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Advertising Staff
Charlene Nichols seacoast scene advertising sales Manager (603) 625-1855, ext.126 Charlene@seacoastscene.net
Roxanne Macaig seacoast scene account executive (603) 625-1855 ext. 127 rmacaig@hippopress.com
Editorial Staff Editor Angie Sykeny editor@seacoastscene.net
Editorial Design Brooke Fraser Intern Maya Puma
Contributors curt Mackail, Betty gagne, Mya Blanchard, amy Diaz, john Fladd, jennifer graham, Ray Magliozzi
Production Brooke Fraser, Jennifer Gingras Circulation Manager Doug ladd, 625-1855, ext. 135 dladd@hippopress.com
Have an event or a story idea for the seacoast scene? let us know at: editor@seacoastscene.net
This beautiful girl is a sensitive kitty who does not enjoy loud noises. She is sweet, but does not come around to just anyone; you have to work for it. With a couple of head rubs and an ear massage, she will open right up. Plumpy is looking for a calm, quiet household who will understand that sometimes life can be scary, especially in new beginnings. It may take her a bit of extra time to come around. Can you give Plumpy a forever home? Email info@nhspca.org or stop by the NHSPCA adoption center at 104 Portsmouth Ave. in Stratham, open every
except Wednesday, from 11 a.m.
waivers.
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26 Puzzles, horoscopes and crazy news
Looking for hidden gems of the Seacoast? Let’s start with two. They may not seem exactly gemlike, but they’re surely hidden. In fact, one of the two only comes out occasionally.
They are the drowned forests of Rye. Both are ancient ruins that were once Ice Age piney woods. That was before the coastal plain was submerged after massive glacial melting some 20,000 years ago at the end of what geologists know as the Wisconsin Glacial Stage. That ice melt produced 400 feet of sea level rise, according to Encyclopedia Britannica.
The inundated trees died, of course, leaving roots in the sea floor. In two places you can see remnants of these exotic drowned forests if the tide is right.
For an assured sighting, visit the rocky shoreline of Odiorne Point State Park. At low tide, dozens of stumps are visible, most covered with various tide pool denizens.
Or, about 5 miles south of Odiorne Point State Park, at 125 Ocean Blvd., if you’re in the right place at the right time, you may see more primeval stumps. They’re not a sure find unless the tide is exceptionally low (or you’re scuba diving). Reportedly, the stumps have appeared just six times since 1940.
At Odiorne Point State Park you’ll also discover a beautiful, peaceful area for a relaxing ramble. More than 2 miles of easy looping trails are conducive to walking, running, biking and (when the weather’s
right) cross-country skiing. Much of the trail is paved.
The trail head is adjacent to the park toll booth. (Park admission for trails, playground, grassy fields, picnic area and rocky beach access is $4 adults, $2 children, free for ages 5 and under and New Hampshire residents 65 and over.)
Frost Point at the easternmost portion of the trail offers a grassy picnic space. From there you can walk down to a breakwater with great ocean views. Small pools abound at low tide, full of sea life. A secluded sandy beach lies adjacent. The beach is usually not crowded, according to the New Hampshire Department of Parks and Recreation.
The oldest burial ground established by settlers in New Hampshire, Old Odiorne Point Cemetery, is found within nearby park property too.
Old Odiorne Point Cemetery goes back to the first New Hampshire settlers’ landing in 1623, according to the state. Historian Charles Brewster wrote in the 1800s, “Odiorne’s Point should be respected as our Plymouth Rock. New Hampshire, however, has never chosen to honor its first settler, David Thomson, in any significant way….” This area was settled in 1623 by Thomson and seven others as a fishing outpost, Brewster wrote. The Odiorne family obtained the land around 1660 when the settlers divided the land among themselves.
To visit this small unspoiled spot, cross to the opposite side of the road from the park entrance. Within a few minutes’ walk north you’ll find Odiorne House at 505 Ocean Blvd. Next door is the park office in a converted barn. A public path leads to the historic burial ground from there.
This year named one of the Top 100 Hidden Beaches in the USA by Family Destinations Guide, Seabrook Beach is more than 2 miles of glittering sandy dunes and broad shallow flats. Hidden from view by residences, the beach lies just southeast of the Hampton Bridge. Starting at the mouth of the Hampton Inlet, extending south to the Massachusetts border, Seabrook Beach is the state’s southernmost chunk of public seashore.
Compared to other nearby public beaches, Seabrook Beach is quiet and pristine, according to the Town of Seabrook. The town owns, maintains and polices the beach.
One reason for the serenity? Seabrook Beach is far less popular than other public beaches up and down the Seacoast. The reason? There is no public parking. What little beach parking exists is reserved for property owners and residents with town placards. The nearest public parking is on the other side of Route 1A, quite a trek away, and even that is scarce at peak times.
People who find a parking spot across the road still face a substantial trek to the beach through blocks of its surrounding neighborhood. Beachgoers may also be dissuaded because Seabrook Beach has no rest rooms, trash cans or other conveniences.
But if you want to avoid the hubbub and foot traffic of the tourist magnet beaches to the north and south, beautiful Seabrook beach may be worth the trouble to get there.
“The sands look the whitest, the board walks that lead perpendicular up the shore to the beach are the most quaint. It will just make you sigh,” wrote one social media reviewer.
The Portsmouth Athenaeum is a historic library set in an architectural jewel. Overlooking Market Square from three stories above, this distinctive Federal-style building is home to a book and document repository, a separate reading room, and a museum gallery with exhibits.
The central structure dates to 1817. New Hampshire architect Bradbury Johnson designed it as an ornate home office for the New Hampshire Fire and Marine Insurance Co. According to Athenaeum source material, 1823 saw the insurance company go bankrupt and the original Athenaeum proprietors acquire the building.
The Portsmouth Athenaeum dates to a time when public libraries as we know them didn’t yet exist. Membership libraries came first — private institutions owned by proprietor members who paid for the upkeep and availability of their collection.
The Portsmouth Athenaeum says on its website, “While there were once hundreds of membership libraries across America, there are now fewer than 20 left. The Athenaeum today continues this long tradition of mutual improvement by maintaining a library of over 40,000 volumes and an archive of manuscripts, photographs, objects, and ephemera relating to local history. It also sponsors exhibitions, concerts, lectures, and other educational and cultural programs.”
Although the Portsmouth Athenaeum is a membership library, the public may visit at select times.
Little harbor Loop trail and Wentworth Mansion offer views of nature and history
Little Harbor Loop Trail skirts the perimeter of a Portsmouth nature retreat, just a short hop from downtown. To get there, follow Route 1A to its intersection with Little Harbor Road (GPS 478 Sagamore Ave.).
Turning onto Little Harbor Road, a wooded drive of about a mile ends at the spectacular Wentworth-Coolidge mansion site, a National Historic Landmark. This waterfront state park offers loads of history along with terrific views of the Piscataqua River seascape. The mansion was home to New Hampshire’s first royal governor, Benning Wentworth. He served from 1741 to 1767.
The rambling 40-room manor is one of the most outstanding homes remaining from the colonial era, says the New Hampshire Division of Parks and Recreation. “Its stateliness and impressive interior and furnishings reflect aristocratic life in Portsmouth in the 1700s,” the department says.
Indoor tours of the mansion are temporarily unavailable because of maintenance work. Outdoor hourly guided tours of the grounds remain, Friday through Monday, beginning at 10 a.m., ending at 3 p.m., free of charge. Additionally, the grounds are open every day from dawn to dusk.
For a rewarding outing, park for free in the mansion’s lot and then step out on the Little Harbor Loop Trail. It’s marked by a sign at the far left edge of the parking area.
Along the easy 1.5-mile trail you’ll first traverse City of Portsmouth conservation land with old farm stonewalls,
tall white pines and a vernal pool. Continuing, the trail transits the Creek Farm reservation (owned by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests), where the wetland environment is unspoiled. Continuing, you’ll come upon historic Carey Cottage.
Carey Cottage, the centerpiece of the old Creek Farm property, is the renovated 1887 retreat of Arthur Astor Carey, an upper-crust Bostonian who was a friend to prominent artists and literary figures of his era. The cottage, an expansive structure typical of Gilded Age summer homes, was the locus of a thriving art colony Carey helped establish in the locale.
Carey Cottage is today operated as a meeting space, with offices for nonprofits, and has six residential apartments for rent. GoodWork, a Portsmouth nonprofit, manages the Carey Cottage enterprise in partnership with the forest society.
Daniel Chester French is inarguably one of the greatest classical American sculptors, recognized by scholars and aficionados for his exquisite works in bronze, plaster, marble and stone. French was born in Exeter in 1850.
French’s most famous work is the colossal statue of the seated Abraham Lincoln at the Lincoln Memorial in the nation’s Capital.
French created the Lincoln statue working from small-scale clay sculptures at Chesterwood, his Gilded Age summer retreat and studio in Stockbridge, Mass. There he gradually worked the Lincoln models up larger and larger until he settled on a final 6-foot plaster model. That model remains on view today at Chesterwood.
The monumental stone figure in the Lincoln Memorial was created on the spot by Italian artisan stone carvers, the Piccrilli brothers. They meticulously measured and scaled up French’s model, cutting and fitting the stone to precisely duplicate the artist’s plaster original.
French’s friend and frequent collaborator, the preeminent architect Henry Bacon, designed the enclosing monument for the seated Lincoln in the manner of a Greek temple.
The country got its first look at the Lincoln Memorial at its unveiling on Memorial Day 1922. On July 4 that same year, French unveiled another work of staggering beauty and emotion, this time in Exeter. It was the Gale Park bronze statue memorializing WWI soldiers. The work is sometimes called “Mother Town, Soldier Son.”
Exeter’s statue is of a uniformed soldier standing erect and alert, gazing into the distance, ready to go to war. Behind the soldier stands a tall female figure, likely inspired by Greek antiquity. She’s draped in a robe, holds a flagpole with
a large unfurling American flag in her left hand, and her right arm stretches skyward as if gesturing for the soldier to go forth. (Such female figures in French’s works often symbolize the Angel of Death, according to scholars.)
The impressive statue stands in a small triangular town park at the intersection of Linden and Front streets, across from the St. Michael Parish. The park is accessible, has benches for rest, and is itself a beautifully designed space.
Another of Exeter’s architectural gems is the Swasey Pavilion, built in 1916. Better known by locals simply as the bandstand, this town centerpiece stands at the intersection of Front and Water streets.
According to Barbara Rimkunas, historian and co-director of the Exeter Historical Society, the pavilion was the brainchild of Ambrose Swasey, Daniel Chester French and Henry Bacon. Swasey gave it as a gift to his hometown. French and Bacon imagined its concept and design, Rimkunas reported in one of her columns.
The circular temple-like structure sports a pink granite and marble foundation, intricate mosaic floor and ceiling, copper sheet roofing, and a dazzlingly ornate chandelier. In the center of the floor is a bronze plate with compass bearings and the zodiac. “One thing is certain, the bandstand, officially known as the Swasey Pavilion, was far more ornate and elegant than any Exeter resident had expected,” Rimkunas wrote.
The bandstand remains an elegant edifice today, appearing even more so when the Exeter Town Band performs there. Claimed to be the oldest continuously performing band of its type in America, the Exeter Town Band gives free concerts at the bandstand on Monday evenings in July, as it has done since 1847.
Newburyport is well-known for its many restaurants, but one in particular tops all others.
Available to rent for breakfast, lunch or dinner, it is the Newburyport Rear Range Lighthouse at 6 Water St. To dine there you climb a winding staircase up five stories to the highest level.
There, more than 60 feet above sea level, a once powerful beacon aided ships navigating the mouth of the Merrimack River. The lighthouse first saw service in 1873, continuing until decommissioning in 1961. Today its fresnel-lensed lamp is long gone but the space it occupied continues as an attraction.
The renovated glass-walled upper level offers dining for up to four people in an intimate private space. Panoramic views of the ocean, the river and downtown Newburyport surround you. According to Jay Hyland, president of The Lighthouse Preservation Society that owns the property, it’s the only lighthouse in the U.S., and possibly the world, that offers such an opportunity.
The Newburyport Lighthouse isn’t so much a restaurant as it is a dining room. You first reserve the place and then arrange for catered food to be delivered (or you may bring your own food). Food costs are not included in the rental fee.
Waitstaff base compensation and complimentary Lighthouse Preservation Society memberships are part of the package. Gratuities are extra. The Society provides a list of 11 recommended local caterers.
You may choose a breakfast, lunch or dinner dining time. Regardless of the meal time, you get five hours in the lighthouse. A reservation costs $350 for two people or $700 for four.
Just one caveat, though. There are no bathrooms in the lighthouse. If you need one you must descend and use the public restrooms across the street or those at a nearby cooperating restaurant. And that feature, or lack thereof, definitely distinguishes the Newburyport Lighthouse from other eateries.
Drowned Forest of Rye, at Odiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd., Rye. Admission to the park is $4 for adults, $2 for children; ages 5 and under and New Hampshire residents age 65 and over are admitted free. This park is always open for recreation unless closed or restricted by posting. Staffed operating hours are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Parking is in a large main lot. Rest rooms, playgrounds, picnic tables, trails, a large open grassy area, boat launch and other amenities are maintained by the state. Dogs are not allowed. The drowned forest is seen from a point southwest of the park playground at low tide. 603-436-7406. nhstateparks.org.
Sunken Forest of Rye, 125 Ocean Blvd., Rye. Called sunken forests colloquially, this stump field is part of the same phenomenon seen at Odiorne Point State Park. But unlike the park, this submerged stump field is only visible if the tide is extremely low, reportedly a rare occurrence. No dedicated parking or other facilities. A state historic marker on Route 1-A points to the spot.
Trails on Odiorne Point, Odiorne Point State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd. Trails are easy loops covering about 2.5 miles with access to Frost Point breakwater and beach, picnic areas, historic fortifications, and the nation’s oldest cemetery. Much of the surface is paved. Favored for walking, running, bicycling and winter cross-country skiing. All other details are as above for the park.
Seabrook Beach, access from Route 1-A (Ocean Blvd.) south of the Hampton Bridge. A 2.5-mile stretch of white sandy beach running from the mouth of Hampton Harbor to the Massachusetts state line at Salisbury. No restrooms, trash cans or other public amenities. Owned and policed by the Town of Seabrook. Parking at the beach is limited to residents displaying a town-issued placard only. Parking rules strictly enforced. A small public parking lot with a public bathroom is about 200 yards south of the Hampton Bridge, opposite the Seabrook Beach neighborhood. Access to the beach over roads is gained from the Hooksett Street intersection at 209 Ocean Blvd., or Eisenhower Street intersection at 655 Ocean Blvd. No fires, pets, alcohol, fireworks, overnight sleeping. Beach closes to the public at 1 a.m., opens at dawn. seabrooknh.info.
Portsmouth Athenaeum, three joined buildings — the 1805 Building, the Foye Building, and the Peirce Block — all at 6-9 Market Square, Portsmouth. A historic membership library, reading room and museum with exhibits. Free admission. Public entrance is at 6 Market Square, shared with the retail shop Ireland on the Square. Street parking is usually scarce, but the High-Hanover public parking garage is just a block away. The Shaw Research Library and Randall Gallery open Tuesday through Saturday from 1 to 4 p.m. or by special arrangement. Sawtelle Reading Room open on first and third Saturdays and second and fourth Thursdays, 1 to 2 p.m. Some hours depend on volunteer availability, so you may wish to check the online calendar or call before visiting. 603-4312538. portsmouthathenaeum.org
Wentworth Mansion State Park and Little Harbor Loop Trail, 375 Little Harbor Road, Portsmouth. Open dawn to dusk daily. Guided tours of the grounds weekdays on the hour beginning at 10 a.m., ending at 3 p.m. Leashed dogs permitted. Indoor tours of the mansion are temporarily suspended because of maintenance work. A 1.5-mile easy loop trail connects the Wentworth-Coolidge mansion grounds, Portsmouth conservation land, the Creek Farm reservation, Carey Cottage and a scenic, rocky waterside path. Free parking and trail access available at the Wentworth-Coolidge mansion. 603-436-2233. nhstateparks.org.
Gale Park, Exeter, at the intersection of Linden and Front streets. Sculptor Daniel Chester French’s epic statue “Mother Town, Soldier Son” is the focal point of the small triangular Gale Park. The park is accessible, has benches for rest, and is available year-round with no closing hours.
Swasey Pavillion, Exeter, at the intersection of Front and Water streets. Known to locals simply as the bandstand, this beautiful open-air rotunda was designed by preeminent architect Henry Bacon and constructed in 1916. It’s the town’s centerpiece landmark. The Exeter Town Band gives free concerts here on Monday evenings in July, as it has done since 1847.
Newburyport Lighthouse Dining, 6 Water St. Private dining rental space on the top floor of a retired lighthouse. Patrons provide their own meals from a suggested caterers’ list or bring their own food. BYOB only. All reservations are made through the Lighthouse Preservation Society. 800-727-2326. lighthousepreservation.org.
Do you Love Interacting with People? We have a fun Weekend Gig for you! Stone Fence is looking to grow our promotions team!
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Compiled by Betty Gagne at Hampton Beach.
Car, plane, boat or train?
“Plane. I love to fly. I used to be a Navy helicopter pilot and spent a lot of time in the air. Now that I’m retired, it feels like a previous life.”
JaY of haMPton Beach
What’s the best job you’ve ever had?
“I love my current job as an oncology research nurse. I work in clinical trials to advance the studies of curing cancer. It’s a very rewarding position.”
— Kristen of haMPton Beach
Who’s the most famous person you’ve ever met?
“Bruce Dern. I met him at the Brattleboro Museum and Art Center. He was taking part in a student study, and he was doing a film reading for the students.”
— KeLLY of BrattLeBoro, VerMont
Describe your perfect smoothie. “Strawberries, bananas and pineapple juice. I make my own smoothies, and I always add a packet of oatmeal to them. The oatmeal gives it a great texture.”
— YaMi of LeoMinster, Massachusetts
Have you ever been to the summit of Mount Washington?
“Yes. In 1969, I went up the auto road on a Harley-Davidson chopper. It was very cold and windy, and I thought my brakes were going to fail on the way down. I made it, though.”
— BoB of haMPton Beach
If you could have any vehicle, what would it be?
“I once had a 1995 harvest green Camaro Z-28 convertible, and I’d love to have that car back. It was comfortable and invigorating to drive. It’s a classic, just like me.”
— John of raLeigh, north caroLina
For Corrie Owens-Beauchesne, a company artist at New Hampshire Theater Project in Portsmouth, theater has always been an outlet to access and process emotions. Now she is able to help others experience this themselves through the artists in residency program at NHTP.
NHTP was established in 1988 as an artists in residency program, eventually becoming a theater, when founding executive director Genevieve Aichele began going into schools and introducing them to story theater.
“Story theater utilizes these stories that don’t have a main character,” Owens-Beauchesne said. “The kids work together and they learn through this [that] theater [is a] group process where it takes a whole village to create a story.”
Today, NHTP acts as a liaison to form connections between artists and organizations, sorting out the budgeting and creating the contracts for each to sign. The artists then run theater-related pro-
Art Events
• ART ’ROUND TOWN GALLERY WALK The Portsmouth downtown area hosts the Art ’Round Town gallery walk on the first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m. (14 Market Square). Explore the art scene in this creative historical community by visiting different art galleries downtown. Visit artroundtown.org.
• “IN SOMNIS VERITAS — IN DREAMS IS TRUTH ” The Seacoast Artist Association (130
gramming at the organization.
“[The artists] have such a broad, diverse range of specialties, but a lot of them have improv expertise and use theater as a tool that can help people in other areas of life,” Owens-Beauchesne said.
These organizations include elementary schools, universities and senior living homes. Through these tools, people are taught skills in areas such as public speaking or social emotional learning. Owens-Beauchesne started taking classes at NHTP when she was around 6 years old. At the theater, she found a safe haven to express and process her feelings.
“[My family was] pretty poor, and I think because of that there was a lot of distress in my family,” she said. “Theater really gave me this outlet and I remember it totally changed how I felt like I could express myself. I would come to the theater and I would have all these feelings inside me, like anger or frustration or sadness, and I would have a place [where] it was OK to share those and people around me had tools for processing [them].”
Water St. in Exeter; seacoastartist. org) will feature a “Body of Work” show that focus on a single artist, Windham artist Janice Leahy, in “In Somnis Veritas
— In Dreams is Truth.” Meet Leahy at a reception on Friday, July 14, from 5 to 7 p.m., when music will be provided by Cheryl Sager and Peg Chaffee, the release said. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
• “WISHING YOU BLUE SKY” The Seacoast Artist Association (130 Water St.
in Exeter; seacoastartist.org) will featurkristy e a “Body of Work” show that focus on a single artist, sculptor Natasha Dikareva, in the exhibit “Wishing You Blue Sky.” Dikareva’s work is “an homage to the incredible resilience of my fellow Ukrainians,” Dikareva said in a press release. Dikareva was originally from Ukraine and now lives in Newmarket. Meet Dikareva at a reception on Friday, July 14, from 5 to 7 p.m., when music will be provided by Cheryl Sager and Peg Chaffee, the release said.
Owens-Beauchesne has received a degree in theater education and has her license in elementary education in Massachusetts. Though she has experience in the public school system, she feels she has more freedom through her work as a company artist. She is able to design her own curriculum, which implements, improv, modified theater games, and is influenced by her study of Augusto Boal’s Theatre of the Oppressed.
“I see it really helping these kids gain better skills about how to be in community with each other and how to help themselves when they’re feeling bad,” Owens-Beauch esne said.
Through this work, she is able to give children the tools that she was given as a child at NHTP.
“Honestly, I really believe that theater is pretty therapeutic,” Owens-Beauchesne said. “It was a huge tool in my life I’d say, and then as I got older I just learned more and I saw it transforming other people’s lives, and I knew that [was] something I wanted to continue to be a part of.”
The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays from 1 to 4 p.m.
• “MILK & COOKIES”
The Rochester Museum of Fine Art (rochestrmfa.org), which displays its exhibits and collections at the James W. Foley Memorial Community Center and at the Rochester Public Library, has an exhibit by Kristy Cavaretta called “Milk & Cookies” and hangs through Friday, Aug. 4; her preferred media include printmaking, woodblock, collagraph and cyanotype.
The Art Center and NH Art Association present their “Creme de la Creme” members exhibition at The Art Center (Suite 1177, 1 Washington St. in Dover; theartcenterdover.com) through the end of August. An artist reception will be held for the exhibit on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m. The Art Center is also running the exhibit “Oshibana — The Botanical Collection” featuring the artwork of Roberta Garrison in the Jim Reagan Gallery through Aug. 31. Oshibana is an art form originating in 16th-century Japan involving arranging pressed flowers and botanical elements into stunning works of art. Garrison’s work focuses on the beauty of local birds. An artist reception for this show will also be held on Saturday, Aug. 5, from 6 to 9 p.m.
New hampshire theatre Project 959 Islington St., No. 3, in Portsmouth; nhtheatreproject.org, 431-6644
• NH Theatre Project will be holding auditions for its 2023-2024 season on Tuesday, July 25, from 5 to 8 p.m. Find the signup and registration forms on its website.
• Preview the new season, which starts with the production Thirst for Freedom on Sept. 22, on the website, where you can find a list of shows and see a video preview.
• “IF YOU KNEW, LET IT
BE US” featuring the drawings, paintings and collage of McKinley Wallace is on display at 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) through until Sunday, Aug. 20. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3s.org.
• “WHY AM I HERE?”
featuring the works of Natalie Fisk, which replicates “papel picado,” a form of Mexican folk art created with paper perforations, is on display at 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) until Sunday, Aug. 20. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through
6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3s.org.
• “BIENNIAL ONE” will be on display at the New Hampshire Art Association’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) from Aug. 31 through Oct. 1. The exhibit invites artists to showcase their best work that takes creative risks and explores abstract expression, contemporary environmental and social justice issues and new media, with no specific theme. The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
By Curt Mackail
Yankee Homecoming, Newburyport’s longstanding summer festival, returns to the Clipper City Saturday, July 29, through Sunday, Aug. 6. Marking its 65th anniversary this year, the all-volunteer enterprise brings together government, civic organizations, businesses, musical groups, artists, food vendors, restaurants, strolling entertainers and myriad other community-focused groups.
Crowds typically reach into the thousands for the feature concert and grand fireworks display, which this year will be held on Saturday, Aug. 5, beginning at 7:15 p.m. at Waterfront Park, downtown. This year’s concert presents the 215th Army National Guard Band.
Yankee Homecoming events kick off Saturday, July 29, with a high school battle of the bands, the Art on the Bartlett Mall painting show (featuring some 60 artists from throughout the Northeast) and the Brewfest fundraiser.
The Brewfest, at Cashman Park baseball field rain or shine, aims to raise more than $30,000 to cover costs of the festival fireworks display, according to homecoming board of directors vice president Jason LaCroix. Tickets to the Brewfest are $40 in advance or $45 at the gate. All proceeds go to Yankee Homecoming. Advance tickets are available at eventbrite.com.
Hundreds of organized events are planned over the eight-day festival run. Some occur every day during the festival; others stand alone as one-time occurrences. See yankeehomecoming. com for a complete list.
One highlight event is the all-day Olde Fashion Sunday, July 30, a perennial favorite. Activities planned for Olde Fashion Sunday include pony rides and excursions on the Roaming Railroad trolley, midway games with prizes, a pet show, an antique and classic cars show, a cornhole tournament for beginners, potato sack race, water balloon toss, hula-hooping and swing dance lessons with a swing dance demonstration by the Northshore Swing Dance troup-
The free waterfront morning workout series is popular with folks who wish to get the day started with fresh air and some physical activity. Sponsored by Anna Jaques Hospital, the workouts happen adjacent to the riverfront boardwalk on the grassy area in front of the Sea Level Bar, 1 Market Square. Start times vary from 6 to 9:15 a.m., depending on the day. The workout series features a different physical activity each day. You’ll find instructor-led yoga, light cardiovascular routines, flexibility conditioning, and active recreation designed for a family to enjoy together, among other sessions. All ages are invited to all workouts.
You can also enjoy live music during the daytime on the Market Square stage, across from Waterfront Park. This stage features mostly local artists from 11 a.m. through 5 p.m. daily.
In the evening, Waterfront Park’s big stage showcases classic rock and tribute
bands beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night. You may bring lawn chairs or spread out blankets to enjoy the shows. All music events are free.
Kids Day in the Park happens Wednesday Aug. 2, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. The free event happens in Atkinson Common Park on High Street. The fun starts with a parade for decorated bikes and doll carriages. Prizes are awarded. After that, youngsters may have their faces painted, experience theater in the open, relax with a story reading provided by the Newburyport library, join a sing-along and catch an exciting police department K-9 demonstration. Free food and drinks are available at noon.
The Newburyport Lions Club bed race happens Thursday, Aug. 3 (with a rain date of Friday, Aug. 4.) This usually hilarious event is an annual fundraiser for Lions Club charities. Teams are made up of one person in a wheeled bed with four runners providing the propulsion down Federal Street. Most participants appear in costumes, and the wackier the better. Team entry fee is $40. The race starts at 6 p.m. after a bed check-in with race officials at 5 p.m. Pre-registration is required. Participants must be age 18 or older. Bed racers also appear Sunday in the Grand Parade.
the Grand Parade is a spectacle and a Jimmy fund fundraiser
On Sunday, Aug. 6, the Grand Parade streams down High Street at noon, signaling the festival is near its conclusion. The parade steps off from the inter-
section of Moseley Avenue and Ferry Road, continuing down High Street and ending at State Street. The parade route is usually lined with cheering spectators in lawn chairs enjoying passing-by floats, bands, politicians, performers, an assortment of first-responder vehicles, antique cars and beauty queens, among other marchers. A flag-lowering ceremony follows the Grand Parade at the corner of Pond and High streets, officially closing the week’s festivities. Originally known as the Jimmy Day Parade, the Grand Parade parade was the first ever fundraiser for the Jimmy Fund. (The Jimmy Day Parade pre-dated Yankee Homecoming.) In its original form, the parade saw city officials and civic leaders marching a 3-mile route through the city, urging onlookers to donate, according to nbptma.com, an independent online museum of the city’s history.
When Yankee Homecoming came to life in 1958, the new community celebration continued the tradition of collecting donations from parade watchers for the Jimmy Fund, a Dana-Farber Cancer Institute organization.
“Yankee Homecoming is one of the longest-running community events benefitting Dana Farber Cancer Institute and the Jimmy Fund. Now in its 75th year, the fund appreciates the Newburyport community’s generous donations in support of Dana-Farber’s mission to defy cancer. The small donations from residents and friends of the community add up to make a huge difference in the lives of Dana-Farber patients and their families,” reports danafarber.jimmyfund.org.
Hot sauce companies from across the Northeast will be coming together for the second annual New England Hot Sauce Fest, happening at Smuttynose Brewery in Hampton on Saturday, July 29. The event is organized by Gabe DiSaverio, owner of his own hot sauce company, Spicy Shark.
“I wanted to put New England on the map as a spicy region and bring this unique event that has never been done before in New England,” DiSaverio said.
DiSaverio opened the Spicy Shark six years ago and travels across the country to different hot sauce festivals to sell his product.
“There were so many people that helped us early on to get exposure … and I was able to get our sauce out to a lot of different places,” he said. “I really wanted to provide that for Northeast hot sauce companies.”
The event is bigger this year with an addition of nine new hot sauce vendors, bringing the total number to 35. Some vendors include Angry Goat Pepper Co., Butterfly Bakery, High River Sauce and Bodacious Heat. Each vendor will be giving attendees free samples of their products. There will also be 10 food trucks, including Seacoast Street Eats, the Big Bad, Wing-itz, Tacos & More, Chubba Wubba’s, Sweeties, Bees and Thank You, Palms to Pines Empanadas and Kona Ice of the Seacoast. Smuttynose Brewery will also be serving beer.
Festivities begin at 11 a.m. with the first spicy eating contest, the Jalapeno Contest, at noon, where local participants compete to see who can eat the most jalapenos in 10 minutes. The next event of the day will be the SAGES family-friendly magic show. Another spicy eating contest will follow at 1:30 p.m., where contestants are challenged to eat progressively hotter chicken wings. According to DiSaverio, this contest is inspired by the celebrity interview show Hot Ones and features sauces with five levels of spiciness, beginning with Spicy Shark’s hottest sauce. Each contestant must eat two wings with each sauce. Those who make it to the fifth level will compete in a challenge of who can eat the wings the fastest. The super hot contest is next, at 2:30 p.m., and participants will eat progressively hotter hot peppers, beginning with a jalapeno and ending with a California reaper. According to DiSaverio, the California reaper was crossbred by Ed Curry from PuckerButt Pepper Co., and it is widely known as the hottest pepper. Curry
recently created a new pepper called Pepper X which is only available through PuckerButt hot sauces and their Duel Chips.
“Picture a potato chip that’s completely covered in Pepper X powder,” DiSaverio said. “One of those would destroy a regular human being.”
“[This] has never been done before, a Pepper X chip challenge,” DiSaverio continued. “These six people are going to be on stage to see who can eat the most pepper and chips in an hour, but also, maybe, [to see] if one of them can break the all-time record of most Pepper X chips eaten.”
The Duel Chip challenge will take place at 3:30 p.m. and is a new addition to the festival.
Back from last year are MCs Bella and Dark from YouTube channel “Heat 101,” and there will be a DJ playing ’80s music all day. The majority of the festival’s proceeds will go to two nonprofits, the Seacoast Science Center and the Blue Ocean.
“The Spicy Shark [got its name] because I’m a scuba diver and very passionate about shark conservation, so when I put together the festival, I wanted that to be a piece of it,” DiSaverio said.
According to Jen Kennedy from The Blue Ocean, the funds will support ocean research and education programs in the Seacoast region.
Karen Provazza, chief communications officer at Seacoast Science Center, said, “We are all about inspiring conservation at Seacoast Science Center. We are so grateful to be part of this festival and will use the funds to expand our education program.”
2nd a nnual n ew e ngland h ot s auce festival
When: Saturday, July 29, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. (opens at 10 a.m. for VIP ticketholders)
Where: Smuttynose Brewery, 105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton
Cost: $11 general admission and $15 for VIPs
Visit: newenglandhotsaucefest.com
Ingredients:
3 ounces cold-brew coffee concentrate – Trader Joe’s makes a very good one.
6 ounces half & half
1 ounce simple syrup
frozen coffee (see below) dark chocolate, frozen (optional)
The secret to truly excellent ice coffee is coffee ice.
We’ve all been there, really, truly enjoying a cup of iced coffee on a bone-deep level. Not guzzling it — we’ve been around the block a few times, and we know that an ice cream headache is a real danger in situations like this, but we’ve also learned the hard way that we don’t make great decisions after ingesting an injudiciously large caffeine bolus.
So we nurse our iced coffee.
The first sip is transcendent.
The second one, 10 minutes later, is still pretty good.
After half an hour, we ask ourselves if it was really that good to begin with. Right now, it’s only so-so.
It eventually sinks in that the enemy here is the ice, gradually, subtly diluting the iced coffee, like an unwanted watery chaperone.
The secret is to make your ice out of coffee. Pieces of coffee ice will melt, but when they do, do you know what they add to your iced coffee? More coffee!
Use leftover coffee to make ice cubes, or make some with cold-brew concentrate.
But it isn’t the 1970s. What if you don’t have an ice cube tray?
Do you have a cake pan? Or a large zip-lock bag? Use one of those to make a block of ice, then chop it up with an ice pick.
But this isn’t a suspense movie; what if you don’t have an ice pick?
Wrap the ice in a tea towel, and swing it over your head, smashing it into the kitchen counter. Do this three or four times and you will have your choice of smashed ice — from coffee snow, to jagged coffee-sicles, to chunks of frozen coffee that will take up half your glass. Use what you want, then put the rest in a Tupperware
container in the freezer for your next, inevitable iced coffee.
The question here is how much restraint do you want to show with your iced cof fee? The amounts here will make a very respectable 16-ounce serving. Maybe you only need a little pickme-up. Maybe you have guests. Maybe you have in-laws staying with you. There are any number of reasons why you might want to drink a reasonable, temperate amount of iced coffee.
But maybe you are alone, or Having. A. Day. Maybe the kids or your boss are making extremely unreasonable demands. Maybe you need to drink enough iced coffee to stun a water buffalo. I’m not here to judge you.
The important thing to keep in mind here is the proportions. A one-quart glass jar would work just as well as a juice glass for this.
Pick a glass, then fill it halfway with coffee ice.
Add the half & half and cold-brew concentrate in a 2:1 ratio.
Add enough simple syrup to sweeten to taste.
Stir.
Using a microplane grater, or the tiniest holes on your box grater, grate frozen dark chocolate on top of your coffee, as garnish.
If you think you don’t like iced coffee, you might want to try this. It is creamy and slightly sweet. It isn’t a takeout milkshake pretending to be iced coffee. It’s the real thing. It’s delicately sweet, without much of the bitterness that mass-produced ice coffee tends to have. It starts out pretty innocent, whistling and looking up at the ceiling, but over the course of an hour it becomes more and more grown-up coffee.
SUNDAY
Grilled Twin Pork Chops - $11.99
Served with Mashed Potatoes & Veg
MONDAY
Burger Night - $9
Hamburger or Cheeseburger includes lettuce & tomato, additional toppings extra
TUESDAY
Taco Tuesday & Ladies Night
$3 Tacos All Day - 8pm-Close 1/2 Price Drinks for the Gals
WEDNESDAY
Spaghetti & Meatballs - $10.99
Served with Garlic Bread
THURSDAY
Wing Night$11.99
For a Dozen Wings
FRIDAY
Fish n Chips - $15.99
12oz Prime Rib - $26.99
SATURDAY
12oz Prime Rib - $26.99
Roasted Half Chicken - $15.99 with mashed potatoes & vegetable
Golf! Hours of Operation
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Four 20-somethings road trip through China in the soft-hearted comedy Joy Ride.
Attorney Audrey (Ashley Park) and artist Lolo (Sherry Cola) have been best friends ever since Audrey’s adoptive parents (Annie Mumolo, David Denman) excitedly approached Lolo’s parents (Debbie Fan, Kenneth Liu) to ask if the girls — the only two Asian girls in their hometown of White Hills — could play together. Thus began a best friendship that lasted through elementary and high school and well after college.
Audrey is up for a big promotion at work, one that hinges on her closing a deal with a Chinese company. She speaks conversational Mandarin, she tells her boss (Timothy Simons) — but really this woman raised by American parents doesn’t speak Chinese. Though Lolo’s genitalia-based art isn’t the image Audrey wants to project professionally, she asks Lolo, a truly fluent Chinese speaker, to join her when she travels to China to act as a translator for Audrey’s meetings. Lolo’s cousin Deadeye (Sabrina Wu), an awkward K-pop megafan, unexpectedly tags along. In China, Kat (Stephanie Hsu), Audrey’s college roommate who has become a big star of Chinese TV, also joins the group.
The foursome spends a night drinking with Chao (Ronny Chieng), the man Audrey is trying to close a deal with. He wants to know more about Audrey and her ties to China. Lolo lies and says Audrey is close with her Chinese birth mom. This leads the gang on a frantic quest to find Audrey’s birth mother, which sends them to a more rural region of China and through a series of unexpected detours due in part to an American drug dealer and a Chinese basketball team stacked with hotties.
For a movie with some impressively explicit sex scenes, Joy Ride is cute and huggable in its whole friendship vibe. Lolo and Kat have a frenemy relationship as dueling
• Movie Night Mondays on Hampton Beach Held next to the playground, starting at dusk. The films run weekly through Aug. 28, and admission is free. Bringing chairs or blankets is welcome. The lineup of family-friendly films is available at hamptonbeach.org. Rain dates are on Tuesdays for all films.
• About My Father (PG-13, 2023) will screen at the Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org) on Friday, July 21, at 7 p.m.; Saturday, July 22, at 4 and 7 p.m.; and Tuesday, July 25 at 7 p.m.
• The McConnell Story (1955) starring Alan Ladd and June Allyson, will screen at The Strand (20
best friends of Audrey, who is wound tight and feels that she doesn’t fit in anywhere (not white like “everybody else” in their American home town but not connected to her Chinese heritage like Lolo and Kat). Deadeye is eager to find friendships IRL, having previously only made good buddies via K-pop fan sites. The various discomforts of the group seem like the discomfort of their relative youth, trying to figure out who they each are and what they want. It’s all ultimately very sweet, and while I did at times feel like some of the jokes could use another pass to make their comedy and their observations sharper, I enjoyed spending time with these characters. Park may be the central character but the excellent Hsu and Cola are the standouts.
Joy Ride isn’t perfect but it is a light and fun bit of friendship, road trip comedy. B
Rated R for strong and crude (and unapologetic! and totally giddy!) sexual content, language throughout, drug content and brief graphic nudity, according to the MPA on filmratings.com (where you can see a crude-but-cute alternate title for this movie). Directed by Adele Lim with a screenplay by Cherry Chevapravatdumrong and Teresa Hsiao, Joy Ride is an hour and 37 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Lionsgate.
Third St., Dover, 343-1899, thestranddover.com) on Saturday, July 22, at 7 p.m.
• Akhnaten a Metropolitan Opera HD Live Encore screening will take place Wednesday, July 26, at 1 and 6:30 p.m. at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies.com). See fathomevents.com for tickets.
• One Ocean Film Tour (NR) featuring a series of ocean-related films will screen at the Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org) on Wednesday, July 26, at 7 p.m.
• Grease (1978) a sing-along version of the movie will screen at the Music Hall (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org) on Thursday, July 27,
The Lambert family returns in Insidious: The Red Door, the fifth Insidious movie, which picks up on events of the second movie.
The third and fourth movies were both prequels — a fact remembered thanks to Wikipedia because even though I’ve seen and liked all of these movies I forgot basically everything about them other than Rose Byrne and Patrick Wilson. Quick recap: Father and son Lambert both have the ability to astral project into a demon-y realm called The Further, and sometimes demon-y beings try to follow them back.
It’s been a decade since the second movie and the Lambert family isn’t doing great. We first see Josh Lambert (Wilson) at the funeral for his mother.
Renai Lambert (Byrne) and the kids — Dalton (Ty Simpkins), Foster (Andrew Astor) and Kali (Juliana Davies) — are with him but leave in a separate car because Renai and Josh have split up. Josh has a difficult relationship with the moody Dalton, who is headed to college. Renai suggests that Josh drive Dalton to school so they can spend time together.
What we know from the movie’s start that the oldest two Lambert dudes don’t is that Josh and Dalton have been hypnotized to forget the previous Insidious movies. So everything about The Further, their journeys to this place and the demons that plagued them there and followed them into the world has been sort of erased. Sort of. They’ve been left with enough shadows of what happened to feel uneasy and foggy.
Once at school, an art teacher’s assignments have Dalton starting to draw and remember the Further. Dalton makes friends with Chris (Sinclair Daniel), a girl mistakenly assigned to room with him for just long enough that she gets dragged into his whole spooky deal. Meanwhile Josh also has flashes of the Further and its denizens. The more father and son remember, the more the demon-y world starts to bleed into our own.
It takes about two-thirds of the movie for the characters to catch up to where we are at the movie’s start. Wilson is engaging as always and there’s some cute stuff between Dalton and Chris as they investigate Dalton’s growing strangeness, but the movie just takes way too long to ramp up. And then it feels a bit like we race to the finish. I wish the movie could have found some way to better balance that mix of when the characters aren’t and then are up to speed, and bring the whole family, including Byrne, who brings such a good exasperated energy, back together faster. C
Rated PG-13 for violence, terror, frightening images, strong language and suggestive references, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Patrick Wilson with a screenplay by Scott Teems, Insidious: The Red Door is an hour and 47 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Screen Gems.
and Friday, July 28, at 7 p.m.
• Heathers (R, 1988) return to Westerberg High with this 35th Anniversary screening at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies.com) on Sunday, July 30, at 4 p.m. See fathomevents.com.
• Il Trovatore a Metropolitan Opera HD Live Encore screening will take place Wednesday, Aug. 2, at 1 and 6:30 p.m. at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies.com). See fathomevents.com for tickets.
• Princess Mononoke (PG-13, 1997) will screen as part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2023 at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies.com) Saturday, Aug. 5, through Wednesday, Aug.
9. Screenings are at 3 p.m. on Aug. 5; 4 and 7 p.m on Aug. 6; and at 7 p.m. Aug. 7 through Aug. 9. See fathomevents.com.
• Porco Rosso (PG, 1992) will screen as part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2023 at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies.com) Sunday, Aug. 20, at 4 p.m. (dubbed) and Tuesday, Aug. 22, at 7 p.m. (subtitled). See fathomevents.com.
• The Wind Rises - 10th Anniversary (PG, 1992) will screen as part of Studio Ghibli Fest 2023 at Regal Fox Run (45 Gosling Road, Newington, regmovies. com) Monday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. (dubbed) and Wednesday, Aug. 23, at 7 p.m. (subtitled). See fathomevents.com.
Better Living Through Birding , by Christian Cooper (Random House, 282 pages)
“Writing a memoir is akin to taking off one’s clothes in public” is how Christian Cooper begins his acknowledgments, wherein he thanks everyone who made his memoir possible, with one extremely notable exception: the Central Park “Karen” who vaulted him to fame.
Cooper is the bird enthusiast who was out early on Memorial Day 2020 looking at birds when an unleashed dog came running in his direction. He politely asked the dog’s owner to leash her dog, as the law requires in the part of the park called the Ramble. When she said she wouldn’t — that her dog needed exercise — he started filming their exchange, which later went viral because the woman called the police, falsely reporting that Cooper, who is Black, was threatening her.
The incident was bad enough on its own, but was magnified because of something else that happened that day — the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. And within days Cooper had become something of a folk hero, an example of the ordinary dangers of being Black while driving, while jogging, while birding or doing any number of ordinary activities. He became famous while the dog walker, Amy Cooper, became infamous. And he has leveraged that fame into an enchanting memoir that has surprisingly little to do with what happened that day, but instead is an ode to the natural world and an account of growing up Black, gay and intellectual in 1970s America.
The first sign of how well-crafted this
Literature
Author events
• COLSON WHITEHEAD
will discuss his latest novel, Crook Manifesto , at The Music Hall Historic Theater (28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth; 436-2400, themusichall.org)
on Thursday, July 20, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $5 plus fees and the required purchase of a $30 book voucher per one or two tickets.
• SY MONTGOMERY & MATT PATTERSON
will talk about their new nonfiction picture book, The Book of Turtles , at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Saturday, July 22, at 11 a.m.
memoir is comes in the first chapter, “An Incident in Central Park.” He describes running through the park alone and says, “I know what this looks like.”
“My sneakers are old and muddy, my jeans in need of a good washing, and my shirt, though collared, could at best be described as unkempt. I am a Black man on the run. And I have binoculars.” As it turns out, the “incident” is not what we think, but something entirely different, related to birding. It is a smart, charming entry into Cooper’s story, which has a mystery at its heart: How, exactly, does an otherwise normal person get so rabidly obsessed with birds?
In Cooper’s case, birds were, like science fiction and comic books, a mental sanctuary as he was growing up on Long Island in a lower-middle class family where intellectual pursuits were prized. When he was 9 he attended a summer woodworking class, where he was giv-
St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com)
on Tuesday, July 25, at 7 p.m.
• RICHARD RUSSO will discuss his novel Somebody’s Fool at The Music Hall Lounge (131 Congress St., Portsmouth; 436-2400, themusichall. org) on Tuesday, Aug. 8, at 7 p.m. Tickets cost $46 and include a signed book.
en a choice of making a footstool or a bird feeder. He picked the bird feeder, and the first bird to come to that feeder, a red-winged blackbird, became his “spark bird,” the creature that began his birding obsession.
After carefully navigating high school while keeping his sexuality secret, Cooper went to Harvard on a scholarship, where he finally was able to come out as gay. (When he told his father, the father asked if he wanted to see a psychiatrist, he said.) But it wasn’t until he spent time in South America, on a post-graduation fellowship funded by Harvard, that he really began to embrace his sexuality and see that being a Black man in other countries was a vastly different experience from being a Black man in America. “In Buenos Aires,” he writes, “I had found myself in a city full of white folks who desire me because of my Blackness, not in spite of it. … I’d spent my whole life being told that as Black person I was not quite as worthy as a white person, and on an unconscious level, I had internalized that proposition.”
Even then, there were the birds, and Cooper writes beautifully about their migrations, their habitats and his searches for them, from the Blackburnian warbler to the alarmingly named Ovenbird. This man is really, really into birds, and he wants us all to be. While the narrative meanders through Cooper’s work and relationships, it is interspersed with birding tips and interludes about the “pleasures of birding” — for example, “the joy of hunting, without the bloodshed.”
Eventually he returns to the other “incident in Central Park” and offers a much fuller understanding of what hap-
• TIME TO WRITE writing workshop is held on the first Monday of every month from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. at The Word Barn (66 Newfields Road, Exeter; thewordbarn.com).
Writers of all genres are welcome; registration is required and space is limited.
pened that day.
To his everlasting credit, Cooper has been remarkably chill about the exchange that enraged millions of Americans and effectively canceled the dog walker for life. He wasn’t even responsible for the video going viral; he had shared it with a small group of friends on Facebook, where he normally shared what notable bird he had just sighted, and his sister asked permission to post it on Twitter. He agreed — “after all, how much attention could it get?”
The tweet landed in the feed of comedian Kathy Griffin, who retweeted it, and within hours the media were calling. (Interestingly, he found out about the George Floyd video during an interview with “Inside Edition.”)
Although Cooper was pressured by the district attorney’s office, and many people in the public, he declined to participate in any charges related to the incident. He said what the dog walker did and said was “incredibly racist” but passes no judgment on Amy Cooper herself. But he has also made clear that he had no interest in any sort of kumbaya-esque reunion with her and says she never reached out to him personally to apologize for that day. “It’s not about Amy Cooper,” he writes. “What’s important is what her actions revealed: how deeply and widely racial bias runs in the United States. (Ironically, she was born in Canada, yet she still tapped into that dark vein that carries its poison to every part of this land.)”
Fame that erupts on social media is often fleeting and unearned. Christian Cooper is the rare exception — his is a story worth telling, and in this memoir he does so exceptionally well. A
Jennifer GrahamSubmissions must be written in or translated into English and must be previously unpublished. Visit underthemadnessmagazine.com for full submission guidelines.
t heater
• CHUCK COLLINS will discuss his new novel, Altar to an Erupting Sun, at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water
Poetry MARK DECARTERET will present his poetry at Rye Public Library (581 Washington Road, Rye, 9648401, ryepubliclibrary.org)
on Wednesday, Aug. 16, at 2 p.m.
• UNDER THE MADNESS Magazine designed and managed by an editorial board of New Hampshire teens under the mentorship of New Hampshire State Poet Laureate Alexandria Peary. features creative writing by teens ages 13 to 19 from all over the world, including poetry and short fiction and creative nonfiction. Published monthly.
• LITTLE SHOP OF HORRORS, this year’s Prescott Park Arts Festival’s annual outdoor production at Prescott Park in Portsmouth, runs through Sunday, Aug. 13, with shows most Thursdays through Sundays at 7 p.m. See prescottpark.org for information on reserving a blanket or table for a performance.
• HAIR is being performed at Seacoast Rep (125 Bow St.,
Portsmouth, seacoastrep.org) Thursday, July 13, through Sunday, Aug. 27. The theater will have performances Thursday through Sunday, with curtain times at 2 and 7:30 p.m. There is one additional show on Wednesday, July. 19. Tickets start at $35.
Magoon, an environmentalist living in Warner with her two cats, published her debut in June 2023.
What is this book about?
In my mid 50s after I recently divorced my husband, I rediscovered my love for hiking. I had time to myself to focus on my own healing, so I took to hiking Mount Moosilauke on a whim on a sunny Saturday afternoon and just absolutely loved it. There’s something magical about being above tree line, and Mount Moosilauke has an extensive trail system above tree line. You just feel like you’re on top of the world. When I came down from the mountain I discovered that there’s a list of 48 4,000-footers … so I set a goal to hike all 48. I didn’t have a lot of hiking or high summit experience, so I wrote the book because I thought it would be good to share something like that, and spoiler alert: I didn’t die.
Where does your interest in hiking and the outdoors come from?
I grew up in rural Massachusetts and my interest for the outdoors was from my mom and dad. My dad liked to hike, hunt and fish and my mom liked to garden. She was also the queen of house work, so to avoid getting sucked into house work we would all run outside and hide.
Why did you decide to share your story?
I originally set out to write a book about my exploits fumbling across the summits, and my original theme was ‘If an old lady in her mid 50s can do it you can too.’ But about a third of the way through the hikes I got some terrible news that my ex-husband had been arrested for child molestation. So the next three years during the criminal process was probably the most difficult of my life. … Suddenly I had mountains much bigger to climb than any 4,000-footer. So it’s a little bit about that and how at the time I was engaged with
a life coach and a therapist and how they became my support system along with my friends and my family. It’s a book that I think anyone who has had some traumatic experience in their life that they can relate to would be able to find some inspiration and some examples of resilience from it.
What was the writing process like?
It really came from journaling. Journaling was a way to help me cope with the events that were going on. Plus I enjoyed journaling and writing anyway so it was very easy for me to go on a particular hike and then come home and write some notes about it very quickly and a lot of the book came from my journals.
What do you hope readers will take away from this story?
Well, I hope that they can find some inspiration. That you can achieve a goal that you set out to do, no matter what the obstacles. Help is available if you need it. Action is rewarded. … I’d like people to understand that it’s never too late to start over. It’s never too late to say, ‘You know what? I’m not happy, I’m bet ter off with a new life.” It’s for people who maybe are struggling in unhealthy relationships and not sure how to get unstuck from that, or people who maybe want something and just don’t feel wor thy or know how to take that first step.
What about this story will resonate with readers?
I think everyone’s had some cross to bear at some moment in their lives where things didn’t quite go as planned. That takeaway I want readers to have is that you can come out the other side a different person, maybe stronger, more resilient, or maybe you discover that you are stronger than you think you are.
Open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 7am-4pm
978-499-8839 175 Elm St. Rt.110, Salisbury MA Annarosas.com
instagram.com/annarosasbakery
thursday, July 20
Exeter
Swasey Parkway: Wheel of Awesome, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: Adam Luffkin, 7 p.m.; Dry Reef, 8 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
CR’s: Steve Sibulkin, 6 p.m.
The Goat: Taylor Hughes, 8 p.m.
L Street: live music, 2:30 p.m. & 7 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Paul Lussier, 1 p.m.; Lewis Goodwin, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Nashville Line Dance, 6 p.m.; Caroline Gray, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Another Shot, 6:30 p.m.
Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.
Portsmouth
Gas Light: Peter Pappas, 2 p.m.; Dapper Gents Duo, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.
Seabrook
Backyard Burgers: Jennifer Mitchell, 6 p.m.
Red’s: Mockingbirds, 8 p.m.
friday, July 21
Exeter
Shooters: Feverslip featuring Sam Vlasich, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: The Far, 8 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
CR’s: Steve Sibulkin, 6 p.m.
The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.
L Street: live music, 8 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Dave Clark, 1 p.m.; Ray Zerkle, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Maddi Ryan, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: The Conniption
Fits, 6:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Chris Toler, 3 p.m.;
Diezel, 9 p.m.
Whym: Matt Langley, 6:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
Cisco: Clandestine, 4 p.m.
Gas Light: Paul Warnick, 2 p.m.; Blue Matter, 7 p.m.;
Krystian Beal, 9:30 p.m.
The Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m.
Mojo’s: live music, 7 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: DNA Acoustic, 9 p.m.
Saturday, July 22
Exeter
Shooters: John Given & Mercenaries, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: MB Padfield, 1 p.m.;
7 Day Weekend, 8 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Russ Six, 9 p.m.
L Street: live music, 8 p.m.
Sea Ketch: KOHA, 1 p.m.;
Ryan Williamson, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: The Shakerz Band, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Malcolm Salls, 1
p.m.; Truffle, 4:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Turner Harrison, 2
p.m.; Fortune, 9 p.m.
Whym: Liz Ridgley, 6:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
Cisco: Truffle, noon
Gas Light Pub: Chris Powers, 2 p.m.; Jamsterdam, 7 p.m.; Matt Langley, 9:30 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.
Summer in the Street: Vital Tones, 5:30 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: live music, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 23
Hampton
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Russ Six, 1 p.m.
L Street: live music
Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle, 1 p.m.;
Doug Mitchell, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: The Bel Airs, 7 p.m.
Wally’s: MB Padfield, 2 p.m.
Portsmouth
Cisco: Autumn Drive, noon
Gas Light: Sean Coleman, 2 p.m.; Fraga Rock Band, 6 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.
Seabrook
Beach Deck: Frankie Crivello & Steve Baker, 4 p.m.
Monday, July 24
Hampton
The Goat: Caylin Costello, 9 p.m.
L Street: live music, 4 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle, 1 p.m.; Clint Lapointe, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Jonny Friday, 7 p.m.
Wally’s: Turner Harrison, 2 p.m.
Portsmouth Gas Light: Mitch Alden, 7:30 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.
Seabrook
Red’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.
tuesday, July 25
Hampton
Bernie’s: Adam Luffkin, 7 p.m.; Chris Toler, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Mike Forgette, 9 p.m.
L Street: live music, 4 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Jodee Frawlee, 1 p.m.; Mike Mazola, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Leaving Eden, 7 p.m.
Gibb’s
The
Shane’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.
Wally’s: Mike Forgette, 3 p.m.; musical bingo, 7 p.m.
Portsmouth Gas Light: Paul Warnick, 7:30 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.
Seabrook
Backyard Burgers: music bingo with Jennifer Mitchell, 7 p.m. Red’s: country night, 7 p.m.
Wednesday, July 26
Hampton
Bernie’s: Luffkid Trio, 7 p.m.
Bogie’s: open mic, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Justin Jordan
L Street: live music, 4:30 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Dave Gerard, 1 p.m.; Austin McCarthy, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: LoVeSeXy (Prince tribute), 7 p.m.
Wally’s: Jonny Friday Duo, 3 p.m.; live band karaoke, 8 p.m.
Portsmouth Gas Light: Pete Peterson, 7:30 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m. Press Room: open mic, 5:30 p.m.
Seabrook
Chop Shop: DJ Manny awesome DJ event, 7:30 p.m.
thursday, July 27
Exeter
Swasey Parkway: Downtown Dave & Deep Pockets, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: Who’s Bad, 7 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
CR’s: Just the Two of Us + 1, 6 p.m.
The
The Goat: Taylor Hughes, 8 p.m.
L Street: live music, 4:30 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Ricky Lauria, 1 p.m.; Lewis Goodwin, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Nashville Line Dance, 6 p.m.; Whiskey Horse, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Two Towns, 6:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Adam Luffkid, 2 p.m.; Chris Webby, 7 p.m.
Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.
Portsmouth
Cisco: Road Back Home, 4 p.m.
Gas Light: Erika Van Pelt, 7 p.m.
The Goat: live music
Seabrook
Backyard Burgers: live music, 6 p.m.
friday, July 28
Exeter
Sea Dog: live music, 5 p.m.
Shooters: Chris Bartell & Joe
Leweck, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: live music
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
CR’s: Rico Barr Duo, 6 p.m.
The Goat: Russ Six, 8 p.m.
L Street: live music, 8 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Clint Lapointe, 1 p.m.; Ray Zerkle, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Woodland Protocol, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Clandestine Funk, 6:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Chris Toler, 3 p.m.
Whym: Chris Fraga, 6:30 p.m.
Portsmouth
Cisco: Road Back Home, 4 p.m.
Gas Light: Austin McCarthy, 2 p.m.; Now is Now, 7 p.m.
The Goat: live music, 9 p.m.
Mojo’s: live music, 7 p.m
Seabrook
Chop Shop: live music, 6:30 p.m.
Saturday, July 29
Exeter
Shooters: John Given & the Mercenaries, 6 p.m.
Hampton
Bernie’s: MB Padfield, 1 p.m.; Alex Anthony Band, 8 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
L Street: live music, 8 p.m.
Sea Ketch: Clint Lapointe, 1 p.m.; Sam Hammerman, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Radio Roulette, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Pete Peterson, 1 p.m.; Chris Fitz Band, 6:30 p.m.
Wally’s: Russ Six, 3 p.m.; Will Evans, 8 p.m.
Whym: Peter Pappas, 6:30 p.m.
Seabrook Chop Shop: live music
Red’s: live music, 8 p.m.
Sunday, July 30
Hampton Bernie’s: Giant Panda Guerilla Dub Squad, 7 p.m.
Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.
The Goat: Justin Jordan, 1 p.m.
L Street: live music
Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle, 1 p.m.; Austin McCarthy, 8:30 p.m.
Sea Shell: Redemption, 7 p.m.
Smuttynose: Lewis Goodwin Duo, 1 p.m.; Roots Rhythm Duo, 5:30 p.m.
Wally’s: MB Padfield, 2 p.m.
Whym: live music, 1 p.m.
Venues
3S Artspace
319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, 766-3330, 3sarts.org
Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom
169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 929-4100, casinoballroom.com
Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club
135 Congress St., Portsmouth, 888-603-JAZZ, jimmysoncongress.com
The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org
The Music Hall Lounge
131 Congress St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org
Press Room
77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 4315186, pressroomnh.com
The Strand 20 Third St., Dover, 343-1899, thestranddover.com
The Word Barn 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, 2440202, thewordbarn.com
Shows
• Dirty Heads Thursday, July 20, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• George Porter Jr. Thursday, July 20, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Watermelon Slim Friday, July 21, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Wildflower Friday, July 21, 7 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Beatlemania Again Friday, July 21, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House
• The Struts Friday, July 21, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Nora Brown Friday, July 21, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Easy Money Friday, July 21, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Matthew Whitaker Saturday, July 22, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• The Garcia Project Saturday, July 22, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House
• Dustbowl Revival Sunday, July 23, 4 p.m. & 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Once an Outlaw Sunday, July 23, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall
• Eliza Neal Sunday, July 23, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Social Distortion Tuesday, July 25, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Nicotine Dolls Wednesday, July 26, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Jose James Thursday, July 27, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Lola Kirke Thursday, July 27, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Kirk Fletcher Band Friday, July 28, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Kendall Street Company Friday, July 28, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Abrielle Scharff Friday, July 28, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Beginnings: A Celebration of the Music of Chicago Friday, July 28, 8 p.m., Rochester
Opera House
• Chad Hollister Trio Friday, July 28, 8 p.m., Music Hall
Lounge
• The Fab Four Ultimate Trib-
ute Friday, July 28, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Goldenoak/The Wolff Sisters
Saturday, July 29, 6 p.m., Stone Church
• Rock My Soul Saturday, July
29, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• The Jerritones & Friends
Saturday, July 29, 7 p.m., The Strand
• Draw The Line: An Aerosmith Tribute Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House
• Dark Desert Eagles (Eagles tribute) Saturday, July 29, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Herb Alpert & Lani Hall
Sunday, July 30, 7 p.m., Music Hall
• Delfeayo Marsalis & the Uptown Jazz Orchestra Sunday, July 30, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Rainbow Girls Tuesday, Aug. 1, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Gabe Stillman Wednesday, Aug. 2, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• The Beach Boys Wednesday, Aug. 2, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Darlingside Thursday, Aug. 3, 5 & 8 p.m., Word Barn
• Walk That Walk Thursday, Aug. 3, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Lucy Kaplansky Friday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Kimayo Friday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m.,
3S Artspace
• Marc McElroy/Seth Warner & the Seldom Playwrights Present Everybody Knows This Is Nowhere Friday, Aug. 4, 7 p.m., Press Room
• Blues Beatles Friday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Erick Baker Friday, Aug. 4, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Catherine Russell Saturday, Aug. 5, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Todd Hearon & Old Hat Stringband Saturday, Aug. 5, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Joe Russo’s Almost Dead Saturday, Aug. 5, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• The Huntertones Sunday, Aug. 6, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Scotty McCreery Sunday, Aug. 6, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Margo Price Monday, Aug. 7, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall
• Ryan Adams & The Cardinals Tuesday, Aug. 8, and Wednesday, Aug. 9, 8 p.m., Music Hall
• Marcus King Tuesday, Aug. 8, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Melissa Etheridge Wednesday, Aug. 9, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Disq/Graham Hunt Wednesday, Aug. 9, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Legion of Skanks Thursday, Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m., Casino Ballroom
• Cindy Blackman Santana Thursday, Aug. 10, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
Venues
Casino Ballroom
169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 929-4100, casinoballroom.com
The Community Oven 845 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-6311, thecommunityoven. com
The Music Hall Lounge 131 Congress St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org
Press Room
77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 4315186, pressroomnh.com
Rochester Opera House
31 Wakefield St., Rochester, 335-1992, rochesteroperahouse. com
Stone Church 5 Granite St., Newmarket, 6597700, stonechurchrocks.com
Events
• Kathleen Madigan Casino Ballroom, Saturday, July 22, 8 p.m.
• Gabe Mollica Music Hall Lounge, Saturday, July 22, 8:30 p.m.
• Robert Kelly Music Hall Lounge, Thursday, July 27, 8:30 p.m.
• Jimmy Tingle Music Hall Lounge, Saturday, July 29, 6 & 8:30 p.m.
• Tom Papa Casino Ballroom, Friday, Aug. 4, 7:30 p.m.
• Cindy Foster Press Room, Saturday, Aug. 5, 7 p.m.
• Hampton Beach Comedy Festival from Scamps Comedy Production McGuirk’s, Wednesday, Aug. 16, through Sunday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m.
• Jen Kober Music Hall
Lounge, Sunday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m.
• Pinky Patel Music Hall, Thursday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m.
• Bassem Youssef Music Hall Lounge Friday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m., and 9 p.m.
• Michael Carbonaro Music Hall Lounge, Friday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.
• Howie Mandel Music Hall, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.
Rated 92.5 in Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible - Taconic Distillery’s Barrel Strength Straight Bourbon has a beautiful bouquet of spice and honey with gentle notes of vanilla coming out to provide for a smooth finish. Aged a minimum of 5 years at 115 proof.
On Sale for $57.99
Come visit our historic properties filled with a wide variety of antiques, art, and collectibles. Our eclectic shops feature over 100 dealers offering buyers a true shopping destination.
Item 7771
This exceptionally smooth whiskey has wonderful notes of vanilla, oak and honey, creating a crisp yet sweet nose. Sweet and crisp floral fragrances with notes of vanilla and oak. Hint of honey, warm vanilla and spicy oak with an exceptionally 100% single malt smooth finish.
On Sale for $19.99
- Since 1975106 Lafayette Road Hampton Falls, NH 03844 • (603) 601-2554
Dealers welcome • Tax Free NH
• (603) 772-6205
The Brickhouse - Opening April 2023 -
Lafayette Road Hampton Falls, NH 03844 603-926-0366 Open Fri & Sat 11am-4pm
With our Walnut Toffee Whiskey and its layers of caramel, vanilla, and honey plus bitter notes of nutty walnut, other whiskeys can only dream of tasting so sweet. It all makes for the perfect drink to sip while winding down after a long week or kicking off a great night with your crew.
On Sale for $21.99
Walrus Blood Rye Whiskey
Item 2697
Walrus Blood is an American Rye Whiskey uniquely bottled with a pair of Hungarian oak cubes which have been charred and then soaked in port wine for six months. In the bottle, the charcoal and wine from the cubes imparts flavor, darkening, and complexity to the whiskey.
On Sale for $37.99
Great whiskey enjoyed with great friends is the best recipe for connection. By giving our Straight Rye Whiskey a second dose of new, charred, oak barrel, we allow for a genuine connection between cask and whiskey—and between you and your crew.
On Sale for $29.99
Unaged and clean with intense aromas of fresh agave. Vibrant with lemon peel, black pepper, and minerals. Smooth as silk, with a slight sweet kick on a lengthy finish, which is so easy it’s criminal.
“96 Points” Tasting Panel Magazine. On Sale for $46.99
Distilled and bottled in Columbia, Tennessee. Finished in New American Oak barrels for a minimum of 4 years using a No. 4 Char inside the barrels. Mash Bill 80% of locally grown No 2 Dent Corn, 10% Rye, 10% Malted Barley.
On Sale for $27.99
A tequila with character and tradition which reminds us of its origin, capturing a robust flavor of slightly toasted oak and fresh agave.
On Sale for $47.99
Dear Car Talk:
I just purchased a new Hyundai Ioniq 5 electric car and love it. I use the highest level of regenerative braking, so the car slows down quite a bit every time I lift my foot off the accelerator, and I rarely have to use the brake pedal. My question is: when this happens, I don’t think the brake lights go on. So, the drivers behind me can’t tell if I’m slowing down. Seems like it is dangerous. What do you think? – August
By Ray Magliozzi
Actually, your brake lights probably are coming on. All electric vehicles have a technology called regenerative braking. Traditional cars use friction to reduce speed. A couple of metallic pads squeeze a metal rotor attached to each wheel, and as the car stops, that creates heat and dust, neither of which is terribly useful. EVs, on the other hand, use the motion of the wheels to make electricity. When you first step on the brake pedal, the wheels power a motor/generator that makes electricity and sends it back into your battery. And because it takes effort to turn that generator, that slows the wheels. If you need more stopping power than the generator can pro-
vide, the traditional friction brakes take over, and it’s all managed by computer. But what about the brake lights, you ask? Well, the Department of Transportation sets standards for when brake lights must come on. And it has to do with the rate of the car’s deceleration. So, your Hyundai has an accelerometer that measures deceleration in meters per seconds squared. And before the car’s deceleration rate hits the DOT limit, it turns on your brake lights -- whether you touch the brake pedal or not. The same type of device, by the way, is often used in airbag deployment. If deceleration occurs almost instantly, the computer knows you’ve hit something, and you’re saying hello to your airbag.
If you want to confirm that your accelerometer works, have a friend follow behind you and get him on phone. Then try using the regenerative braking at different settings, and ask him to let you know when he sees your brake lights come on. If he doesn’t see them and rear-ends you, you already know him so you won’t have to exchange information.
Dear Car Talk:
I bought a used car and had it for one day. I noticed that the steering wheel was shaking when I stepped on the brake, so I took it to a
Mavis Tire shop. They looked over the car and suggested I have a wheel realignment. And as a separate issue, they said I needed an oil change. Since I just bought the car and didn’t know when it last had an oil change, I agreed. Well, they took the oil out of my car but did not put any oil back. I started to hear the engine grind, and I parked it after 10 blocks. What should I ask for from Mavis? So far, they have offered me nothing. I’ve written up a 10-page report on the matter, but all they say is to bring it back and that they’ll look at it. – Daniel
They might owe you an engine. Normally, driving 10 blocks without oil isn’t enough to ruin an engine. But normally, an engine in good working order isn’t “grinding” after 10 blocks either. Any shop can screw up. That’s precisely why shops carry “moron insurance.” This shop may have to make a claim to pay for their error.
Start by finding another mechanic you trust. If you can’t get a good recommendation from family or friends, go to mechanicsfiles. com and search there. Then tell your own mechanic what happened and ask him to assess the engine for damage. He’ll check the oil pressure and listen to the engine. If you’ve dinged up your engine bearings due to the lack of oil, he may be able to hear that.
If your mechanic finds any signs of damage related to a lack of oil, have him write it up. He might say, for instance, that he examined the car, that normal oil pressure on this car should be 60-80 psi, and he measured yours at 40. And if he hears bearing noises, he’ll state that, too. Then have him include an estimate for repairing or, if necessary, replacing the engine.
And that’s what Mavis will owe you. If they won’t agree, that’s what small claims court is for. Bring your receipts, your 10-page report and the evidence of damage from the third-party mechanic, and you should win.
And I certainly wouldn’t trust the same Mavis shop to evaluate the engine for you. Not only do they have a vested interest in saying “ah, don’t worry about it,” but they’ve already shown signs of pretty serious incompetence.
It’s not just forgetting to refill the oil. They missed your steering wheel issue, too. When a steering wheel shakes during braking, it’s most likely due to warped brake rotors or possibly a worn-out suspension component, like a tie rod end. A wheel alignment won’t fix that -- as you probably figured out when you pulled over after 10 blocks. Visit Cartalk.com.
All quotes are from I Don’t Know What You Know Me From: Confessions of a Co-Star, by Judy Greer, born July 20, 1975.
Cancer (June 21 – July 22) When I was starting out, I was hoping for exciting and exotic locales like London, the Maldives, or at least Miami. Well, my first on-location movie was shot in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Kenosha is more exciting than you think.
Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22) It’s hard to be an actress for several reasons, but one is that it’s really hard to be constantly scrutinized for things that are not under your control. Really hard.
Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) As it turns out, I don’t kill it at the Oscars. So many embarrassing things happened in the course of an hour I almost don’t know where to start. Start anywhere.
Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) … I loved how much crap I could fit in the back of my Charger. Less crap, more fit.
Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) But telling me I am much prettier in person, and why do they make me look so ugly in movies, is not really a compliment. You could stop after ‘you look so pretty in person.’ Know when to stop.
Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) Luckily, I never got asked to leave acting school, and I never transferred. I just stayed. Maybe I was lazy, but I was having fun. Have fun.
Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) I didn’t think much of it at the time, because it was just what we did, but as I look back, hanging
out with my family on farms in Small Town, U.S.A., was awesome. Summers were the best. Aren’t they?!
Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) … but if it wasn’t for my first frenemy telling me I couldn’t hack it, I wouldn’t be where I am today, sitting in bed writing a book about myself. You never forget your first frenemy.
Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) I really believe waiting tables, and service industry jobs in general, make you a better person. So does yard work.
Aries (March 21 – April 19) I was a freshman in college and was working at Express in a strip mall near campus. … I had been banned from working the floor for telling customers the truth about how the clothes looked on them and had been relegated to the stockroom…. Should’ve been named MVP.
Taurus (April 20 – May 20) Dean had told me that no one really took the [Little League] games that seriously, it didn’t matter who won or lost, it was all about the kids having fun, getting out in the sunshine, and getting some exercise. Liar. Lucas’s team lost, and all the kids were crying, and the coach of the opposing team … was prancing around the baseball diamond cheering and screaming. Get some exercise, and be a good example.
Gemini (May 21 – June 20) The muffins were our secret weapon at Olga’s Kitchen because they could be used to bribe unhappy customers into submission. What you want is a good muffin recipe.
In 1973, Nissim Kahlon was living in a tent on a beach north of Tel Aviv, Israel, the Associated Press reported. He started scratching into a sandstone cliff wall along the beach, and eventually excavated a cave and moved in. Fifty years later, his created home is a sandcastle, with multiple floors, staircases, detailed mosaic floors and plumbing. But now Israel’s Environmental Protection Ministry is moving to evict Kahlon, saying the structure is illegal and threatens the coastline. He said he first got a demolition order in 1974, but since then the government has left him alone, even connecting his home to the electrical grid. “I am not leaving here,” Kahlon, 77, said. “I am ready for them to bury me here. I have no other home.”
French President Emmanuel Macron now has the singular distinction of being the first French head of state to receive a body part in the mail, the Evening Standard reported. On July 10, a severed finger belonging to a “living human being” arrived at the Elysee Palace, where it was “initially put in a fridge where the police put their snacks,” a source said. “This was to make sure it was preserved and could be
analyzed as quickly as possible.” The former owner of the digit was identified and given “full medical support,” but it was unclear what the meaning behind the delivery was.
The Toronto Zoo has a favor to ask of visitors to Nassir the gorilla: Please don’t show him photos or videos on your phone. Like any other 24-year-old primate, Nassir is “fascinated by videos, and screen time would dominate his life if he had it his way,” according to the zoo’s website. The Toronto Star reported that Maria Franke, director of wildlife conservation and welfare, is noticing the effect of visitors sharing their content. “It was causing him to be distracted and not interacting with the other gorillas ... He was just so enthralled with gadgets and phones and the videos.” A sign now warns visitors: “Some content can be upsetting and affect their relationships and behavior within their family.” Phones down, humans.
An 8-year-old boy faces multiple charges, including first-degree robbery, after he carjacked a vehicle at gunpoint on July 11 in Montgomery, Alabama, WSFA-
TV reported. Officers tried to stop the car, but the little driver wouldn’t stop and later crashed into another car. A witness, “Snake” Knapp, said he saw the kid pick up two adults along the way. “I think parents just really need to know where their kids are, what their kids are doing,” Knapp mused.
Doctors at the Wright-Patterson Medical Center near Dayton, Ohio, presented a case in the New England Journal of Medicine on July 6 that detailed a man whom they diagnosed with “hairy tongue.” Gizmodo reported that the 64-year-old consulted with doctors when he developed a green, fuzzy layer on his tongue. He was prescribed antifungals, but they didn’t help. Hairy tongue occurs when keratin causes a buildup of papillae, the tiny projections on the tongue. The man was directed to scrub his tongue with a toothbrush four times a day and stop smoking, and the green fuzz disappeared.
— People living in the Travis Heights neighborhood of Austin, Texas, are thinking twice about venturing outdoors — and it’s not because of the heat. A red-shoul-
dered hawk is terrorizing pedestrians — to the point that U.S. mail delivery has been suspended in the area indefinitely, KTBCTV reported. “Imagine walking out of your house and knowing that you’re going to get punched in the back of the head by an animal with large talons,” said Alfred Del Barrio. He said he avoided the hawk on a run because he saw its shadow. Nicole Netherton of the Travis Audubon Society said the hawk is protecting its young. “Trying to ignore them so that they can get their business and breeding done is probably the best advice,” she said. State and federal laws protect migratory birds. Meanwhile, residents are asked to pick up their mail at a local post office until further notice.
— A wedding at Maison Albion in Albion, New York, recently sported an unexpected extra member of the wedding party, People reported. J, a llama, was hired to be a surprise groomsman by the bride’s mother, who knew her daughter wants to own a llama farm one day. Llama Adventures provided J and outfitted him in a tux that made him look as if he was wearing white gloves and standing on two legs, and he gamely stood with the other groomsmen as the nuptials took place. “The bride was absolutely delighted,” said photographer Cathy Craft, “and the guests thoroughly enjoyed it.”
Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Answers will appear in next week’s paper.
Across
1. Go halfsies on
6. Host Convy or Parks
10. College grad
14. Novelist Ferrante
15. St. George’s setting
16. Facility
17. University with a focus on adven-
turous journeys?
19. Actor Reynolds
20. Turmoil
21. Longest river within Spain
23. “___ Along” (Pet Shop Boys song)
24. Roswell visitors(?), for short
27. Abate
31. First name in TV “neighborinos”
32. “The King of Queens” actress Remini
33. Start of a Steinbeck title
34. Potential brand name for a cleaning polish for reflective surfaces?
36. Philosopher with a “razor”
39. “I ___ you one!”
40. One of the Three Musketeers
41. Planned undertaking to visit the coast?
44. Large moon of Jupiter
45. “___ that special?”
46. “Exit full-screen mode” key
49. Unleash, as a tirade
50. Serene type of garden
51. Muppet who hosted the “Not-TooLate Show”
52. Sunset direction
54. Turmoil 56. Nil
59. Nuts about a particular disco dance?
62. Love, in a telenovela 63. Voting against 64. Part of a “Supermarket Sweep” route
65. Hockey projectile
66. Routes
67. Fold and press
1. Costume sparkler
2. Deep dive
3. Looked rudely
4. Map adjunct
5. Body art
6. “Close ___ no cigar”
7. Airport stat
8. Cost per minute, say
9. Amorphous movie villain
10. “Dream On” rock group
11. Put down, as tile or carpet
12. Olympics chant that’s often parodied
13. “The ___ Who Stare at Goats” (2009 movie)
18. Take the helm
22. Bend with a prism
25. Deck with wands
26. Entertainment realm
28. “OK, whatever” sound
29. “OK, whatever” sound in response, maybe?
30. Shrimpboat gear
32. Key dessert
34. “La Mer” for Debussy, for example
35. Joaquin’s “Walk the Line” costar
36. European GM affiliate
37. Motley ___ (Tommy Lee’s former band)
38. Actor Bud of “Harold and Maude”
42. Kate who married Spielberg 43. Cancel out 46. Plaza Hotel girl
47. It’s almost always used to spell “and”
48. Like old phones, retronymically 51. Rommel of WWII history
Subway option
Mountain range feature
Bolt from the blue
Adelaide biggie 58. “1001 Nights” creature
Porcine home 61. 1999 Frank McCourt book
© 2023 Matt Jones
