To the Editor:

Trivial though this might seem in comparison to the ugly ongoing slugfest over who will next occupy the White House, I’d like to point out that, a full decade and a half into the 21st century, my wife and I are still living in a cell phone dead zone.

I’m not sure exactly who to thank for our continued relegation to telecommunication hell, but I’m reasonably certain that NIMBYism is involved. Assuming that to be the case (and even if it isn’t), I’d like to offer up one of the oak trees in our front yard as a possible support for one of those skinny little cell towers that people in other long-established neighborhoods seem to find tolerable. Other possibilities are McCutcheon Park, which doesn’t seem to be serving any other notable purpose, or the two unoccupied wooded areas at the intersection of Sherwood Hall Lane and Fort Hunt Road.

What a joy it would be to no longer have to explain to workmen why they can’t access their companies’ smartphone apps from here, and how nice it would be if the people whose cars always seem to be breaking down in front of our house could use their own phones to call AAA.

Jeff Carver

Mount Vernon