Dominique Dawes Making Gymnastics Fun Again Plus SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS of LAUGHTER

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Dominique Dawes Making gymnastics fun again plus SURPRISING HEALTH BENEFITS OF LAUGHTER

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features

26 LAUGHTER, THE BEST MEDICINE Improve your physical, emotional and mental health by adding some humor to your day. STUCK DAVID BY PHOTO BY LAURA BRZYSKI

30 OVERCOMING THE CHALLENGES OF ADULT ADHD Impulsive? Inattentive? You may have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. BY DAVID MARK

38 BIRDS OF THE C&O CANAL WHY WE GIVE Keep your eyes on the sky (and trees Local philanthropists, including Craig and Pat Ruppert and and water) as you stroll along the their oldest daughter, Sophie Felts, share what motivates C&O Canal towpath. them to give back to the community. WORDS AND PHOTOS BY MICHAEL KIRCHER 34 BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN

On the cover: Dominique Dawes. Photo by David Stuck

4 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE departments DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | ISSUE NO. 118 25 18 PHOTO BY DAVID STUCK DAVID BY PHOTO ASKMENOW/DIGITALVISION VECTORS/GETTY IMAGES VECTORS/GETTY ASKMENOW/DIGITALVISION

PEOPLE + PLACES 12 Guide 13 Bookshelf 14 Arts 16 Getaway 18 Spotlight 20 Giving Back 21 Q&A

WELL + BEING 25 Expert

FOOD + DRINK 42 Table Talk 43 Make This 43 + Editor’s letter

MontgomeMAGAZINEry LAUGH IT OFF CEO/PUBLISHERPRENTON RP ULTRA CONDENSED AND PRENTON LIGHT Craig Burke [email protected]

When was the last time you had a EDITOR good laugh? I’m talking about a laugh PJ Feinstein that had you clutching your belly and [email protected] wiping tears from your eyes. If you’re DIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION still trying to remember, it’s probably Jennifer Perkins-Frantz [email protected] been too long. And that’s a shame DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & because laughter, it turns out, does CUSTOM MEDIA a body good. Jeni Mann Tough [email protected] In this issue, writer Laura Brzyski uncovers the surprising health benefits of laughter— EDITORIAL Michael Vyskocil, Managing Editor and how we can get in more giggles and Katie Beecher, Staff Writer guffaws in our everyday lives. It’s been hard CONTRIBUTORS to feel lighthearted in 2020, but if we can all Laura Brzyski, Steve Goldstein, Barbara Noe learn to laugh a little more, we’ll be better PJ FEINSTEIN Kennedy, David Mark, Barbara Ruben able to deal with the not-so-funny parts of Editor INTERNS our day. Michelle Aguirre, Ceoli Jacoby, Our health and fitness issue also explores Sharmilee Rahman the challenges faced by adults with ADHD, CREATIVE and Montgomery County Public Libraries Sherley Taliaferro, Art Director is back with book recommendations to help Steve Burke, Graphic Designer you feel your best in the New Year. We David Stuck, Contributing Photographer talk to Bruce Adams about his decision to ADVERTISING relaunch Bethesda Community Base Ball Kim Coates Schofield, Club and to Dominique Dawes about her Mary Ramsdale, Stacie Shapero, Sylvia Witachek new gymnastics academy in Clarksburg. The Olympic gold medalist, who grew up SUBSCRIPTIONS Go to montgomerymag.com to subscribe in Montgomery County, is on a mission to for free or to view a digital edition. Back issues create a safe and nurturing environment for are available for $7 each. Editorial reprints are young gymnasts. also available. + NEED TO REACH US? After a long, stressful year, I hope you are MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE Email able to find peace during this holiday season. 11900 Parklawn Drive, Suite 300 [email protected]. We may all be celebrating differently this Rockville, MD 20852 Please include your name, address Phone: 301-230-2222 and daytime phone number. year, but we’ll be doing it collectively, as a [email protected] Online community. montgomerymag.com montgomerymag.com Thank you for being part of ourMontgomery Socials Montgomery Magazine is published six times @montgomerymagazine Magazine community. Stay safe, and I’ll see a year by Mid-Atlantic Media @montgomerymagazine you back here in 2021! @montgomery_mag All rights reserved

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MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 7 + contributors/ Introducing the professionals behind S a e! Montgomery Magazine Montgomery Magazine is FREE to residents of Montgomery County

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OCTOBER/NOVEMBER 2020 || $4.95$4.95 JUNE/JULY 2020 | $4.95 CATCHING UP WITH JOHNNY LAURA BRZYSKI | WRITER A VOICE FOR THE PEOPLE HOLLIDAY Lily Qi Laughter, the Best Medicine

PLUS: How Will The Ultimate Restaurants Laura Brzyski is a writing professor, Cookout plus MCPS TEACHER Survive Adapting OF THE YEAR Covid-19? to COVID-19 BLACK ARTISTS EDWARD REAVIS AND OTHER CHEFS plus freelance journalist and private tutor. Her SHARE THEIR DISH UP THE DETAILS CREATIVE PROCESS NEW COOKBOOKS

COUNCILMEMBER COVID-19 WILL JAWANDO REENTRY stories about health, fitness and wellness ANXIETY DIY CHARCUTERIE BOARD can be found in Philadelphia magazine, where she served as Be Well Philly’s digital SUBSCRIBE AT contributor. Her creative writing has been MONTGOMERYMAG.COM/ YEAR FREE SUBSCRIPTION published in Pithead Chapel, Gigantic Sequins OR CALL , EXT. and Entropy, among others. She holds an M.F.A in creative writing from Rutgers University-Camden and an M.A. in En- glish literature from Lehigh University. She montgomerymag.com lives in Philadelphia (not a suburb of) with her husband and their dog, Bogey. INSIDE OUR HOME ISSUE The world continues to change around us. Let us help share what MontgomeMAGAZINEry your business has to offer. PRENTON RP ULTRA CONDENSEDFEBRUARY/MARCH AND PRENTON LIGHT

Heart Healthy, Self-Improvement, BARBARA NOE KENNEDY | WRITER Camps, Restaurants Walking in a Winter Wonderland and more! Barbara Noe Kennedy left her longtime position as senior editor of National Geographic Travel Publishing in 2015 to delve into the freelance travel writing world. She writes about destinations, art, food and drink, culture, history and social justice. Her work has appeared in Fodor’s Travel, Lonely Planet, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, BBC Travel, Outside CALL NOW TO magazine, AFAR, TripSavvy.com and MONTGOMERYMAG.COM National Geographic, among others. She also Print | Digital ADVERTISE! teaches online writing classes. She lives with 301-230-2222, ext. 4 or her husband, David, in Arlington, Virginia, [email protected] where she enjoys running and biking its trails

and plotting her next (post-COVID-19) trip. LIFETOUCH BOTTOM: BETLYON, CHRISTIAN TOP:

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410-517-7017 carPet • harDWooD • lamInate • tIle • luxury vInyl Plank MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 9 PEOPLE + PLACES GUIDE 12 » BOOKSHELF 13 » ARTS 14 » GETAWAY 16 » SPOTLIGHT 18 » GIVING BACK 20 » Q&A 21

10 MONTGOMERYMAG.COM Experience the wonder of 3 ½ miles of winter light displays at ILLUMINATING THE Seneca Creek State Park through December 31. HOLIDAYS Provided by City of Gaithersburg/ Photograph by Marleen Van den Neste »

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 11 PEOPLE + PLACES/ guide PROVIDED BY CITY BY PROVIDED BONFIRES

FIRED UP Rockville neighbors find purpose during the pandemic making and selling mini bonfires BY CEOLI JACOBY

Chris McCasland was one of the mini fire pits themselves using American- and Opalski have filled more than 5,000 nearly 500,000 Americans who lost a job made materials. Roughly the size of a roll of orders. They have relied on a mixture of in the leisure and hospitality industry duct tape, each metal tin is filled with soy social media advertising and good-old- in March as stay-at-home orders spread wax that burns for up to four hours. It can fashioned word-of-mouth to get their throughout the country. A live enter- easily be extinguished with the lid and re-lit business off the ground. This approach tainment industry broker, the Rockville until it has been used up. seems to be working. Opalski says that the resident realized he’d have to get creative City Bonfires are also eco-friendly: the small business has recently gone interna- to make up for his lost income. product is made with recycled wax that tional after filling several orders in Canada. Quarantining with his wife and kids, produces much less soot than a wood fire, Many customers are also purchasing McCasland took an interest in e-commerce meaning no smoky smell and lower carbon City Bonfires in bulk, says McCasland. and began brainstorming ideas for new emissions. The paper briquettes inside are Their small size appeals to realtors, college products. He landed on a portable and re- post-consumer, too. And because there are recruiters and anyone else whose job usable fire pit but needed someone to help no embers, they’re safe to light in locations requires them to hand out goodies design it. McCasland shared his plan with where traditional wood fires are not, such en-masse for the sake of salesmanship. Michael Opalski, a neighborhood dad who as screened-in porches. also lost his job to COVID-19, and City The idea of a portable fire pit was con- If their success continues, the pair says Bonfires was born. ceived with family marshmallow roasts in that they intend to make City Bonfires their “That’s the best part of our story,” says mind; Opalski says he cannot recall one full-time jobs even after the pandemic. McCasland, who is also a co-owner of instance during the product’s development “If you had asked us two to three months Quincy’s South in Rockville and Quincy’s when his and McCasland’s kids missed out ago if this had any potential at all, we Potomac. “Michael was on the road three or on a chance to make s’mores. City Bonfires wouldn’t have even thought about it,” says four days so we barely even knew him prior even sells a four-person s’mores kit on its Opalski. “But this thing has legs, it’s fun, to the pandemic.” website (citybonfires.com). and if people enjoy it, we’ll keep trying to The pair quickly got to work, making the Since launching in August, McCasland make it and make it better.”MM

12 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE PEOPLE + PLACES/ bookshelf NEW YEAR, NEW YOU BY ALAN HECHT, LIBRARIAN I, WHITE OAK LIBRARY

FACT: We all want to feel better, perform better and—if possible—look fabulous while doing it. That is why books and other media having to do with health, fitness and diet are perennial favorites wherever they are sold, borrowed or otherwise change hands. Add to that the pandemic, giving many of us time and motivation to reassess our patterns and habits. As always, Montgomery County Public Libraries has your back, making available the best and most up-to-date information to become your healthiest self.

The Healthy Deviant Keto for Life: Reset Your Biological The Core 4: Embrace Your Body, BY PILAR GERASIMO Clock in 21 Days and Optimize Own Your Power Your Diet for Longevity BY STEPH GAUDREAU “The Healthy Deviant” suggests that BY MARK SISSON many of the norms we accept in “The Core 4” is intended for women regard to health and fitness are The Keto diet—high fat, moderate and aims at de-emphasizing weight counterproductive and that “if you protein, low or no carbs—is a pretty as a measure of health and personal are not breaking the rules, you are daunting proposition. That said, you may worth. It emphasizes consumption probably breaking yourself.” Obviously, have been cautiously curious about it. If of nutrient-rich foods with a heavy this is not merely another book about so, this book by Mark Sisson (one of the focus on fats and proteins (a look at how to achieve a six-pack. It is more earliest promoters of the Keto move- the author bio reveals that she is a about changing one’s life in ways that ment) is a good place to satisfy that promoter of the paleo philosophy— may—well—deviate from conven- curiosity. Even if the reader is not going and it shows) and strength training tional ideas about achieving health to go full Keto, some of the recipes as the basis of fitness. The strength and fitness. While this sounds like (which constitute nearly a third of the training, as seen in the “Move with work, one can probably find some book) look delicious. Also, it is hard to Intention” section of the book, is aspect(s) of the Healthy Deviant argue with fewer carbs, less processed quite serious. As the author states, program that will improve one’s life. food and more movement incorporated there are no one-pound pink dumb- The engaging and relatable writing in one’s life. Additionally, Sisson bells to be found in these pages. On style will make you want to at least emphasizes the importance of mental the contrary; the program stresses consider giving it a try. flexibility and resilience in healthy aging training of large muscle groups with as well as rest and recovery, both known heavy weights and exercises such as to be crucial to long-term well-being. deadlifts. MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 13 PEOPLE + PLACES/ arts Fertile Ground for Creativity Jamie Blicher’s difficult journey has taken her through a unique artistic awakening

nk swirls and spirals across the paper in Jamie Blicher’s Ipaintings. The abstract eddies of color streaked with veins of deeper pigment resemble polished quartz or marble. Blicher sells her work framed or printed on pillows, headbands, notebooks and even masks from her company, Glitter Enthusiast. FISHER ASHLEY

But despite the whimsical moniker, Bli- cher’s work was initially born from a much darker place. During a three-year struggle with infertility, she turned to art—along with Pilates, acupuncture and therapy— to find calm. “I did a lot of different things, but painting felt the most like me when I didn’t really feel like myself,” she says. “I use art as my personal diary. When I’m really happy, I paint about it. When I’m not happy, I paint about it. So for me going through this infertility journey, it was a time I needed work, Blicher moves the ink and alcohol and Total Wine to shape her offerings. She to paint.” with a blow dryer or blows on it through a also draws on a lifelong love of creating Blicher, 35, also decided to incorporate straw. Some work she festoons with stars, art as well as her degree from New York’s her infertility struggle in her art. One day the kind you wish on. Fashion Institute of Technology. Much she spied an unused box of IVF needles she “Forcing something beautiful to come of Blicher’s work is done on commission, used for fertility treatments. In a moment out of this object that brought me such some by women who have faced their own of creativity, Blicher filled a syringe with pain and frustration was a lifeline in more infertility battles. rubbing alcohol and injected it onto ink in ways than one,” she says. “We met at similar painful points of our the center of a piece of paper, watching it Eventually, Blicher became pregnant infertility journeys,” says Erica Noel, who spread across the page. with her twin sons, Ethan and Bennett, lives in Rockville. “Today, I get to watch my Her first reaction was awe. “Inks can who were born in July 2018. She lives with daughter curl up in a blanket—marketed as be very difficult to control on paper,” says them, her husband, Brian, and their labra- a towel—bearing Jamie’s art under two of Blicher. “Using the syringe gave me that doodle, Gem, in Rockville. And while that her gorgeous paintings, and I literally feel extra bit of control and power over the was the end of her infertility battle, it was chills of joy and so much optimism.” ink. Realizing the obvious metaphor here just the beginning for Glitter Enthusiast. Marisa Landau, who lives in Kensington, between my life and my art was powerful.” Blicher uses her background as a buyer owns one of Blicher’s paintings as well as To create the billowing whirls in her for such companies as Amazon, West Elm a mask.

14 DMONTGOMERYMAG.COMECEMBER/JANUARY 2020-2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE “I was so moved by her long and traumatic journey to have children and how she channeled that experience into her art, both emotionally and through the use of IVF needles,” she says. “I have dabbled in art myself and have always been intrigued with nonconventional tools and mediums, so I find her use of the syringes inventive and emotionally moving.” Lisa Aleskow, who lives in Potomac, commissioned a piece for her daughter’s room. “Her paintings, although abstract, tell a story—you see the light and darkness in each of them, a feeling of hope and connection,” she says. Blicher has also used other women’s sterile IVF needles when Jamie Blicher with husband, Brian, and twins Bennett, left, and Ethan they commission work. And she has become an advocate of making the subject of difficulty in conceiving children less taboo— starting with her own mother. Instagram account @glitterenthusiast, which has 3,000 followers. “When I was first trying to get pregnant, she said: ‘Just relax. I just Blicher has exhibited her work through the Art of Infertility looked at your dad and I was pregnant.’ I was thinking, ‘I know good in Washington, D.C., a group that raises awareness of infertility intentions are there and this how you think you’re helping me, but issues through art and storytelling. She also donates a portion of right now I just need to be heard and I need support,’” she recalls. “We her profits to Resolve, a national nonprofit infertility association. want to be teaching loved ones of those going through infertility what “I want my sons to be so proud of their mom for battling to say, what not to say, how to offer support, how to comfort.” adversity this way and finding a beautiful thing that comes It didn’t happen all at once, but when Blicher started sharing out of it,” Blicher says. “I really want to tell them how badly her artwork with friends three years ago, she also talked about I wanted them and how the conversation of them from the the journey that led her to create it. And she has connected with beginning turned into something so beautiful. And that they many women facing their own infertility struggles through her came and made this world so much better.”MM

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MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 15 PEOPLE + PLACES/ getaway BY: MONTGOMERY PARKS, MNCPPC PARKS, MONTGOMERY BY:

A snowy day at Brookside Gardens and Sligo Creek Trail

WALKING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND Don’t let cold weather stop you from exploring Montgomery County trails BY BARBARA NOE KENNEDY

s you stroll along the C&O Canal “Winter is not some time to hiber- in the depths of January, just one nate,” says Bob Schmick, president of the Aof Montgomery County’s many Maryland Volkssport Association. “We can trails ideal for winter walking, the first do everything in winter that we can do in Proper gear thing that hits you is the silence. There is summer. Just take more clothes.” Dress in layers. Think merino no one else out here, but then you begin to And as you move, you’ll kick in motion wool, technical layers, down notice … the doe scuttling in the under- an onslaught of benefits. vests and jackets—and no cotton. Bring gloves, a hat brush, the bald eagle swooping upon Studies have shown, for example, that and sunglasses (especially its prey, the reflection of dark spindly walking outside provides a dose of vitamin if snow is on the ground). branches on the mirrorlike river. D that can help ward off seasonal affective Even in cold weather you’ll Indeed, with proper planning, winter disorder (SAD), depression provoked by need water, and be sure to pack snacks like granola hiking can become one of your favorite seasonal change. bars, jerky or PB&Js. activities—and an important one to get “It’s important to know that the shorter you through the year’s darkest, most days and cold weather trigger changes in confining months. But wait, isn’t it too our brains,” says Meira Ellias, LCSW-C, cold? Why not just stay snuggled up on a psychotherapist and owner of DC the couch or in front of a roaring fire? Therapeutic Services in Bethesda. “These

16 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE that the metabolic rate can increase as changes can activate symptoms that are much as 40 percent in cold weather, and closer to depression than the ‘winter blues.’ the effect will last for another 48 to 72 Great winter hikes in There are multiple ways to effectively Montgomery County hours—15 to 20 percent longer than in treating SAD, one of which is putting on warmer weather. Cabin John Regional Park your coat and getting outside. Getting Trails: Six-plus miles of Finally, a change of scenery is simply trails. montgomeryparks.org access to direct sunlight can help decrease good for the soul. these side effects.” Capital Crescent Trail: 11 “With COVID keeping more people miles between Georgetown Plus, walking helps reduce stress. working and going to school remotely, we and Silver Spring. cctrail.org Harvard Medical School researchers have are spending more time around our fami- C&O Canal: Between mile proven that exercise reduces levels of the lies than ever before,” Ellias says. “Getting markers 4 and 42; including body’s stress hormones, such as adrena- some time alone, or on a socially distanced Great Falls Park. nps.gov/ line and cortisol, and increases feel-good walk with friends, can help with any choh endorphins, which will last in your system tensions that may arise at home.” Matthew Henson Trail: 4.5 for over a week. miles along Turkey Branch. The best part? Traipsing back in from montgomeryparks.org And here’s some good news. You’ll burn the cold and reaping the benefits, as you more calories than in summertime, and Rachel Carson Conservation enjoy an après-hike mug of hot chocolate Park Trails: Six-plus miles of the fat-burning effect is longer. A study by (or hot buttered rum!) in front of a roaring trails. montgomeryparks.org researchers at Princeton University found fire. Go ahead, you deserve it!MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 17 18 MONTGOMERYMAG.COM PEOPLE + PLACES/ spotlight Bruce Adams is Back AFTER AN EIGHT-YEAR HIATUS, THE BETHESDA COMMUNITY BASE BALL CLUB FOUNDER IS ONCE AGAIN DRIVING THE BIG TRAIN

BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID STUCK

Bruce Adams is thinking about of running the organization while leading Train. “Do you want it back?” Cashmere cicadas. Baseball and cicadas. former County Executive Ike Leggett’s asked. Adams demurred, but the more With some luck, a reliable vaccine and Office of Community Partnerships, he thought about it, the more excited he COVID-19 in retreat, Adams and the a position he held from 2007 to 2018. became. “I was hooked,” he says. The plan boys and bugs of summer will all return With no succession plan in place at Big was for him to revive the BCBBC and take to Shirley Povich Field next year. After an Train, Adams wanted to create a sustainable over in the fall of 2020. eight-year hiatus, Adams, the 73-year-old organization that wasn’t dependent on Trying to ward off buyer’s remorse, founder of Bethesda Big Train Baseball, is him. “I’m incredibly passionate about what Adams sought guidance from two close once again the conductor of the organi- we created here,” he says. “I always worried friends (his family had already given him a zation. He’s hoping to dedicate the 2021 that [the organization] was too reliant thumbs-up). One told him he was crazy to season to the nation’s first responders and, on me, and long-term sustainability was even consider the idea; the other said the yes, to stage an event that marks the return always on my mind.” gig would reinvigorate him in retirement. of Brood X, the buzzing jarflies who last In 2012, Adams found a willing “They both were right,” he says. “Restarting successor parent to the BCBBC in Bethesda- swarmed here 17 years ago. a nonprofit in the middle of a worldwide Chevy Chase Baseball (B-CC), which runs “The ‘I Ate a Cicada at Shirley Povich health pandemic is probably not the best Field’ T-shirts will be back,” says Adams, youth baseball programs. All he had move for someone in their 70s.” who memorably munched one in 2004, to do was let go. When COVID-19 forced cancellation of inevitably declaring: “Tastes like chicken.” “He agonized about the decision,” says the 2020 season, Adams assumed steward- Adams had recently finished serving four Leggett. “Bruce was torn between his two ship of the team in June instead of in the terms on the Montgomery County Council great passions, and it was too difficult to do post-season fall. He had two goals for the in 1998 when he and John Ourisman both. Personally, I would have been very fallow season—keep baseball fans interested founded the nonprofit Bethesda Community disappointed if he’d left the county—but I and raise money to support Big Train— Base Ball Club (BCBBC) with the mission wasn’t going to tell him that.” which he meshed together by staging a to fund improvements for youth baseball Yet, just because Adams was out at Big and softball fields across the county. Train didn’t mean he was out of the game. series of fundraising events. Losing one BCBBC built the 750-seat Povich Field at “Founders are very difficult people,” season to the virus was bad enough; Cabin John Regional Park and created a new he says with a laugh, “and I among them.” losing a second season “would really collegiate summer baseball team, Bethesda When one is present at the creation, chances hurt us,” says Adams. The so-called Big Train, named for Walter “Big Train” are you may nitpick changes that your suc- “BIG susTRAINability” campaign yielded Johnson, who threw fearsome fastballs over cessors make. For one, Adams disliked the $70,000, giving Big Train a ticket to ride 21 seasons for the Washington Senators ballpark music playlist chosen by the new next spring—pandemic permitting. before retiring in 1927 and earned a spot in guys. Decidedly old school, Adams prefers So, yes, baseball and cicadas are on his the first group enshrined in baseball’s Hall Motown and the occasional baseball- mind as it’s deja vu all over again for Bruce of Fame. themed song to hip-hop and R&B. Adams. Famed author F. Scott Fitzgerald Like Johnson, Adams threw everything In the fall of 2019, retired from his once declared there are no second acts in he had into Big Train baseball, but he even- county job, Adams approached B-CC chief American lives. Obviously, he never met tually felt overmatched by the responsibilities Doug Cashmere about helping with Big the man who drives the Big Train. MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 19 PEOPLE + PLACES/ giving back

The Gift of Flight

Luke’s Wings helps to facilitate the recovery and rehabilitation of wounded service members by keeping them connected with loved ones BY KATIE BEECHER

s a volunteer with Luke’s Wings Luke’s Wings volunteers serve breakfast at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. in its early days, Lindsay Gill was Afrequently met with skepticism when she shared the nonprofit’s mission to support for service members and veterans provide complimentary airfare to wounded with major chronic illnesses who require

service members and their loved ones. ongoing medical treatment. WINGS LUKE’S BY PROVIDED “I would knock on doors at Walter Luke’s Wings does not limit how many Reed (National Military Medical Center) times a family can apply for airfare nor how and get responses like ‘What’s the string many tickets they can receive. Gill recalls a attached?’ I would have to tell them that mom in California who wanted to be with there weren’t any,” says Gill, who is now her son in Washington, D.C.; however, the organization’s senior director of airfare was expensive and she felt guilty external affairs. leaving her other five kids behind for a long Luke’s Wings was founded in 2008 stretch of time. “Luke’s Wings got flights by Gill’s husband, Fletcher, and Sarah for the entire family and helped them visit The nonprofit hosts an annual Heroes Walk to Wingfield and named after the first soldier every few weeks,” says Gill. Fly fundraiser in Bethesda. This year, the event helped—U.S. Army Sgt. Luke Shirley, a Although its primary funding source was virtual. double amputee who was recovering from comes from corporate sponsors, Luke’s We’ve made a his injuries at Walter Reed in Bethesda. Wings generates much revenue from commitment to say Wounded soldiers are treated at military fundraising events, all of which have hospitals best suited for their injuries, not been canceled because of the COVID-19 yes to as many at hospitals closest to home. The govern- pandemic. holiday flights as ment provides only three flights for family Since Veterans Day, Luke’s Wings has possible. members. After that, airfare cost often held its annual “No Soldier Spends Christ- prohibits loved ones, whose support is mas Alone” fundraising campaign to con- crucial during a service member’s recovery, tinue reuniting warrior families at a time of from regularly visiting. year when airfare is more expensive. More than a decade after its challenging “The average cost of a ticket is $350. start, Luke’s Wings has purchased That’s where your donation goes,” says Gill. yes to as many holiday flights as possible,” approximately 6,000 round-trip tickets This year, the nonprofit is also allocating says Gill. “Any service member or military and 12,000 one-way tickets, expanding its funds to people who are more comfortable family that reaches out, it’s our mission to offerings to provide flights for the loves driving or taking a train. get them there.” ones of veterans in hospice or palliative “The holidays are known for together- To learn more about Luke’s Wings and care. A special assistance program offers ness. We’ve made a commitment to say how you can help, visit lukeswings.org. MM

20 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE PEOPLE + PLACES/ q&a STILL AWESOME Dominique Dawes continues to inspire young gymnasts BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN

e have local heroes and also those who are famous for Maryland. Then there are theW few who are known to the world. Dominique Margaux Dawes holds the trifecta.

The Takoma Park-bred former prom STUCK DAVID BY PHOTOS queen from Gaithersburg High School was a gymnastics prodigy, becoming the first Black woman to earn a spot on the U.S. National team in 1988 and the U.S. Olympic team in 1992. “Awesome Dawesome” continued to make history throughout her career; as a member of the “Magnificent Seven” at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, she brought home the first gold medal for a U.S. gymnastics team and was the first Black gymnast to win an individual event medal. Now Dawes has returned to her roots, settling in Montgomery County with husband Jeff Thompson, a former teacher at The Heights School in Potomac, and their four young children. Another offspring, which she calls “the family project,” is the Dominique Dawes Gymnastics & Ninja Academy in Clarksburg. The gym offers a variety of gymnastic classes from preschool Montgomery Magazine: What are your Virginia, to be closer to his family. But we to high school as well as Ninja Warrior memories of growing up here? decided we are Marylanders and moved back here with our four kids: a 6- and a training, which has a foundation in martial Dominique Dawes: I am a MoCo girl. 5-year-old and 2 1/2-year-old twins. arts, challenging obstacle courses and I grew up in the lower part of Silver gymnastic techniques. Spring near Tacoma Park. My father Do your kids know that their mom In our interview at the Academy, Dawes, had a trash and recycling business Q: is famous? 43, spoke in blunt terms about the abuse on Carroll Avenue, and my grandfather, young gymnasts, including herself, have been who is 93, has a barbershop (Roland’s A: Oh, my goodness, no. They couldn’t Unisex Barber Shop) that is still going. experiencing for years and why it persists. She care less about that! I think my two was ill prepared for the physical and mental oldest girls, Kateri and Quinn, are curious strain of gymnastics—“The level of com- Q: And now you are raising your own now that we’ve opened this family family here. mitment was astronomical, and the culture business and people are excited to meet was extremely unhealthy,” she says—and A: I’m thrilled to be back in Montgomery Mommy—because I’m just like any other decided to open a gym to prove that a safe County. When we got married, my mom in their eyes—and they wonder and positive environment could be created to husband and I lived in Silver Spring for what is this? So the [kids] are enamored promote the sport that’s been her life. a while, then we relocated to Reston, of that. And my husband loves watching

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 21 If [parents] want their kid to go to the Olympics, I tell them this is not the gym for you. I want well-rounded children and families.

videos of my gymnastic days, which I way it used to. The sport of gymnastics Q: What do you tell parents? think is kind of odd, but he does it for the really does train you to become a kids. And they want me to go out and do A: I’ve done motivational speaking perfectionist because you focus on my gymnastics routines, and I explain since 1996, and when parents ask me, what you did wrong; nothing is ever good that I’m 43 years old! “Would you put your kids into [highly enough, you’re constantly being judged. competitive] gymnastics?” I would So when I had that fall I still had that Q: Did you always have plans to open respond, “Absolutely not.” It’s a great mindset that my career would be defined your own studio? sport for learning fundamentals, but I by that mistake. But that fall planted a don’t want my kids to have the seed of drive and determination that it A: Never! I can actually guarantee you childhood I had. My husband knew is part of life and you can choose to get that I never envisioned where I’m at nothing about my career—he’s the one back up and move past it—or you can today. I’d seen the life of many gym person on earth who didn’t watch the dwell on it. And that has helped me going owners, and it wasn’t a life I wanted ’96 Olympics. And he’s come across through life; I know I’m going to make for myself. Not that their businesses pieces of me as a child, and in one I’m mistakes in business, for example. weren’t successful, but I looked at the about 12 or 13, and he paused it and big picture and I felt that the gym said to me, “You’re literally crying in the Q: How has the pandemic complicated owners I did know were not necessarily middle of your tumbling routine. Why your business plans? happy people … so this is not something didn’t anyone recognize this wasn’t a I envisioned for myself. I love working healthy environment for you?” He’s a A: Being unemployed—not a good thing. with kids, motivating them in the sport schoolteacher of nearly 18 years, and I had a number of speeches lined up; that of gymnastics, but I had not seen a gym he said [that] if parents would open is what allowed me to support my family. owner do it the right way. their eyes and see the pain their When those speeches dried up and I was children are in and recognize the committed to this [gym] and moving Q: What changed your mind? enormous sacrifices some of their forward with it, it was a little scary. It children are making—and maybe don’t forced me to have a little more faith, What tipped the scales was Larry A: want to—they will save their children maybe, than I had before. My husband Nassar. In 2016, when everything came and themselves a lifetime of heartache. said we’ll make it through this, it will out about the hundreds of young make us stronger, and during quarantine athletes and that Olympic team doctor, this is where all six of us were. We were Q: So this experience informs the way who was a monster—the sexual assaults on a schedule, and we couldn’t stop it. you run your academy? he committed with those young girls—[it] opened my eyes to the fact A: My desire with this academy is to Q: How well are you meeting your that I love the sport of gymnastics but create a healthy environment, and each projections? the culture was an unhealthy culture. and every one of my staff is vetted by And that’s why they were able to get me. If I get a parent who is looking for A: The numbers are significantly lower away with it for so many decades. The stardom I tell them this isn’t the than what we initially planned, but it’s culture in gymnastics in many of the environment for them—I tell them flat not bad. We planned for 400, and we just gyms is based on fear, on intimidation out. I’m glad I went through what I did got there. I’m a conservative person. I and silence. The athletes can be because now I know what I want for my wasn’t thinking, oh, we’ll have 1,000 emotionally, physically and verbally children. If they want their kid to go to people as soon as we open the door. Now abused. So they go to sleep in fear, the Olympics, I tell them this is not the we do have 900 people pre-signed up. they wake up in fear, they show up for gym for you. I want well-rounded But even though our start is slow, I’m practice crying, they cry during practice, children and families. able to connect with each and every and they leave crying. No one takes the family, to know the kids’ names. I’m time to recognize how damaging it is on able to connect with my staff. Q: Looking back, what athletic those young girls. The girls can’t even achievement gives you the most voice that they are uncomfortable, and satisfaction? Q: Are you interested in coaching, for some reason parents are blinded— perhaps even an Olympic team? maybe by the thoughts of a college A: Coming back from my fall at the scholarship—and they don’t see the Olympics. Winning is one thing, but I A: Do I see myself on the floor coaching? pain their kid is in today. learned a lot from my mistake at the I’m trying not to do it all. I do want to 1996 Olympics. It doesn’t haunt me the remain married! I want to know my

22 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE kids. They don’t need mommy as a parents that were a certain way or if you are.” I broke down; I’d never heard coach. I have stepped in on a preschool only I weren’t in the sport of gymnas- those words before—or since. Her class, but that’s because we were tics. But I’ve truly embraced the most words made such an impression on me. short-staffed due to COVID-19. So painful moments of my life because I jumped in. But that’s not where I that’s what brought me where I am Q: What do you say to young girls who want to be. today, with the people I am today, with want to be like Dominique? the drive and the passion I have today. Q: Do you expect to resume doing So even if could write a letter to my A: I would tell them don’t be like motivational speeches? younger self, I would just remind her Dominique. Be yourself. Be the best that that she’s stronger and more resilient you are. I understand when they walk A: I really enjoyed doing motivational than she thinks. I’d remind her that her through this facility and there’s the speeches, although I didn’t like the greatness is not about her accolades or Olympic photos it’s a draw, as is my travel. Once I started bringing the kids about achievements, but her heart. name, and moms and dads grew up on the road with me, it became harder watching me. But when they come and harder. I found it to be more of a job The mother of one of my teammates, through the door I hope they find that than it needed to be. Alexis Norman, pulled me aside in 1994 my coaches are upbeat and compas- when I was having a tough time in the sionate. My teammates and I lived in an If you could revisit your past and Q: sport. I had a horrible two months of atmosphere of anxiety and fear. It just change it, given what you know now, practice and wanted to quit. She pulled alarms me what parents (of gymnasts) would you? me aside and said, “Remember we love don’t see—or don’t want to see. I want A: For a while I dwelled on coulda, you not because of your talent and ours to be a positive environment and woulda, shoulda. Like if only I’d had ability in the gym but because of who build the kids’ self-esteem. MM

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1 4 1 3 1 S e n e c a R o a d D a r n e s t o w n , M D 2 0 8 7 4 w w w . m a r y o f n a z a r e t h . o r g Inspiring excellence, intrinsic motivation, and responsibility through innovation in learning.

Lower School Montessori Method 12 months - Grade 5 Middle & Upper School Project-Based Learning Grades 6-12

barrie.org [email protected] 301.576.2800

24 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE WELL + BEING

ASKMENOW/DIGITALVISION VECTORS/GETTY IMAGES VECTORS/GETTY ASKMENOW/DIGITALVISION

COLD WEATHER CARE How to relieve your winter skin woes BY KATIE BEECHER

‘Tis the season to be jolly, free, thick moisturizing cream and apply it to take breaks from mask wearing when immediately after bathing,” she says. Her it’s safe to do so. She also recommends to watch Hallmark movies favorite drugstore moisturizer is CeraVe, cleansing with a salicylic or glycolic acid and to moisturize, which contains hyaluronic acid to attracts face wash and refreshing the skin with moisturize, moisturize. moisture to the skin and ceramides to a toner like Epionce Purifying Toner maintain the skin barrier. throughout the day. Minimizing makeup ■ As we age, our skin tends to become Moisturizing is especially important under the mask could also help. drier due to our body’s decreased pro- now that people are washing and sani- For people with naturally sensitive duction of oils, cumulative sun damage, tizing their hands more frequently due skin, it’s all about finding the right mask. hormonal changes and even certain to COVID-19. “I’m seeing more hand Pellicane likes machine-washable Thera- medications we take. In the wintertime, the dermatitis, and some patients have allergies masks, which are made from fabric decreased humidity and dry indoor heat to certain products in hand sanitizers, like designed to reduce facial contamination. can make already-dry skin feel even tighter propylene glycol, so check the labels before If your dry skin or maskne continue and itchier, says Brenda L. Pellicane, MD, you buy it,” Pellicane says. FAAD, a board-certified dermatologist and The pandemic has also introduced a to worsen throughout the season, don’t founder of Icon Dermatology & Aesthetics new concern: “maskne,” or acne caused hesitate to make an appointment with your in Rockville. by wearing a mask. Pellicane reports an dermatologist. Many practices are offering To keep skin hydrated as outdoor increase in skin conditions on the face, telemedicine to keep patients safe during temps drop, Pellicane recommends using which she attributes to a combination of the pandemic. a humidifier, bathing only once a day, friction and trapped moisture from masks. “People also shouldn’t try to diagnose drinking water and, of course, moistur- The dermatologist advises everyone to themselves,” says Pellicane. “They might do izing. “You should look for a fragrance change and wash their masks routinely and things that can make the issue worse.” MM continued on page xxx

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 25 LAUGHTER, THE BEST MEDICINE

Feeling better, longer—one laugh at a time BY LAURA BRZYSKI

Nearly 20 years later, Kataria, a doctor from India, tested “Throw your arms overhead, Cousins’ philosophy with public laughter gatherings, where strangers would come together and, you guessed it, laugh. tilt your head back, inhale In The New Yorker article, “The Laughing Guru,” writer Raffi —Hahahahahahaha!” Khatchadourian notes that Kataria’s approach doesn’t rely on humor or jokes but on “coming together and engaging in simple And so, laughter yoga with Kumud Mathur begins. This forms of play, mostly built around faking laughter.” isn’t yoga in the traditional sense: there are no down dogs, sun While studies have found that the brain can distinguish salutations or crow poses. Instead, 24 strangers and I are releasing between spontaneous and forced laughter (the former activating hearty hahas over Zoom. We’re clapping on the beat of “ha, ha, the part of the brain linked with happiness and positive emotions, ho-ho-ho,” pretending to be water fountains spewing laughter and the latter triggering meaning-making), the main goal of laughter cackling like witches flying on broomsticks—all in the comforts of yoga is to simply get you laughing more, no matter if the eruption our own homes. It feels absolutely liberating. is natural or fake. And, as Kataria and others have experienced, Though I am not physically surrounded by my other laughing volitional chuckling typically becomes genuine the longer it lasts. buddies, I somehow feel connected to them and Mathur. In a year Plus, according to psychology professor and humor researcher that has felt isolating and bleak, I realize that I’ve laughed more Rod Martin, adults only laugh an average of 17 times per day. in 30 minutes with people I’ve never met than I have in nearly 12 Compared with children who are reported to laugh up to 300 months. Mathur, who teaches laughter yoga and Bollywood dance times daily, adults might find it more difficult to evoke a sense of for the Potomac Library and Montgomery County Recreation, wonder and lightheartedness. In a society that has conditioned reminds us at the end of class that we all could use—and us to be serious in our work and personal lives, our jadedness can deserve—a good laugh, especially right now. Plus, it’s invigorating dampen the joy of experiences, meaning we often need to fake it to move my body and feel my lungs expand, instead of being my ‘til we make it. usual pajama-wearing couch potato. I log off, ready to laugh off hough laughter is a supplement to—not a replacement whatever the day throws at me. of—prescribed medications and professional health Most practitioners of laughter yoga cite Norman Cousins and treatments, tapping into your childlike playfulness Madan Kataria as the movement’s primary influencers. In 1976, T can support your physical wellness. Even better: it’s free! In Cousins wrote about how he believed laughter had saved his life 2005, researchers at the University of Maryland Medical Center in the New England Journal of Medicine. Diagnosed with ankylos- discovered that laughter is linked to healthy function of blood ing spondylitis, he decided to combat the life-threatening joint vessels, which, in turn, aids in preventing cardiovascular disease. disease with humor, including “Candid Camera,” Marx Brothers When shown a clip from a comedy film, participants—all of films and funny books. For Cousins, the comedic relief was just whom had normal blood pressure, cholesterol and blood glucose that—a relief. “Ten minutes of genuine belly laughter had an levels—showed a blood flow increase of 22 percent. When shown anesthetic effect and would give me at least two hours of pain-free a mentally distressing movie scene, their blood vessels constricted sleep,” he reported in his 1979 bestseller, “Anatomy of an Illness, by 35 percent, reducing blood flow and increasing blood pressure. as Perceived by the Patient.”

26 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE If you can get people laughing together, you can get them connecting and bypassing the “sensors” we use to judge others. – Dianne Fanti INSIDE CREATIVE HOUSE / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS / GETTY IMAGES HOUSE / ISTOCK INSIDE CREATIVE

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 27 The study’s lead That’s because laughing among others— analyst, Dr. Michael even if they’re strangers—encourages Miller, notes this us to break down our defensive change is similar to walls and feel more at ease in the physiological group settings. benefits of aerobic In a series of studies conducted activity, and that 15 at the University of North Carolina minutes of laughter at Chapel Hill, social psychologists daily paired with Laura E. Kurtz and Sara B. Algoe regular exercise can concluded that laughter, when help keep your heart shared, is an indicator of what Dianne Fanti healthy. they call “relationship well-being,” Additionally, or healthy social connections. Dr. Marilou Jimenez, medical director of the Addiction and Moreover, shared laughter is Mental Health Center at MedStar Montgomery, says that laughter significantly associated with “greater therapy boosts immunity. When we experience stress, the body closeness and social support” and releases the hormone cortisol into our bloodstream, which signals similar worldviews and feelings increases heart rate and blood pressure. If this stress hormone of safety. All of this might be why perfor- stays in our system longer than necessary, it can inflame infec- mance art, like improv theater, often begets tion-fighting cells and deplete the immune system. Laughing, laughter and bolsters a sense of community. Jimenez says, is an easy way to decrease high levels of cortisol, Katie Hecklinger, director of education improve circulation and increase endorphins (which make you for Germantown’s BlackRock Center for happy and protect against illness). the Arts, has found that their youth Laughing can also be extremely therapeutic when it comes to and adult improv classes yield your mental and emotional health. For Nira Berry, founder of enthusiasm and togetherness local laughter therapy and life coaching business LaughingRx, among participants. “The laughter has been a tool for igniting delight and promoting overall [improv] exercises healing, especially while undergoing treatment for breast cancer. seem to peel back “For me to survive [cancer], I realized stress wasn’t going to help me heal, but laughter might,” she recalls. Berry, who is now cancer-free, also says that laughing improves cognitive functioning, allowing you to make thought-out decisions, stay focused and feel energized. Jimenez supports this, noting that increased oxygen in the lungs and a release of dopamine in the brain, along with decreased cortisol levels in the body, can clear your mind, keep you levelheaded and even shift your perspective from negative to positive in stressful situations. Plus, humor—not misery— loves company. Not only can it be a great icebreaker among strangers, but it’s also a natural relationship builder. As Dianne Fanti, a laughter yoga instructor at Blueberry Gardens in Ashton, says, “If you can get people laughing together, you can get them connecting and bypassing the Nira Berry, founder of LaughingRx ‘sensors’ we use to judge others.”

28 D DECEMBER/JANUARYECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2020-2021 2021 | | MONTGOMERY MONTGOMERY MAG MAGAZINEAZINE people’s fear, mainly because improv is very collabora- fear and anxiety. But as laughter yoga instructor Fanti reminds tive and team-focused,” she says. “In having to keep us, suppressing our negative emotions is like holding a beach ball the storyline going, a group of strangers must trust underwater: it’s eventually going to shoot out with great force, one another, be ready for whatever comes next and likely when you least expect it. take creative risks—which often leads to hilarity. Furthermore, holding in anger, frustration and pain can backfire Laughter is louder than the mask you’re hiding on our family dynamics and long-term health. “Depressed parents behind.” often raise depressed children,” says MedStar Montgomery’s We all know, though, that life isn’t always Jimenez. “If you bring humor into a household and teach kids how rainbows and butterflies, as the saying goes. to laugh instead of dwelling in negativity, kids are more likely to When the pandemic hit, laughter seemed to halt. live longer as healthy adults.” COVID-19 amplified day-to-day hardships, But how do you laugh when you’re feeling stressed, sad or making it challenging for us to recognize what overwhelmed? Berry of LaughterRx believes we have to be inten- is good in life. And for many people, work and tional about bringing ourselves relief, especially during hard times. home have collapsed into one, leaving this “Laughing is just like learning to ride a bike for the first time—you intense, draining energy in our personal spaces. have to practice in order for it to become a natural skill,” she says. Essentially, finding reasons to churn out Before you get out of bed, wiggle your toes and roll your wrists, chuckles proved tough in a time full and laugh while you’re waking up each body part. Before brushing of increased uncertainty, your teeth, look in the mirror and make funny faces. Being able to laugh at yourself is a reminder to not take yourself so seriously all the time. Additionally, Jimenez says getting a restful night’s sleep and eating nutrient-dense food can sustain a positive mindset throughout the day. She also recommends writing in a gratitude journal every night, as recording what you’re thankful for or are enjoying in your day-to-day life can reframe a pessimistic outlook. You can also mindfully seek out humor. Fanti says watching funny movies or shows and looking at memes are simple ways to initiate laughter, especially because adults naturally rely on external stimuli for their giggles. Take a free virtual laughter yoga class with Mathur on Monday mornings (a happy start to your week!) or a virtual improv class through BlackRock to hone your ability to adapt through unpredictability. Or, simply spend your time with people who put a smile on your face. It won’t cost a cent, but it’ll give you plenty in return. And that’s no laughing matter. MM AARONAMAT/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS IMAGES AARONAMAT/ISTOCK/GETTY

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 29 Overcoming the Challenges of Adult ADHD Once thought to be a disorder that children outgrow, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder can lead to lifelong problems if left untreated BY DAVID MARK

o many people, the 25-year-old minimum age to rent a car without paying a small fortune seems arbitrary. Americans can join the military at 17, vote at 18 and buy alcohol once they turn 21, after all. But it turns there’s science behind the higher-age tcar-rental rule. And this same branch of brain science is helping us to understand the approximately 5 percent of the adult population that grapples with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. First, the rental-car rule: Full brain development doesn’t occur until closer to age

PHOTO BY DAVID STOCK DAVID BY PHOTO 30, explains Kathleen Nadeau, Ph.D., founder of the Bethesda-based Chesapeake Center. That means a lot more accidents are caused by drivers who are nearer to 20 than 30. The age of 25 is simply a useful midpoint that car-rental companies can use to minimize damage to their fleet. Meanwhile, adults with ADHD can go through their working and senior years facing problems in everyday life due to underdevelopment in the prefrontal lobe of the brain, which is used for executive functions such as deciding and planning. “The heart of the disorder has At Nadeau’s Chesapeake Center, a team of mental health professionals to do with being inattentive and works to apply the latest insights of executive functioning.” brain science to help people who have attention, learning and behavioral Dr. Kathleen Nadeau challenges. She told Montgomery Magazine there has been a re-evaluation in recent decades of the assumption that kids who are hyperactive eventually grow out of it. That may seem like the case, but looks can be deceiving. It’s true that most adults with ADHD don’t act hyper like children, say fidgeting or having trouble remaining seated. Rather, for adults, problems include impulsive decision-making, forward planning and speaking out of turn or interrupting others. “The heart of the disorder has to do with being inattentive and executive functioning,”

30 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE SIPHOTOGRAPHY/ISTOCK/GETTY IMAGES PLUS IMAGES SIPHOTOGRAPHY/ISTOCK/GETTY

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 31 Nadeau says. “That includes the ability to organize, plan, control your emotions and all of those things we basically associate with maturity.” As one might imagine, if the condition is not treated, it can lead to many lifelong problems. “If you have ADHD, you’re more likely to be obese, to have diabetes, to become an alcoholic. You’re more prone to automobile accidents,” Nadeau says. ADHD can make one stand out in a relatively upper-income jurisdiction such as Montgomery County, notes Nadeau. The county boasts of a professional class including small armies of private sector and government attorneys and scientists, doctors, investors and professors. A relatively high per-capita income county, brimming with professional and academic high achievers, can make it conspicuous when some fall behind in pressure-cooker work and school environments. PLUS IMAGES PORCOREX/ISTOCK/GETTY Duane Gordon, president of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, covering the United States and Canada, explains that adults with ADHD earn on average 10 percent less over the course of their careers than similarly qualified professional peers. The issue is not that they’re any less smart or qualified, says Gordon, but of being inattentive and distractible.

A CHILDHOOD-ONSET DISORDER When adults are diagnosed with ADHD, they’re often surprised the condition exists at all, mental health professionals say. Long-standing assumptions held that hyperactive kids eventually grow out of the troublesome behavior. “I have been in this field for many years and I cringe to think what I was taught in graduate school was incorrect,” says Nadeau, who earned her bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees in psychology from the University of Florida and then started her Washington, D.C.-area career with a 1971 clinical internship at St. Elizabeth’s Hospital in the District. Mental health professionals began to focus on ADHD in the 1980s, and awareness spread further with publication in 1994 of “Driven to Distraction” by Dr. Edward Hallowell and Dr. John Ratey. “We’ve come a long way,” says Nadeau. “It turns out “People need you can have ADHD without hyperactivity.” ADHD relates to development of the brain’s pre-frontal lobe of the brain, she says. to understand It’s the last part of the organ to develop, usually happening in a person’s late 20s. Hence the age 25 age limit for car rentals. In adults with ADHD, that development, nothing’s wrong or parts of it, never fully happens, or the development is under active. That by no means has to do with smarts or intelligence and shouldn’t carry a with them. It’s stigma, ADHD sufferers plead. “People need to understand nothing’s wrong with them. It’s just how their brain functions,” says Nikolas Oscar Bell, 39, a Northern just how their Virginia resident who, before the coronavirus pandemic, came to Maryland frequently as a member of the group Montgomery County Children and Adults brain functions.” with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (CHADD). The support group now meets virtually. Nikolas Oscar Bell When adults are found to have ADHD, they’ve probably been living with the condition for much of their lives, says Marlena M. Wu, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist at Potomac Psychiatry in Rockville. “Adults do not tend to develop ADHD in adult- hood. It is by definition a childhood-onset disorder. It is far more likely that when adults who have not been diagnosed first seek help or an evaluation, they are finally allowing themselves to ask for help,” Wu says. Kids who aren’t hyperactive but have ADHD symptoms sometimes often go undetected, Wu explains. Typical of this situation is “the quiet, hardworking child

32 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE who forgets assignments and loses their keys all the time but studies three times as hard to make sure they stay on track with other peers would have been less likely to be diagnosed in childhood.” “You need to be ADHD IN REAL LIFE mindful to focus Leaving ADHD untreated leads to self-inflicted wounds, says Gordon of the Attention Deficit Disorder Association. Worse, only about 15 percent know they on the whole have it; the other 85 percent are unaware and untreated. In his case, the ignorance nearly wrecked his marriage and career. project. I had Gordon, 58, was diagnosed as an adult in his 30s. “I had a terrible time keeping jobs,” he says. “I’ve lost jobs for showing up late. I’ve lost jobs because I told my boss many projects ‘where to go.’” that I didn’t It all came to a head after Gordon, a Canadian, impulsively accepted a teaching job in Newfoundland, requiring a move across Canada to the country’s northeastern- finish.” most province. Then, after a relatively short time he told the family they should move Sara Wiggins back to Montreal. Why? Because he wanted to do something else. His wife, worried about his decision-making processes, demanded that he go into therapy. That led to Gordon’s diagnosis and advocacy and her becoming an ADHD coach. Professional organizer Sara Wiggins, 62, says ADHD manifested itself in her not being able to complete painting projects at home. That included not putting enough effort into the prep work, like cleaning, sanding and priming walls before painting. “You need to be mindful to focus on the whole project, not just the fun part of the project,” says Wiggins, who is also the creator and moderator of the group Conquer the Chaos, within CHADD’s Montgomery County chapter. “I had many projects that I didn’t finish. So, I had lots of different colored walls.”

TREATMENT OPTIONS Diagnosis of ADHD is clinical, Nadeau says, noting there’s no blood test or CAT scan. For some, therapy and coaching work best, while for others a psychiatrist- prescribed drug regimen is the way to go, according to Wu of Potomac Psychiatry. “Medication can be helpful in addressing some of these issues by providing relief of some symptoms and helping someone to feel they have more control over their own behaviors and thoughts,” Wu says. “Therapy is useful for better understanding and acceptance of the impact of ADHD in someone’s life.” Whatever the treatment option, people with ADHD need to fortify their self- discipline to improve. “I am always talking to people about brain-healthy daily habits,” Nadeau says. “That includes an adequate amount of sleep, daily exercise, lower sugar and a low-starch diet. All of those things will reduce ADHD symptoms.” Gordon agrees with that, enthusiastically. “ADHD does not have to be the pain and suffering it is for most people,” he says.MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 33 Why We Give

For many major donors in Montgomery County, charity comes from the heart BY STEVE GOLDSTEIN PHOTOGRAPHY BY DAVID STUCK

AS 12-YEAR-OLD PAT RUPPERT dusted the Recalling that moment as a 66-year-old, Ruppert says the idea furniture while her mother’s vacuum sucked of sharing what one has as an expression of love was a true revela- and whined, the radio voice of the Beatles’ John tion to her, “and that’s absolutely what motivates me.” Charity, she Lennon sang “All You Need Is Love.” suggests, comes from the heart. Ruppert’s husband, Craig, grew up with seven siblings in Chevy Chase, an easy 9-iron from the emerald environs of the Chevy “Do you think that’s really true?” Ruppert asked her mom. Chase Club, where he caddied for the 1-percenters. The job was “That all you need is love?” a source of extra cash for the white kid but breadwinners’ income Her mother switched off the machine and seemed wistful as for Slim and the other older Black guys—a poignant illustration of she said, “Yes, I think that’s right. All you really do need is love.” the difference between “wanting” and “needing” for the teenager.

34 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE I give because I feel fortunate, because I can afford it, because it’s the right thing to do.

—Craig Ruppert

Community brain scans Foundation have shown of Montgomery that donating County. He cites to a worthy cause his parents’ advocacy activates the brain’s for children with special mesolimbic pathway, needs—his sister Colleen was born causing a surge of dopamine—

with Down syndrome—for his desire to the feel-good chemical. It’s the original PLUS IMAGES BADBROTHER/ISTOCK/GETTY BY ILLUSTRATIONS share his wealth. natural high. We actually experience a “I give because I feel fortunate, because bigger dopamine rush when we donate The Rupperts with daughter Sophie Felts I can afford it, because it’s the right thing to money than when we receive the equiva- do,” says Craig Ruppert, 67. “I kind of think lent amount. I’d be a jerk if I didn’t. Why would you not The Leonard family is a major share if you have the capability?” benefactor of cultural and educational institutions in and around Montgomery GIVING FEELS GOOD County, including the Round House We Americans are a giving bunch, Theater, Strathmore, the Audubon Society generally speaking. at Woodend and Venture Philanthropy In 2019, the World Giving Index ranked Partners, a community loan fund helping Allergic to school, drawn to outdoors the U.S. as the world’s most generous vulnerable children. Carolyn Leonard work, Craig Ruppert took up landscaping. country, based on 10 years of data from believes strongly in investing in the He now oversees Ruppert Companies 128 countries collected by the U.K.-based community she lives in. in Laytonsville, Maryland, with annual Charities Aid Foundation. Myanmar and Leonard and her late husband, Jeffrey, revenue of $210 million, 1,700 employees New Zealand were next in the ranking. grew up in Rockville, attended public and a national reach. What causes us to open our hearts and school and had parents who educated them For the past 17 years, Ruppert our wallets? What triggers the charitable about the civil rights movement. “We grew Companies has donated 5 percent of impulse? What is the “return on invest- up understanding that those of us who its pre-tax profits to a variety of chari- ment” for donors? Is it material, such as a have resources have a responsibility and ties—a minimum of $300,000 annually. tax write-off, or is it psychological, assuaging an obligation to help out people who are Employees are encourage to join in some guilt over an inherited fortune? struggling, or discriminated against or who charitable giving and community-service It turns out that “feeling good” about are not able to access equally what we can,” projects. In 2008, Craig Ruppert was giving is not just an old adage; there’s says Leonard, 66, a child psychologist who named Philanthropist of the Year by the actually science to support it. Studies of worked in the county school system.

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 35 Tacy P. Roby

The Rupperts with daughter Sophie Felts

36 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE Because we are human, we have the capacity to think about the struggles and suffering of others. There’s something exhilarating when we dig deep and allow ourselves to care about others.

— Pat Ruppert

Though she spoke enthusiastically of the BREAKING THE CIRCLE many projects she has funded that benefit “We rarely say no,” Craig Ruppert says. county institutions and programs, Leonard Recently, prompted by the educa- positively glowed with delight describing tional hardships posed by the pandemic, one of the programs—arts educa- Pat Ruppert and the Rupperts’ oldest tion—at the multinational JoAnn Leleck daughter, Sophie Felts, teamed up with Elementary School (formerly Broad Acres) the Children’s Opportunity Fund to help in Silver Spring, which serves 850 students children struggling with remote learning to from 30 countries. Every year, teaching artists help the fourth- and fifth-graders attend learning “hubs” in the county. “My put on a show. dad always says a lot is expected from those “Just seeing the kids being able to do the who have a lot,” says Felts. things that they learn, and know that they activity you do today that you’d like to see In October, Bethesda artist Suzanne wouldn’t otherwise be exposed to these people doing in 100 years.” If the response Brennan Firstenberg conceived a Christo- professionals … I feel very happy to be is reading, for example, a library may like public installation to honor the victims able to provide this for the children,” become the beneficiary. of COVID-19. She contacted Ruppert she says. Faith and religion are major philan- Landscape, asking what they’d charge to thropic triggers, says Montgomery Village- “plant” 220,000 flags on a greensward in the BRAINSTORMING BENEFICIARIES based financial adviser Patrick Ennis. He’s shadow of RFK Stadium, each lily-white As the saying goes, “money can’t buy also seen clients who strategically target happiness.” Yet, the opposite may be their giving to gain access to the levers of pennant representing a life ended by the true when it is spent on others. power by getting on boards of trustees or virus. Visually, it would resemble the field Tacy P. Roby, a Bethesda-based wealth advisory committees. “This can be the sole of white crosses at Arlington National manager for SunTrust Investment Services, motivation,” Ennis admits. Cemetery. says about one fourth of her clients—all Modern-day philanthropy, however, When the request reached Craig high net-worth individuals—are significant is hamstrung by a kind of nepotism or Ruppert, he told Firstenberg they would philanthropists. They exemplify many overreliance on an old-boy network. do the work for free. of the motivations for giving: creating a Chief innovation officer Piyush Tantia of “Because we are human, we have the legacy, reducing taxes, rewarding an alma Ideas42, a D.C.-based think tank, worked capacity to think about the struggles and mater and even setting an example to on a study of trends in charitable giving. suffering of others,” says Pat Ruppert, encourage others to give. “As with many other things, it is who who teaches philosophy at Montgomery “Some people just want to provide a you know rather than what they do,” says College. “There’s something exhilarating sense of hope,” adds Roby, citing gifts to Tantia. Donors reported that giving was homeless shelters or animal rescue organi- tied to their network—that the recipient when we dig deep and allow ourselves to zations. When a client expresses a desire to was frequently someone they knew or care about others.” give but has not chosen a recipient, Roby something connected to their lives. Perhaps the Beatles and Pat Ruppert’s says she poses this question: “What is an Thus, a closed circle. mother were right. All we need is love. MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 37 Birds of the

C&OWORDS AND PHOTOSCanal BY MICHAEL KIRCHER

On a cool April morning in 2007, I was making my way along the C&O Canal towpath just north of The Angler’s Inn when I heard the haunting wail of a common loon. In all my years of exploring the canal, I had never heard, much less seen, a loon. I stopped, tilted my head and listened. A moment passed. There it was again. My pace quickened, and I pulled binoculars out of my field bag as I walked to the far end of Widewater Lake near Lock 15. Gracefully paddling its way across the surface of the cool blue-green water was the loon. I treasure that day because even though loons migrate through this region each winter and spring, I have not seen or heard one since. There are, of course, many species of birds at the Canal that are equally amazing: great blue herons, cormorants, indigo buntings and vultures, among others. Pick up a Peterson Field Guide and a pair of binoculars (or a camera!) and get down there. You never know what you might see.

The bald eagle has been making a strong comeback in the Great Falls region of the Potomac River since the 1970s.

38 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE The one time I saw a loon at the Canal I remembered While not as fast as a merganser, the mallard moves at quite a clip the advice my father gave me when I was just during breeding season. starting out: “Good photographers always have a camera with them.”

The stunningly vibrant indigo bunting would make Vermeer proud.

A bold black vulture sits on the railing of the overlook deck on Olmsted Island.

Turkey vultures have a distinctive red, featherless head and use their sense of smell rather than their vision to find carrion.

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 39 Getting a photo of common mergansers in flight can be a challenge; A barred owlet sits patiently for a photo near they often hit speeds of about 40 mph. Swain’s Lock.

Great blue herons, commonly found at the Canal, boast a gangly grace Canada geese are equally common. unlike any other.

Golden, downy goslings are a regular springtime sighting. A double-crested cormorant splashes down in the Potomac.

40 DECEMBER/JANUARY 2020-2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE The ghostly great egret stalks for prey in the shallows of the Canal every spring.

Canada geese glide into Widewater Lake for the evening.

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 41 FOOD + DRINK TABLE TALK 42 » MAKE THIS 43 Because I Said So Mother-daughter cooking channel serves up easy meals and lots of laughs BY KATIE BEECHER

MOVING BACK HOME this spring after cooking skills are at the level of a 10-year- “Nothing we do is scripted,” says Leah. getting her first taste of independence at the old and I can follow along with these “We work best when we riff of each other.” University of Maryland was a struggle for recipes,” says Leah, 19. All of the recipes, Rachel admits that she wasn’t Leah Packer, but it paved the way for a new created by her mother, are kosher and always a good cook. It wasn’t until her son dynamic between her and her parents— allergy friendly. was diagnosed with severe food allergies and a new YouTube cooking channel. The channel has received positive and Leah was diagnosed with Crohn’s Rachel Packer, Leah’s mother, quickly responses not only from friends and family, disease that she got into cooking. realized that her freshman daughter had no but also from strangers who stumbled At the time, there weren’t many resources real cooking skills. This came as a shock to upon it and tried out the recipes. available for people with allergies and the Olney mom, who helps people adopt dietary restrictions, let alone the plethora healthier lifestyles through her wellness of products that we have today.

company, MatzoBall Fitness. “I was terrified I would use the wrong PROVIDED PHOTOS “Here I am, working as a wellness coach, “It makes us so happy ingredient,” says Rachel. “I needed to know and my own daughter can’t survive in the to see the people we’ve how to feed my family and figure out how wild,” says Rachel, 54, with a laugh. reached and the meals to be nutritious without allergens. I didn’t As mother and daughter began to cook together in quarantine, they realized there that are made.” were probably many other young adults — Leah Packer like Leah lacking in basic culinary skills. And because of the pandemic, these college students were living in compro- mised situations with limited or no dining arrangements. “These kids can’t survive on gum and “It’s a small milestone, but it shows that Pop-Tarts,” says Rachel. (Her daughter people want the content,” says Leah Packer, jokingly begs to differ.) proudly. The two decided to create a YouTube Launching a YouTube channel together channel, Because I Said So, for newbie and working as a collaborative team have cooks. The name is a nod to their mother- provided the Packers a unique opportunity daughter relationship; it’s the typical to bond. Rachel, a self-described “creative parent response when a kid asks why they mad genius,” was already familiar with have to do something. hosting cooking demos through her work. “We especially want college kids who Leah, who had no previous filmmaking may be feeling isolated to know that there’s experience, taught herself how to record, a place for them to find good food, get edit and produce their videos on her smart- some laughs and know they’re not alone,” phone. says Rachel. Besides easy-to-follow healthy recipes, Whether it’s hearty “smashed” potatoes viewers can expect affectionate nagging or a delicious vegan apple crisp, each recipe and hilarious banter between mother and is tailored to be very simple to follow. “My daughter.

42 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE learn because I wanted to be a cook, it’s because I had to be.” That experience inspired Rachel to further explore the correlation between food and health, which eventually led to MatzoBall Fitness. “Cooking is just a part of what I do now,” she says fondly. “I love how food connects people.” Now, cooking is connecting her and her Apple daughter with fans across the internet. “It makes us so happy to see the people we’ve reached and the meals that are Crisp made,” says Leah Packer. “I’m just really excited to see what comes next.” MM A versatile dessert favorite

BY KATIE BEECHER

One of the first recipes that Rachel and Leah Packer shared on their YouTube cooking channel, Because I Said So, has become one of their most popular—apple crisp. They call it “the perfect comfort food.” PHOTOS PROVIDED PHOTOS The mother and daughter co-hosts wanted to showcase a healthier version of traditional apple-infused desserts like pie and strudel. This recipe, like all of their recipes, is kosher and allergy friendly; there are no eggs, nuts or dairy ingredients. They also used gluten-free oat flour, but all-purpose flour will work as well. The Packers, who live in Olney, also love this dish for its versatility. “Enjoy it over yogurt, under a big scoop of ice cream or as an easy treat for the family,” says Rachel.

Apple Crisp You can also slice them instead of Serves 6 people cutting them into chunks; they cook faster and are a bit softer when Ingredients sliced. 6 medium (or 4-5 large) Gala or 3 In a separate bowl, combine the oil Fuji apples and sugar and mix until you get a 1/3 cup canola oil uniform caramel color. Add the 1/3 cup coconut sugar extracts and mix. (or brown sugar) 4 Add the dry ingredients to the bowl 1 teaspoon vanilla extract with the oil, sugar and extracts and 1/2 teaspoon maple extract mix until it resembles a crumbly 1 cup gluten-free oat flour texture. If it’s too wet, add more flour (or all-purpose flour) until you achieve crumbly results. 1 cup rolled oats 5 Grease the bottom of a pan (we 1 teaspoon baking powder used an 8-by-8 aluminum pan) with 1 teaspoon cinnamon butter or dairy-free butter. 6 Spread chopped apples into 1 Preheat oven to 350 degrees. greased pan. 2 Chop apples into small even 7 Sprinkle crumbly topping on top chunks. Leaving the skin on adds of apples until covered. texture and is a real timesaver, but 8 Bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until you can peel the apples if you prefer. top is crunchy and apples are soft. MM

MONTGOMERYMAG.COM 43 FOOD + DRINK/ tastes of montgomery guide Tastes

ATTMAN’S POTOMAC DELI JIMMY JOHN’S GOURMET SANDWICHES 12505 Park Potomac Ave. 523 Quince Orchard Road Potomac, MD 20854 Gaithersburg, MD 20878 301-765-3354 » attmansdeli.com 301-355-8960 » jimmyjohns.com Kosher-style delicatessen and bakery. Dine in, carryout Our local Jimmy John’s makes Freaky Fast Freaky Fresh and catering. Delivery available. Serving breakfast, lunch sandwiches using only the highest quality, freshest and dinner 365 days a year since 1915. Still owned and ingredients. Stop by or order ahead online or using the operated by the Attman family. app for pick up.

2018 WINNER 2019 WINNER

44 DECEMBER 2020/JANUARY 2021 | MONTGOMERY MAGAZINE THEN + NOW/ back page MONTGOMERY HISTORY HISTORY MONTGOMERY

ACORN PARK Francis Preston Blair Sr. commissioned this acorn-shaped gazebo in 1850—shown here in 1982, left, and 2020, below—to overlook the mica-flecked spring that flowed through his property in what THEN is now Silver Spring.

NOW DAVID STUCK DAVID

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