"Honey, are those chemical weapons in the rose bushes?"

Spring Valley. A neighborhood where the average home price is $3,124,250. Home to media personalities like Ann Compton, lawyers such as Brendan Sullivan, all manner of politicians, CEO's of corporations that make more money than some nations, "elite" Washingtonians, past presidents such as George H.W. Bush and Richard Nixon , the homes of such ambassadors as those from South Korea, Spain, Qatar, Yemen, and Bahrain... and chemical weapons leftover from World War I.

During that Great War Spring Valley was used as a chemical weapons testing ground. Long before residents of the affluent and elite neighborhood provided complimentary valet parking for their house party guests the green hills and tall trees of Spring Valley were subjected to chemical munitions such as mustard gas, arsine, and lewisite.

Apparently in 1993 a building contractor digging a ditch found some 141 ordnance items... on the property of the South Korean ambassador. I'm curious as to what kind of compensation and fallout came from that. The ambassador's house and grounds are gorgeous. Since then the Army Corp of Engineers has found chemical munitions in burial pits on adjacent properties- which is what brought the whole thing to my attention.

Natalie and I drive through Spring Valley at least twice a day as it is the neighborhood right next to us and where Washington College of Law is. Past the ambassador's beautiful house, past a Spanish ambassadorial house, and past the houses that have been cordoned off with fence and plastic tarps while the Army Corps of Engineers meticulously search for more chemical warheads.

When I first past those $3 million houses they were just being fenced off. I thought they were undergoing massive renovation before winter sets in (that happens around here.) But each day as I past I would see a new sign go up warning of what to do in case of a chemical emergency, manned police cars parked outside the properties, an ambulance permanently parked in the one open driveway. Then the Army Corp of Engineer's sign went up and I noticed MPs in ACUs in the neighborhood where you normally would see black suits and Harvard T-shirts.

Obviously there hasn't been a massive release of mustard or lewisite agents from the extraction of the munitions but the possibility exists and that is a frightening prospect. The soil surrounding Spring Valley which includes American University has been highly contaminated in certain areas with arsenic forcing its removal. 140 properties in the area need their soil removed because of contamination from chemical weapons testing during World War I.

How much more would be contaminated in the present if there are more munitions yet to be unburied that release from warhead failure? Hopefully that does not happen.

An interesting occurrence and ongoing chemical weapons cleanup project in our backyard and in one of the most influential neighborhoods on the planet.

The fault in all of this lies in the marketing of the area for residential development. Was it "government cover-up?" Highly unlikely. More likely than not it was the drive of capitalism and real estate that brushed aside any (if any) concerns at the time in the past when Spring Valley became the neighborhood that it is. A forgotten munitions testing ground from a time of war long ago in the history of Washington DC.

Of course there are other questions that are begging to be asked in all of this. Concerns to analyze and "what ifs" to pose.

Above it all though is the work of those who are now and have been cleaning up the fatal danger of those forgotten weapons. As winter moves in and their work continues I hope they stay as safe and as meticulous as they have been to this point.

Today I saw a man in a full NBC (nuclear, biological, chemical) suit as I drove past. A poignant accent to the very real danger in such a beautiful community.

Even in the middle of an area where lives are deemed more valuable than the majority of the population the horrors of our very own chemical weapons are a fatal reality. Not terrorists. Not extremists. Our own forgotten weapons of horror and terror meant to be used on people.

Read more about the cleanup operation here:

http://www.nab.usace.army.mil/projects/WashingtonDC/springvalley/overview.htm

http://www.cma.army.mil/successstories.aspx#3

Sign and munition photos from the USACE website

A Saturday full of Friction & Friksn

This past Saturday we hosted the Friction Bouldering Series at Sportrock Alexandria. A very long day but a great day all around.

The youth competed in the morning starting at 10am and the adults competed in the afternoon with Open Finals starting at 7pm. Each group had 3 hours to complete as many problems as they wanted with only their top 5 scoring problems being used to tabulate their rankings. The top 5 men and top 5 women then went on to finals.

Our kids from the Junior Team climbed hard. Some competed for fun and some came to win- and most of them were able to do both. Out of the 5 youth categories Sportrock won 4 of them.

Lots of great photos were taken- here's Andre pulling hard to the left taken by Nic.

You can find more pictures of the comp on Nic's page
and Brian Chu's gallery.

The adult comp was exciting to watch. Lots of people I talk to all the time climbing the hardest and longest they ever had. Of course the top climbers busted out the hardest 5 problems in the gym within an hour and then left to get food before returning at 7 for the finals they were assured to be in.









Here's Samantha to the right stretching out her amazingly long legs and an unknown climber to the left locking it off to the top.




































Sasha competed of course and ended up winning the women's open competition as she has done throughout the series. Having just turned 15 she competed the past summer at the Junior Worlds in Ecuador and ranked 3rd. In the world. At 15. She's a great climber and a good kid.




We also had Friksn Climbing at the comp. That's pronounced "friction" by the way.

Their clothing is sharp and Justin (the head of Friksn) and all the people with him were friendly... and overly generous! From the first moment I saw their designs a few weeks ago while deciding on shirts to get for the Junior Team I was hooked. Its rare that a majority of designs by one company catches my eye and all of theirs did.

Take a look at their website at the link above.

Blacksalt

This beautiful fall morning found Natalie and I making our way just down the street to Blacksalt for their Sunday Morning Jazz Brunch.

Blacksalt reminds me of a fusion of different restaurants I've been to across the map: The Greenery, Bloom, and The Bluewater Cafe.

Eating there this morning listening to live jazz was the most comfortable moment I've had here in DC as of yet. The mix of hardwood chairs, giant skylight over the bar, and delicious brunch gave the experience an overwhelming sense of familiarity... a remembrance of Sunday mornings spent at The Greenery.

Both our dishes were worthy of note- Nat had the Three Egg Omelet with Blue Crab, Local Squash, and Aged Gouda while I had Louisiana Poached Eggs with Crawfish, Tasso, Cornbread, and Cayenne Hollandaise. We also ordered pumpkin muffins which were perfect for the fall morning but could have been sweeter.

Highly recommend a Blacksalt brunch sometime.

Falling Toward Apothnitosis

As I convalesce I've decided to resurrect this canvas on which to etch my thoughts.

Yesterday I had surgery. An experience to say the least.

From changing into the oh so flattering hospital gown, slippers, and head covering to waking up in post-op.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

I had never had surgery before much less an IV inserted into my hand. When the nurse inserted the IV there was the slightest of pokes and then a rising coolness throughout my left arm that then became a gurgling in my shoulder. I could feel the fluid then spread to my chest and the rest of my body in a wave of cool. At the same time I broke into a cold sweat which was an extremely odd experience.

Sitting there on the medical table with Natalie by my side holding my arm the cold sweat and admittedly anxiety faded. Other patients were getting various forms of anesthetic and fluid IVs put in them in the other "stalls" around me. Interestingly 3 of them were having nerve blocks done to work on shoulders and knees. One very large muscular man who was going to have a shoulder worked on started freaking out before the Dr. even inserted the needle to attempt the nerve block. Within a few minutes he was out and snoring up a storm. It was amusing and helped to take my mind off my impending oblivion. Having to have the surgery didn't bother me- being put under did.

The anesthetists came by and described what would be done to me- general sedation with local anesthetic on the area being repaired. One was a larger male doctor who looked as though he might have played football as an undergrad. The other was a tall, skinny female doctor wearing a burnt orange head covering and possessing a deep practiced voice. She would be the one to put me under. I asked her if I would be aware of the operation. She replied by shaking her head and pursing her lips in a doubtful frown... "No, most people are snowed by the time they get to the operating room"

After my surgeon came by and confirmed what they would be doing and marking the side of my body that it would be done on (I had already written a big "YES" on the left side of my body so there would hopefully be no working on something other than what was to be worked on) things moved quickly. A nurse came in with the female anesthetist and introduced herself. The doctor had a syringe and I felt anxiety creeping back at the fact that I was about to be completely out of control with myself. They said "Ready?" I said "I love you Natalie" and they began to wheel me away.

As they rolled me the doctor put the syringe into one of the soft receptacles on the IV inserted into my hand and added about half the contents of it into my arm.

As with the IV I felt the strange sensation of liquid moving up my arm and then into my chest and then this time my head as I started to feel rummy. I forced myself to look around as we turned a corner down another hallway and was just about to ask which room we were going to... and that's all I remember.

I began waking up comfortable lying down, aware of a nurse talking to me and tubes in my nose. She asked if I was ok and I croaked softly that I was- and I was. I asked were I was and if the surgery had been done yet. She said it was all over. Even groggy I was astounded that it was over and I had no memory, no inkling of what had been done to my body other than the some pressure and slight pain where the work had been done.

My surgeon came by and said everything had gone well, that I was going to be fine, and that they had me in post-op because I was a little sleepy. Whether that means I didn't come out of sedation as soon as they thought I would I don't know. Nevertheless I was fine.

They moved me to the recovery area where Natalie and Dave came in smiling. Dave was wearing a blue dress shirt, tie, and slacks... he looked sharp just off The Hill. I think I've only ever seen Dave in climbing wear before. Ha!

Natalie of course looked beautiful and it was great to see her. I was surprised at how lucid I was. There was pain and I was tired but I was thinking clearly. Dave went to get his car as I got dressed and the Nat and I walked out of the hospital.

What an experience.

Despite the harsh year that has passed here in DC the past month has shown me that there are good people to find here. Ms. Chin who took us to the hospital. Dave. Krista who made us baked Ziti, a Caeser salad, and cookies for my night after surgery.

No bouldering for awhile. No climbing at all.

This the day after surgery is filled with pain but that will pass with time. Pain is temporary.

And so apparently is the hatred of this place and its people within me.