The nonprofit e-newspaper for the Talbot County Community
Megan Cook will be sworn in tonight as the president of the Easton town council.
Cook defeated fellow Councilman Ron Engle in the July 9 special election to serve out the remainder of the term of John Ford, who died Feb. 4.
Cook has represented the town’s 4th Ward for more than a decade.
Engle, the town’s Ward 3 councilman, has served as interim council president since mid-November.
The University of Maryland Shore Regional Health has received $24,000 from the Nora Roberts Foundation to aid in COVID-19 response. This grant is part of an overall $168,000 gift from the Nora Roberts Foundation to the University of Maryland Medical System for its acute-care hospitals and freestanding medical facilities.
The funds will be used by individual hospital foundations to support a variety of projects and initiatives related to COVID-19 including employee and patient assistance, meals for the community, personal protective equipment (PPE) and mental health care resources.
“This gift from the Nora Roberts Foundation will be felt across our entire University of Maryland Medical System and the communities we serve and will support our efforts as we continue to respond to the unprecedented COVID-19 challenge. We are incredibly grateful for their support and generosity,” said Mohan Suntha, MD, MBA, president and chief executive officer of University of Maryland Medical System.
The funding will be given to UM Chester River Health Foundation, UM Memorial Hospital Foundation and UM Dorchester General Hospital Foundation and distributed as follows: UM Shore Medical Center at Chestertown, $5,000; UM Shore Medical Center at Dorchester, $5,000; UM Shore Medical Center at Easton, $9,000; UM Shore Emergency Center at Queenstown, $5,000.
“Philanthropy is a powerful resource, especially during this crisis,” said Ken Kozel, CEO and president of UM Shore Regional Health. “We are so very grateful to the Nora Roberts Foundation for shifting their focus and prioritizing the immense needs brought on by COVID-19. Their support will undoubtedly benefit our patients, our workforce, and our communities throughout Maryland.”
The Nora Roberts Foundation Board issued the following statement:
“Our sincere thanks to all essential workers, to everyone keeping us safe and fed. We’re so grateful to everyone who’s staying home, for putting responsibility to your community over your own wants and needs.
“And we’re grateful beyond words to the hospital workers, the doctors, nurses, specialists, cooks, cleaners, maintenance workers, and all those who show up every day, despite the risks.
“We’re humbled by your willingness to put yourselves in harm’s way to care for the sick, to save lives, and to be witness to the final moments of those who can’t be saved.
“You’re more than heroes, more than the frontline. You’re children, siblings, parents, and friends. You’re human, and you, individually, matter.”
The Nora Roberts Foundation was created in 2001 by Roberts, a successful businesswoman as well as a best-selling author, as an avenue of support for organizations promoting and encouraging literacy, children, the arts and humanitarian efforts. These areas, particularly important to her and her family, serve as the focus of the foundation.
More information about the UMMS response to the global pandemic can be found on our dedicated COVID-19 information webpage, https://www.umms.org/coronavirus.
Stage Stores Inc., which operates brands including Gordmans and Peebles, has filed for bankruptcy, citing the effects of closing all its stores as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The firm operated Peebles stores that had been rebranded as Gordmans in recent months in Easton and Chestertown.
In a May 10 letter to customers, President and CEO Michael Glazer said Stage had “been unable to obtain necessary financing to continue operating as an independent business.
“We have therefore filed voluntary petitions under Chapter 11, as we simultaneously run a sale process for our business or any of our assets and initiate an orderly wind-down of our operations,” Glazer wrote. “We hope our actions over the last several months to reposition the business will attract the right partner who is interested in our off-price concept.
“If we receive a viable bid for the business, we will terminate our winddown of operations at certain locations,” he wrote. “This is incredibly difficult news to deliver and it is a decision that we came to after exhausting all other options.”
Stage is the third large retailer to file for bankruptcy in recent days, following J. Crew and Neiman Marcus.
In its bankruptcy filing, Houston-based Stage said it had between 10,001 to 25,000 creditors and listed total assets at about $1.7 billion and total debts at about $1 billion. Stage reported about $1.6 billion in revenue in 2018.
The firm has about 28.9 million shares of common stock. Axar Capital Management LP holds nearly 15% of the firm’s equity; Glazer holds 6.41%.
The firm’s 50 largest creditors include Nike, which is owed $3.6 million; Adobe, $2.64 million; Skechers, $2.31 million; Ralph Lauren, $2.138 million; Levi, $2.079 million; and Adidas, $1.879 million. One Maryland firm, FILA USA Inc., is owed more than $940,000.
Stage operated stores under a variety of brands, including Stage Stores, Bealls, Palais Royal, Peebles, Gordmans and Goody’s.
In 2017, Stage bought the Gordmans name, along with 48 stores and one distribution center, and later announced plans to convert all its stores to the off-price Gordmans brand to compete with discount retailers such as TJ Maxx and Burlington.
The rebrand had included the former Peebles department stores in Easton and Chestertown.
Although those changes had seen some success, the pandemic halted any progress in improving the company’s finances.
The firm, in a list of frequently asked questions on its website, wrote:
“Over the last several months, we had been taking significant steps to attempt to strengthen our financial position and find an independent path forward.
“However, the increasingly challenging market environment was made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic, which required us to temporarily close all of our stores and furlough the vast majority of our associates.”
Stage will reopen its 738 stores in a phased approach to liquidate inventory as it seeks a buyer.
About 557 stores will open on May 15, 67 stores are expected to open on May 28, and the remaining stores are expected to open on June 4.
Glazer said the store closing sales would include brand name apparel and home decor merchandise.
The company “will continue to follow health authorities’ recommendations and industry best practices as we reopen to ensure our guests and associates feel comfortable in our stores and facilities,” he wrote. “We will provide additional information about the steps we are taking, which include ensuring appropriate social distancing, the use of face covers, enhanced cleaning and sanitation, modified purchasing and returns processes, and good hygiene and health awareness.
Stage expects “to honor existing customer programs, including gift cards and returns, for the first 30 days after a store reopens,” Glazer wrote. “We will not be issuing gift cards at this time and we encourage you to use them while you can.”
Gift cards, rewards or coupons that expired while the store was closed because of COVID-19 will not be honored.
For questions about products, warranties or rewards, customers in the U.S. should continue to contact the customer service team via phone at 800.743.8730, email or text.
If customers have questions regarding the restructuring process, or for information about which stores will be affected, visit www.gordmans.com.
There is no argument that we are living in challenging times. Nothing is like it was. We’re missing family gatherings, hugging grandkids, school days, going out to restaurants, sports, and concerts. We stay in touch, virtually, through apps such as Zoom, FaceTime, or Houseparty. We’ve learned the meaning of social distancing and how to make masks out of socks. Our stress levels during these difficult times are higher than ever, and we are reminded of the benefits of exercise to help both physical and mental well-being. Yet, at a time we need it the most, gyms are one of the places closed to us.
So, the question we wanted to know was: What’s changed in the way you are trying to stay fit? In a survey of the almost 100 respondents, we were surprised to learn that 63%, are working out now more than before.
Elyse Camozzo, who was a frequent gym user, says, “I now am working daily in the yard or garden, walking the dog twice as frequently, and sometimes kayaking. I’m not doing a prescribed fitness workout, but I’m exhausted from the physical stuff I’m doing nearly every day. So, I think that while I’m not “working out” per se, at a prescribed time, I’m certainly doing enough activity to stay healthy.”
Another responder, Heather Hall, had been taking a formal exercise class twice a week before the shutdown and intending to walk on the days when not in class. Hall admitted she didn’t always live up to the goal. Now, however, “I’m averaging five days per week, and my walks are longer & further than previously. I’m exercising more than usual because this whole situation has promoted me to be more intentional about it.”
Comments, such as these are consistent with the survey results showing that people have taken up new ways to stay active through either walking or biking (22%), or working out on their own (22%). However, 29% have joined virtual classes, usually with an instructor or through a place familiar to them.
Helping that effort is the area’s largest recreational facility, the YMCA. They continue to train their members (and anyone else who is interested) through various sources such as Facebook, Zoom, and the YMCA website. Wendy Palmer, Easton Y’s Associate Executive Director, said: “We want our whole community to be healthy at home, not just Y members.” Their 30-45-minute live stream (and recorded) classes offer a variety of exercises from senior fitness, to yoga, to cardio fusion. And most require no equipment.
Of course, not all of the area gyms have the type of resources that the Y does. The strain of the closures is acutely felt by the local owners who are surviving by extending current contracts while continuing to collect on them. “Without it, we wouldn’t have any funding,” says Kiersten Mueller, owner of Another Level Fitness in Easton. “We wouldn’t be able to pay rent; we wouldn’t be able to pay any of the bills. There’s quite a lot of overhead with a fitness facility.”
With two gyms to sustain, Mark Cuviello, owner of Fitness Rx in Easton and Stevensville, understands. Both Cuviello and Mueller applied for SBA, Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans, and grants. But before they got any funding, they watched these programs run out of money. “I don’t really have a way to survive other than through these loans,” says Cuviello. “If the loans and grants come through, I’ll have to decide: Do I want to bring employees back? Because there’s really nothing to bring employees back for. We’re closed.” At this time, he has no choice but to freeze all memberships.
Amanda Parks, owner of Fit Flock in Chestertown, did not go after loans or grants, hoping instead that she could collect unemployment. Unfortunately, that hasn’t happened and she’s trying to ‘just hang in there.’ Her gym sells class pass bundles instead of memberships and she too, has had to freeze them. “Whatever they had when things got shut down, they’ll have it just as if nothing happened.”
Unlike the rest of the fitness center we spoke to, Physically FITch owners, Eric Fitch and Jen Koch of Chestertown were able to secure a loan through PPP. For assistance with the loan, they credit their bank, but for being able to stay afloat they are grateful to some of their clients. When given the option to pause their account some of the members chose not to. “They said they want us to still be here when we resume, probably the new normal. They want to make sure that they can continue their routine with us on the other side of this,” said Koch. The community’s been very good so far,” says Fitch. “A lot of that is the aspect of our small business. I think a lot of our clients view us as family members.”
Of course, being closed means that, as with the Y, the gyms have had to get creative with how to keep the customers with whom they have built a relationship.
Says Mueller, “What we have done is switch over to online, doing all virtual classes. We have our regular class schedule. Our members can log into our meeting link, and continue to do regular training in their garages or their living rooms. And in that way, we’re seeing each other face to face. We’re interacting; we’re just not getting the fist pumps and high fives. Whatever they’re doing, it seems to be working. When they offered a free six-week program for anyone interested, they saw an increase of approximately 50 to 75 new members.
Using Zoom to continue with personal training her clients, Parks feels that it’s working well considering they’re not together physically. “I create their workout based on what they have in their home setting. Thankfully they all have at least a couple sets of dumbbells, a couple of them have steps, a couple of them have kettlebells even. I just have to be mindful every time I write up a workout of who has what.”
Cuviello is also doing online training now, although he doesn’t feel it’s sustainable for the future, for everyone. “The 40-year olds and up are not going to watch someone on TV do a workout. Millennials, on the other hand, like the concept of ‘I can take your class anytime I want and do it and move on.’ He thinks that this thinking will hurt the gym environment. “So, the way the industry is going to change is two-fold. You still have to provide the standard types of training, where I train you and make you laugh, and you have a good time. That’s because that generation grew up developing relationships. The younger generation doesn’t develop relationships, they’ve developed applications. So, you’re going to have to have a hybrid model, and that’s what I have to go to, and that’s really hard for me. I’m going to have to do everything I did before and provide online classes as well.” Right now, Cuviello is offering a four-week workout and nutrition program or a weekly workout program.
All of the fitness trainers are, however, aware of the limits of online training. “How I coach them has to be different,” says Mueller. “I can’t give them tactile cues. I have my personal training clients that I’m still training. They haven’t changed, but I have to set the camera up just right. We have to get a full-body view, and I have to change how I verbalize what I want. I have to give demos with my body. It’s very different.”
Cuviello also believes that besides proper training, his role is to motivate his clients, and he’s not sure that’s possible online. “Unless I’m there physically with somebody to help them work out, they’re going to get hurt, or they’re going to get tired of it and bored.”
Says Palmer, “Even though this is one-sided and we can’t see them, we’re still giving them safety tips and repeating the modifications and encouraging them to keep moving at their comfort level.
At the request of some of her ‘hardcore regular class participants,’ Program Director and HITT instructor for the Kent YMCA, Erica Osterhout, is hosting Zoom classes where she and her workout group can see each other. “I started with Facebook live and the group voted to go to Zoom so they can see the same faces they’re used to seeing in the regular classes. One of my participants, who has been with me for three to four years, said ‘I’m accustomed to your energy and that’s what I want.’ Sure, they can see the other workouts online, but they don’t have a connection to that instructor or even to that music. It’s important.’
Owner of Bay Pilates, Lorri Wilson-Clarke, has had to rely on a less digital footprint in her business. Wilson-Clarke uses Pilates equipment, which is not typically found in the home. Her training is also limited to small classes or one-on-one. Currently, she’s calling emailing, texting, or using FaceTime to stay in touch. Not something she will continue doing when her business is allowed to open again.
So, what happens when gyms do re-open? Our survey found the majority of responders, 41%, plan on returning to the gym and continuing as before, although an additional 24% would consider a combination of gym and virtual home workouts.
This doesn’t surprise Palmer. “I don’t care how many virtual classes people put out there. I think they’re always going to come back to friends that they can engage with. They also miss those instructors that they know personally, not somebody that is on a computer screen that they’ve never met.”
Mueller agrees, “I like to say we don’t sell memberships. We sell coaching, so we sell relationships.”
Fitch and Koch are trying to be realistic, but are worried about their immediate future. “We have two big concerns.” says Fitch. “The first is about the first month that we’re allowed to open. Who’s going to actually feel safe? I don’t think that just being open means that we’re going to be profitable. I mean, honestly, I’m hoping that my January of 2021 that we’re going to be back where we should be. But you know, the problem with fitness and exercise is once you fall out of your routine, it’s very hard to get back. Koch added that their second concern was over the stock market behavior and how that will affect their business in general. “Since we are more of a luxury service, being primarily personal training, I think that that will greatly affect our revenue. So, we worry: can we pick up new clients and how many of our current clients will stick with us.”
Cuviello had an additional perspective. “Over the bridge, they’re going to be banging the door down to get into the gym. They’re going to be frantic lunatics to get back into the gym. On the Eastern Shore, the older population is who I’m worried about. They’re going to say. ‘Well, I went three, four months without it. I don’t think I need it.’ Until they go to the doctor, and the doctor tells them they are pre-diabetic or have cholesterol issues. Then they’ll hit the gym again.”
Palmer hopes to prevent that possibly unnecessary trip to the doctor, stressing that the Y’s reach extends beyond fitness. Via Zoom meetings and regular phone check-ins, instructors have continued their work with the Chronic Disease Prevention group, the Rock Steady Boxing for those with Parkinson, the LiveSTRONG cancer survivor groups, and the Enhance Fitness fall prevention program.
Until the world learns how to navigate through life after COVID, we can only speculate on how the shutdown will change the fundamental way we live, from attending meetings to working out. Still, the one consistent message being passed on from both the larger organizations and the smaller fitness businesses was this: Move more. Sit less.
Wilson-Clarke says she calls her clients and tells them, “You can walk, you can breathe, you can lift your arms up and down while you’re walking and get your circulation going. Don’t worry about missing your workout. Just get out and move. Get out in the sunshine for a little bit when you can, if for no other reason than to boost your mood.”
The Spy continues with our Lights of Hope series. Today is the contribution of Leslie Briggs.
Among reports of entire families out shopping at grocery stores and customers congregating in aisles talking with friends, Easton officials are urging local residents to follow precautions against COVID-19, including social distancing.
Councilman Ron Engle said the town had received numerous complaints about shoppers stopping to speak to one another, blocking aisles and making it difficult for others to shop safely.
Easton also has gotten reports of entire families heading to the stores to shop, which violates the spirit of the governor’s executive order allowing Maryland residents to leave home to shop for essential supplies, such as food.
Engle, acting town council president, said Easton does not want to get the police department involved in managing people shopping in stores. A person who is found guilty of violating the governor’s emergency orders may be subject to a year in jail and/or a $5,000 fine.
“We’ve received numerous complaints the past week regarding several businesses allowing large crowds within their establishments in violation of the state’s social distancing order,” Engle said at Monday night’s council meeting.
“In a number of reported instances, groups of people have been observed mingling and talking in groups in the aisles of these establishments,” he said. “This makes it difficult for other shoppers to get past these groups and dramatically increases the degree of exposure to all those involved.
“Gov. Hogan has given local health officials authority to close/modify essential businesses for not following social distance regulations,” Engle said. “We have raised these complaints with the county health department which has this responsibility. We will move on this as quickly as the process lets us.
“Secondly, there is something we can all do regardless of action from the health department,” he said. “I want to raise the issue of the spirit of the executive order that allows certain businesses to remain open during these dire times. It would appear that many are using these open businesses for social connecting as well as shopping for their families.
“One easy and appropriate fix for this is for families to limit the number of family members present for shopping to 1 or 2 people,” Engle said. “People should also employ a high degree of courtesy to their fellow shoppers and citizens.
“They should not congregate in aisles, which violates the social distancing rules, and they should not interfere with other shoppers’ ability to traverse the shopping lanes without increased exposure or inconvenience.
“We would rather not involve our police department in social management. They are currently stretched too thin to respond to complaints of this nature.
“All of the health experts predict an extremely severe couple of weeks ahead,” Engle said. “We need to be practicing as many health practices as social distancing and shelter in place as we can to try to reduce the incidence of this deadly virus.
“This will help protect not only ourselves and our families, but all the citizens of Talbot County and the Town of Easton.”
With at least one case of someone testing positive for the coronavirus in Talbot County, and with the assumption of more cases to come, Easton Mayor Bob Willey and his colleagues of the Town Council, are quickly making sure that his town of 16,500 residents in ready. And for the time being, Mayor Willey thinks they are.
So much is still not known about this pandemic, but Willey is determined to keep his municipality running as much as possible. Even with non-essential departments closing, 50% of town employees are still working every day to support Easton’s core operations, like making sure the garbage is picked up.
That is just one of the many updates the mayor provides in our Spy interview with him a few hours ago. He also talks about the use of technology to conduct public meetings, a new election date for Town Council President to replace the late John Ford, and how other public meetings can remain up to the residents.
This video is approximately seven minutes in length.
Maybe the least of our problems in the middle of a pandemic is boredom. Call it cabin fever, self-confined to your home as a good citizen who’s also acting out of self-preservation. But that doesn’t mean you can’t go out, virtually, and catch a show like way back when—last week or so—to a movie at the multiplex, a concert at the Avalon, your kid’s play or art show at school.
Forget sitting around watching alarming TV news or “Law & Order” reruns. Transport yourself to even the world’s coronavirus hot spots, such as Italy and New York City, without the slightest health risk. All you need is an Internet-connected laptop or a streaming port on the tube.
The Metropolitan Opera shut down early in March at its Lincoln Center home. You can’t even catch its “Live in HD” simulcast series at the Avalon or other venues across the country. But you can see and hear encore Met performances nightly at 7:30, and for 20 hours after the original stream, for the duration of the shutdown. Enjoy performances for free on the website from the company’s “Live in HD” catalog, including Verdi’s “La Traviata” March 19 and Tchaikovsky’s “Eugene Onegin” March 22, starring Renee Fleming.
The deadly virus first struck the U.S. hardest in Washington state where concerts by the Seattle Symphony, like most other orchestras everywhere, have been canceled until further notice. But the Seattle Symphony began streaming smaller ensemble performances by its musicians and rebroadcasting past full-orchestral concerts through its social media links on YouTube and Facebook. See what’s coming up by going here and signing up for email alerts on upcoming online concerts.
Other orchestras offer audio-only streamed recordings of past concerts, such as the Philadelphia Orchestra, while the New York Philharmonic presents audio rebroadcasts of past concerts and video clips. Both are free.
For restless kids unaccustomed to being homebound in the spring, Easton’s Academy Art Museum, while closed for its usual programs, is presenting a series of art-at-home activities, starting with a free download of “Australian Aboriginal Dot Art” available on its site.
Access to the visual arts through virtual tours of the greatest museums in the world have been available for years. But technology has greatly enhanced the experience. Right now, you can be admitted to the Uffizi Gallery while the streets outside are deserted as Florence is in lockdown. Inside, you’ll encounter Michelangelo’s David and one of the world’s top collections of Renaissance art. While touring Europe, don’t miss the Louvre in Paris, where you can skip the crowds around “Mona Lisa” for a private audience with her. Then stop by the Musee d’Orsay, a former railroad terminal on the Seine now home to arguably the most captivating array of Impressionist paintings anywhere. Next, skip over to Amsterdam for a feverish tour of the Van Gogh Museum followed by a Rembrandt-highlighted visit to the Rijksmuseum. In London, antiquity, by American standards, is the focus of the British Museum. And then you’re free to return closer to home with a seat-of-the-pants tour of the voluminous Metropolitan Museum of Art in Manhattan and a whirlwind look at the National Gallery of Art and its Smithsonian neighbors in Washington, D.C. But don’t neglect the West Coast. The J. Paul Getty Museum survived the most recent California inferno, and its treasure was rescued—at least until the next disaster.
Go to individual museum sites for virtual tours or window shop among 2,500 available sites. For shortcuts, try this. But don’t kid yourself (snob alert!). Assuming there are future opportunities, seeing the art for real is digitally non-replicable. Meanwhile, you can’t get a better view.
Broadway is shut down, probably past Tony Awards season. With no live streaming of shows now, Broadway World is posting “Living Room concerts” featuring currently out-of-work actors doing solo or duo concerts from their apartments, hotel suites—whatever… Writers, actors, singers, and dancers are sharing glimpses of their talents nightly at 7:30 on Instagram, while the Actors Fund is planning to raise money for performers-in-need with daily videos on its site featuring theater stars singing from home.
Even high school and college students are getting in on the act. Broadway Tony winner Laura Benanti went on Twitter to invite kids to post video clips on #SunshineSongs of rehearsals and performances of canceled shows. College theater seniors are posting showcases of their canceled work on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram in hopes they’ll be noticed by agents and industry professionals.
To see full-length musical classics, go to Broadway HD, a subscription service that invites you to pluck any play or musical from its library. Among its “must-see” shows are Cats (I’m waiting for the Dogs sequel), Carousel, my favorite Rodgers-and-Hammerstein, the 2013-14 Tony-winning best musical Kinky Boots, among its most recent offerings, and the original Sweeney Todd (superb Sondheim) and The King and I. Shows taped for PBS and other outlets can be found on Netflix, Amazon Prime, Google Play, Vudu and YouTube, including a Sondheim troika—Company, Sunday in the Park with George and Into the Woods—plus Cole Porter’s Kiss Me Kate and Disney’s Newsies. Most are by subscription or at roughly $6.99 a pop.
If you’re out and about in a few months, itching to see a show live on Broadway or in Baltimore, D.C., or Philly, just cancel the above subscriptions and apply your savings toward those expensive ticket prices.
Look for more suggestions this month, including TV and streaming recommendations, and where you can see Best Picture Oscar nominees you might have missed as movie theaters closed.
Steve Parks is a former New York arts critic, writer, and editor now living in Easton.
We wrote about 4 Sisters Kabob and Curry’s new restaurant a few months ago when they were first starting out selling their Pakistani and Indian food from their newly acquired food truck. Since then, they have been busily building a broad and devoted following. They were even exploring locations for a sit-down restaurant.
And then Covid-19 hit.
Unlike many other restaurants, 4 Sister was already a carry-out service. They were already delivering to the Easton community, so you would think that little would change for them. But, in a Facebook post a couple of days, Andleeb Khan, one of the four sisters, asked for help. But not the kind you’d expect.
I wanted to let our community know that if there is anyone in need of food, please stop by and grab a platter from us at 600 Dover Road, Easton MD, 21601. We know everyone in the community wants to help local businesses like ours, but today we want to help the community. We are just doing this because, at the end of the day, money is not everything; humanity is something, as well. This is something I learned from my mom. Please, if anyone that sees my post and knows anyone in need, please send them our way we would love to help.
The thing is, this was nothing new. “If anyone came to us looking for food, we always made sure they had some,” said Khan. They went public with their request for a couple of reasons. The first was the realization that the closing of schools were having real consequences to those who were dependent on school meal programs. The second reason was Shahida Perveen, the mother of the four sisters and the culinary artist of the restaurant, who couldn’t sit back and do nothing. The family agreed. “We told her,” says Khan, “if you feel that this is what’s going to help you feel better with all this craziness happening, then we’re behind you.”
The word has gotten out. Yesterday, their first customer of the day told them her family was going through a really tough time. She left with a platter of food. “It made all of us feel so good that we were able to do something,” said Khan.
In a way, it’s giving back. Three months ago when the truck’s water pump was stolen, they got some unexpected help. Khan remembers: “When the community found out, people stopped by and ordered food from us and donated money to help us get a new pump. It was such a blessing for us in our time of need, and that’s something we will always remember.”
The family has decided to dedicate every Thursday as a ‘Day of Giving.’ “But if there is someone in need Tuesday or a Wednesday, they’re more than welcome to stop by, anytime during our opening hours, and we’re more than happy to give them anything we can afford to give them. It doesn’t have to be a Thursday, but that’s the day we’ll be set up to handle the needs of the community. We don’t need to know anything else, just tell us you need it.”
The family is aware but doesn’t dwell on the possibility that some may try to take advantage of their kindness, and while it is unclear how long they can extend their generosity, they are committed to meeting as many needs as possible for the foreseeable future. “It’s like this,” sums up Khan, “we’re lucky that God has given us so much. He’s given us all this opportunity to give back, and we will.”
The Talbot County Free Library will have free books available for all ages from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, March 18, and Thursday, March 19, at the Easton Library.
Books will be located on tables in front of the library. No donations are needed right now. Please come and pick up a book for you or a family member’s reading pleasure. Books will be available while supplies last.
