McLean Spring Fun, Food, Arts Insideconnectionarchives.com/PDF/2017/032217/McLean.pdfMarketing...

McLean Connection ❖ March 22-28, 2017 ❖ 1www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

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online at www.connectionnewspapers.comMarch 22-28, 2017

McLeanMcLean Inside

Spring Fun, Food, Arts

and Entertainment

Spring Fun, Food, Arts

and Entertainment

Preventing Burglariesin McLeanNews, Page 3

‘Painful’ Outlook forCounty’s BudgetNews, Page 8

Preventing Burglariesin McLeanNews, Page 3

‘Painful’ Outlook forCounty’s BudgetNews, Page 8

CelebratingInternational Night

at Cooper Middle,Katie Williams

presents FrenchCulture with a

poster and hand-made figurines.

Cooper Middle CelebratesInternational Night

Cooper Middle CelebratesInternational Night

News, Page 4

2 ❖ McLean Connection ❖ March 22-28, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com


NewsMcLean Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Alyssa Miller

The Connection

A recent string of burglaries inMcLean neighborhoods has leftmany residents wondering howto keep their homes and cars

safe.Thursday evening, detectives from the

Fairfax County Police Department joined theMcLean Citizen Advisory Committee to hosta “Burglary Theme Night.” The detectivesprovided residents with tips and tricks tosecure their houses and answered questionsfrom concerned citizens.

People “know their [own] neighborhoodsbetter than anyone,” said Bruce Blackwell,a Fairfax County Police detective. Blackwellwas involved in last week’s arrest of theindividual police believe to be behind theburglaries. He advises residents to be vigi-lant about suspicious activity in the area.

Lieutenant Jason Allegra, an assistantcommander with the Fairfax County PoliceDepartment who helped answer questionsthroughout the evening, also emphasizedthe importance of looking out for anyonewho doesn’t belong in the neighborhood.

“Watch out for your neighbors,” Allegrasaid. “Typically, people know when some-

body doesn’t live in their neighborhood ordoesn’t typically have somebody walkingaround the back of their house.”

Blackwell, along with detectives NealFreemer and Matt Scheibel, discussed ev-erything from more obvious tips — lockingthe front door, for example — to using hid-den cameras and planting thorny bushes todeter burglars.

Freemer pointed out that most burglarswon’t return to the same house twice.

“Burglars don’t want confrontation,”Freemer said during the presentation. “Theyjust want to steal your stuff.”

However, a potential confrontation won’tstop a burglar from entering a home whenthe resident is nearby. Even when the home-owner is mowing the lawn or talking toneighbors, the detectives advised locking thedoor. Burglars might watch a house until theyknow the homeowner is otherwise occupied,and sneak in when nobody’s looking.

Skip Vibert, a longtime McLean resident,attended the theme night because he wasconcerned about the safety of his andnearby neighborhoods. Before the recentstring of burglaries, Vibert said they’d“never had but an occasional break-in in26 years.”

Vibert learned that he was doing a goodjob of securing his home, but was still gladhe attended the event to become more in-formed about safety in his neighborhood.

“An understanding of what’s happeningfactually, as opposed to socially, is impor-tant,” he said.

Allegra said if he could give one piece ofadvice to keep the area safe, it would bethat residents shouldn’t be afraid to call thepolice if they see something suspicious.

“I hear way too much, ‘I didn’t knowwhether to call or not,’ or ‘I didn’t wannabother the police,’” Allegra said. “We wantto be bothered. It’s our job to be bothered.”

Preventing Burglaries in McLeanFairfax County Police, Citizen AdvisoryCommittee provide home security tips inresponse to recent burglaries.

Lace up your saddle shoes and grabyour leather jackets and come out to ex-perience Marshall High School’s rendi-tion of the Tony-nominated rebelliousteen comedy musical “Cry-Baby” set toopen Thursday, March 30.

In 1950s Baltimore, the conservativesquares face off against the leather-claddelinquents in this rockabilly musicalbased on the 1990 cult classic film byJohn Waters. The show features an irre-sistible rebel without a cause, a starry-eyed good girl ready to buck her upbring-ing, scheming adults and a cast of kookyand colorful greasers and squares.

“Cry-Baby” is a jumping, jiving showwith a delightfully demented script fromthe writers of “Hairspray” and a scorefrom the co-founder of Fountains ofWayne and the executive producer of TheDaily Show.

“Be prepared to laugh out loud at thesnarky, irreverent humor of this show,” saiddirector Jason Tamborini. “There will beplenty of dancing and plot twists to keepyou on your toes.”

In one of the first productions of theshow since it left Broadway, “Cry-Baby”opens on Thursday, March 30 at 7:30 withadditional shows on March 31 and April 1at 7:30 plus matinees on Saturday, April 1at 2 p.m. and Sunday, April 2 at 3 p.m.The show will be on at George C. MarshallHigh School’s main auditorium at 7731Leesburg Pike, Falls Church. Tickets are$10 for students, teachers and seniors and$15 for adults. Tickets can be purchasedat the Box Office with cash or check be-fore each performance. Visitstatesmentheatre.org for more informa-tion. Due to some content, this show ismost appropriate for ages 13 and up.

Marshall High School Presents ‘Cry-Baby’

The leads of the show, George Marshall Seniors Sam Bock (as Cry-Baby) and Amelia Lindsay (as Alison Vernon-Williams).

Pho

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by A

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ie Lim

Photos by Alyssa Miller/The Connection

Detective Bruce Blackwell presents safety tips to the audience.

From left: Detectives Matt Scheibel, Neal Freemer and Bruce Blackwell,and Patrick Smaldore, chairman of the McLean Citizen Advisory Commit-tee, listen and respond to questions about home security from residents.


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By Liliana Schone

Cooper Middle, Second Grade

On Thursday, March 16, CooperMiddle School hosted InternationalNight. It was a huge success. Everyone had so much fun watching the

acts from a variety of different cultures. The foodfrom different countries was also a huge hit. “Iloved the opportunity to try different types offood,” said Cooper parent Dean Walter. Students

taking an international language at Cooper alsoprepared detailed displays to present informationabout their country’s heritage. It was a fun nightwhere you got to take a step into a differentcountry’s culture.

Cooper Middle Celebrates International Night

Kelly Chinnshows off his

heritage.

Students have fun tasting new foods and enjoying the Japa-nese booth at International Night. From left: Ellie Smedberg,Alyssa Medici, Maggie Worden and Christiana Medici.

Photos contributed

Bolivian dancers entertain the crowd with detailed cos-tumes and dance moves.

News


Public Safety ProgramOn March 29

The McLean Citizens Association, the GreaterMcLean Chamber of Commerce, the Fairfax CountyFederation of Citizens Associations and the Great FallsCitizens Association invite the public to a PublicSafety Preparedness Program on Wednesday, March29, 2017 at 7 p.m. at the American Legion Post 270,1355 Balls Hill Road, McLean.

The program will cover topics such as, “Disasters& Keeping the Doors Open,” “Ready NOVA: Prepared-ness Planning for Residents, Businesses & Faith Com-munities” and “Active Shooters: Past Washington AreaEvents and How to Respond.” Visitwww.mcleancitizens.org.

Comstock Announces2017 CongressionalArt Competition

U.S. Rep. Barbara Comstock announced the 2017Congressional Art Competition for Virginia’s 10thCongressional District. The competition is open toall high school students who reside in the District.The Best in Show winner of the competition will havetheir piece of art displayed in the United States Capi-tol.

Comstock is a member of the Congressional ArtCaucus and started the House Arts Caucus in theVirginia General Assembly.

Students should drop-off their completed artwork

on April 17, 2-5 p.m. at Enterprise Hall on the GeorgeWashington Virginia Science & Technology Campus.Art submitted must be ready to hang and entries arelimited to two per student. For information andguidelines about the 2017 Congressional Art Com-petition visit comstock.house.gov. Students andteachers can also contact Amanda Gray Bailey at 703-404-6903 or by email [email protected].

McLean PTSD Organiza-tion Named a Finalist

LIDS, a sporting hat company, has named McLean’sown “Our Military Kids,” as a finalist in the fifth an-nual “Tip the Hat Award” grant program, which do-nates a total of $300,000 annually to five charitiesnationwide.

LIDS employees will determine the ranking of thefive finalists, each of which will be recognized andreceive their subsequent grant at an event on April11 at LIDS’ national headquarters in Indianapolis.First prize will be awarded $125,000, followed by$75,000 for second place and $50,000 for third.Fourth and fifth place will each be granted $25,000.

Our Military Kids focuses on the children of mili-tary parents that might experience their own PTSDor stress.

This non-profit helps ease the stress for militarychildren by paying for participation in sports, finearts and tutoring programs. These activities havehelped reduce stress, improve school performance,self-esteem and even boosted the well-being ofchildren’s whole family. Visit ourmilitarykids.org.

Week in McLean


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McLeanOpinion

By Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum

State Delegate (D-36)

Explanation of the recentlyannounced AmericanHealth Care Act usuallystarts with an expressed

need to clean up the mess that theAffordable Care Act — orObamacare — had made. Most allagreed that the massive transforma-tion the program of health care had broughtabout could use some tweaking and refine-ment, but clearly a seven-year campaignagainst the Affordable Care Act left a blurredview of what the program did for consumers.If the ACA had created a mess, the recentlyproposed replacement of it will certainly cre-ate an even messier and unfair situation.

Virginians in particular will suffer a doublehit on health care especially for those most inneed. The General Assembly would not ap-prove an expansion of Medicaid that wouldhave brought health care to as many as400,000 uninsured most in need in the Com-monwealth and would have expanded thehealth care network with the four billion dol-lars that would have flowed into the state.

While the new program would elimi-nate Medicaid expansion in 2020,persons would have been able to gethealth care in the interim rather thanto go without or have to seek helpat free clinics or one-time-a-yearRemote Area Medical (RAM) clinics.States that have expanded Medicaidwould continue to get full coverage

for persons already enrolled but would get alesser amount for new enrollees beginning in2020. That provision alone would add to thefour billion loss already incurred in Virginia.

There are 327,000 Virginians who gainedcoverage under the ACA as it expanded accessto affordable health care. The proposed re-placement to the ACA would do away with fed-eral health insurance subsidies that helpedpeople afford their monthly premiums and low-ered out-of-pocket expenses. Subsidies wouldbe replaced with tax credits. Currently insur-ers can charge older customers up to threetimes what they charge younger customers;under the new plan that would increase to fivetimes.

Although some would never acknowledge it,

there are features of the despised Obamacareprogram that were maintained. Insurers wouldstill be banned from denying coverage basedon preexisting conditions. Dependents wouldstill be able to stay on parents’ insurance plansthrough age 26. Caps on annual or lifetimecoverage would still be banned.

Clearly fewer people will have access to af-fordable care under the AHCA. Virtually everydeveloped country in the world with the ex-ception of the USA has decided that access tohealth care is a basic human right. What is thebiggest objection to the program enacted un-der President Obama? It included targetedtaxes on investment income and wages for thevery high income individuals and couples. Thenew AHCA eliminates many of the taxes. Thewealthiest 400 households including the bil-lionaires in the new administration would getan average tax cut of $7 million per year whiletaxes for many low-income working familieswould increase. Eliminating the two taxes onvery high income households would cost thefederal government $275 billion over 10 years.

Most Virginians will lose under the replace-ment proposed for the ACA. Only the very richwill gain. Maybe that is what the debate is re-ally about!

Virginians Will Lose Under theNew Health Care Proposal

Commentary

To the Editor:On March 1, about 250 Planned

Parenthood supporters descendedupon Washington to ask ourelected officials not to defundPlanned Parenthood. I was proudto stand in the Virginia group withanother patient and twohealthcare providers in addition toPlanned Parenthood staff. We metwith and received incredible sup-port from Senators Kaine andWarner and RepresentativeConnolly, and staff from Represen-tatives Beyer, McEachin, andScott’s offices. I felt good know-ing that our leaders in Washing-ton were interested in such animportant issue.

Unfortunately, not all of ourleaders cared enough to respondto us. Representative BarbaraComstock failed to respond to ourmeeting requests. We dropped byher office, spoke with a staff mem-ber regarding the importance ofPlanned Parenthood, and left apacket of information. One repre-sentative from our group sawComstock in the hall and ap-proached her. Comstock refused tospeak with her, stating that shewas “heading in the other direc-tion.” She ran away.

Most Americans support fundingPlanned Parenthood. A recentPerryUndem poll showed 70 per-cent of voters oppose defunding,including 50 percent of Trumpsupporters. A vote to defund is outof step with what Americans want.

Of the minority of voters who dooppose federal funding forPlanned Parenthood, many opposePlanned Parenthood on the basisof lies. For instance, at the Marchfor Life in January, Vice PresidentPence stated that the Trump ad-ministration would end “taxpayerfunding of abortion.” In fact, tax-payer funding of abortion has beenillegal since 1977 under the HydeAmendment. Conservatives knowthat quite well and apparentlyhave no concerns with repeatingthat lie to all of us.

While defunding Planned Par-enthood will not prevent abor-tions, it will eliminate preventativecare for those who need it themost. More than 90 percent ofPlanned Parenthood services areactually preventive health services(annual well-woman exams, sexu-ally transmitted infection testingand treatment, cervical and breastcancer screenings, and birth con-trol) and Planned Parenthood

served 2.5 million individuals lastyear. One provision of federalfunding under Title X offers spe-cial pricing to Planned Parenthoodfor medications and devices suchas birth control and IUDs (long-acting reversible birth control).Defunding Planned Parenthooddrastically increases these costsand will make them cost prohibi-tive for the low-income individu-als that rely on Planned Parent-hood. This eliminates basic healthcare to many.

Those who oppose Planned Par-enthood focus on abortion, whichis legal and should be kept safe.But Planned Parenthood is respon-sible for so much more. I was apatient of Planned Parenthoodwhen I was uninsured and neededa checkup. In addition to the stan-dard breast and pelvic exam andpap test, my doctor at PlannedParenthood got to know me. Be-cause he knew that he was theonly healthcare provider I wouldsee for a while, he also got to knowmy family history. Skin cancer runsin my family and he took the timeto scan me for that as well. I feltsafe and was able to obtain afford-able care when I was poor anduninsured. I say this as a proudmother of two beautiful childrenand as someone who believes that

the sanctity of life means ensur-ing that people have access to af-fordable health care when theyneed it.

No matter how much Comstockignores Virginians in refusing tohold town halls or to meet withcitizens, and no matter howquickly Comstock heads in theopposite direction of her constitu-ents’ desires, she will answer in2018. Americans overwhelminglysupport federal funding forPlanned Parenthood. If Comstockcontinues to refuse to listen, Vir-ginians will send someone to Con-gress who will.

Sarah JacobsonGreat Falls

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Out of Step of What Americans Want


By Jeanne Theismann

The Connection

A conductor’s podium was as muchan office for Paul Frank as wasthe traditional CEO corner suite.A simple baton would come to

life in the hands of the master puppeteer,his love of music infectious. When Frankwas hired as interim executive director ofthe McLean Orchestra in 2016, it was theperfect fit for his business acumen andmusical artistry.

Frank, who held various positions withthe McLean Orchestra and its board of di-rectors over the years, was recently hiredas the executive director of the AlexandriaSymphony Orchestra. He died March 13after a brief battle with pancreatic cancer.He was 76.

“Paul was passionate in his support of theMcLean Orchestra,” said past orchestrapresident Wayne Sharp. “Over the years heserved in many roles, from treasurer to vicepresident and president to his most recentrole as interim executive director. He was akey part of the McLean family.”

Paul A. Frank was born in Washington,D.C. on July 4, 1940, to Murray and FreidelFrank. He attended Coolidge High Schooland graduated from George WashingtonUniversity.

An accomplished musician, Frank led TheCollegians musical group during the 1970sand later performed as both a solo pianistand accompanist throughout the greaterWashington area including the KennedyCenter, the Jewish Community Center andcountless other venues.

“Music was always a big part of Dad’s lifeand our house growing up was always fullof music and musical instruments,” saidTodd Frank. “I am forever grateful to himfor passing along not only whatever ‘talentgene’ we got from him, but also the ear andthe appreciation of music.”

Mark Frank also recalled the influence ofhis father’s music.

“My bond with my father centers aroundmusic,” said Mark Frank. “My fondestmemories are the little things — how hewould wrap his arms around me as a youngboy and show me how to play something atthe piano or how he would holler from up-stairs and tell me to slow down when I waspracticing my scales. But the one memorythat I truly cherish was falling asleep as akid to the sound of Dad playing the piano.

To this day, Iplay piano formy kids whenthey go to sleep.And these pastfew weeks, Ihave been play-ing all of Dad’sfavorites.”

Prior to hiswork with theMcLean Orches-tra, Frankserved as CEO ofthe CollingwoodLibrary and Mu-seum as well asExecutive Direc-tor for theFriends of theTorpedo Factory Art Center.

In the private corporate sector, he waspresident of Paul A. Frank Associates, Inc.,a human resources firm, and Human Re-sources Director for the Boeing Company.As a banker, he was Vice President, Busi-ness and Professional Banking for M&TBank and previously Vice President, Busi-ness Development and Community Affairsfor 1st Service Bank.

Frank participated in several area cham-bers of commerce including the GreaterMcLean Chamber of Commerce and FairfaxCounty Chamber of Commerce. He is alsoa past President of the Rotary Club ofMcLean and served as a board member ofthe Arts Council of Fairfax County.

“I am excited about the possibilitiesahead,” Frank said recently of his work withthe McLean and Alexandria orchestras. “Mygoal is to make an impact.”

Frank is survived by his wife of 23 years,Barbie Beggs Frank; a brother, David Frank,and sister, Judy Koldaro; children ToddLevinson Frank (Marcella), Denise Frank-Conneen (Michael), and Mark Frank(Suzanne); stepchildren Carter Poole(Woody) and Sarah Poole Wincovich (Nick);and nine grandchildren.

A memorial service was held March 20 atEverly-Wheatley Funeral Home in Alexan-dria. In lieu of flowers, donations may bemade to the McLean Orchestra, P.O. Box760, McLean, VA 22101

“Paul loved everything about how a sym-phony orchestra operates,” said arts patronFran Redmon. “Every organization Paultouched, he changed for the better.”

The Music Man

Obituary

Paul Frank,shown con-ducting theMcLeanOrchestra,died March13 at the ageof 76.

Paul Frank, whomost recentlyserved as theinterim executivedirector of theMcLean Orchestra,died March 13after a brief ill-ness. He was 76.

Photos

contributed


By Fallon Forbush

The Connection

Officials cast a dreary outlookfor the ongoing budget nego-tiations for Fairfax County’s2018 fiscal year.

The McLean Citizens Association hosteda meeting to discuss the county’s $4.10 bil-lion advertised budget at the McLean Com-munity Center on Thursday, March 16. Thepanel of county officials was moderated byDale Stein, MCA’s Budget and TaxationCommittee chair. Participants included JoeMondoro, CFO for Fairfax County; KristenMichael, assistant superintendent of finan-cial services for the Fairfax County PublicSchools; and Supervisor John Foust,Dranesville District representative on theFairfax County Board of Supervisors.

“There’s a lot of pain in [the budget] forboth the county and for the schools,” Foustsaid during the meeting. “Both are going tohave to make some cuts.”

EARLIER THIS MONTH, the FairfaxCounty Public Schools projected a $57 mil-lion shortfall in its budget for next schoolyear. Kristen Michael, assistant superinten-dent of financial services for the FCPS, hadslightly encouraging news for the audience:the gap had shrunk by $8.6 million.

This adjustment is a result of the statefinalizing its budget, which includes moresupport than FCPS anticipated. FCPS alsomade some new changes that helped to re-duce the funding gap.An additional amount of funding from theFCPS’s 2017 fiscal year budget is being car-ried over into the new budget and FCPSnegotiated new cost savings for its employ-ees’ healthcare.

“We did go out to bid and rebid our phar-macy contract for this year, which resultedin significant savings that helped us keepthat cost low,” Michael said during the meet-ing.

Still, the county must contend with a po-

tential $48.4 million gap be-tween what FCPS is requestingversus what it has available.

The FCPS is scrambling toclose the gap.

The FCPS will present its bud-get to the Board of Supervisorson Tuesday, April 4. Before FCPSadopts its budget, which isplanned for May 25, it will holdbudget work sessions on Mon-day, April 24; Monday, May 1;and Thursday, May 18.

These work sessions will in-clude discussion on changes toits Educational Employees’Supplementary Retirement Sys-tem of Fairfax County (ERFC)pension system, which is pro-jected to cost an additional$11.4 million in fiscal year 2018.The changes that the FCPS isconsidering include implement-ing $4.7 million in reductions tothe system by June in time forthe fiscal year 2018 budget.

Recommendations includelowering the interest creditingrate on all member accounts ofthe FCPS pension system from5 percent to 4 percent. The FCPSis considering more changes fornew or nonvested members, in-cluding instituting a minimumretirement age of 55; increasingthe period for calculating the fi-nal average salary from threeyears to five years; and chang-ing the cost-of-living adjustmentto equal 100 percent of the Con-sumer Price Index with a cap of4 percent.

More cost-savings measuresproposed by the FCPS includeadding $3.8 million in athleticfees and delaying the start of music pro-grams from the fourth grade to fifth grade,which would save $2.8 million. Another

would save $22.8 million by increasing classsizes for all grade levels by one student.

While the rest of the county’s budget is

balanced, sacrifices were madeto make it happen.

Some initiatives the countyhad previously prioritized willgo without funding. The prior-ity items that Edward Long Jr.,the Fairfax County executive,chose to snub in his advertisedfiscal year 2018 budget include:

❖ Implementing the county’sPublic Safety Staffing Plan, $8.5million

❖ Continuing the new Diver-sion First program, which offersalternatives to incarceration forpeople with mental illness or de-velopmental disabilities whoenter the criminal justice systemfor low-level offenses, $5.3 mil-lion

❖ Implementing the nextphase of recommendations fromthe Ad-Hoc Police Commission,$7 million

❖ Filling police departmentpositions, $7.9 million

❖ Increasing funding for employment andsupport for individuals with developmen-tal disabilities, $6.7 million

‘Painful’ Outlook Cast for County’s Budget

Esther Lee, vice chairman of the Fairfax County Economic DevelopmentAuthority, told the crowd that one of the biggest attractions that drawbusinesses to the county is its school system. She expressed her concernfor maintaining the quality of FCPS schools and encouraged officials tofind new ways to increase revenues for the county.

The meeting was moderated by Dale Stein, McLean Citizens Association’sBudget and Taxation Committee chair (not pictured). Participants in-cluded (from left): Joe Mondoro, CFO for Fairfax County; Kristen Michael,assistant superintendent of financial services for the Fairfax CountyPublic Schools; and Supervisor John Foust (D-Dranesville).

News

Sally Horn, McLean Citizens Association Tysons Liai-son Committee co-chair, stood up and urged thespeakers to seriously consider three resolutions thatthe association approved this year regarding thecounty’s pension systems. The resolutions ask thecounty to study its pension systems and make changesthat would rein in their unfunded liabilities and costs.

Next Steps❖ The Board of Supervisors will

hold public hearings on the county’sadvertised budget from April 4-6.

❖ The Board of SupervisorsBudget Committee will meet todiscuss changes to the advertisedbudget on April 24.

❖ The Board of Supervisors willmake changes to the advertisedbudget on April 25.

❖ The Board of Supervisors willadopt the final budget on May 2.


Also underfunded is the 1.65 percent cost-of-living adjustment for all county employeesalaries. This line item would cost $19.8million.

“Based on the funding that the countyexecutive had available to him and the de-cisions he was making in terms of the allo-cation, that [market rate adjustment] is notfunded,” Joe Mondoro, CFO for FairfaxCounty, said during the meeting. “Again,[the county executive] did fund partially theincreases to employees, but not fully.”

THE UNCERTAINTY surrounding the fed-eral government and the new Trump ad-ministration worried panelists.

“Fairfax County has had significant chal-lenges over the last several years with re-spect to our budget, with respect to oureconomy,” Foust said. “Some of the thingsthat are challenging us the most are the factthat for so long we were dependent on thefederal government to basically support oureconomy and federal spending is waydown.”

Foust wants to see Fairfax County diver-sify its revenue sources and turn away fromfederal government dependence. But hecautioned the shift would take time.

“We’re not going to be able to solve all ofthese problems at once,” Foust said. “It’s just… they’re too big.”

This year, the county will not raise taxesto solve its predicament.“Modest tax increases is not something weshy away from, but last year’s was fairlydramatic because we needed to give a bigshot to the schools … To follow that alongwith another tax increase this year wouldhave been unsustainable,” Foust said.

Panelists also blamed a weak commercialreal estate market for the county’s finan-cial woes.

More than 20 million square feet of of-fice space in the county is vacant, accord-ing to Mondoro, who also said the local realestate market underperformed in 2016.

“We are very dependent on the commer-

cial office market to subsidize the servicesand the quality of life that we have andgotten used to in Fairfax County,” Foust said.“With that challenge, our budget this yearis once again pretty difficult.”

More than 64 percent of the advertisedbudget’s revenues come from real estatetaxes. Personal property taxes account fornearly 15 percent more.

“Clearly, we are overly or excessively re-liant on real estate revenue for the generalfund,” Mondoro said. “In the environmentthat we’ve been in where that growth hasbeen very low, the impact on the generalfund is significant.”

Mondoro brought up the November 2016election where the county tried to diversifyits revenue by implementing a meals taxreferendum, which residents voted down.

The Washington Metro Area Transit Au-thority will continue to increase its finan-cial need as the transit system makes re-pairs and adds new track. The county’s cof-fers are one source Metro intends to diginto.

The county paid $121.5 million towardsWMATA’s operating budget during fiscalyear 2017 and is anticipating paying $141.4million in fiscal year 2018 — an increase ofnearly $20 million. Though there is an in-crease, the county’s general fund contribu-tions will remain flat as state aid and gastaxes cover the increase. It’s WMATA’s capi-tal budget that is troublesome.

“The level of capital support is not sus-tainable going forward,” Mondoro said.This budget is increasing by $64.3 millionin fiscal year 2018 and the county’s requiredcontribution is increasing by $3.3 millionand will only grow, according to Mondoro.

The county’s general fund was not “dra-matically impacted” this year, Mondoro andthe other panelists are fearful for the fu-ture impact that Metro’s financial challengeswill have on the county.

“We’re looking at a potentially really seri-ous hit to our ability to fund other servicesbecause of the needs of Metro,” Foust said.

McLean Citizens Association discussescounty’s $4.10 billion advertised budget.

Keith Tetter of McLean thanked Supervisor John Foust for voting againstincreasing property taxes and asked him to continue finding other waysto increase revenues for the county without relying on increasing prop-erty taxes or assessments.

News


By David Siegel

The Connection

Classic myths of ancient Greeceand Rome will be set againstcompelling narratives of con-temporary times and modern

war as the renowned Aquila Theatre brings“Our Trojan War” to the Alden.

“Our Trojan War” uses epic moments fromHomer’s “Iliad” and scenes from other clas-sical dramas and poetry to propel a movingchronicle of men and women at war. Theproduction features American combat vet-erans who perform alongside Aquila com-pany members. They are “The Warrior Cho-rus.”

“Alden patrons have asked for live the-ater,” said Sarah N. Schallern, director, per-forming arts, McLean Community Center.“This show is special. ‘Our Trojan War’ in-corporates Aquila’s distinctive live theatri-cal style combining superb acting with ex-pert movement, original music, innovativedesign and direction.”

Aquila’s “Warrior Chorus” is a NationalEndowment for the Humanities fundedproject. “The Chorus brings together menand women who served in the United Statesmilitary and trains them to the highest levelin the performing arts and humanities,” saidDesiree Sanchez, artistic director, Aquila.

The four member “Warrior Chorus” will joinfour professional actors on the Alden stageto perform.

“Because of their military service, veter-ans often understand classic Greek andRoman works at a very deep level based ontheir own experiences,” said Peter Meineck,

founder, Aquila Theatre. “Perhaps this isbecause the ancient authors were all veter-ans themselves and using mythic materialto articulate the tensions in their own soci-ety.”

“Veterans are great people to communi-cate important issues,” added Meineck.

“They have demonstrated their commit-ment to their society by serving and oftenplacing themselves at great personal riskand they are representatives of all of us,every gender, ethnicity and social group.They have earned the right to be heard.”

For Alden patrons attending “Our TrojanWars” whether current service members,veterans or civilians, “I want them to feelthey have experienced a compelling andexciting evening of live theatre…I wouldhope they might be provoked to think aboutdemocracy, leadership, ethics and power ona deeper level,” Meineck said.

In interviews with members of “The War-rior Chorus,” who have been in military ser-vice throughout the world from the MiddleEast, Korea, and Italy to name a few loca-tions: James Stanton (USAF), AdrienneBrammer (USAF) and James Becton (USA)all agreed; they looked forward to a “lively,direct, unscripted conversation and engag-ing our audiences after the show.”

The New Dominion Women’s clubwill be hosting its annualfundraiser, the “Spring Fling

Fashion Show” on Sunday, March 26,from 12:30-2:30 p.m. The show will fea-ture the latest fashion trends at a newvenue — Bloomingdale’s at Tysons Cor-ner. Guests will enjoy a raffle, lite fare,and a variety of drinks including com-

plimentary mimosas.“We are proud of our long-standing com-

mitment of helping local charities. Our clubwill be celebrating our 50th Anniversarynext year. We appreciate McLean Proper-ties, Inc., The JBG Companies, and Wash-ington Investment Trust for sponsoring ourevent. We look forward to seeing old friendsand meeting new ones at the fashion show.

It’s a perfect event to combine fun and giv-ing,” said Desi Woltman, president, NDWC.

The beneficiaries of the fashion show are:SHARE, The Friends of Pleasant Grove, SafeCommunity Coalition, and McLean Projectfor the Arts. Jennifer Salopek, co-chair ofthe fashion show committee, said, “Every-one is invited to shop afterward and 10percent of their purchases will be donated

back to the club through April 2.”The New Dominion Women’s Club is a

civic organization committed to enhanc-ing the quality of life in the communitythrough volunteer service and financialsupport while providing fellowship forwomen. The motto of NDWC is “Friend-ship through Service.” Tickets are $85.Visit www.ndwc.org.

Women’s Club to Host Fashion Show

Members of the New Dominion Women’s Club fashionshow committee during the initial planning phase. Fromleft: Desi Woltman, president; Kitty Gonzalez; AnneDeger; Carol Brunner; Jennifer Salopek, co-chair; andMary Ann Miller

Photos contributed

Bloomingdale’s pulls out all the stops to showcase the latest fashion trends at theupcoming “Spring Fling Fashion Show” on March 26.

Photo by Jeremy Lock/Courtesy McLean Community Center

Cast of “Our Trojan War.”

Where and WhenAquila Theatre’s “Our Trojan War with The

Warrior Chorus” at Alden Theatre, McLeanCommunity Center, 1234 Ingleside Ave.,McLean. Performance Saturday, Apr. 1, 2017 at8 p.m. Tickets: $35/$25 veterans and currentmilitary, $20 MCC tax district residents. Call703-790-0123 or visit www.mcleancenter.org.

Aquila Theatre’s “Our Trojan Wars” atAlden Theatre.Illuminating and Engaging

Spring Fun, Food & Entertainment


Easter Egg-Stravanza

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Free Face Painter,Bounce House &

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Go to the booking calendar at:

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Hourly Easter Egg Hunts for separate age groups 10a-4p

What do you do forfun in McLean inthe spring?

Viewpoints

— Colin Stoecker

Karl Anouti,24, shiftmanager atStarbucks

“I like as-tronomy. I liketo go out withthe telescope atnight to theMcLean Com-munity Center. Ilisten to thesilence andwatch the stars. The best time to do this isduring a full moon. I always try to findthe big dipper. You can always find it bylooking for the north star, which reallyisn’t as bright as people say it is. Locatethe handle and then follow the two stars.I have been doing this for about threeyears.”

Janet Wainer,consultant

“The CherryBlossom Run isa good start tothe spring andgetting into thespring attitude.It’s a challeng-ing run, but theweather is nottoo hot and nottoo cold. We

have been having some weird weatherlately. But this run takes place rightbefore running season, which tends toend with the summer. Spring doesn’treally last too long in McLean. It’s a 10-mile run, and it used to be that it wasn’t aproblem registering, but now that the runhas caught on and become more popularit is more difficult to register. The ‘runnersright of spring’ will take place April 2 inWashington, D.C. at 7:30 a.m.” Visitwww.cherryblossom.org/

Jason Moon,16, studentat LangleyHigh School

“I have beenplaying soccerfor three years,and in thespring myfriends and Ilike to go to theSpring HillRecreationCenter to play soccer. Sometimes we go tothe Tysons Corner mall get some food andwatch a movie. I like spring because I canwear short sleeves and I really like theweather because it’s not too hot and nottoo cold.”

Mary Prisbey,56, Librarianat DolleyMadisonLibrary

“We havesome events atthe library herein McLean thatare ongoing.There’s this cutething that’s heldup here in the

park, live music for kids. The McLeancommunity festival is also a big attractionin the spring, or McLean Day 2017, whichis May 20. Towards the end of the schoolyear, the library sponsors book talks. OurYouth Services librarians give book talksto the kids where they excite them forsummer reading.”

VladimirShutov, 50,library pa-tron

“I really likehaving the WolfTrap so close by.I also like to goto theClemyjontriPark in McLeanwith my kids toplay tag. Theyhave a wonderful playground there and itis accessible to kids with disabilities. Ifyou go there on a sunny day, you will seeplenty of people enjoying themselves. TheWolf Trap also has cool arts programs forlittle kids. Kofi, a drummer from Ghana,also invites local kids to drum with him inthe park. There are also volunteers andit’s a big group of people, around 12 orso. It is very cool!”

GeorgeSachs, 65,executivedirector ofthe McLeanCommunityCenter

“We have anart sale here atthe McLeanCommunityCenter, and aSpring Fest

around Easter time. McLean Day, at theend of the spring, in May is also one ofour most popular events. Because we aremoving the McLean Community Centerfor a few months for renovations, the funthings have lessened, but we still offer awide array of classes to the community.There are also teen-center trips to dothings like paintball and a glow party thatare coordinated to take place over theirspring breaks. The community garage saleis also huge! It is held each year behindthe Giant shopping center.” More informa-tion on these events can be found atmcleancenter.org.


To highlight your Faith Community, call Karen at 703-778-9422

DAILY EUCHARIST:WeekdaysMonday-Friday, 8:30 AMSaturday, 8:30 AM

SUNDAY LITURGY SCHEDULE:Saturday Vigil: 5:30 PMSunday: 7:30, 9:00, and 11:00 AM1:30 PM Spanish Liturgy

5312 North 10th Street,Arlington, Virginia 22205Parish Office: 703-528-6276

PARISH WEBSITE:www.stannchurch.org

All AreWelcome!

Send announcements to connectionnewspapers.com/Calendar/. Deadline isFriday at noon for the following week’spaper. Photos/artwork encouraged.

ONGOING“Birds Eye View” Exhibit. Through

April 1, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesdays -Saturdays at Vienna Arts Center, 115Pleasant St., NW, Vienna. 703-319-3971 www.ViennaArtsSociety.org

“No Place Like Home.” Juried artshow on exhibit through April 8. atArtSpaceHerndon, 750 Center St,Herndon. Great Falls Studiospresents. Visitwww.artspaceherndon.com/.

The Freeman Store & MuseumWednesday through Sunday noon-4p.m. 131 Church St. NE, Vienna. TheFreeman Store & Museum isdedicated to Preserving andpromoting Vienna’s heritage throughthe identification, preservation, andinterpretation of history significantplaces, events, and persons.Historicviennainc.org

Weekly Storytime. Wednesday andSaturday. 11 a.m. Barnes & Noble,7851 L Tysons Corner Center,McLean. Themes and titles vary. Freeadmission.

Bingo Night. Sundays. 4 p.m. FlameRoom, Vienna Volunteer FireDepartment, 400 Center St. S,Vienna. $10. www.vvfd.org/bingo.html.

Gentle Yoga. Thursdays, 6:30 p.m.Emmaus United Church of Christ,900 E Maple Ave. E., Vienna.Saturdays, 9:30 a.m. Unitarian

Universalist Congregation of Fairfax,2709 Hunter Mill Road, Oakton.Gentle Kundalini Yoga, one freeintroductory session, seniordiscounts. Increase flexibility,improve breathing and health, reducestress. Ravi Kaur has 15 yearsexperience teaching yoga. $15 persession. www.edimprovement.org.571-213-3192.

Tai Chi Beginners’ Practice.Saturdays, 8-9 a.m. St. Luke’sCatholic School Gymnasium, 7005Georgetown Pike, McLean. WeeklyTai Chi practice. Group has met forover 20 years. Free. FreeTaiChi.org.703-759-9141.

Fishing Rod Rentals 8700 PotomacHills St., Great Falls. Rentalsavailable during visitor center hours.Fishing tackle and live bait areavailable for purchase. Reservationsrequired for group rentals. $6/rental(2 hour max). Valid driver’s licenserequired. Rod/reel combinations areperfect for beginners and children. AVirginia or Maryland freshwaterfishing license is required for those16 years or older. The park does notsell fishing licenses.www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/

Colvin Run Mill open 11 - 4 p.m.daily, closed Tuesday. 10017 ColvinRun Road, Great Falls. FairfaxCounty’s operational 19th centurywater powered gristmill, offersrecreational and educationalactivities for all ages through dailytours, school programs and specialevents. Fees: $7/adult, $6 students16+ with ID, $5 children & seniors.Admission to park is free except for

some special events.Fundamentals of Watercolors.

Mondays 10 a.m.-1 p.m. at The Artsof Great Falls, 756 Walker Road,Great Falls. Artist Lorrie Herman willhelp students get comfortableworking with watercolors andunderstanding this medium. Visitwww.greatfallsart.org.

Still Life Painting. Tuesdays 10:30a.m.-1 p.m. at The Arts of Great Falls,756 Walker Road, Great Falls. Stilllife provides a great tool to honeskills. Recommended for students ofall levels. Visit www.greatfallsart.org.

Evening Painting. Tuesdays 6:30 -9:30 p.m. at The Arts of Great Falls,756 Walker Road, Great Falls. JillBanks focuses on oil paintingfundamentals with two sessions eachof still life, landscapes, and portrait/clothed figure from a live model.Visit www.greatfallsart.org.

Intro to Jewelry Design. Tuesdays 9a.m.-noon at The Arts of Great Falls,756 Walker Road, Great Falls. JJSingh teaches a class for anyoneinterested in exploring the world ofmetal clay and its design possibilities.Visit www.greatfallsart.org.

MARCH 23-25Spring Book Sale. 10-3 p.m., open

until 6 p.m. on Saturday, at theOakton Community Library, 10304Lynnhaven Place, Oakton. Sponsoredby the Friends of Oakton Library. Call703-242-4020.

FRIDAY/MARCH 24Atomic Trampoline & Movie. 8

Spring Fun & Entertainment

MARCH 23-25Spring Book Sale. 10-3 p.m., open until 6 p.m. on Saturday,

at the Oakton Community Library, 10304 Lynnhaven Place,Oakton. Sponsored by the Friends of Oakton Library. Call703-242-4020 for more.

SATURDAY/MARCH 25Hosting a Bee Hive. 10-11 a.m. at Riverbend Park, 8700

Potomac Hills St., Great Falls. Learn about these localpollinators and the role they play. Ages 6 and up. $8. Call703-759-9018 or visit www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/.

SUNDAY/MARCH 26Spring Fling Fashion Show. 12:30.-2:30 p.m. at

Bloomingdale’s, Tysons Corner Center, 1961 Chain BridgeRoad. The New Dominion Women’s Club will be hosting ashow featuring the latest fashion trends and enjoy food anddrinks, including mimosas. All proceeds will be donated tolocal charities. $75. Visit www.ndwc.org for more.

MONDAY/MARCH 27Ayr Hill Garden Club. 12:45 p.m. at Emmanuel Lutheran

Church, 2589 Chain Bridge Road, Vienna. Topic: “Gettingto Know Your Fellow Ayr Hill Garden Club MembersThrough Their Love of Plants.” Visit www.viennava.gov/resourcedirectory for more.

SUNDAY/APRIL 2Tours of Marie Butler Leven Preserve. 1-4 p.m. at Marie

Butler Leven Preserve, 1501 Kirby Road, McLean. Tourguides Matt and Earth Sangha. Volunteers have been doinginvasive management and planting native plants there for10 years. Free. Call 703-324-8702 for more.

SUNDAY/APRIL 9Easter Spring Festival. 12:30-4:30 p.m. at Great Falls

Village Centre, 776 Walker Road, Great Falls. Games, rides,food and egg hunt at 4 p.m., proceeds directly benefit thecommunity through the Great Falls Optimist Club. Visitwww.celebrategreatfalls.org/ for more.

SATURDAY/APRIL 22Family Fishing Rodeo. 9 a.m. at Wildwood Park, 700 block

of Follin Lane SE, Vienna. The creek will be stocked withhundreds of trout, bring a fishing rod, bucket, plastic bag,and ice. $3. Visit www.viennava.gov for more.

On Sunday, March 26,fashion is in vogue at theSpring Fling FashionShow, 12:30-2:30 p.m. atBloomingdale’s, TysonsCorner Center, 1961 ChainBridge Road. The NewDominion Women’s Clubwill be hosting a showfeaturing the latest fash-ion trends. All proceedswill be donated to localcharities. $75. Visitwww.ndwc.org for more.

Photo

contributed

Spring Events to Look For

Calendar


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a.m.-6 p.m. at the Old Firehouse,1440 Chain Bridge Road, McLean.Bounce on 40 interconnectingtrampolines and foam pits and thensee a PG or PG-13 movie. Visitwww.mcleancenter.org or call 703-448-8336.

McLean Art Society. 10 a.m.-noon atDolly Madison Library, 1244 OakRidge Ave. Joyce McCarten, a painterof abstract oils, will be the featuredpresenter. Call 703-356-9770.

SpiritMind and Drum Circle. 7-9p.m. at Unity of Fairfax, 2854 HunterMill Road, Oakton. Join this mind-body-heart-spirit experience andgathering where participants areguided in co-creating a sacred spacethrough chanting, singing,meditating, and drumming. $20. VisitUnityoffairfax.org or call 703-281-1767.

SATURDAY/MARCH 25Hosting a Bee Hive. 10-11 a.m. at

Riverbend Park, 8700 Potomac HillsSt., Great Falls. Learn about theselocal pollinators and the role theyplay. Ages 6 and up. $8. Call 703-759-9018 or visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks/riverbend-park/.

Great Falls Farmers Market. at theGF Grange Hall, 9818 GeorgetownPike. “Let Your Light Shine: ShowYour Talents” event sponsored by TDBank – neighbors show their talentsat the market. JointVenture playsmusic. Last indoor winter market.Visit greatfallsfarmersmarket.org/.

Amadeus Benefit Concert andAuction. 4 p.m. at St. FrancisEpiscopal Church, 9220 GeorgetownPike, Great Falls. Visitwww.stfrancisgreatfalls.org/.

Christian Band. 7 p.m. at SmithChapel, 11318 Beach Mill Road,Great Falls. Join Pastor Dave and theSmith Chapel family for an eveningof music and fellowship withneighbors and friends. [email protected].

SUNDAY/MARCH 26Spring Fling Fashion Show. 12:30.-

2:30 p.m. at Bloomingdale’s, TysonsCorner Center, 1961 Chain BridgeRoad. The New Dominion Women’sClub will be hosting a show featuringthe latest fashion trends and enjoyfood and drinks, including mimosas.All proceeds will be donated to localcharities. $75. Visit www.ndwc.org.

MONDAY/MARCH 27Ayr Hill Garden Club. 12:45 p.m. at

Emmanuel Lutheran Church, 2589Chain Bridge Road, Vienna. Topic:“Getting to Know Your Fellow AyrHill Garden Club Members ThroughTheir Love of Plants.” Visitviennava.gov/resourcedirectory.

GOP Committee Fundraiser. 7 p.m.at Nouvelle, 7911 West Park Drive,Tysons. 11th Congressional DistrictGOP Committee Fundraiser with EricCantor. Visit www.vagop11.org/.

TUESDAY/MARCH 28Art Show Opening Reception. 4:30-

6 p.m. in the Chain Bridge CornerShopping Center, 1446 Chain BridgeRoad, McLean. McLean Project forthe Arts hosts this community YouthArt Show showcasing the work ofstudents from the McLean HighSchool Pyramid, show runs March25–April 2. Free. Visitwww.mpaart.org.

Writer’s Panel. 7:30-9 p.m. at thePatrick Henry Library, 101 MapleAve. E., Vienna. Sisters in Crime:Local Mystery Writers’ Panel. Visitfairfaxcounty.gov/library or call 703-938-0405.

WEDNESDAY/MARCH 29Great Falls Historical Society. 6

p.m. at the Great Falls Library, 9830Georgetown Pike A, Great Falls.1890s Baseball Team Challenge &Free Picnic presented by four younghistorians. Call 703) 757-8560.

Historic Vienna MembershipMeeting. 7:30 p.m. at Vienna TownHall, 127 Center St. S., Vienna.Features of the meeting will bepresentation of the Annual Heritage

Preservation Award and the telling ofa Civil War Love Story. call 703-994-9054 or visit www.viennava.gov/.

FRIDAY/MARCH 31Gluten Free Evening. 6:30 p.m. at

Wildfire, Tysons Galleria, 3rd floor,2001 International Drive, McLean.Chefs Moreno Espinoza and EdwinAmaya will prepare a custom five-course menu, each paired with agluten free wine to complement. $80.Make reservations at 703-442-9110.

Family Fun Bingo. 7-9 p.m. at the OldFirehouse, 1440 Chain Bridge Road,McLean. Players will have freepopcorn and winners will take theirpick of prizes. Visitwww.mcleancenter.org or call 703-448-8336.

SATURDAY/APRIL 1Warrior Chorus at Alden. 8 p.m. at

The Alden in McLean, 1234 InglesideAve. Area premiere of “The TrojanWar: Our Warrior Chorus,” aproduction that features Americancombat veterans. $35, $25 forveterans and current military and$20 for McLean Community Centertax district residents. Visitwww.aldentheatre.org or call 703-790-0123.

APRIL 1-2Potomac River Convention. 10 a.m.-

3:30 both days at the Great FallsGrange, 9818 Georgetown Pike,Great Falls. 28th annual PotomacRiver Shape Note Convention, withsinging, bring a dish to share bothdays. Sponsored by the FolkloreSociety of Greater Washington. Visitvisit fasola.org orshenandoahharmony.com.

Organ Music.7 p.m. ViennaPresbyterian Church, 124 Park St.NE, McLean.The Organ, theOrchestra, and the Youthful Originalsshow. Call 703-938-9050.

APRIL 1-30Ed Behrens’ Photographs. Various

times at Katie’s Coffee House, VillageCentre, 760 Walker Road, GreatFalls. The showing will celebrate Ed’sten years as a member of Great FallsStudios, his very active 80th birthday.Call 703-759-0927.

SUNDAY/APRIL 2Tours of Marie Butler Leven

Preserve. 1-4 p.m. at Marie ButlerLeven Preserve, 1501 Kirby Road,McLean. Tour guides Matt and EarthSangha; volunteers have been doinginvasive management and plantingnative plants there for 10 years. Free.Call 703-324-8702.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

Spring Fun & Entertainment

Photo by Ed Behrens

Long Necked Woman inThailand is one of thephotos in Ed Behrens photoexhibit in April at Katie’sCoffee Shop, Village Centre,760 Walker Road, GreatFalls.


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EmploymentEmployment

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By KENNETH B. LOURIEI wouldn’t say I’m forgetting things, but

according to my wife, Dina, I certainly don’tseem to be remembering them, at least as shedoes. Naturally, this “misremembering” couldbe attributed to the condition which likelyaffects many couples who have been over hill,over dale and over many dusty trails in nearly39 years of marriage, as we have. Nevertheless,identifying the condition doesn’t soothe thesavage beast. Another possible/probable expla-nation is the ever-unpopular, recently-con-firmed actual occurrence common to manycancer patients receiving chemotherapy:“chemo brain.”

Even though I’m a veteran of these can-cer/chemo wars apparently doesn’t make meimmune to its harmful effects. Quite the con-trary in fact. Survival is wonderful, but years-long treatment does take its toll. And for a can-cer patient now in his ninth consecutive year oftreatment, the bell tolls for me. Fortunately, Ican still hear the bell. The question is: will Iremember having heard it? I say, absolutely! Mywife says: not so fast.

All kidding aside, I can see this difference ofopinion becoming a problem. At present, I’mnot the least bit (well, maybe a little bit, other-wise; why would I be droning on about it?)concerned about a few of our memories fadingsince I don’t believe that they have. I’minclined to invoke an opposite-GeorgeCostanza here and say it’s her, not me. Not sur-prisingly, my wife will play the part of one ofGeorge’s ex-girlfriends and say it’s definitelyme. So what else is new? Nothing. The ques-tion/worry is: will this become a chronicproblem?

Which in a way is what all us heretofore “te-rminal” cancer patients want. Obviously, a curefor what ails me/others similarly diag-nosed would be ideal, but the more realisticscenario is that one day, cancer will treated as achronic condition, like diabetes, not a terminaldisease as my stage IV, non-small cell lung can-cer was originally characterized by my oncolo-gist on Feb. 27, 2009 (you bet I remember thatdate!). Oh yes, that is a date that will live ininfamy. Unlike Pearl Harbor, however, wherethousands died, and unlike the message deliv-ered by Franklin Delano Roosevelt that sameday, when the sober news was first heard by anation then at war, only three people heardwhat my oncologist said to me that day, andonly my life was at stake, though certainly mywife, Dina and my brother, Richard wereimpacted, even though they weren’t he onesreceiving a grim prognosis.

As Dina and I regularly reminisce about ourlife together, we regularly have different recol-lections. She’s entitled. I’m entitled. Theremight be a right. There might be a wrong. Butwithout Warner Wolf around to “go to thevideotape,” the chance that we’ll remember ashared memory similarly or at all consideringthere’s now almost four decades worth ofstuff is unrealistic, isn’t it? I mean, we’re differ-ent people. We process and store informationdifferently. In fact, I might say, it’s likely a mira-cle if we did actually remember, identically,people, place and things.

The older one gets, the greater the cumula-tive information in our brains and apparently,the less chemical/muscular ability we have toaccess/retrieve all that information. Not remem-bering or remembering differently is nothingmore than the passage of time rearing its uglyhead. Now combine that inevitability with thetoxicity of chemotherapy — and God knowswhat else my cancer is affecting, and what youhave here is a sitting duck. If I were to believetotally in this inevitability or in my wife’s assess-ment, I would say there’s disintegrating hopefor me. But I don’t. I believe in the power ofme. I believe in the power of positive thinkingand in always seeing the bright side — and jok-ing/laughing about all of it. So what if I don’tremember or remember differently, it probablywasn’t worth remembering anyway.

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OBITUARY

Virginia Y. Sinclair, age 90 of Great Falls Va passed away peacefully in her home surrounded by friends and family on Monday March 20, 2017. Virginia was born November 2 1926 in Greene New York to Helen and Clarence Young. She graduated from Albany State Teachers College studying the classics and then married Alexander Malcolm Sinclair who was visiting on leave from the Naval Academy.

Ginny had a long and varied career in many parts of the coun-try as a public school teacher. Her military family moved around from base to base during two wars. She finished her public school career in Fairfax County at Herndon Intermediate teaching english. She then started her beloved Grandmothers Back Room childrens' clothing store and worked everyday until she was eighty five years old. Her faith, and involvement in St. Francis Episcopalian Church, was her mainstay. She had many roles in the church since the beginning of the parish, when they worshipped in a modest building in the field. She taught Sunday school, arranged flowers, sat on the vestry, helped bless the animals, sat on the selection committee for several new rectors, and in general supported and helped the church. Her faith was a central part of her character as well as her very strong work ethic.

She is survived by two daughters; Amy S. Dahm (Henry), Eliz-abeth S. Larson (Willard), five grandchildren, Alexander H. Dahm (Kerry), Nicholas S. Dahm, Tyler Larson, Zachary Lar-son, Katelynn Larson, and one great grandchild Felix P. Dahm.

She was predeceased by her husband Rear Admiral Alexander Malcolm Sinclair in 2009.

A memorial service will be held at 11:00 am Saturday March 25th at St Francis Episcopalian Church Georgetown Pike Great Falls Virginia. 22066. Reception to follow. A private buri-al service will be held in Greene, New York at a later date.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Capital Caring.

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