer - and a panelist - said.

So I’m sitting on the sofa thinking, “Why did these judges choose an immature, sloppy potty-mouth over someone with substance?”

Because that’s what we want.

We say, “Tolerate the scoundrel but separate the spiritual from our society.” We cringe at the mention of virtue, but salivate at vile images of rebellion. Maybe patience is what we should collectively seek to grow, not tolerance. I was once told, “You don’t want to be so open-minded that your brains fall out.”

I think that says it all.

Sarah Nemeth is Editor-in-Chief for the HL&T

(YATTSVILLE

,IFE 4IMES

A community newspaper chronicling the life and times of Hyattsville

Mailing address: PO Box 132, Hyattsville, MD 20781 Hyattsville Life & Times is published monthly by Hyattsville Community Newspaper, Inc. a 501c(3) nonprofit corporation.

Interested reporters should send their e-mail addresses to the editor to be reminded of deadlines and receive internal news.

Articles and news submitted may be edited.

The deadline is the last week of the month for the following month’s issue.

Letters to the editor and opinions are encouraged.

For all e-mail correspondence with HL&T: News, features, tips, advertising and business write to hyattsvillelifeandtimes@gmail.com Sarah Nemeth, Executive Editor 240.354.4832 or betweensundays@gmail.com Michael Martucci, Managing Editor 301.864.5621 Rick Docksai, Copy Editor Ashby Henderson, Photographer To submit articles, letters to the editor, etc. please e-mail Hyattsvillelifeandtimes@gmail.com.

For inquiries re advertising rates or to submit ad copy please email to Hyattsvillelife@Yahoo.com Publication Production: Electronic Ink

Colleen Aistis Steve Clements Kristen Gunderson Phil Houle Karen Riley Hugh Turley

Writers/Contribtors: John Aquilino Rick Docksai Jim Groves Bert Kapinus Sol Sandberg

Keith Blackburn Colleen Durnan Ashley Henderson Michael Martucci Tom Slezak

Circulation: Copies are distributed monthly by U.S. Mail to every address in Hyattsville. Additional copies are distributed to libraries, selected businesses, community centers and churches in the city. Total circulation is 7,500.

HL&T is a member of the National Newspaper Association

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 3

Antidote for the anecdote

by Michael Martucci

I

n the 1950’s and 60’s Dragnet, a police story of two Los Angeles police officers Bill Gannon and Joe Friday, had the eye of the nation. The deadpan delivery of the actors (Harry Morgan and Jack Webb) seemed odd, yet the standards in the show reflected the heart of the nation’s scruples. Not interested in the emotional rantings of the citizenry, the two detectives were champions of deciphering the truth in their daily investigations by separating the logical from the extraneous noise in the stories they were being told. Their modus operandi was summed up by Friday’s repetitive: “Just the facts” request.

First, let us be clear: like the straightforward Gannon and Friday of decades past, your personal story of those incidents that you have seen do not constitute proof of anything. The surging insta-poll results-driven society has been constructed over the past three decades. The desire to project small meaning from snapshots of particular occurrences upon the whole of society is not only laughable, but in a sense revealing and ultimately tragic. Evidence requires data presented in a limited, specific scope supporting the facts. You can’t just say a table stood with only three legs, you have to produce it to prove it. Stories don’t cut it. As such, statistics, while susceptible to interpretation, are much more factual than emotion-filled rhetoric.

Even more disturbing than such “projectionists of delusion” are politicians and the general public who indulge in linguistic imprecision.

They generally have no clue as to how to correctly present an honest opinion and they lack the capacity or scruples to back it up with fact.

Many develop arguments without factual anchors as part of their normal presentation. Obfuscation and parsing of words to skirt responsibility for their own statements has become the order of the day. Worse than this is that the double-speak is more than just in their speech. It has seeped into their thought processes like a creeping virus.

Listen to the public discourse on many insignificant topics in this town, for instance. You will usually hear two distinct, opposing points of view. Yet on both sides of an issue, you hear sweeping generalities, historical rewrites, half-truths and downright falsehoods. It makes the average person pause to ponder why we no longer are a nation of thinkers. We are a nation of sheep. We have two political parties who have locked out most other voices. In Hyattsville and the State of Maryland, it is even worse in that we are ruled more by one party than the other. This weakens further checks and balances in that the majority party often runs roughshod over the minority party. Nevertheless, these two opposing political brain trusts spew forth their self-interested agendas and then venomously attack their opponents as if it were part of the argument. This technique is used often by children and the less-than-honest as an illusion.

Casting doubt on your opponent is slight of hand perpetrated to keep eyes off of the weakness of your actual position on a topic.

Hence, the rise in storytelling has become fact as people choose camps and fall in lock step with political non-thought because of historic party loyalty. What does a man gain if he sacrifices truth for his own image if it costs him his soul? Few in the public any longer know how to listen to a person’s argument and dissect it to determine properly what is being said.

Therefore misconception, partial stories and unsubstantiated claims are allowed to stand as fact instead of being exposed for the flaws that riddle them. Weak thinkers use anecdotes as badges to prove their preconceived notions. In the past, we’ve called that bigotry and prejudice. Today it is just as ugly as it was then. Society must demand a fine, detail-oriented discourse steeped in logical, unemotional communication and pure fact. It is the only way to solve what ails it. “Please, just the facts ma’am; just the facts.”

THE PUBLICATION DEADLINE

for articles and letters in the September issue is Friday, August 27.

The Dog Days of Summer

g, typiAustralian Cattle Do Kriby, a one-year-old ” er. mm ys of su fies the term “dog da t in the it comes to chilling ou en wh e arg ch in “I’m . air director’s ch heat,” he said from his ved to West Virginia and mo m fro y all gin Kirby is ori .

Hyattsville in March

This guy has got it right. In true Labrador form, Diego “Dondi,” a 10-year-old English black Lab originally from Nantucket Island, knows he is built for water.

“I wanted to try out my new kayak this summer to make sure my down undercoat is ready for the winter,” he said. “But someone didn’t think it was a good idea to have a big, goofy dog like me riding the waves.”

“I’m so glad my pa rents realized that pools aren’t just for hum ans,” said Cleo, a se ven-yearold Husky mix wh o just moved to Hy attsville last month.

“And this makes th e best water bowl ever!”

ather heats side when the we “We like to stay in -old Maltese ar ye Mookie, a fiveid sa ” is, th e lik up y, enjoys air C. His comrade, Fa originally from D. ey just don’t ans are spoiled. Th conditioning. “Hum k we want in th ey have it. Th ey th od go w ho know d sweat it out?” to go outside an

The Hyattsville Life & Times presidential poll The Hyattsville Life & Times would like to know who you would like to be the next president of the United States.

Don’t tell us who you think will win. Let us know who, if you had the power to appoint the next president, you would choose. Cast your vote by sending us the name of the person you would most want to be president.

Send your choice to the HL&T at: P.O. Box 132 Hyattsville, MD 20781 or by E-mail to hyattvillelifeandtimes@gmail.com There are nearly 140 candidates listed at http://www.vote-smart. org/election_president.php Here are a few candidates that are often mentioned:

Democrats Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. D-Del. Wesley K. Clark Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton D-N.Y. Sen. Christopher J. Dodd D-Conn.

John Reid Edwards Albert Gore Jr. Maurice Robert ‘Mike’ Gravel Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich D-Ohio Sen. Barack Hussein Obama Jr. D-Ill. Gov. Bill Richardson D-N.M.

Republicans Sen. Samuel D. Brownback R-Kan. Newton Leroy ‘Newt’ Gingrich

Sen. Charles T. Hagel R- Neb. Rep. Duncan L. Hunter R- Calif.

Former Gov. James Gilmore R-Va. Former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani R-N.Y.C. Former Gov. Mike Huckabee R- Ark. Rep. Duncan Hunter R-Calif.

Sen. John McCain R-Ariz.

Rep. Ron Paul R-Texas Former Gov. Mitt Romney R- Mass.

Rep. Tom Tancredo R-Colo.

Former Gov. Tommy Thompson R-Wis. Fred Dalton Thompson

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 4

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Castaways wash up at St. Jerome’s School

n Threat of rain keeps ‘Shakespeare’ inside

by Sarah Nemeth

I

t did not take much for the gym at St. Jerome’s School to be transformed into a magical island as the Olney Theater Center wound words into wonder July 18 as part of the 23rd Annual Shakespeare in the Parks program.

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resident Heidi Schmidt. “The acting’s really good but the decision to move it in here was not good,� she said between acts. “There’s too much echo and it’s too hot.�

Schmidt teaches The Tempest to her seventh-grade pupils, some of whom were there and agreed that

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In fact, the only thing missing from the seaside set for this rendition of William Shakespeare’s The Tempest was water.

The production, presented by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission, was to be shown in Magruder Park but a foreboding sky suggested it was better to house the production indoors.

Great for staying dry and for sound effects. Not so great for hearing the words, said Hyattsville

the actor’s words were garbled. “It’s hard to understand,� Schmidt said.

But the echo bouncing off the high gymnasium walls and the unconditioned air did not stop the actors from sweating it out on-stage amid makeshift sea oats, booming sound effects and softening spotlights.

The Tempest is the scene of a shipwreck and castaways on an unnamed barren island. Love, hatred, magic and murder are rolled into

the witty quips and clever quotes familiar to original Globe Theater vernacular.

Actor Anthony W. Scarsella as Prospero slammed his driftwood scepter to the floor of the set with thunderous angst again and again; and actress Laura Rocklyn as the imp Ariel, pounced from perch to perch as she whipped the magical world into a tide of emotions.

Resident Chris Brophy has some experience with Tempests of his own. As a sometime actor he has played an assistant and Ferdinand in

separate productions of the show. “I’m always curious what they’re going to do with Caliban,� Brophy said of Prospero’s deformed slave, this time played by actor Carlos Candelario who boasted a shaved head and a partially painted face. “I’ve seen him with a shaved head before,� Brophy said, adding that he has also seen Caliban portrayed as more of a monster than a slave.

Although he agreed that it was difficult to hear the actors and he prefers the outside venue of previous years, Brophy said even with the quirks the program clicked. “The way Americans do Shakespeare they make it pretty obvious [what is happening],� he said.

Prior to The Tempest, actors from the Prince George’s Children’s Theatre performed The Tricky Tales of Anansi and Friends, an Aesop-like series of acts in the African and Caribbean style.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 5

Community Community Announcements Announcements Concordia Lutheran School pupils restore Trumbule Trail The eighth-grade science class at Concordia Lutheran School last month continued restoration efforts of the Trumbule Nature Trail in Magruder Park. Science teacher Edith Dameron led the class in the planting of 1,000 native plants in areas where non-native plants have been removed.

Sara Tangren of Chesapeake Native Nursery provided the plants.Tangren previously rescued the seed stock from plants that date over 500 years in the Magruder Park area. After the seeds were rescued, volunteers from the Prince George’s County Master Gardeners program participated in a planting event at the University of Maryland’s greenhouse. Those seedlings matured and were then reintroduced to the Trumbule Trail by the Concordia pupils.

Marc Imlay of the Anacostia Watershed Society also participated in the planting event.

“This is really wonderful,” Imlay said. “These students now have hands-on experience in the restoration of not only our own Anacostia Watershed but ultimately the Chesapeake Bay.” In the fall of 2007 incoming eighth-graders will return to the Trumbule Trail to locate, identify and chart the growth of the plants added by their former classmates.

Battle of Bladensburg encampment at Riversdale On Saturday, August 11, from noon to 4 pm, costumed interpreters portraying both American and British War of 1812 troops will allow a peek into camp life on the eve of battle from noon to 4 p.m. at Riversdale House Museum. Cannon firing, gunnery drills, children’s activities, camp and kitchen displays, and refreshments will take place on the grounds.

All events on the grounds are free.

Riversdale, a National Historic Landmark, is located at 4811 Riverdale Road in the town of Riverdale Park.

For more information, call 301.864.0420, TTY 301.699.2544 or visit the web site: www.pgparks.com.

“Happy Feet” at University Christian Church The University Christian Church, located at the corner of Adelphi and Belcrest Roads, invites you to a free showing of “Happy Feet,” an animated family friendly movie, at 7: 30 p.m. on Aug. 11. The movie will be shown in the sanctuary and concessions will be available beginning at 7:00 p.m.

“Happy Feet” uses computer generated images, songs and familiar voices to tell the story of a young penguin’s struggles with being “different” from his peers. The movie features the voices of Elijah Wood,

Robin Williams, Brittany Murphy, Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and the late Steve Irwin.

The University Christian Church is located at 6800 Adelphi Road. For more information, call 301.864.1520.

CDC Meeting The Hyattsville Community Development Corporation will hold a public Membership meeting at 7:30 p.m on August 14 in the Hyattsville City Building, 4310 Gallatin St. prior to its regular monthly Board meeting. Members and interested citizens are welcome.

Hyattsville Community Development Corporation works on economic development issues in Hyattsville. For additional information, email me or call Stuart Eisenberg at 301.779.1426.

Expand knowledge of algebra Review and expand your knowledge of math by enrolling in the Algebra Workshop offered for ages 1116, from 7-8:30 p.m. August 13-16, at the Prince George’s Sports & Learning Complex, 8001 Sheriff Road in Landover.

Using symbols study the effect of adding and multiplying numbers within a set and expand your math knowledge. The fee is $30/ resident, $36/non-resident, and $23/ impact area. For information, call 301.583.2430,TTY 301.583.2483.

Trove of treasure Turn your unwanted household items into someone else’s treasure from 7 a.m. to noon on Aug. 18 at the Ellen Linson Swimming Pool Yard Sale, 5211 Paint Branch Pkwy. in College Park. Advanced registration costs $15 and on-site registration costs $25. For more information, call 301.277.3717.

Journey of Faith St. Jerome’s invites you to attend their Journey of Faith program (R.C.I.A.) to learn about the perspective the Catholic Church offers and to answer any questions you have. The program will begin at 10:00 a.m. on Sunday, September 9th and will continue until 11:00 a.m. in the St. Jerome’s Art Room.

The church is located at 5205 43rd Avenue. For more information, please call 301.927.6684.

African Continuum Theatre Company has new artistic director Benny Sato Ambush will lead the African Continuum Threatre Company, Washington D.C.’s professional black theatre company as its new artistic director.

The theater company’s board of directors made the announcement regarding the company’s upcoming 2007-2008 season.

“I stand on the shoulders of those who created this legacy,” Ambush said.

St. Mark’s welcomes new principal

Zing Wing Fridays

Benny Sato Ambush

Airmail day College Park Aviation Museum is celebrating the 89th anniversary of the first civilian airmail flight that took place at College Park Airfield.

This year’s Air Mail Day is from noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 12. This program offers an airmail themed scavenger hunt, stamp displays, children’s crafts, an airmail relay, and airmail related stories.

Batteries not included The movie Batteries Not Included will be shown at 2 p.m. on August 17.

Popcorn, lemonade and the movie are free with regular museum admission. Museum admission is $4/adults, $3/seniors, $2/children. An adult must accompany all children when visiting the museum or participating in the museum’s programs.

The College Park Aviation Museum is located at 1985 Cpl. Frank Scott Drive, College Park.

For information call 301.864.6029 or visit www.collegeparkaviationmuseum.com.

Flags from nations around the world adorn Hyattsville Middles School's assembly hall.

Heritage Month. Over the last 10 years these multicultural assemblies coupled with the Hall of Nations 101 flags and counting hang in the cafeteria that represent the origins HMS pupils - and the school’s emphasis on celebrating diversity have expanded pupils’ understanding of global culture.

College park Aviation Museum activities Zing into summer weekends from noon to 4 p.m. on Aug. 10 and 24 at the College Park Aviation Museum by enjoying the museum’s galleries.

During the 2007-2008 school year, Hyattsville Middle School pupils will be treated to three multicultural assemblies presented by professionals. This coming year they will enter the cultures of others through the performances of Cantare in September, the Unified Jazz Ensemble in November, and Wild Zappers in March, all brought to them by Class Acts Arts, a nonprofit arts outreach organization dedicated to bringing educational and culturally diverse arts experiences to schools and communities in Maryland, Washington, D.C. and Virginia.

In February the Creative and Performing Arts pupils and staff will present an assembly in commemoration of African American

He will become only the second artistic director in the theater’s history.

“I begin my contribution to the continuum of this adventure with the intent of building its infrastructure, extending its reach, strengthening its relevance and solidifying its essentialness in the theatrical landscape of what will soon be my new beloved community,” he said.

Ambush hails from Worcester Massachusetts, but has known many communities throughout his career.

He has served as the producing director of the Oakland Ensemble Theatre in California; as a guest director and instructor at the North Carolina School of the Arts; and producing artistic director of Theatre Virginia in Richmond,Va. For more information about the African Continuum Theatre Company, call 202.529.5763 or visit www. africancontinuumtheatre.com.

Multicultural performances planned for HMS

St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic School, welcomes Carl O. Patton back to the school as their new principal. Patton, who taught at St. Mark’s from 1993 to 2001, began his tenure as principal last month.

Although he doesn’t foresee any dramatic changes in the near future, Patton said that the school is hoping to increase enrollment by continuing to provide high quality programs and services.

St. Marks Principal Carl Patton reviewing issues at his new post.

“The current faculty is exceptional and highly experienced,” he said.

Planning is underway to expand the facility through renovating and building onto existing structures to create a new media center and library.

Patton graduated from the University of Maryland and then completed his graduate work at Trinity College. Since 2002, he has taught at Paul VI Catholic High School in Fairfax,Va. He lives in Bethesda with his wife of 10 years and two children.

“It is fantastic to be back at St. Mark’s,” Patton said. “It is home for me. There are many excellent programs available and the teaching staff is outstanding. We are looking forward to a strong 2007/2008 school year.”

St. Mark’s School, part of the Archdiocese of Washington, currently serves over 300 pupils.

It provides pre-Kindergarten through the eighth-grade programs to a diverse student body that reflects the neighborhood.

St. Mark the Evangelist Parish and back to school picnic St. Mark’s Parish and school will hold its annual picnic from noon to 4:30 p.m. on Sept. 22, 2007 on the parish grounds. This event is designed to be a community builder for those in the parish as well as those in the local community. There will be something for everybody, young and old, food, entertainment, and amusements. St. Marks is located at 7501 Adelphi Road. Admission is $7 per person.

Update: Landy project gains ground An apartment complex with more than 1,200 units, planned to be built between the Mall at Prince George’s and Northwestern High School, passed through another stage of approval last month.

The Prince George’s County Planning Board approved the Landy property project with conditions recommended by the Hyattsville City Council.

City officials drafted a proposal in opposition to the project but granted reconsideration if certain conditions were met.

The conditions included: making at least 30 percent of the units with no children under 18 allowed; shrinking the height and

mass of the buildings; and doing away with a security gate at entrances. Also, the City Council is considering annexation of the property so that the entirety of it falls inside the city limits.

The next step towards finalizing the project will be for the county planning board to draft a resolution that will have to be approved by the County Council acting as the District Council, said Megan Bramble, an attorney for the Landy project. A hearing is set for September 6 at which time the District Council can either approve the project with conditions or remand it back to the planning staff.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 6

Ramblings &Musings

by Bert Kapinus

It’s here!

F

or the half dozen or so of you who religiously read this column, I am happy to announce that I finally have my new Miata. As you may recall, beginning two years ago, I suggested that loyal readers donate to my Miata Fund to enable me to purchase a new car. The response to my groveling, begging and shameful effort to obtain funds for a new car surprisingly went unanswered. I will say that during the two year campaign, I did receive a single contribution in the amount of $1. The donor directed me not to divulge his name. I know many of you would like to know who it was, but I will honor his request.

Some of you may question whether it was Steve Clements, but I can only say my lips are sealed.

Because of the lack of response that I received from my solicitations, I un-

got out to where the cars were located, which seemed about 1/2 mile away, there she was; the grey beauty that I had imagined owning. As we walked down the line of blue ones, red ones, green ones, it seemed the grey one kept yelling, “Pick me, pick me.” It was like going to dog pound and there’s one little puppy that just looks up at you and takes your heart away.

The salesman did his spiel telling of all the car’s features including the fact that it did not have leather interior.

This latter fact was okay with me because I didn’t necessarily like the idea of sitting on the remains of a dead cow. I said something like “Well, let’s talk about it.” At that point, he progressed from smelling blood in the water to feeling the prey in his mouth. We went inside to his

fortunately had to resort to my children’s inheritance in order to obtain the vehicle. While neither of my sons has expressed any displeasure as where the funds came from, I can’t help but feel that neither one of them would be particularly disappointed if I didn’t put any more than 5 or 6 thousand miles on the car before I checked out.

While I had not actually determined to buy a new car, I decided to just window shop while I was out in the Tyson’s Corner area. I stopped in at the Mazda dealership and indicated that I was just looking. The salesman was very polite and congenial, but I immediately got a sense that he smelled blood in the water. He took me out to the lot were the Miatas were located and asked me what I was looking for. I told him just a basic Miata and that I had seen one in grey that captured my imagination, but that I was really only looking. When we

desk and he started scribbling numbers down on a piece of paper which he put in front of me. He said,“How’s that look to you?” It was of course the amount that he was willing to sell the car to me for. I told him that the number hurt my eyes and that I had another number that I felt more comfortable with. He asked me to write it down and put my signature next to it which I did. He, as I believe the basic salesman training teaches, proceeded to grimace and nod his head.

He gave me the impression that I had just kicked his dog.

He then uttered the classic words, “Let me take this to my manager.” I don’t know whether there was ever a car sold that did not have to bring the sales manager into play. One day, just for kicks, I’m going into a dealership and tell the salesman “I’ll pay you whatever you want”. Then let’s see if the manager is brought out to review the transaction.

In any event, the manager did

come out who was even more congenial and friendly than the salesman. He said that he had reviewed my numbers and that by virtue of my counter-offer, if they would sell it to me at that amount, they would lose $135 on the deal; whereas, if we agreed on the amount between their offer and my counter-offer, they would make $85. I of course had no idea whether he was just blowing smoke in my ear or what he said was true. I told him that in light of the dollars we were talking about, there was no question in my mind that if I got up and started walking to the door, I would not get more than 10 feet before he would call me back and indicate that somehow he had figured out how to make some money on the deal and I could have it at my price.

I knew when we were only talking about $85 we were no longer talking about money, but principle. I decided to set aside principle and told him that I would accept the compromise figure and take the car.

I neglected to mention that when the salesman wrote his proposal to me, that amount did not include destination charges, taxes, registration fees, etc. When I was handed the sales agreement, it reflected that I was purchasing the car for the amount of my original offer price and not the compromise price. This was however offset by the destination charges, dealer prep and taxes, etc., which amounted to approximately $2,500. I just figured that buried in there somewhere was the $85.00 that we had discussed.

From a car salesman’s perspective, the destination charge is a fantastic idea.

It gives him a significant amount that is not included in the sale price and therefore in effect is not negotiable.

Can you imagine this concept carried over to other items that we purchase?

You might go into Target and buy an ironing board and when you get to the checkout $2 is added as a destination charge. Or if you were to go to a supermarket, they add a five-cent destination charge for Hawaiian pineapple and $1 for Russian caviar. Why didn’t anyone but car dealers think of destination charges before?

People now come up to me when they see the car and say,“Oh, you got a new car”, or some variation. My wiseacre response is “No, I just had the old one painted.” How nice it’s not true.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

TEES Continued from page 1 and John McCain, leaving out Elizabeth Dole, who was actually slightly ahead of McCain in the newspaper polls at the time.

As we know, the shop was on the money and the race did come down to Bush and Gore.

The Hyattsville Life & Times conducted a limited, informal survey of souvenir shops in politically charged areas to see what the public is buying.

All stores report that the Republican shirts are selling very poorly. Clinton and Obama shirts are selling better, but not all that well, according to Zinash Akalu, a clerk at America!, a store at the National Airport.

“We only sell about ten shirts on a really busy day and they are evenly divided between Hillary and Obama,” she said. “Some days we only sell two shirts.”

To her knowledge, they have not sold any Giuliani or McCain T-shirts.

The clerk at the Alamo Flag store at Union Station said they did not sell any candidate T-shirts, but that of one candidate, Hillary Clinton, was clearly visible in the display case. Apparently no customer had requested one when this clerk was on the job.

The clerk at the America’s Spirit store at Union Station said Obama shirts outsell Hillary shirts by almost 3-to-1, but candidate T-shirts are not their political best seller. (That distinction belongs to a clock that counts down to President Bush’s last day in office on January 20, 2009. Next to the Bush clock is another clock that counts down to the election of President Hillary Clinton on November 4, 2008. According to the clerk, that clock, like her T-shirts, is not popular).

In New York City the only store we found with the Hillary, Obama, and Giuliani Tshirts was the Mid-Town Souvenir and Gift Shop at Times Square. A clerk who asked not to be identified said that they had sold only two shirts.

When asked if he meant two per day he said, “No, a total of two.”

They were both Hillary shirts.

Mohammed Shatiqul at Gift Mania in Times Square explained why his store does not stock shirts with the candidates leading in the polls “Can’t sell the stuff, Giuliani,” he said.

“Can’t make any money”.

His best-selling T-shirts are John Lennon, NYPD, WWF wrestlers, and “I Love NY.” Down the street at Playland Gifts Inc. the proprietors comment was simply, “No one will buy presidential candidates’ Tshirts.”

Page 7

Review: ‘Hallows’ is proper ending to seven-part saga

by Thomas Johnson

I

finished Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows at 12:46 a.m. on July 22. And there it was - the end, the finish line crossed, after 10 years.

And while I hadn’t accepted it, and would spend the next day nitpicking little details of the story, I have to admire author J.K. Rowling.

This is the ending she wanted to tell, and it shows.

Everything that has been building up the last six books, or nearly everything, has its payoff in this one. Mysteries are solved, pasts are explored, and certain romantic relationships finally come to fruition.

Throw-away lines in the first book turn out to have monumental importance to the story, while things that have only been hinted at (such as the importance of Harry’s scar) reveal their true significance.

One of the greatest praises I can give this book, and this series, is that every major character ended up having much more nuance than they appeared to have when first introduced. Albus Dumbledore, who already embodied the old-wizardwith-a-beard archetype in a more jovial and loveable way then many before, gains depth in this book that makes him a more three-dimensional character then he seemed to be previously. Draco Malfoy and his

family cease to be simply a sneering bunch of elitists as the psychological toll of working for Lord Voldemort becomes apparent.

Severus Snape, whether on the side of good or evil (and don’t expect the answer here!) turns out to have a history that elevates him be-

HARRY POTTER Continues on page 11

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Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 8

Duck pond hosts Teddy bears

by Krista Atteberry

T

he University Hills “Duck Pond” was treated on July 19 to the company of more than just the usual feathered friends.

More than 20 families gathered at the park on Wells Parkway to participate in a Teddy bear parade complete with homemade toys, bears and the banjo stylings of performer BanjerDan. Much hand clapping, foot stomping and singing-along accompa-

nied songs like, “She’ll be Coming Around the Mountain.”

“It was a real treat to meet neighbors and dance to banjo music on a summer evening,” said Kandra and Colin Strauss Riggs who brought their son Noah to the event.

After everyone was ready with their parade gear, the group formed a line behind BangerDan and marched around the duck pond. BangerDan also proved to be quite the naturalist and the “parade” evolved into more of a nature

expedition with him pointing out different aspects of the surrounding plant and wild life including a cameo of a Blue Heron.

Following the parade participants enjoyed snacks and more music near the newly renovated playground on site.

The Hyattsville Department of Recreation and the Arts has will host one more “Family Fun Night” on August 15 at 30th and Hamilton streets.

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Page 9

Legal Briefs

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Buy a home here now!

by J. Carol Williams

6108 43rd Avenue

Taking control: moving on

W

e’re moving. After 17 years in the same place, we have bought another, larger house in the area. And before a month has passed we will be living beside new neighbors, in a different neighborhood, in a house with - I am most happy to say - lots of closets. The new house has a closet just inside the front door, a linen closet, and closets in every bedroom. It even has two closets in one bedroom.

As you may have gathered, my current house has few closets, but that has not kept me from housing 17 years of things forgotten and unremarkable as well as things special and carefully kept. The work-related papers and books I saved when I changed from one job to another because I thought I would need them have been sent for recycling.

Ninety-five percent were never of any further use. The many incomplete projects, like the lamp with the beautiful jade base in need of repair, have gone to a thrift store in search of someone to appreciate it that will actually repair and use them. Decades old camping equipment, which should have been relinquished long ago for lighter, high tech replacements, has been permanently retired.

When each heavy black bag or box of things I no longer need to keep near me is taken to its next resting place, my old house is left more spacious, more airy, and I feel free.

There is rich history buried in my collection of 17 years and that I cannot completely discard. Some of it is mine - a barely legible note in my mother’s handwriting toward the end of her life; letters to my parents from graduate school in California. A letter from my dad that originally had included a check to pay the attorney to help me get out of the little jam I was in. Poems scratched out on yellowing paper. Grade school report cards.

Letters from significant others. Going through my boxes of history searching for what I can throw away reminds me that who I am now is made from the layers of experiences accumulated over my life time. The notes, letters, and other mementos from my past remind me of the intangible, far reaching connections that have brought me to today. I

don’t find much to throw away.

I am the keeper of others’ history too . . . that of my mother and father and a good friend. All of these significant people in my life are now dead and among my collection are their histories. I not only have the papers filed with the probate courts after their deaths and mementos from their memorial services, but also things like my mom’s picture collections, my dad’s address book, my friend’s airplane flight log and metal gadget for measuring something connected with flying. Here my decisions about what to keep and what to discard have more to do with how well I am able to let go - how I have moved through these losses. When I have revisited these special histories in the past, I find that each time I can identify a few things to discard, but not many.

The same is true this time as I now prepare for our move. But I did find a few things. This time, after 14 years, I threw away my friend’s flight log and sent the very nice metal measuring gadget to a thrift store hoping someone might know what it is and want it. Each history is a little smaller, but not much, and that’s okay too.

Moving means leaving long time neighbors and, for us, leaving very good neighbors. The little two- or three-year-old boy in oversized rubber boots who helped me plant flowers my first summer in my old house still lives next door but he is going off to college this fall. We could always depend on his family to have an egg or stick of butter we could borrow and they were quick to share the bounty of their summer organic garden. We have had two occupants of the house on the other side of us in the time we’ve lived here. The first provided us with red oak trees for our yard. The second was always willing to check on our cats when we are away and never failed to give us tomato plants in the spring for planting. There is no doubt we will miss such good neighbors and our old neighborhood.

But it’s time, for a variety of reasons, to move and move on. And I really am excited about the closets.

TAKING CONTROL Continues on page 12

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Nothing goes to waste at Hyattsville Artists’ Market

by Rick Docksai

K

athye Arrington gave new life to an old man’s clothing.

When this New York artist learned that the family of John Honey Jones, a recently deceased friend and World War II veteran, was going to throw out belts he wore while on duty in Africa, she found better plans for the cinches.

Hyattsville residents got to see what she had in mind on July 21 at the Hyattsville Artists' Market.

Jones’s belts, now cut and refashioned as necklaces bearing tribal Adinkra symbols, were among a menagerie artistic wares there for visitors to admire and buy.

“His family was getting rid of them...and I thought it would be good to do something with them,” she said.

Decorating the belts with Adinkra symbols, found in Ghana and other parts of West Africa, was a strategic move to recall the late war hero.

“He really liked African culture,” Arrington said.

The artist’s market takes place on the third Saturday of each month at Magruder Park. September’s market will be held on Queens Chapel Road in conjunction with Hyattsville’s International Street Festival.

“They’re often tying this in with other festivals,” said Riverdale artist Diane Elliott.

Elliott works with scraps of a different kind.

The jewelry boxes and wind chimes at her booth are kaleidoscopes of colored glass shards layered in rainbow-like illumination.

“I started out making stained glass and you get so many glass scraps left over, you have to make other things with them,” Elliott said.

Glazed knick-knacks and jewelry lined the booth of Karen Arrington,

Above: Hyattsville Artists Market displays. Left: Hyattsville Artist Market:Karen Arrington, selling glazed ceramic wares at artists' market.

another Hyattsville resident.

“Glaze” is a coating that an artist brushed over ceramic before baking it in an 1800-degree oven for 30 to 45 minutes. When the baking is done, the finished product has a metallic sheen.

Karen Arrington’s magnet collection includes animals like dragonflies and frogs.

“I look for motifs that I like and I like the dragonfly motif,” she said.

“And I like the frogs.”

There were no frogs, dragonflies or animal forms on her collection of bead necklaces and jars. Instead, there were bursts of free-flowing swirls and geometric patterns.

“It’s all feeling; it’s all emotion,” she said. “I have to let it talk to me.”

She lets the feeling talk to her customers as well.

“I like to use different textures and shapes because people all see different things in them,” she said.

“What does one person like? What does another person like? It’s kind of

cool to see what different people are attracted to.”

Patricia Autenrieth, a Hyattsville quilt maker, had been attracted to Art-O-Mat machines, a trademark refurbishment of cigarette vendors to sell pocket-size pictures instead of cigarettes.

Seing one inspired her to create quilts in miniature fabric and just large enough to cover a cigarette pack.

“I was so charmed,” she said.

“This is a way to grind through a lot of ideas quickly.”

The mini-quilts are a relaxing diversion from larger quilts that demand more time and labor, she said.

“It’s just something I can toss up with a lot of scraps I wouldn’t otherwise use, and it’s a lot of fun,” Autenrieth said. “It’s always nice to take a break in between large works because quilts are a long time to make, and I cab actually get these done in one day.”

The Hyattsville Department of Recreation and the Arts organizes each month’s market. For more information call 301.985.5020.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

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Review: sizzling summer flicks

by Greg Tindale www.WhyHyattsville.com

N

ow that Hyattsville has its very own movie theater, the Royale 14, there is no better way to beat the summer heat than with a tub of popcorn, a cherry Coke and a good flick. Here’s what was hot this summer:

Knocked Up Knocked Up tells the tale of a slacker, Ben (Seth Rogan) who falls into a one-night stand with Alison (Katherine Hiegl), a girl way out of his league, When Alison realizes she is pregnant eight weeks later, everyone’s world comes crashing in.

What on its surface appears to be a guy’s movie about smoking pot and looking at Internet pornography really shines as a commentary on marriage and raising children. Actor Paul Rudd does an amazing job as a husband and father of two who just wants a night to hang out with his friends. Writer/Director Judd Apatow brings a ton of compassion for his lead characters. Pregnant couples and new parents owe it to themselves to see that they’re not the only ones with crazy idiosyncrasies.

Live Free or Die Hard In the fourth installation of the Die Hard franchise, Detective John McClane (Bruce Willis) is once again faced with only one option: stop the bad guys or America goes down the tubes. Set in D.C., locals will recognize a lot of the locations.

The recent trend in Hollywood involves releasing unnecessary sequels from major stars. There was Arnold in Terminator 3, Stallone in Rocky 6, and the upcoming Harrison Ford project, Indiana Jones and the City of Gods.

In this picture I got the feeling that Bruce Willis told the studio, “I want this movie to make Jack Bauer look like a traffic cop.” Ridiculous scenarios included a group of assassins trying to kill a computer hacker,

HARRY POTTER Continued from page 7

yond the level of a simple black or white hat.

Best of all Rowling is realistic in her treatment of the costs of war.

Carrying on the good fight is not an easy thing for Harry, Ron and Hermione. Even the bonds of friendship are not wholly impenetrable to fear and doubt. The war not only takes on a psychological toll, but a physical toll as well. This book has more deaths than any of the other books combined, and a fair few seem almost random. But such is war.

Love, another theme that is present in all the books up to this point, culminates here. It is the love that

a highs p e e d chase that ends with a car being launched into a flying helicopter, and hand-to-hand combat between Bruce Willis and a hot female kung fu warrior.

Although the plot is completely absurd this movie was exciting and fun - just what a summer blockbuster should be.

I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry Adam Sandler made a movie about tolerance. That’s right - the esteemed creator of highbrow entertainment like Billy Madison and Happy Gilmore made a movie about not discriminating against homosexuals. Although the message is there, you get the impression that no one in the movie really believes it. Some of the dialogue could be offensive to “PC” America. Outside of the lesson, the movie was hilarious with numerous laugh-out-loud moments. In a supporting role,Ving Rhames plays a psycho firefighter and steals every scene he is in. Jessica Biel also has her moments. Actually, Jessica Biel’s body has its moments.

This movie does not disappoint the teenage boy audience.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix He dies at the end. Just kidding.

Harry Potter mania was in full effect as the final book in the series was released on the heels of the fifth movie. In this installation, Harry has all of the problems of a normal teenager. His teachers are a pain in the butt, when he looks at girls he feels funny, and the evil Lord Voldermort

the main characters have for each other and for the world they live in that keeps them fighting, despite the sacrifice. This message could easily be conveyed in a sappy manner, but Rowling avoids this by concurrently showing the audience what a life without love is, and it is extremely sobering. Rowling conveys the simple fact that “people need people” more in the errors of the solitary villain than in corny proclamations of love between the protagonists. She makes a theme as old as storytelling fresh in her presentation of it.

Despite the enormous strengths of ‘Deathly Hallows’ characters, thematic material and mind-bending plot, it was not a book without its flaws.

There are a few inconsistencies and

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wants to kill him.

Imagine if y o u had to study for the SATs while Osama Bin Laden was plotting against you. That’s what I call teenage angst. This was not my favorite of the Harry Potter movies. There was a lot of set up for the final two movies and not as interesting of a plotline. Still a must see for the diehard and casual Harry Potter fan.

Transformers I was very skeptical going in to watch Transformers the movie. How could you make a major motion picture about a toy from the 80s?

No one is lining up to watch the new thriller about the Rubik’s Cube. Once in the theater, I was pleasantly surprised.

Director Michael Bay and Producer Steven Spielberg were able to institute the suspension of disbelief over talking car aliens and create a funny and visually stunning movie. Stand out performances from Anthony Anderson (a lazy computer hacker who lives with his Grandma) and John Turturro (a government agent from the secret Sector 7 program) made us care about the humans before all robot war broke loose. The action scenes are shot very close and very fast. This movie is worth the price of admission.

a few coincidences that were a little too hard to swallow (e.g., a certain villainous character lighting a magical fire that happens to be extremely advantageous to the protagonists at just the right moment). There’s also the wish on the part of this reviewer that there could have been a slightly longer denouement explaining the immediate aftermath of the climax before jumping to the epilogue.

Still, these complaints are relatively minor. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows is a great read, and when looked at as the conclusion of a seven-book saga, a satisfying end to a series, that, as a whole, should stand the test of time.

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Tooth sensitivity

by Dr. Ronald Grossman, DDS

T

ooth sensitivity affects 40 percent of the world’s population and approximately 40 million adults in North America. While it primarily affects adults between ages 20 and 50, patients of all ages may experience sensitivity.The incidence is expected to increase with rising life expectancy.

Hypersensitivity presents as a short, sharp pain triggered by a stimulus such as cold or hot foods and drinks, sweet, sour or acidic foods (citrus fruits, tomatoes, coffee, tea). When the gums recede, loss of the protective enamel occurs and simply breathing cold air may also elicit this response in affected people.

Causes of tooth sensitivity n Overzealous brushing: Over time, aggressive brushing or brushing with a hard-bristled toothbrush may wear the enamel, causing exposure of the dentin and gum recession; n Gingivitis and periodontal disease:Both conditions cause gum inflammation, re- sulting in loss of gum and bone that surround the tooth. This exposes the root surface that leads directly to the nerve; n Cracks in the teeth: Chipped or fractured teeth may fill with bacteria from dental plaque, causing inflammation upon penetration into the nerve; n Grinding and clenching: These oral habits may wear down the enamel and expose the underlying dentin; n Whitening products or toothpastes with baking soda or peroxide; n Age: Gum recession tends to increase with age, as does the risk for root exposure;

TAKING CONTROL Continued from page 9

But I am also excited about our new neighbors. At a brunch to welcome new neighbors that we attended this past weekend, we learned that our new neighborhood had dancers, painters, musicians, local activists and a man who has turned has front yard into a wilderness. Equally important, a boy our daughter’s age who will be in her class at school

n Plaque accumulation: Dental plaque or bacteria on the tooth surfaces may also result in hypersensitivity.

Recommendations for reducing tooth sensitivity n Maintain proper oral hygiene: This is essential in preventing gum recession and should include regular dental visits to prevent tooth decay and detect disease in their early stages; n Use a toothbrush with soft bristles: Soft bristles will result in less wear of the tooth surface and less gum irritation; n Use desensitizing toothpaste: Potassium nitrate in these toothpastes can block the pain caused by hot and cold stimuli; n Modify your diet: Frequent consumption of acidic foods and sodas will gradually dissolve tooth enamel and lead to dentin exposure.

The patient should know the best news: tooth sensitivity can be managed.

Grossman’s practice is located in the University Towne Center on Belcrest Road.

lives nearby. Any move of this magnitude is difficult, but I think the move will be just fine, providing another layer of experiences for our family. I’m just looking forward to the time when the neighbors come calling to borrow some butter or a few eggs for the cookies they are at that very moment in the middle of making.

J.C. Williams may be reached at jcw@jcwlawoffice.com.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

RIDING THE TIDE Continued from page 1

being repeatedly dropped into a dunk tank as a fundraiser for the AWS and fun for attending youth.

“It’s excellent for the community,” he said of the regatta. “It’s great to see the young people out, just having more appreciation for the environment.”

James rowed with an AWS worker and predicted a victory for his Port Town.

MEN IN BLUE

Continued from page 1 required for officers.

In addition, police officers who live in Hyattsville and have been working for the city for more than five years will receive bonuses. The $90,000 package was approved by the council in May, after Stuehmeier and Powell left for Bowie.

“We have a lot of employees who have a lot of options as to where they work, and I’m glad they have chosen to work for the City of Hyattsville,” said Hyattsville Mayor William Gardiner. “Many employees have the option of going out for more pay, so it’s important that we provide a total environment...that continues to attract and retain the kind of staff that we have.”

With 40 officers, Hyattsville’s police department is the largest it

MARKETS

Continued from page 1 Hyattsville over 20 years ago, Benitez realized the importance of having amenities close by. As an avid bicyclist, she pedaled around town for sundries and other needs.

“I always felt a calling to business and always wanted to own a business in Langley Park,” she said through a translator.

Page 13 “Bladensburg will win,” he said, adding that he does not canoe often.

Almost 20 races filled the blazing day with sport. Heats included canoe, kayak and Chinese dragon boat races. There were only a few capsizes and the victims, unhurt, came out of the water laughing, said Steven Reynolds, Membership and Communications Manager at the AWS. “It seems the turn out is great this day,” he said, adding a thankful note

to the Port Towns Youth Council and End Time Harvest Ministries, who participated in the events. “We get them out here and we get them to experience the river and maybe they’ll come back.”

And for some, it was their first time to the waterfront.

“It’s nice,” said George Oyewole, a resident of the District who was not in the competition but enjoys outdoor events in the summer. “This is my first time to Bladensburg.”

has ever been, said Ward 4 Councilwoman Paula Perry.

Increasing development, including student housing and condominiums, require that Hyattsville offer a formidable police presence.

“It makes me feel very good when it comes to the residents because these are two officers who are very familiar with the city who know some of the residents,” she said. “When the residents know the officers it makes them feel a little safer,” she said.

Though a Bowie resident, Stuehmeier has worked in the Hyattsville, Bladensburg and Mount Rainier area for more than seven years.

“I do feel connected with the citizens,” she said. “There is a little bit more diversity, and I just enjoy working with the personnel and the department and working with the people. And the calls are more interesting.”

Powell has also worked in Hyattsville for seven years.

Another former Hyattsville police officer, Captain Al Johnston, retired from the Hyattsville police a few years ago and came out of retirement to serve in Bowie, now with the rank of lieutenant. He is still in Bowie.

The Bowie Police Department was created in February with six officers. It has grown to a 21-officer force, said Chief Katherine Perez, adding that the goal is to establish a department with about 50 officers.

All officers in Bowie are veteran officers from forces around the metropolitan area. Three officers, including Stuehmeier and Powell, have chosen to return to their former jobs in other areas.

“It’s something that has to be a fit for both of us,” Perez said.“You have to be happy where you are.”

many of which are located on main roadways—do not.

The Mercadito Cruz, located on Ager Road across from the West Hyattsville Metro station, is situated just down the road from several large apartment complexes and the store sees many patrons from those areas, said Beth Martinez, a Wheaton resident who works at the Latino specialty store.

“Many people don’t have cars

Hamilton Street offers a little bit of everything to a cross-section of customers, owner Santos Garcia said.

“As you see there are a lot of Hispanic people around here,” he said. “[But] you grow with the people.”

Santos, a Silver Spring resident, would like to expand his stock to offer a variety of food to meet the needs of all cultures and appetites in Hyattsville.

“It depends on who we see in

In Guatemala it’s so hard to find a job but here there’s always some work for me to do. I love this country.

–Lidia Benitez The building that her store is now located in burned down three years ago. Originally Benitez wanted to be a restaurateur, but the size and low ceilings of her quarters prevented that.

So she opened the closest thing to a restaurant.

Benitez’s store is open daily from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. and caters to a variety of customers, both Latino and otherwise.

In recent months, Latino specialty grocery stores have established themselves in Hyattsville’s diverse communities. Through its large Salvadoran, Mexican and Puerto Rican populace, the city offers venues that support commerce for non-English-speaking residents. The smaller “corner” stores also offer convenience that larger grocery stores—

and they like that they [can] walk here,” she said.

Mercadito Cruz offers an array of Spanish foods including shelves of beans, corn meal and pasta. It is open daily from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.

“Maybe they don’t have the same kinds of things that we sell,” Martinez said of large chain grocery stores.

“People can also get medicines from their countries that they don’t have at [for example] Giant. That’s one thing that is important for them.”

Sometimes, medicine that could cost close to $100 at a pharmacy or larger store costs just $10 or $15 at the small market, she said.

Celina International Supermarket also offers Spanish medications and largely Hispanic stock, but the large market on Baltimore Avenue near

here,” he said.

And keeping pace with the pulse of customers is part of what makes the small stores successful.

At Julia-Rosa Grocery, Benitez posts information about how to obtain immigration papers and translation services on a bulletin board stacked with business cards and other placards. She is hoping to expand her store in space and in offerings in the near future.

Although Julia-Rosa Grocery specializes in traditionally Latino items like chilis and Queso Fresco, Benitez said customers of all colors come in.

“A lot of the Americans like the sno-cones,” she said.

HL&T writer Melanie Lidman offered translation for this article.

If you make people think they're thinking, they'll love you.

But if you really make them think, they'll hate you.

–Don Marquis

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 14

Hyattsville Elementary and Nicholas School Orem adopt dress codes News

by Joan Martinez

H

yattsville Elementary and Nicholas Orem Middle School pupils will be wearing uniforms as they return to classes this month.

In Prince George’s County, public school uniform policy changes must be mandated by the parents, not the administration. Under the direction of the Parent Teachers Association, a majority of parents voted in favor of dress codes at these two schools. “There haven’t really been any dress issues here,� said Jeanne Washburn, newly appointed principal at

HES. “But, this will simplify getting the children ready for school in the morning.�

In addition to streamlining morning preparations, some parents are looking forward to shopping for school clothes this year. “School shopping is going to be really easy this year,� said Tracy Peele, HES parent and teacher. “Not only will it minimize disagreements about clothes but, most families will also save time and money. “I am also looking forward to having uniforms made of permanent press material which will be machine washable and will not need

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ironing,� she said.

Although dress codes are often associated with parochial and private schools, many public school systems around the country are embracing them. Northwestern High School started an “enhanced student dress code� several years ago and Rosa Parks Elementary School opened last year with a uniform policy. The Prince George’s County Public School system currently includes over 100 elementary, 22 middle and 20 high schools with mandatory uniform policies.

Even though it is a growing trend in the county, sentiment toward dress codes is anything but uniform.

Hyattsville Middle School does not have a dress code as a result of input from their students’ parents over the last three years. Instead, the school experienced dissent from students and parents when they made the switch to uniforms.

And it was not smooth sailing at Northwestern either. “It wasn’t an easy transition because the teenagers were reluctant to give up wearing their favorite fashions,� said Charles Ross, Northwestern’s assistant principal.

However, Ross said having a dress code has had a positive effect on the school. Some teachers have begun wearing the uniforms to model obedient behavior for their students. “Over 90 percent of Northwestern students were in uniform on any given day last year,� Ross said. “Those who were not came to the office promptly and reported why they were unable to wear their uniform that day.�

All of the public schools that have administered dress codes in this area have decided on some variation of polo shirts, khaki, blue, or black trousers and skirts. Most have designated a limited range in colors for the school.

Nicholas Orem has decided to use different colors for each grade.

Da’Mali Rector, vice president of Hyattsville Elementary’s PTA, said parents had three concerns that led them to implement a uniform policy. “The first and primary concern was financial consideration for students and families who couldn’t afford the latest high-end fashions,� she said. “The second goal was to teach the children about modesty and responsibility. We wanted to help prepare them for moving on to other schools that may require uniforms and ultimately, for the work world. The third concern was to prevent any problems that could arise from students wearing expensive, name brand clothing.�

Although the majority of families welcomed a uniform policy, a small number opposed it because they did not see the need for such a code and were concerned that enforcement of wardrobe would cut into teaching time.

Several pupils also were initially against the uniform policy because they felt it would hinder their ex-

Hyattsville Elementary School’s new uniform policy HES uniform components can be purchased from stores such as Sears, J.C. Penny or Target. Pupils will be expected to be in uniform on the first day of school.

Boys n Khaki pants (fitted to waist with optional dark blue/black/ brown belt) No cargo pants. n Khaki walking shorts n Navy blue or white polo short sleeve or long sleeve (plain or with school logo) n Black/brown/navy shoes (tied, buckled or Velcro, leather or sneakers) n Navy blue or white socks n Navy blue or white sweater (without logo or design)

Girls n Khaki pants (fitted to waist with optional dark blue/black/ brown belt) No cargo pants. n Khaki skirt or skort n Khaki walking shorts

n Navy blue or white polo short sleeve or long sleeve (plain or with school logo) n Black/brown/navy shoes (tied, buckled or Velcro, leather or sneakers) n Navy blue or white socks n White or navy blue tights n Navy blue or white sweater (any type with out any logo or design) Girls Head Start to second grade are not permitted to wear skirts.

No logos or insignia except for polo shirts with school logo. Accessories should be at a minimum.

Pants, skirts and skorts should be cotton, nylon or cotton poly-type fabric —no corduroy.

A young HES pupil displays new dress code style.

HES pupils Cleavon Davis (l) and D.J. Peele (r) in their uniforms.

pressions of individuality and creativity. The new dress code policy even prompted one second-grader to form a petition against it and gather students’ signatures.

But school administrators are encouraging pupils to express themselves through writing and class projects rather than through their clothing.

And students are beginning to warm to the idea. “A lot of students participated in the process of deciding whether to have uniforms and also in choosing what they should be,� Rector said.

Some pupils were immediately attracted to the idea because they felt it would make them look “professional.� Others were eager to have a dress code at their school after seeing Rosa Parks Elementary and Northwestern students in their

uniforms.

Cleavon Davis a fifth-grader at HES said he is “...feeling pretty good about wearing school uniforms.�

Others said the uniforms are a way to feel a sense of pride in the school. “I enjoyed wearing the uniform because I knew we were representing our team,� said sixth-grader D.J. Peele. “I won’t have to worry about what I’m going to wear or how other people will look when I get to school.�

Washburn said that while enforcing the dress code may create an additional burden for teachers, she is optimistic that uniforms will foster school spirit and help students concentrate on their studies. “When they put on their uniforms, they will be getting into an academic focus,� she said.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 15

HMS prepares for academic year

by Gail Golden

P

eople often ask what school administrators and faculty do during the summer break.

Our own school system personnel even refer to the summer as a “hiatus.” I can testify honestly that there is no hiatus or summer break for the principals, assistant principals, custodial staff or secretaries of our local schools.We use summertime to close out the previous school year and prepare and plan for the coming school year. Many teachers participate in ongoing staff development or teach summer classes during the summer.

More and more of our students enroll in activities and classes in the summer to help them better prepare for the coming school year even though most have been successful in their classes during the regular learning session. Schooling is increasingly becoming a year-round endeavor.

As we move further away from the agrarian society of our ancestors - a culture in which students were needed to help with the crops during the summer - having the summer off is becoming more a custom than a necessity. In fact, there are a significant number of school systems that run a year-round schedule with nine weeks on and three weeks off. Is this a consideration for Prince George’s County Public Schools as the high stakes testing puts more and more pressure for performance?

Until such a time as changes occur, students in Maryland will attend school for 180 days. Part of the work that is done during the summer is planning the calendar for each school for the following year.

To ensure that buses are properly assigned for the first day, all registrations should have been completed

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Photo: Joan Martinez

by August 3. For those who register afterward and expect bus transportation, it may be delayed. Students return to school in Prince George’s County this year on August 20, with most orientation days being scheduled for August 16.

For students already registered at HMS, a welcome letter and homeroom card should be in your hands

by August 10. Bus information is best located on the county school system’s website at www.pgcps.org (click on Parents or Students and then Transportation). Back to School Night for HMS is scheduled for Sept. 11.

Regular PTA meetings are held on the second Tuesday of most months.

If you wish to become part of the listserv of email addresses for HMS and receive the regularly posted emails, please go online and sign up on the HMS website. We area all looking forward to another great year at HMS for the 2007-2008 school year —our “Year of Parents as Partners.”

Back to School Special–50% Off All Designer Frames August 4th Starts Our Clearance Sale

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Special Discount to Hyattsville Residents

Gail Golden is principal of Hyattsville Middle School.

What’s the latest with CDC? Executive Director Stuart Eisenberg offers some updates:

On incorporating public art at EYA’s Arts District Hyattsville development: “We are going to be conducting a call for artists once we finish designing the owner’s program,” he said. “In previous calls for artists...what we end up getting is letters of interests.We’ll want it to be as open as possible to get the best responses.”

Art as part of their development makes them a better neighbor,” he said. “The inclusion of public art is a recognition on the development’s part that there is a value in a physical manifestation of art...We hope that the response of artist’s within the community will be very strong.”

On the “mustard” colored building near City Hall: “We anticipate coming to council with RFT’s for the environmental cleanup...,” he said of the building that was donated to the city but

was not in the best shape.

“This building is planned to have a fairly large assembly hall that can be used for public meetings, plays... [and is] planned to be reconverted back to its origin.

The concept plan calls for the ground floor to be reconfigured so that there are three retail-style facades, or storefronts... and these will be set up for offices,” he said.

“It’s planned that the Anacostia Trails Heritage Area will have their offices and visitor center with some exhibit plans in there.

And on the second floor is where the assembly place will be.

The space will be able to hold 220 people and will have a parapet overlooking it, Eisenberg said.

On the second floor there also will be three flex-rooms.

“Right now the funding the city has is for stabilization...,” he said.

“We’re working with the city to find other funding for future development of the building. We’re just anticipating...working on the cleanup in the coming months.”

Everybody hates me because I'm so universally liked. –Peter de Vries

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 16

Ward One man back on council

by Rick Docksai

A

fter 26 years on the Hyattsville City Council, Douglas Dudrow thought it was time to return to a more private life.

But that was not meant to be—at least not for long.

“I left the job, but the job never left me,” Dudrow said. “A lot of residents would still come by the house to ask for help on things. And I’d explain to them where to go or whom to talk to.”

From his first election to the City Council in 1979 until his first his retirement from politics in 2005, Dudrow built a reputation for personal attention to the needs of his ward.

ing, Dudrow said.

“I didn’t want someone to just come in and fill it with a name and not take interest,” he said.

At that point, Dudrow decided to run for the council again. In May Dudrow won in an unopposed election bid.

Steve Clements, a Hyattsville resident who has known Dudrow for many years, is not surprised that Dudrow is back on the panel.

“He’s a very civic-minded kind of guy,” Clements said.

Dudrow has deep roots in the city.

His great-grandparents moved to Hyattsville around 1918.

He has the additional connections

mows the lawn, changes light bulbs and keeps electric candles in the windows lit.

“When you drive by it looks like someone is living there and that is good for the street,” Dudrow said.“You want it to look good for the street.”

Last year, Dudrow helped save the building from demolition because it was unoccupied and in disrepair.

Dudrow had other plans.

“There was a lot of neat history to it and I thought the building still had some life and hope,” he said.

He persuaded the church’s trustees to keep the building open for use proposals. He then wrote a formal proposal and submitted it online, inviting

them to fix their property up,” Clements said.

Dudrow’s diligence led to a lawsuit.

He protested in front of a property that was in notoriously poor condition.

The owner had a primary residence elsewhere and had allowed his Hyattsville property to fall into disrepair.

“The guy who owned it...never touched it, never did anything to it,” Clements said. “There were broken windows and trim falling off the house.”

The owner filed a lawsuit, claiming that Dudrow had overstepped his bounds as a government official by joining the protest.

The court cleared Dudrow of the

along every step of the way.”

Dudrow has also helped people deal with the expenses of a funeral.

“There were a lot of people that had no money or no family, and they deserved a Christian burial,” he said.

Sometimes that has meant helping them find sources of state assistance.

“There is state money there,” Dudrow said. “There can be some state money for funerals. And usually, when we talk to the family, we put a plan together.”

In the case of Mary Goodman, a former employee of Dudrow’s grandfather, it meant reaching into his own pockets. He had assured Goodman during her life that the state would pay

He’s a very caring individual. If someone is down on their luck, he’ll go do something for that person. He’s one of those kinds of people.

He encouraged Christopher Currie, another Ward One resident, to join him on the council and the two made a strong force for their neighborhood.

“I tended to focus on broad policy issues and he focused a lot on taking care of individual constituent service problems,” said Christopher Currie, a former Ward One councilman with Dudrow.

Currie’s retirement from the City Council this year left an open seat, and no one stepped forward to fill it. Dudrow said that he worried about who would take Currie’s spot and how committed they would be. The time commitment of a City Council seat discourages many residents from running and many members from remain-

that stem from being a parishioner of the First Baptist Church on 42nd Avenue.

Rev. Colin Thorne said that he relies on Dudrow’s expertise as a professional house painter to recommend repairmen for many maintenance needs at the church.

Dudrow also does a lot of maintenance work for the church himself, Thorne said. He volunteers to cut grass; paint walls and perform other tasks.

“Rather than just drop a check on a plate, I like to go over there and do actual work,” Dudrow said.

He also helps maintain the neighboring Madison Manor, a building formerly owned by the church. The building remains empty, but Dudrow

anyone to pitch an offer for future use.

“I put the RFP out, I showed the building, and I told everybody ‘whatever you want to do, don’t tell me. Put it in writing and put it in a sealed envelope and we will have an opening of sealed bids later,’” he said.

The church trustees opened bids and sold the building for over $300,000.

And that was just the beginning of Dudrow’s efforts to weed out any lack of property maintenance in Hyattsville.

During his first run on the City Council, Dudrow pressed for action against landlords who do not maintain their property in accordance with city code requirements.

“He’s been diligent about forcing

charges, ruling that he was acting as an individual while picketing and not as an official.

After leaving the council, he continued to help residents on housing-related matters, including helping people find new ones. Oliver and Ruby Shepherd, an elderly couple who wanted to move into a new house, were among those.As a stroke survivor who remains wheelchair-bound, Ruby Shepherd found it difficult on her own.

Dudrow helped them relocate and walked them through a plan to sell their old house and invest the money.

“He’s been a lot of help,” Ruby Shepherd said. “He’s been very nice about coming to visit every day to see that we’re doing alright. Helped us

for her funeral. When he learned after her death that the state would not, he pooled his money with that of a few friends to afford funeral services.

“She had started to pay off her funeral during her lifetime, but I didn’t want her to take money that she wanted to go out and play with and use it on her funeral,” he said. “So I told her the state would take care of it. And when she died and that wasn’t the case.

We solved it.”

Clements said Dudrow’s philanthropy comes naturally.

“He’s a very caring individual,” he said of Dudrow. “If someone is down on their luck, he’ll go do something for that person. He’s one of those kinds of people.”

THERAPIST

the operating ward at Children’s Hospital and who spent each night sleeping on the fold-out cot along side his hospital bed the first four years of his life.) She also recommended that he be taken out of St. Jerome School and placed in a special school in Baltimore. She later confessed that she had no idea where Hyattsville was in relation to Baltimore...and didn’t care.

I was in a daze. Her portrayal of me in that document was so egregious even I, after reading it, would have put me in jail...for being an idiot.

A couple of days later the good doctor called and asked for the final $5,000 installment on her $20grand bill. I used more than a few choice words before hanging up.

No she didn’t get the money. I also filed grievances against the good doctor for lying to the court. The Ethics Committee of the Washington Psychiatric Association said she did nothing unethical in her behavior. Nothing unethical? If you or I submitted a false document to the courts, we’d be wearing blaze orange jumpsuits. What did I expect? Later still, the good doctor laughed and told my attorney she intentionally tricked me. Apparently there’s nothing unethical about that either.

Lately I was on the scene where another family therapist berated a neighbor loudly and publicly for being a “bad parent.” His offense? He was exercising his First Amendment right to free speech

(wearing a T-shirt with a political slogan other than one making fun of President Bush).

I’m not sure but I’m beginning to detect a striking pattern among some in the profession. In Catholic school catechism class during the late 1950s it was called adhering to a “double standard.”A relative of the last therapist in question can bully, badger, threaten, and condone associates to employ very questionable tactics against those with whom he disagrees. The therapist’s response is to be upset at those who feel the relative’s behavior is unwarranted and less than conducive to tranquility and the public welfare.

Pardon me?

Dealing with behavioral and emotional dysfunctions are responsibilities that should not be entrusted to individuals trying to work out their own problems but getting paid by others to do so on their “patients’” time. Life is too precious to be wasted on “therapists” who can’t help themselves, their families and who can’t recognize the problems within their own lives, or who think their profession is a game where they can make obscene amounts of money and wallow in their gender bias. Show me a therapist, like my friend Stewart, who loves his wife, his family and embraces life with the gusto of an operatic tenor singing from a mountain top and I’ll say, “Okay,” now there’s someone who might help those who’ve strayed temporarily to course correct.”

Continued from page 2 for his family and freedom during the American Revolution. That same indignation was not raised towards their mother who also took them to R-rated movies, only they were things with names like “Trilogy of Blood.”

Interviews conducted with members of my family were either outrageously brief or confrontational. One had the therapist challenging my mother with the statement “How do I know you aren’t lying?” When my mother protested she was told, “Everybody lies in court.”

In the end, after countless assurances that the good doctor was recommending 1) that the children remain in Hyattsville, 2) that they remain at St. Jerome school, and 3) that joint custody would be the recommendation to the courts, I agreed to sign a waiver that I would abide by the decision of the evaluator. She faxed her recommendation to my attorney’s office around 6:30 p.m. on a Sunday evening. By Monday morning I’d lost virtually all of my rights. The ruse of a joint custody recommendation was just that. The document misquoted my relatives as well as my children’s teachers, and stated that I had little knowledge or appreciation of my first born son’s heart condition. (That must have been a body double who carried him to

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 17

Nearby pet store opens to serve the local community

by Melanie Lidman

“I think people coming in here appreciate that we’re here,” Gignac said.

Old Town Pet Shop was supported by the Riverdale Park Business Association, a group of business owners in the Riverdale area who encourage new businesses to come to the town. The group arranged for the Town of Riverdale to waive the first year licensing fee and give the store space for free advertisements in the town’s newsletter, said Audrey Bragg, group president.

Tom and Sherry Alford, Riverdale Park residents and owners of cats Skittles and Pearl Marie, love that there is a pet store in their neighborhood that they can walk to.

“We’d rather get [cat food] here rather than Petsmart,” said Tom Alford. “You have a closer relationship. We sat here talking to the [ca-

A

re you in the market for a medium-size salt water sea anemone for under $35? If so, the new Old Town Pet Shop in Riverdale Park can offer the oceanite.

But watch out for George, the cranky red parrot who guards the door. He has an iron jaw, and he isn’t afraid to use it.

Part of the revitalization effort in the Riverdale Park Town Center, Old Town Pet Shop is one of the newest additions to the area. The pet store is emblematic of a new wave of developments aimed at revitalizing downtown Riverdale Park.

Owner Dan Gignac opened the store about three months ago, hoping his mix of exotic birds and organic pet food as well as regular pet supplies will draw clientele from all over the area.

Old Town Pet Shop

6214 Rhode Island Ave. Riverdale Park 301.277.2914

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MASONIC JEWELRY & REGALIA “We tried to mirror it behind [pet] stores of the 60s and 70s, where you could get good advice as well as all your pet stuff,” he said.

Gignac opened the store after noticing that the community had many dogs and cats but no pet stores in the area. After about two-and-a-half months, the store opened to the public. The niche features a full line of dog and cat supplies, small animals, guinea pigs,

rats, m i c e , kittens, fresh and saltwater fish, and will have puppies in the fall.

Part of the store’s charm is that it is not a large chain store, but owned by a Riverdale Park resident who has an interest in his own community.

shier] at the register,” Sherry Alford said.

Old Town Pet Shop is located in a quaint town square in a nowshuttered row of storefronts.

Bringing homey retail into the fledgling Town Center could spark interest in filling up the vacancies.

“I’d like to see this part get started up again,” Tom Alford said.

Got fuel?

by Greg Tindale

I

n the eye-opening documentary “An Inconvenient Truth,” Al Gore offers President Bush one million dollars for one night with his wife. Wait, I’m sorry. That was Robert Redford in “An Indecent Proposal.” For some reason, I get those two movies mixed up. “An Inconvenient Truth” is actually a slide show prepared by Al Gore to demonstrate the devastation of global warming and the need for stricter environmental regulations.

The movie is groundbreaking for many reasons, but the most important is it is the first time in the world that anyone has ever paid attention during a slide show.

A large contributor to global warming is emissions from auto-

mobiles. Car manufacturers are slowly adopting alternative fuels that will make driving more environmentally friendly. Frankly, I am a little worried about what will happen once gasoline becomes obsolete. There are currently only three things to make small talk about: gas prices, taxes, and the weather. Last week I was at a party where I didn’t know anyone and was able to carry myself with those three topics. “Are you kidding me, I pay over $3.00 a gallon;” “You think that is bad, my taxes are over $400 a month;” and “This is a mild winter, do you remember the blizzard of 1993?” If we solve the gasoline issue, all meaningless conversations will become onethird shorter. You better hope that some new pandemic will occur so

you don’t have to talk about your personal life with strangers.

My proposal to solve the energy crisis is a little different than the experts. I’m not worried about electric, hydrogen or ethanolpowered cars. I want to see engines built that run on a truly renewable resource - milk. Think about it, a gallon of milk is always cheaper than a gallon of gas. Instead of doing business with Middle Eastern despots, we will do business with Mid-Western cowboys. No more invasions and occupations, just country music and John Deere tractors. The new fad will be pet goats and cows. Forget the dog park. I need a field for my cow to graze or else I won’t be able to drive to work tomorrow.

3108 Queens Chapel Road Hyattsville, Maryland 20782

301-699-5552

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 18

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The BackPage

by Giosue’ Santarelli

If the shoe fits

A

ny trip with your favorite lady to the store reveals the latest ridiculous trend in women’s shoes. Pointed shoes are all the rage lately. Not since the Spanish Inquisition have such devices been employed upon the human body.

Given that most women even with a curvaceous foot have significant width from heel to toe, it is remarkable to note that they not only attempt, but also succeed in squeezing 5 toes in the tapering space fit for a drinking straw.

Of course if you’ve spent any time out while your lady is in a pair of these torture devices you know you’re in for a night with the queen of mood shooting looks at you as if you were the one turning the screws on her foot dilemma.

Later, you’re assured to be servicing her with a foot massage worthy of Cleopatra.

Like most men who have dreamed of that spare room in the house becoming the den, you end up losing the space with the formation of the “shoe room.”You give it up quite easily when she threatens that either she gets proper space for her abundance of footgear or she wants another baby.

Since men desire children slightly less than a trip to the proctologist for a classic turn-your-head-and-cough visit, she wins the day and your auspicious library becomes the Imelda Marcos Memorial Footwear Gallery.

How can a woman who only has two feet require so many shoes? Men generally can live with a pair of athletic shoes, a pair of boots, one set of dress shoes and a pair of sandals for use during those “Jesus complex” moments.

Women faced with such few footwear choices would wither and be blown away in the faintest of winds.

“Shoes for every occasion” means that she has as many pairs as Hallmark has greeting cards. If she needs that special pale blue spiked pump with a design on top resembling a yarmulke because she is participating in her nephews bar mitzvah, then she has to be prepared for it. The shoe room is the place you’ll find that special something.

So many pairs are there that she could open a shoe store of her own if she ever had the desire. Think of the carnage. Have you ever watched eager shoppers set loose on the latest Candies fragrance to hit the market during a special introductory offer? The elbowing strategy between women going for the limited supply

is unspeakable. It might make interesting entertainment for some men, but such brinkmanship should not be condoned even if it looks similar to naked mud wrestling or a Saturday night in the roller derby rink.

Perhaps the truth of the matter is that women simply have so many shoes because they just don’t throw anything away. Over the years she’s collected shoes because she has to go shopping for a new pair for every birthday, wedding, and trash day that passes. So how come with a mountain of shoes occupying your potential solarium she still needs more? Men can’t figure it out.

The overabundance probably means she is an older woman. Make no reference to such a thing unless you want to spend the next 6 weeks sleeping on the couch in between the punitive repercussions of having to polish all of that footwear to get back into her good graces. (It’s hard to explain pink polish under your fingernails to the guys down at the rock quarry).

A wise fellow might envision a game room with pinball, soccer, and billiard tables, or even Pacman to fill the void. Unfortunately, that pipedream has been replaced by a million soles that are stomping all over it.They’re taking up that space so her feet can be happy when a pair of Oxfords is called for at the annual PTA meeting or karaoke night in front of the town drunks. “Hey as long as she’s happy,” the thought goes. Then you think that perhaps you can convince her to put an addition on the house and get your game room after all. You might get her to go along with the idea, but realize when she smiles at the prospect that she isn’t seeing late night billiards with a little bar in the corner and a drink in her hand. She’s actually calculating how many more racks of shoes will fit in the new space, and how many more years she has to fill it with the latest shoe fashions well into her geriatric years. When it finally hits you what she’s up to it’ll be too late.

After your stroke you can be sure she’ll give you a proper burial like that of the family pet - with a quick service in the backyard. Naturally she’ll have the perfect footwear for the occasion.Your remnants of course will be laid to rest in a shoe box.

Giosue’ Santarelli is a pseudonym for a well-known HL&T editor.

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 19

Hyattsville Life&Times | August 2007

Page 20

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