Kyla Tries a Volksmarch, Explores Greenbelt, Makes New Friends
I was excited to learn that there was a group in Greenbelt entirely devoted to walking, having recently decided that I am pretty much the walkiest. The Greater Greenbelt Volksmarchers, part of the American Volkssport Association, has been in existence for over 34 years and, even though I’ve been in existence for over 47 years, […]
Shaymar Higgs: Greenbelt’s Outstanding Citizen of 2021
At the opening festivities of the Labor Day Festival on Friday, September 3, Shaymar Higgs was named as Greenbelt’s Outstanding Citizen to the jubilant cheers of his crowd of supporters. Bob Zugby, chair of the Outstanding Citizen Selection Committee, introduced Higgs in his trademark style, dropping teasers about who the chosen resident would be while […]
Tour de Greenbelt Festival Bikers Ride Around the Town
I got an invite over Facebook from Emmett Jordan to join in the Tour de Greenbelt, one of the Labor Day Festival activities. While I was pretty sure he invited everyone he knew, I started worrying he’d specifically invited me and I didn’t want to let him down, so I mentally committed myself to going […]
Capital Bikeshare: A Test Ride
Like everyone else I have noticed Capital Bikeshare rental stations popping up around town and unlike everyone else I’ve thought, “Now there is something I will never do, rent a bike from one station and ride it jauntily through the streets to another station.” Not that I am opposed to this in any way, quite […]
Greenbelter Gets to Be Extra In Upcoming Film on Slavery
“There are three rules to being an extra in a movie,” my brother, an experienced extra, told me. “Overact in the background, look directly at the camera and get between the camera and the main action as often as possible.” I was on my way to Wilmington, N.C., where my daughter Anja, an Eleanor Roosevelt […]
Walk to the Firefly Sanctuary Brings Back Old Enchantments
The other day Dan and I celebrated our anniversary. By celebrate I mean we had a conversation that went like this: Me: Is our marriage strong? Dan: Yes. Me: I mean, can it survive anything? Dan: Yes. Me: Are you sure? Dan (after a thoughtful pause): Um, pretty sure. Me: I’ve never listened to Buffy […]
A Walk with Greenbelt Biota
When Jamie Jorgensen invited me to join Greenbelt Biota on a walk into the Beltsville Agricultural Research Center to see some “sexy heifers” my response was understandably immediate: “sign me up.” Unfortunately, that outing happened at a time I had other plans, but Greenbelt Biota were quick to accommodate me. We met for a walk […]
Chris Haley’s Film on Unmarked Slave Graves Has Local Origins
There didn’t seem to be a better place to walk with Chris Haley and to talk about his powerful new film Unmarked than among Greenbelt’s own unmarked stones at the historic Turner Cemetery. We met there late one Sunday afternoon to talk about the documentary, which explores the search for the burial places of enslaved […]
More Exploring on Foot Trails
Part Two of a Series Having now walked an entire 2.3 miles over the course of four days on behalf of the News Review and the good residents of Greenbelt, I did the next obvious thing I could: I signed up for a (virtual) half marathon for June 16. Obviously, I am totally ready to […]
Exploring Greenbelt on Foot
Part One of a Series When the News Review asked if I’d write an essay about walks around Greenbelt, I couldn’t imagine a better person for the job. As the farthest I’ve walked at any one time since March 2020 is from my bedroom to the kitchen and back again, an article about various walks […]