Earth Day - April 22, 1970 - 2009

Earth Day - Who Knew?

Another reason living in McLean was cool was that we adjoined Washington DC. We were a small town, with a small town feel and comfort, and yet, nearly on top of the city that is home to the head of the free world.

Perhaps these juxtapositions went unnoticed in 1970, but maybe that's because we participated. So "NIMBY" became "RIMBY," Right In My Back Yard. And, for a number of us that was true. I probably lived as close to DC as I did to downtown McLean, which I think was 3 miles.

On April 22, 1970 I think we planted trees and some went to the rally in DC, and we talked about ecology, and had great dreams of a clean future.

Created by Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, Earth Day was a (shall I really say it...) grass roots organization. After living through big, polluting cars and combustible rivers (Cuyahoga River caught fire 10 times in the 1960s), we thought it was time to take action. So high schools, elementary schools, mothers, and others began making changes. Main Street, USA became involved. There were rallies, speakers, and small groups nationwide that realized and told us that we needed to reevaluate our relationship with Mother Earth.

Conservation was the topic of conversation - save the trees!!!

"Conserve Water, Shower with a Friend!"

The first Earth Day, April 22, 1970, came in my Senior year at Langley HS in McLean. And although I was too shy to participate in many school activities, I did go to DC.

In the decade that followed people began trying to take action. By the end of 1970 the EPA was created. The Clean Air Act had modifications. The Superfund was established to clean us toxic waste. The 20 million people who participated in 1970 just got the ball rolling. According to the Earth Day Network, More than 1 BILLION people world-wide will be involved in some way with Earth Day 2009. (The Earth Day Network is located at 1616 P St. NW, Washington DC.)

We now have Green Products of all kinds, Green Homes, Green Schools and a Green Network on TV. Even your grandmother talks about Global Warming and Sustainability.

I am not going to make this controversial and discuss the pros and cons of who's doing or not doing what. I just want to Remember that Day in 1970 and know that it changed the way I live.

I am lucky to live in another wonderful community where Green is really important to almost everyone, and a frequent topic of conversation in relation to construction of homes and schools, water runoff, and preservation of local creeks. Reusable shopping bags are commonplace in grocery stores. And one of the latest projects is planting Sequoias in Blacksburg. It has been proven that they will live here and there are some up for adoption to be relocated to proper environments and cared for by local residents.

We all know that we're just custodians of the earth, we should do a good job and leave it better than when we arrived.

Happy Earth Day!!!

Do something good for the earth.

Do something good for yourself!!

Virginia Tech - April 16, 2007

Forever emblazoned in our minds and hearts are the 32 joys lost that day - the sons and daughters, mothers and fathers and Hokie brothers and sisters I wish I had known and that will always be a part of me.

It may sound trite, but the thought of them is often in my mind and never out of my heart. It was two years ago yesterday that their spirits, mostly known only to family and friends, were introduced to the world.

The complexities and subtleties of the emotions of families, friends and strangers, will never be fully exposed. For each it is personal, but for all it is universal.

Until that day, I knew not a one, yet now I am allowed to know them by name, face and sometimes by their dreams and passions. And yet, I feel that is presumptuous - presumptuous to the parents who say "You did not know my child," or to the wife who might think "You can't know what my husband felt." And they are right...I, and the millions of others who express their sadness, have no right to claim any intimacy with their loved ones. But we, especially those of us who live in Blacksburg and are fellow Hokies, have been given so much and let in far enough to their worlds that we do feel a sense of personal loss.

This is part of the complexity - not knowing the individual, but feeling their loss. When one life is lost, it should be personal to the world. Yet it is perhaps the most private of experiences. And, until yesterday, I thought I was allowed to feel it more personally because I live in Blacksburg and April 16th happened in my backyard. But the memorial events and the exhibits of art and letters spread across multiple Blacksburg and Virginia Tech venues shook me a bit reminding me that loss is far-reaching, sometimes much more than we realize.

The family and friends of those lost have every right to want to hold their feelings close, but that day and the 2 years that have followed, introduced 32 individual spirits to the world. We have embraced them, felt love, sadness, beauty, awe and honor to have shared in this very private loss. Is is with the greatest respect I thank all who have allowed me this privilege.

Like love, grief has no limits. It is felt and expressed not asking for anything in return.

We acknowledge it but do not comprehend it, we accept it but do not want to, and we experience it personally and communally.

I write this, not just to give life to my feelings, but to remind all of the fragility of life and strength with which we must live it. We realize how personal it is and yet should not forget that one life, each life, is a pebble tossed in a pond that ripples endlessly.

Be kind, show compassion, and express love as often as you can. I know there are 32 souls and a world who would be happier if you did.

Thank You for allowing me to take this space to share a moment in my life.

And to those who think life is but a set of moments strung together, don't be so short-sighted not to realize how far one life can reach. Thirty-two lives have touched the corners of this earth, been seen by the heavens and found a home in my heart.

In closing, I quote a hauntingly beautiful song played at the Convocation in Blacksburg April 17th 2007.

Walk humbly, son
Walk humbly, now
And cherish every step
For a life well spent
On this earth we're lent
Will be marked by the void you have left.

From "Walk Humbly Son"

[Personal thanks to McLeanites "Eddie from Ohio" for use of their song "Walk Humbly Son" (credits to Michael Clem, J. Fish Music/ASCAP). Look for an upcoming post on "Eddie From Ohio" and visit their website at http://www.efohio.com/]

Easter Bonnets, Gardenias and School Shoes

I was thinking about what we did with the onset of spring. It brought Easter, wearing a hat to church (even when I was very little - especially when I was little!), shopping for new clothes and planning for summer vacation.

I remember having 2 hats - one that looked like it was lace or crocheted thread, almost helmet-shaped, with a small brim, and the iconic girls' white hat with a navy blue ribbon, bow in the back and streamers. That hat was okay, but the white lace helmet felt like it had been coated with glue and stuck on a bowl until it dried forming a perfect large grapefruit rind that I had to force onto my head. It had something that poked my ears like needles and no matter how much I fidgeted, I was going to have to wear that ^%$&* hat!!

Every Easter, my dad would get my mother and me corsages - gardenias, always gardenias - and to this day, I can smell a gardenia if I just think about one. I still love their unmistakably sweet, pungent aroma. I have tried to grow them several times without success, so the memory is all the more precious. And it overshadows the wearing of that porcupine some salesperson convinced my mother was a hat!!

Those who know me well enough will appreciate this next story. One spring, my mother bought me 3 beautiful new pairs of shoes - each costing $15 - a lot in the mid-1960s!! Who knew that it would be the same summer my feet would take a growth spurt from little girl's shoe sizes into the size 4 of a "grownup," which they still are to this day!! But I remember the celebration and cheers I got from my friends that I had graduated to shoe sizes they'd been wearing for years!! And I must have been in my 40s before I stopped hearing my mother remind me that I only wore each pair once!! What was nearly traumatic then, makes me smile today. How different 30 years of experiences places on our perspective in life.

That wasn't the only challenging shoe episode I managed to survive. One day, as I walked up the wide promenade into Langley HS, I felt a slight, but obvious limp in my gait. When I looked down, to my great horror I was wearing 2 different shoes...one blue and one green, with different heal heights. Today I might think it funny enough to keep going (Not!), but then, the embarrassment would have been more than I could endure for a whole school day thinking that all 1600 students' 3200 eyes were concentrated on MY feet!!! I went directly to the office, called my mom who was teaching at Cooper and begged her to bring me the car so that I could go home and get matching shoes - at that point I think any two shoes that were at least the same color would have been better. My sweet mom got the principal to take her class and brought me the car, I ran her back down 193 to Cooper and managed to get home, get a pair of shoes and back before first period was over - and I know that Wayne Chester and my fellow Journalists on the staff of the newspaper thought I was just on a special story assignment......we got away with a lot in the mornings that year.

Spring in McLean brought warm beautiful days, new Madras shorts, laying in the grass visualizing cloud animals and engaging in conversations about which Beatle was our favorite - all very appropriate and important pursuits for a young girl.

The whole world should be so lucky as we were growing up in McLean!!

Sorry for the long delay in posting....I've probably lost a bunch of you, but I hope we can get back on track. So much happened around the holidays....

In response to the sledding comment....I, also, remember long sledding trains through Chesterbrook Woods. It seemed like there would be 20 sleds chained together - toes hooked into the front of the one behind. Do kids do this any more? With the recent snow here in SW VA, it was the adults I know that went "coasting."

But as kids we'd hook up so many sleds that the last ones would get whipped around the corners and not always make the turn. I know that I was dumped more than once....and had a pretty good crash with two sleds colliding side to side. There were 2 of us laying on one sled. I was on top and steering. The second sled was 3 people sitting. They were half way down the hill before I took off, but we still caught up and to keep us from smashing into each other, the guy controlling the other sled gave us a gentle push sideways. The road must have been solid ice because we veered off and hit a pile of packed snow and flipped into a shoveled driveway. That was one bloody night....when faces hit pavement it makes a real mess!! All survived!!

That may not sound like fun, but it is those kinds of events by which life is made memorable.

My brother told me that I was the only person he knew who could laugh and cry at the same time....I don't do it as much now....but I did that night. Do kids still do that? Do they still have the simple fun of putting on 6 layers of clothes til you can only walk like you're wearing a full body cast? Pulling on your boots and having to have your mother put her hands way up your sleeves to pull down your sweater under the coats? And ending up at someones house for hot chocolate with little marshmallows? And does anybody still go door to door carolling at Christmas?

Our great sledding escapades seemed to be after dark and it was safe and really fun!!!

I also remember building an igloo in a friend's driveway....it was big enough that I think 3 of us could get in and play.

They were the best winters - those of childhood.....the deepest snows, marathon Monopoly games, and gangs of friends playing all day 'cause school was out. There was one time about 1966 or 67 when we had snow after snow and were out of school for 11 days I think. Maybe that's when I learned to love hunkering down inside, playing cards and reading a book by the fire. I don't' get bored being in for days....there is so much to keep me happy inside....like blogs and Facebook, but also great books, old movies, and the cocoa has graduated to a glass of red wine or an Irish coffee. And once in a while....taking a dip in the hot tub with a bottle of tequila.

Some adults (at least one or two I know) appreciate their toys more than kids who want everything electronic....I love my PC, cell phone and MP3, but even more I love the fluid words of Ken Follett, Jose Cuervo and good friends.

I doubt McLean was any different in the love of childhood, great snows and warm fires, but what makes it special is that is was our childhood.

Do you have a favorite place you went sledding? Let us know. Chesterbrook Woods was full of hills....and the only way out from my house was up one of three hills....you could take the shorter steep route, or the long and more gradual slope - and mostly that depended on whether you were going up or down, and how much of a running start you needed if you were going up. My Dad always had a 4-wheel drive of come kind - and there weren't that many around then like there are today - and he was always pulling someone out of a ditch or a snow bank.

The good old days can be the good new days if we let them - there is little reason to let a number such as age stop us from making more memories. Yes there are memories to be made with children and grandchildren, but remember, if you're out there with them - those experiences will one day be their memories and they'll be warmed inside like by a cup of cocoa when they recollect the days of their youth.

July 4th Fireworks and Evans Farm Inn and Stuff

Thanks for the comments about fireworks in McLean and what you all did on Sunday night. But I still hope someone else reads the post about fireworks - I sure wish I knew where there were local McLean fireworks - we had to have had them....and parking on Dolly Madison and watching from there (other than DC and Wolf Trap) is all I remember.

On another note, it got so cold here in Blacksburg this evening that we ended up going to a bar to watch the *Hokie* football game vs Duke even though it was here in Lane Stadium. It was a sloppy game, a really sloppy game - and that may be kind, but a victory none the less.....The stats (except for fumbles) will make it sound a whole lot better than it was. But as I said - a win is a win in the BCS and ACC standings.

Anyway, we were sitting at the bar of the Rivermill on Draper Road in downtown Blacksburg and I met a Saxon....she just happened to be sitting next to me...a '92 LHS grad who lived in Great Falls - you know who you are and if you read this, I expect to hear from you...so you 90s grads - leave a comment. I'd like to hear from you...all though I initially said this blog was for those of us who grew up in the 50s - 70s, I would like to hear from you younger McLeaners. (I'm trying out some of the possible names for McLean residents.....)

I've been promising to get better at this blogging thing and so I'm going to try to add some pics - scans of postcards from Evans Farm Inn. So, you'll either see the pics or an apology. These vintage postcards could be yours.....I'm setting them aside for the contest prizes....dont lose out...go back to the contest postings and win one or more of these choice collectibles.

Thanks to you faithful readers for being here!!! But we need more.....the more folks out there reading and commenting, the more fun this will be, so please pass this along to your McLean friends - young and old!! Keep us going!!! I've got lots McLean balls to toss up in the air, but juggling with a partner is more fun!!

Redskins and What Did We Do On Sunday Night?

As I wait for the Redskins Game to start within the hour, I am sitting at my computer playing those mind-freeing games that only take a part of my attention and allow me think about other things. And, so I started contemplating what we would be doing on a McLean Sunday night. The first answer that came to mind was Watching Ed Sullivan, of course. But then I remembered Disney, 60 Minutes and Star Trek and the occasional channel-changing battles. So.....what did you do on Sunday night?

None of this is really about McLean as none of the things I remembered were home town specific, except the Redskins, but I'd still like to know. What did your family and friends do on those last hours of the weekend?

And, as the "fireworks" came up on my computer screen after my last (winning) game of Spider Solitaire, I thought about what we did on the 4th of July. I know the 4th is long past, but I'm going there anyway.

We usually had fireworks in the front yard. Dad would set of the big ones and I'd get to write my name with sparklers and light those black snakes that ran all over the front porch that I loved and he hated becasue they left their black trails for days. Then we'd have neighbors over and grill burgers - probably venison burgers if you were at our house.

I was trying to remember who put off town fireworks in McLean. I remember (I think) parking on Dolly Madison Blvd. and watching fireworks from the car. These were put off by some organization like the Lion's Club, Veterans, or somebody like that. Who was it? Do you remember? And were they where I thought they were? Where were they actually set up? Were there other local fireworks? Did your neighborhood have their own? The only other "local" ones I remember, in addition to the National ones in DC which I did go to occasionally, were the ones at Wolf Trap.

All I can say about fireworks at Wolf Trap is ....... July 4, 1974.

(Okay, it's not all I can say, but it's important.) I was there with friends and as we waited for the excitement to start, the fireman doused the trees at the back of the natural amphitheatre to the left of the stage. It was dark and we were sitting on a blanket - typical for any time you'd watch fireworks and typical for any concert night at Wolf Trap. But this not to be a typical night. Eventually, the colorful show started to the cheers of the crowd and lasted about 5 minutes before a spark came down and hit the unused fireworks on the ground.....and it was the most spectacular show I've ever seen!!

Everybody ran for a few seconds, then some began to stop and the much smaller crowd turned back toward the trees and watched in silence and awe. The remainder of the show, except the finale, was ignited in one moment, one spectacular moment....and 30+ minutes of fireworks went off straight from the ground like one giant Roman Candle.

A few sparks reached the left side of the hill and, if I remember correctly, a couple of people were hurt, but not too badly. Everyone was very lucky!!!! And, if you managed to stay and not run all the way to your car - you saw a show to remember for the rest of your life!! I can't even offer enough adjectives to explain the beauty and power of the few minutes it took to complete the show. Oh what a night!!!

So, on those two typical American Family nights, what did you do? What happened in your life on Sunday after 7pm and what did you do in McLean on the 4th of July? Examining minds want to know, and so do I.

McLean on Jeopardy and Cash Cab

Well, we made another game show this evening!!

Yesterday it was Alex Trebek and Jeopardy, and tonight it was Ben Bailey and Cash Cab. If you've never seen Cash Cab, you should check it out...quite funny!! It's a trivia game show in Ben's taxi in NYC. While he drives people to their destinations, he asks them questions, if they get them right , they earn money, but if they get three wrong, it's three strikes and he puts them out on the street where ever they are.

The question tonight was What is the name of the neighborhood in McLean, Virginia where the CIA is located? Let's think about that for a moment...anyone have a guess, an Educated guess? The passenger contestants had to shout out for help from a stranger on the street - who happened to know that it is Langley!! Yeah!! But I bet they didn't know that it is also the name of a high school in McLean, and an Air Force Base in Hampton, VA !!

I think I'll keep a running list of McLean's mention on game shows. If you hear of any more, let us know.

Since it is said that things come in threes, think we'll get another mention tomorrow??

Keep your ears on and have a good evening!!