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<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> I am finally back online.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Power out thru Fri Night </FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The electric power on my street (Cleveland Ave near Dupont Circle) </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> did not come back on until Friday night at 8 pm. No A/C, no TV, no</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> refrigerator, no phone, no computer, no Internet. It was kinda nice.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Many thanks to Teresa and Corey for allowing me access to their</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> freezers. Something to remember, if you loose power, take your </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> freezer stuff to a friends house. Also, S&J was giving out free </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> ice to those without power. Another helpful neighbor. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> TV Coverage</FONT></b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Channel 9 news interviewed some of us at Dupont Circle and ran a </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> spot on Friday's 5 pm newscast. It featured S&J and Steve Schmidlin </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and his offer of free ice along with a brief interview with Harold Hoffman </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> who still had power and was sharing it with two neighbors.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Ward Tour And Damage Report</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> I toured Ward One on Tuesday after the storm, and ran into Mayor </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Archer who was also out inspecting the damage. Even though it </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> was a holiday, we found Public Works busy clearing debris from </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> the streets </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> There were many huge trees and telephone poles knocked down</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> all over Ward One. Two poles on Dupont circle were snapped in half, </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> and several others spilt or cracked. There was a lot of such damage </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> across route one on 43 St and 44th Ave and on Route One.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Many cars and telephone poles were destroyed but very little damage </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> to houses - at least not that I have found. In that regard we were </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> lucky. The trees were huge and could have destroyed houses.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><b><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Miracle on 43rd Street</FONT></b></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Mauve Writes:</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >Hello there Rob, I thought I'd suggest a caption for these photos</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >Miracle on 43rd Street - because it is a miracle that none of</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >the three large trees landed on my or my neighbors' house. Too</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >bad about the old Mercedes - it still starts, the wipers work and</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >so do the indicators. A spectacular end for a stalwart machine.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >I also want to thank you for personally visiting to check on</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >everyone and for getting a crew out so quickly to clear the</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >roadway. That helped us all regain a sense of normalcy, and made</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >me, a newcomer to this Hyattsville-Riverdale Street, appreciate</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >even more the great neighbors and dedicated public</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3 COLOR="#000080"> >representatives my new neighborhood has to offer.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> The thanks really goes to our Public Work's employees for being on top of </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> this and all the other damaged areas and for working long.and hard to fix it. </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> They were really on the ball.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Here is a photo of Mauve's classic Mercedes:</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> <IMG SRC="cid:6v8kjtfh8i5o636k06vj@poco" WIDTH="602" HEIGHT="400"></FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> Maeve adds: This Mercedes is suppose to have wood on the dash, but this is ridicules.</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> </FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> -Rob Oppenheim</FONT></div>
<div><FONT FACE="Arial" SIZE=3> [end]</FONT></div>
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