Washington City Paper: Contents for Mar. 24

An Incredible, Stupendous, Eye-Popping Tale About a Totally Normal Kid
Nile Ruff. Queen of the monkey bars. Keeper of the magic crystals. Kid next door.

Cover Story

Seven-year-old Nile Ruff's house is a little more than a block from a busy intersection in Northeast D.C. What appears to be an ice cream truck is parked next door, with the words "Goodies in da Hood" artistically spray-painted on the side of it. The landscape that tumbles out from Nile's front yard suggests that the city she lives in has not--not for a long time, maybe not ever--been an ideal place for children.

Not that it matters much to Nile. To her, her home and her hometown are magical places.

We're out in her front yard one sunny Sunday afternoon. She drags me to the curb and points out the remains of a shattered car window. The car is gone, the victim of vandals or a smash-and-grab. Little, smooth-edged bits of glass--the treated kind that won't cut skin when it's broken--are scattered all over the pavement and the grass. Nile calls them crystals. She scoops them up by the handful and sprinkles some on a couple of budding violets along the walkway to her house, hoping the magic will help the plants grow. She stuffs the rest in the pockets of her jeans. She'll save a little magic for later.

Officially, Nile is a Buddhist--her family got involved in the religion before she was born--but she isn't one for meditation or heavy self-reflection. "I hardly think anything about it," she says. "Right now, I'm looking for the ladybug I just saw."

It's not that Nile doesn't value or doesn't understand the importance of the large, lofty things in life--religion and family and ambition. It's just that the 7-year-old's values are a jumble of big things and small things that, in her mind, hold equal importance.... Continued

Issue of Mar. 24 - 30, 2000

News and Features

An Incredible, Stupendous, Eye-Popping Tale About a Totally Normal Kid
Nile Ruff. Queen of the monkey bars. Keeper of the magic crystals. Kid next door.
Cover Story By Laura Lang
Kid Gloves
Quiana Ford was passed right through a hole in D.C.'s custody rules.
The City By Garance Franke-Ruta
McDonald's, New York Avenue
The City By Judith Larsen
Consciousness Hazing
The Mail By Ronnie J. Kweller
No Depression
The Mail By Laurie England
If Looks Could Shill...
The Mail By Marcia Kass
Your Mother Should Know
The Mail By Scott Gordon
The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter
The Mail By Raymond Avrutis
Dizzying Distress
The Mail By Bridget Warren
Space Invaders
The Mail By David Stephens

Columns

Beyond the Call of Duty
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Blowing Smoke
City Desk By Andrew Katz
Istook's List
City Desk By Laura Lang
Back Spin
City Desk By Robin Bingham
Getting Fiscal
Loose Lips By Erik Wemple

Eats

Counter Intuitive
Young & Hungry By Brett Anderson

Movies

A Passage Through India
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
Holly-woodn't, Couldn't, Shouldn't
Film Review By Arion Berger

Music

Rejoice and Be Creepy
Music Review By Shannon Zimmerman
Unseen All Over
Music Review By John Murph
Revenge of the Nerd
Music Review By Arion Berger

Theater

A Sign of Our Times
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
Itchy and Scratchy
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

We're All '70s Now
Books By Michael Schaffer
Waiting in Vain
In her biting one-act, Fully Committed, playwright Becky Mode sizes up the pampered classes through the eyes of those who serve them.
Arts By Brett Anderson
Father, Forgive Herzog
Opera By Joe Banno
After Midnight
Artifacts By Louis Jacobson
The Tedium Is the Message
Artifacts By Patrick Tracey
Last Laughs
Artifacts By Ayesha Morris