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May 31, 2023

Talbot Spy

Nonpartisan Education-based News for Talbot County Community

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Spy Top Story

Meet the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s New Maryland Director Allison Colden

May 29, 2023 by Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

Dr. Allison Colden, the newly appointed Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s (CBF) Maryland program, hails from a background deeply rooted in the marine ecosystem. Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Allison’s first-hand experience with the Bay forged an intimate bond that paved her career path. This connection was further solidified during her undergraduate studies at the Virginia Coastal Reserve, ultimately shaping her lifelong commitment to protecting coastal ecosystems.

In 2015, Dr. Colden earned a doctorate in marine sciences from the prestigious Virginia Institute of Marine Science. Her impressive career trajectory includes a stint in the U.S. House of Representatives as a Knauss Marine Policy Fellow and serving as the Senior Manager of External Affairs at Restore America’s Estuaries prior to joining the CBF.

Combining her scientific acumen with her vast policy advocacy experience, Dr. Colden is a consummate fit for her multi-faceted role as CBF’s Maryland Director. She brings to the table an invaluable fusion of scientific expertise and adept advocacy, skills that are central to the numerous roles she will undertake.

Recently, Dr. Colden stopped by the Spy Studio for an insightful interview about the significant challenges confronting the Chesapeake Bay in the upcoming decade. The conversation touched on critical issues, including the role of scientific research in public policy debates and the drastic, detrimental impact of the Red Catfish on native Bay species.

The good news, according to Dr. Colden, is that these invasive catfish are actually quite delectable, spurring commercial watermen to hunt them and seafood enthusiasts to help control the species through culinary consumption.

This unique approach may just be a silver lining to a serious ecosystem problem.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more information about the Chesapeake Bay Foundation please go here.

 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story

Open Table by Laura J. Oliver

May 28, 2023 by Laura J. Oliver 13 Comments

I was expressing a desire for more meaningful friendships years ago when a therapist I was seeing suggested I meet another client of hers with a similar longing. She thought we might become friends. 

The no-pressure way we would meet in this arranged marriage was in a small group working on mother issues. I actually didn’t think I had any of those but attended anyway to meet the potential friend. 

We had all been told to bring a stuffed toy that somehow represented our personality. I’d made an aspirational choice, a guileless puppy for whom unconditional love is a dog specialty-of-the-house. As we gathered that first night, sitting in a circle on folding chairs in the therapist’s office, other participants were holding their avatars as well. Representatives included a stuffed kitten, one giraffe with big soulful eyes, a little raccoon… Everyone seemed to have selected a mammal of some kind, including the woman I’d identified as my potential new friend. Mary was lovely, but lovely isn’t necessarily friend material. 

That’s when I glanced directly across the circle and locked eyes with a tall, stunningly beautiful woman who was staring specifically at me. Her expression was one of invitation—a look of intense hope and bossy possibility. It was the kind of stare that makes you glance over your shoulder to see who is standing behind you, for surely that’s the person for whom it is meant. If hope could be brash, if somehow an invitation could be a demand, that was the look.

Conservatively dressed in black slacks and a pale blue turtleneck, she sat clasping a green and brown frog with huge bulgy eyes. It was the only amphibian in the room. I thought, “That frog is the weirdest choice. That frog is hilarious!” And for me, both in friendship and romance, laughter is the love that binds. Two hours later, although I’d come to meet Mary, I left with plans to call Margaret.  

Margaret was seriously yet invisibly ill, which trumped mother issues all to hell and back. And we became good friends though Margaret already had a small infantry of friends wanting to help her kick an insidious invader at least long enough to see her children grown. Which she did until she didn’t. No one can outrun a bullet forever. The point being I’m beginning to think it is true. There are people in your life whom you are destined to meet, even when you come to the party to meet someone else. Or you’re late. Or at the wrong party. 

Whether you love them or leave them, stand by, or stand by them, may be the only choices you get to make. You only get to determine how that person is going to be in your life. Meeting, with a thousand potential outcomes, was a given from the day you were born. 

It’s comforting to think I can’t miss the people bus. I can’t be on the wrong side of the street or late when the bus pulls away from the curb. I simply can’t miss running into the person who will alter the course of my life in a significant way because if I do, fate is going to make us board the same Delta flight a day later or wander down the same aisle at Wegman’s—even if it’s decades in the future in a distant town. 

In my early twenties, I dreamed seven people were sitting around a large rectangular table discussing who was going to take what role in my life. “I’ll be the father,” “I’ll be boss,” “I’ll be the blind date she marries,” “I’ll be the elderly neighbor who leaves fresh camellias on her back steps every morning when she’s a lonely young bride whose husband has deployed to the Med. 

I was watching this strategizing session without sound so I’m inventing the dialogue. But I knew they were divvying up relationships—passing around scripts as if in a play. Later I wondered, is it possible this is how it works? 

The last time I saw Margaret, she was still gorgeous, sitting up in her family room while those who cared about her slipped in one at a time to say goodbye. Margaret was unable to speak by then but seemed to understand everything going on around her, and in typical Margaret fashion (universally and lovingly acknowledged to be opinionated and often critical), she had plenty to say; she just couldn’t say it. 

I sat down next to her when it was my turn, leaning over the upholstered arm of her chair, and tried to speak for both of us, but I was in a foreign country without the language. As I recall, I opened with a comment about what I was wearing (gray sweater dress, suede boots) and what I guessed she’d have said about it! Margaret kept gesturing emphatically. Kept slinging her hands outward as if to say, “What? Wait! Do you believe what’s going on here? Say what I need you to say!” Be who you promised you would be to me before we were born. 

And I could only think, But I don’t know I don’t know I don’t know. 

I think I said I will miss you. I will love you always. But I was so utterly lost I might have said, “See you Thursday.”

If I could talk to her now, I’d say, “Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be your friend. Thank you for aiming frog at puppy. I was adequate in my role, but if you give me another chance, I’ll be so much better. In the years since you left, I’ve learned a little more about what I might have given. Let’s go back to the table—let me pick a different script.” In reality, I feel that way about everyone, not just Margaret. About everyone. 

I wonder if before you were born, there was a table and everyone you would come to know in this life was seated at it volunteering to play a role: “I’ll be the brother who teaches him to play acoustic guitar,” I’ll be the sister who becomes a dentist,” “I’ll be the daughter who demonstrates parents control nothing,” “I’ll be the therapist who finds her a new friend,” “I’ll be the young mother who dies too soon.” 

It took us a long time to get here, didn’t it? But there was never any doubt we’d arrive. 

Since you are reading this, I must have been at your table, yes? And you, beloved, must have been at mine. 

Laura J. Oliver is an award-winning developmental book editor and writing coach, who has taught writing at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. She is the author of The Story Within (Penguin Random House). Co-creator of The Writing Intensive at St. John’s College, she is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her website can be found here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Laura, Top Story

Poet Shines Bright Winning Sophie Kerr Award: A Chat with Elyie Sasajima

May 27, 2023 by James Dissette Leave a Comment

The mere opening of an envelope changed the life of Washington College graduating senior Elyie Sasajima last Friday night.

The envelope, unsealed by Washington College President Michael Sosulski, held a check for $80,000, this year’s annual sum for the Sophie Kerr Prize, the largest undergraduate award in the country given to a graduating senior showing the “ability and promise for future fulfillment in the field of literary endeavor.” The award is larger than the Pulitzer Prize and National Book Ward combined.

Sasajima is the 55th recipient of the prize first given in 1968 as stipulated by Sophie Kerr’s will and part of the larger endowment used for nurturing the literary environment at the College by funding visiting writers, underwriting student publications, offering scholarships, and buying books.

Sasajima, from Spring Grove, Pennsylvania, found her way to Washington College when a family member and alumnus recommended that the recent high school graduate consider applying for a Sophie Kerr Scholarship to attend the Cherry Tree Writers Workshop.

She received the scholarship, attended the workshop, and immediately felt drawn to the College’s literary atmosphere.

For four years, Sasajima immersed herself as an English major with minors in Creative Writing, Journalism Editing & Publishing, and Medieval & Early Modern Studies, along with evaluating poetry submissions for Washington College’s literary journal, Cherry Tree, and editing Collegian, the student-run literary and art journal.

Sasajimi plans to continue working as an intern at Alan Squire Publishing in Bethesda, a job she started during her last semester at college while she considers graduate degree programs abroad.

The Spy interviewed the young writer minutes after the award ceremony.

This video is approximately six minutes in length. For more about the Sophie Kerr legacy, go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story

Food Friday: Old Favorites

May 26, 2023 by Jean Sanders Leave a Comment

Here we are- on the cusp of summer, on the eve of grilling season, keeping a look-out for fireflies, swatting early mosquitoes, and planning a post-COVID cookout. I’m looking forward to familiar and comfortable: a little gathering of old friends on the back porch, with songs from college playing in the background as we laugh and scarf bowls of chips like it was still the good old days of few consequences. We are panning for the gold.

As we catch up with our merry band, hearing about new babies, new homes, lives in big cities, I wonder, as one does, if I made the right choices. Maybe we would have been happier with an urban life. And then I read the newspaper, and chortle, and feel pretty smug. I was never destined to be a New Yorker, someone who might stroll into the Mischa restaurant this Memorial Day Weekend, and plunk down $29 for a hot dog. Nope. I think I plunked down about $29 for our entire cookout. The Mischa hot dog isn’t even on the lunch menu – it’s a dinner entree. For that kind of money, I’d rather learn to love caviar. Mischa: https://mischa-nyc.com

We aren’t going to serve anything that extravagant this weekend, just the old reliable favorites: hamburgers, hot dogs, corn-on-the-cob, potato salad, green salad, and strawberry short cake. Also, chips and classic French onion dip, and little bowls of radishes, cucumber spears, celery and carrots for karmic balance. There will be beer. (Nothing like that Hoboken Brewing beer at Mischa for $14 a serving…) Welcome to summer. Welcome to ordinary America. No fancy pants here! Mischa Hot Dog on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/CrJs0WgPE45/

This is the best sort of holiday meal, one that doesn’t require numerous trips to the grocery store, ordering fancy cuts of meat, or perusing cookbooks. Jacques Pepin and Alice Waters can sit sullenly on the bookshelf – these are tried and true dishes that vary little from year to year, or really from family to family. I sometimes miss the crunchy, charred, hockey-puck-hamburgers of my childhood, but I must say that Mr. Sanders can flip a mean burger. And I still make my mother’s potato salad. Maybe you’ll grill sausage, or have a watermelon. Maybe your family always grills chicken. Be sure to enjoy yourself! COVID seems to be behind us, after all.

We will be putting a personal touch on the corn, to tide us over until our first crab feast:

Old Bay Corn on the Cob on the Grill

Heat the grill to 350° F.

Wrap each ear of corn in aluminum foil.

Generously butter the corn and sprinkle with Old Bay seasoning.

Roll the corn in the foil and twist the ends tight.

Grill for 5-8 minutes on each side.

Carefully unwrap the corn and place back on the grill for a quick 1-2 minute char on each side, if desired. The grilled ears will be Instagram-able.

For added flavor, sprinkle with more Old Bay after serving.

For your oh, so, reliable pre-dinner snack’ums:
Onion Soup Dip

We never make this dip when it is just the two of us, so I welcome major religious holidays and group events when we can indulge in a nice, big, retro bowl of dip. With Ruffles. I do a slight spin on the traditional Lipton’s sour cream and French onion soup back-of-the-box dip recipe – I add a generous shakes of red pepper flakes, garlic powder and onion powder. Sometimes I splurge and get Knorr French onion soup mix, so there are attractive bits greenery in the dip, but mostly I buy the store brand. I read that this dip, a staple of the 1960s, is hot again in New York City. Just so you know, too.

Silly folks at Food52 think you might like to make the dip from scratch, but I have the Succession finale to watch this weekend, and I do not want to waste any time standing over a hot stove. May the best Roy win!

Food52’s Homemade French Onion Soup Dip: https://food52.com/blog/27921-absolute-best-onion-dip

“The first ear of corn, eaten like a typewriter, means summer to me— intense, but fleeting.”
― Michael Anthony

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Food Friday, Spy Top Story

Meet the New Director of The Water’s Edge/Bellevue Passage Museums

May 25, 2023 by Henley Moore and Dave Wheelan Leave a Comment

From the Spy’s point of view, the Mid-Shore has never experienced a more exciting era for historians as local efforts to find and recover community history have reached an all-time high. And one wonderful example of this phenomenon is the appointment of Monica Davis as the first director of the the Water’s Edge and Bellevue Passage Museums. 

Monica is a fourth-generation descendant of Bellevue’s Dr. Dennis De Shields. She had recently completed a three-month field study project co-sponsored by Washington College when the opportunity to become the new museum’s first director was presented to her. 

In our first interview with Monica, she talks about her connection with the museums and the projects she hopes to develop as she settles into the new position.  

First on her plate are two events over the next few weeks. The first is a presentation at the Talbot County Free Library on June 3rd, where local leader Richard Potter will join her on the newly released children’s book “RUTH STARR ROSE (1887–1965): THERE IS A CITY CALLED HEAVEN.”

And then, on June 17th, she’s be coordinating the museums’ Juneteenth Celebration Concert by the Maryland Spirituals Initiative at the Avalon.

We caught up with her during the chorale rehearsal. 

RUTH STARR ROSE (1887–1965): THERE IS A CITY CALLED HEAVEN
With Director Monica Davis and Richard Potter
June 3rd, 2023, 11:00 AM 100 West Dover Street, Easton, MD

Juneteenth Celebration Concert by the Maryland Spirituals Initiative at the Avalon Theatre
Saturday, June 17th, 2023, 6:00 PM
40 East Dover Street, Easton, MD

This video is approximately three minutes in length. For more information and ticket information please go here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Chats

Spy Profile: Behind the Brussel Sprouts with Lynn Sanchez

May 24, 2023 by Val Cavalheri Leave a Comment

“Trust the journey and enjoy the detours.” That’s not the typical advice associated with parenting, but it’s one that Lynn Sanchez preaches. Author of the light-hearted and practical guide for parents (and grandparents) Behind the Brussel Sprouts: Why YOU Have What It Takes to Be the Best Parent for Your Child, Sanchez draws on her 50 years of experience as both a parent and as an early childhood educator to help guide mothers and fathers through the challenging, messy, often scary, and rewarding experiences of child-rearing. 

Based on 30 years of notes Sanchez kept while raising her three boys, the book was written, she said, to help parents relax and enjoy the experience of parenting, something she had not always been able to do. “In the book, I described myself as more than just a helicopter parent; I was a hovercraft! Since I majored in child development and worked in that field, I considered myself a professional parent and put a tremendous amount of pressure on myself. But there were also a lot of lessons I learned along the way that I wanted to share.”

Born in Nova Scotia, Canada, Sanchez moved 11 times by the time she became a teen. As an only child, her parents were committed to not raising a spoiled child. “They were very, very, very strict,” she said. Despite all that, by the time Sanchez started college, children were her focus, and she earned a degree in Child Development and then a Master’s in Education. She worked in the psychiatric and educational field for some years before moving to the Eastern Shore, where she taught preschool and was an assistant professor at Chesapeake College. However, her association with noted author and pediatrician T. Berry Brazelton and his ‘Touchpoint’ theory of child development helped cultivate and solidify her ideas as she created this parental guide.

The 127-page book contains twelve chapters (and two fun appendices), real-life memories, and quotable quotes that cover a variety of innovative solutions to challenging parenting situations, being also mindful that a one-size-fits-all approach may not necessarily work. Sanchez, however, is quick to point out that this is not a ‘how-to’ but a ‘what-if’ book. What if, she says, you acknowledge instead of praise, guide instead of discipline, or create logical consequences.

Some solutions, Sanchez reflects, are simpler than others. For instance, the value of how changing one word in a sentence turns a bribe or a threat into an agreement., “A bribe goes like this,” she says, “‘If you eat your dinner, you get dessert,’ Instead say, ‘When dinner is finished, dessert will be served.’ That’s an agreement. That helps a child make a choice.”

As her children grew, these choices became written and signed contracts in the Sanchez family. Did it work? “My children never broke a contract,” she said. “And trust me, I had kids who could work a system like you’ve never seen. The contract helped me remember what I had asked of them, and they remembered what they agreed to. It was right there in black and white on the refrigerator door.”

Sanchez also discusses the importance of parental collaboration. Raising three boys born within a four-and-a-half-year span and supporting husband, Rob Sanchez, through the challenges of med school, the couple instituted ‘catch-up calls.’ “It was important that Rob did not walk in the door being bombarded by three humans,” she said. “So I would call him before he came home and tell him what was going on with the kids—from who was spending the night somewhere else to who didn’t do well in math. When he walked in, he already knew the lay of the land.”

The end of the evening after the kids were in bed was ‘we time’ an opportunity to nurture the grown-up relationship between the couple. “He didn’t talk about work, and I didn’t complain about the children.” (Although their children are grown and work is no longer as intrusive, the Sanchez’, after 53 years of marriage, still keep up with this tradition.)

That same one-on-one connection was also established between Rob and the children. Calling it their ‘monthly adventure,’ Rob would pick one Saturday a month to spend individually with each child. Explained Sanchez, “The boys could choose to do whatever they wanted on their ‘date’ with Dad. No matter how long he was gone, when he was with them, he was there 100%.”

These parenting insights have been transmitted into another one of Sanchez’s talents, her deep involvement in the Tred Avon Players (TAP) theater scene. Here she can be seen bringing her characters to life on stage by integrating her unique perspective on empathy, communication, and creative problem-solving. 

Sanchez continues to work on getting her message across. She is on the board at Critchlow Adkins, works with For All Seasons ‘whenever she is needed,’ and she and Rob are an integral part of Talbot Hospice Child Loss Support Group, an organization they helped start after the death of their son, Rion. Her current emphasis is creating collaborative efforts with her connections to deal with the rise in children’s mental health issues. 

That is why Easton’s For All Seasons partnered with Sanchez to launch and make available her book to the community (and beyond). President and CEO Beth Anne (Langrell) Dorman has written a forward to the book praising Sanchez for her ‘moments of wisdom, ’remembering how she, too, had relied on Sanchez’s advice in raising her children. 

The book, of course, is more than just advice; it’s a refreshing perspective for parents who are uneasy or overwhelmed in their role. It’s also an assurance and constant reminder that although they may not be aware of it, parents have what it takes to guide their children to joy and strength. 

“Trust the journey and enjoy the detours,” Sanchez will tell you. It’s the time together on the trip, not the destination, that makes lasting memories.

As to why it’s named, Behind the Brussel Sprouts, you’ll just have to read the book and find out.

For information about Behind the Brussels Sprouts, contact Lynn Sanchez at bsprouts72@gmail.com. The book is available for purchase on Amazon.com 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Highlights

All in the Family: The Frederick Douglass Family Legacy Highlights a Special Wye House Moment

May 22, 2023 by The Spy 1 Comment

 

The Frederick Douglass Honor Society convened on a momentous Sunday afternoon at the renowned Wye House, a place that held deep significance for Frederick Douglass during his enslavement. The purpose was to host an exceptional panel discussion that delved into the influential role played by Douglass’s family in shaping his identity as an abolitionist, writer, and philosopher.

The fundraising event for the Frederick Douglass Honor Society  Scholarship Fund, commenced with Richard Tilghman, the current owner of Wye House, accompanied by his wife, Beverly, extending a warm welcome to the overflowing audience. In a poignant account, Richard shared his family’s historical connection to slavery, highlighting his mother’s pivotal role in fostering reconciliation efforts in Talbot County. The Spy, ever watchful, captured his moving remarks.

Prior to this gathering, the Spy had the privilege of conducting interviews with two distinguished panelists who offered unique insights into the profound impact of Frederick Douglass’s family on his philosophical journey. Bill Lawson, an esteemed philosophy professor at the University of Memphis, and Celeste-Marie Bernier, a renowned scholar from the University of Edinburgh, shed an illuminating new light on the Douglass family’s legacy as profound thinkers and champions of egalitarian ideals.

Joining them on that significant Sunday were esteemed guests Kenneth B. Morris Jr., the great-great-great-grandson of Anna Maria Douglass, Ernestine Jenkins, and Kim F. Hall, all of whom contributed their expertise and perspectives to the enriching discussion.

Here is that interview

This video is approximately one minute in length Donations for the Frederick Douglass Honor Society  Scholarship Fund can be made here.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Highlights

See by Laura J. Oliver 

May 21, 2023 by Laura J. Oliver 14 Comments

I had a crush on my last ophthalmologist. He seemed very tall, striding into the small confines of the exam room, dark hair contrasting with his crisp, white lab coat. He was exceedingly charismatic, popular with patients and staff, and had a French surname which didn’t hurt a bit. I began to think of him as America’s Boyfriend, which I know is supposed to be Anderson Cooper but is really Dr. Barreau. 

I was sorry when Dr. Barreau left the practice and neutral, if not a bit wary, about his replacement. My new doctor appears humorless, pretty tightly wound, and alarmingly young. 

He’s been advising me to get some surgery ever since he joined this group of physicians, but he seems like a baby. He mentions it yet again as I gaze at his youthful left ear inches away on the other side of the autorefractor, and I think… baby wants practice. 

He leaves the room, encouraging me to watch a video extolling the virtues of his new laser, and I think… baby has a new toy. Then his tech comes in with a questionnaire that asks, “On a scale of one to ten, how easygoing are you?” To paraphrase, on the left, the choice is: “I’m an unreasonable perfectionist,” and on the right, the choice is, “It’s five o’clock somewhere.” I consider this a minute and think…baby wants wiggle room because the context of this question makes no sense. I mean, I’m laid back about traffic backups, but I wouldn’t be cool with, for instance, surgery on the wrong eye.

I’m thinking this over, stuck in traffic when I notice the SUV in front of me has a bumper sticker that says, “Angry Mob.” Intrigued, I ease cautiously closer and see it actually says, “Angry Mom.” A little closer and I realize it says, “Army Mom,” and I think, Oh, geez, baby knows what he’s talking about. I schedule surgery. 

My physician does a fabulous job; I’m sorry I doubted him. He was right, he was skilled, and I no longer need glasses to read the menu in dimly lit restaurants. In fact, I no longer need glasses at all. But even with eye surgery, I can’t see the forest for the trees. The energy I spend living out each day’s obligations doesn’t allow me to plan ahead, to consider what these days look like if I gather them all in my arms and call them a life? Doctor, can you fix that? 

I’m so immersed in getting chores done, editing others’ work, walking the dog, doing the laundry, transplanting the perennials, studying astronomy, scrubbing the kitchen, doing what feels good in the moment with no regard for the long run (oops), that the big stuff, the reason-you’re-here-stuff just stumps me. Doctor, can you fix that?

I think about the people who drew the Nazca lines 2500 years ago–the geoglyphs on the desert plateau in southern Peru. The hummingbird, the spider, and the monkey are so massive their shapes are unrecognizable from the ground, where you can only see about 3 miles, hindered by the curvature of the planet and the atmosphere. Drawn on the earth, they are only discernible from the sky. 

I’m standing on my life’s Nazca lines. How can I see the big picture when I can see only the past as a shadow and the present in parts? (Why didn’t we take more vacations? Have I watered the hanging basket on the porch?) 

From where I stand, I can only see to the end of the street. But from the perspective of the stars, I’d see all the roads in my neighborhood, all the intersections. All the signs instructing me to yield or to merge, perhaps to change lanes or to get off the road altogether. I’d know which streets are one-way, where to make a U-turn. Maybe I’d see my destination and the most efficient way to get there, or the most scenic route. But the Nazca had no access to the sky. How did they create art for the ages that they couldn’t see? 

We have a theory now that sounds plausible. The Nazca carefully and incrementally scaled up a smaller drawing. Maybe that’s all we need to do: Scale up love itself.

One day without criticizing others becomes two, and then ten. One spontaneous act of kindness becomes a hundred, then a habit. One day lived with authenticity becomes all our remaining years, the pattern of our lives a rendering observable only from the height of heaven.

Where there is a plan so big, we can’t see it. 

Laura J. Oliver is an award-winning developmental book editor and writing coach, who has taught writing at the University of Maryland and St. John’s College. She is the author of The Story Within (Penguin Random House). Co-creator of The Writing Intensive at St. John’s College, she is the recipient of a Maryland State Arts Council Individual Artist Award in Fiction, an Anne Arundel County Arts Council Literary Arts Award winner, a two-time Glimmer Train Short Fiction finalist, and her work has been nominated for a Pushcart Prize. Her website can be found here.

 

 

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Laura, Top Story

Looking for Andrew: A Chat with Author Patrick Smithwick

May 20, 2023 by Matt LaMotte 1 Comment

On Thursday, June 1st, there will be an extraordinary event with former Dorchester Banner editor and Star-Democrat writer Patrick Smithwick at the Talbot County Free Library in Easton. Smithwick was known for attracting a large following a few years ago with his three remarkable books on his life in horse racing, which detailed his experiences in the highest levels of equestrian circles. However, the focus of this event will be more sobering and painful as Patrick shares the devastating story of his son, Andrew. After two-tours in Iraq, the marine veteran disappeared from sight a few years ago following his historic battle with post-traumatic stress disorder.

Spy contributor Matt LaMotte recently spoke with Patrick Smithwick about Andrew, discussing the impact on his family as they continue to search for him. Through this experience, Smithwick has gained a special perspective on how PTSD affects many of our nation’s brave returning veterans. Matt, who is also a friend and former classmate of Smithwick’s at Washington & Lee, conducted the interview.

This video is approximately 6 minutes in length.

Patrick Smithwick will discuss his book, “War’s Over, Come Home: A Father’s Search for His Son, Two Tour Marine Veteran of the Iraq War.” at 6:30 PM Thursday, June 1st at the Talbot County Main Library in Easton. Admission is free.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Spy Highlights

Food Friday: Strawberries

May 19, 2023 by Jean Sanders 1 Comment

Strawberry pie. Strawberry shortcake. Strawberry salad. Strawberry lemonade. Rhubarb strawberry compote. This is just the beginning of strawberry season, and all I can greedily think of are the the crazy delicious strawberry dishes coming our way.

It almost feels as if it was worth the winter wait to enjoy fresh, sweet strawberries. I mean, we could visit Japan in mid-winter to have a taste of their specially-ripened Bijin-Hime (“Beautiful Princess”) strawberries – if we wanted to spend crazy amounts of money for strawberries. Those strawberries can cost $500 each. They can be quite large – almost the size of a baseball. A Japanese strawberry farmer, Mikio Okuda grows these strawberries: https://strawberryplants.org/japanese-strawberry-growing-secrets/

In Japan, enormous wintertime strawberries are grown in kerosene-heated greenhouses, and sold for $5 and $6 a piece. And while it would be nice to enjoy such a treat, I think I’d rather crawl around the local You-Pick-It farm, and scramble with the eager kids for a bucket of my own sweet, just-picked May strawberries.

I never do anything fancy with strawberries. How can you improve upon perfection? Last weekend I baked some back-of-the-Bisquick-box strawberry shortcakes, and whipped up a bowl of diaphanous cream. Added a little sugar. Voilà. Who could ask for anything more? I think for this weekend I am going to try Martha’s Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes – they will be prettier than my dropped (yet so amoeba-like) shortcakes.

Martha’s cupcakes: https://food52.com/recipes/21857-strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes

We’ve been experimenting with different kinds bruschetta – sweet and savory. Initially we made bruschetta when we had casual dinners with friends, and needed finger food that was easily transportable. And yet I consistently brought bruschetta, which would tip over in the car, or end disastrously in someone’s lap; chopped tomatoes and fragments of feta cheese ruining a Lilly Pulitzer. Now we are wise, and spread the garlic-rubbed toasted baguette with thick schmears of creamy burrata, topped with soft, roasted cherry tomatoes.

Garlic-y bruschetta: https://dishingouthealth.com/burrata-bruschetta/

Except when we make Strawberry Bruschetta: https://www.tastingtable.com/765660/strawberry-bruschetta-recipe/

Strawberries are sweet enough on their own, but they are always enhanced with a little cream and a pinch of sugar. A handful of sliced strawberries scattered over your morning bowl of muesli is the easiest treat; sticks and bark never tasted better. I like strawberries, homemade granola and some vanilla yogurt as a morning pick-me-up. After dinner, sitting on the back porch, neglecting the evening news, is perfect time for strawberries on a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Although it is not finger food, a strawberry pie is a nice dish to bring to a gathering: https://www.thepioneerwoman.com/food-cooking/recipes/a35917337/easy-strawberry-pie/

If you’ve gone overboard with You-Pick-It strawberries, here is a catalogue of recipes to make sure you use up every sweet, gem-like strawberry: https://www.foodandwine.com/fruits/berries/strawberry/30-days-strawberry-recipes

And don’t forget the cocktail hour! Pretend you are on an expense account getaway, sitting by a pool, lathered in sunscreen: https://www.thespruceeats.com/strawberry-daiquiri-recipes-759821

Here is a list of Maryland strawberry festivals – check it carefully as some of the events may have been discontinued: https://www.pickyourown.org/strawberryfestivals-Maryland.php

“She has a laugh so hearty it knocks the whipped cream off an order of strawberry shortcake on a table fifty feet away.”
– Damon Runyon

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Filed Under: Spy Top Story, Food Friday

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