Washington City Paper: Contents for Apr. 28

The Things They Carried
A thousand pieces of evidence and a thousand tiny stories at the Metropolitan Police Department's evidence warehouse

Cover Story

A thousand pieces of evidence and a thousand tiny stories at the Metropolitan Police Department's evidence warehouse

Mattie Smith left a nail clipper in her front pants pocket. It's a sleek little chrome thing, about the size of a pinkie. It's a name brand: Revlon. When you pinch its silver legs, it bites down with a clean precision--something Smith could rarely muster in her own life. A nail-file attachment peeks out from between the legs.

That's the extent of it, Smith's very own Swiss Army cosmetic. It was just sitting there--left front pants pocket.

A 39-year-old career crack addict, Smith carried the nail clipper, her sister says, because she had nowhere else to put it. She didn't own a purse or have a medicine cabinet. It stands out among her few possessions because it's shiny--and because it looks purchased instead of scavenged.

The clippers were the most glamorous thing Smith carried. In her right front pants pocket, she kept a stick of generic lip balm. The tube has gone brown and cruddy at both ends. It shared pocket space with a large black comb, broken in two, with 12 of its teeth missing. Gray soot sits in the comb's bristles. The two pieces of black plastic are big and thick; she used them to smooth and lift her short black hair.

Smith left behind the tools of her addiction, too: one plastic pink lighter, out of gas; one razor blade; one red plastic mini M&M's container, inside of which rests one glass crack pipe, complete with black rubber bowl. The pipe is burnt where Smith's lips used to go.... Continued

Issue of Apr. 28 - May. 4, 2000

News and Features

The Things They Carried
A thousand pieces of evidence and a thousand tiny stories at the Metropolitan Police Department's evidence warehouse
Cover Story By Jason Cherkis
Das Boot
A new luxury-services firm will take your place in line at the Department of Motor Vehicles--for a fee.
The City By Andrew Katz
This Week in D.C.
The City By Michael Schaffer
Identity Crisis
If you're an inmate just out of jail, your photo ID is a key to getting a job and staying out of trouble. Unless the D.C. Department of Corrections has destroyed it.
The City By Annys Shin
Statue of Limitations
Why does D.C. celebrate emancipation in front of a statue that celebrates 19th-century racism?
The City By Aaron Lloyd
The Lady Doth Protest Too Much
The Mail By Tanya Snyder
March On
The Mail By Brian Burk
Park It
The Mail By David Nicholson
First Place Race
The Mail By A. Hammond

Columns

Last Call
Cheap Seats By Dave McKenna
Gimme Affordable Shelter
Loose Lips By Erik Wemple
Reach Out and Harass Someone
City Desk By Colin Bane
Next Stop, Judiciary Square
City Desk By Holly Bailey

Eats

Tongue Tried
Young & Hungry By Brett Anderson

Movies

To Russia in Error
Film Review By Mark Jenkins
East of Eire
Talking Pictures By Mark Jenkins

Music

Bigger Than Life
Music Review By William Jelani Cobb
Spillseeking
Music Review By Glenn Dixon
Still Demented After All These Years
Music Review By Dave Nuttycombe
Flattery Most Insincere
Music Review By P. Mitchell Prothero

Theater

Lady Hears the Blues
Theater Review By Bob Mondello
Clinical Trials
Theater Review By Trey Graham

Arts and Events

Art for Sport's Sake
The creators of ESPN Zone commissioned works by local artists for their target clientele--who couldn't care less.
Arts By Mark Jenkins
Junk Culture
Art Review By Glenn Dixon
Boats Against the Current
Books By Scott M. Morris
Behind Their Music
Artifacts By John Dugan
RIP, Happy Rapper
Artifacts By Ta-Nehisi Coates
Sing Along at Home
Artifacts By Amanda Fazzone