1 September 2006

The Sprung is one step closer to getting the Birchmere. Check out the Washington Post story HERE. It would be AMAZING to have a world class music venue within walking distance of our house! On a personal note, I hope this Birchmere will have the same food as the original. Real southern "soul" food--beans and rice, biscuits, sweet tea and fried chicken. YUM.


Also fun--taking the girl to a brand new steak restaurant, Ray's, Saturday night--also within walking distance of the house. It might be a good idea to walk home after a steak and a martini. Or two.

1 September 2006

September is coming in like a lion, thanks to (now Tropical "depression") ERNESTO. Flash flooding expected. DC and VA declared states of emergencies. Hope the basement doesn't flood. I built a crude barricade in the garage and we installed new french drains on our driveway earlier this summer, so this is their first big test. Keep your fingers crossed.

30 August 2006

Didn't sleep well at all last night. I guess back-to-back viewings of NBC's special on Katrina and an interview with our just freed colleagues on Greta gave me lots to think about.

If you didn't catch the interview, it was quite gripping. (Even if you didn't know these guys.) They talked about the abduction, how it went down, what they went through, how they were freed--and just how close our correspondent was to getting killed simply because he's an American. You can read the transcript --and watch the video--HERE

Here's just a sample, from the transcript:

WIIG (talking to his abductors): "I said, "Look, you know, he's just a journalist, he's only here to do the job. He's a friend of the Palestinian people," and tried to explain what it was we were doing there. But the interpretation between us and the boss man was so bad that I kept on hearing words that I knew were not correct. And they kept putting in Gilad Shalit and talking about, you know, the Israeli soldier that's being held captive down there. And I knew that what I was saying wasn't getting through, and it was very frustrating.

And then the conversation basically ended with them saying, You're a New Zealander. We know New Zealand doesn't kill Muslims. Unfortunately for you, you're with an American and a very, very dangerous American, and we're going to kill him.

VAN SUSTEREN: Did you know that? Did you...

S. CENTANNI: And I didn't know this, that that was the content of their conversation, until after we won our freedom. Olaf was kind enough not to...

WIIG: I didn't want to...

S. CENTANNI: ... scare me.

WIIG: I didn't want to stress Steve out.

(CROSSTALK)

WIIG: I knew right from the start that because we — culturally, that we've got something that can define difference there, that potentially, my chances of getting out of the situation were better than Steve's. And we had talked about, you know, if you get out before me. Steve had given me a note to pass on to his family members and all of that sort of thing.


As for Katrina, my friend Frolic has posted some amazing material on his blog about what some writers down there (including himself) are saying about the anniversary and the state of affairs there. It's a very interesting and eye-opening perspective--check it out HERE:

29 August 2006

One year ago today, our dear friends from New Orleans took refuge at our home in Silver Spring, MD--eyes glued to media coverage of the unfolding disaster in New Orleans. Worry written all over the faces. What about our apartment? What about our car? What about our cats? Is all our stuff ruined--or looted? Will we have any jobs to come back to? What's going to happen to our lives? What's going to happen to my city? My partner and I had no answers. We could only listen, try to make them as comfortable as possible, and hope.

After months away from their home, after all the uncertainty and trepidation, they moved back to New Orleans. So did a lot of other people. New Orleans' population is roughly half of what it was pre-Katrina. But the stories of the people who returned--some against their better judgement--trying to regain some semblance of a life is very painful to read--but very inspiring, as well. The Washington Post Sunday told the stories of some of these people. Check it out HERE.

Yes, NOLA is rebuilding. But it is painfully slow.

My partner wore black to work today to mark the sad anniversary.

I just offer these words: To New Orleans, to our friends, to all the people who had the courage to come back to their homes and build anew: To better days.

27 August 2006

At 530am this morning I got the page on my blackberry that I (and all my bosses) have been waiting over 2 weeks to receive: that our colleagues are FREE. I just watched their news conference from Gaza. They both looked well, which was very heartening. And both men--instead of talking about their own personal ordeals--expressed hope that journalists will keep coming to Gaza and telling the story of the Palestinian people and hope their capture doesn't discourage one single journalist from coming. Class and such courage.