SEPTEMBER 2001
Monday -- September 3, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.8 Water Temperature: 79
Remember folks... it is not just Labor day... it is Regatta Day. So bring your kiddies and yourselves and come join the fun at 1:30 PM as George and Marcia Loeb lead the events. We're talking canoe jousting, one leg racing, egg tossing, and all those other wonderful summer picnic games. Bring a pot to share, but the burgers and dogs are provided.
At approximately 0510 hrs Staff was awakened by what sounded like small caliber gunfire coming from the direction of the illegal rope swing. Park Police Dispatch was called. At approximately 0520 hrs staff was called by Lt. Davis of the Park Police who indicated that other calls had been received with a similar report and that units had already responded to a rock throwing incident at the pedestrian overpass where three individuals had been detained and that there was a presumed connection. Staff reported that sounds of partying could still be heard coming from the illegal rope swing and that upriver from that location there were the lights of presumed fishermen that seemed to have been there all night.
The Island archives should record that Oscar has returned to his roots. Oscar is a shiner who was released yesterday by the Banta family back into his mother's natural habitat. He had been living in the Banta aquarium since his mother was captured from the river here and taken to their home. A third generation is still in the Banta aquarium and some of them may one day join Oscar.
Justine Wolk, a guest of the Banta's yesterday, deserves a special mention in the dispatches, cited by the Captain's Wife as "deserving of glorification for her effort and participation" in the Captain's project to remove the unsightly mess that had accumulated in the river near the Captain's float. Many will recall that a huge log had snagged in the branches of the fallen sycamore tree there and all summer has been accumulating floating trash and detritus. The Captain was able to somehow deploy sufficient rope and volunteers to remove the fallen log and clear out the unsightliness.
Tuesday -- September 4, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.8 Water Temperature: 79
Yesterday there were 45 people (children of all ages) signed in for the Seventh Annual Sycamore Island Regatta. The weather sparkled, the food was great, and laughter and good fellowship reigned all afternoon. The smiles of children receiving their award certificates were recorded by Bill Banta's camera, and there is a plan afoot to allow parents to retrieve them from the web page. Stay tuned.
Furthermore, Ed Gero's potluck dish was so popular that several wistful chewers demanded the recipe. In honor of the occasion, he has named his dish Sycamore Island Stir fry and the recipe has been forwarded to the Webmaster and will be able to be obtained from the Island web page.
Wednesday -- September 5, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.8 Water Temperature: 79
The encounter seemed so innocent... who could have imagined the consequences to come. The squirrel was very young, and the Caretaker thought surely he was on the screen porch because of youthful exploration. The squirrel had been interrupted while about some business on the table near the door where there were several bags of grass seed in large paper bags. They had looked at each other and the Caretaker had actually been flattered that the squirrel showed no fear and sort of ambled off unworried. It was only after dark when loud critter sounds came from the screen porch that the Caretaker put it together and realized what had happened... the squirrels had located the secret Caretaker donut stash! The Caretaker jumped up and bolted for the door before he realized that by his very actions he was busted. Just as every Mother can tell when every little boy is guilty of something, this lore is somehow passed on through the Y chromosome to little girls, who become wives and can tell when big boys are guilty of something. Thus, every husband learns to cringe when a certain tone creeps in to the "Where are you going?"... which in some instances is code for "Why are you acting so guilty?" And so the whole ugly story was revealed... how the fishermen had left this box of donuts so decadent that just one bite was guaranteed to harden a mile of artery. The really tricky question was "Why did you feel you had to hide them?" Fortunately, most husbands eventually learn to recognize trick questions, and so instead of confessing that he simply wanted to avoid the lecture about the 40 zillion calories, the Caretaker tried to explain that he was not actually trying to hide the donuts... after all he did not hide them under the bags of grass seed... but merely placed them in the same paper bag. In the end the donuts were not confiscated, but they might as well have been, because there was no joy in gobbling them after discovery... and they went to the fishes.
Thursday -- September 6, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.9 Water Temperature: 78
We have received news that Bill Banta is in the hospital as a result of a spider bite received on the Island while he was substitute caretaker last Sunday. Stay tuned.
This year there is a multitude of stealth mosquitoes... so small and light that one cannot feel them land and are unaware of being visited until after the bite itches. These are the Asian tigers that are newly arrived in our area. The last two times the Caretaker has come down the path he has been bitten... in the daylight... so the threat lurks even before arriving at the Island and all visitors should prepare accordingly.
On the last page of a special Scientific American issue devoted to nanotechnology passed on by Tryon Wells, Laurence Corash, Chief Medical Officer of Cerus Corporation, answers a question that has certainly been mulled over by this caretaker and probably everyone with an outdoor job: If a used needle can transmit HIV, why can't a mosquito? His answer:
The AIDS virus (HIV) on used needles is infectious when injected into a human because the virus can bind to T cells and start to replicate. The human T cell is a very specific host cell for HIV. When a mosquito feeds on a person with HIV, the HIV enters the insect's gut, where it cannot find a host.
The malarial parasite, in contrast, can survive, multiply and mature in the mosquito's gut. The parasites then migrate to the insect's salivary glands. Because mosquitoes inject their saliva when they bite, the parasite is passed along to the next human on whom the insect feeds. The complex interaction between the infectious agent and the mosquito is thus required for malarial transmission. HIV, however, deteriorates in the gut before the mosquito bites again and therefore is not transmitted to the insect's next victim.
So... we do not all have to move to the artic circle after all!
Friday -- September 7, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.9 Water Temperature: 78
Club Captain John Matthews has been concerned about the way the path down the hill has become dangerously washed out by recent heavy rains. Noticing that there was gravel and stuff left behind at the top of the hill by the Park Service when they upgraded the path and put in the water boards, he suggested that the Club might pay a laborer to bring shovel and wheelbarrow and transfer this abandoned path material from the top of the hill and fill in those washed out sections of the path. Sounds simple.... right?
Wrong! Unfortunately he did the right thing and called Nancy Poe, Ranger Volunteer Coordinator, who oversaw the construction of the much-improved path. He was told to take pictures... come up with a plan... submit the plan in writing... and someone would try to get back to him in three weeks. This is our government in action... or inaction!
People should be reminded that it was our own Caretaker Predecessor Ken Fassler who is primarily responsible for the user friendly path folks now use... who spent months establishing the grade, locating and lugging the locust logs used to originally border the path to contain erosion, and pounding steel rods to secure these logs in place on the hillside. True, the much-improved path results from the efforts of volunteers from the Justice Department who spent a Saturday morning working on the path as part of the program whereby government employees get comp time for participation in community activities, but the government "improved" path now requires government maintenance.
So... the Sycamore Island Club offered to spend its own money to repair the path but encountered government attitude. Some thanks. Take pictures??? This is outrageous! Once the Club makes a report that uses the words "dangerous path" the Park Service darn well ought to get someone down to have a look at it. The Park Service is clearly clueless regarding the amount of traffic on the towpath at this location that has been enabled and encouraged by the government-improved path. Only a tiny percentage of people actually use the path to come to Sycamore Island, and certainly not the hundred plus teens that used the bridge daily during August to swim in the river at the illegal rope swing. And this does not count the multitudes that come at night! Thus, it is not even the Club that has a great stake in improving the path. Or, while we are at it... the iron bridge... that desperately needs painting so that it does not degrade further... yet another structure paid for and built by the Club that has not been properly maintained since the government took it over... despite annual requests for the last three years.
Monday -- September 10, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.7 Water Temperature: 79
Several Members have commented in the last few days about the sounds of dusk on the Island... prompting the first ever reprint of a previous Log entry... this from last year's August:
While leaving last night's meeting, Marcia Loeb commented that the evening serenade had changed. Upon arriving at the meeting earlier, the evening sounds had been primarily of cicadas, which make a singular sound that is buzz saw in fashion. Departing the Island two hours later, only the katydids could be heard with their dual rhythm "katydid... katydidn't". This morning one could hear the cicadas do their thing, and the difference was suddenly so clear that it was a wonder to contemplate how one could live over fifty years before understanding this basic distinction in the every-night-sounds... to have heard all one's life but not known enough to listen. Little kids should be made to learn these things early in life lest they grow up to be like the Caretaker and experience the bitter embarrassment of ignorance. Certainly this is just another example of our cultural disconnect from nature... as before nighttime television surely every kid knew a cicada from a katydid. While leaving last night's meeting, Marcia Loeb commented that the evening serenade had changed. Upon arriving at the meeting earlier, the evening sounds had been primarily of cicadas, which make a singular sound that is buzz saw in fashion. Departing the Island two hours later, only the katydids could be heard with their dual rhythm "katydid... katydidn't". This morning one could hear the cicadas do their thing, and the difference was suddenly so clear that it was a wonder to contemplate how one could live over fifty years before understanding this basic distinction in the every-night-sounds... to have heard all one's life but not known enough to listen. Little kids should be made to learn these things early in life lest they grow up to be like the Caretaker and experience the bitter embarrassment of ignorance. Certainly this is just another example of our cultural disconnect from nature... as before nighttime television surely every kid knew a cicada from a katydid.
Wednesday -- September 12, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: Water Temperature:
Substitute caretaker Mary Ellen Green reports this day that on approximately 7 instances she responded to the ringing ferry bell only to have teenagers run away towards the direction of the illegal rope swing. This is reported as unusual only because there seemed to be an attempt to crawl out along the ferry rope to the point where the steel cable extends out from the shore to the rope connection. The steel cable extends the ten feet closest to the shore because is has been necessary to inhibit vandals from trying to cut the ferry rope, and it is disturbing to find vandals attempting to reach that connection. Is the Island a target for vandals?
Thursday -- September 13, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 76
Substitute caretaker Mary Ellen Green reports that shortly after 1500 hrs yesterday more sounds of gunfire could be heard originating from the area of the illegal rope swing. As a substitute caretaker she was hesitant to report it first to law enforcement authorities. This is the second incidence of weapons being discharged nearby in 11 days, and yesterday's gunfire was confirmed by Member John Krasny, a decorated veteran of the Fifth Armored Division during WWII, who is certainly qualified to know it when he hears it. While it is disturbing that such a thing could happen in this location just the day after Tuesday's terrorist attack without a response from conventional law enforcement, it is totally understandable in the context of the day's other events requiring law enforcement attention elsewhere. However, it may be time for the authorities to turn their attention to the problem of the rope swing area. While cooler nights and falling river temperatures will decrease the incidence of the rope swing tree itself being used for swimming, last year's experience indicates it will continue to be a popular venue for drunken partying and mischievous activities... and a dangerous tragedy in waiting if weapons continue to be discharged.
Friday -- September 14, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 76
It was a dreary morning on the Island... rainy and chilly... and the first day the heat had to be turned on. Part of today's peacefulness is the absence of the sound of air traffic. Who would have ever thought that one day we would positively yearn for it as an indication of normality? The candles will stay lit down here all day. God Bless America !!
Saturday -- September 15, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 73
This morning we received a call from a visitor to the Island who left the Island yesterday evening to find that his car in the parking lot on MacArthur Blvd. had been broken into and vandalized. The passenger window had been broken and approximately 6 eggs had been smeared on various places inside the auto for maximum effect... for instance one egg was broken and smashed into the air conditioning vents. Previous to his departure a loud and possibly drunk group had left the area of the illegal rope swing and gone up the hill. It is hard not to compare this attitude of vandalism to the attitude of terrorism... especially considering the increase in incidences of the last two weeks. The attention of the authorities is elsewhere these days, but when it is not, their attention should be focused on the situation at the rope swing. . Anyway, Members should be informed regarding the threat to their parked vehicles.
Furthermore, a Member out in canoe fishing reported feeling threatened yesterday evening by a swimmer from the rope swing swimming aggressively and challengingly toward him. He was able to paddle away faster, but lest you think this Member is alarmist... he is also a former army colonel and able to identify agressive behaviour.
Monday -- September 17, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 71
Last night we were awakened at 0120 hrs by loud noises in the men's locker room... too loud to be caused by the adolescent possum that spent the weekend under the cabinets on the screen porch. Upon investigation we found a very clever and very large racoon had mastered the mystery of the latch on the garbage can.
The Caretaker's Wife has asked that a compelling quote from yesterday's Post be noted in the Log. From Eleanor Roosevelt:
"Dear Lord, lest I continue my complacent way, help me to remember, somewhere out there a man died for me today. As long as there be war, I must ask and answer: Am I worth dying for?"
Tuesday -- September 18, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 70
A week ago today the Island was crowded with folks who were either released from work places into a traffic logjam and were seeking a quiet eddy in the chaos to ride it out... or were specifically seeking out the Island as a place of calm reflection to find perspective regarding the day's tragedies. The Caretaker was not here that day and knows this mainly because of the many comments made on the ferry by so many who have returned since and voiced their heartfelt appreciation that the Island was here for them. That day is forever seared into the national consciousness in the same way that the Pearl Harbor attack was to our fathers and grandfathers... and everyone will remember where they were and what they did. Thus... to many Members... Sycamore Island will be remembered on that day as The Isle of Solace.
It still is! Come on down and get some.
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Friday -- September 21, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.7 Water Temperature: 71
Last night as the President spoke the sounds of jet aircraft could again be heard on the Island. But these were not airliners on the flight path to National Airport... there was a distinct difference in the sound of these planes... familiar to anyone who has spent time on military airbases. These were not the sounds of jet engines designed to transport people about in their normal lives. Now on the Island we hear only the engines of war.
Monday -- September 24, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 2.6 Water Temperature: 74
Looking into the low water shallows one can see patterns of curves and swirls on the surface of the mud... looking like a child's doodles or the miniature roadways of some drunken civilization. One must get the eyeballs close to see that each little trail ends in a tiny lump in the mud which is, in fact, a tiny snail whose shell is cleverly camouflaged to blend into the background. These are the same snails one might see in an aquarium, and they exist by the thousands in the mud downriver from the Captain's float. The snails seem to live only in the shallows and one wonders how they and other critters kindred to this shallow habitat cope with the ever-changing river... as their very worlds migrate with the rise and fall of the river level. There is an entire unnoticed world in the shallows... one need not travel to other planets to look for new worlds to explore or strange and wonderful creatures to admire.
Once dark falls, one can walk down to the swimming dock and, standing there, look back towards the Island and see, in the mud flats adjacent to the wooden walkway, myriads of little lights in the mud. These are glowworms that must be drawn to the microhabitat there... because there is such a concentration there that they resemble glowing gems strewn about the in mud.
Tuesday -- September 25, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 4.6 Water Temperature:
Many times we have now heard the comment regarding the devastation at the pentagon that TV images do not convey the magnitude and horror of the unimaginable. This is true!!! Everyone should make a pilgrimage to see the damage at the pentagon with his or her own eyes. TV can mist the eyes... but direct viewing invokes a gut wrenching realization that every American should experience.
Wednesday -- September 26, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: 3.4 Water Temperature:
How did it happen... gazing across the river towards Virginia it was suddenly and shockingly apparent that there was yellow in the trees. When did it happen... shouldn't there be some warning. The Caretaker's Wife has made so bold as to suggest that one can no longer be in denial when awakening to a morning temperature of 46 degrees... but she was grumpy this morning. Maybe it had to do with the fact it is now dark when we get up. Maybe it had to do with the heater in the bathroom not working and getting ready for work in the chill. Maybe it had to do with the nightly sounds of racoon cavortment on the screen porch. Maybe it had to do with the fact that the ceiling smoke detector started chirping with a low battery warning sound in the wee hours. But probably it had to do with the fact that, unlike herself, the Caretaker snoozed blissfully undisturbed through the obnoxious chirping. She did mention that she had thought of taking a club to it and bashing it to shut it off... but it was only during later reflection that the Caretaker remembered the look in her eye and wondered fleetingly if she was referring to shutting off the chirping or the snoring.
Friday -- September 28, 2001 -- The Club is OPEN
Water Level at Little Falls: Water Temperature:
The Log should record that this has been a week of construction in the Caretaker's quarters in which the repairs to the kitchen floor necessitated by the '96 floods have been completed. Members will note that the cabinets planned for the reconstruction of the Caretaker's quarters that have been sitting covered on the screen porch for over a year after having been so graciously donated by David and Emily Powell are now gone and have been installed in lieu of the flood damaged cabinets in the Caretaker's kitchen. Most importantly, the flood damaged flooring beneath the old cabinets has now been repaired... and there are no longer open holes in the kitchen floor open to the critters who live beneath the house. The new sub-flooring has been covered with linoleum in the hope that it will survive subsequent floods as successfully as the old linoleum on the bathroom floor. Additionally, the club authorized the purchase in advance of the stove to go in the planned caretaker's addition with a normal sized stove to replace the very old 20-inch wide stove, and staff is grateful and delighted to now be able to cook a turkey.
