Excuse Me
Early on during my indoctrination/assimilation into the cancer-patient world in which I now reside, I remember asking a fellow cancer patient/friend if I could use cancer as an excuse for whatever it was needed excusing (directly or indirectly related), and she said: absolutely, “blame the cancer.” Years later, after a chemotherapy infusion, I saw my oncologist walking through the Infusion Center and asked him if my thinning hair might be a result of this most recent chemotherapy drug (not all chemotherapy results in hair loss). His response was similar to what my friend had advised me in 2009. He said: “You can blame me,” (which of course, I understood to mean, cancer/the treatment of cancer) “for anything.”
Dos, Don’ts and What-Ifs
Instinctively, I am not the most open-to-new-ideas/new-things kind of person. However, an unexpected diagnosis of stage IV, non small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC) at age 54 and a half – along with its equally unexpected “13-month to two-year prognosis,” changes a few things. And thanks to a great friend, Rebecca Nenner, whom I have written about previously, I have/have had to become more open, and consequently, have assimilated into my life many non-Western, non-traditional alternatives (pills, supplements, super foods, activities/behaviors, etc.) with which I was totally unfamiliar (I’m a sports and chocolate kind of person), in an attempt to outlive my prognosis.
Jean R. Packard Remembered at Meadowlark Gardens in Vienna
Jean Packard was Frank Roberts’ first boss. He was 13, she was 22 and the acting editor of her father Dave’s Clermont Sun newspaper in Batavia, Ohio. “I was a ‘devil’s rat,’” Roberts said, responsible for odd gofer jobs around the office. “I was trying to hide from work and she’d track me down. She was a tough boss.”
McLean Location for 2015 DC Design House
House will benefit Children’s National Health System.
The new country estate at 956 Mackall Farm Lane in McLean will be the location for the 8th annual DC Design House, a project that raises money to benefit Children’s National Health System. The 2015 DC Design House will be held from April 11 to May 10.
New Interior Design Book Features Local Tastemakers
Interior designers offer advice on creating an elegant home.
Fall not only brings vibrantly colored leaves and pumpkins, but it also ushers in a slew of new book releases. Among those is an interior design book featuring local designers.
Editorial: Thanksgiving Help for Those in Need
Roll up those sleeves and help.
This week is the week to jump in to help the many organizations that will help needy families through the holidays. Here are a few ideas of how to help, but the opportunities are limitless. More than 236,000 people living in the area do not have access to enough food to sustain an active, healthy life for all members of their households, according to Catholic Charities. That is to say, more than a quarter of a million people, including many children, go hungry on a regular basis.
Dream Team Vienna Wins Robotics Championship
A Vienna team of sixth graders captured the 1st Place Grand Champions Trophy for overall excellence and the 1st place Robot Performance Award at the recent First LEGO League Robotics Regional Qualifying Tournament at the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office (PTO), Alexandria.
Oakton, Langley Football Reach Postseason
The Oakton and Langley football teams each earned a spot in the 6A North region playoffs. Oakton enters the postseason as the region’s No. 14 seed and will travel to face No. 3 Lake Braddock at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 14.
Flint Hill School Dessert Theater to Present ‘Midsummer/Jersey’
Flint Hill School Dessert Theater will present “Midsummer/Jersey,” Nov. 14-15. The play, written by award-winning playwright, Ken Ludwig, is the hilarious, high-octane retelling of Shakespeare’s “Midsummer Night’s Dream” set on the boardwalk of a seaside town in modern-day New Jersey.
Vienna Broncos Leave No Doubt, Finish Season 9-0
The 100-Pound American Vienna Broncos won the Fairfax County Youth Football League title on Saturday, defeating the Lee Franconia Wolverines 38-24.
Vienna Honors Parade Winners
The Vienna Town Council and the Vienna Business Assn. honored the winners of the Town’s Halloween Parade at the Nov. 3 Council meeting.
LearningRx Offers Military Families Brain Training Discount
For Veteran’s Day, LearningRx of D.C. Metro Area is offering 11 percent off of their brain training programs for military families Nov. 11 through Nov. 30, located at six local centers -- Chantilly, Fairfax, Leesburg, Reston, Vienna, and Potomac, Md.
Vienna Little League, Town Join Forces
Will both chip in to renovate Glyndon Park baseball field.
On Oct. 27, the Town of Vienna and Vienna Little League representatives met with the neighbors living by Glyndon Park to discuss plans to renovate and improve the baseball field there.
Stroke Comeback Center Celebrates 10th Anniversary
For 10 years the Stroke Comeback Center (SCC) has helped people with aphasia and their families receive communication support when these families have lost their insurance benefits. And on Thursday, Oct. 30, the SCC held its 10th Anniversary celebrating “The Art of Communication.”
Column: Excuse Me
Early on during my indoctrination/assimilation into the cancer-patient world in which I now reside, I remember asking a fellow cancer patient/friend if I could use cancer as an excuse for whatever it was needed excusing (directly or indirectly related), and she said: absolutely, “blame the cancer.”
Neighbors Helping Neighbors
Clifton residents to hold open-house tour of newly remodeled homes for the benefit of local widow.
Neighbors help each other. That's what communities have always been about. Long-time Clifton resident Bob Gallagher is rallying his friends and peers to help his neighbor Elsa Armendaris.
Natural Treatments for Anxiety
Experts say complementary medical treatments can help relieve anxiety and other mental disorders.
When 35-year-old Andrea Evenson decided to try meditation, exercise and yoga to deal with her anxiety, she had already been on a myriad of anti-anxiety medications.
Column: November Is Adoption Month
Here’s how to help find a forever family for children and teens waiting in foster care.
If you are lucky, you don't know what it's like to live in the precarious limbo that defines foster care in this country.
Commentary: Sometimes Perception Really Isn’t Reality
Fairfax County is home to one of the wealthiest populations in the country. Unbeknownst to many, the county is also home to the second largest population of homelessness in this region. In fact, more than 1,200 residents of Fairfax County are without stable and safe homes.