The Batemans are really enjoying the emergence of spring! Jill spent this weekend at Vanderbilt with Claire (Mom's Weekend) and says the apple blossoms and redbuds are gorgeous. She had a great time with Claire visiting with old and new friends in the Nashville area and checking out the new sorority house on campus (kappa kappa gamma). Claire has just returned from an Alternative Spring Break trip to Xela, Guatemala, where she volunteered at Primeros Pasos medical clinic (which was actually started by a former Vanderbilt student back in 1998). She had a very rich experience and plans to go back, next time as a site leader.
Annie had a great time over her spring break in Grayton Beach, Florida, staying in a house with 27 girls!
Annie and Claire shared the excitement of the day when their colleges played football against each other.....vanderbilt vs university of georgia. They deliberately did their hair alike to further astound their new friends!
Jill and Terry just returned from a beautiful anniversary trip to Carlsbad and San Diego, CA. Jill says the natural beauty of the area is astounding - they plan to spend a lot more time out there as Terry's company is headquartered in Carlsbad. Will is enjoying being at home and is hopeful of new job prospects!
Boland
Leanne went to the Washington Home and Garden Show on friday with one of her sisters. Although they had a wonderful time together, the show itself was somewhat disappointing. There weren't nearly as many garden exhibits as in years past. Most of the convention hall floor space was devoted to vendors instead.
Nevertheless, the outing was inspirational and got us focused on springtime gardening. Already know that we didn't buy enough mulch! Playing a wait and see game with the boxwood standards at the front door...they look pretty dead, but are they really? Advice appreciated.
The March 19th Chevy Chase Historical Society program at the Chevy Chase Village Hall, "Underground Railroad in Montgomery County", was wonderful.
Author Anthony Cohen was a wealth of knowledge and shed new light on the underground railroad journey. Wondering what took us so long to join this organization!
Bolands are looking forward to warmer weather and meeting/greeting neighbors on the sidewalk again.
Delancy/Taplin
We've had some great family visits over the past month. Vicky's 3 nieces came from Massachusetts on their February break. They were hoping to escape the cold New England winter, but it wasn't much warmer here! We did some fun "Washington" things, like the National Gallery and the American History Museum (where we'd hoped to see the special Lincoln exhibit, but the line was just too long!).
More recently, Vicky's cousin from Massachusetts was in town, and we had a chance to have him and some other extended family over for a lively dinner, in between everyone's winter colds.
Paul got a couple of days of snowboarding in at Liberty Mountain before spring arrived (one snow day off from school helped!), while Russell was busy getting in shape for lacrosse season, which has now begun. Ben has been settling into a new job, which has included several trips to San Francisco -- always a pleasure. Vicky has been busy trying to pull summer plans together for all family members, which can really be a puzzle with the kids at this age and going in different directions.
Trocchio
Trocchio's Elizabeth and Julie saw "A Chorus LIne" and loved every minute. Jennie is at a wedding in San Diego. We love that spring is finally here.
Forrest
Marcy and Arthur are enjoying the first signs of spring...crocus popping up on Farrell Cosmas' lawn, a few tulips leaves pushing through in our own garden, the weeping cherry trees look like they are ready to bring that burst of bloom very soon. We are enjoying the brilliant yellow of neighbors' forsythia. Other pleasurable signs of spring, seeing more of neighbors walking their dogs and more children playing on their lawns.
Nicole and Steve ventured to San Francisco and then up to wine country last week. Upon return enjoyed a night of opera at the French Embassy followed by a reception with the performers. Meanwhile, Arthur and Marcy enjoyed a celebration for a friend's son's second birthday. The birthday child's Dad suited up as Elmo for the occasion.
Marcy and Arthur are enjoying their first season as subscribers to the Washington Ballet. It has been a very interesting season of performances.
This week they saw a ballet performance of Peter Pan, it was charming and whimsical and made them wish they had young children again to treat to the performance.
Melissa and Doug
Doug and I are trying to train to run the Cherry Blossom 10 miler (and it takes a lot of time for me to log in a ten mile session!), but that is more embarrassing than anything, given my current elapsed time from beginning to end! Doug, however, is doing very well, consistently pulling down his already impressive time, even though it means that he has to wait even longer for me at the finish line.
If anyone else on the block is interested in walking or running a 5k, Melissa is working on the Westland Middle School Wild Dash, a fundraiser for Westland, which will be held on Saturday, April 25th, at 8:30 am. It is a walk/run, many people casually walk the distance. You can find details at http://westlandpta.org/wild_dash.html It will be a family oriented day, everyone is welcome!
Although Molly doesn't like to admit it, she is now taller than at least one of her parents, and Gordon is following close behind. Molly is enjoying tennis at Georgetown Prep and continues to love Westland Middle School. Gordon just finished basketball season, where he fully enjoyed being a head taller than almost every other boy. He is eagerly awaiting baseball season, even though his height advantage doesn't give him quite the boost in that sport. We are all looking forward to the gardening season, and hopefully, barring anymore surprises, a finished back yard!
Strothers
William is beginning the spring as co captain of the St Albans JV lacrosse team. They've won their two opening scrimmages and participated Saturday in scrimmages at the Gilman School in Baltimore, with the Gilman JV team and a visiting Japanese team. We were amazed to discover that lacrosse has a small foothold in Japan.
We're in the initial phases of planning a trip to Maine, where friends have passed along the opportunity to rent a small and very rustic ("primitive" would probably more accurately describe it) cabin. We'll doubtless be looking a schools along the way.
Congratulations to Hannah Rubashkin on her acceptance for admission to The University of Chicago. Hannah wrote one of her essays about growing up on Leland Street.
We thank Hannah for sharing her essay with us as it reminds of, not only of the charm of living on this street of caring and involved neighbors, but also presents to us the lasting impact this block has on childhood memories.
Growing up on Leland Street
by Hannah Rubashkin
My street is not like other streets. It may look like your typical suburban road with twenty-nine single-family homes of varying size and style each with front and back yards but it has hidden depths, some visible curbside. On the Forrests’ porch stand a pair of black bears, one full grown and one cub, which wave to passersby. On Halloween, the larger usually sports an eye-patch and the smaller a tri-cornered hat. Halloween is much more than appeasing waves of trick-or-treaters for this street. It is an event requiring serious preparation and religious pumpkin carving. The Sunday before All Hallow’s Eve plays host to a block party of magnificent proportions. It begins with a parade led by Arthur Forrest, the Grand Marshall of the Rose Bowl, as well as other majestic ceremonies. Following the parade, the younger residents smash a piñata, compete in the pumpkin toss, and venture bravely into Maggie’s haunted house. When darkness falls we adjourn to the top of the street (this block is situated on a hill) and feast on a potluck dinner fit for kings. We roast marshmallows over a fire pit with unbent coat hangers. When I was younger we would play capture-the-flag for what seemed like hours in Lottie’s yard. Capture-the-flag at night is an entirely different ball game. A tame third of an acre with a few dogwood trees magically becomes a dark forest replete with elves and dwarves- the opposing team- who are more than ready with ropes and duct tape if they catch me trying to abscond with their flag (now a heraldic banner). I treasured the pre-Halloween block party as the one day of the year I could pursue my true calling: knighthood.
Living on Leland Street means being a neighbor in the old sense of the word. We gather on Labor Day at the Patch’s to eat ice cream and commiserate about returning to school. I have the time-honored responsibility of scooping ice cream, a task that never fails to make me feel important. Sue started the social when her, now grown-up, children were young. Before she died she would “hold court” on her porch and greet everyone as they climbed the stairs. But this was no ordinary greeting. Sue organized the sign-up sheet for the Leland Street Sunday News, the weekly news rag first published thirty-five years ago. Her six children played journalist and went door-to-door collecting news. I remember my mom sending my sister and me out to bring in the news. We would type our recollection of the events and then brave whatever weather to deliver them. The LSSN has since evolved into a blog on which the adults post photos and amusing stories. Evolution is always positive; but I miss the days of fearless children journalists.
Leland Street celebrates Christmas with Ann’s caroling party. Christmas is a neighborhood affair that crosses religious lines. Sharing holiday spirit only serves to increase it, so we are a very cheerful bunch. We carol in the freezing or sometimes not so freezing weather and gather in her house to drink cider and eat brownies. Our Norwegian neighbors quickly created a fete, the Gløg Party, a traditional Norwegian Christmas celebration. The Hanukkah songs and Christmas carols mingle in the December air and sometimes you can catch the echoes into January.
This street, as the longest in Chevy Chase and the only one that crosses Connecticut and Wisconsin Avenues, has a place in the history books. This particular block of Leland Street deserves one as well, for the abundance of enduring friendships and traditions that flourish in its hearts and homes.
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