A quick follow-up to my post last week about my new relationship with Nature.

Came across the above TED Talk today about how much we sit on our butts and a way to integrate walking into our workday.

Pretty interesting stuff. I think I’ll give it a try as Nature and I get more acquainted. Not sure I could get my co-workers on board, but I can start with conference calls.

In the past, I haven’t been an outdoorsy type of girl. I don’t hike. Don’t really hangout outside too much. But anytime I do find myself outside for something – walking around downtown, at a wine festival, at one of my nephew’s sporting events, etc. – I often enjoy it. The fresh air. The sunshine. It puts me in a good mood.

A trail marker I should have paid a little more attention to.

It would be a few months before I tested out this theory. I mentioned my desire to go hiking and a friend excitedly said he had a good place I could try. So about two weeks ago, I laced up the sneakers and headed out to Great Falls National Park, excited for what I thought would be a leisurely day, walking some trails, taking in some pretty views.

I was wrong. Actually, I was fooled.

It really is a testament to how well my friend knows me, that he didn’t warn me of the craziness of this trail. Had I known beforehand, I probably would have passed.

The warmup was fine. A leisurely walk. Little did I know I was walking to my doom. (Yup. I’m overly dramatic.) This “hike” ended up being rock climbing. We hopped (he hopped, I crawled) from rock to rock for what felt like hours. I floated between fear, exhaustion, excitement and anger.

According to the all-knowing Wikipedia, Section A of the Billy Goat Trail is a 1.7-mile hiking trail that “traverses rough and rocky terrain, including a steep climb along a cliff face along the Potomac River’s Mather Gorge. At another point in the trail, hikers are required to scramble over and around huge boulders.”

Here are some pictures of my journey up that steep climb, what felt like a completely vertical climb up the side of a mountain. (Again, dramatics.)

But, I was rewarded with some cool views, like this one:

A rest, about halfway through.

After a while I got the hang of it and I was able to focus on the views instead of the numerous ways I could fall off the rocks into the river below. It was a great workout.

So, in the end, I loved it and I do, in fact, love nature.

I’d ask how things have been since I left you a little over 18 months ago, but I’ve been keeping up with the industry and see that times are still tough. But there has been some stellar work done and outlets are really starting to embrace the Internet, so the news isn’t all bad.

With the Internet the immediacy of news has grown exponentially. But I’m writing to beg you to step back from this “better to be first than factual” breaking news mentality.

In a time of “citizen journalists” and an abundance of options of where to get news, your credibility is all you have. It’s what makes you stand apart and above. And to watch you risk, and oftentimes lessen, your credibility with the public with each national news story is frustrating and heartbreaking.

In the current news environment please remember that more important than getting it first is getting it right.

I can’t even explain how painful it was reading and listening to your explanations when you had to correct earlier reports that the suspected Boston bombers had been arrested. I can understand the pressure you were under. The world is watching you, depending on you for information and you want to do so, quickly. But what good are you or your information if its not accurate? Spouting misinformation makes you no more credible or reliable than a nosey neighbor spreading rumors.

The thought of coming back to journalism is always in the back of my mind. But I worry there won’t be much of an industry for me, or up-and-coming do-gooders who believe in the Fourth Estate, to come back to.

And it won’t be because the price of paper is soaring or that the Internet and recession killed your ad revenue. It’ll be because the public grew tired of that fast is better than facts mentality and they won’t believe a word you broadcast or print.

With deepest respect and hope for the future,
Janelle

There was once a time when interracial marriage was illegal (and protestors used biblical references to support their cause then, too) and look how most of society views that denial of rights now.

Love of one another is lacking in so many places. Why deny it wherever we can get it?

For the past few weeks I’ve been going with my sister to the Up and Up Open Mic in D.C.  to feed my need for interesting music and performances. (I mean, how much “All Gold Everything” can one person take?)

Black Boo of Mambo Sauce and local educator Victorious Hall joke and guide the audience through about three hours of performances from rappers, singers, poets and musicians. There seem to be some regulars, but every time I’ve gone there’s been something new to see and hear, including the house band.

It’s an awesome experience, a place where an impending snow storm can become fodder for an entertaining freestyle on being snowed-in with an unwanted one-night stand. And a birthday celebration can become a showcase of local and visiting talent, like this:

When Frederic Yonnet joined Maimouna Youssef on the UAU stage last week, it was incredible. A great example of what open mics should be. Who knew you could jam to hip-hop played on a harmonica?

It’s entertaining, it’s chill and it’s given me some new music to add to my playlists.

See you there Tuesday?

The Up and Up Open Mic
Tuesdays around 9 p.m.
Liv
2001 U St.  NW
Washington, D.C.
www.theuauopenmic.com

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