| 'Doc'
Has Remedy for Kids |
| Rick "Doc" Walker is about as big as a wall. The former
Washington Redskin still looks to be in fine shape. When he
left the Herndon Community Center Sunday night I shook his
hand, which covered mine like a catcher's mitt. His hand was
big, but it had a kindly touch. |
| His voice boomed through the community center, and his presence
dwarfed the others on the podium. We all listened to him.
I really don't think we had a choice. |
| We were attending the 17th annual Mayor's Volunteer Appreciation
Night. Doc was the guest speaker. Dozens of people were noted
for their continuing volunteering efforts, but four people
were singled out to receive the distinguished service award.
They were Amy Thornton, Mary Ann Cerick, Nancy Rose and Bruce
Napoli. Amy, a student at Herndon High School, was honored
for her work with Students Against Global Abuse (SAGA). |
| But back to Doc Walker for a minute. As many people in this
area may remember, Doc was the owner of Rick Walker's Scoreboard
restaurant on Pine Street, now the location of Revolution
Coffee Lounge. |
| What a difference a decade makes. |
| The Scoreboard was the gathering place, watering hole, and
staging area for many Herndon families. It was here that Redskin
fans would meet on Sundays to catch a bus, a burger and a
brew to go to Sunday home games. They were organized, of course,
by Doc. |
| I think, however, that Doc got the idea from Herndon's First
Fan, Mary Burger. Doc singled her out Sunday night, along
with Vi Bateman, as the most fanatic of all fans. |
| The Scoreboard also had the best hamburgers, steaks and
ribs around at the time. The beer was cold, the patrons well-behaved
(well, usually), the food hot, the televisions on (with sports,
of course) and the conversation fun. It was a place for the
whole family, with food and beverages to match. |
| Because of reasons I've never been real sure of, except
for rumors, the Scoreboard closed and the joint has never
been the same. Today that same Pine Street location is a spot
for dot-com techies, and it's about as Herndon as New York
is California. About the only things left from the old Scoreboard
are memories and Doc Walker. |
| As guest speaker at the Mayor's Volunteer Appreciation Night,
Doc had some important and fun things to say. |
| About Michael Vick, the Virginia Tech quarterback who was
drafted this weekend by the Atlanta Falcons for something
like a billion dollars, Doc said, "To me he's still a snot-nosed
kid." Herndon Mayor Tom Rust, an avid Tech fan and on the
university's Board of Visitors, got a good smile out of that
one. I think it was a smile. |
| Doc honored all the volunteers for their undying efforts
to chip in and help make our world better. He referred to
his mom, who after he had grown too old and too big to play
youth sports, for 20 years continued to volunteer at the ballfield's
concession stand. |
| "Good news travels like a mule," he said. Volunteers are
good news people who often don't get the respect and honor
they deserve. He said that's why an evening where volunteers
are singled out is so important. |
| Doc Walker also spoke about today's youth. Doc has a 7-year-old
child whom he watched play soccer this weekend, where volunteers
"buy the Twinkies, cut the oranges and line the fields." |
| "But I don't care how many points he scores," he said, referring
to his child, "he still has to take out the trash." |
| When I was a kid, "I used to hate to be inside," Doc lamented.
"It's so different today" with video games, television and
other distractions. "I wanted to be outside, away from my
parents," he said jokingly. |
| "Today we need more of a personal touch," he said. "Low-tech
is best." Doc told the story of how, during a recent holiday,
an older relative came to his home and made dinner for the
whole family and never once used a microwave. |
| "Handshakes and handwritten letters are always good," he
said. You're unlikely to forget Doc's handshake. |
| Maybe nothing speaks more to the "good news that travels
like a mule" than the closing quote in the brochure from Sunday
night's affair. |
| "The small-town atmosphere in an urban environment is not
the buildings and the roads, but the people who dedicate themselves
to provide a friendly, open, and warm community...our volunteers." |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
