| Do
Manners Still Matter? |
| Observer newspaper summer reporter and photographer Brian
Clark, who was assigned to take pictures of the high school
proms at Herndon, South Lakes, Oakton and Potomac Falls, said
that it was tough to get a picture that was presentable enough
to publish in a "family newspaper." |
| Some of the more outrageous situations were the dances,
especially the "grind." These dances give a new
meaning to the word "close." Also unpresentable
were tons of cleavage, the showing of "public affection,"
and hands where hands were not supposed to be. |
| And the award for the dirtiest presentations goes to (are
you ready?) Oakton High School. |
| The question we had was where were the chaperones? |
| Of course, not students misbehaved, dressed seductively,
let their hands wander or fell prey to peer pressure. But
unfortunately, it seems rotten apples still make the entire
basket unpleasant. |
| Things have sure changed since my high school prom, which,
granted, was so many years ago that we actually listened to
the music. If hands wandered too far, if dresses did not properly
cover up the proper areas, and if even hair cuts were outrageous,
we were asked to leave. |
| "Fix it or don't come back," was the order. There
seemed to be more chaperones than prom-goers, which put the
high school students at a disadvantage and their manners on
guard. |
| But if my memory serves me right, the Charleston sent parents
into a tizzy and holding hands in public was paramount to
actually stealing a kiss. |
| Things do change, of course, but proper manners are still
proper manners. |
| Safeway
Update |
| Several people have asked lately, "Whatever happened
to the plans to build a Safeway grocery store on east Elden
Street in Herndon?" |
| We wondered, too, but a legal advertisement, which appears
in this week's Observer newspaper, answers part of that question. |
| The Herndon Planning Commission will hear two applications
for a site plan filed by Safeway, Inc. The first is a permit
for construction of street improvements from 300 Elden Street
to 491 Elden Street (near the Atrium Building on Post Road
across Elden from the Herndon Centre). That property is owned
by the Town of Herndon |
| The second is an application for a site plan to build a
retail center of 65,662 square feet, which includes a Safeway
grocery store of 57,050 square feet, at 413 and 411 Elden
Street and adjacent properties. That land is owned by Safeway,
Inc., according to the legal advertisement which appears on
Page 27. There will be a Planning Commission work session
on June 18 and a public hearing on July 2. |
| The Safeway store would be a welcomed addition to the east
side of town, which does not have a grocery store since the
Super Fresh food store closed its doors in the Pines Shopping
Center. That space remains vacant. |
| It also will be good to have a Safeway to compete with
Giant foods and Food Lion. The nearest Safeway stores are
in Hunters Woods and South Lakes Shopping Center in Reston
and there are at least three in Eastern Loudoun County. |
| We can only hope that the Herndon Planning Commission and
the Town Council will not find it difficult to approve this
site for Safeway. |
| Animal
Kingdom |
| This Sunday a gaggle of Canada geese stopped traffic on
Monroe Street near its intersection with Greg Roy Lane. Several
cars, including ours, had to stop for the slow-moving group,
which seemed to enjoy the power of stopping all those SUVs
and drivers who were in a hurry. |
| At least one woman called on her cell phone to either tell
her family about the geese, or to tell Fairfax County police
that the jaywalkers were keeping her from getting home. We
think she was calling her family, however, because the smile
on her face gave her away. |
| A half-hour later, on Rock Hill Road off Sterling Road (606),
a very large turtle was doing the same thing. |
| We were the only car the fellow managed to stop, but my
wife, Betsy, much to her displeasure, managed to pick up the
big guy and carry him off the road. |
| Later we saw him, or her (who can tell?), happily making
his way down an embankment toward a pond. |
| It's good to see these suburban creatures happily living
among the humans. Give them a break. After all, they were
here first. |
| And that's Our Town this week. |
