BELIEVE IN THE SPIRIT OF GIVING ..AND JOLLY CHRISTMAS TO SEVEN BEE!

Typically, it's this time of year, when Afro-Americans or black people, living in America, generally speaking, ..are asked, if we will be celebrating Kwanzaa, this holiday season.

While I don't, ..some of us have welcomed into our Christmas traditions, musings on the Sky Father and King of the White Cloth, Obatala, who, when the world began, ..climbed down from Heaven, on a golden chain, into a giant tree, to bring mankind the divine gifts we would need to live and thrive, on Earth. While many West Africans, at home and abroad, honor the King of the White Cloth, with more formal traditions, like the festivals coming up in January, the rest of us carry on these traditions, very simply.

On Christmas Eve, after the children were put away to sleep, we left some milk and FRIED CHICKEN, near the Christmas tree, ..where, if we've been kind, honest and respectful of our elders, the King will reward us, by covering the WHITE CLOTH, beneath our trees, with amazing gifts, ..in the same way, he shared with us, in ancient times!

[He's called 'the King of the White Cloth' for another reason. Read about it, when you get a minute.]

Like the CHRISTMAS TREE, itself, ..there are so many pre-Christian, European and secular traditions, that we already enjoy, as part of our Christmas celebrations, ..you would be amazed! The true history of Saint Nicholas, which inspired the legend of Santa Claus, has absolutely nothing to do, with Christmas...nothing; yet, there he is, in all of our holiday cards and seasonal, department store promotions. There are many wonderful ways, far older, than Kwanzaa, we can incorporate our ancestral traditions, into this special season...

BIG and small!

My holiday wish ..is that we all feel, like a great, benevolent Sky Father reached down, through the wasteful chaos and the mundanity, ..and embraced us - then, gave us back something of ourselves, we thought forever lost. Is that better, than presents?

Hope so.

Whoever, wherever you are, ..believe in the spirit of giving. Merry Christmas, amigos.

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

Wonder Woman vs the New Jim Crow: How Linda Dunikoski's Guts, Strategy and Restraint Won a Conviction in the Arbery Case

From the New York Times

"...she had been brought in to try the biggest case of her career: the murder of a Black man on a sunny afternoon by three white men just outside a small city pinned to the South Georgia coastline.

Despite the evidence of racism she had at her disposal, Linda Dunikoski, the prosecutor, stunned some legal observers by largely avoiding race during the trial, choosing instead to hew closely to the details of how the three men had chased the Black man, Ahmaud Arbery, through their neighborhood.

The risks went beyond her career and a single trial. Failure to convict in a case that many saw as an obvious act of racial violence would reverberate well outside Glynn County, Ga. For some, it would be a referendum on a country that appeared to have made tentative steps last summer toward confronting racism, only to devolve into..."

Conviction! Justice, for the family of slain jogger, Ahmaud Arbery! How did it happen?

The restraint of Special Prosecutor Dunikoski, in presenting her case, will be something for text books. (from Associated Press)

Jovian lineage, photon-repelling bracelets and magic lassoes had nothing to do with wrangling a conviction for the murder of a young, African American, male jogger, ..by three white men, in heavily Trump-supporting (sixty-one percent) Glynn County, Georgia. With nothing so supernatural, as an Invisible Jet or a giant kangaroo, ..Special Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski rode in on some fourteen-karat, Gawj'a nerve, that nobody - certainly, not convicted murderer Travis McMichael's defense team - saw coming.

Meanwhile... defense attorney Laura 'Dirty Toenails' Hogue is still scratching her cartoon-yellow locks, wondering how Mrs. Dunikoski snatched this historic conviction, ..from the persistently perilous flames of Southern American race-politics!

This is not a comic book story. It really happened!

Read the article, by Richard Fausset, here, ..in the New York Times.

Special Prosecutor Linda Dunikoski (from Associated Press on YouTube)

Edgar Miraculous Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

TRUMP NAME OFFICIALLY DUMPED BY DC'S NEW WALDORF ASTORIA!

From Eater.com

"...The Trump International Hotel will get a new “identity” as a Waldorf Astoria without the Trump name attached...Miami-based investment firm CGI Merchant Group...to take over the hotel’s lease for a reported $375 million..."

Trump International Hotel, Washington, D.C. (From Wikipedia)

Read the article, here, ..on EATER.

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

Mysteries of East DC, with Madam Krystan... Make Love All The Time

Madam Krystan of the Capitol Hill area has a SERIES of healing, self-empowering and affirming videos (free), ..waiting to be discovered by YOU! They are videos waiting to fill your life with fearlessness, mindfulness, joyful ambition ..and the wealth of LOVE, in all its forms.

Browse "Make Love All The Time" and check this space for more life-changing videos, from Madam Krystan, right here, on ...C A P I C O S T I A!

GOD BLESS YOU, ON THIS VETERAN'S DAY, 2021!!!

From Washington, DC's Naylor-Dupont district - Capicostia - proudly East o'the River, ..to America's great Men and Women in Uniform, past and present...God bless you for all you have sacrificed to fight for our beloved country, on this VETERAN'S DAY, 2021...

The Airmen of America's Fighting 332nd, in a briefing, in 1945 - World War II - Capicostia honors, and is honored by, ..YOU! 

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

HAPPY ALLHALLOWS, FROM MEL DYER'S STEAK ISLAND!

© Mel Dyer 2013

I think First Mondingo is probably equal parts Phantom, Black Panther and Batman...a kooky, right-leaning allegory for what I'll call Greenwoodism, and that's visually reflected in his costume's colors. 1st Mondingo Bank will always 'look like' it's burning - that's non-negotiable - but, not because some racist psychopaths set it, afire.

Too woke, for Halloween? Too Booker T. to be woke? Probably. Ha!

Happy Allhallows, anyway!

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

Congressman Tim Ryan: A Democrat, Who Sounds Like A Damn MAN And Knows What He's Talking About

From MSNBC, on YouTube

"When are we going to have the guts to finally level the playing field for working people and take on China?" Rep. Tim Ryan (D) of Ohio

Just heard the singular BEST pitch and justification for President Joe Biden's Build Back Better agenda--how it empowers, uplifts the American working-middle and rallies Co America to action, ..and Ryan only scratched the surface. My God...a Hill Dem, who sounds, like a MAN and knows what the hell he's talking about? Rallying! Urgent! Forcefully masculine!

Why do so many Dems sound, alternately like Southern Baptist ministers or whisper-mumbly NPR Sunday talk-show hosts? ["You're listening to Liberal, Postwar, New Age, Himalyan Basket-weaving, ..with Journeyman Hushmeyer...Tamer Goodwoodsman..."] Who's telling our politicians to do this, with America so culturally divided and looking for inspiring leadership? Yes, it may be entirely superficial, but, I'm totally down, with the Ryan tone. When he's got something to say to us, a point to make or a pressing issue to bring to our attention, ..Tim Ryan hits it and quits it. He doesn't sound, like a pediatrician or a radio psychologist - just a man...

Reh'glur, plain, ole stinky man. Something wrong with digging that?

I'm not saying you can't have Congressman Ethan Tenderfinger feeling your pain, sharing Dr. King's Dream and including everybody, ..but, can we Democrats also rally around a male somebody, who sounds, like a damn man? If plain, ole stinky man-speakin' is not included in the socio-political diversity, we aspire to achieve in our great nation, ..can we really call it diversity?

What's wrong with our Hill Dems speaking plainly and projecting strength? Why can't they stay on message, like our Republi'con opponents on the Hill? Why do they spend more speech time talking about 'coming together' and 'healing pain', than rolling out what new, informed, game-changing policy they're going to solve our problems with? Put some steak on the table, like President Biden's 'Build Back Better' agenda - policy, and not rhetoric - and you'll have all the sodding diversity and inclusion, you can stand! Why can't our well-meaning Hill Dems figure that out?

Put some STEAK on the table, Dems.

Why's the Democratic Party so afraid of us getting an appetite for Congressman Tim Ryan, and more specifically, ..his way of rallying us around an issue, he obviously feels so passionately about? I love Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Representative Jim Klyburn, both of whom earn their pay and then some, in a crisis - Madam Speaker, winning back the House in 2018, ..and Rep. Klyburn, rallying our party around (then, Vice Pres.) Joe Biden in 2020...

But, more of this please.

Edgar Miraculous Dyer (the Capicostia desk), without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

RATPOCALYPSE SHUTS DOWN CAPITOL HILL POPEYES, AFTER TIK TOK VIDEO GOES VIRAL! RUN! RUN!

From Newsweek, on MSN.com

"...Almost immediately, two large rats can be seen scurrying from one side of the kitchen floor to the other - but it gets worse.

Two more are witnessed running across the floor while at least six can be seen climbing a cable on the restaurant kitchen's wall up into a visible cavity in the ceiling.

At one point the man bangs his hand against the stainless steel work counter, prompting yet more rats to go dashing in every direction.

The video then cuts back to the man, who asks viewers: "You still love that chicken from Pop..."

Not all of us East o'the River types go to Popeyes, just for the chicken, ..apparently. I'm just saying. People tell me things.

From the Capicostia Desk:

We East o'the River folks have seen this movie, before.

Eighth Street, from the Eastern Market Metrorail on Pennsylvania Avenue, all the way down to the Marine Barracks, ..is quite literally lined, with restaurants. Do you really think the bloody Popeyes, one of the only restaurants on the Eighth Street strip, heavily patronized by poor and working class Washingtonians - many from the so-called Southeast Corridor (Capicostia) - is the only establishment, there, ..besieged with rats? Ha!

Absolutely ridiculous.

The REAL story - the one, you won't get in Newsweek - is that there are some very affluent, politically influential Capitol Hill residents, who don't want that Popeye's, at Eastern Market, or anything else that might attract their East o'the River neighbors...

And it's not news to anyone, over here.

So, the timing of this story, of how it's being circulated, ..is very suspicious to us, as it very well should be. That is all I have to say about that, ..for now.

Read the article from Newsweek, here, ..on MSN.

Edgar Miraculous Dyer (the Capicostia desk), without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

GIANT STATUE ENGULFED BY FLOOD WATERS AT NATIONAL HARBOR

From MSN.com

"...On a normal day, “The Awakening” statue depicts a giant struggling to break free from the earth. The figure appeared to be fighting to escape the rising tides...If this ain’t a sign of the times, what is?...

The statue, which includes 5 pieces that stand up to 17 feet tall, was first installed in the D.C. area in 1980, then moved to National Harbor in 2008, according to the Smithso..."

What do you think the NEW reflecting pool, at National Harbor, is reflecting ..about us?

Read the full story, here, ..on MSN.

‘VAMPIRE’ SERIAL CHILD KILLER WHO ESCAPED FROM PRISON IS BEATEN TO DEATH BY VIGILANTES

From MSN.com

"...The statement described some of the alleged murders in horrifying detail, saying Wanjala “squeezed dear life out of the innocent children.” In one case, where the victim was identified as 12-year-old Purity Maweu, police wrote: “The young girl was kidnapped from Kiima Kimwe in Machakos and her blood sucked by the killer, before being left for dead.”

Authorities said that Wanjala’s victims, all aged between 12 and 13 years old, were “stupefied using a white substance in powder and liquid form, which [they] were either forced to drink or sprayed with before being executed.” The statement also claimed that Wanjala informed detectives that he “derived a lot of pleasure from..." Jamie Ross for The Daily Beast

Read the full story, here, ..on MSN.

WHY A BLOG, NAMED CAPICOSTIA?

By Edgar Miraculous Dyer

Capitol Hill + Anacostia = Capicostia?!

In the past, I've described living here, in Southeast's Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor (region between historic Anacostia and Capitol Hill - Penn Branch, Fairfax Village, Greenway, Westover, Twining, Hillcrest, the Randall Highlands, etc), ..as feeling different, than living in other parts of Wards Seven and Eight - known here, as 'East o'the River'.

The snootiest (most bougzey) of us express feeling unfairly characterized, as less intellectually sophisticated and less cultured (appreciative of history and the arts), than our Capitol Hill neighbors. Others, less pretentious, like myself, understand that we have shared the same civic struggles, as have bordering neighborhoods, whose crime and drug problems regularly dominate local newcasts. However, ..we also feel that Downtown (DC Government) and the Media unfairly lumps us in, with those troubled communities.

There is a culture-angst in the air, here, that only we can understand. Bougzy or populist, we do appreciate the distinction ..of being recognized, as our own singular, unique thing, apart from Anacostia or Capitol Hill. When D.C. Government's Great Streets Initiative christened us 'the Pennsylvania Avenue Southeast Corridor', though no one, here, calls it that, in conversation, ..we accepted it.

So, why a blog, named 'Capicostia'? Less letters to type.

What is the symbolic meaning of Marvel Comics' Incredible Hulk wrestling hedonistic Wonder Woman of the Eternals, Sersi the Terrible, two titans-in-green, ..locked in cataclysmic, urban conflict?! Absolutely nothing.

Capicostia...less letters to type. That's it. The End.

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiler, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

A SMARTER, MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY CONSCIOUS WAY, OFF 295...HOME TO EAST O'THE RIVER!

by Edgar Miraculous Dyer

Ward Seven and the Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor (region between Capitol Hill and Anacostia) needs an off-ramp, from 295 South onto East Capitol Street - East.

Presently, folks travelling on 295 South, heading (or returning) to our Corridor neighborhoods, have TWO wasteful, environmentally destructive options. One: get off 295 and take pothole-ridden East Capitol, over the Anacostia River, a mile around RFK Stadium and back over the river, to get to a tiny loop that spits you out, a block from Minnesota Avenue, ..in Fort Dupont. The other: stay on 295 South and ride it [God help you, in rush hour traffic!], all the way, nearly two, potholey miles, ..down to Pennsylvania Ave. The resulting air pollution, clutter of traffic, wasted time, commuter stress and wear and tear on East Capitol Street (East and West) and that mile-plus on 295 South ..is utterly ridiculous.

It's an environmentally wasteful, mile-plus haul on 295, from East Capitol South, down to our Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor.

Still another option, ..which I consider a non-option, if only because it's so literally backward and insane: take a ramp off 295 and onto a backstreet (the very, very back) of East River Park ..and wiggle and troubleshoot through several quiet, narrow, nondescript streets, until you accidentally come out onto Benning Road, near the PEPCO plant, ..after which you cross a decrepit, potholey bridge, over a railroad ..and down into so-called [Are you serious?] ..Downtown Ward Seven, which is a mess. The resulting noise, traffic and wear and tear on East River Park is entirely disruptive, socially unjust (if we have to go there) ..and just plain wrong - a non-option, when a little smart planning, from District Department of Transportation (DDOT) can make this, so much better.

Hard-working, hump-busting East River Park - Southeast, folks - deserves its well-earned peace and quiet. Nobody came to East River Park, from a country club ..or wearing a tiara. East River Park folks work! They deserve better.

We can do better, than this. We can do so much better ..and smarter.

One smart loop from 295 onto East Capitol Street revolutionizes our brutal, fossil fuel-burning, traffic jam-causing commute to the Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor ('Capicostia') ..and surrounding Penn Branch, Hillcrest, Fort Dupont, Fairfax Village, Twining City, Dupont Park, Pope Creek and Greenway. Yes - that is half the Corridor! As I said, "Revolutionary!" Furthermore, a 295-to-East Capitol loop displaces no area wildlife. [Join the discussion, on Twitter.]

Let me tell you ..I am a proud Brancher. We of Penn Branch, Dupont Park and Hillcrest ..LOVE our opossum, deer, groundhogs, hawk, rabbits, coyote, fox, bobcat and (not so much) seasonal mountain lion, ..all hopping in and out of our yards, all hours of the day and night! We wouldn't advocate something that would further displace or harm our wildlife, from their natural habitats, ..for all the money in the world.

Without this ramp, from from 295 South onto East Capitol Street - East, ..the so-called Downtown Ward Seven, with its one way in and one way out, ..is a joke and an insult to our intelligence. We need this, and the District Department of Transportation can make it happen. Go, DDOT!

Champ the Ramp, my friends!

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiler, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

Southeast Planet Fitness And Hillcrest Shoppers, Rocked By Murder At Penn Branch Center

by Edgar Miraculous Dyer

A woman was murdered, in front of  Planet Fitness, on the lower level of the Southeast Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor's newly renovated Penn Branch Center. This happened, right here, in Seven Bee. It happened, right here, in what the people, Downtown, call our Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor. This happened, in our home.

Shouldn't that mean something to us?

Penn Branch...heart of Southeast's Pennsylvania Avenue Corridor. Nikeisha Thomas was killed, on the lower level.

Someone looked at our calm, tree-lined streets - our newly, renovated Penn Branch Center - and felt safe, as we all have, ..for a while. Filled with hope for better health and new possibilities for herself, someone was inspired to join our Planet Fitness, on the lower level of Penn Branch Center. I think about that, about how safe and assured we all feel, here, in Penn Branch, most of the time, ..and I feel connected to her, in some small way...

Like a neighbor.

That doesn't make much sense - I know - but, it means something to me.

Our prayers and good will go with the family of Ms. Thomas and to her loved ones, wherever they are. May my God, in His infinite mercy, bless and comfort them, ..wherever they go.

God bless you, too, Capicostia.

Nikiesha Thomas shot in head, killed in Planet Fitness parking lot in Southeast DC (msn.com)

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the esteemed Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

THE PRINCE AND THE QUEEN HUNTER SEASON 1&2 FULL MOVIE - ZUBBY MICHAEL 20...

Landmark Wendy's, Decades On New York Avenue Circle...Now Closing

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/wendy-s-at-center-of-dc-s-dave-thomas-circle-to-close-tuesday-mayor/ar-AAOBNuK?ocid=msedgdhp&pc=U531

CAPICOSTIA SPIRIT

TO YOUR HEALTH, DR. MARSTON...AND HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

 Happy Birthday, Dr. William Moulton Marston (May 9, 1893 - May 2, 1947)

Mel Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

JACK KEMP, UNGHOSTED

by Mel Dyer

You think Liz Cheney and Mitch McConnell are catching hell from the GOP? Ha!

If I said that Donald Trump's greatest trick is presenting himself, as a fake Jack Kemp - his pretense to populism...pretending to espouse the things that distinguished Kemp, as a Republican ..and as a MAN - would the average American even know who 'Jack Kemp' was? Republicans have never shat on one of their own, the way they totally ghosted Secretary Jack Kemp, the so-called 'Bleeding Heart Conservative', who championed labor and small business, more often than was acceptable by his bloodless, soul-killing party bosses.

Conservatives should be working to empower and encourage the maximum participation of their fellow Americans, in free enterprise...in capitalism. To hell, with that rugged individualism garbage! People need this encouragement from their leaders - that's the job - and Sec. Jack Kemp knew the importance of that...

Saw the patriotism in it.

See him, now. Here's Jack Kemp, ..unghosted.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvUGlvooefI&fbclid

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Culture Council of the Capitol Area (El Consejo de Cultura Latina – La Zona del Capitolio) and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.

Larry King: The Game, The Brand And What Little I Knew Of The Man

by Mel Dyer

I was Larry King's FIRST intern, from Howard University - from a little office in Howard's School of Communications, where the now legendary career guidance counsellor, Ms. Carol Dudley, ..launched Titans into the world of men.

Sometimes, the miracles that Ms. Dudley (to whom I am eternally grateful) created there, ..changed the world. Sometimes, they changed us ..and how we saw our place in it.

Larry King, with B. B. King, at the legendary Mutual Broadcasting System, in Virginia's Crystal City district (from Arlnow.com)

I recall much of the summer of 1993, that I spent, working for him and his producers, Mr. Pat Piper and Ms. Judy Thomas, who was also his personal and executive assistant. I remember the day that he told me I could call him 'Larry', ..instead of the more deferential 'Mr. King', which I, being an old-fashioned son of Mexican and Afro-American parents, ..preferred. We had a few, brief conversations, over the course of my summer internship - he was a very busy man - so, while I barely knew him, I admired his professionalism, boundless curiosity and his fearlessness, as a journalist. I also very much appreciated his unpretentiousness, as a human being, something he shared with Pat Piper and Judy Thomas...

And a truly rare thing in Washington. Anyone, who's been here, longer than five minutes, can attest to this.

Never saw Larry King indulge a self-glorifying, primadonna (diva) moment, the entire time I worked for him; yet, he found time to tell me I made "one helluva' cup of coffee", ..which, with him recently recovering from a heart attack, ..was decaf. I share this about Larry, because I feel that it distinguished him...something about him; he didn't freely dispense unsolicited advice, but, instead, ..encouraged you to keep doing something, you were doing well...something useful. Anyone, whoever listened to his radio show, more than five times, was left with the impression that this was how he chose to relate to the world around him. He never prodded the famous subjects (a few of them, personal friends) of his interviews, be they heads of state or popstars, ..to do something that might impress or please Larry - that they should play that part in that movie, ..or that they should declare war on that country.

Instead, he invited them to stand in their cosmically appointed spaces ..and to tell us who they were. He invited and allured them to tell us the story of how they came to be, what it meant to them ..and why we should or shouldn't care. That was the 'Larry King' brand, as I see it. It was the grimy frankness of New York City and all of the mercilessly hot nights that he spent, as a young man, in nondescript radio stations in 1970s Florida, ..minting and building the brand. That was the game, and that, for what little I knew of him, personally, ..was the man.

I am so grateful for the summer that Mrs. Carol Dudley gave me with this radio and television legend. I regret that I won't get to see Larry King, again, ..if only to thank him for making me a small part of his story.

That's all I got, folks. Read more about it, on NBC News.

Edgar Miraculous (Mel) Dyer, without his fine, coyote-hatin' Goldiweiller, Kirby (now moved on to that big, coyote-hatin' hate group in the Sky) continues a somewhat bleaker, dogless existence in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC. He has been an active member of the Latino Citizens of the Capitol Hill Area and the Kiwanis Club of Capitol Hill.