Clay,
Several questions: How old is this woman, and where is she living? She may
have a point.
National Airport was not built in the middle of nowhere; it is not a place
that suburbs grew up around. Georgetown was there long before John Adams
was complaining about the draftiness of the White House. And Mount Vernon
to the south, well, remember this fellow named Washington? And Alexandria,
also to the south, but closer to the airport, also predates the
Revolution. The parents of a friend of mine from high school bought
adjoining townhouses in Georegetown before National existed (back when
Georgetown was a slum and that was all Georgetown faculty could afford),
and I think (but I'm not sure) his brother still lives in one of them.
What caused problems with National was the introduction of jet traffic in
1966. (That's another story, but the position of the airport had been that
National was not a safe airport for jets to operate from.) I remember
being dragged to a concert of the Marine Band at the Watergate in the 60's
("being dragged" -- hey, I was a bratty teenager once!); I think this was
near the present site of the Kennedy Center. The planes taking off from
National interrupted the concert every few minutes, and it was clear that
these concerts were not long for this world.
There are many Washingtonians, and many Washington institutions that were
in place before 1966 (my parents, for example). Those that are in the
landing/takeoff patterns deserve some sympathy. So do the travellers that
use National, and the people who work there. National is a complicated
problem, and any solution is going to involve compromise.
Before smacking the woman quoted, you might ask why National was not
closed in the 60's as jet traffic became more prevalent. 535 people in the
Capitol, with their own parking lot (better concealed these days, but it
is still there). The wants of those 535 somehow outweighed the peace and
quiet of thousands living in Georgetown, Alexandria, Arlington, Anacostia,
and Southern Maryland. Alexander Hamilton distrusted "popular democracy,"
but I don't think he would have dared to be that imperious.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents.
john kurtzke
On Fri, 15 Mar 2002 clay.wardlow@adic.com wrote:
> I just want to smack the woman quoted here. She says, "Who wants to sit
> outside on their deck and hear the constant roar of planes?"
>
> DCA was there WAY before you moved there, honey! If you don't like the sound
> of airplanes, then don't live near an airport!!!! UGH!!!! Does anyone else
> get ticked at these people like I do??
[snip: DEN deference]
>
> Thanks
> Clay - DEN
>
--
John F. Kurtzke, C.S.C.
Department of Mathematics
278 Buckley Center
University of Portland
Portland, OR 97203
503-943-7377
kurtzke@up.edu