Danny Harris is a DC-based photographer, DJ, and collector of stories. He launched People’s District, a blog that tells a people’s history of DC by sharing the stories and images of its residents. You can follow People’s District on Twitter @PeoplesDistrict, and can read his previous columns here.
“I came to this country as a young man almost 50 years ago. When I came here, I knew nothing and had nothing. I arrived in Washington with 35 cents and didn’t speak any English. I had a job waiting for me at the Turkish Embassy, but didn’t have enough money to pay for the taxi ride from the bus station to the embassy. The doorman at the Turkish Embassy paid it for me. I remember it was 95 cents and I eventually paid him back.
“After some time at the job, I started to make some money and learned the language. In my early days here, I met this girl who invited me on a date to go and see The Beatles play at the Uline Arena. I knew about The Beatles from Turkey, but just thought they were weird and had long, shaggy hair. We went to the concert, and remember, I couldn’t speak English, so this girl took my hand and let me around like a child.
“When The Beatles got on stage, the place went berserk. I never saw so many crazy people in my life. You couldn’t hear anything because of all of the screaming. All of those girls must have lost their voices during the show. The whole time, I am thinking, all of this for some weird guys with long hair?
Continues after the jump.
“I realize that those kids from Liverpool really gave a gift to the world by changing music. They not only created a beautiful gift in music, but they gave a gift of opportunity to people. To me, the most precious, wonderful thing that I learned from The Beatles is that the greatest gift you can give, is to let someone benefit from following your passion.
“For me, I have tried to do that with my different businesses by giving people work and opportunity. I did that when I ran my house painting business, and I do that now at my restaurant, the Perfect Pita.”
Atilla just opened his 12th Perfect Pita restaurant at 1200 1st St NE.
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Potomac Harmony is Back! Following a gap year of competing, then virtual rehearsals during the pandemic, followed by the well-earned retirement of our long-term director, a year of a director search, Potomac Harmony hit the regional contest stage in Concord, North Carolina in March for the first time since 2018! It was exhilarating, reaffirming, and rewarding!
The chorus hit all of its goals, the biggest of which was to have fun and sing our best on contest stage — we did both! Because we earned a score over 400 points, our new Director, Allison Lynskey, was awarded the Novice Director award, photo above. Additionally, one of our charter members, Jackie Bottash, was nominated for and honored with the Leadership Excellence award. It was a celebratory weekend!
What’s next? So much! We now look forward to upcoming performances, growing our membership, and expanding our musical product with new arrangements and an education component each week. It’s an exciting time to be part of this ever-growing ensemble!
St Mary Armenian Church Annual Spring Food Festival
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