Hello, my dear reader. Welcome to another issue of “Jason's Jive.” So much has happened in such a short time. Big thumbs up to Sergeant Erika Monroe and her team for helping to coordinate the National Night Out on August 7. It was a fun event. It was nice to see the community and our friends turn out in numbers, and I am happy it did not rain that evening. It was great to see young people participating. The Beltsville Broncos Pathfinders Club had a very interesting foosball set up. They fabricated a full-size foosball arena, and it was popular among the teenagers. I just might give it a try next year —be a teenager once again before I hit that number of years (No way! I am not revealing my age—the most I will say is I am blessed to be born in the best month of the year—keep on guessing).
In this issue of “Jason's Jive,” I will share with you something very interesting I have seen. I work in Baltimore, and no, I am not going to bore you with all the sad stories about Baltimore. Instead, permit me to share with you a development I have observed that will change the landscape in a very positive way.
If you have ever been to the Baltimore Zoo, you may have seen Druid Park Lake. The landscape is in the process of being altered. A $140 million project, scheduled for completion in March 2020, will include wider walkways, an area for fishing and kayaking, an amphitheater, and an improved drinking water supply to the city.
I will share a picture with you of what things look like now, and I am sure a search online will reveal more details on the project. I am excited because, although it is a short drive from Beltsville to Baltimore, I may learn to kayak there before taking on the challenge of kayaking down a river someday,
For this issue of The Beltsville News, I was able to sit down with Jay Williams of JWDC, and in doing a feature on his business, I discovered that there is a rich heritage in Beltsville. He made me curious when he mentioned the fact that, near to the Beltsville Volunteer Fire Department on Rhode Island Avenue, there used to be a meat market. So if any reader has a story or two on the early days of Beltsville, I would like to hear from you, and if you have access to photos that can be shared, that would be awesome.
It feels good to be writing once again. I started my writing career in high school in 1983 when an article I wrote as homework made it into the school magazine thanks to my English teacher at the time, Jennifer Beaken, who was visiting from England. It was almost a year later that at morning assembly the principal spoke about the magazine, The Microcosm, and then went on to launch it at assembly by reading an article titled “Teacher's Race.” We had just been introduced to satirical writing, and there I was, seated with everyone, laughing at the manner in which the teachers were portrayed. I had no idea that it was my article from a year prior. Anyway, in the end, the principal (actually we called him Canon) asked if the writer of the article would stand up. He called my name, and I very shyly stood up in disbelief. I was happy, though, that I was present at assembly, for had I been late that day, it may not have been such a happy ending. (I used to ride a bicycle to school and would stop by two other classmates for them to join me. We would ride to school together, sometimes getting to school as the gate was being closed.)
Well, this Jive will be short as I got to make sure I have room for photographs. Have a nice month of September.
Photo Caption: Druid Park Lake