On Day Labor

Your proprietor, before he "made it," would go through occasional spells of doing day labor. I am a native son of this fine country; a tall white male with a nine-hundred year-old name and heraldry, and roots on this ground well-predating the Revolution.

It is absolutely vital that we remember the cause of Liberty and the importance of a Defiant People, as our founders intended we should.

A Day Laborer is a Human Being. We should not discuss him as though he is vermin or at best cattle. You do not "herd" human beings. You do not have a "problem" with Day Laborers. A Gang, or gangs, might be a problem. Day Labor is the opposite of gangsterism, and it is the hard, slow path to prosperity, in comparison. People of Riverdale Park; People of America, be grateful for Day Laborers. They work a lot harder than you do, and for less compensation. Their choice is the honorable path. And when they "make it," I'll bet you a dollar, they won't look down on their fellow man.

Fighting to Win

At the gateway to Riverdale Park is the venerable Calvert House Inn, a local treasure and the best restaurant in Prince Georges County. Guinness Stout, on tap, is an obvious mark of its excellence; the food itself is even better - stellar, in fact.

Next to it is an animal hospital, but next to that is a now-vacant lot, in a sad state of rubble-strewn disuse. Our previous mayor, whom we drove from office in a landslide this spring, had sold it to a developer whose objectionable plans for it were rejected by the state. This is a mixed blessing. The plan called for gross exceptions to our vision of pedestrian-friendly and attractive development, and it's good that they were stymied.

However, since that time the lot has remained an eyesore: an ugly tumbledown chainlink fence encloses a wasteland of weedy rubble - the remains of what was a gorgeous, century-old building - giving the appearance that there could be nothing of value or interest nearby. The Calvert House has languished under this burden. Today when I picked up my kebabs the atmosphere had the dreary slowness of lethargic despair.

I decided to write a letter to the new mayor, who we elected on basis of his successful history as a fighter, to urge him to fight hard, right now, before we lose this gem. Before I had done so, however, I received the following message:

Public Works has been directed to start weeding, fixing the fence, etc at the corner of 410 and Rt 1. The developer has been informed that the town will bill him for any labor and costs.

The developer has also promised to replace the fence with one that we can't see through.

This is not perfect, but it is quite timely and certainly displays the minerals I had hoped to galvanize, already in action. I am impressed and grateful.

The Law of the Land

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defense, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Open For Business

Coffee, Ale, Rum or Whiskey; Hearty Stew with Dumplings

The outhouse is atop yonder rise, please do not use the yard.

Talk among yourselves! Your drinks will be along directly.