04-JUL-A-4

THE INAUGURAL VISIT OF MICHAEL AND JUDY

AND THE TWINS TO THE NEW DERWOOD:

THE TWINS NAME EACH OF THE ANIMALS

IN THE GAME ROOM,

AND THE NEW NATURAL HISTORY MUSEUM

“HALL OF MAMMALS” AND THEN “STALK”

BIG BUCKS IN THE DERWOOD WOODS

July 11-13, 2004

The twins, of course, are adorable. They are in the full wonderment age of curious exploration of the world around them—and the brand new experience of the Derwood new house and especially all its animals inside and out was an intriguing holiday for them. You may eventually see a barrage of photos of their exploring this world—from the Game Room that so fascinates them to the bath in the deep Jacuzzi tub, with everything from the wonders of the Smithsonian to the deep Derwood woods in between.

I had gone to the Audubon Society to do some volunteer phone work to get supporters against the ICC to go to the public hearing on Thursday. I had told them that I would need to cut out early to intercept my son and his family who were driving up from Duck North Carolina to visit the new home for their introduction to it. As I drove in the drive and around to the new garage—itself a new experience, I saw Michael and Judy swinging the kids in the hammock—not, of course, on the tire swing as I had planned, as it is lying down under the heavy bow that crushed it. They had come up from the outer Banks all bubbling over about their experience on Ocracoke Island, a trip Michael had last taken at exactly the same age as the twins now. Before long they were looking over the photo albums of those days with the twins much humored to see their Daddy with the same protuberant belly that they mimicked now.

As soon as I opened the front door, they went scooting not the Game Room to see all “the animals” which they had glanced through the windows of the Game Room form outside as they were swinging in the hammock near the excavation site re-filled form the digging up of the well not found. They rushed in and got all excited going form one to another. Devin very politely asks “May I pet the fox?” and Jordan could not get over his fascination with the big bear on the floor. He was eager to feed things into its mouth and to test its shiny claws. Before long they had the names and origins of each of the animals, and could match them to the pictures on the wall of those animals in the field. They liked the library also, since they could sit in the leather swivel chair behind the desk and pound on the computer as well as swivel around and stroke the soft fur of the Dall Sheep. The one that Jordan likes especially, and remembered form the last time, was the “Snow Sheep” You cannot fool him about the difference between the two.

They go t the grand tour of the house including the Grandkids Room, and the new shower door in the master bedroom which they especially liked, since they could slam themselves in and still see out. I took a few photos, so you will see their introductory tour. It was hard to get them settled in, but we had them spread out on a pallet, with their own special pillows and a story read about Shamir the white elephant and that it is OK to be different, even if it is hard for your playmates to relate to that. We then turned on the tinkling music of the wind up that signals their quiet time, and they make their little prayers for each of the things they are thankful for which this time included Grandpa and I believe from Devin, he was grateful for windows!

It was hard for them to sleep in, and they had to tip toe down the stairs in their Milly jammies to see if the whole menagerie was there just like it was when they left it, but without the shafts of sunlight coming through the skylights. We got breakfast for them in the Breakfast Room, as the perpetual sprinkles began, which changed our plans to an inside museum kind of day. We packed them all up and went down to the van and drove out the drive as the big bucks bounded away. The top edges of the big trees have the distal-most leaves all brown in clusters, because the huge mob of cicadas had girdled the ends. Every day I scoop up the ends of branches that rain down on the newly re-graveled drive. We drove the familiar way to DC, and we were talking about getting the kids a ride on Metro since they are fans of several things that three year old boys like a lot- Dinosaurs, Trains, and animals. So, we headed over for the Mall and took in the Museums in that order: first to see big dinosaur bones, then to go through the new Hall of Mammals—where the kids had the chance to show off, spotting Great Kudu, and big rams and bears and other big game they were familiar with from their “Museum at Grandpa’s House.”

I told them the story of how their father had permanently changed the dinosaur exhibit by pointing out that the big skeleton labeled “T Rex,” at that time when I went to see it with little Michael, was not, but was actually an Allosauraus, since he had three toes o its forefeet unlike T Rex which has two. We did not think the twins could sit through the 3-D movie of the “T. Rex” that I had taken the Griffioen clan to see, so we went around the mammals, although they also wanted to see a big whale, and that exhibit has been moved away to make room for the fancy new Hall of Mammals.

Next stop—American History Museum. Since it had been a long time since I was in this one, as long ago as when Michael was the age of the twins—I remembered the huge locomotive train I had once seen their with him. We steered around the big hole in what used to be the Foucault Pendulum exhibit, proving conclusively, “as the world turns”—but is no longer there. We saw trains and steam engines enough to satisfy even real train fanatics. We also had a chance for Michael to make another lasting change, since and exhibit of the highways and automobile culture had a sign that said “a highway outside San Antonio shows the signs of new directions.” Michael corrected that to point out that it is a sign at Houston, since the signs are all pointing toward other compass directions.

The kids had a hot dog, and eating the dog and not the bun, they could feed the birds that have become accustomed to such handouts. We walked across the Mall, despite my spasming pyriformis and loudly crunching lumbar spine. It turns out that Jordan is very eager to be carried by his Grandpa, but Devin is even more eager to be carried, but only his mother will do. So, we had to do some dual schlepping along the Mall, telling them we would walk part way and ride part way. We stopped at the colorful and melodious carrousel—although it plays a calliope that is missing a few notes. At that time they were keen to ride the antique carrousel, and particularly according to Devin, he wanted to ride a zebra. Jordan was eager too, but once he got inside, he panicked as he apparently has done with rides before, and anted out. So, I got on the steed adjacent to Devin, who was fascinated by the up and down plunging ride of his zebra next to me, and liked it a lot. The cool breeze form our travels helped, but he would not look up except at one particular feature of the surroundings that came around with every revolution ---there was his Daddy out there waving to him. Jordan got envious, but still uncertain. When the carrousel slowed down, who should say “I want to go around again!” but Jordan, and this time Jordan rode in a round car as Devin dismounted and joined his mother in the round car so that they could wave to both Grandpa and Daddy as they spun around together.

Next stop—Air and Space! They were caught on film scratching the moon, and admiring the rockets and all the big airplanes—a number of guesses were made as to what color their plane would be that took them back today to San Antonio direct on Southwest from BWI. They were on their stellar best—or I should say “planetary best” with the exhibit on the planets. A number of people in the crowd stood back amazed as two little three year-olds went running through the exhibit calling out in their little voices “There is Venus, but over here is Mars!” Devin and Jordan had spun the globe in my library at Derwood saying “We are in Texas on Planet Earth.” They used that again, particularly when they saw the Ross Perot Jr. “Spirit of Texas” the first helicopter to circumnavigate the earth.

So, they were winding down, and we were about to pack them into the van, when they were still full of good cheer, only falling asleep as we approached Derwood when it began to rain again on the overhead skylights, changing our outdoor picnic barbecue into an inside number. I was planning to grille up some of my Alaskan salmon and the Moose, but we opted for chicken and a potato dish grilled in our new double ovens for their first uses. We were finished with the eating when Mark came in and Judy and Michael talked with him more than he has talked with me during our stay together.

I had got out the special twin stroller, but only Jordan was keen to try it out. We got it out from where it had stood rinsing in the rain, and I toweled it off. Jordan hopped in, and I drove it down the driveway to see if we could see the deer which I had spotted upon delivering the trash for recycling pickup to the street. As Devin and Michael were in the lead, they spotted the first deer, which ran across in front of both twins. This time they were awake, as opposed to last time when they were in the twin jogger, and, as always, they had fallen asleep when I encountered the twin fawns. At least they were awake at the end of our Derwood run last year when they were just able to stand holding on to the edges of the twin jogger---so they were able to walk this year—when they wanted to, and only for the novelty did Jordan choose to ride in the second seat of the twin stroller. We walked around the block in the same pattern Michael had done in strolling over to his Candlewood Elementary School. We got to the school and then walked up “Leopold Terrace”—which would have been the public access to the giant cluster community Derwood might have become if the developers had had their way and I had not interdicted this cashiering of the Derwood woods. There along the Terrace, we saw an older low single story house. This is the first that either Michael or I knew that the old house that Afshar’s had was still there. I thought it had been bulldozed in the “re-contouring” of the place when they had clear cut the woods and closed off his drive from Redland Road. They had plotted out the woods after denuding it and moving the hills, so that there were big houses in close by suburban lots. He had gone bankrupt as an Iranian (Shah’s man?”) with a card that said “Iranian-American Oil Company—Derwood and Riyadh.” He had died some years ago after he had also bought the orchard on the Needwood Road, and being bankrupt, that, too, was plotted in big barn homes which must have made a fortune for someone—and here is the low slung and forlorn residual house that used to be our only neighbor about twenty acres away!

We returned to Derwood’s new house for further excited advances in potty training and bath time, and looking at pictures of the times when the twins and their Daddy and Uncle Donald looked to be about the same time, and seemed to be enjoy the same things. The twins showed off by reciting all the animals backwards and then showing that they recognized the Cape Buffalo on the ground to be the same one on the wall, etc. We again had a good time putting them down for the evening, since they would be awakened in their Milly Jammies for a six o’clock AM departure for BWI, from which I will return the van to Judy’s father in McLean and possibly get dropped at Metro for a walk back to Derwood from Shady Grove.

So, it has been a nice visit and a good housewarming with the kids in place enjoying it. As we were here Mike McKeeson came by to say the final punch out would occur on Thursday as they went around installing more electrical outlets. I asked if they could put light switches so that I could see in entering from the garage—a long and dark part of the year will be coming soon enough. They installed screen doors on the deck and have a number of items to do yet, like draining the condensation lines outside the house rather than into the garage where I had tried to clean up on Saturday in anticipation of the kids arrival. It would be good to have the other grandkids also visit—but I would assume that to be unlikely, given the previous message of my trials at several futile visits in their own county. But, it will not be long when the twins might be back, and I can get out their birthday presents to add to their Christmas presents (they were put away in the closets in the room where Mark is and I did not want to disturb him at 5:30 AM)

So, a Happy Homecoming to the little ones, of several generations. Now as Judy pointed out to the twins, Grandpa will also be flying away on a long trip to another world, and they will hear from me again upon my return—when I can send them more pictures of a good visit in introducing the New Derwood!

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