Charley Girl

Joyce and I had dogs most of our married life. When Shu, our last Shih Tzu went to doggie heaven, we decided not to get another dog. Our life-style had changed enough to be keeping and training a puppy – it didn't fit.

On the other hand, I loved the idea of "unconditional love", not available anywhere else, but from a dog.

When Joyce retired in 2009 we could begin to see a chance for unconditional love – again.

We settled on getting a Wheaton Terrier-Shih Tzu mix, Abbey. We paid a breeder a lot of money for her and had a training package built in. She was cute and sweet, but was un-trainable in terms of house breaking. Maybe we were out of practice. We tried everything, but ultimately had to take her to Animal Welfare League. She was picked up immediately and we were led to believe she was placed with a family who could do the right thing. All in all, it was a sad experience.

After two years, and still in need of unconditional love, Joyce began searching the Internet. Joyce wanted a dog that could be trained as a therapy dog for working with children in reading programs. I wasn't particularly interested, but the idea of unconditional love was still appealing.

In January 2010 Joyce asked me to come with her to Winchester. We would see some puppies, but, "... only to look".

A little white Goldendoodle puppy crawled into her lap and it was love at first sight (figure 2, No 1). I kept saying we weren't committing, but I had her picture on my phone and I kept looking at it.

We were going to Monterey, California in early February and Tucson, Arizona in March, and we decided to commit to take the dog if the breeder was willing to keep her until we returned. We didn't think it was fair to pick her up then put her in a kennel right away. The breeder agreed. She was the favorite of the litter and the breeder had named her "Lamb Chop" after the Sherri Lewis puppet of the same name. While in Monterrey we visited the Steinbeck Museum and that sealed the fate of her name, Charley. Recall Steinbeck's last book was "Travels with Charley".

When we picked her up in April, it was still love at first sight only enhanced by the fact that she was completely housebroken and proved that skill just before we left the breeder (figure 2, No 2).

Now nearly four years later, Charley is mid-sized (46 pounds) and always gets comments, when we walk, "... she is so beautiful ...", "... she always looks just groomed ...", and when petted by children, "... she is so soft and fluffy ..." (figure 2, No 3). All those attributes are hers, naturally. She is beautiful, sweet, gentle, and very fit – she makes sure I get my daily exercise, often 6-8 miles — every day in an "unconditional" way.

On the Street Where You Live – Arlington Ridge

What's in a name of a place? How did that name get decided? Whose life is now memorialized?

The story of the names of places can represent a fascinating tale about the place where we live, yet often, know little about.

We live at 2336 South Nash Street in Arlington, VA (Lot 47). South Nash is located on the area generally described as Arlington Ridge, a topographic "finger" that points to Arlington House, the Lee mansion in Arlington Cemetery, through the area of the Pentagon. In the 1800's Anthony Fraser and James Roach owned the properties. Today, the following streets, clockwise from the north, bound the area: S. Joyce St, S. Glebe Road, and Army Navy Drive. Parts of the area have been known as: Green Valley, Club Manor Estates, Aurora Hills, Virginia Highlands, and Aurora Highlands.

Most of the paved roadways in the immediate surroundings of South Nash Street are less than 100 years old. Though some roads date back to the Revolution, most have new names. South Nash is also a switchback extension of Arlington Ridge Road leading downhill from the Pentagon overlook to Army-Navy Drive (figure 3, No 1).

So, what is the evolution on of the name Arlington Ridge?

The area was once part of the 1,000-acre estate of Anthony Fraser. The area was known as Green Valley, likely named for James Green, who lived on the land near the present location of the clubhouse at Army Navy Country Club. Fraser acquired the land from a family by the name of Alexander. It straddled lower Long Branch stream, a tributary of Four Mile Run. The Fraser estate included what is now the Oakridge Elementary School, Gunston Middle School, Shirley Park and Arna Valley as well as land from Pentagon City and the River Houses to the banks of Four Mile Run.

In 1821 Anthony Fraser (sometimes spelled Frazier) built a home and named it Green Valley Manor (figure 3, No 2). It was sited in the floor of a valley about a hundred yards from Long Branch, near the intersection of the current South Queen Street (in the Forest Hills townhouse development) and South 23th Street (formerly Fraser Road). The structure was destroyed by fire in 1924 and never rebuilt. Anthony Fraser's daughter married J.E. Sickles and inherited the property.

By 1840, the nearest neighbors to the Frasers were James Roach and his family. Their home was on Hoe Hill, which they renamed Prospect Hill, at the northern end of the current Arlington Ridge Road, overlooking the Pentagon.

From 1840 to 1966 Arlington Ridge Road was a single street across Arlington. The northern road began at North 19th Street and proceeded south along what is now Wilson Boulevard...