Hornet Pride Goes on Parade

online at www.connectionnewspapers.com October 18-24, 2017

Opi

nio

n, Pag

e 6 v

Enter

tai

nm

ent, Pag

e 6 v

C

lass

ified

s, P

age

6Photo b

y M

ercia

Hobs

on/T

he

Connec

tio

n

Welcoming Japanese StudentsTo Fox Mill ElementaryNews, Page 3

Raising Funds To Honor VeteransNews, Page 2

Hornet Pride Goes on Parade

News, Page 8

Page 5

Residents and friends gather along the parade route on Elden

Street to cheer on the nearly 1,300 participants and 55 units

in the Herndon Homecoming Parade 2017 held Oct. 14.

2 ❖ Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ October 18-24, 2017 www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

1228 Hunter Mill Road, Vienna, VAwww.roerszoofari.com

(703) 757-622230 Acres of Animal Adventure for All Ages

Free ParkingAn easy drive on either the 267 Dulles Tollway (Hunter Mill Exit) or SR 7 Leesburg Pike (left at the Baron Cameron light)

October 31 3pm to 6pmRain or shine

Advanced online tickets requiredevent.www.roerszoofari.com

Boo at the ZooBoo at the Zoo

For a free digi-tal subscriptionto one or allof the 15ConnectionNewspapers,go towww.connectionnewspapers.com/subscribe

Be the first toknow – get yourpaper before ithits the press.

Complete digitalreplica of theprint edition,including photosand ads, deliv-ered weeklyto your e-mailbox.

Questions?E-mail:[email protected]

News

Herndon Woman’s Club (HWC)wants to remember the Fallen,honor those who serve, and teachchildren the value of freedom byjoining Wreaths Across America tohonor veterans who are laid to restat Chestnut Grove Cemetery inHerndon.

According to the organization’swebsite, on Dec. 16 “the club willremember the fallen, the prison-ers of war, the missing in action,and honor those who have servedand are serving this great nationwith a short ceremony.” Volunteerswill then place commemorativewreaths on nearly 770 veteran’sgraves.

At the Herndon HomecomingParade, Herndon Woman’s Clubmembers Linda Crawford andSusy Ledgerwood distributedsmall plastic flags to parade view-ers. Attached to each flag was acard requesting that the recipientconsider sponsoring a wreath at$15 in advance.

As of Oct. 15, the official websitefor Wreaths Across America re-ported Herndon Woman’s Clubhad reached “23 of 775 WreathsSponsored, 3 percent to Goal.”

For more information on how tosupport Herndon Woman’s Club

and Wreaths Across America, visit:www.wreaths . fas tport .com,www.Herndonwomansclub.org orwrite to Herndon Woman’s Club,P.O. Box 231, Herndon, VA 20172.

— Mercia Hobson

Mercia Hobson/The Connection

Herndon Woman’s Clubmembers Linda Crawfordand Susy Ledgerwooddistribute plastic flags toparade viewers includingJanice Jewel (right) duringthe Herndon HomecomingParade held Oct. 14.

Raising Funds To Honor Veterans

Helping Provide Weekend MealsWith Food for Kids Program

Assistance League of Northern Virginia would like to give spe-cial thanks to Intelsat in McLean and to Lauren Danoff, a Herndonmiddle school student, for generous food donations to the Week-end Food for Kids program.

Since October 2015, Intelsat has continued to donate 150 bagsof food each month to help feed children living in food insecurehouseholds in the community. With the support of her family andfriends, Lauren contributes about 50 bags of food several timeseach year.

Thanks to community partners, WFFK program will continueto transform lives during the 2017-18 school year. To help, emailLynn Barron at [email protected].

Week in Herndon

Oak Hill/Herndon Connection ❖ October 18-24, 2017 ❖ 3www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

NewsHerndon Connection Editor Kemal Kurspahic

703-778-9414 or [email protected]

By Andrea Worker

The Connection

In a time when too manypeople seem determinedto focus on what dividesthem, the students, staff

and parents of Fox Mill Elemen-tary School in Herndon, quietlygo about their business, seekingways to bring people together.The school has long been knownfor its Japanese immersion pro-gram, with many of the young-sters learning the language to thepoint where they can take regu-lar curriculum classes in a mixof both English and Japanese.They have participated in Japa-nese cultural enrichment eventsand welcomed Japanese per-formers and artistic and culturalrepresentatives through theirdoors. This month, they tooktheir interest in all-things-Japa-nese, as well as their spirit ofcultural curiosity and welcome,to a new level.

From Oct. 7-15, 10 studentsfrom Yabe Elementary, just out-side of Tokyo, were hosted byFox Mill families, attendedclasses at Fox Mill, and joined in to enjoy avariety of activities with both their hosts,and together with other host families andexchange students. Three chaperones ac-companied the young ambassadors, whoranged in age from 9-years-old to 11.

After the youngsters arrived and settledin – and recovered from jetlag – their visitstarted off with a welcome picnic at theschool, with Fox Mill principal Brian Moosedoing the grill master honors, giving thenewcomers a chance to check out their new,temporary academic environment beforereally getting down to business.

On Oct. 10, a friendship ceremony washeld, which included the planting of cherrytrees that were donated to Fox Mill by ANA

Airlines.This is Fox Mill’s first time to conduct an

exchange program. The hosting opportunitywas open to all Fox Mill families, even thosewithout children enrolled in the immersionprogram.

The Chronisters are one such family, withno child enrolled in the immersion classes,but still they offered, and Patti Chronistersaid that the experience has been a delight.

“I knew this would be a good experiencefor the kids,” she said, “but I am surprisedas to how much I myself am getting out ofit. I am learning basic Japanese – embar-rassing my daughter – but the smiles I getfrom Sayuri as we communicate makes myday, every day.”

Sandy Picarelli was equally pleased withthe program, and her family’s hosting ex-perience. “I am amazed at how muchTimaues has blossomed. He is talking toShinsuke in Japanese with great confidenceand has shown great responsibility for mak-ing sure his guest is enjoying himself…evenwhen there are limits in verbal communi-cation, the boys have found common inter-ests that are connecting them.”

Program coordinator and number-one-program-cheerleader Alison Malzahn ofcourse offered an American home experi-ence to one of the students.

“What surprised me the most is how in-stantly Nao became a member of our fam-ily. There have been some difficulties with

acclimation – jetlag, carsick-ness and some homesicknesshave all been part of ourexperience…but the momentNao stepped off the bus, webecame a family not of four, butof five.”

On Thursday, Oct. 12, the 10now-not-so-foreign studentsjoined a Fox Mill assemblywhere the Yabe pupils intro-duced themselves, after whichthe children exchanged gifts toremember each other. With theformalities attended to, theYabe students thanked theirhosts first with a song in Japa-nese, and then with a renditionof “Country Roads” by JohnDenver, first playing the tuneon recorders, and then singingthe song in practiced harmony.

After the applause for theirperformance died down, thewhole cafeteria filled with thesound of children singing theDisney ditty “It’s a Small WorldAfter All.” There were notice-able tears in the eyes of adultsin attendance as they witnessedthe bonds being built betweenyoungsters of two countries

and cultures – just as they had hoped wouldbe the result of the program.

Before heading home on the 15th, theYabe students and their host families en-joyed one more group gathering – a fun dayat Cox farm.

In June, principal Moose and teachersYoko Linam and Keiko Endo will becomethe chaperones, as they accompany sevenFox Mill youngsters to Japan for their turnsas the foreign exchange students. “This issuch a great opportunity,” said AlisonMalzahn, who also plans to make the trip.“We are all so excited. To start building theserelationships so early, when they can last alifetime, it’s a great thing. I hope we cankeep this going for years to come.”

Fox Mill Elementary Hosts Japanese Exchange Students

Azusa Sakai, Sayuri Iyonaga and Kanami Ninomiya share their hopes forpeace after the special assembly at Fox Mill Elementary, where the youngtrio and seven of their school chums have been visiting as exchangestudents, hosted by families of Fox Mill students.

Photos by Andrea Worker/The Connection

The 10 exchange students from Yabe Elementary School in Japan ser-enade their Fox Mill Elementary hosts, playing their recorder version of“Country Roads.”

The visiting students from Yabe Elementaryand some of their Fox Mill Elementary coun-terparts line up to exchange gifts of appre-ciation between hosts and guests.

One last play day, before the Yabe Elemen-tary kids head home. It’s an adventure at CoxFarms in Centreville for the visitors fromJapan and the families who hosted them.


Opinion

By Stephen R. Ruth

Schar School of Policy and Government

Professor of Public Policy

George Mason University

We should fear Artificial Intelli-gence. Not in the future butnow. Ask Sheryl Sandberg,chief operating officer of

Facebook. She announced that her company,with its over 2 billion users, built software itcannot fully control. “We never intended oranticipated this functionality being used thisway,” Sandberg said, “— and that is on us.”Facebook’s operating systems had al-lowed Russian operatives to createaccounts and ads aimed at influenc-ing the 2016 U.S. presidential elec-tion. The gigantic network seems to have cre-ated systems that are ungovernable.

Facebook’s problem hints at the extremedangers lurking within Artificial Intelligenceas it grows throughout the world. AI Expertsare already talking about a “nightmare sce-nario,” where nations’ AI systems could ignitereal-time conflicts. Consider, hair-trigger AIsystems could eventually control several na-tions’ military responses’ and some error in anyone algorithm could possibly lead to a nuclearcatastrophe.

Between the Facebook case and the night-mare scenario is the immediate problem ofmillions of people losing jobs. Around theglobe, programmable machines — includingrobots, cars and factory robots — are replac-

ing humans in the workplace. Automationthreatens 80 percent of today’s 3.7 milliontransportation jobs, one U.S. government re-port estimated, including truck and school busdrivers, taxi drivers and Uber and Lyft drivers.Another report indicates AI is threatening as-pects of the many different jobs, including callcenter operators, surgeons, farmers, securityguards, retail assistants, fast food workers andjournalists. A 2015 study of robots in 17 coun-tries found that they accounted for over 10percent of the countries’ gross domestic prod-uct growth between 1993 and 2007. Consider,a major supplier for Apple and Samsung cell

phones and computers, China’sFoxconn Technology Group, is plan-ning to automate 60,000 factory jobswith robots, replacing its existing

employees. Meanwhile, Ford’s factory in Co-logne, Germany, not only replaced humanworkers with robots but also on some jobs sta-tions position robots beside human workers —they are called cobots.

But these employment issues, as troublingas they are, cannot compare to the dangersenvisioned by Elon Musk and Stephen Hawk-ing. They are among the dozens of thoughtleaders who signed a letter harshly condemn-ing governments’ increasing reliance on AI formilitary use. Their chief concern is autonomousweapons, another example of AI. The U.S. mili-tary is already developing armaments that donot require humans to operate them. Theseweapons are being created to offer battlefieldsupport for human troops. Autonomous arms

are dramatically easier to develop and mass-produce than nuclear weapons. They will likelyto soon appear on black markets around theworld, certain to be favored by terrorist groups.To quote from the open letter, the new autono-mous weapons would be ideal for dark actionsincluding “assassinations, destabilizing na-tions, subduing populations and selectivelykilling a particular ethnic group.”

There are some economic optimists likeMIT’s Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee,who feel that AI will eventually bring long termprosperity to the world, but even they admitthat finding common ground among, econo-mists, technologists and politicians is daunt-ing. Obviously, it will be very difficult to craftlegislation about AI without more agreementabout its potential effects.

We should definitely be fearful of artificialintelligence, not just because it is clearly des-tined to affect the number of available jobs,including those in middle and even uppermiddle class domains, but because its poten-tial military use can lead to a perilous fu-ture, if not controlled. As the open lettersigned by Musk and Hawking concluded,“Starting a military AI arms race is a badidea, and should be prevented by a ban onoffensive autonomous weapons beyondmeaningful human control.”

The author is director of the InternationalCenter for Applied Studies in InformationTechnology (ICASIT) http://policy-icasit.gmu.edu/

What To Do Against the ‘Nightmare Scenario’?

Commentary

By Kenneth R. “Ken” Plum

State Delegate (D-36)

Just when you think thingsare changing you can beshocked to realize just how

much they stay the same. Politicsin Virginia are a prime example.

For more than a century afterthe Civil War the consistent factorin politics was race baiting. Thethen-called Democrats in theSouth, who later became knownas Dixiecrats and today are the conservativewing of the Republican Party, were successfulwith a variety of laws that disenfranchised Af-rican Americans.

Even with the few African Americans whocould get through the labyrinth of laws thatincluded blank sheet registration forms, lit-eracy tests and poll taxes the scare tactic em-ployed by too many candidates was to suggestthat their opponent was a lover of black people— but using a derogatory term. That fear ofblack people has its roots back to the centu-ries where black people were enslaved andbrutal enforcement and fear were used to keepthem that way.

The Civil War did not resolve the feelingbetween blacks and whites, and slave codeswere replaced with Jim Crow laws that whitescould use to assert supremacy over blackpeople.

For a candidate to take a posi-tion that could be interpreted asbeing favorable to African Ameri-cans would mean almost certaindefeat at the polls. Only SupremeCourt decisions and federal lawslike the Civil Rights Act and theVoting Rights Act created a morelevel political playing field be-tween the races. Continued efforts

to suppress the votes of minorities and to un-necessarily complicate the voting process arestill employed by some trying to maintain astructured society of white supremacy.

More recently those who want to keep orexpand their political power have swept im-migrants — whatever their status — into therealm of those who are to be feared and sup-pressed from participating in the democraticprocess.

Many strive to gain maximum political ad-vantage through whatever means while at thesame time wanting to keep the appearance ofrespect and patriotism. The recent televisionad with scary images and references to fearand the MS 13 gang intends to scare votersinto rejecting a compassionate medical doctorwith an ad that fact checkers have found to beuntruthful.

Another concern from the current campaign

is the suggestion from a white female candi-date for lieutenant governor that her blackmale opponent does not understand the issueswell enough to discuss them “intelligently.” Dis-regarding the excellent academic credentialsof her opponent, her comments had the toneof the past that one observer said seemed moreappropriate for 1957 than 2017.

At the national level, there are daily state-ments and actions that hearken back to theracial climate of the Old South. This year InVirginia, we have a unique opportunity on Nov.7 to make a statement with our votes that wereject the discrimination of the past. It is al-ways important to vote, but it is more impor-tant than ever this year. Despite efforts to ro-manticize the Old South and the Confederacy,we need to learn the truth and understand whywe need to move on.

It is always important to vote, but it ismore important than ever this year.

Shades of the Old SouthCommentary

WriteThe Connection welcomes views on any public

issue. The deadline for all material is noonFriday. Letters must be signed. Include home

address and home and business numbers.Letters are routinely edited for libel, grammar,

good taste and factual errors. Send to:

Letters to the Editor, The Connection1606 King St., Alexandria VA 22314

Call [email protected]

www.ConnectionNewspapers.com

@HerndonConnect

An independent, locally owned weeklynewspaper delivered

to homes and businesses.Published by

Local Media Connection LLC

1606 King StreetAlexandria, Virginia 22314

Free digital edition delivered toyour email box. Go to

connectionnewspapers.com/subscribe

NEWS DEPARTMENT:[email protected]

Kemal Kurspahic Editor ❖ 703-778-9414

[email protected]

Fallon ForbushReporter

[email protected]

Mercia HobsonContributing Writer

[email protected]

Andrea WorkerReporter

[email protected]

Mike SalmonEditorial Assistant

[email protected]

ADVERTISING:For advertising information

[email protected]

Debbie FunkDisplay Advertising/National Sales

[email protected]

David GriffinMarketing Assistant

[email protected]

Editor & PublisherMary Kimm

[email protected]@MaryKimm

Executive Vice PresidentJerry Vernon

[email protected]

Editor in ChiefSteven Mauren

Managing EditorKemal Kurspahic

Art/Design:Laurence Foong, John Heinly,

Ali KhalighProduction Manager:

Geovani Flores

Special Assistant to the PublisherJeanne Theismann

[email protected]@TheismannMedia

[email protected]

Oak Hill & Herndon


ww

w.lo

stdo

gand

catr

escu

e.or

gA

dopt

/Don

ate/

Volu

ntee

rEducation●Learning●Fun

By Marilyn Campbell

One of the greatest gifts that a par-ent can give a child is a healthyself-esteem. Positive feelings

about oneself can lead to success in a gamutof situations ranging from school to socialcircles, say child development experts.

“Self-esteem plays an important role atall stages of our lives,” said psychologistStacie B. Isenberg, Psy.D. “As adults, it canaffect how one approaches situations andinteracts with other people. When self-es-teem is low, it may, for example, affect workperformance or one’s ability to recognizeand enjoy accomplishments.”

Parents play an essential part in the de-velopment of their child’s self-esteem, ad-vises Cheryl Giacomelli, who teaches psy-chology at Northern Virginia CommunityCollege. “Parents foster self-esteem in manyways including leading by example, beingemotionally available, engaging with theirchildren, and providing a loving and sup-portive environment that allows children tosucceed and fail,” she said.

Parents can model this behavior in every-day tasks. “For example, while helping achild with a math assignment and not un-derstanding the math problem, the parent

Boosting a Child’s Self-Esteem A positive self imageis a lifelong gift.

who says ‘I can’t believe I don’t understandthis, I was always terrible at math” is send-ing a different message than the parent whosays, ‘I’m not sure about this one. Let’s askyour teacher to explain it to us in a differ-ent way,’” said Isenberg. “Parents can ben-efit themselves and their children by learn-ing to describe situations according to thespecific circumstances and resisting puttinga generalized label on the situation or theirbehavior.”

Since children learn by observation, mod-eling healthy relationships and habits is avital component of developing a healthyself-esteem, suggests Giacomelli. “Choosean activity once a day in which you are fullyengaged with your child,” she said. “Thismay sound like common sense, however intoday’s busy world, it’s sometimes difficultto devote all of your attention to one task.This means playing a game or reading abook and ensuring your cell phone is no-where in sight.”

“Experiences that may negatively impactthe development of a strong sense of selfoccur when we do not fully engage withour children, when we do not allow ourchildren to fail, and when we do not ac-knowledge our own faults,” continuedGiacomelli

Avoid harsh criticisms and display expres-sions of love, warmth and affection, advisesJoanne Bagshaw, PhD, LCPC, professor ofpsychology at Montgomery College-Germantown.

“Children’s self-esteem develops based onhow well their parents love them,” she said.“The best thing parents can do is to openlyand unconditionally love and accept theirchild. Parents … can do so verbally, by tell-ing their children often that they love themand by being openly affectionate, with hugs,for example. Parents can also communicatewarmth through their tone of voice, and eyecontact.”

PRAISING CHILDREN is important, butit must be sincere. Even setbacks can offeropportunities for developing a healthy self-esteem, suggests Isenberg. “Children feelgood about themselves when they have re-ceived genuine, positive reinforcement frompeople and situations,” she said. “Praisinga child’s efforts is one of the best thingsparents can reinforce, because a child cancontrol his effort, whereas outcome isn’talways within one’s control.”

One example that Isenberg offers is say-ing something like, “I’m so proud of howhard you studied for that science test. You

spent a lot of time reviewing the materialand were really dedicated to being pre-pared.”

Allowing children to learn to do thingson their own and even experience a setbackwithin a supportive environment may in-crease feelings of confidence and compe-tence, says Jerome Short, Ph.D., associateprofessor of psychology at George MasonUniversity.

“Parents may do too much for childrenor protect them from failure so that chil-dren do not learn to cope with difficult situ-ations and soothe themselves,” he said.“Children should believe that they haveworth for being a unique person.”

Fostering opportunities for positive socialinteraction with their peers can lead to ahealthy self-esteem, says Short. “Childrenwho have close friendships and reciprocalsharing with friends tend to have higherself-esteem,” he said. “Children’s success-ful accomplishment of goals also boosts self-esteem.”

Establishing boundaries and setting lim-its with children can instill a sense of safetyand security, advises Short. “Authoritativeparenting that is high in support and highin structure and expectations contributes tochildren’s positive sense of self,” he said.


An expert is someone who knows some of the worst mistakes that can be

made in his subject and how to avoid them.

-Werner Heisenberg

ClassifiedTo Advertise in This Paper, Call by Monday 11:00 am 703-778-9411

WWW.CONNECTIONNEWSPAPERS.COM

Announcements

We pay top $ for STERLING, MEN’S WATCHES,

JEWELRY, COSTUME JEWELRY,

FURNITURE, PAINTINGS AND CLOCKS.

Schefer Antiques703-241-0790

[email protected]

Announcements Announcements

ABC LICENSECharles Ralph Paige trading as

BLVD Wines, 2333 Dulles Station BlvdApt 143, Herndon, VA 20171-6245.

The above establishment is applying to the VIRGINIA DEPARTMENT OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGE CONTROL (ABC) for a Wine

-mitted to ABC no later than 30 days from

Legals

Senior RF Engineer (Herndon, VA) – Perfrm ntwrk desgn,

plan, optim activities for LTE, VoLTE,

UMTS, GSM ntwrks to improve end

UX. Perfrm root cause anlysis of RF

issues. Reqs: MS electrical/electron-

ics/telecom eng, IT or rltd & 2 yrs

RF ntwrk optim exp or BS electrical/

electronics/telecom eng, IT or rltd

& 5 yrs prog RF ntwrk optim exp; 2

yrs exp ASSET, Atoll, MapInfo, Unet,

Ericsson Biz Objects, Nokia NetAct,

Nemo, TEMS, Huawei U2000, FMA,

LSMR, Agilent, Actix Analyzer; 2

yrs exp VoLTE, IMS, SON, 3GPP,

E2E anlysis, COPS, NSN/Ericsson/

Huawei, telecom ntwrk plan/optim

for GSM/UMTS/LTE based on predic

Res: Amdocs Inc., careersta@am-

docs.com, Ref HR-1058

Employment

Firewood All Seasoned

Red & White Oak Hardwood

$300/cord

$170/half cord

$90/quarter cord

$50/delivery and dump

$100 to stack

Call 703-300-0270

Announcements

Entertainment

Submit entertainment announcementsat www.connectionnewspapers.com/Cal-endar/. The deadline is noon on Friday.Photos/artwork encouraged.

ONGOINGArtist Exhibit. Through Nov. 18 at

Greater Reston Arts Center, 11900Market St., Reston. Artist SueWrbican, bringing her most recentphotographic series inspired by thelandscape paintings of AmericanSurrealist Kay Sage (1898-1963).Free. Visit restonarts.org.

Reston Farm Market, Saturdays,through Dec. 9, 8 a.m. - Noon, LakeAnne Village Center, 11401 NorthShore Drive, SNAP accepted, bonusdollar program. (CLOSED forMulticultural Festival Sept. 23)

Herndon Farm Market, Thursdaysthrough Nov. 9, 8 a.m. - 12:30 p.m.,Old Town Herndon, 700 Block ofLynn St., by the Red Caboose. SNAPaccepted, bonus dollar program.

Jazz in the City Exhibit. Varioustimes at ArtSpace Herndon, 750Center St., Herndon. Kristine Kellerand Robert Gilbert paint with aninterest in New York. Visitwww.artspaceherndon.com.

OCT. 21-NOV. 11“Aida” the Musical. various times at

Reston Community Center, HuntersWoods Village Center at 2310 ColtsNeck Road. Reston Players presents“Aida” with music by pop legend SirElton John and lyrics by Tim Rice.Visit restonplayers.org/show1/.

SUNDAY/OCT. 22Vulture Lecture. 3-5 p.m. at National

Wildlife Federation Building, 11100Wildlife Center Drive, Reston.Presentation will focus on the lifeand times of the noble turkeyvulture, including its feeding,nesting, and roosting habits,migratory behaviors, and commonmisconceptions. Visit www.nwf.org/.

Mary Kay Lash Bash. 2-6 p.m. atMolly’s Boutique, Reston TownCenter, 11900 Market St., Reston.Try some false lashes for youreveryday look or for your Halloweencostume. Free. Visitrestontowncenter.scoutandmollys.com.

MONDAY/OCT. 23Open Venturing Meeting. 7-8 p.m.

at Reston YMCA, 12196 Sunset HillsRoad, Reston. Learn about Venturing,a Scouting program for boys and girlsages 14-20. Venturing includes highadventure activities, leadershipdevelopment, personal growth, andservice. Call 571-289-1551 or visitwww.scouting.org.

TUESDAY/OCT. 24INOVA Blood Drive. noon-7 p.m. at

Reston Town Center Pavilion, 11900Market Street, Reston. Free.Call 1-866-256-6372 or visit inova.org/donateblood.

Design and Wine. 7-9 p.m. atArtSpace Herndon, 750 Center St.,Herndon. Beaded Charms withDeborah Gudelsky. Visitwww.artspaceherndon.org/.

THURSDAY/OCT. 26Meet the Artists. 5:30-7 p.m. at

Reston Museum, 1639 WashingtonPlaza N. Meet the artists behind theThe Art of Community exhibit whichshowcases the legacy of public art inReston and the planned community’scollection of outdoor sculptures andpublic artworks. Call 703-709-7700or email [email protected].

OCT. 26-29Washington West Film Festival.

Various times at Bow Tie Cinemas,11940 Market St., Reston TownCenter. Variety of independent films.Visit wwfilmfest.com.

SATURDAY/OCT. 28Reston Movie Series. 2 p.m. at

Reston Regional Library, 11925Bowman Towne Drive, Reston. 1967suspense film where a recentlyblinded woman is terrorized by a trioof thugs while they search for avaluable doll they believe is in herapartment. Adults. Call 703-689-2700 or visitlibrarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov.

Photo Transfer Workshop. 5:30-7p.m. at Reston Town Center, 11900Market St., Reston. $45/$55. Visitrestonarts.org or call 703-471-9242.

Meet the Musician. 7 p.m. at Bow TieCinema, 11940 Market St.,RestonTown Center. Clive Davis is thesubject of film that will screen atWashington West Film Festivalentitled “Clive Davis: The Soundtrackof Our Lives,” which profiles the five-decade career of a music producer.This is part of Washington West FilmFestival which runs Oct. 25-30. Visitwwfilmfest.com/.

Trick or Treat at Reston TownCenter. noon-4 p.m. at 11940Market St.,Reston Town Center.Costumed children can celebrateHalloween with visits to participatingretailers and the Information Centerfor treats and goodies. Visitrestontowncenter.com.

SUNDAY/OCT. 29Superhero Among Us. 10 a.m.-9 p.m.

p.m. at Scrawl Books, Reston TownCenter 11862 Market St. Be YourOwn Superhero Day, partnering withArtInsights and hosting superhero-themed events all day long. [email protected], call 703-966-2111, or visit www.scrawlbooks.com.

SEPT. 29-OCT. 1ValeArts Fall Art Show. 10 a.m.-9

p.m. Friday; 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Saturdayand Sunday at Vale Schoolhouse,3124 Fox Mill Road, Oakton. Thenine artists of ValeArts will present“Transformations,” an exhibit ofmore than 150 works of local art.Call 703-860-1888.

MONDAY/OCT. 30Spice Up Your Life Lecture. 7 p.m.

at Reston Regional Library, 11925Bowman Towne Drive, Reston. Joinnutritionist Natalie Kannan to learnabout the health benefits of commonculinary spices. This seminar includesan interactive tasting experience thatwill awaken the senses. Adults. Call703-689-2700 or visitlibrarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov.

SATURDAY/NOV. 4Storytime with the Author. 11 a.m.-

12:30 p.m. at Scrawl Books, RestonTown Center 11862 Market St.Storytime with children’s authorMegan Wagner Lloyd. [email protected], call 703-966-2111, or visit www.scrawlbooks.com.

Singles Dinner and Movie Night. 5p.m. at American Tap Room inReston, 1811 Library Street.Sponsored by New Beginnings, asupport group for separated/divorcedadults. $32 at door includes dinner,soda, tip and movie ticket. Visitwww.newbeginningsusa.org.

MONDAY/NOV. 6Franchise Fair. 8:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

at Reston Association ConferenceCenter, 12001 Sunrise Valley Drive.Experts, lenders and a dozenfranchisors from various industrieswill discuss the franchise process.$35; $49 at the door. Register atwww.capitalfranchiseshow.com.Contact Heather Rosen at 703-291-0939 or [email protected].

TUESDAY/NOV. 7Meet the Author. 7-9 p.m. at Scrawl

Books, Reston Town Center, 11862Market St. Reston. “Calculated Risk:The Supersonic Life and Times of GusGrissom” event with biographerGeorge Leopold. [email protected], call 703-966-2111, or visit www.scrawlbooks.com.

NOV. 10-12Herndon High School Theatre

presents “Twelfth Night.’Various times at Herndon HighSchool Auditorium, 700 Bennett St.William Shakespeare’s holidaycomedy set in the roaring ’20s. $6-$12. Visit www.HerndonDrama.org.

Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’Nov. 10-12, Herndon High School Theatre presents“Twelfth Night” at Herndon High School Auditorium, 700Bennett Street. William Shakespeare’s holiday comedy setin the roaring ’20s. $6 for students and $12 for adults.Visit www.HerndonDrama.org for more.

Pho

to

by Bo

b M

axw

ell


Submit civic/community announcements atConnectionNewspapers.com/Calendar. Photos andartwork welcome. Deadline is Thursday at noon, atleast two weeks before event.

WEDNESDAY/OCT. 18FCPS Community Conversations. 6:30-8 p.m.

at Hughes Middle School, 11401 Ridge HeightsRoad, Reston, Lecture Hall (Region 1). FairfaxCounty Public Schools (FCPS) SuperintendentScott S. Brabrand will host CommunityConversations to hear what students, parents,employees, and members of the community arethinking about and what issues are important tothem. Citizens needing a translator can make arequest for services online. Visit www.fcps.edu/news/superintendent-brabrand-schedules-five-community-conversations-fall.

Women’s Health Lecture. 7 p.m. at RestonRegional Library, 11925 Bowman Towne Drive,Reston. Dr. Bridget Oppong, from Reston BreastCare Specialists, will answer questions. Call 703-689-2700 or visitlibrarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov for more.

MONDAY/OCT. 23Hot Topics Discussion. 7 p.m. at Reston

Regional Library, 11925 Bowman Towne Drive,Reston. The topic for this month is “News Bluesand How To Defuse.” Practice using respectfuland positive communication techniques whendiscussing hot button issues. Call 703-689-2700or visit librarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov formore.

TUESDAY/OCT. 24INOVA Blood Drive. noon-7 p.m. at Reston

Town Center Pavilion, 11900 Market Street,Reston. Free. Call 1-866-256-6372 or visitinova.org/donateblood.

ID Theft Lecture. 2 p.m. at Reston RegionalLibrary, 11925 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston.“Protect Yourself From Fraud and ID Theft,” isthe topic that trained speakers from AARP FraudWatch Network will discuss. Adults. Call 703-689-2700 or visitlibrarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov for more.

WEDNESDAY/OCT. 25Candidate Forum. 7:30 p.m. at Sully

Government Center, 4900 Stonecroft Blvd.,Chantilly. The League of Women Voters of theFairfax Area (LWVFA) will hold an in-personforum for the public and the press to learn aboutthe candidates who are running for election tothe Virginia House of Delegates. The Leagueinvited all certified candidates campaigning foroffice in their respective districts. At the in-person forums, question-and-answer sessionswill be followed by an opportunity for informalconversations with individual candidates. Thepublic and press are encouraged to attend. Formore information about the candidates’priorities and positions, visit www.vote411.org.

THURSDAY/OCT. 26Business Lecture. 7 p.m. at Reston Regional

Library, 11925 Bowman Towne Drive, Reston.Dollars and Sense discussion focuses onbusinesses. Adults. Call 703-689-2700 or visitlibrarycalendar.fairfaxcounty.gov for more.

SATURDAY/OCT. 28Operation Medicine Cabinet Cleanout. 10

a.m.-2 p.m. at Reston District Station, 12000Bowman Towne Drive, Reston. Drop off unusedor expired medications at a Fairfax CountyPolice district station. Pills or liquids only, nopressurized canisters or needles. Safe disposal ofunused or expired medications prevents drugabuse and misuse, accidental poisoning, andprotects the environment. Disposal is free,convenient, confidential, and safe. Visitwww.fairfaxcounty.gov/police/stations/ orwww.deadiversion.usdoj.gov/drug_disposal/takeback/index.html for more.

NOV. 16-17Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive. To support

this year’s Thanksgiving Basket Food Drive,confirm your donation commitment by Oct. 31at www.cornerstonesva.org/donations/drives.Call 571-323-9569 [email protected].

Bulletin

Kenny Lourie is an Advertising Representative forThe Potomac Almanac & The Connection Newspapers.

By KENNETH B. LOURIE

So I’ve been told mnemonically for years. Butwhen you’re home and automotive-repair chal-lenged as I am, everything is much easier said thandone, especially when the mnemonic device is eas-ier to handle/figure out than whatever tool and/orschematic is necessary/advisable for the at-home/in-driveway repair. (We don’t have a garage,or much of a basement for that matter. It’s more ofa cellar, actually. In fact, I call it “the dug out,” solack of spatial accommodations can exacerbate theproblem).

And that’s sort of how I feel whenever I attempta home/car-owner-type repair. Soon after I organ-ize whatever thoughts and tools I guess I mightneed: within minutes of the initial effort, I will havelikely complicated the repair and will be forced todig myself out, sometimes literally. I’ll spare you thedetails, but suffice to say, I am a man of my wordand that word is disaster. To invoke the great andoften-quoted Dirty Harry: “A man’s got to know hislimitations,” (Magnum Force, 1973), and believeme, I do.

Granted, replacing bulbs in my house, as writ-ten in the final paragraph of last week’s column:“What To ‘Ware,” ranks pretty low on the homeowner’s list of honey-can-you-do?. Nevertheless,challenges do present themselves, especially whenheight and a ladder – or a step stool, with no spot-ter, are involved. And when I’m looking up witharms outstretched attacking the problem: light fix-ture from multiple angles, sometimes, when I placemy hand on the bulb, I begin to lose my orienta-tion and am unsure where’s ‘Righty and where’s‘Lefty.’ And even though I always remember ‘Tightyand ‘Loosey,’ when ‘Righty Tighty, Lefty Loosey’doesn’t immediately bring results, I tend to losepatience – and confidence, and slowly retreat tolower ground to reassess.

Unfortunately, there’s no one to call. I mean,when you fail at the most basic and fundamentalresponsibility a home/car owner has, it’s difficult,even for someone with as little ego as me, to admitabject failure. Repairing a toilet, installing light fix-tures and/or ceiling fans; sawing, sanding, measur-ing, leveling and drilling; lifting, balancing and car-rying; and anything else involving plumbing, elec-trifying; and even hammering and screwing in gen-eral, are tasks I don’t mind asking and/or paying for.Having been down this road many times before, Iknow it’s a path that won’t lead to my redemption.

So not wanting to make a bad situation worse,or create a problem where one or two previouslydidn’t exist, I have to employ the simplest of solu-tions. And what’s simpler than “a pithy observationthat contains a general truth:” an aphorism (Dictio-nary. com), an aid to one’s lack of memory andability to perform even the most basic of tasks, par-ticularly as it pertains to a home owner: bulbreplacement.

Not that this inability is at all defensible. It’s not.It’s totally indefensible and one whose defense isnot all explainable by the most offensive of terms:cancer. Which as you regular readers know hasbeen the bane of my existence going back to lateFebruary 2009. That’s when my Internal Medicinedoctor called me at work to share the results of myprevious week’s surgical biopsy. His suggestion wasthat we meet in his office to discuss the results. Ishook my head in disbelief. If he wants to meet mein person, the results must be bad, I thought.Otherwise, he’d just tell me, right? I asked him tohold on as I found a private office for us to talk (meto react) and braced myself. He told me the growthwas malignant and suggested I see an oncologist assoon as possible. An appointment was set for thefollowing Thursday.

Much has changed in my life ever since thatfateful day, but not as it concerns this home/carowner’s inability to handle the most mundanetasks. Might haven actually gotten worse. As for“the cancer,” as “Forrest, Forrest Gump” describedthe cause of his mother’s death, not so bad. I amalive and reasonably well, eight years and nearlytwo months out, six years plus past the end date ofmy original “13 month to two year” prognosis. Ofthat I’m proud. As for the home and car repairdeficiencies, I couldn’t care less. I have to admitthough, it is laughable – and pathetic.

“Righty Tighty,Lefty Loosey”Business Directory

To Advertise Your Business, Call Karen at 703-778-9422WWW.CONNECTIONNEWSPAPERS.COM

ELECTRICAL ELECTRICAL

GUTTER GUTTER

IMPROVEMENTS IMPROVEMENTS

LANDSCAPING

LANDSCAPING LANDSCAPING

LANDSCAPING LANDSCAPING

TILE / MARBLE TILE / MARBLE

TILE / MARBLE TILE / MARBLE

Good is not good, where

better is expected.

-Thomas Fuller


News

By Mercia Hobson

The Connection

Hornet Pride rang loud andclear at the Herndon Homecoming Parade held Satur-day, Oct. 14, 9:30 a.m.- 11

a.m. The theme for this year’s event was“Across the World,” focusing on countriesthat have been Olympic hosts. Although alight mist fell, it did not deter the hugecrowd of town residents and friends whocheered on the estimated 1,500 parade par-ticipants as they marched, danced, and per-formed down the parade route.

Many homeowners who live on EldenStreet hosted traditional Homecoming Pa-rade Porch Parties, offering high front rowseating, refreshments, and a festive atmo-sphere as they watched the parade together.Other parade goers brought lawn chairs andblankets and settled in curbside for an up-close viewing.

Together everyone cheered on the paradeparticipants — from the color guard, march-ing band, and drill teams, to ROTC mem-bers, class princesses and students wavingfrom their class floats. Community groups,younger local elementary, and middleschool students joined in the revelry, as didpoliticians and local business owners.

All the participants, the characters, andfaces of the Town of Herndon proudly wavedas they marched and rode in the parade withsmiles and enthusiasm adding to the senseof tradition and small-town charm.

Presiding over the parade were HerndonHigh School Principal Dr. Liz Noto, MayorLisa Merkel, Vice Mayor Jen Baker, andCouncilmembers Grace Wolf Cunningham,Jeff Davidson, Signe Friedrichs, BillMcKenna, and Sheila Olem, and HerndonPolice Captain Brad Anzengruber.

Event draws nearly1,500 participants.

HornetPride Goeson Parade

Each spin and toss of the flags by the Herndon HighSchool Color Guard, “The Sport of the Arts,” creates adifferent illusion.

The Herndon High School cheerleaders spark enthusi-asm during Homecoming Parade 2017.

The smallest car in the Herndon Homecoming Parade2017 belonged to Dusty Simmons and Daryl Crocker.Simmons gives a big wave to parade viewers asCrocker, a retired Town of Herndon employee sitsbeside him.

The Navy Junior ROTC Color Guard of Herndon HighSchool lead the Homecoming Parade 2017.

Photos by Mercia Hobson/The Connection

Documents

Hornet Pride Goes on Parade