LVE

Though they were new to the neighborhood, Loree had been coming to the Avalon theatre for years and Ken knew that it was one of her favorite places in DC. Moving around the corner from the theatre was one of the many exciting things about their new home. So when Ken was planning to propose to Loree in the fall of 2020, he turned to the Avalon to help make it an extra special surprise. Because this was still the height of COVID, everything needed to be outside. Ken worked with the amazing team at the Avalon to write his proposal on the marquee and surprised Loree as they walked through the neighborhood on a Sunday morning. She said yes and they were married in the fall of 2021. The Avalon is still a special place that they frequent together!

A lucky pair of circumstances made it heaven for children. First, we were a one-block street, cut off from the rest of Livingston, so there was very little traffic. Second, a bunch of young parents settled there at the same time in the early 70s, which meant the street was crowded with Chen kids and Drayne kids and McNamara kids and Plotz kids and Berry kids, and more Chen kids, and Obelenskys and Woodses and more. From about 1977 until about 1985, we owned that street. We played touch football until all hours in the street–well past dark–with telephone poles as the end zones. Mrs. Walker and Mr. Allen–two of the old timers (Mrs. Walker’s husband, a WW1 vet, was still alive!)–hated our games, because our footballs and sometimes our bodies frequently bounced off their big black Cadillacs. We played running bases, and SPUD, and Dodge ball, and 500, and epic 20-kid games of Kick the Can, with the can in front of the Drayne’s house, and the field of play covering the entire block (except Mrs. Walker’s yard). We were the luckiest kids in town.