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Posts Tagged ‘Cleveland Park’

Day 286 – Ryan F. and Samantha S.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , , on October 11, 2010| 1 Comment »

Giant at the corner of Wisconsin and Newark. (photo: Reed)

I was in Cleveland Park here in DC at the Giant grocery store on Wisconsin Avenue.  I hadn’t given away my money yet and it was getting late.  I had had some wine earlier that day on a picnic and was honestly not looking forward to giving my $10 away.

At the entrance of the grocery store I found Ryan and Samantha.  Ryan is a 25-year-old graduate of the University of Virginia.  Samantha, 22, is also a graduate of UVA.  They were browsing the movie titles at the automatic video rental machine.

Ryan and Samantha are both runners. (photo: Reed)

Both of them ran track and field at UVA.  They ran a variety of distances: 3,000, 5,000 and 10,000 meters.  I think it was Samantha who said she also ran steeple chase races which consist of five barriers, one of which is a water barrier.  

“Ryan is a really good runner,” Samantha said.  “He just ran a race yesterday…8,000 meters.”  For those of you who are metric challenged, that’s just shy of five miles.  “So how did you do?” I asked.  Ryan was quite humble in telling me that he actually won the race.  I guess Samantha was right, he’s pretty good.

The couple decided to donate their $10 to the UVA Athletics Foundation.  Coincidentally I am planning to visit UVA in the coming weeks with my cousin and his daughter…who I guess is my second cousin or cousin once removed or something like that.  Anyway, she is a high school senior in Denver and is visiting potential colleges.  When they come out to visit UVA I am going to join them and we have tickets to the football game that weekend, so indirectly that $10 might end up benefiting me while I am there.  Work with me folks…use your imagination.

Ryan and Samantha donated their $10 to the UVA Athletics Foundation. (photo: Reed)

Anyway, some friends of Samantha and Ryan were waiting for them so I wrapped things up.  I almost forgot to take a photo and ran out into the parking lot and snapped a quick photo of them.

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Day 281 – Jessica M.

Posted in Donation, tagged , , , , , , , , , , on October 8, 2010| 1 Comment »

“I could die tomorrow, so what am I doing today to help the world" - Jessica (photo courtesy of Jessica)

I sat down next to Jessica at a Starbucks in Cleveland Park.  Originally from Memphis, TN, she lives with her husband in Virginia and works in development for a DC arts organization.  She herself was a dancer for many years.  “I started when I was four,” she said.  “I stopped when I was 25.  It was an amazing experience.  The arts can change people’s lives – put them in touch with a part of themselves they never even knew existed.”

I discovered that she and I have something in common.  We both participated in Rotary international exchange programs.  I went as a student to Mexico for one year when I was 16 and she went as a professional to South Africa for one month.  “It was life-changing,” she tells me.  She stayed with Rotary families throughout the area and got to see the way different people lived.  “Sometimes their impressions of Americans were startling,” she mentioned referencing the fact that often times people’s impressions are shaped by what is seen on TV or in movies.

I asked her what some of the lasting impressions in her mind were.  She recalled a few.  “I remember little kids running behind our van as we entered into the small villages.  We also passed a graveyard for AIDS victims.  One day we visited this school that had just got water.  I remember seeing a kid that couldn’t have been more than eight smoking a cigarette at school.”

Jessica says that she will donate the $10 to the Polaris Project, a Washington, DC based organization whose mission it is to stop human trafficking and modern day slavery.

I asked her how we could lend her a hand.  She said that she would like the opportunity to talk with someone who has experience in “dance therapy.”  It’s an area that she is interested in exploring given her dance background.  So if you or someone you know has experience in this area, give me shout.

I had a “first” happen in this encounter.  Instead of me taking a photograph of Jessica, she asked if she could email me one.  I said sure. 

Don’t forget this Sunday is 10/10/10.  Check out Howard Wu’s “Give a Stranger 10 Bucks Day!”

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Day 268 – Wayne T.

Posted in Gave the money to someone else, tagged , , , , , , on September 24, 2010| 1 Comment »

I have received so many nice emails from people from Russia due to the media coverage that I have received there by Russia Channel One.  I friend of mine who speaks Russian said the report was very well done.  Spasiba!

Sometimes I find myself cutting it really close to midnight before I give my $10 away.

It was about 11:50pm and I was traveling south on Wisconsin Avenue just north of the National Cathedral.  I saw a Giant supermarket on my right, but it was closed.  Then I spotted a Metro bus waiting in front of the grocery store.  I pulled into the parking lot and saw Wayne, a 22 year veteran of Metro, standing near his bus looking at his phone.

I met Wayne on his 47th birthday. (photo: Reed)

I jumped out of my Volkswagen and walked over to Wayne and explained what I was doing.  He agreed to accept the $10 with two minutes to spare.  I was lucky to catch him because he was getting ready to leave on his next run. 

It turned out that it was Wayne’s birthday!  I think he is the first person I have given to on their birthday.  Happy 47th Wayne!  Instead of keeping the money for himself, he said that he would give the $10 to his 18-year-old daughter.  “She graduated high school this year and doesn’t have a job, so she could definitely use it.”

Wayne started working for Metro because a relative of his worked there.  In general he says he really likes his job, “I love helping people!”  What he doesn’t care for is snow.  “It’s the worst.  I was lucky this year though, I was on vacation during both big storms we had.”  He wasn’t so lucky though in the mid-nineties.  A resident of Maryland, he said that he stayed at work for an entire week because of the snow and ice storms that hit the DC area. 

Wayne just before closing the door and starting his route. (photo: Reed)

With over two decades of service, Wayne has seen a lot.  “I’ve seen a lot of good people come and go; older guys who paved the way for a lot of us younger guys.”  He explained that Metro upped the requirements at one point for drivers, requiring them to pass an exam which many of the veteran drivers failed.  “They were good drivers too, but they couldn’t pass the test.”   

I asked him about rude and unruly passengers.  He says he gets all kinds of people.  “Some times people are drunk and vomit on your bus,” he said shaking his head.  But he just brushes that stuff off.  “You know it’s all about how you choose to make your day.  I don’t let it bother me.”  I couldn’t agree more.

Wayne pulled away right on time. (photo: Reed)

He looked at his watch and said it was time for him to start his route.  He put his phone away and stepped into the bus closing the door behind him. 

Quick fact: Metro has a fleet of over 1,300 buses which provided 123.7 million rides last year. (source: Metro Facts, www.wmata.com)

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Day 257 – Jessica R.

Posted in Food & Beverage, tagged , , , , , , , , on September 12, 2010| 1 Comment »

Live music at Nanny O'Brien's (photo: Reed)

I met up with my friend Kimon for dinner in Cleveland Park.  Afterwards we went over to Nanny O’Briens to have a couple pints of Guinness.  

I’ve been to this place several times…used to go there on Tuesday nights for trivia.  It’s a no frills neighborhood pub that has straightforward service and live music some evenings.  This night there was a pony-tailed man strumming the guitar to typical sing-along type bar songs like Brown Eyed Girl and American Pie.

In the front of the bar there are these two little secluded tables that are tucked away on each side of the door.  They look like a nice romantic place to sit and have a chat with your loved one.  I noticed a young couple that were looking at each other like they were the only ones in the bar.  The carved out window nook lends itself to that feeling I think.  Would it be rude and insensitive to go and interrupt this beautifully peaceful moment?  Who knows, but I was about to find out.

A shot from outside of Jessica and Jonah enjoying a drink at Nanny O'Briens in Cleveland Park, DC. (photo: Reed)

Jessica is a 28-year-old human rights advocate.  She mainly focuses on Sudan, Burma (Myanmar) and the Congo.  Originally from New York City, she moved to DC about a year and a half ago. 

She and her boyfriend Jonah were killing some time before heading over to the Uptown Theater to see Inception.  Opened in 1936, the Uptown is a historic art deco theater featuring just one screen.  Sadly I haven’t been there yet to see a movie.  Shame on me!

I learned that Jessica used to live on an island in Southeast Alaska.  “It was interesting.  I was friends with this one guy who had dodged the Vietnam war by paying people off with homemade baked wheat bread,” she went on to say.  Odd…what would make you think to do that?  Hmmm…I don’t want to go to Vietnam.  What can I give these people that will keep them quiet?  I know, I’ll bake some bread, wheat bread no doubt, and give it them.  At least they were quiet I guess while they were eating the bread right? 

Jonah and Jessica (photo: Reed)

I definitely felt like I was intruding and felt bad about that.  I tried to be as quick as possible and let them slip back into the moment where they were before I interrupted.  His scotch and soda looked almost done and she was finishing up a gin and tonic and they were getting ready to head over to the theater.

“I think I will treat myself to a really nice coffee,” Jessica says referring to the $10 that was on the bar table.  Wow…ten bucks must buy a hell of a cup of coffee!

I grabbed a few photos, thanked them for their time and told them to enjoy the movie.  

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