Thomas on Having it Real Bad for Drums and Dancing

"People think that I am African, but I have lived in Washington my whole life. My parents are from South Carolina and came up here in the early 40's. I grew up in a terrible neighborhood called Sursum Corda. I did a lot of dumb things as a kid. You know, I was hanging out with the wrong crowd. My Mom always said, 'If you hang with the wolves, you will howl.' It's true, but I didn't understand it at the time. Now, I tell that to my sons. I am blessed to say that I was never locked up. I have never been in trouble with the law. Getting in trouble with my parents, that's a different story. 

"I think that dancing and drumming really saved me from taking the wrong path. I started drumming when I was eight years old. I was playing football for the Boys Club when I heard this drumming coming from the basement of the Boys Club. I was immediately drawn to it. I escaped from practice to find the drumming class and stayed there with my helmet and shoulder pads on. I was mesmerized, and have been ever since. I started dancing a little later bit later. 

"All of the dancing we do at Meridian Hill Park is from West Africa. I have been dancing and teaching at the drum circle for 20 years now. It all started because one of the lead drummers, who I knew because we performed together, invited me to come out. There was dancing here before me, but not a lot of West African dancing. You know, a lot of people say that I sound and move like I am from Africa. I guess I can just mark the accent and movement so well. Sometimes the accent comes out and I don't even realize it. It's funny, one time I was performing and this guy from Guinea came over to me afterwards. He thought I was from Guinea, too, and neglecting our country by not dancing at the embassy and for 'our' people more. As he spoke, he got more excited and eventually starting cussing me out in his language. I said, 'Look man, I am not African.' He felt really embarrassed and apologized.

"I guess I just transform into someone different when I dance. It is like a spirit takes over me. One time, I was driving by the U.S. Capitol and they had the Zulu dancers performing. I was in the car with my wife and son. The drums captured me and I jumped out of the car while it was still moving to get to the music. My wife had to jump in the driver's seat and take control of the car. I guess I just have it real bad for drums and dancing. My wish in life is to go to Africa and dance my heart out in Senegal and Guinea.

"I would say to everyone, you need to come up to the park and join us on Sundays. Who needs to pay for a class when you can come and dance with me and the drummers for free. Trust me, you aren't going to find an experience like this anywhere else here."

You can find Thomas and the drum circle in the upper area of Meridian Hill Park on Sunday afternoons. 

Adrian on Living with No Regrets

"I am 24 years old and grew up all over this city. I have learned that different parts of the city are, you know, different. We moved a lot because some of the neighborhoods were no good and because I kept getting put out of D.C. public schools. Eventually, I was put out of all of them. If I knew the things I know now, I probably would not have acted as I acted then. I can't change what caused me to do what I done did back then, but I don't live with no regrets. 

"A lot of people don't understand that there are a lot of influences and things going on around you that make things, you know, stressful. All of this stuff is gonna affect you one way or another. There ain't nobody who can live on these streets and come away all normal. Sometimes, you fall in or sometimes you might be strong. I guess it depends on the person, but if you are subjected to all this long enough, it is going to get to you. 

"After I was put out of school, I went to school in Maryland, but that didn't work out either. My only option to not be a failure in life was to go to Job Corps. I told my mother that I was going and wanted to do something with my life. She didn't make me go or nothing, I did it because I knew that it was the only option that I had left. I went to job corps in West Virginia and got my high school diploma and a learned business technology. They trained me to use Microsoft Office. The program was supposed to take two years, but I finished in six months. The stuff they were teaching, I already knew. See, I may have been put out of the schools here, but I ain't stupid. I got this stuff. 

"I have a two year old daughter and I want her to go to college and do the things I was never able to do. I am still a young guy and ain't finished doing what I want to do, but feel like I missed out on a lot because how I was when I was younger. Ultimately, I want to get my degree in engineering, or something like that, and get certified in scuba diving. In high school, I got certified in a swimming pool and we were supposed to go out into the open water to get certified, but I got put out before that. I really miss it. I still love the water, and that was one of the things that  they could never take away from me. Now, I work on the Odyssey, that cruise ship down on the waterfront. They give tours of the city and go over to Virginia. I am a deck hand and part of the marine crew. It is a nice way to stay close to the water. That's pretty much about all I got to say." 

Adrian is pictured with his daughter Kierra.

Anne on Doing Her Little Bit

"I moved to D.C. in August 2001 after getting my Master's degree in International Relations. I have lived in the same building in Adams Morgansince coming here. When I first moved in, nobody was doing any landscaping around the building or on our block. I started redoing the tree boxes myself and got the city to replant a number of trees. After that, some neighbors and I started doing the landscaping for our building as our management company wasn't really doing much. I talked to the person in charge of the building who said that as long as it looked neat and clean, it was okay to do it. I pay for the plants myself as I thought that it would be nice to have flowers in the neighborhood.  I wanted to create something nice for our community.

"The idea is to plant things that are also native to this area. Not to go into a biology lesson, but there is a lot of value in having native plants. The more you reintroduce native species, the more you support wildlife. In a way, it is my own way of helping climate change. I am not in the Senate or anything, but I can do my little bit. It makes me feel better and less helpless. 

"Doing this has also been a great way to meet people in my building and the neighborhood. People always talk about how you have to go out of your way to get a sense of community. In some ways, you just need to be out where you can see and talk to people."

Paul on Riding Through History

"I was born in Camp Pendelton, California. I came to the D.C. area in 1968. My Dad was in the Marine Corps and just came back from Vietnam and was stationed to Marine headquarters. I was in the 5th grade, so I followed him. I went away to college and finally finished last year. I was on the 34 year plan and finally finished with a degree in biology at George Mason. 

"Growing up in Virginia, my Mom would take us to lunch or dinner every Christmas in the District. I didn't get my real feeling of the District until I started working on the Hill during college. In my time here, I got to see Washington from a lot of different perspectives. I have done all kinds of work here. I have worked in the bowels of the beast on K Street and on the Hill. I have done stuff at the homeless shelters and seen that side of Washington. D.C. is a very diverse place. One of my favorite studies is by the Brookings Institute called Polyglot Washington, it says that 21% of the people who live in this city do not speak English as a first language at home.

"I started driving a pedi-cab in July of 2009. I really love D.C. and think that I am a permanent tourist here. There are so many worlds in this 60 square miles area.There is a lot to see and know in Washington and I am always learning. Many of us don't realize that we are walking, or riding, through history every day here. When I have passengers, I like to know where people work and what their interests are, so I can tailor the tour to what they like. The great percentage of people that I pick up and take on tours are nice, honest folks who share my love of Washington. Every once in a while, I get a few bad apples.

"I have been all around the world and Washington D.C. in the spring is probably the most beautiful place in the world. And I am not just talking about the cherry blossoms. Look at all of this beauty around us. This place is really amazing."

Read more about Paul's adventures in D.C. here.

Carrie on Covering the Emissions Markets

“I’ve been in D.C. for five years. I first came here to intern for a now defunct non-profit organization. Living here is a huge transition from Kentucky, where I grew up. I have definitely had all of the things that can happen to you in city life, both the good and the bad. But, coming to D.C. was one of the best things that I ever did, as I met some of my best friends here.

"Now, I am the editor of a daily publication that covers emissions markets. My work is relevant to D.C. because the emissions markets exist because the Environmental Protection Agency wrote a regulation that puts a cap on emissions. Because of that, utilities and industries can trade emissions amongst themselves to control their outputs. To cover these markets, you have to be in D.C. I spend my days around the policy makers who created and regulate that market. I write about how utilities are working within the regulations and about those that are in trouble for not complying. With time, a lot more people have been interested in what I do. When I started, I was just covering emissions markets that no one really cared about, but now people are really interested in greenhouse gases and how to cut their emissions into the environment. Because of that, our publication has become much more profitable.

"While people were hopeful about Copenhagen, the talks didn’t really do anything. No one came to any kind of agreement. What keeps me optimistic is the electric utility industry and places like D.C. that strive to be green. Compared to cities in the U.S., D.C. is a green city. Compared to international cities, I am not so sure. We still have a ways to go."

Chad and Stephanie on Their Sunday Routine

Chad - “We love DC. We came here as students through Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and now we are staying on here, but in that DC temporary way. It’ll be DC and then hopefully someplace abroad and then back to DC and then back abroad and then back to DC. We met at SAIS in Bologna and now we are engaged. If two people are going to start dating, we highly recommend doing it in Bologna, Italy. If you can’t seal the deal in Bologna, there is no hope for you!"

Stephanie - "In looking for an apartment in DC, outdoor space was a huge priority for us. We moved here and the upstairs neighbors never used the outdoor space so we fixed up the garden and got some patio furniture. Our Sunday usually involves a late rise and sometimes pancakes. When we come out to our patio with pancakes, coffee and Gospel music playing, people will look at us and say, 'That’s exactly right' or 'Table for four please.' What’s so odd though is that all of our neighbors have outdoor patio space, but outside of Halloween, we never see anyone use them. They all have tables and chairs set up, but with no one using them."

Chad - "I am from New Orleans so we listen to WWOZ which is one of the radio stations from there. It is public heritage station and on Sunday there will be two hours of gospel music, two hours of bluegrass, two hours of Cajun music and then a theme show, like cowboys and Indians or songs about trains. To me, that is also an integral part of our Sunday. We go to the dog park, too, even though we don’t have a dog. I guess we have dog envy. The dog park is a huge contribution to our quality of life. Just being able to walk by and watch dogs and talk about one day having a dog is great."

Read more about Stooping from Kate.

Kate on Bringing Stooping Back to P Street

“I have lived in DC for 5 ½ years now. And, I love my apartment and my location, but I don’t love the neighborhood. You know, people have a real pride about living in a place like Mt. Pleasant. But, this specific neighborhood doesn’t even have a name, we don’t know if we’re Logan Circle or Dupont Circle. It is total Puggleville, people are out walking their puggle all of the time and no one makes eye contact. There is no neighborhood feel to it.

“I love to walk. I go walking every day for at least an hour, and I walk up around Mt. Pleasant and even in the back parts of Adams Morgan, and always right around dusk, especially in the summer, people are all out stooping. They’re all hanging out, pouring wine for each other and just being buddies with whoever is around. It is this whole feeling of community that is the reason why I love DC. DC is a place where 5 ½ years in, you can feel like you know so many people. I can’t walk outside without running into people. But, I don’t get that sense where I am living, it feels very non descript to me. There is not a real sense of identity for this area.

“So, I went back and forth for a while about whether I should move to Mt. Pleasant and then I realized that I could just be my own agent of change and I started stooping. I have friends over for dinner a lot and we started a stooping routine, just hang out on the stoop with a glass of wine. I started buying a pack of cigarettes in case people want to stoop out with that. And it's funny, it freaks a lot of people out, especially in the twilight hour. People are super confused about why two people would be sitting outside chatting. I mean, I’ve never seen anyone stoop on this street and look at my neighbors, they actually have a yard. But, I think that I am the only person in the building who knows my neighbor’s faces. You get to hear so many stories from hanging out here. I heard this great story about my neighbor interviewing Woody Allen the other day. But, It’s still just friends that come by, no strangers, that’s the goal. People are very focused here and they miss the opportunity to just chill out.

“People are down on DC because it is not New York, because it is not big enough and because it doesn’t have a lot going on, but I think that is what DC has going on. It gives you the opportunity to make it a small town for yourself. In such a transient, you need to set roots, that’s why I stoop.”

Read more about finding the right stoop and the games you can play on them, including stoopball, here.

This post is part of a weekly series of People's District stories on the Prince of Petworth, check it out here.