Impassioned pleas

When I reiterate that I spent much of the weekend volunteering, it is not because I want a medal. The medals go to the underpaid people who devote their careers or at least day jobs to often difficult, unglamorous, and critical work. I'm bringing it up because I have some impassioned pleas:

-Please, please, please bring your own reusable mug the next time you buy prepared coffee. Yesterday, I helped pick up trash along the Anacostia. It was more than once pointed out that we could do that every day and still not get all the trash. The river banks are lined with Styrofoam. Now, I know my readers don't toss their disposable cups in the street, but still-- reuse!


-On that note, don't buy into this new "buy eco-chic" trend. Sure, organic, biodegradable soy blah-blah-blah is better than nonbiodegradable, but buying less is best.

-Don't be @$$hole parents. One co-volunteer shared the tale of a friend of hers, who teaches at a private school. She wrote a paragraph-long evaluation for one of her (five-year old) student's report card, saying he was a good kid but could play better with others-- apparently he had a spitball habit. The parents flipped out and provided her with a replacement paragraph, starting with "To say [John] is a pleasure to have in class is an understatement..." and demanded that she use it.

Today, I volunteered at the Carpenter's Cookoff. Carpenter's Shelter is an exceptionally well-managed and overall fantastic organization. I volunteer there regularly and can vouch that they do great work. Thanks to their transition programs, the vast majority of their families at any given time overcome homelessness. So...

-When you make your donations, please consider Carpenter's.

-When you go out to dinner, especially those of you in Alexandria, please give special consideration to the Cookoff's sponsors. I can only vouch for the places that served pescetarian fare, so I can tell you that:

-Asian Bistro's spicy tuna rolls were out of this world
-Hollin Hall Pastry Shop's desserts were beautiful and delicious
-Jackson 20 and The Warehouse/Wharf both had excellent seafood
-Stardust had great vegetarian soup and salad
-Vermillion's served a very tasty chilled soup with pine nuts

-Other sponsors were:

Union St. Public House
Del Merei Grille
A la Lucia
Restaurant Eve
The Majestic
Fire Flies
DC Central Kitchen
Evening Star Café
Rustico/Buzz
Southside 815
Landini Brothers
Generous George’s