News and Opinion about Dogs, Dog Parks and a Church
Really, Jay? Your Dog?...
I must have shifted into the role of curmudgeon without realizing it, but getting the postcard from Jay Fisette’s dogs annoyed me more than anything. Mr. Fisette is the incumbent county board member who is facing John Reeder from the Green Party in the election tomorrow.
I am probably being way too critical, but if I never see another campaign that uses pets or children as “spokespersons,” I will be OK. They are usually not funny, though they hope to be. And they are usually those photos, especially with the pets, that the owners find cute, but often are not. (They follow the general "my kids" rule that we all follow to some extent: mine are cute, yours aren't; mine are kind and loving, yours aren't, etc.)
More than that, I wish Mr. Fisette did not feel so comfortable in his position that he could get away with this level of dumbing-down the process.
I am not against Mr. Fisette. I am for the electoral process, the hearty debate, the idea that leaders are not elected for life, but must face the will of voters regularly. And they should face them with just a little trepidation. I want him to be nervous when it comes to an election year.
When his dog tells me that Mr. Fisette is qualified to handle the budget because “Jay has made tough budget decisions at home finding us the best dog food at an economical price,” I am pretty sure he is not facing any stiff competition.
This is not the first time voters have been courted by the K-9s, but I hope it is the last.
While we’re on dogs…
A dog park is not planned for park near the new Madison at Ballston Station apartment building. That’s a rumor I heard, and I thought I’d double check. (I’ll get back to my readers with more soon.)
I heard the rumor from Snicker’s “mom,” the other day (if you’re a dog person, you understand that I know Snicker’s—but not his human’s—name). I was surprised, I’ll admit, and thought that if they really were planning that, it would be shot-down pretty quickly by the county.
The park property on N. 4th Street is owned by the county. Paradigm Construction which owns The Madison, is working on the plans for the park with the county; however, Arlington will choose a company to construct the park. Currently, it’s a large dirt space on N. 4th Street, just west of N. George Mason Drive.
The Madison is the four-storey building between N. 4th Street and N. Pershing Drive, with an official address at 4400 N. 4th St.
Ethiopian church celebrates a pilgrimage for St. Aregawi at Methodist Church...
Saturday Oct. 24, an Ethiopian Orthodox Congregation celebrated the journey of St. Aregawi at the Arlington Forest United Methodist Church, drawing many, many people (and their cars). The procession, with colorful outfits, sunshades, and song, made its way around the church and entered the front doors for the service.
St. Aregawi is one of the nine saints to have furthered Christianity in Ethiopia.
