Old Town Crier - February 2024

From the Bay to the Blue Ridge

PRICELESS • SINCE 1988

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FEBRUARY 2024

otcregionalmag

PUBLISHER’S NOTES Here it is February already and winter has finally set in. Part of me hopes we used up our quota for snow in January but I do admit that I like being out in it so the other part of me hopes we get another round (without the 20 degree temps) at some point in the next couple of months.

February means that the oldest and largest George Washington Birthday Parade in the country takes place on Presidents Day, February 19th right here in Old Town. This is always a fun event and a great chance for the kids to see something special. As you can tell from the Calendar in this issue, there is a lot of activity all month taking place around “Presidents Day” for George, whose birthday is actually on the 22nd. Ever wonder why we don’t include President Lincoln this month as well. His birthday falls on the 12th. Guess since he wasn’t born here or have a huge complex in the area, he doesn’t get billing. If you have an interest in the history of Presidents Day, check out the column about it in this issue.

February 14th brings us Valentine's Day and Lori Welch Brown has penned a very clever column about the machinations people go through on this day in her Open Space column. Sarah Becker gives you some insight to the history of the holiday as she intertwines President Jimmy Carter and his wife Rosalyn’s love story in A Bit of History.

And, obviously, the bulk of you will be looking for places to take your sweetheart for dinner. Clearly there are numerous great restaurants in Alexandria to visit on Valentine's Day. You may want to consider the subject of this month’s Dining Out column, Elaine’s. This is one of Old Town’s newest and unique restaurants as it brings a bit of Alexandria, Egypt to our fair city.

If you want to get out of town for a little romance, another great destination is Barrel Oak Winery (see their ad on inside back cover) where February is for “wine” lovers. And, in all fairness, there are lots of Valentine events happening at the bulk of the wineries within a 1-2 hour radius of Old Town.

Relaxing at River Bluff Farm February also is Heart Awareness month. This is something dear to me as I have three stents in my heart. In From the Trainer this month Ryan Unverzagt teaches us about this magnificent organ...the heart. In keeping with that theme, Nicole Flanagan writes about how cold weather affects the heart in her Fitness column.

The photo of me sitting in that comfortable chair next to the fire place was taken at the beautiful River Bluff Farm Bed & Breakfast in Quicksburg, Virginia. River Bluff is our Road Trip destination this month. This place is both rustic and a bit elegant at the same time. I really don’t know how to explain it.

It’s bad enough that Valentine’s Day is fast approaching, March will be upon us in no time as well. That leads me to mentioning Alexandria’s St. Patrick’s Day parade. I have seriously questioned WHY do we have it on the first Saturday of March every year? Why not closer to the 17th? Well, I was told that the organizer of the first parade, Pat Troy of Irelands Own fame, put out the edict that he wanted to have the FIRST St. Patrick’s Day parade in the DMV each year. It will be held on March 2nd. Look for more details on the parade in the Calendar section.

While we are on the subject, our congratulations go out to Mike aka Mango Mike Anderson who will be the Grand Marshall of the St. Patrick’s Parade 2024. I have known Michael for over 35 years. He has been in the service business pretty much his whole life starting with bartending in Washinton, D.C. in the 60's &70's and then opening his own restaurants in Alexandria. Currently, Mike and his wife Donna, with the help of their daughter Danielle Mammel and son-in-law David Mammel, own and operate HomeGrown Restaurant Group, a six-restaurant group located within the Carlyle and Del Ray neighborhoods of Alexandria. The group includes Pork Barrel BBQ, Holy Cow, The Del Ray Pop Up Bar, Tequila & Taco, Sweet Fire Donna’s and Whiskey & Oyster.

February is also Black History month. We were unable to publish the activities taking place in Alexandria due to not getting the information prior to our print deadline, however, please check them out in the online version on our website. They will be posted on our Facebook and Instagram pages as well.

Last, but not least…It is Leap Year so we have an extra day to kick our heels up in February! Can you believe it has been 4 years since we’ve had one??

4 February 2024

Old Town Crier

february‘24 A Division of OTC Media LLC

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office@oldtowncrier.com oldtowncrier.com Published the first week of every month.

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PUBLISHER

Bob Tagert

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CONTRIBUTORS

Stephen Bearce Sarah Becker Alexander Britel Cheryl Burns F. Lennox Campello Steve Chaconas Scott Dicken Doug Fabbioli Matt Fitzsimmons Nicole Flanagan Lani Gering Miriam Kramer Timothy Long

Cindy McGovern Glenn Morel Meg Mullery Melinda Murphy Ron Powers Kim Putens Julie Reardon Ashley Stimpson Bob Tagert Carl Trevisan Ryan Unverzagt Catherine Varchever Lori Welch Brown © 2023 OTC Media LLC. No part of this publication may be reproduced without the written consent of the publisher. The Old Town Crier is published monthly and distributed to select Alexandria residents, hotels, restaurants and retail shops. Also distributed from the Chesapeake Bay to the Blue Ridge Mountains and USVI.

A Bit of History........................................13 Fitness...................................................40 On the Road............................................5 About the Cover........................................6 From the Bay.........................................20

Open Space.............................................45

After hours.............................................16 From the Trainer.....................................38 Personality Profile...................................10 Alexandria Events....................................8 Gallery Beat...........................................14 Pets of the Month....................................43 Art & Antiques........................................15 Go Fish...................................................44 Points on Pets.........................................42 Caribbean Connection.............................26 Grapevine..............................................35 Publishers notes.......................................4 Dining Guide..........................................29 High Notes.............................................16

Road Trip................................................24

Dining Out.............................................30 Last Word...............................................18 Special Feature........................................19 Exploring VA Wines ...............................34

Let's Eat.................................................32 To the Blue Ridge....................................22

Financial Focus.......................................12 Let's Get Crafty......................................36 Urban Garden.........................................11 First Blush.............................................41

National Harbor......................................46 Where is the Mural?..................................6

ON THE ROAD WITH OTC Longtime Alexandria residents, David and Laurie Norcross treated themselves to a stay at the well-known Omni Homestead Resort in Hot Springs, Virginia this fall. The Homestead has long been a cherished resort famous for their hot spring pools, luxurious spa and championship golf courses. Laurie is pictured here with the Old Town Crier in hand overlooking The Great Hall in the main building. They tell us that the $150M that Omni put into the latest renovation was well worth the money and has put the Homestead back on its game.

If you would like to see your photo in this space, take the OTC with you on your next adventure and take a high resolution photo or photos of you and yours checking us out and send it with information for the caption to office@oldtowncrier.com and put “On the Road” in the subject line.

Old Town Crier

February 2024 5

JUST FOR FUN WHERE IS IT?

O N THE COVER The Little Red House Everything is prettier from the water

After two months and a couple of hints, Old Town Alexandria resident Carol Franks correctly identified the location of the mural of our nations first president that graces the north side of the building housing the Union Street Public House at 121 South Union Street in Old Town.

We admit that this was a tricky one since the mural faces an alley way. You really have to look for it.

This month’s image is a bit more prominent and if you are the first person to respond with the correct location, you will receive a $50 gift certificate to one of our amazing restaurant advertisers eateries.

In order to participate, you will have to Like and Follow us: Facebook @oldtowncrier Instagram @otcregionalmag Send a PM with your guess and we will contact the winner each month via PM to arrange for prize delivery. Mural Photo by Lee Moody.

We decided to ditch the standard “Hearts and Flowers” image or a photo of the “Father of our Country” for this amazing shot taken by our friend and favorite amateur Chesapeake Bay photographer, David Sites. This Little Red House sits vacant on the shore of Beards Creek off of the South River. It was once the weekend home of a doctor who passed away many years ago. The family keeps the house and the property maintained but don’t use it and, as far as David knows, they don’t want to sell it. It would be fun to know…the rest of the story. David has been driving his boat and kayaking by the home for at least 10 years. He captured this shot from the water in his kayak after the snowfall we had in the area last month. We are enamored with the contrast of the red house with the snow-covered roof and trees and their reflection on the water.

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David shot this second image of Mike and Molly Mallard cruising along on the same day. This pair has made it a habit of following his boat to his home where we know that he has a habit of having some tasty corn treats for them.

We would also like to take this space to say congratulations to David for spending time on the water taking photos EVERY day in 2023! It all started with a “100 Day Challenge” put out there by Eastport based sailing magazine – SpinSheet. He took the challenge to a whole other level.

Old Town Crier

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February 2024 7

EVENTS AROUND TOWN

George Washington Birthday Parade to Highlight Alexandria Living Legends Tens of thousands are expected to line the streets of Old Town Alexandria on Monday, February 19, 2024 from 1-3 p.m. to cheer on nation’s oldest and largest George Washington Birthday Parade, which is celebrated in his adopted hometown.

In honor of Alexandria’s 275th Anniversary, the 2024 Parade theme is “George Washington: Alexandria’s Original Living Legend”, and the Parade Grand Marshals will be The Living Legends of Alexandria, an organization that identifies, honors and chronicles the lives of individuals who have contributed to the community in an exemplary and lasting way that has significantly impacted the quality of life in Alexandria.

The parade will return to its historic parade route east of Washington Street, after having marched in 2023 to the George Washington National Masonic Memorial in honor of the Memorial’s 100th Anniversary. To view the parade route and the Parade March of Order which will be posted before Parade Day, visit www.washingtonbirthday. com.

“The participants are really stepping up the creativity this year,” said Sue Johnson, chair of Alexandria’s all-volunteer George Washington Birthday Celebration Committee. “It should be an exciting parade!”

Other events planned throughout February in honor of George Washington’s birthday can be found at www.washingtonbirthday.com/events.

organizations, youth groups, local merchants, city and community dignitaries, and, of course, General Washington and Martha Washington. Follow www.washington.com for more details.

Historic Sites Open on Parade Day Carlyle House, 121 N. Fairfax Street: Open 10 a.m.—4 p.m. $8 per adult; $3 per child Christ Church, 118 N. Washington Street : Open 10 a.m.—12:30 p.m.

Free Freedom House Museum, 1315 Duke Street: Open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $5 per person, City residents free Friendship Firehouse Museum, 107 S. Alfred Street: Open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $2 per person, City residents free Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street: Open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $5 per person, City residents free Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 323 S. Fairfax Street: Open 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Free Stabler-Leadbeater Apothecary Museum, 105 S. Fairfax Street: Open 11 a.m. – 5 p.m. $5 per person, City residents free

George Washington Celebration Events in February

The parade primarily relies on private financial support, and there are a wide variety of sponsorship and donation opportunities available at www.washingtonbirthday.com/ donate.

Parade Day Events Monday, February 19, 2024 Friendship Veterans Fire Engine Association Breakfast 9—10 :30 a.m.

Cost: $45 per person, table of 10 $400 Join the movers and shakers of Alexandria at this historic celebration marking the 250th anniversary of the Friendship Fire Company (1774-2024) and the City’s 275th anniversary. For more information and to purchase tickets, contact Bill Kehoe, Secretary, kehoefd@aol.com. Location: The Hilton Alexandria at Mark Center, Terrace Room, 5000 Seminary Road, Alexandria.

Wreath Laying Ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier of the Revolution 11 a.m.

Free, no registration required Join the Daughters of the American Revolution and the Sons of the American Revolution as they honor the Unknown Soldier of the Revolution. Location: Old Presbyterian Meeting House, 321 S. Fairfax St. George Washington Birthday Parade 1-3 p.m.

The annual parade features drum corps, color guards, bands, community and fraternal 8 February 2024

The Restaurant Cherry Challenge February 1-15, 2024 The “Cherry Challenge” is a competition among the finer restaurants in Alexandria.

Each restaurant will develop its own cherry cocktail, appetizer, entrée, and/or dessert in honor of our distinguished native son, of course! The competing restaurants and their entries will be listed on the George Washington Birthday Celebration website and Facebook page, and the winners will be announced on Parade Day. Hunt for Washington February 1-29, 2024 Sponsored by Lafayette College A fun and challenging game to uncover clues about Alexandria and George Washington! The hunt, which should take about 60-90 minutes to complete, will Old Town Crier

take individuals and families to places in Old Town Alexandria associated with the General. Start by printing a clue sheet from washingtonbirthday.com and bring it with you as you traverse the heart of Old Town and use your sleuthing skills to find answers to the clues. Submit your findings to gwbirthdayevents@gmail.com any time before the end of the day on February 29 to be entered into a prize drawing! FREE.

LOCAL FARMERS MARKETS

American Legion Post 24 Run, Walk, n' Roll February 1-29, 2024 This George Washington Birthday Commemorative event is intended to build community and enhance the physical, mental, and emotional resiliency of participants—veterans and nonveterans alike. This month-long event encourages participants to run, walk and/or roll on their own for at least 24 miles in increments and routes they choose. Proceeds support Alexandria American Legion Post 24 veterans and youth programs.

Registration is $24 and opens until February 25, 2024. For more information, visit runsignup.com/Race/VA/Alexandria/ GWB24RunWalkRoll

OLD TOWN FARMERS MARKET

“George Washington’s Alexandria” Tours Every Sunday in February (4th, 11th, 18th & 25th) 2-4 p.m.

Explore historic Old Town Alexandria as George Washington knew it! This popular two-hour guided walking tour will visit sites associated with Washington and his closest colleagues. To register, visit eventbrite.com and search George Washington’s Alexandria. FREE.

The Old Town Market is thought to be the one of nation’s oldest continuing markets operating since 1753. It is said that George Washington sent his products from Mount Vernon to be sold here. Today the plaza is a mecca for farmers and artists to sell their wares. The Market is a primary source for meats, dairy, fish, fruits, vegetables and flowers for all those who visit.

Mind your Manners! Balls in Early America February 9, 6-7 p.m.

February 10, 10-11 a.m.

Gadsby’s Tavern Museum is famous in part because George Washington celebrated his Birthnight Ball there, but there’s so much more to the story! From scandal to social class, balls reveal the political intrigue and power structures that were part of early America. Learn more through this specialty tour. $15 per person, purchase at AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop. Location: 134 N. Royal St. An Intimate Reception with General Washington Saturday, February 10, 2024 5:30-7:30 p.m.

Join General Washington at the beautiful and historic Duvall House, where he was feted by leading Alexandrians upon his triumphant return from the Revolutionary War in 1783. The General will share his most poignant memories of the war and answer questions about his life and times. Libations and heavy hors d’oeuvres will be served. $150 per person, with proceeds benefiting the 2024 George Washington Birthday Celebration.

Purchase tickets at AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop under “Events”.

Location: Historic Duvall House, 305 Cameron St. Washington’s Entertainments: A Birthnight Event Saturday, February 17, 2024 6—9 p.m.

George Washington was entertained for his birthday in Gadsby’s Tavern with music and dance. You can mark the occasion with a dinner that features a series of 18th-century entertainments Washington enjoyed in his lifetime, including music, dance demonstrations, toasts, and even a bit of mind reading. Ticket includes four-course dinner with wine and live performances. $150 per person, purchase at AlexandriaVA.gov/Shop. Location: Gadsby’s Tavern Museum, 134 N. Royal Street George Washington Birthday Gala Saturday, February 24, 2024 Formal (white tie optional). Reception at 5 p.m. Entertainment in the Memorial Theater at 6:30 p.m. Banquet in the Memorial's Grand Masonic Hall at 7:30 p.m. The presentation of the George Washington Memorial Award will take place during the banquet.

Tickets are $225. To purchase tickets, visit gwmemorial.org.

Tickets are limited. Location: The George Washington Masonic National Memorial, 101 Callahan Drive.

Connect with us!

Web: VisitAlexandriaVA.com Blog: Blog.VisitAlexandriaVA.com Facebook: Facebook.com/VisitAlexandriaVA Twitter: Twitter.com/AlexandriaVA Instagram: Instagram.com/VisitAlexVA Old Town Crier

Market Square 301 King Street Saturdays, 7 am – 12 Noon Year Round

DEL RAY FARMERS MARKET Corner of Mt. Vernon and Oxford Avenues Saturdays, 8 am to Noon Year Round This market is strictly a producer grown market. Lots of fresh vegetables, fruits, fish and salmon, fresh mushrooms, baked goods, hard cider. Farmers are within a 150 mile radius of Alexandria. A non-profit is featured each weekend.

OLD TOWN NORTH FARMERS & ARTISANS MARKET Montgomery Park 901 North Royal Street Thursdays, 3 pm – 7 pm Year Round

Alexandria’s favorite dog friendly market! The Old Town North Thursday Market is a growers only market with a focus on produce from small family farms and local artisans. Products sold at the market include fresh fruits and veggies from Virginia’s Northern Neck, Micro Greens from an urban farm, Empanadas, Fresh baked pastries with a European flair and much more.

FOUR MILE RUN FARMERS & ARTISANS MARKET 4109 Mount Vernon Avenue Sundays, 9 am – 1 pm Year Round

This market offers fresh, nutritious food to people of all income levels and strives to reflect the diversity of Alexandria’s community. Local artisans display their arts and crafts as well.

The Ballyshaner’s 41st Alexandria Saint Patrick's Day Parade- March 2nd Residents and tourists alike are encouraged to come early to enjoy the events at one of the DC area's finest parades. All events are free to the public.

Alexandria boasts the first St. Patrick's Day Parade taking place in the DC area each year. Traditionally, this parade is held the first Saturday in March, and serves to attract the finest entries. The parade features pipe bands, Irish dance schools, community groups, and a host of other performers and entertainment. It's a fantastic day to spend with family or friends!

The parade officially starts at the corner of King Street and Saint Asaph Street at 12:30pm, with dignitaries leading the procession at 12:15 pm. The parade proceeds east on King Street, finishing at the corner of Fairfax and Cameron Streets. With thousands of spectators and participants expected, parade goers are encouraged to take advantage of public transportation. The closest Metro is the Blue Line, King Street/Old Town. There is a free trolley from the Metro, or the activities can be reached by a short 10-minute walk down King Street.

The St. Patrick's Day Parade is organized by the Ballyshaners (Gaelic for "Old Towners"). The Ballyshaners is a non-profit group that seeks to promote and preserve Irish heritage through organization of the St. Patrick's Day Parade in Alexandria and the Irish festival held each summer.

Sponsorship and volunteer opportunities are still available as listed on the website. For more information about parade go to: https://www.ballyshaners.org/. If you would like to march in the parade, log on to: https://www.ballyshaners.org/parade.html#application February 2024 9

PERSONALIITY PROFILE BOB TAGERT

Noelie y e k c i R After doing this publication for over 36 years, one of the fun things we get to do is to write about the personalities we have encountered along the way. This is one of the ways we get to meet and know about the individuals who make up our community.

With Noelie Rickey, that is no exception. We actually met Noelie and her business partner Markos Panas at an Old Town Business Association mixer. They were both delightful and easy to talk to. Markos has a story of his own but we will save that for a later date. He and his father John founded Bread & Water Company in the Belle View Shopping Center where he eventually hired Noelie... but that is putting the cart before the horse.

Noelie was born in Seattle, Washington in the late1960's, in the heart of the Peace, Love, Sex, Waterbeds era.

"That was a formidable time 10 February 2024

– A Real Renaissance Woman

in my life”, she tells me. “When I was three years old my mom and dad divorced and my mom moved us into a Commune. It was a full-blown commune – one big house full of hippies,” she said with a smile. "My mom didn't have a car so we hitch hiked everywhere. That was what you kind of did in the early 60's into the 70's," as she giggled.

Noelie remembers how living in a commune took constant negotiations. It is clear that she learned that skill well. "I remember being in conversations with adults as a kid.

You had to think for yourself. We would have negotiations for the current night’s dinner, and then tomorrow night’s dinner. You know, that has always stuck with me as I got

older,” she says. "A lot of our conversations were centered on getting along, and how do you do that? Communicate."

"I have many conversations like that today with our staff

and I tend to prioritize others needs over my own and as a business owner, you have to learn to do that.” From what I know of Noelie and her approach to her businesses, I think the Commune lessons were well learned.

As Noelie moved into the teen years her focus changed.

"I was a very good little kid,” she says, “but a real terror in my teens...very independent and able to manage my own life at that point.” Today at 56 years old, it is clear that Noelie has had the life experiences to enable her to charge head long into the business world…something she was destined for.

After living on her own, Noelie would take on any job she could to make some money. The survival instinct was pretty strong.

She developed a talent for calligraphy and was commissioned for some murals which led to other work.

She told me when she turned 17 she got a "real job" - regular hours and all. It was in a one woman owned sandwich shop called “Honey Bee Hams” in Belleview, Washington near the Microsoft Headquarters. Obviously, they sold hams during the

holidays but it was making the sandwiches, soups and cookies from scratch where Noelie excelled.

“Serving only sandwiches, soup and cookies, this one

woman owned sandwich shop was making millions of dollars a year. This was so empowering to me...I loved it! I worked six days a week and got paid for five, minimum wage."

After seven years at the sandwich shop Noelie got involved in running a Spa Health Center which showed her the other side of business.

The owner jumped ship and disappeared in the night.

Noelie sucked it up and took the club over and made it a success.

In 2009 Noelie made her way to Alexandria. By this time she had tacked on Veterinary Technician to her resume.

She took a job at Alexandria Pet Care and began walking dogs. While she loved working with the canines, she also realized just how much she loved cooking and making pastries and desserts.

Remembering back to her days at the Honey Bee, she knew that she could be doing what she loved and knew that money could be made.

She enrolled in the L’Academie de Cuisine to learn how to pour her talents into becoming a pastry chef.

She worked at a few of the better restaurants in the DMV including Brabo here in Old Town.

About this time Markos was thinking about a new bakery concept and advertised for a Pastry Chef. Noelie answered the ad. Marco's father, John, called Noelie and said "You are just what we need!” Marcos and Noelie negotiated and the Bread & Water Company opened in the Belle View Shopping Center with her at the helm in the kitchen. This venture led to them taking over the space where the iconic Atlantis Restaurant was in Bradlee Shopping Center and opening the BeeLiner Diner in 2022.

Noelie is the force behind the bread and pastries at both locations. Watch for an upcoming Dining Out column in a future issue!

I would be remiss if I didn’t tell you that her aforementioned love for dogs has not waned since her days of walking them.

She is the proprietor of The Dog Park pet store in the 700 block of King Street in Old Town. It is always nice to see new businesses thrive in Alexandria and Noelie Rickey has surely paid her dues and wears her success very well.

Old Town Crier

URBAN GARDEN

MELINDA MYERS

Bring Your Green Thumb Inside House Plants 101 Lift your winter time spirits and improve your indoor environment by taking part in the indoor gardening movement. An apartment or home filled with tropical, succulent and flowering plants can provide beauty, extend your garden season, improve air quality and create a peaceful environment to destress.

Though some may find indoor gardening a bit intimidating, don’t let past failures or the thought of tending living greenery stop you from enjoying the many benefits. Knowing some basics in care and making needed adjustments to the growing environment can turn past failures into success.

Water, humidity and light are key to growing healthy plants. When you match these to a plant’s needs and the growing media, you’re sure to experience success.

Use a container with drainage holes to avoid overwatering that can lead to root rot and plant death. It should be no more than an inch or two larger in diameter than the plant’s root ball.

Growing in a larger pot results in the soil staying too wet, increasing the chance of root rot.

Select a quality potting mix that holds moisture but drains well. Cacti and succulents prefer a fastdraining mix while tropicals and African violets prefer a mix that stays moist, not soggy, yet drains well.

Old Town Crier

Set your plant in a location that’s free from drafts of hot and cold air, but in the preferred light conditions. An east- or west-facing window usually provides adequate light for most plants. Keep cacti, succulents and other plants requiring high light within two feet of an east- or west-facing window.

Pothos, philodendron, Chinese evergreens and those that tolerate low light can be placed near a north-facing window or up to six feet back or off to the side of an east- or west-facing window. Shears, awnings and trees can impact the light reaching your plants. Adjust their location as needed.

Always water thoroughly and pour off the excess water that collects in the saucer. Allow the top few inches of soil to dry before watering drought tolerant plants like cactus. Water tropical and flowering plants that prefer moist conditions when the top few inches of soil are barely moist, like a sponge that has been wrung out.

Reduce maintenance and improve plant health with gravel trays. Fill a tray or saucer with pebbles.

Allow excess water to collect in the tray. The pebbles keep the pot elevated above the water to avoid root rot. As the water evaporates it increases the humidity around the plant.

When pest problems occur, consider an organic approach safe for people, pets and plants. Manage fungus gnats, those tiny fruit fly like insects

found flitting around the house, with a naturally occurring bacteria, Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis, found in Summit Mosquito Bits (SummitResponsibleSolutions.com). Just sprinkle on the soil surface and repeat as needed until these pests disappear.

Mites, aphids, scale and mealybugs can be controlled with an organic horticulture oil like Summit Year-Round Spray Oil. This product coats the pests and kills all stages from egg to adult.

Repeat as needed to control any that were missed.

Once the pests are managed, check the growing conditions and make needed adjustments to the growing environment.

The more plants you grow, the easier it becomes and soon enough you may find yourself immersed in a tropical or desert paradise inside the comfort of your own home.

About the Author: Melinda Myers has written more than 20 gardening books, including Small Space Gardening. She hosts The Great Courses “How to Grow Anything” DVD series and the nationally syndicated Melinda’s Garden Moment TV & radio program. Myers is a columnist and contributing editor for Birds & Blooms magazine and was commissioned by Summit for her expertise to write this article. Myers’s web site is www.melindamyers. com.

February 2024 11

FINANCIAL FOCUS

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12 February 2024

Old Town Crier

A BIT OF HISTORY

©

SARAH BECKER

True Valentines:

Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter February 14th is Saint Valentine’s Day, a day of celebration for sweethearts and friends. Rosalynn and Jimmy Carter shared 77 years of marriage, more years than I am old. They married in 1946, the same year Jimmy graduated with distinction from the U.S. Naval Academy. Carter was 21 and she was 18.

George Washington’s Box Pew while attending Epiphany services.

“My darling [Rosalynn], every time I’ve ever been away from you, I have been thrilled when I returned to discover just how wonderful you are,” husband Jimmy wrote in 1948.

“While I am away, I try to convince myself that you really are not, could not be, as sweet and beautiful as I remember. But when I see you, I fall in love with you all over again….”

The Carters were the longest married Presidential couple in U.S. history.

“Ours was the first society openly to define itself in terms of both spirituality and of human liberty,” Carter claimed. “It is that unique self-definition which has given us an exceptional appeal.”

“It was during the early years of the 14th century that the shape of the St. Valentine heart made its appearance,” The Lancet’s Pierre Linken wrote.

Rosalynn, Jimmy Carter’s forever Valentine died on November 19, 2023, at age 96.

Three years her senior former President Carter now lives alone at home in Plains, Georgia: his sweetheart held securely in his heart.

According to Fox 5 Atlanta Rosalynn was buried by a willow tree near the edge of a pond—their fly-fishing pond—“within view of the front porch” of their home. “He never wants to be very far from her,” Carter Center CEO Paige Alexander said.

“My grandmother’s…life was a mighty testament to the power of faith and…a deep and determined love,” grandson Jason Carter added.

President Jimmy Carter [D-GA, 1977-1981], a Southern Baptist is long known for his church teachings, the morality he brought to the White House. “In this outward and physical ceremony we attest once again to the inner and spiritual strength of our Nation,” Carter said on January 20, 1977. “Here before me is the Bible used in the inauguration of our first President [George Washington], in 1789.…”

Relatedly President Jimmy and First Lady Rosalynn Carter visited Alexandria’s Episcopal Christ Church, a church which opened in 1773. President Carter’s Daily Diary confirms their last Church visit as Tuesday January 6, 1981. They sat in

Old Town Crier

“The [39th] inauguration ceremony marks a new beginning, a new dedication within our Government, and a new spirit among us all,” Carter continued. “Two centuries ago, our Nation’s birth was a milestone in the long quest for freedom.”

“Let us learn together and laugh together and work together and pray together, confident in the end that we will triumph together in the right,” Carter concluded. “The American dream endures [as does] our Nation’s continuing moral strength.” “[My grandfather] has been the moral rock for so many people,” Jason Carter mused, “but Rosalynn really was that rock for him.”

“Philosophers, theologians and now neuroscientists think a lot about love,” University of Utah Health suggested. “Maybe as Valentine’s Day approaches we should think a little bit about the different kinds of love: Eros—passionate love, Philia—love of friends and equals, Storge—love of parents for children, and Agape— love modeled on the love of the Christian God.” Jimmy Carter describes himself as a born-again Christian. Said candidate Carter in 1976, his Presidential election year: “Love alone is not enough for man to win salvation for eternal life.”

“Out of love has to come one more step,” Carter explained. “The step: Simple justice.” He “repeatedly stressed his belief in equality…Christ chose to deal with ‘prostitutes, tax collectors, dark-skinned people and lepers.’”

Song of Solomon, 1.5: “I am black, but comely, O ye daughters of Jerusalem, as the tents of Kedar, as the curtains of Solomon.”

Both Carters have long dedicated themselves to others achievement of the American Dream. “Rarely do we honor two people who have devoted themselves so effectively to advancing freedom,” President Bill Clinton [DAR, 1993-2003] said. “Jimmy and

Rosalynn Carter have done more good things for more people in more places than any other couple on the face of the Earth.” Each received the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 1999.

“To be sure, there have been other Presidents who have continued to contribute to the public good once they left office: Thomas Jefferson founded the University of Virginia; John Quincy Adams returned to Congress for eight terms and fought slavery; William Howard Taft became Chief Justice,” Clinton continued.

“But the work President Carter has done through this extraordinary Carter Center to improve our Nation and our world is truly unparalleled in our Nation’s history,” Clinton declared. “We’ve all gotten used to seeing pictures of the Carters building homes for people through Habitat for Humanity. But the full story lies in pictures we don’t see of the 115 countries he’s visited since leaving office, to end hunger and disease and to spread the cause of peace….”

Former President Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002.

As for Habitat for Humanity: Jimmy and Rosalynn routinely volunteered to build housing in low-income neighborhoods. The sell: home ownership, sweat equity style. In 1995, 1998-99 and 2005 Habitat for Humanity purchased and rebuilt several dilapidated homes in Alexandria’s crime ridden inner city. 1107, 1109, 1111, 1112 and 1114 Princess Street included.

“For…years Rosalynn Carter has made it her mission to erase the stigma surrounding mental health,” Clinton reminded. “As First Lady of Georgia she…volunteered her time at a State hospital. She then took what she learned to the White House where she chaired the President’s Commission on Mental Health.

Afterwards she initiated the Rosalyn Carter Symposium on Mental Health Policy and…promoted action. We also owe Rosalynn our gratitude for her efforts to ensure that all our children are immunized.”

Rosalynn was Jimmy’s “equal partner.” It was President Carter who in 1978 partnered with Congress to extend the 1972 Equal Rights Amendment’s deadline for ratification—from 1979 to 1982.

“The extraordinary partnership between these two remarkable Americans has long remained strong,” Clinton concluded. “At its heart, those of us who admire them see their journey as one of love and faith.”

If you really want to spoil your Valentine try serving Rosalynn’s favorite Strawberry Cake. From The White House: Ingredients include 1 package yellow or white cake mix, 1 3-oz. package of strawberry jello, ¾ cup cooking oil, 1 cup chopped nuts, 4 eggs, 2-tbsps. flour, 1 10-oz. package frozen strawberries or 1 pint fresh strawberries with ½ cup sugar.

Mix all ingredients and beat well; pour into angel food cake pan and bake at 3500 for 45 minutes or until done. Serve plain or with whipped cream.

Jimmy Carter, with Rosalynn’s able assistance “gave the country an administration that was marked by integrity,” Smithsonian historian Carter Smith concluded.

In 1979 President Carter installed 32 thermal-solar panels on the White House roof, panels which could “harness the power of the sun [and lessen] our crippling dependence on foreign oil.” Seven years later President Ronald Reagan [R-CA, 1981-89] gutted DOE’s renewable energies budget and removed them.

Three of the discarded panels are now museum pieces, one displayed in China’s Solar Science and Technology Museum.

Time has proven the Carters right is so many ways! Seventy-seven Valentine Day celebrations included.

Sarah Becker started writing for The Economist while a graduate student in England. Similar publications followed. She joined the Crier in 1996 while serving on the Alexandria Convention and Visitors Association Board. Her interest in antiquities began as a World Bank hire, with Indonesia’s need to generate hard currency. Balinese history, i.e. tourism provided the means. The New York Times describes Becker’s book, Off Your Duffs & Up the Assets, as “a blueprint for thousands of nonprofit managers.” A former museum director, SLAM’s saving grace Sarah received Alexandria’s Salute to Women Award in 2007. Email: abitofhistory53@gmail.com

February 2024 13

GALLERY BEAT

F. LENNOX CAMPELLO

Print or Reproduction?

One of my pet peeves in the lingo of the art world is the usurpation of the word “print.”

First Crossing by Oliver Stern

In fact, the most misused word in the world of art is the word "print," as used in defining artwork as "limited edition print," etc.

In the narrow, but true art definition of what an original art print is, a print is a work of art produced from an image worked by the artist on another material, usually a metal, Plexiglas, wood, linoleum, plastic plate, etc. These days maybe even a computer’s RAM. Everything else is a reproduction.

And lawsuits will happen if suddenly a collector discovers that their "print" or "original" is in fact a reproduction.

Winter Portrait by William Demaria

Therefore, young padawans, if an artist paints or draws an image on any medium, and then has multiple images made from that original by an electro-mechanical or mechanical process using photographic or digital images (such as Iris or Gyclee), those images are reproductions - not prints.

However, because it would really be hard to market an artist's work as "limited edition, signed and numbered reproductions," the word "print" has been kidnapped by the marketers of art to apply to any set of multiple images - regardless of how they came to be, or what part the artist played in its creation.

It gets a bit murky when it comes to digital art - that is artwork that is created from scratch through the use of a computer or a photograph taken with a digital camera.

Joined Pathways by Oliver Stern

Once the file is done and finished and saved, then one can say that the image that comes out of the printer is the "print" in the true sense of the narrow art definition - much like the negative in traditional photography produces the photographic print.

However, a photograph that is taken, developed, printed in the darkroom and then scanned so that Giclees or Iris "prints" can be made from the photographic image means that those are reproductions made from the original photograph.

But a photograph taken with a digital camera and then has Iris/Giclees or any other digital prints made from the digital image in the memory card is a "real" print!

Is that confusing enough for you?

Faraway Memories by William Demaria

Therefore, a digital medium like Giclee/ Iris can be either a reproduction or a real print - it all depends on what the original source of the image is!

Printmakers are and should be especially

14 February 2024

sensitive to the misuse of the work "print" to market reproductions of artwork. One of the best places in town to buy true prints from very talented printmakers is the Washington Printmakers Gallery, which has been around for decades and decades and decades and has moved recently to 1675 Wisconsin Ave. NW on Book Hill in Georgetown. They’ve been around so long that sometime in the late 1980s I was actually in a juried competition at the gallery juried by none other than the great Joe Shannon!

Currently at the gallery is a threeperson exhibition titled After Thought— emotional landscapes — featuring work

by William Demaria, Erin Owen, and Oliver Stern. The show runs through February 25, 2024.

Erin Owen is “an ecofeminist sculptor and printmaker, soon to graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Oklahoma State University and currently teaching sustainable art classes at the Fairmont Center of the Arts in Cleveland, Ohio.”

Her work is deeply influenced by her concern for the environment, and in this show she pushes the limit of “printmaking” as I defined it above. For example, in Dreams of Glacier National Park, an etched cast glass sculpture which contains etched and very fragile glass balls filled with crude oil, she intelligently delivers her artistic driving force (the environment) while at the same time flexing some pretty powerful technical muscles in the physical delivery of the work.

Oliver Stern is “a graduating senior at Cornell University with a B.F.A working in printmaking, drawing, and photography”, while William Demaria, who is based in Baltimore, “graduated with a fine art degree from Cornell University. After working for three years as a master printer at Universal Limited Art Editions, inspired by the artists he had worked for, Demaria developed his artistic practice around monoprint and engraving.”

Like Owen, Stern appears to be very young in terms of years, but already showcasing some impressive artistic gravitas is his somewhat loose interpretations of his subject matter.

Demaria is clearly an experienced printmaker who has mastered multiple genres of this diverse art form.

The gallery tells us that “Demaria attempts to capture the emotions he experiences within the natural landscape using a visual language inspired by Rorschach tests. He is focused on the emotional connection between humanity Old Town Crier

and the landscape, seeking to preserve his experiences with the hope it will inspire others to value the natural landscape more.” The work is inspirational indeed, and I suspect that he would be equally at ease hanging out with printmaking peeps in the 16th century as he is today in his very skilled and talented world of contemporary art printmaking.

Spectacular show – do not miss it!

About the Author: F. Lennox Campello's art news, information, gallery openings, commentary, criticism, happenings, opportunities, and everything associated with the global visual arts scene with a special focus on the Greater Washington, DC area has been a premier source for the art community for over 20 years.

Since 2003, his blog has been the 11th highest ranked art blog on the planet with over SIX million visitors.

Dreams of Glacier National Park by Erin Owen

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February 2024 15

HIGH NOTES

In 1983 Texas blues rockers ZZ Top released a big hit called “Sharp Dressed Man”.

With its strutting beat, stylish guitars, and charming vocals the song ran up the charts around the world and filled millions with the cool and confident feeling it exudes.

But the power of this song has reached far beyond the 1980s: “Sharp Dressed Man” has garnered hundreds of millions of spins in the streaming era.

The song even reentered the Billboard charts in 2020 after the release of the Grammy nominated documentary ZZ Top: That Little Ol' Band from Texas.

The bearded boys get things started hitting on all cylinders. A full arrangement of drums, guitar, bass guitar, and synth blast through the speakers right from the start.

We hear an energizing guitar riff rooted in the blues and rock-n-roll. We hear a tight disco-like drum beat with that iconic dead-room sound from the 1970s. We hear a single note bass line adding depth and power. And to top it all off, we hear that growling synth sound sprinkling magic all over the mix.

As the band transitions out of the intro music, drummer Frank Beard leads the way into the verse with a snappy snare fill. This is followed by the raspy and cool sound of Billy Gibbons’ voice delivering a topline melody that mixes with the music to create the rock-n-roll magic 16 February 2024

Sharp Dressed Man by ZZ Top

RON POWERS

that “Sharp Dressed Man” is famous for. Gibbons sings about getting dressed in nice clothes with the intention to impress women. The shallow and fun nature of the lyrics are a big reason why this song works so well. The combination of tough and cool music with the lighthearted lyrics create an experience that simultaneously lifts and stabilizes the spirit.

Next, the progression of the song comes full circle with a short and satisfying chorus. We hear Gibbons sing the lines, “They come runnin' just as fast as they can / 'Cause every girl crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man”.

Really this part is more of a tie off to the verse than a fullblown chorus section. The progression that ZZ Top uses is as old as the hills. It’s a classic structural foundation laid down by thousands of past blues and country artists.

However, ZZ Top adds their own personal touch. They give new richness and vitality to a tradition of music that reaches back centuries.

ZZ Top has been through a lot in the last few years with the death of longtime bass player Dusty Hill. However, after 51 years with Hill, the remaining members are carrying the band’s legacy forward, adding bassist Elwood Francis to the lineup.

Currently ZZ Top has 84 concerts booked for 2024 and many of those shows will

be co-headlined by Lynyrd Skynyrd. If you’d like tickets, you can find them at zztop. com. If you’d like to listen to “Sharp Dressed Man” or any of ZZ Top's other great work, you can find it on Spotify,

Apple Music, YouTube, and most other places music is streamed or sold. If you’d like to learn more about ZZ Top, you can find them on Instagram, Facebook, X, and Wikipedia.

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Old Town Crier

ON STAGE

MARK EDELMAN

February rolls around and some great theater rolls along with it. Whether it’s Washington, Lincoln or someone else’s birthday, celebrate the month with these great productions, Live! on DMV stages:

ONSTAGE, OLD TOWN - February Diana is a suburban mom struggling with bipolar disorder. Daughter Natalie is a stressed-out overachiever about to snap. Her husband Dan is determined to keep everything “normal.” This brilliant Tony® and Pulitzer Prize winning musical tracks a family sharing grief and struggling to connect with one another. Full disclosure—despite the gloomy premise, I love this musical. Tickets at www.roundhouse.org

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Studio Theatre Now thru February 18th Not all plays are fun. For every frothy Mamma Mia or silly Noises Off, there are countless theatrical endeavors meant to enlighten, ennoble or cast a light on our human foibles and follies.

Mike Bartlett’s Love, Love, Love, now in a finely-wrought production at Studio Theatre, is such a work.

Best known as the author of the controversial West End verse play King Charles III, which skewered the royal family (and presciently wrote Prince Harry’s girlfriend as a bomb-throwing anarchist), Bartlett picks up the mantle of British social commentators like Pinter and Stoppard to trace where the idealism of the 60s went awry. Max Gordon Moore and Liza J. Bennett play Kenneth and Sandra who, in Act One, meet cute in the apartment of Kenneth’s brother Henry (well-played by a forlorn Hunter Hoffman), who’s trying to get Sandra in the sack himself. Henry’s the responsible working stiff; Sandra and Kenneth swing, smoke and seduce their way thru a time when, as Sandra puts it, “anything is possible.” Acts Two and Three have other ideas, as the two hipsters come to grips with the harsh reality of parenthood.

The Studio production is impressive, with set designer Alexander Woodward nicely evoking three different eras on that postage stamp stage. Artistic Director David Muse guides the ensemble efficiently, especially Ms. Bennett, who wreaks havoc with a gimlet eye. Matthew M. Nielson’s sound swatches, from the Stones and Kinks to the Who’s obligatory “My Generation,” take us back to the ‘Swingin Sixties’ in style.

As a boomer myself, I felt more than a few pangs of realization, as the once carefree “we’re going to change the world” Ken and Sandra grow up and join the selfish establishment. Perhaps you’ll recognize someone, too. Tickets at www.studiotheatre.org

NEXT TO NORMAL Roundhouse Theatre Now thru February 25th Old Town Crier

THIS MUCH I KNOW Theatre J Now thru February 25th In the midst of a lecture, a psychology professor’s marriage fractures, sparking a moving study of three characters as they become entangled in their search for self-discovery.

Part mystery, part love story, part philosophical quest, this DMV premier spins our axis of belief and understanding. Tickets at www. theatrej.org

MINDPLAY

High school performance team the Sensational Sea Mink-ettes are days away from their Homecoming halftime show and the pressure is on. The student body, the administration, the alumni, their families — everyone is expecting perfection. As the big day creeps closer, the women must contend with flaring tempers, bodies pushed to their limits, and what it means to be a team in another Woolly Mammoth world premier. Tickets at www.woollymammoth.net

PRIVATE JONES Signature Theater February 6th – March 10th A world premiere musical inspired by the true story of a deaf Welshman who hides his hearing loss and fakes his way through enlistment, becoming a celebrated World War I sniper. An unexpectedly funny and gripping musical adventure about service, friendship, and the cost of war. Tickets at www.sigtheatre.org.

ANNIE

career had as many hits as heartaches.

“My Girl,” “Get Ready” and the eponymous track are just three of more than thirty songs that made R&B history. Tickets at www.kennedycenter.org

WHERE WE BELONG Folger Theatre February 15th - March 10th In 2015, Mohegan writer/actor Madeline Sayet traveled to England, where she found a country unwilling to acknowledge its ongoing role in colonialism. In this solo piece—once again co-produced by the Folger and Woolly Mammoth-- Sayet echoes a journey to England braved by her Native ancestors in the 1700s following treaty betrayals and forces us to consider what it means to belong in an increasingly globalized world in the face of Brexit and isolationism.

Tickets at www.folger.edu

DESPERATE MEASURES Constellation Theatre February 15th - March 17th A gun-slinging nun teams up with a shrewd sheriff and salty salon dancer to save Sister’s bad boy brother from certain death in this Wild West musical version of Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure. Tickets at www. constellationtheatre.org

ROMEO & JULIET T he Musical Arena Stage Now thru March 3rd Mentalist Vinny DePonto guides us on an entirely new theatrical event in which our thoughts play a leading role. A love letter to the imperfect mind, this DMV premier explores the fragmented and flawed nature of our memories and asks us to question whether we can trust the voice inside our heads. Tickets at arenastage.org

Alexandria Little Theatre February10th - March 2nd Our very own award-winning theater company takes on the comic strip turned musical theater favorite. Tickets at www.boxoffice@ thelittletheatre.com

AIN’T TOO PROUD

A CHORUS LINE Toby’s Dinner Theatre Now thru March 10th Seventeen talented hopefuls line up for an audition unlike any they’ve ever experienced. By the end of the show, you’re rooting for them to get the job in a Broadway chorus. Tony® and Pulitzer Award- winning Best Musicals don’t come along that often.

This one changed musical theater for a generation. Tickets at www. tobysdinnertheatre.com

THE SENSATIONAL SEA MINK-ETTES Woolly Mammoth February 4th – March 3rd

Kennedy Center February 13th - 18th Warm up an otherwise chilly night with the group that put Motown on the map. Fans of playwright Dominique Morisseau, whose The Mountain Top and Skeleton Crew drew raves at Round House and Studio Theatres respectively, get the inside scoop on the celebrated Temptations, whose

Synetic Theatre February 16th - March 24th In fair Verona, two young lovers find themselves in the middle of a violent family feud. Reimagined as only Synetic can, Shakespeare’s tale of love and tragedy finds meaning in an unforgettable, wordless production.

Tickets at www.synetictheatre.org

TEMPESTUOUS ELEMENTS Arena Stage February 16th - March 17th Born into slavery in North Carolina, Anna Julia Cooper was a visionary Black feminist and educator in the late 19th/early 20th centuries, and only the fourth African American woman to earn a doctoral degree. Arena Stage shines a light on Cooper’s herculean efforts to keep Black education alive, despite the racism, gossip and sexism that threatened to consign her to obscurity. Tickets at arenastage.org About the Author: Mark Edelman is a playwright who loves writing about theater. He is a lifetime member of the Broadway League and a Tony voter. Photo credits: National Touring Company of Ain’t Too Proud.

Credit: © 2021 Emilio Madrid; Love Love Love photos of Max Gordon Moore and Liza Bennett. by Margot Schulman February 2024 17

LAST WORD

MIRIAM R. KRAMER

Uncomfortably Numb As a member of Generation X who is pondering where I am in life, I am not sure how I made it out of my twenties and thirties without cruising through one of Bret Easton Ellis’s stylishly nihilistic novels. As a member of the literary New York Brat Pack, which included Jay McInerney, Jill Eisenstadt, Donna Tartt, and Tama Janowitz, Ellis made it big early, publishing his first bestseller, Less than Zero, while still in college at Bennington. I finally caught up with his recent, drawn-out work of autofiction: The Shards. Many years later he revisits his adolescence during his senior year at the Buckley School, one of the toniest, if not then competitive, prep schools in Los Angeles. His novel offers alternatively chilly, wistful, paranoid, dreadful moments and elliptical, slip-sliding conversations between teens who role-play. With a few exceptions, his self-titled character’s crowd is a handful of beautiful, noxious, and surface-level egos, teens who never tell each other the truth that goes on beneath their surfaces.

that underpin the type of nihilism and dread Ellis conveys.

One of Ellis’s automatic techniques is to punctuate and anchor moments of his senior year with typically powerful Eighties mixtape moments: describing the music playing as he cruises from Mulholland Drive to Sherman Oaks and other areas in Los Angeles. In the background he plays the infamous KROQ station that launched so many New Wave groups in Southern California as he drives and drives and drives. You can almost hear Ric Ocasek: “Let's go….I like the nightlife baby…She says….I like the nightlife baby….She says…Let's go.” He punctuates horror and suspense and pool parties alike by obsessively listing the songs of his adolescence, someone dutifully and artificially resurrecting them from a journal forty years old to enhance verisimilitude.

As someone who remembers my own moments tattooed with indelible songs by bands like the Psychedelic Furs, Peter Gabriel, the Go-Go’s, or Tears for Fears, I read this book and played the songs he mentions on Spotify, ones that came a bit earlier in my own musical awareness. I wanted to catch the edge of pain and sweetness that comes with losing yourself in music at that age.

Why did this six-hundred-page book catch my attention now? Could it use a landscape gardener to chop off branches with a dripping hatchet? It sure could if you were looking to propel plot. Instead, though, Ellis is working some issues out. Building suspense, setting a mood, and creating uncertainty in his own impressions was more his goal.

Nor was following a plot quickly my purpose in reading it. At this age I have space to look back over my own life in high school, viewing my own graduation year that occurred some years later in the Eighties. I too felt like an outsider while attending high school in what was then known as one of the handful of high-quality “country club” public schools outside of Washington, DC. I attended an upper-middle-class school—nowhere near as affluent as his—and used humor, art, music, and literature to offset the darkness I felt. I also did have friends I loved and the support that helped me keep going.

The autofictive character Ellis writes as himself— Bret Easton Ellis—is very disconnected despite his popular group of friends. He is a purposefully unreliable narrator: an outsider, a sensitive, anhedonic observer trying to control his life through pinning it to the page. He pops Valium and eats the breakfast his housekeeper prepares for him before taking a dip in the pool before school. His parents are on a two-month cruise in Europe while trying to work on their marriage—they might as well not exist.

He sees himself and those he suspects of secrets in a skewed fun house mirror that is anything but amusing. That being said, what teenagers who felt like they were on the outside looking in are accurate narrators when it comes to high school’s flailing, alternatively bored and angst-ridden, and sometimes paranoid journey to self-discovery?

Perhaps the characters of John Hughes movies such as The Breakfast Club come closer than others.

They know they do not have all the answers, but they are willing to be raw. That conclusion helped this movie strike such a chord with me and others in high school.

So I am also interested to know if I too can see

growing up more clearly after all this time: can I find myself in his portrayals of teenage fears, lack of strong self-identity, going along to get along until high school ended? In his autofiction, Ellis just happens to amp up the poor little rich kid persona of the early Reagan Eighties, with his friends all driving new luxury cars to each other’s house for coke-sniffing, Valium-popping, weedsmoking pool parties in which they nonchalantly drift towards the adulthood modeled in their joyless parents’ lives. They are playing with shiny images—playing the roles of Homecoming King and Queen, the popular kids, and a few other subsets. At least nominally bisexual, Ellis plays the part of a popular girl’s boyfriend, despite showing more interest in having sex with attractive men in his small senior class. Then he adds the gruesome touch of his character’s obsession with a new member of the senior class of 1982: a handsome boy he suspects of being a serial killer potentially in league with a dangerous cult.

The book moves on with horrific, violently cinematic moments of suspense interspersed with mundane descriptions of his latch-key life. His repetitions of his routines and thoughts are almost monotonous, but they serve the distinct purpose of putting you into a particular state of mind. You can see Joan Didion’s stamp on Ellis’s psychology: he has internalized her collections of Californiacool essays such as Slouching Towards Bethlehem, updating her crystalline observation of hippies and the Manson family and other aberrations of the 1960s and 1970s. Unlike Didion, he personalizes the societal dysfunction, discussing the cult he and his classmates may have encountered with a far more personal sense of horror. The menacing lyrics of the Eagles’ “Hotel California,” while not specifically mentioned, are most certainly an example of the shifting pop cultural plate tectonics

Instead, I felt a sense of sorrow for this character, whether he truly does represent Bret Easton Ellis at that age or is just a cleverly re-tuned version of a lost boy being rediscovered by a middle-aged man. I see little sweetness here. My connection to mixtape memories is much more like those in Almost Famous, the Cameron Crowe biopic about growing up to a soundtrack that becomes a part of you. I was never a teenaged rock journalist like Crowe, sadly, but my musical memories come with forceful emotional connection. I see Ellis’s pop and rock songs merely anchoring him to a place in time and space, helping to remind his readers that he was a teen. He wants to feel them more than he actually can. His autofictive character is infinitely to be pitied and possibly even, as a reader sees at the finish line, feared.

Whether or not Bret Easton Ellis is any version of the autofictive character he writes, this book is no immature work lacking in situational knowledge written by an unappealing adolescent. It took a fifty-plus-year-old to write about so many unattractive teenage poseurs this accurately, cleverly, and honestly, with sorrow but little warmth. Nothing he pens is accidental; he has mastered this style. This character has the perspective to know that he is on the sidelines watching the actors through the wrong end of the telescope.

Read The Shards if you are interested in revisiting this mood, this metafiction, this telegraphed and dissected “We Got the Beat” moment in SoCal culture from the Go-Go’s Eighties.

View from Mullholland Drive where Bret Easton Ellis lived in 1981.

18 February 2024

Old Town Crier

SPECIAL FEATURE

Why We Celebrate Presidents Day

W

e try to publish this piece each February as space allows. Alexandria has many events that revolve around this day so we think it is fitting you all know why.

Presidents Day is an American holiday celebrated on the third Monday in February; Presidents Day 2024 occurs on Monday, February 19th. Originally established in 1885 in recognition of President George Washington, the holiday became popularly known as Presidents Day after it was moved as part of 1971’s Uniform Monday Holiday Act, an attempt to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers.

While several states still have individual holidays honoring the birthdays of Washington, Abraham Lincoln and other figures, Presidents Day is now popularly viewed as a day to celebrate all U.S. presidents, past and present.

The story of Presidents Day begins in 1800. Following the death of George Washington in 1799, his February 22 birthday became a perennial day of remembrance.

At the time, Washington was venerated as the most important figure in American history, and events like the 1832 centennial of his birth and the start of construction of the Washington Monument in 1848 were cause for national celebration.

While Washington’s Birthday was an unofficial observance for most of the 1800s, it was not until the late 1870s that it became a federal holiday.

Senator Steven Wallace Dorsey of Arkansas was the first to propose the measure, and in 1879 President Rutherford B. Hayes signed it into law.

The holiday initially only applied to the District of Columbia, but in

Old Town Crier

1885 it was expanded to the whole country. At the time, Washington’s Birthday joined four other nationally recognized federal bank holidays— Christmas Day, New Year’s Day, the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving—and was the first to celebrate the life of an individual American. Martin Luther King Jr. Day, signed into law in 1983, was the second.

The shift from Washington’s Birthday to Presidents Day began in the late 1960s, when Congress proposed a measure known as the Uniform Monday Holiday Act. Championed by Senator Robert McClory of Illinois, this law sought to shift the celebration of several federal holidays from specific dates to a series of predetermined Mondays.

The proposed change was seen by many as a novel way to create more three-day weekends for the nation’s workers, and it was believed that ensuring holidays always fell on the same weekday would reduce employee absenteeism. While some argued that shifting holidays from their original dates would cheapen their meaning, the bill also had widespread support from both the private sector and labor unions and was seen as a surefire way to bolster retail sales.

The Uniform Monday Holiday Act also included a provision to combine the celebration of Washington’s Birthday with that of Abraham Lincoln, which fell on February 12. Lincoln’s Birthday had long been a state holiday in places like Illinois, and many supported joining the two days as a way of giving equal recognition to two of America’s most famous statesmen.

Be sure to check out all of the aforementioned President’s Day celebration activities in Old Town during the month. A partial listing is in the calendar section of this issue. Source: The History Channel – www.history.com

February 2024 19

FROM THE BAY

JOHN PAGE WILLIAMSON

The Great Blue Herons Prepare for Spring The great blue heron was being smart, standing under sheltering pines at the edge of a marsh. The afternoon sun was taking the edge off a bitter “Alberta Clipper” northwest wind sweeping down this creek beside the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Philip Merrill Center. The marsh lies at the head of a little cove, with a shallow, dark mud flat in front of it.

If there was warmth in any creek or Baywater around the Merrill Center,

20 February 2024

it was here. The bird was losing less body heat in this sunny lee out of the wind, and if there was a killifish anywhere around to eat, it too would be seeking out this warmth. Besides, the high part of this marsh holds mice who burrow into its tussocks of insulating grasses but are no match for the lightning-quick strike of the great blue’s rapier-like bill.

February is a challenging month for

the Chesapeake’s great blue herons, and not just because of the needs to minimize heat loss and find food in a bleak season. This is the month when the adults must summon the energy to court, pair up for the year, breed, and begin building nests. We know great blues mostly as solitary hunters, but each spring they seek out other heron pairs to establish rookeries of half-adozen to several hundred nests.

Favored rookery sites are mature wooded areas protected not only from humans but also marauders like raccoons, beside or close to water with plenty of food (fish, and later in the spring, small frogs, snakes, lizards, and small crabs). Some are as small as a quarter-acre patch of tall hardwoods on a Bayside point just south of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge near Annapolis. A larger one is a two-hundred-nest rookery in forested wetland protected by The Nature Conservancy in a rural part of Charles County, MD. The birds also like islands. A spectacular example is Watts, the last outpost of land on the now-mostly-underwater peninsula extending south from Crisfield, MD into Accomack County, VA between Pocomoke and Tangier Sounds.

Now owned by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and managed by the Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, Watts offers tall, mixed hardwoods and pines, with a thick undergrowth of shrubs, including some champion poison ivy vines. Its several dozen great blue pairs nest in the tops of the trees, with eight other species of smaller herons nesting in a sort of pecking order. Watts Island hosts little

blue herons, little green herons, blackcrowned night herons, yellowcrowned night herons, Louisiana or tricolor herons, great egrets, snowy egrets, and cattle egrets.

Related glossy ibises also nest there.

In April, Watts is a spectacular, raucous place, with leaves just emerging on the trees and a riot of birds raising chicks in the fly-up apartment houses of its trees. It’s firmly closed to public access during nesting season, but visitors in boats can watch with binoculars at a respectful distance. We do advise, though, to stay upwind of the island, as the odors of all those fish-eating birds are less than fragrant to human noses.

This month, though, the great blues are going through elaborate courtship dances. Once they pair up, the males begin offering nest materials like sticks to their mates, who begin constructing the nests. If you’re out on the water early in the season before the trees green up, keep an eye out for incipient heron rookeries on isolated points. You might just find a group of nests to watch as spring unfolds. But stay safe out there. After all, winter challenges humans outdoors just as much as it does herons.

About the Author: John Page Williams is a former Senior Naturalist at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation.

Founded in 1966, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation – www.cbf.org - is the largest independent conservation organization dedicated solely to saving the Bay. This column printed with permission. Photo: Frank Cone.

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TO THE BLUE RIDGE

JULIE REARDON

2024 Spring Racing

Get A Jump on Tailgating: Racing Returns to Hunt Country Spring may not feel like it's here yet, but it's a sure sign it's on the way when the point to point season gets underway in early March. And, there's no better cure for a little cabin fever than taking in some world class racing action over fences just an hour from Alexandria.

It all starts Saturday, March 2nd with the circuit's newest course that opened 2020 in rural Culpeper County hosting the Rappahannock Hunt Point to Point Races. Rappahannock's races, long a fixture on the early spring circuit, took a 12year hiatus while seeking a suitable venue. And this one was worth the wait, for what may be the circuit's prettiest course in Boston, Virginia at the Hill Farm. This location is near the Culpeper/Rappahannock county line about halfway between Culpeper and Sperryville.

Point to point races are the minor leagues of steeplechasing, or racing over fences, a sport popular in our state since colonial times. This type of racing has its roots in the hunt field-hundreds of years ago, a pair of Irish foxhunters raced cross country using a church steeple as a landmark, to settle the question of who had the faster hunting horse. Now, as back then, horses still race over natural countryside and farmland and jump natural obstacles, although courses are set up so spectators can see all or most of the race from the sidelines or the infield. Later in the spring, races are sanctioned by the National Steeplechase Association and offer cash purses and in some locations, parimutuel wagering, but the feeder program for these prestigious races is the local point to point circuit, with none bigger and more competitive than Virginia's.

22 February 2024

The local hunt clubs are the backbone and the labor force of the point to points in Virginia, where each club sponsors a race meet nearly every weekend in the spring. Foxhunting clubs are mostly subscription-based but for most, their point to point is the major source of income to offset the costs of maintaining a kennel of hounds, horses, trucks, trailers and tractors as well as associated feed, veterinary and staff expenses. Every hunt member, including non-riding social members, volunteers for the myriad tasks involved, from entries, hospitality tents, parking, programs and admissions, and course maintenance—no small task, since most of the “courses” are actually cow pastures.

These meets, long referred to as the “pots and pans” circuit, are considered “unsanctioned” and offer no prize money—horses race for trophies, season-end awards and bragging rights. But the competition is nevertheless fierce; point to points provide an important training ground for horses and riders that will go on to run in the bigger national races sanctioned by the sport’s governing body, the NSA, such as the Virginia Gold Cup. The point to points offer the fans a chance to see the action up close and rub elbows with the owners, trainers and riders.

Race Chairman Oliver Brown, who is also the Master of Foxhounds of the Rappahannock hunt, said the races that start at noon will include three divisions of pony races for young riders under 18. “The kids and ponies are always a crowd favorite,” said Brown. “We will also have flat, hurdle and timber races. Yes, the weather can be iffy in early March but so far, we've been

lucky and had really nice weather for our races.”

Admission fees are generally less than half of what the big sanctioned races cost, and most of the courses offer spectacular scenic views of the racing as well as the iconic Blue Ridge splendor in the background. Admission starts at just $10 per person at the Rappahannock Hunt's March 2nd (rain date March 9th) races; a variety of reserved rail-side and finish line tailgating spaces and tent rentals are available by advance reservation as well.

Check out RappahannockHunt. com point to point race page for details. The location, at the Hill Farm, 13257 Durante's Curve, Boston VA, is a long-time favorite fixture for hunting for its rural beauty and sweeping vistas.

Farm owner Larry Levy, himself a horseman, foxhunter and active participant in racing over fences as an owner, trainer and rider, worked hard to install a firstclass course in a splendid little valley with sweeping views of not only the entire course, but the panoramic mountain vistas.

“He [Larry Levy] has pulled out the stops to make it perfect.

You drive through the beautiful, pristine farm to get to it, and it's in a natural bowl, with parking on three of the four sides of it.

All have really good views of the course,” said one hunt member.

Although most people pack their own picnics, food vendors will be onsite with mouth-watering local offerings.

Race day attire is country casual; these March race meets are not as much about high fashion's latest trends as they are about being warm and comfortable for early or variable spring weather. Head gear and footwear tend to be practical rather than fanciful.

Admission prices vary for each race meet, most offer discounted pricing for advance ticket purchase and general admission on race day. Races are generally run rain or shine but unusually wet or inclement weather has been known to force postponement or even cancellation; if any questions call the information number listed for each race.

Saturday, March 16 12:00 PM Warrenton Hunt Point to Point Airlie Race Course Warrenton, Virginia (540) 270-1730 warrentonhunt.com Saturday, March 23 1:00 PM Piedmont Fox Hounds Point to Point Salem Course Upperville, Virginia (540) 592-7100 Sunday, March 24 9:00 AM Piedmont Fox Hounds Hunter Pace Events Salem Course Upperville, Virginia (410) 790-5359 Saturday, March 30 9:00 AM Orange County Hounds Hunter Pace Events Old Whitewood Farm 3760 Whitewood Road The Plains, VA 20198 (540) 295-5141 Saturday, March 30 1:00 PM Blue Ridge Hunt Point to Point Woodley Farm Berryville, Virginia (540) 636-0500 (540) 974-0500 blueridgehunt.org/wp/events Saturday, April 6 12:00 PM Old Dominion Hounds Point to Point Ben Venue Farm Ben Venue, Virginia (571) 276-0702 theolddominionhounds.com Sunday, April 7 1:00 PM Old Dominion Hounds Hunter Pace Events 40 Hungry Farm Lane Amissville, VA (540) 270-3585 olddominionhounds.weebly.com Old Town Crier

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ROAD TRIP

BOB TAGERT

River Bluff Farm Bed and Breakfast Quicksburg, VA

I

t seems like it has been forever since we headed out of town to do the R&D for this column. We always bring it home for the holidays in the December issue and recap the previous year in the January issue so I had to reach back into my memory bank to last November to retrace our steps to River Bluff Farm located on the Shenandoah River on the outskirts of Quicksburg, VA. As a point of reference, this little “burg” is near New Market (their physical address is listed as New Market) and fairly close to Woodstock.

event knowing that we had to find our way back in the dark of night. Quicksburg doesn’t have a lot of street light in general and some of the streets/ roads aren’t exactly defined. They recommend that you follow the directions that are provided on their website since the GPS directions may not be reliable after you turn on to Ridge Road. Don’t let this information discourage you from making the trek. River Bluff Farm B&B is well worth it.

The B&B is very rustic but also has an air of elegance. The cabin is a legitimate log and timber structure located on 20 stunning acres and sits on a bluff about a hundred yards from the banks of the river. There are several ways to enjoy the view whether in a hammock near the water, in an Adirondack chair around the fire pit in the meadow below the cabin or on a comfortable chair on the porch and deck. The view from the dining room is also a perk while you enjoy breakfast.

River Bluff offers three guest bedrooms each with a private bath. Shared spaces available to all of their guests include the main living room, the log cabin sitting area with fireplace, a dining area with a small complete kitchen, a half bath on the first floor and a cozy upstairs seating area. We spent the bulk of our time in the sitting room in front of the fire where we met another couple who were staying there. We discovered that we knew many people in common as we enjoyed a few glasses of wine and some lively conversation.

The main reason we headed out in that direction was because we were once again invited to the Fifth Annual Shenandoah Valley Wine Trail Awards & Gala that was being hosted in The Yellow Barn event venue near the entrance to the Shenandoah Caverns. This is the premier event for the 22 wineries that dot the landscape in the Valley. There were 73 wines submitted to the 2023 competition with Jump Mountain Vineyards taking home the coveted Shenandoah Cup with their 2019 Borderland. Borderland is made with a blend of tannat, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc grapes and it was very worthy of this award.

Outdoors, facing the riverside meadow and the river, you will find a large deck with gas grill, tables, and chairs as well as a covered porch accessible from the breeze way between the main room and the dining area. The gas grill is a nice touch as they invite you to grill the fish you catch from the river if you so choose to try your hand at catching a couple.

The group breakfast the next morning was a real

24 February 2024

The River Bluff Farm Bed and Breakfast is such a jewel in the valley that you will need a few days here to truly appreciate it all. The bulk of the drive out there can be all interstate or you can take your time and jump off on to one of the secondary roads over the mountains for a beautiful drive.

In addition to two-night stays, full home rental and extended stay lodging is available. They also have a single bedroom cottage on the property that is available. Frankly folks, it doesn’t get much better than this. How can you go wrong with comfortable accommodations and a river adventure wrapped into one?

Last year the event was held at Brix & Columns Vineyard that is close to Harrisonburg where accommodations are plentiful. However, the Yellow Barn isn’t as conveniently located and we wanted a place to stay as close to the venue as possible. After we did a Google search of the area, River Bluff Farm hit the mark. Located a mere 2.9 miles from the Yellow Barn and situated on the North Fork of the Shenandoah River, it was the perfect choice.

If any of you are like we are, we tend to lean toward places that are off the beaten path. And let me tell you, River Bluff is definitely one of those places. We were really glad that we were checking in during the daylight hours because I seriously don’t know if we would have been able to find it otherwise. Even though it is close enough to a “real” road that you can see from the deck on the main cabin, it is a challenge getting back to the property. We made specific mental notes as we found our way to the Yellow Barn for the

The property also allows you to use the kitchen to make your own meals if you desire to do so. If you decide to go off property to eat, they are located off of I-81 with easy access to several small towns.

Our suggestion is taking the drive into Woodstock where there are several dining choices to choose from as well as nice shops and historic attractions.

The New Market Battlefield, Shenandoah Caverns, many wineries and breweries are easily accessible from the B&B. Don’t forget that you are near Shenandoah National Park and the year-round outdoor activities that take place there. After all, you are in the Shenandoah Valley between the Allegany and Blue Ridge Mountains.

And…if you really need to stay “connected”, the WiFi is free and there is a SmartTV with Netflix and a Fire TV Stick.

treat as we talked over wonderful food with that view of the Shenandoah River over my shoulder.

The breakfast menu varies from day to day and your host is happy to accommodate special scheduling and dietary needs with advance notice.

River Farm Bed & Breakfast 183 Quicksburg Mill Lane New Market, VA (540) 454-9751 E-mail: relax@riverbluffbnb.com riverbluffbnb.com

Old Town Crier

Old Town Crier

February 2024 25

CARIBBEAN CONNECTION ALEXANDER BRITELL & STAFF

Sandals Is Opening Its New St. Vincent All-Inclusive Resort in March It’s the most anticipated new resort on the island of St. Vincent, well, maybe ever. In just two months, Sandals is opening the new Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, an all-inclusive resort that should inject significant new energy into the destination.

St. Thomas Carnival Is Set for April!

The new resort, which is already taking reservations, now has an official opening date: March 27, 2024.

Pageants, J’ouvert parties, parties and parades are on the agenda for the 2024 edition of St Thomas Carnival in the US Virgin Islands.

It will be the second major new all-inclusive opening for Sandals in a year, following last spring’s celebrated launch of the new Sandals Dunn’s River resort in Jamaica.

And this year’s St Thomas Carnival now has a date, running from April 28 to May 5, 2024.

St. Vincent is the ninth destination in the Caribbean for the Sandals brand, and, going by the track record, it’s likely that it should be a transformative new property for the island, long one of the least-visited places in the Caribbean (that’s excepting the islands of the Grenadines, which have long been very popular, particularly private-island destinations like Palm Island.)

Palm Island in the Grenadines, is the top all-inclusive resort in the nearby Grenadines.

That’s precisely what happened when Sandals debuted its Sandals Royal Curacao resort on that island in 2022, quickly ushering in record-breaking tourism arrivals, particularly from the US market.

The resort, set on 50 acres, will have 301 rooms including, most notably, the first-ever overwater villas in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.

That’s along with 12 different dining concepts, five bars and five different pools.

The overwater villas, a concept Sandals has defined in the Caribbean, are two-story overwater bungalows with outdoor tubs, sea windows in the floors and overwater hammocks, among other touches.

It is never too early to plan a trip to the USVI during Carnival season.

This will be the 72nd annual Carnival celebration in St Thomas, with everything from boisterous J’ouvert parties to Pan-O-Rama and everything in between.

“I am excited to welcome everyone to join us for the 2024 St. Thomas Carnival,” said Joseph Boschulte, U.S. Virgin Islands Commissioner of Tourism. “This year, we are preparing to make this the best Carnival yet, highlighting our rich culture, picturesque island, and beautiful people.”

Other events include the two-mile parade in Charlotte Amalie, Village Nights, St. Thomas Carnival Boat races and top-tier musical performances in Latin fusion, calypso, soca, reggae and other genres.

That’s along with the delicious Food Fair on May 1st.

It’s part of an exciting calendar that has made the US Virgin Islands one of the Caribbean’s top event destinations, from the recently-concluded Crucian Christmas to the ever-popular St John Celebration.

For more, visit St Thomas Carnival at www.visitusvi.com.

Other special room categories include beachfront one-bedroom butler villa suites with their own private plunge pools, and Lady Palm Club swim-up suites, among others.

Even better? It’s just a short drive from the island’s Argyle Airport, which first opened in 2017 as the island’s first-ever international airport, now receiving international flights from North America and the United Kingdom.

That’s why we named the resort one of the best new hotels in the Caribbean for 2024.

For more, visit Sandals Saint Vincent and the Grenadines at Sandals.com Publishers Note: We are happy to partner with Alexander Britell, Founder and Editor in Chief of the Miami, Florida based Caribbean Journal and his staff contributing to the OTC and our Caribbean Connection Section. Check out the popular online magazine/website at caribjournal.com for valuable information on all fabulous travel options and things of interest in the Caribbean.

26 February 2024

Old Town Crier

Now that we're all working remotely

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CLIFFHANGER

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February 2024 27

“A Washington Post Capitol Cuisine Favorite” The Very Best Alexandria has to offer in the Heart of Historic Old Town Famous for our She Crab Soup, Steaks and Crab Cakes

uary r b e F

Best Brunch in Old Town Saturday & Sunday 9am- 4pm

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703-347-7545 RiverBendBistro.com FREE PARKING

7966 Fort Hunt Road

(In the Hollin Hall Shopping Center)

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LIVE MUSIC 7 NIGHTS A WEEK WITH NO COVER IRISH HAPPY HOUR 4-7 PM MONDAY-FRIDAY 713 King Street • Old Town Alexandria 703.548.1717 • murphyspub.com 28 February 2024

Old Town Crier

DINING GUIDE AMERICAN

1799 PRIME STEAK & SEAFOOD 110 S. Pitt Street 571-404-6001 ADA'S ON THE RIVER 3 Pioneer Mill Way 703-638-1400 AUGIE’S MUSSEL HOUSE 1106 King Street 703.721.3970 BLACKWALL HITCH 5 Cameron St. 703-739-6090 BOB & EDITHS DINER 1743 King Street 703-664-0043 JULA'S ON THE POTOMAC 44 Canal Center 571-800-6644 CHADWICKS 203 Strand St. 703-836-4442 CHART HOUSE One Cameron St. 703-684-5080 CITY KITCHEN 330 South Pickett St. 703-685-9172 fatcitykitchen.com EDDIE'S LITTLE SHOP & DELI 1406 King Street 571-312-8615 EVENING STAR CAFÉ 2000 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-549-5051 EXECUTIVE DINER & CAFE 1400 Duke Street 703-299-0894 FIVE GUYS 725 King St. 703-549-7991 FOSTERS GRILLE 2004 Eisenhower Ave. 703-725-1342 GADSBYS TAVERN 138 N. Royal St. 703-548-1288 HARD TIMES CAFE 1404 King St. 703-837-0050 HEN QUARTER 1404 King St. 703-684-6969 HOPS 'N SHINE 3410 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-566-1509 HUMMINGBIRD 220 South Union Street 703-566-1355 JACKS PLACE 222 North Lee St. 703-684-0372 JOE THEISMANNS 1800 Diagonal Rd. 703-739-0777 JUNCTION BAKERY & BISTRO 1508 Mount Vernon Avenue 703-436-0025 KINGS RANSOM 728 King Street 571-319-0794 LAPORTAS 1600 Duke St. 703-683-6313 THE LIGHT HORSE 715 King Street 703-549-0533 Old Town Crier

LORI'S TABLE 1028 King Street 703-549-5545 LOST DOG CAFE 808 North Henry St. 571-970-6511 MAJESTIC CAFÉ 911 King St. 703-837-9117 MASON SOCIAL 728 Henry Street 703-548-8800 mason-social.com MURPHYS IRISH PUB 713 King St. 703-548-1717 murphyspub.com NORTHSIDE 1O 10 East Glebe Rd. 703-888-0032 OAK STEAKHOUSE 901 N. St. Asaph St. 703-840-3395 OCONNELLS RESTAURANT & BAR 112 King St. 703-739-1124 DanielOconnells.com PORK BARREL BBQ 2312 Mount Vernon Ave. 703-822-5699 THE PEOPLES DRUG 103 N. Alfred Street 571-257-8851 RAMPARTS 1700 Fern St. 703-998-6616 rampartstavern.com RIVER BEND BISTRO 7966 Fort Hunt Rd. 703-347-7545 riverbendbistro.com ROCK IT GRILL 1319 King St. 703-739-2274 RT'S RESTAURANT 3804 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-684-6010 rtsrestaurant.com SHOOTER MCGEES 5239 Duke St. 703-751-9266 SLATERS MARKET 1552 Potomac Greens Dr. 703-548-3807 SMOKING KOW BBQ 3250 Duke Sttreet 703-888-2649 SONOMA CELLAR 207 King St. 703-966-3550 SOUTH BLOCK 106 N. Lee Street 703-465-8423 SOUTHSIDE 815 815 S. Washington St. 703-836-6222 SWEET FIRE DONNA'S BBQ & HOPS 510 John Carlyle Street 571-312-7960 THE STUDY 116 South Alfred Street 703-838-8000 T.J. STONES GRILL HOUSE & TAP ROOM 608 Montgomery St. 703-548-1004 tjstones.com

TOASTIQUE GOURMET TOAST & JUICE BAR 1605 King Street 571-312-1909 UNION STREET PUBLIC HOUSE 121 South Union St. 703-548-1785 unionstreetpublichouse.com VIRTUE GRAIN & FEED 106 South Union St. 571-970-3669 VOLA’S DOCKSIDE GRILL & THE HI-TIDE LOUNGE 101 North Union St. 703-935-8890 THE WAREHOUSE BAR & GRILL 214 King St. 703-683-6868 warehouseoldtown.com ASIAN

ASIAN BISTRO 809 King St. 703-836-1515 INDOCHEN 1625 King Street (571) 404-6050 KISSO ASIAN BISTRO 300 King Street 703-888-1513 MALAYA 1019 King St. 703-519-3710 MAI THAI 9 King St. 703-548-0600 NASIME 1209 King St. 703-548-1848 SIGNATURE THAI 722 King Street 707-888-2458 SUNDAY IN SAIGON 682 N. St. Asaph St. 703 549-7777 TOKYO JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE 66 Canal Center Plaza 703-683-8878 CAPHE BANH MI VIETNAMESE 407 Cameron St. 703-549-0800 KAI ZEN TAVERN 1901 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-836-1212 SISTERS THAI 503 Montgomery St. 571-777-8154 RAILBIRD KITCHEN 804 North Henry St. 703-577-9023 CONTINENTAL

CEDAR KNOLL GW Parkway at Lucia Ln. 703-780-3665 OLD HOUSE COSMOPOLITAN 1024 Cameron Street 703-717-9361 ALEXANDRIA BIER GARDEN 710 King Street 703-888-1951 villagebrauhaus.com FRENCH

BASTILLE 606 N. Fayette St. 703-519-3776 bastillerestaurant.com

BRABO 1600 King St. 703-894-3440 LE REFUGE 127 N. Washington St. 703-548-4661 FONTAINES CAFFE & CREPERIE 119 S. Royal St. 703-535-8151 LA MADELEINE 500 King St. 703-729-2854 JOSEPHINE 109 South St. Asaph St. 703-683-1776 TWO NINETEEN RESTAURANT 219 King St. 703-549-1141 ITALIAN

ALDO'S ITALIAN KITCHEN 2850 Eisenhower Avenue (behind the building) 703-888-2243 ANDY’S PIZZA 107 N Fayette St 571-319-0497 BUGSYS PIZZA RESTAURANT 111 King St. 703-683-0313 FACCIA LUNA 823 S. Washington St. 703-838-5998 FRANK PEPE NAPOLETANA PIZZERIA 3231 Duke Street Alexandria Commons 703-719-2035 HANDOVER BY THE SLICE 728 King Street 571-319-0794 IL PORTO RESTAURANT 121 King St. 703-836-8833 LANDINI BROTHERS 115 King St. 703-836-8404 landinibrothers.com LENA’S WOOD-FIRED PIZZA & TAP 401 East Braddock Rd. 703-960-1086 MIA'S ITALIAN KITCHEN 100 King Street 703-997-5300 MICHAEL’S ON KING 703 King Street 703-838-9090 Michaelsonking.com PIECE OUT 2419 Mount Vernon Avenue 703-398-1287 RED ROCKS FIREBRICK PIZZA 904 King St. 703-717-9873 THOMPSON'S ITALIAN 1026 King Street alexandria@thompsonitalian.com MEDITERRANEAN

BARCA PIER & WINE BAR 2 Pioneer Mill Way 703-638-1100 ELAINE'S 208 Queen Street 571-970-0517 NANDO'S PERI PERI 2462 Mandeville Lane 571-473-5500

TAVERNA CRETEKOU 818 King St. 703-548-8688 tavernacretekou.com PITA HOUSE 719 King St. 703-684-9194 DELIAS MEDITERRANEAN GRILL 209 Swamp Fox Rd. 703-329-0006 VASO'S MEDITERRANEAN BISTRO 1118 King Street 703-566-2720 VASO'S KITCHEN 1225 Powhatan Street 703-548-2747 SEAFOOD

HANKS OYSTER BAR 818 N St. Asaph 703-739-HANK FISH MARKET-OLD TOWN 105 King St. 703-836-5676 fishmarketoldva.com THE WHARF 119 King St. 703-836-2834 WHISKEY & OYSTER 301 John Carlyle 703-567-1533 INDIAN

DISHES OF INDIA 1510A Bellview Blvd.

703-660-6085 DIYA 218 North Lee, 2nd Floor 703-706-5338 KISMET MODERN INDIAN 111 North Pitt Street 703-567-4507 NAMASTE 1504 King St. 703-970-0615 MEXICAN LATIN SOUTHWESTERN

CASA TEQUILA (next to Crate & Barrel) 1701 Duke 703-518-5312 CHOP SHOP TACO 1008 Madison Street 571-970-6438 DON TACO TEQUILA BAR 808 King St. 703-988-3144 LOS CUATES RESTAURANT 1116 King Street 703-548-2918 LOS TIOS GRILL 2615 Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-299-9290 LOS TOLTECOS 4111 Duke St. 703-823-1167 TAQUERIA POBLANO 2400-B Mt. Vernon Ave. 703-548-TACO (8226) TEQUILA & TACO 540 John Carlyle Street 703-721-3203 URBANO 116 116 King Street 571-970-5148

February 2024 29

DINING OUT

THE GASTRONOMES

Elaine's Restaurant A Bit of Egypt in Old Town We all have our favorite restaurants in Alexandria and particularly in Old Town.

Whether it is a creature of habit syndrome or afraid to venture outside our comfort zone, we tend to take the path of least resistance. This month, however, we decided to leave the comfort zone behind and take a trip to the Mediterranean via Elaine's Restaurant at 208 Queen Street.

For those of you who have been in town for as long as I have, Elaine's is located where the former Bilbo Baggins served us for 38 years.

The new owners, Jeff and Cynthia Higgins, gutted the place and did a build out of understated elegance. The décor is very tasteful with clean lines and muted tones in the dining room while the bar side is very warm with jewel and charcoal tones. The dining room sits along a wall of windows that looks out on Queen Street with the bar adjacent to it on the left as you enter the front door. Upstairs there is a dining area with private party accommodations as well as a reading room stacked with books where they hold monthly meetings for writing groups and associations.

As I mentioned in the beginning, I am a creature of habit, and dining at Elaine's was a new and a learning experience for me.

Jeff greeted us at the door and thus began our introduction to Elaine's. Jeff 's wife Cynthia spent her childhood in Cairo Egypt and at the ripe old age of 12 promised her grandmother, Elaine, that she would open a restaurant some day and name it after her.

She kept her promise and brought a bit of Alexandria, Egypt to Alexandria, Virginia.

When we did the R&D for this column, Restaurant Week (RW) was in full swing

30 February 2024

so we opted to enjoy a late lunch with the regular menu as opposed to dining in the rush of RW and a fixed price menu at dinner. There were several others who had the same idea we did.

For starters we ordered the Sofra Platter consisting of Beet-Tahini Salad, Baba Ghanoush, Fava Bean Ful Stew, Marinated Olives, Tabbouleh and Pickled Vegetables.

As I mentioned earlier, all of this was new to me but after sampling all six, I found that the different flavors melded nicely and everything went well with the slightly dry Chateau Ksara Blanc De Blanc from Lebanon that Jeff recommended. Other offerings on the list of consist of eleven offerings featuring Sanaa's Fattoush Salad, Crispy Brussels, Fried Cauliflower, Fresh Pan-Seared Sardines and Beef Pie Bites.

The entree I chose was Moussaka – seasoned beef, zucchini, squash, and bechamel sauce with whipped potatoes piping hot served in its own cooking dish.

Going back to my comfort zone, this was reminiscent of the Irish Shepherd’s Pie but with a very different flavor that I really liked. The Pita Bread that was offered with both the Sofra Platter and the Moussaka was EXCELLENT. I fell in love with this grilled bread - it made me feel so Mediterranean.

My dining partner picked the Chicken Shawarma sandwich and it didn’t disappoint. She says the chicken was exceptional – moist and seasoned just right.

In addition to the chicken, fresh tomato, onions and Tzatziki were wrapped in the aforementioned pita bread. It is pretty good sized so she took half of it home and had it the next day for lunch.

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The menu changes on a regular basis in order to keep you coming back but on the menu when we were there were other entrees that included Koshari and a Mediterranean Entrée salad that can be topped with your choice of a Grilled Steak Shish Kebob, Chicken Shawarma or Grilled Branzino. On the sandwich side of the lunch menu are Falafel, Grilled Steak Kabob, Lamb and Beef Kofta and the aforementioned Chicken Shawarma.

If you are a crispy French fry fan, the zataar spiced fries will fit the bill when accompanying your sandwich.

order one of my own when I go back to revisit the London Gin concoction.

We were pleasantly surprised to have Executive Chef Sameer Hunter drop by our table with a special treat of baby carrots prepared just for us. We didn’t write down exactly what they entailed but they were very good!

Leave the crowds back on King Street and make a stop at Elaine's. Street parking is available and there are two parking garages nearby.

For dessert we mixed it up a bit.

Instead of the Baklava or the Basbousa aka Egyptian Semolina Cake, we opted for two of their special martinis. As I am known to appreciate a good gin martini, I decided on the London Gin Olive Oil Martini. This is an olive oil and herb (rosemary and thyme) infused cocktail where they infuse the gin 92 hours before clarifying it. It was interesting. Jeff tells me it is one of the most popular signature cocktails on their menu…I think I might have to go back for another just to refresh my memory. The Hemingway Espresso Martini was my partners choice and it was, obviously, more of a dessert than mine. I’m going to

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With February upon us and Valentine's Day right around the corner, Elaine's is a perfect spot for a nice romantic dinner.

In fact, any time would be a great time to check out one of Alexandria's newest and most unique dining experiences. If you are looking for a nice comfortable place for a drink, Elaine's hosts Happy Hour at the Bar Wednesday through Sunday from 4 – 7 pm. They also serve Brunch on both Saturday and Sunday from 11 am – 4 pm.

Please see the ad below for specials, location and hours.

February 2024 31

LET’S EAT

Don't Drink the Ingredients!

GLENN MOREL

Stuffed Beef Tenderloin and Prawns Pernod

WARNING: This dish may lead to unexpected proposals or at least a second date.

Ingredients:

- 1/4 cup beef broth

- One 2 lb Beef tenderloin

- 2 tablespoons butter

- 1 cup chopped mushrooms

- 4 Large peeled and deveined shrimp per person

- 1/2 cup chopped onions - 2 shots Brandy

- 1/4 cup heavy cream

- 2 shots Pernod (anise-flavored liqueur)

- Spinach -Chopped tomato for garnish

- Olive oil

- Salt and pepper to taste

The Beef Preheat your oven to 375°F. 2. Using a sharp knife, carefully slice a pocket through the tenderloin medallion lengthwise. (Easiest when loin is very cold) 3. In a skillet, heat a tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Sauté the chopped mushrooms and onions until they are cooked through. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Roll the mushroom and onions in plastic wrap and tie both ends. Using a wooden spoon, stuff the mushroom and onion mixture into the pockets of the beef tenderloin. Cut one tied end of the wrapped stuffing and pull out the remaining wrap leaving behind the stuffing. Tie the loin.

5. In the same skillet, heat another tablespoon of olive oil over medium-high heat.

Sear the stuffed beef tenderloin on all sides until browned.

6. Transfer the skillet to the preheated oven and roast the tenderloin for 8-10 minutes, or until the desired level of doneness is reached.

7. Remove the skillet from the oven and transfer the beef tenderloin to a cutting board. Cover loosely with foil and let rest for a few minutes.

8. While the beef is resting, return the skillet to the stovetop over medium heat.

Add beef broth and butter to the skillet, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan to make a sauce. Drink a shot of Brandy then add a shot to the skillet. Careful, this might turn into a fiery performance. Cue the flamboyant flambé.

9. Once the sauce has thickened slightly, add a little butter and spoon it over the cut and plated stuffed beef tenderloin medallions.

The Shrimp & Spinach Sauté the shrimp quickly in butter then drink a shot of Pernod. Then add a shot to the shrimp. Be prepared for another flaming spectacle. This dish is literally lit.

Reduce to 1/3 and add 1/4 cup heavy cream. Let thicken briefly and transfer to the plates.

I suggest that you serve this dish with a side of sauteed spinach but any vegetable of your choice will do.

Bon Appetit!

32 February 2024

Old Town Crier

March aatt March

HIGHLIGHTS: HIG HLIG HTS: GH GH

SATURDAY, MARCH 2ND Alexandria St. Patrick’s Day Parade O‘Connell’s opens at 10am Live Music 1pm-5pm Live Music 10pm-1am SATURDAY, MARCH 16TH O’Connell’s opens at 10am Super Saturday with Guinness Six Nations Rugby All Day Live Music 9:30pm-1am

Events - Parties - Dinner - Bar 121 S. Union Street Alexandria, VA 22314 www.unionstreetpublichouse.com (703)-548-1785

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SUNDAY, MARCH 17TH O’Connell’s opens at 10am 1pm-4pm Live Music 7pm-10pm Live Music IRISH DANCING FROM BOYLE SCHOOL AND MCGRATH MORGAN ACADEMY THROUGHOUT THE MONTH. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE FOR MORE DETAILS WWW.DANIELOCONNELLS.COM/EVENTS

February 2024 33

EXPLORING VA WINES

DOUG FABBIOLI

Weather or Not Growing up outside Syracuse, NY, I learned a little bit about the weather. Snow. Snow. And more snow. It impacted drives to school, work, and the grocery store, but we could shelter in the warmth of our home when it all became too much. Having a career as a farmer and wine maker, I have learned a heck of a lot more about the weather through my lived experience in the vineyard and out in the field.

The weather for any agriculture business is really a make or break situation. Being aware of the weather — both the short and long term forecasts, is critical. It can be the determining factor in what work will need to be done and when — scheduled or not. Knowing what the long term weather and climate forecast is, gives us information to base critical decisions for future success and abundant growth.

This past growing season was relatively dry.

Without built-in irrigation in most of our vineyards, irrigating in a dry season is a hard thing to do. Young vines need the most care and attention. When we plant young vines, our work around without an irrigation system is a water tank on a trailer. This allows us to give each vine a drink when we don’t have the rains when they are most needed.

Some vines are naturally more cold hardy, and others are specially developed to be more cold hardy than others. Choosing the right vine for the right location is key and learned through experience.

Last spring we lucked out. Early in the season we watered our new plantings only once through this labor intensive process. Later in the year, we received a soaking rain right when we needed it — we and the vines were thankful for it. Farming is a true partnership between the farmer, the land, and the weather.

We do have a drip irrigation system in one of our vineyards. We haven’t used it for years. Keeping a close eye on the vines, we determined they were doing just fine. Irrigation, installed in the ground, or done with truck, trailer, and tank, is one of the most important decisions and projects for a farmer — and one without a single obvious path forward.

When the weather team on the local news talks for days about significant weather impacts, know this tends to keep customers away— even when the weather event doesn’t pan out. To a certain extent, weather uncertainty can be built into a business plan. But, it is our community of wine lovers and supporters that help tremendously when these weather events are seen as opportunities to stock up in advance, or take advantage of quieter days in the tasting room when the roads are clear.

Recently, another grower shared with me the potential for drought stress to occur on a plant long before it is visible. There goes the idea of simply visually inspecting the vines. Additionally, the root system on a plant will grow very dense at the point where the water from an irrigation system drips - taking the path of least resistance. A vine with no irrigation will grow roots all over searching for a drink of water. Even if I invested in that drip irrigation system, got it up and running, the vines might not grow a strong and stable root system able to absorb water efficiently.

Irrigation decisions, rain patterns, timing and volume, greatly affect our vines and our final product.

Another great example of our unbreakable tie to nature is temperature. At the time of writing, the sleeping vines are surrounded by snow and we are experiencing deep cold in both the vineyards and in the production barn.

34 February 2024

Polar vortex is a term I learned about a decade ago and paid a price at the time for not paying close attention. When temperatures in the winter dip down to 5 degrees Fahrenheit or below, the buds of the vines can freeze and die off. Whole branches and vines can die off from winter kill. In the fall, we mound up soil around the base of the young vines in an attempt to protect some buds from dying. If the exposed buds do die, those protected at the base can be trained up to become new branches for the following years. Mounding up the soil to protect young vines is a significant expense for the farmer and requires additional labor.

Picking the right vines that match your climate can save the farmer both money and labor.

Weather impacts sales in the tasting room as well. Storms on the weekends make for quiet days in the tasting room. When the roads are clear, come on in and take advantage of the quiet days and extra time tasting wine with our wine educators.

I love our four seasons here in Western Loudoun! There is always something new to embrace while we look forward to the rapid greening of spring, the roaring summer thunder boomers, the autumn colors and the winter whites.

Our farming and this farmer, WILL weather the weather — even if things are a bit more challenging than in the past. I applaud all of the folks who brave the ever changing weather and seasons — the cold, heat, precipitation and winds, to do their jobs. The dancing with Mother Nature continues with each vintage here in DCs Wine Country!

About the Author: Farmer, winemaker, entrepreneur, educator, and leader, Doug Fabbioli has been accelerating the growth and quality of Virginia’s wine industry since 1997. With his wife Colleen, Doug is the owner/ operator of Fabbioli Cellars in Leesburg, VA. He is the founder and director of The New Ag School, which focuses on teaching the next generation of farmers and agriculture-related leaders. No wonder they call Doug Fabbioli the Godfather of DC's Wine Country.

"There are two spiritual dangers in not owning a farm. One is the danger of supposing that breakfast comes from the grocery, and the other that heat comes from the furnace."

- Aldo Leopold

real people. earth friendly. fabulous wines.

OPEN THURSDAY THROUGH MONDAY 11-5 PLEASE CALL FOR RESERVATIONS FOR GROUPS OF SIX OR MORE 15669 Limestone School Rd Leesburg, VA 20176 703.771.1197 • fabbioliwines.com info@fabbioliwines.com Old Town Crier

GRAPEVINE

MATTHEW FITZSIMMONS

Alexandria Welcomes the First Honey Wine Tasting Room in the USA

W

hen Negus Winery opened its doors, it wasn’t just the start of Alexandria’s newest winery. It was owner/ winemaker Gize Negussie’s way to introduce Tej, or Ethiopian honey wine, to the world.

Honey wine is a cultural staple in Ethiopia, with a history going back to the Queen of Sheba. While it’s an alcoholic beverage related to mead, don’t expect to taste something you’d find at a renaissance festival.

“Think of Tej as a cousin of mead”, Gize explained. “To make an Ethiopian honey wine, you need the right kind of honey and yeast.

The fermentation process is also different. Mead gets a lot of its flavors from fruits and spices, but we don’t add anything to our honey wine, not even sulfites. If you ask members of the Ethiopian community if Tej and mead are the same, they’d disagree.”

While Ethiopia has tasting houses dedicated to this beverage, Gize is proud to say Negus Winery is the first such establishment in the U.S. But the road to opening his own tasting room was a winding one.

Originally from Ethiopia, Gize arrived in San Francisco in 2011. His time in California exposed him to the wine industry.

“I grew up in a business-oriented family. I started a tour & travel company which explored California wine country, and that allowed me to make connections in the wine business. Winemakers encouraged me to introduce Tej to the United States, since it’s completely different.”

Gize first opened a brewery in D.C., which included a honey wine on the menu. Unfortunately, the pandemic hit and the business didn’t survive.

Speaking with his family, Gize came up with an idea that was both new yet familiar; opening a honey wine establishment in the D.C. area, with beverages using his family’s recipe.

“When we celebrate in Ethiopia, honey wine is a must-have on the table. It used to be reserved for royalty but now every family makes it. My recipe came from my mother, but we modernized the production process. I knew if I opened a tasting room here, people would fall in love with it. While there are other honey wine producers in the United States, none of them have their own Old Town Crier

tasting room. So far we’re the only one,” Gize tells me.

Negus produces three kinds of honey wine; semi-dry, semi-sweet, and non-alcoholic. In keeping with tradition these are served in a “berele”, a colorful Ethiopian flasklike vessel.

While these are Negus’s flagship beverages, guests have additional options.

“I don’t want to close the door to people who want to try something else”, Gize explained while pouring another serving of honey wine.

“We wanted to support local, so we also serve several grape wines made in Loudoun County.

Hopefully next year I’ll be making wine on premise.”

Negus Winery is located at 5509 Vine Street Suite A in Alexandria. Extra parking is available behind the building.

Visitors are welcome to bring their own food or enjoy snacks purchased on premise. A food truck will be available in the spring.

About the Author: Matthew Fitzsimmons is a blogger who has visited nearly every winery in Virginia – most of them twice. Track his progress at https:// winetrailsandwanderlust.com/ February 2024 35

LET’S GET CRAFTY

TIMOTHY LONG

All The Presidents’ Drinks Back in the early 1990s, my friends and I rented a beach house in Dewey Beach, DE for the summer. It was a great time. To this day we all agree that it was one of the best summers of our lives. Dewey Beach was very different back then. It wasn’t as popular as it is today. People our age mainly went to Ocean City, MD, back then. Dewey Beach was a hidden gem. It was a small fun place with a great beach and lots of great bars and restaurants, all without the hordes of people that would invade Ocean City. The crowds were pleasant, and not nearly as overbearing.

We spent almost every weekend there. We’d always go to the beach house, rain, or shine. Our logic was, we paid for three months, let’s take advantage of it. For rainy days, we had a small television and a VCR. One of our favorite movies to watch while we cracked open beers and plopped down on the couches was an early 90’s movie, Dazed and Confused. I don’t recommend it. It’s not a great movie. But it was unique in one way. At that time, it was one of the few movies about our generation. Often referred to as the Young Baby Boomers, we are the generation that grew up in between Ed Sullivan and MTV. Dazed and Confused takes place in the mid-1970s when most of us were in our early teens. For us, it was a fun and nostalgic film.

At one point in the movie, an avid, long-haired, pot smoker known as Slater goes on a stoner’s rant. Spouting false facts and using confused logic, Slater pontificates about how George Washington grew marijuana at his estate in Mount Vernon, VA, and claims that George smoked pot on a regular basis.

According to Slater, Martha would pack him “a big fat bowl” at the end of the day. Slater argues that George thought that marijuana would be a good cash crop for the states.

I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that our Founding Father did not smoke weed. What George did grow at Mt. Vernon, along with other crops, was hemp. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson, and James Madison also grew hemp. Hemp is a type of marijuana plant that has a THC level too low to have any kind of noticeable effect if smoked. But the plant does have plenty of utility. In our era, it is used to make clothing, paper, paint, textiles, biodegradable plastic, insulation, biofuel, food, and animal feed. George used it to make rope and canvas for his extensive fishing operation. He did think that hemp, not pot, could become a good cash crop for the states.

Our first president may not have grown and smoked weed, but he did make rye whiskey. But by most accounts, he rarely drank it. His favorite drink was 36 February 2024

a dark porter, produced in Philadelphia, that was laced with molasses. Most of our former presidents enjoyed alcohol. But the majority of those who did drink only drank casually.

In his book, “Mint Juleps with Teddy Roosevelt”, Mark Will-Weber tells us the history of the presidency through booze. Here are some of my favorite points from the book. They come from an article he wrote for the New York Post, “A Complete List of Every President’s Favorite Drink”, that is based on his book.

•

John Adams loved alcohol, starting almost every morning with a hard cider. Then porter beer, rum, and copious amounts of Madeira, a fortified Portuguese wine that was quite popular in those days.

•

Thomas Jefferson’s love of French wine led to huge purchases that brought him to the brink of financial ruin.

•

A small scandal occurred during James Monroe’s presidency when 1,200 bottles of Burgundy and Champagne from France were charged to an account that Congress had earmarked for furniture.

•

Martin Van Buren drank so much whiskey that it earned him a nickname, “Blue Whiskey Van.”

•

During the Mexican War, a political aide reportedly visited to inform Zachary Taylor that the Whig party wished to nominate him for president. Taylor allegedly replied: “Stop your nonsense and drink your whiskey!”

•

Our drunkest president, Franklin Pierce drank a lot of everything and died of cirrhosis of the liver at age 65. When Democrats failed to support him for re-election in 1856, he allegedly said: “What can an ex-president of the United States do except get drunk?”

•

Ulysses S. Grant reportedly suffered from low alcohol tolerance and easily became drunk. In office, one of Grant’s White House entertainment bills included $1,800 for Champagne alone.

•

When a representative of the Temperance movement tried to pressure Chester A. Arthur into a no-liquor policy in the White House, he thundered: “Madam, I may be the president of the United States, but what I do with my private life is my own damned business!” I am now a huge fan of Chester A. Arthur.

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Tim’s

Whiskey and Cigar Recommendations

GET CRAFTY | FROM PAGE 36

•

Grover Cleveland mostly drank beer, and lots of it.

He and a fellow politician once took a vow to hold themselves to four beers a day. When they found this too arduous a task, they simply switched to larger beer steins.

•

Herbert Hoover supposedly had a fantastic wine collection, but his wife allegedly dumped it down the drain when Prohibition hit.

•

John F. Kennedy had a variety of favorite drinks including daiquiris, Bloody Mary’s, and Heineken beer.

•

Richard Nixon would drink expensive bottles of Chateau Lafite Rothschild (costing hundreds of dollars); at the same time, he instructed his staff to serve mediocre red wine to his guests. Towels were wrapped around the bottle’s label, so the guests did not know what they were getting. He certainly did earn the name Tricky Dick.

•

Gerald Ford was quite fond of martinis.

•

Barack Obama likes beer. Under his presidency, the White Housed served White House Honey Ale (with honey from the White House hives) for special guests.

I love that Washington enjoyed a good porter. It’s nice to know that I have something in common with the father of our country. I think this might have been all that Slater was reaching for, a little connection. The fact that most of our presidents enjoyed a good drink makes them seem a little more human to us. So, drink a good porter today. And toast George when you do it. I think he would have liked that. And I know that you’ll enjoy it. Cheers!

About the Author: Timothy Long is an educator, writer, consultant, and experienced restaurant operator.

Email: tlong@belmarinnovations.com. Instagram and Twitter: @wvutimmy. Blog: What is that fly doing in my soup? http://whatflyinmysoup.com

Whistle Pig Small Batch Rye 10 yr.

I’m always cautious with rye whiskeys. They can be very hit and miss. But since Washington used to distill and sell them, I decided a rye recommendation would be appropriate. This rye is a hit. On the nose I got apples, lemon, and some caramel.

The first taste was a little thin and tasted slightly like cherry cough syrup. But flavors open on the second taste with anise, vanilla, star anise, and a little mango and oak. It finishes long and smooth with honey, green apple, and vanilla. It’s a lovely complex whiskey.

Ask about our amazing Pipe and Cigar Humidor Sale and Our Military and First Responders Plus Discount Program

Liga Privada H99 Corojo Toro Limited Edition I love Liga Privada cigars. I have never had a bad one. This limited edition corojo is a great smoke. There are hints of cherry and cream throughout. The cigar opens with black pepper, bakers spice, cherry, and cream. As the smoke continues, coffee notes are evident along with the black pepper, cherry cream, and baker’s spice. It finishes smoothly with a bit more pepper and coffee. A very good cigar to blend with that pint of porter you’re raising to toast George. Enjoy.

This cigar, and many other fine cigars, are available at John Crouch Tobacconist at 215 King St. in Old Town Alexandria. Mention this article and get 10% off the purchase of this month’s recommended cigar.

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215 King St. Alexandria, VA 22314 sales@johncrouch.comcastbiz.net (703) 548-2900 | (703) 739-2302 February 2024 37

FROM THE TRAINER RYAN UNVERZAGT

Getting to the Heart of the Matter...

Welcome back to another edition of From the Trainer! Did you know that February not only recognizes Black History, but also marks heart awareness month? Most of us don't think twice about our hearts unless you've had any chest pain, palpitations, heart attack, or cardiac arrest that will definitely catch your attention. This column will provide some insight on the precious organ that can “take a lickin' and keep on tickin'”. As a cardiovascular sonographer, I have seen all forms of heart and vascular disease first hand. I get an up close and personal ultrasound view of the heart in action (good or bad). This article contains some interesting facts about the heart, but let's start with the basics......

38 February 2024

Heart Anatomy: A normally formed heart has 4 chambers with 4 valves. There are 2 chambers located on the top called the atrium and 2 chambers on the bottom called the ventricles. The heart is also divided into right and left sides. The right side receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs. The left side receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it out to the body. The right side has two valves (tricuspid and pulmonic) and the left side has two valves (mitral and aortic).

Valves are located inside the heart and are designed to allow blood to flow one-way, either to the next chamber (atria to ventricles via the mitral and tricuspid valves) or to the pulmonary

artery and aorta (ventricles to the lungs or body via the pulmonic and aortic valves). There is a network of arteries that supply the heart muscle with oxygenated blood called the coronary arteries. These are small arteries that wrap around the outside of the heart. Each heart usually has the same major configuration, but the smaller branches are as unique as fingerprints. The heart also has coronary veins that drain “used blood” from the heart muscle back into the heart.

Heart Attack (Myocardial Infarction or MI) vs. Cardiac Arrest- What is the difference?

A heart attack happens when there is a lack of blood flow to the heart

muscle itself, depriving it from oxygen. This happens when there is a sudden blockage in the coronary arteries. In non-fatal heart attacks, the heart continues to beat even with a blockage or multiple blockages in the coronary arteries. In contrast, a cardiac arrest happens when there is a major rhythm issue that prevents the heart from beating effectively. If sustained and not treated immediately with an AED (shock), the person will lose consciousness and ultimately die.

Fortunately, what happened to NFL player Damar Hamlin was treated very quickly on the field. He went into cardiac arrest after receiving a hit directly to his chest. This phenomenon is called commotio cordis and happens when there is blunt force to the Old Town Crier

chest wall at the exact same time of the up slope of the T-wave on the EKG. This is very rare because of the timing of the trauma has to be at the same time the ventricles are starting to re polarize. This is more common in adolescence population because the chest wall is thinner than in an adult's.

Bad news: •

Cardiovascular (CV) disease is the #1 cause of death for men and women in the United States.

•

It is estimated that one person dies every 33 seconds from CV disease.

•

Someone has a heart attack every 40 seconds in the US.

•

Every year, about 805,000 people in the US have a heart attack. Of these, 605,000 are a 1st heart attack

Good news: •

The heart is the strongest muscle in the body!

•

On average, the heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood per day.

•

The heart beats about 115,000 times in 24 hours.

•

Hearts have specialized cells that originate and conduct the electrical impulses which control heart beats. The sinoartrial (SA) node is located within the upper part of the right atrium and is considered the heart's natural pacemaker.

•

Hearts perform the essential task of keeping us alive via our autonomic nervous system.

Other interesting facts: •

Heart muscle is called myocardium. It has a unique appearance when compared to skeletal muscle and is designed to contract in a very quick, strong, and rhythmical way.

•

Heart cells eventually stop dividing which means that primary heart cancer is extremely rare. The heart can have tumors that are generally located inside the chambers. The good news is that most of these are benign in nature and can be surgically removed.

•

The heart squeezes blood out by torsion or a twisting pattern. The upper part of the ventricles (heart's lower chambers) rotate clockwise and the apex (very bottom part) rotate counter-clockwise while the chamber shortens longitudinally (up & down).

•

Sitting is an independent risk factor for heart disease. You may be lucky enough to not have high blood pressure, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, don't smoke, and yet just sitting can increase your risk for heart disease. This means that even regular exercisers should decrease their sitting time throughout the day, so keep moving!

•

Broken heart syndrome is a real medical diagnosis. This is also called stress or Takosubo cardiomyopathy. This condition mimics symptoms of a heart attack which include chest pain or heaviness, shortness of breath, or even fainting. This usually occurs when a person experiences severe emotional or physical stress such as a sudden illness, accident, or loss of a loved one. More than 90% of reported cases are in women ages 58-75. Good news about broken heart syndrome is that most people's hearts recover within a month or two.

The thought of having a heart attack is scary enough, but imagine not knowing the symptoms. The obvious one is chest pain. But symptoms can be different very between men and women. Below is not an all-inclusive list, but just an overview of the major ones. If you notice that yourself, someone you know, or even a stranger having these symptoms, call 911 immediately!

Heart Attack Symptoms: Male • • • • •

Chest pain, pressure, or tightness Sudden shortness of breath Dizziness Chest pain that radiates to the arm or jaw Sweating after chest discomfort

Female • • • •

Jaw, neck, back, or shoulder pain Nausea and/or vomiting Unusual fatigue Heartburn/Indigestion

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Palpitations (unusual heart beats)These are just a few of the differences, but both genders can share these symptoms. Again, call 911 immediately and start CPR (with the use of an AED, if available) when needed. A person having a heart attack can develop a dangerous arrhythmia that can lead to a cardiac arrest.

I hope this gave you a new appreciation and understanding of our most vital organ. I will discuss resting heart rates, target heart rates for exercising efficiently, and other ways to monitor exercise intensity in next month’s column.

About the Author: Unverzagt holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Wellness Management from Black Hills State University. He is a certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist and a Registered Diagnostic Cardiac Sonographer.

February 2024 39

FITNESS

NICOLE FLANAGAN

Cold Weather & Heart Health

Although winter is a beautiful time of the year, it brings low temperatures, shorter daylight hours and snow (only once every few years here). Cold weather can strain the heart, and according to research, increase the risk for a heart attack. Many people are not even aware that they are at risk until they have a heart attack, so it’s very important to know the risk factors.

The risk of heart disease increases if you’re older, a smoker, overweight, have high blood pressure, don’t exercise enough or have a stress-filled life. Heart problems can also be hereditary. If you’re at risk, you must be especially careful during the winter months. Why?

that makes your body burn calories such as jogging, swimming or biking.

Walking can be one of the easiest ways to improve your heart health.

Even though it does not look like we will be doing much more snow shoveling in Old Town this year, it has been quite cold. Just remember that when temperatures drop, the risk for heart attacks and hypothermia go up. Dress in layers and know the signs and keep yourself protected with a healthy diet and daily exercise.

Colder temperatures cause your blood vessels to get smaller, which reduces the flow of blood and oxygen supply to your heart. Your blood becomes thicker when temperatures drop, and this can cause an increase in the risk of clotting. Cold weather can also lead to an increase in blood pressure, which puts more stress on your heart.

If you’re not used to exercising, your risk of a heart attack during winter weather may increase from overexertion.

If you are not accustomed to exercise, shoveling snow or even walking in deep or heavy snow can trigger a heart attack. If you don’t know the dangers of being outdoors in cold weather, you could suffer from hypothermia—an abnormally low body temperature. Most deaths from this condition are caused by heart failure.

It is also important to know the signs of a heart attack.

See this month’s From the Trainer column for an in-depth description of the symptoms and an insight to how your heart works.

Heart healthy living can be part of your lifestyle yearround. Factors like diet and exercise contribute to a healthy heart every day. For heart healthy nutrition, avoid foods that are high in saturated fats such as cheese, whole milk and butter. Eat plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables.

Different fruits and vegetables are available at certain times of the year, try and stick to produce that is in season. Eating lean meats and fish will get you those heart healthy omega-3’s. Limiting sodium intake can keep blood pressure in normal range and decrease your risk for heart attacks. When it comes to exercise the American Heart Association recommends at least 30 minutes of exercise about five days per week. Exercise can include anything 40 February 2024

Old Town Crier

FIRST BLUSH

GENEVIEVE LEFRANC

V-Day, Your Way! Christmas is a distant memory, New Year’s a blur, and in a couple of weeks, February 14th will be here in all its red, rose-scented glory. Contrary to popular belief and too many women’s magazines, Valentine’s Day is an equal opportunity occasion where everyone—canoodling couples and sassy singletons alike—should seize the day to look and feel their best. V-Day is all about love, so follow my tips for showing your skin, hair, and nails some major affection, no matter how you choose to spend your February 14th.

Date Night

Girls Night Out

Me, Myself, and I

Whether you enjoy the comfortable intimacy that comes with years of togetherness or you’re brave enough to agree to a Valentine’s date with a new suitor, few things compare to the giddy excitement of prepping for a date. Everyone enjoys grooming and preening to look their best, and these products will ensure that everyone else enjoys you looking your best as well.

It’s a known fact that your girlfriends will appreciate your beauty efforts more than the opposite sex. If you refuse to let Valentine’s Day be the bastion of coupledom, round up your best girlfriends, don that wild cocktail dress you’ve been too shy to try, and go all out with your beauty routine. Open up a bottle of wine (or two) and spend the evening getting dolled up and celebrating your fabulousness with your best friends. Feel free to go wild and experiment with a makeup trend you’ve been otherwise reluctant to try. Whether you’ve been holding back because of work, or because your significant other thinks Technicolor products are bizarre, this is the perfect opportunity to let your hair down and really experiment with something fun and new. And don’t worry, your girls will tell you if you look ridiculous.

If you simply refuse to participate in this HallmarkFlowers-And-Candy Fest, why not enjoy a day of indulgence at home with the best girl you know— you! You’re worth it, so treat yourself! Feel your worries melt away while enjoying blissful, at-home treatments. How often did you pamper yourself when you were with Mr. Dirtbag, anyway? Even if no one else is there to pamper you, take the liberty of enjoying a mani/pedi, at-home facial, or deep conditioning hair treatment. If you don’t feel like spending a fortune on a full-size container of a product, head over to your local Sephora or department store and ask for samples.

For flawless, luminescent skin that radiates in the glow of a candlelight dinner, dab a highlighter, such as Benefit High Beam, across your brow bones, the bridge of your nose, and your Cupid’s bow.

This ethereal, radiant liquid highlighter creates a lustrous, dewy complexion for a romantically angelic sheen. This supermodel-in-a-bottle product works wonders for all skin tones, and will have your date drooling over your incandescent skin.

To avoid that sloppy, smeared-clown look after hours of smooching, try CoverGirl Outlast All-Day Lipcolor. This affordable, long-lasting formula lasts up to 16 hours, and remains resilient through a long day at work, a romantic dinner, a tough workout, and, most importantly, a Valentine’s Day snog session with your significant (or not) other. With a moisturizing topcoat that helps lock in shine and keeps your pucker smooth, you don’t have to worry about your lips drying out or your color bleeding into fine lines. Over forty shades to choose from.

For perfectly touchable skin all over, stick with long-time favorite, Kiehl’s Crème de Corps body moisturizer. For over four decades, this rich, hydrating lotion, with beta-carotene, cocoa butter and sesame oil, remains one of the most elegant and luxurious choices for pampering skin. The iconic body cream provides luscious, all-day moisture that yields touchably soft arms and legs—perfect for showing off in a slinky dress or lingerie. For optimum suppleness, apply after a shower or bath on damp skin and allow your skin to soak up the goodness before you dress to guarantee skin softer than Cupid’s bottom!

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Whether you choose to go the traditional date route, raise some Cain with your girlfriends or stay at home for a quiet night of self-pampering, keep the wise words of Oscar Wilde in mind as you celebrate the day of love: “To love oneself is the beginning of a life-long romance.”

Metallics, color, glitter, and texture are all bold makeup trends just begging for a girl’s night out.

Opt for Laura Mercier’s Metallic Crème Eye Colour for a vibrant punch of both Haircuts $15 color and texture. This lush, metallic Shampoo, Cut & Blow Dry $18 eye color leaves your peepers with rich (extra charge for long hair) pigment and a gorgeous, shimmering Scissors Cut $17+up sheen that lasts and resists creasing. The lightweight, waterproof, and non-greasy Color $43+up formula comes in a small squeeze tube for Permanent $45+up (including haircut & conditioner) an easy, controlled application. Choose from five high metallic pearl shades that can be layered for an intense color or a light swipe for subtle shimmer.

Nothing screams flirty fun like big, voluminous, rock-star hair. For hair that’ll last through dinner, drinks, and getting down on the dance floor, try Sexy Hair Concept’s Big Sexy Hair Spray & Stay “All Nighter” hairspray. This works for all hair types, resists humidity, provides longlasting hold, and intense shine. Keep those elaborate styles in place through dancing, laughs, and reminiscing with the girls.

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Van’s Hairstylists 107 North Washington Street (near corner of King & Washington streets)

703-836-1916

Monday-Friday 9 am-7 pm • Saturday 9 am-6 pm We care and will give you only the best!

Biolage • Vital Nutrient • Socolor • Matrix Perm • Paul Mitchell • Nexxus

February 2024 41

POINTS ON PETS

JANE KOSKA

Is Dognapping on the Rise?

A

nother troubling event hit the news in the last hours of 2023 as a home invasion in the District seized not cash or valuables but the residents’ dog, a seven month old puppy named Lola. This crime followed another incident in November where gunmen took three French bulldogs – Chewy, Coco, and Buttercup – from their owner while out for a walk. The same victim said thieves swiped another dog back in April. The Washington Post reported on another incident where “dognappers” offered to return a woman’s French bulldog for $900. Thanks to her actions and the police, authorities found both pet and suspects.

Perhaps most famously, in February, 2021, celebrity Lady Gaga’s dogs were stolen after abductors shot the person walking her pets in a case convoluted by insider involvement and a $500,000 reward offer. In that instance, Police said “the dogs were not specifically targeted because they belonged to Lady Gaga, but because French bulldogs can sell for thousands of dollars.” Resale of certain elite breeds, privately or to puppy mills, as well as the opportunity for ransom, figure into the economic motives of the crime.

42 February 2024

Sources citing the Los Angeles Police Department say “the dogs that are at most risk are French bulldogs (since they can fetch $7,000-$12,000), Goldendoodles (resale value $800$3,000), and Pomeranians (resale value starts at $3,000, but if there is an unusual or rare coat color, such as a merle, they can net up to $15,000)” but noted “other purebreds or posh designer mixes” such as “English bulldogs, Maltipoos, and small exotic breeds are also high on the list.” Other investigators add Yorkshire and Boston terriers, Maltese, Chihuahuas, Labradoodles, Pitbull terriers, German shepherds, and Labrador retrievers to the list of breeds prone to dognapping. A survey of news reports suggests that the incidence of stealing dogs far outnumbers that of stealing cats, with this story of two women pocketing a kitten at a cat café appearing to be more typical than numerous ransom schemes for canines.

State, dognappers can be punished with up to 10 years in prison if the imputed value of the animal is $500 or more in a statute also covering horses, mules, and other animals.

Stiff penalties, however, did not apparently deter two men in Loudon County accused of stealing a dog from a home in August, 2023.

While pet lovers see dognapping to be a crime against their family member – perhaps why it is called ‘dognapping’ and not ‘Grand Theft Dog’ – the law typically considers the act part of property crime.

Only 15 States have penalties specifically for dognapping, with Virginia being one of them. In that

Other groups have ventured firmer opinions on dognapping trends. The Alexandria Times quoted a claim by Tom Sharp, president and CEO of AKC Reunite (part of the American Kennel Club) that the number of stolen dogs has increased 70% from 2010 to 2021. Taking a different approach, others estimate that around

Is this kind of crime increasing, or merely the reporting of it? Imbedding dognapping in other property crime statistics makes it difficult to determine if this specific activity is on the rise. District of Columbia crime data reports a 24% increase in all property crime, of which increased dognapping anecdotally seems to be a part. A piece in Psychology Today also asserted that media reports “suggest” an increase in dognapping, but also notes that this crime goes back at least to the 1800’s with the romantic poet Elizabeth Barrett Browning and her dog Flush.

“two million dogs are victims of theft each year in the United States. Sadly, only about 10% of these stolen dogs are reunited with their families.”

Some sources claim that dog thefts up 30% since 2021, driven by the COVID pandemic creating more demand for companion animals.

What can you do to protect your pet?

Experts recommend several common approaches to protecting your pet from abductors.

Microchip your pet and make sure the contact information is current.

If a lost pet ends up at a vet or found by a bystander, a chip is the best way for your animal friend to get back to you. A microchip can even reunite owners with a pet brought out of state Don’t leave pets unattended outside a store or in your car while running errands. Most pet snatching comes as a crime of opportunity, so limit the opportunities.

Secure your backyard with cameras and motion sensors, especially if the area can be readily accessed by others.

Chewy adds the added value of spaying and neutering. Resale to breeders is believed to be a strong motive in dognapping.

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POINTS ON PETS | FROM PAGE 42

A

s with human kidnapping, current pictures of your pet give authorities an accurate view of the object of their search.

If a pet is lost, do post signs to alert the neighbors you are looking but refrain from posting a dollar amount to any reward “because the dognappers will know that you have the money on hand and they may wait for a bigger reward.”

I will personally add that thieves targeting valuable, elite breeds is yet another reason to look to your local shelter for a valuable-only-to-you, very much not elite, pet for you to rescue.

For those who witness a dognapping, a pet website recommends calling the police, and talking to other potential witnesses if you are sure of what you saw; otherwise, “immediately record any information you can remember about the dog and the assailant while it's fresh in your memory. You can then talk to people who also witnessed the crime to see if you can find out who the dog actually belongs to.”

Whether this despicable crime is truly on the rise or merely getting fresh attention, its new prevalence calls for new responsibilities for pet lovers based on yet another horrific thing people will do for money or thrills.

About the Author: Ken Byrer is a writer living in Alexandria.

Selected Metro DC Animal Shelters/Rescues Animal Welfare League of Alexandria alexandriaanimals.org/

Fairfax County Animal Shelter www.fairfaxcounty.gov/animalshelter

Animal Welfare League of Arlington www.awla.org

Friends of Rabbits and House Rabbit Sanctuary

www.friendsofrabbits.org/ King Street Cats www.kingstreetcats.org/

Operation Paws for Homes, Inc. ophrescue.org/ Rikki’s Refuge Animal Sanctuary www.rikkisrefuge.org

PETS

OF THE

MONTH 4101 Eisenhower Avenue Alexandria, VA 703-746-4774 alexandriaanimals.org Mon-Fri, 1-8 pm Closed Wed Sat & Sun, 12-5 pm

Polly Polly is a 3-year-old female cat that came to us from our rescue partners in Barbour County, WV. Polly is a beautiful mostly white cat with gray spots down her back and golden yellow eyes. Polly is a little shy and timid when meeting new people.

She likes to hide out in her tower and observe her visitors first. However, after a few minutes, Polly is usually ready to come out to socialize. She absolutely adores squeezable lick treats like Churus. Once she's comfortable with you, she's ready for lots of attention and pets. She loves getting her ears and chin scratched. Polly is such a sweet kitty -- she just needs to find a person with a little patience. Photo courtesy of Lucia Smith Art.

Arthur Arthur is an 8-year-old pint-sized pup who has two speeds - fast asleep or be-bopping around. As a senior gentleman, he certainly appreciates long naps (and sometimes all-day snooze sessions if he's totally honest). However, he does have a spunky side. He likes going for short outings and he LOVES to play (and maybe de-fluff) plush squeaky toys. Arthur doesn't much like the cold or rain, but honestly who can blame him? Arthur is quite a character with his quirky trot. He gets along with other dogs who match his speed. He loves to be pet and receive affection. Arthur will make a wonderful cuddly and personable companion. Photo courtesy of Deborah Davidson.

Oscar Oscar is a 7-year-old gentle giant who weighs in at 109 pounds. This big boy is a sweet and easygoing guy who would love a home to lounge around in. According to his foster, he has perfect house behavior - he is not destructive, relaxed and potty trained.

He enjoys leisurely walks, but after a mile or two, he's ready to settle in for the day. He is a superb listener and knows sit, shake, down, wait, and drop it. It doesn't take a whole lot to make Oscar happy - he'd love a comfy bed, some tasty treats, and a little walk here and there. While Oscar doesn't seem to mind other dogs around while he's out on walks, we do think he needs to be the only dog in the home. Photo courtesy of Lucia Smith Art.

Schedule time to meet with any of these amazing adoptables by emailing Adopt@AlexandriaAnimals.org or calling 703.746.4774 opt. 2.

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February 2024 43

GO FISH

STEVE CHACONAS

Fishing Click Baits Professional bass anglers must supply their tournament entry fees, travel costs, and support a family and household as well. This puts the sport out of reach for many new and veteran participants.

Pro angler income comes from sponsors with a modest amount from prize money. Tournament wins, top ten finishes, and BASSMASTER Classic qualifications used to carry bass pros through several seasons, garnering media attention, endorsements, and personal appearance fees. But outdoors show opportunities aren’t what they used to be. Retail sponsors like Bass Pro Shops prefer content rather than instore appearances. As familiar faces leave the sport, so does sponsorship money. It’s not about winning and personal promotion, it’s about clicks.

Sponsorship dollars are being cut or eliminated as independent tackle companies are bought out.

Decision-makers are distanced from the frontline and sponsor dollars are distributed with policy over performance. The pie hasn’t changed, just the number of college and high school anglers taking a bite.

Undeterred, Team Chapman pursues necessary partners, preferring to keep existing sponsors, promoting continuity over renegotiating. New sponsors come from long term relationships or referral.

Brent says getting TV time doesn’t

mean as much as it used to because many watch livestreams and YouTube.

“We have to play the same game.”

The couple has reinstated their fan favorite show Pro Verses Joe, local experts fishing their spots in friendly competition with pro angler Brent. Everyone is a star, and the love of fishing is what they have in common. This series can be seen on the Pursuit Network, Tuff TV, Wired2Fish TV and Youtube.com/ BrentChapmanFishing.

Specific social media requirements are written into contracts. Hiring a professional company to pull media

Still competing after nearly 30 years, Triton/Mercury pro Brent Chapman has fished at bass fishing’s highest level, including the Bass Pro Tour, Bassmaster Elite Series and Major League Fishing.

Earning the most prestigious title, Bassmaster’s Angler of the Year, Brent has 4 BASSMASTER wins, and 14 BASSMASTER Classic qualifications. He also qualified for Major League Fishing’s Championship and MLF Bass Pro Tour Redcrest.

Today, companies rely on college marketing majors who stress social media to reach target audiences. Brent carries his integrity into the bits and bytes of electronic media. Consumers are bombarded by YouTube content creators and Brent says, “There’s no other sport or profession where anyone can start a social media account and become an expert.” He’s concerned kids and fans can’t discern what’s relevant. Team Chapman has adapted and delivers.

Brent’s wife Bobbi manages the fishing business and together they raised and homeschooled their two children. She tracks social media stats daily to present to decision makers. Making the marketing person look awesome to their boss, the Chapmans look good too. Enabling Brent to focus on fishing, Bobbi sets a schedule for him to keep pace with sponsor content expectations. When the tournament is over, the work starts. Together, they’re motivated to outwork everyone.

Contracts must be renewed and negotiated. Past performances and reputation don’t play much of a role in getting corporate support.

44 February 2024

analytics reports enables them to show trackable exposures and impressions. Seeing accountability of his work, Brent is motivated to produce more content. Viewing poor videos from unqualified producers, “We have to be content creators who happen to fish tournaments.” He accepts the challenge to compete with YouTubers to produce quality content that translates into more views.

Brent’s likeness and image represent high quality to fans and endorsement value to sponsors. Long term sustainability and professionalism is Brent’s brand. The advertising shift targets younger on-line consumers, even if they aren’t spending money.

Social media can be filled with negativity and Brent insists his followers be nice and keep it clean.

Above all, Bobbi says they’re not looking for provocative clickbait. “We care about the sport and the people.”

As companies target younger customers, Brent’s age has come up.

Only in his early 40s, Brent says he can compete and win at any time and is working to stay relevant with the times by expanding his social media presence. “It’s the reality of the job. It’s changed and we make the commitment to adjust as the need to adjust arises.”

Partnering with companies who align with their values, the Chapmans look forward to 2024 with new sponsors and big changes. “My hope is to offer my experience and insight to help the experienced tournament angler, as well as someone brand new to fishing.

I love fishing and that we can all connect with a shared passion through social media.”

Potomac River Bassing in NOVEMBER Cold water and fish are on steep drops out of the current. Three inch Stingray grubs on ¼ ounce ball head jigs in chartreuse, smoke with black flake, and green pumpkin. Hair jigs with matching chunks and Mizmo tubes work with slow horizontal presentations on spinning gear with Gamma 6 pound test Copoly line, or combo of 10 pound test Gamma Torque Braid with either a 6 pound test Edge Fluorocarbon or Copoly leader.

Silver Buddys, ½ ounce silver on sunny days, gold when cloudy. 10-pound test GAMMA EDGE on casting reels on rods with enough tip flex for casting and hook-setting backbone. Slowly snap to barely bring Silver Buddys off the bottom.

Controlled drops encourage cold water bass to bite.

Drop shot, shaky head, and split shot with 1/0 hooks with 3/16-ounce Water Gremlin BullShot weights for drop shots and split shots.

Maintaining relationships with Triton Boats, Mercury Outboards, Garmin Electronics, Bass Pro Shops, Costa Sunglasses, and Eagle Claw Hooks, Team Chapman relies on their support to continue to represent these companies and those who enjoy the sport. “Other pros have other sources of income. I’m all in…no other skill set.”

Above all, the Chapmans are focused on maintaining the value of sponsorships for the next generation of career-oriented professional bass anglers. “You can’t lower your price.

This isn’t a hobby.”

About the Author: Capt. Steve Chaconas is a longtime Potomac River bass fishing guide. For updates and Potomac fishing reports: nationalbass.com. Book trips/ purchase gift certificates: info@ NationalBass.com.

Old Town Crier

OPEN SPACE

LORI WELCH BROWN

Celebrating Love & Friendship

I

’m not sure I’m your girl for writing about romance. These days my romance has been limited to The Hallmark channel. Blame it on menopause, winter doldrums, ratty flannel PJs, and/or our fur babies who tend to create bed blockades.

Romance requires effort and self-care.

At least for some of us. And a little wine probably doesn’t hurt either.

I’m speaking for myself because I know plenty of middle-aged (I refuse to say ‘senior’ and/or ‘geriatric’) women who are oozing sexuality and romance.

Well—I don’t know them personally, but I tuned in every week to watch them vie for the affections of The Golden Bachelor. Skin-tight dresses, Botox up the wazoo, eye brows permanently inked, lips inflated, nails perfectly mani’d. Who has the time and/or the money?! I tip my hat to you, ladies. And, I happen to be wearing a hat until I can get in to see my hairdresser later this week to cover up these gray roots. See self-care above.

There are those of you—you know who you are—who have been perusing the red and pink aisles of your fave stores since December 26th when the rest of us *normal* people were standing in line returning our over-sized cardigans and unwanted butter dishes from our significant others. Good for you.

But there are also those of you who are already planning your mid-February hibernations. To you, I can relate. Ugh. It’s one thing when Valentine’s Day falls on a Saturday or Sunday, you can easily navigate a weekend indoors binge watching Schitt’s Creek, experimenting with all those facial masques you’ve been hoarding, and eating ALL THE CARBS. But when the dreaded V Day falls midweek, that’s another story.

Granted—many of you now have the reprieve of working remote, and will be spared the revolving door of floral deliveries that make you catch your breath as they head toward your desk.

Just as you are thinking, “Could these possibly be from…,” the lush bouquet takes a hard left into your neighbor’s cubicle leaving the scent of cruelty and aroma of crushed hope in its wake.

But all is not lost because you have the saving grace that is “Galentine’s” Day! Don’t get me wrong. I’m not so old and cynical to scoff at romance and love, but I am old enough to realize the value of friendship. And trust me—your friends are worth their weight in roses and gold.

Instead of pining away for what you don’t have and/or what’s missing from your life, celebrate the month of February— yes, the whole month—with what you do have. Friends. And, quality over quantity! One good friend is better than 38 mediocre ones. If you’re feeling a friendship void, perhaps this is the month to put yourself out there and make a new one.

The easiest way to make a new friend is to start doing something you love, and you’ll meet like-minded people. Love to run? Join a running club. I have made a lot of new friends by taking art classes.

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The gym is also a great place to forge new friendships as well as chiseled biceps.

Coincidentally, friends and lovers share a lot of similar qualities—trustworthy, loyal, supportive, engaging, honest, dependable. Bonus points for fun, funny, witty, smart, loves dogs, etc. Like a romantic partner, friends can let you down and disappoint you. They’re human…but, a keeper makes it right.

A good friend values your friendship as much as you do, and will do what’s necessary to make amends.

I’ve been blessed with great friendships my entire life. Without my friends, I don’t know where I’d be. They’ve counseled and consoled me. Advised me and guided me. They’ve styled me and let me know when I’ve veered off course— in life, fashion, and men. No subject has been off the table. They have stood by me in my darkest hours and have celebrated my highest moments. No offense to my husband, but they were there long before he entered the picture.

I was pretty clueless about friendship and love in my twenties and thirties. Friends were seemingly plentiful, but as years passed, many fell away—some due to geography, life changes, etc. But, the true friends remained and are lifers.

Love on the other hand…I often confused with attention, obsession, lust, and/or chemistry. None of these are love, and the sooner you realize that, the better off you’ll be.

No—love is very different. The first time I experienced love, my boyfriend at the time brought me chicken noodle soup and left it at my door when I was sick. He didn’t ‘want’ anything or ‘need’ anything, but to care for me. Although we were both in the early stages of our careers aka broke, he often managed to pull off lots of little gestures that made me feel safe, secure, and deeply cared for.

While that relationship didn’t work out in the end, it did teach me something about how love is supposed to look. Prior to that, most of the dating experiences had been guys saying one thing and doing the opposite. They’d say they’d call and nothing. They’d schedule dates and show me the ghost. Or—their idea of a ‘date’ would be to show up on my door step, half in the bag, and expect dessert if you know what I mean. Sorry—kitchen is closed.

What I was really good at finding was CHEMISTRY. Back then, I thought chemistry was EVERYTHING. Turns out, chemistry is highly-combustible and prone to evaporating very quickly. Fun while it lasts, but don’t expect it to last longer than your manicure.

What does last long, however, is true love and friendship. If you’re lucky enough to find both, consider yourself blessed.

About the Author: Lori is a local writer, painter and pet lover who loves to share her experiences and expertise with our readers. She has been penning a column for the OTC for over 20 years. Please follow Lori online on Medium for more missives like this.

February 2024 45

NATIONAL HARBOR

LANI GERING

The Year of the Wood DragoN.....

For the last few years, I have dedicated the majority of the February column to the Chinese New Year themed installation in the Conservatory at the MGM Grand. I just love the Chinese New Year “stuff ” and I really get excited when I go to a Chinese restaurant and they have the place mats that have all of the years and animals on them. You know, the ones that tell you who you are and aren’t compatible with, what your personality is like, etc.

According to my reliable source - Chinesenewyear. net – this is the Year of the Wood Dragon.

Celebrations commence on February 10th and, 2024 and runs through January 28, 2025.

About said Wood Dragon…According to my web search, Wood Dragons are very lively and enthusiastic, charming their way into every social circle with a dash of self-confidence. These highly intellectual individuals quickly take advantage of every opportunity. Dragons aren’t easily discouraged in the face of difficulties (although failures do pinch their egos)! They’re somewhat perfectionists (and mysteriously lucky) who always maintain the high standards they set for themselves.

Humorous and diplomatic in their ways, Wood Dragons have a sixth sense for business that no other Chinese zodiac sign possesses. Overall, people born in the Year of the Wood Dragon are considered to be the luckiest folks out there, with

46 February 2024

good fortune being their constant companion. Wood Dragons truly have a Midas touch!

This year’s display, as in the past, has elements of Chinese gardens, the likes of pagodas and koi fish, along with 16,000+ flowers, massive Chinese lanterns and a glistening pond where the beautiful silk rose koi fish is frolicking. The Money Tree is back as well. As far as the animatronics go…the dragon moves his tail and his head and I do believe there are some sound effects that accompany said movement. The exhibit had just been completed a couple of hours before I was there to take photos so it was being tweaked. The sounds of the fountain and the water fall that is placed next to the silk koi pond is very soothing as is the music that plays softly in the background. This installation is definitely worth a trip to the MGM. The installation opened in late January and will be up through mid-March and is available to view 24 hours a day. I always tell people that they don’t have to care about the Casino to visit the Conservatory.

There is a wide range of food and drink options that cater to those looking for fine dining and for those who want an affordable meal. The parking is FREE and it doesn’t cost anything to just go look at something beautiful and do some very interesting people watching! My suggestion is to visit on a Wednesday or Thursday to avoid crowds (unless

there is a big concert in the Theater) and avoid Mondays and Tuesdays since some of the stores and restaurants aren’t open on these days.

“Fooduary” - National Harbor’s version of Restaurant Week – runs from the 2nd through the 11th this year. You will find prix fixe menus, classes and demonstrations from chefs and bartenders at locations throughout the Harbor. Check out the offerings at two of our very favorites – Bond 45 and Fiorella’s Italian Kitchen!

February in the Harbor is pretty mellow but if you want to see what is happening, check out the Harbor Facebook page and the Gaylord National Facebook page as well as their websites to see what other interesting adventures you can get yourself into.

The Capital Wheel is offering a “Wheel Memories Package” that includes two adult tickets, an 8x6 full color glossy photo and one digital download for $44 ($54 value). Tickets can be purchased online or at the Ticket Booth on the pier. Package valid for two months from date of purchase. www. thecapitalwheel.com Don’t forget that 2024 is a Leap Year! This means we have an extra day in February and the 29th falls on a Thursday. If you are a 9-5er, it might be a good time to use a “personal” day and pay a visit to the Conservatory and the Harbor.

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