On a cold afternoon last week, children at the Developmental Before and After School Program at Brookland Elementary School finished their homework and rushed outside for an unusual exercise game. After tossing tennis balls into the center of a colorful parachute, the youngsters grabbed the edges of the parachute and snapped it up and down as fast as they could to see how quickly they could force all of the tennis balls onto the ground. Their carefree giggles and screams summed up one of the simple pleasures of being a child in Northeast Washington's Brookland neighborhood. With its quiet, tree-lined streets, Brookland is like a small town nestled in a corner of the city.
Many schools are within walking distance.
And children are not shy about saying what they enjoy about their community. I know just about everybody in the three blocks from the Metro stop to my home and everybody on my block. I know some people who don't know their next-door neighbor and that's pitiful. That's a good thing about this place. People are not shy to talk to one another around here.