By John Kelly
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
Catching up on some previous columns:
One of the poems I printed last month in honor of giant panda Tai Shan's birthday left Kara McGuirk of Annapolis with a bad taste in her mouth. It was the one that ended: "Bah humbug Tai Shan! Please go away."
Wrote Kara: "In an increasingly complicated world, where we are always short on time and money, the joyless among us pop their heads out of the crowd and yell at the top of their lungs 'I am miserable! I am unhappy! I am glum, bleak, blue, sad and cheerless!' "
Kara said she felt sorry for these people. "Sorry you can't appreciate the little things, sorry you feel the need to make the rest of us equally as miserable, and sorry you can't experience joy. For everyone else, the next time someone blares their car horn at you, just smile and think of Tai Shan."
In other words, take time to stop and smell the pandas.
A Close ShaveMy mention of the Burma Shave signs brought a bounty of reminiscences, including a note from Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (D-Vt.), who as a boy would travel with his parents from their home in Montpelier to visit his grandparents.
"I was five-years-old and learning to read, so my parents would encourage me to look for new Burma Shave signs as we drove along," Leahy wrote. "I remember well the very last ones I saw in Vermont. They said: 'Spring has sprung/ the grass has riz/ where last year's/ careless driver is.'
"Why this has stuck in my memory all these years, I do not know, but your column brought it back."
Burma Shave signs may be a thing of the past, but if you've driven down Fort Hunt Road south of Alexandria, you might have thought that they were resurrected. The Hollin Hills Swimming Pool appropriated the style to attract members.
Some of the signs have included: "Want to wear/ a smaller size?/ Enjoy our pool/ to exercise" and "Your toddler doesn't/ need to fry/ Our wading pool/ has trees nearby."
The method worked. "The membership filled!" Judith Rosen wrote.
Park PlaceMy column on SUV drivers who park in spots marked "Small Cars Only" mostly brought more SUV-bashing. But several readers who drive sport-utility vehicles and minivans said they're forced to park in compact spaces because the regular spaces are filled with small cars.
"I think it's only fair to take the drivers of small cars to task for taking the big spaces when spaces for small cars are available," wrote Barbara Steakley of Alexandria, who drives a minivan. "Believe me, if a larger space is open, I will take it and certainly don't mind walking farther."
Twice this year, Barbara McShane of Bethesda has returned to find her little Saturn sandwiched between two behemoths. "The last time this happened I had to wait 30 minutes for one of the drivers to return to their car before I could get into mine. Words were exchanged."
I also heard from Karen Schneider , a writer and librarian in Palo Alto, Calif., who uses her camera phone to snap photos of whalelike vehicles parked in minnowlike spaces. She posts them on the online site Flickr. (Go to http://flickr.com . Under "Find a photo of . . ." type "big cars in compact parking.")
"I don't think it's hubris," Karen said of why the scofflaws parked there. "I think it's guilt. Using compact parking spots helps them believe that their car isn't really humongous far beyond reasonable need, and that they aren't contributing to a serious environmental problem. Or perhaps they're all just cads."
By the way, vehicles more than 6 feet wide or 15 feet long that park in a compact-only space in Palo Alto can be ticketed.
Reunited We StandThese area high school reunions are coming up. To see an even bigger list, go to www.washingtonpost.com/johnkelly .
Northwood High Class of 1981 -- Saturday. Contact Nancy (Cohen) atnancy_robertson98@yahoo.comor Ann (Kabik) atann@mccartin.com.
Coolidge High Class of 1956 -- Aug. 26. Contact Harriet Tudor Platt at 301-468-6792.
Maryland Park High Classes of 1950 and 1951 -- Aug. 30. Contact Rose Antonelli Turner at 301-888-1771.
Annandale High Class of 1976 -- Sept. 16. Contact Maureen and Tex Hunt at 703-250-8380 ortexmohunt@verizon.net.
Herndon High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 16.http://www.capitalreunions.com.
John F. Kennedy High Classes of 1975 and 1976 -- Sept. 16.http://www.greatreunions.com.
Linganore High Class of 1996 -- Sept. 16-17. E-mail Nicole Weiss atweissne@hotmail.com.
Mount Vernon High Class of 1956 -- Sept. 15-17. Contact Nan Howard Brown, 850-385-0285 ornanbrown9@comcast.net.
Potomac Senior High Class of 1976 -- Sept. 16.http://www.reunioncelebrations.com.
Surrattsville High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 16. Contact Laurie (Peters) Williams atlaur0919@msn.com.
Montgomery Blair High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 23.http://www.greatreunions.com.
Robert E. Lee High Class of 1996 -- Sept. 23.http://www.capitalreunions.com.
Eastern High Class of 1961 -- Sept. 30. Contact Lois Krupinsky at 410-833-8269 orlakjak@bcpl.net.
Falls Church High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 30.http://www.greatreunions.com.
James W. Robinson Secondary School Class of 1986 -- Sept. 30.http://www.capitalreunions.com.
Lake Braddock Secondary School Class of 1986 -- Sept. 30.http://www.capitalreunions.com.
Montgomery Blair High Class of 1946 -- Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Contact Al Schrider at 301-490-0315 or Hildegarde Doten Xander at 301-438-0042 orxanderbob@verizon.net.
Montgomery Blair High Class of 1956 -- Sept. 29-30. E-mailmbhs56@adelphi.net.
Northwestern High Classes of 1952-56 -- Sept. 30. Contact Barbara Torbert attorbao@hotmail.com.
Oakton High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 30.http://www.capitalreunions.com.
Osbourn High Class of 1986 -- Sept. 29-Oct. 1. Contact Terri Snook at 919-677-0369 ortdingess@earthlink.net.
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