Tidewater Times January 2023

Tidewater

“Misty Point” - With huge sunset views across Eastern Bay, this stylishly-updated property is the perfect retreat! The main house with three en-suite bedrooms overlooks a large waterside deck, pool and screened pool house. A wisteria-covered pergola leads to the 1920’s twobedroom guest house with wrap-around porch at the water’s edge. The one-bedroom carriage house completes the compound. Great elevation, substantial dock and rip rap, newer septic. Just listed. $2,750,000

Tom Crouch: 410-310-8916 Debra Crouch: 410-924-0771 tcrouch@bensonandmangold.com dcrouch@bensonandmangold.com

KITCHEN BATH DESIGN CENTER

Published Monthly

Vol. 71, No. 8 January 2023

Features:

About the Cover Photographer: Cindy Ewing Steedman . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Revenge! : Helen Chappell . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9

The Great Lakes, of Glacier Born: Bonna L. Nelson . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29

Darry Hill - Creating Opportunities in D.C. - Part II: Michael Valliant . . . . . . . . 45

Save Lives as a Living Organ Donor: Tracey F. Johns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Tidewater Kitchen - Mushrooms: Pamela Meredith . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69

Tidewater Gardening: K. Marc Teffeau . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81

Role Models: A.M. Foley . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97

When Life Hands You Lemons - Part II: Dan Hoyt. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111

American Musicals and their Jewish Legacy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 133

Changes - Coming Again - A Work Progress: Roger Vaughan . . . . . . . . . . 143

Departments:

January Tide Table . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43

Easton Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57

Dorchester Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79

St. Michaels Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95

Oxford Map and History . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101

Kent County and Chestertown at a Glance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137

Caroline County ~ A Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139

Queen Anne's County . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141

Anne B. Farwell & John D. Farwell, Co-Publishers

Editor: Jodie Littleton

Proofing: Kippy Requardt

Deliveries: Nancy Smith & Brandon Coleman P. O. Box 1141, Easton, Maryland 21601 410-714-9389

www.tidewatertimes.com info@tidewatertimes.com

Tidewater Times is published monthly by Bailey-Farwell, LLC. Advertising rates upon request. Subscription price is $35 per year. Individual copies are $4. Contents of this publication may not be reproduced in part or whole without prior approval of the publisher. Printed by Delmarva Printing, Inc. The publisher does not assume any liability for errors and/or omissions.

About the Cover Photographer Cindy Ewing Steedman

A Talbot County native, Cindy currently lives in the Cordova area in a house of her own design. Her home is surrounded by a large, flower-filled yard and enclosed on three sides by woods. It is the source of many of her favorite photos, including the wintry scene on the cover.

Cindy grew up on a dairy/grain farm, where her parents instilled in her a love of nature and animals. She has been an amateur photographer since she purchased her first camera after graduating from high school.

Cindy is enjoying retirement after 42 years employed as a registered nurse, primarily in the emergency room. When she wasn’t working, she found relaxation in gardening, beachcombing, hiking and nature photography. Being outdoors was, and still is a great stress relief for her. Cindy finds herself most at peace when she can enjoy the beauty and serenity of nature.

Wildlife, landscapes, and local scenes are her favorite photography subjects. Cindy always has her camera with her, frequently stopping to photograph whatever catches her eye. Living on the Eastern Shore, shefinds numerous opportunities to capture nature at its best. Some of her favorite shots include a lone blue heron, a majestic bald eagle sitting in a tree or an early-morning sunrise view.

Cindy is the winner of several first place awards in photography from the Talbot County Fair, including a “Special Award” in 2007 for a photo of a monarch butterfly. Her photos have been published in Shore Monthly magazine and “Cordova As We Remember” periodical, as well as on Cooperative Living magazine’s Facebook page.

Revenge!

by Helen Chappell

“The karma bus is slow,” my wise friend Annemarie says. “But it makes a lot of stops.”

It’s only human to want to get back at someone or someones who have done us wrong. And barely a week passes without some bit of nastiness happening. It can be a fleabite of rudeness ~ someone horning into a line in front of you ~ or monumentally awful ~ some madman dictator trying to smash your country and slaughtering millions of people ~ but the wrongs are out there.

And it’s a natural response to want to get back at whoever did you dirty.

Revenge is a dish best served cold.

It takes a lot of strength and a lot of patience to wait for that karma bus, and not all of us are intelligent, patient or conniving enough to wait. So, we do stupid things.

It’s unfortunate that we live in an age where dueling is outlawed. Slapping your smarmy frenemy with a glove and telling them to meet you at dawn in Hoboken with pistols sounds like a satisfactory way to avenge your honor. (If I told you my theory on why Burr challenged Hamilton, it would make you blush even in this day and age.)

Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord: I will repay.

Come on, God. With all due respect, we haven’t got all day here. Bill Billionaire embezzled all the money from the employee pension fund and absconded to Brazil, with whom we have no extradition treaty. While some of us can be reasonably sure there’s a warm chair in the Hitler Memorial Stadium skybox for him, that doesn’t refund our life’s savings. Plots like the one we’re hatching for him are the stuff Netflix scripts are crafted from.

As a kid, I was fulminating against some bit of bullying in school. My aunt, who partially

raised me, listened and advised me not to think about trying to get even. “Just you wait,” she advised me. “They’ll hang themselves on their own rope, and all you’ll have to do is watch them dangle slowly, slowly in the wind.”

As time has passed ~ lots of time ~ all the things she told me, things I thought were dated and small town and provincial, have turned out to have a great deal of truth to them. That my bullies were gym girls who got in trouble over the rope climbing just adds to her prescience. I swore I’d get out of that school and accomplish something in the real world. I guess I did. The best revenge is massive success.

Remember Princess Diana’s revenge dress? It was black velvet, sexy, lowcut and off the shoulder with a raised hem. And she looked ravishing in it as she swept out of the limo in the light of a thousand popping flashbulbs.

It was around the time that Chuck had announced he wanted to be reunited with Camilla. It was a royally messy royal marriage. Usually, the old husband dumps the old wife for the hot young number. Much to most people’s surprise, the old husband was dumping the hot young thing for the frowsy old mistress. There’s a good reason King Chuck is known in some circles as

Men

Revenge!

“Fog.” He is thick and wet.

But in that dress and in that moment, Diana had her revenge. She’d never looked hotter or more beautiful, and even after her tragic death, she’s still won that war.

Living well is the best revenge.

Of course, if the enemy kills your father and your brother and holds you hostage for years and years, your natural desire is to get even.

Take, for example, Vlad Tepes, AKA Dracul, “Little Dragon,” who somehow escaped his country’s enemy, the Turkish Empire, to rule Walachia, a territory in what is now Romania. Dracula, as he came to be known to us, took his revenge in ways so horrible I don’t want to type them. Be it publicity or truth, he was said to impale his enemies on stakes so he could watch them die slow, horrible deaths. He was immortalized ~ or, rather, the novelist Bram Stoker immortalized him ~ as a vampire. So, he achieved a kind of immortality that, if legend were true, he might have enjoyed.

The point of revenge is not in the completion but in the process.

One gets the feeling that Dracula would not be a lot of fun at parties.

Lest you think I’ve wandered too far off the marshy track, let me

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NESTLED IN THE HEART of the waterfront village of Wittman, convenient to both St. Michaels and Tilghman Island. With over 2500+/- sq. ft. of living space, all of the rooms are spacious and flow together seamlessly. Large living room and dining room, kitchen and great room. Recent improvements include new kitchen with granite counters and fresh paint in many rooms. 3 BRs, 2 full baths, large pantry, abundant storage throughout. $305,000

Revenge!

remind you that a lot of us have Eastern Shore Alzheimer’s. Anyone who came here from away and underestimates our ability to forget anything but a grudge is in for it.

I personally know of several grudges that go back generations. Maybe so far back no one quite remembers what the original quarrel was about, but the vessel of wrath in which the anger, resentment and envy are stored is alive, housed in a velvet case, taken out every once in a while and polished to a fine sheen. And some foolish petty action is taken.

If revenge motivates you, go for it! But the main thing is to set your game in order.

When I was growing up, I often

heard this story bandied about by the farmers and watermen who spent their evenings hanging around John Lewis’s store in Hudson. If I was quiet and invisible, I heard and saw quite a lot, and this is one of the stories of revenge I heard.

There were two brothers who were always competing with each other. Apparently, the older brother always did slightly better than the younger. Had a better house, a bigger boat, married the girl they both liked, had a bigger catch, you name it.

Now, from what I could gather, the younger brother was a shade lazier and, like a lot of losers, was prone to blame everyone else for his failings. We all know someone like that.

So, it came about one summer

Revenge!

that the older brother would find, from time to time, the live box he’d been keeping filled overboard next to his boat would be empty when he came to work in the morning. Not so much as a peeler left in there. At first, he thought maybe he wasn’t fastening it correctly and all his crabs were escaping. But after it happened three times, he knew someone was stealing from him.

Now, stealing from someone’s live box is one of the lowest crimes you can commit on the water. Worst is stealing the whole live box, but that’s hard to do, since everyone knows everyone else’s box.

So, the older brother decided he’d sleep aboard his boat and see who was stealing from him. He really thought it was a couple of bad teenagers, and he meant to give them hell and let their parents deal with it, because that was going to be worse than anything he could do.

So, in the middle of the night, he hears someone fooling with the box next to his boat, and he pulls out his shotgun, meaning to scare the kids.

Only it’s not the kids. It’s his younger brother, caught red-handed with two or three bushels of crabs.

The way I heard it, there wasn’t a jury in the county that would convict a man for shooting someone in

the dark for stealing from his live box.

But big brother had a better idea.

The way I heard it, the whole waterfront was in stitches that morning when they came to work in the dark and found the little brother all locked up in the live box.

I heard the little brother moved to West Virginia after that, because he’d never live down his crime around here. We moved after that, and I went away college. I know I never saw him again. But many years later, in literature class, I learned the definition of the word schadenfreude, which is possibly the best form of revenge.

Helen Chappell is the creator of the Sam and Hollis mystery series and the Oysterback stories, as well as The Chesapeake Book of the Dead . Under her pen names, Rebecca Baldwin and Caroline Brooks, she has published a number of historical novels.

Don’t mess with Big Jimmy!

The Great Lakes, Of Glaciers Born by

Bonna L. Nelson

A normal lake is knowable. A Great Lake can hold all the mysteries of an ocean, and then some.

~

Dan Egan, author

of The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

The majestic 450-foot-high sand dune crest that overlooks Lake Michigan at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (SBDNL) was our introduction to the beauty, magnificence and power of the Great Lakes. After a quick one-hour flight from Baltimore to Detroit, we picked up our rental car and drove 4-½ hours diagonally across Michigan to the lake’s northeast coast. Our destination was the town of

Empire for a stop at the Philip A. Hart Visitor Center for SBDNL, a United States National Park Service (NPS) facility and site. Unfamiliar with the term “National Lakeshore,”

I learned from the NPS rangers that it is “any of a number of coastal areas reserved by the federal government for recreational use by the public.” Some of those areas, such as the SBDNL, also have protected wilderness areas and historical sites.

Great Lakes

While crossing the state in sunny 70-degree weather, we passed pancake-flat landscapes as well as rolling hills. We passed fields of soybeans, corn, grapeseed and grazing cattle. We passed “farms” of wind turbines standing like statues on either side of the highway for miles in every direction. We had never seen so many of the towering structures during our frequent travels. We also passed pine and deciduous forests with some streaks of fall leaf color changes peeking through. There were also lakes and ponds here and there dotted with seagulls, ducks and herons.

At the SBDNL Visitor Center, we watched a park video that described how the chain of five Great Lakes and the sand dunes were formed, the various sites in the park, hiking trails, camping, other recreational options and a scenic drive. We learned that the SBDNL preserves 71,000 acres of wilderness, shorelines and properties as well as 100 miles of trails. The center was staffed by several rangers offering advice for visitors, hikers, campers, kayakers, stargazers and climbers. The rangers shared maps and brochures on topics such as the geologic history of the dunes and birding in the area, while the center also offered exhibits, a bookstore and a gift shop.

We reviewed the SBDNL maps and, after getting our bearings, embarked on an adventure along the scenic 7.4-mile Pierce Stocking

Great Lakes also remembered seeing a sign about $3,000 fines for rescues from below the dune. He described the spectacle and climbing cautions this way:

Drive. We stopped at several of its 12 recommended sites, including the most impressive and highly recommended Stop #9. From the parking lot, we climbed the slight hill on the back side of the sand-covered bluff at that stop to the viewing platform at Lake Michigan Overlook. Refreshed from the short hike, we stood silently, amazed by the panoramic view from the 450-foot-high bluff. We saw a shimmering, beautiful and calm Lake Michigan, a narrow sand-and-gravel-covered lakeshore at the bottom of the cliff and all along the lake, as well as other stunning shoreline dunes for as far as the eye could see. The SBDNL encompasses the largest freshwater dune system in the world.

After returning home, I emailed Ranger Marc at the SBDNL to ask some more questions about the Lake Michigan Overlook. I remembered seeing a few young people gingerly climbing down the bluffs and walking on the beach below. I

“The view from the top of the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan at the #9 Overlook on the Pierce Stocking Drive is one the most awe-inspiring views in the park, and it creates a desire to run down the bluff to the beach about 450 feet below. The bluff is very steep and is composed of stones, gravel and sand deposited there by the glaciers.

“Going down the bluff is relatively easy but can be dangerous to people below you, as you can dislodge rocks that roll down the bluff. Also, when you get down to the bottom and look back up (or maybe when you are partway back up the bluff), you may wish you had just looked from the top! The climb back up is very strenuous. Climbing the bluff also causes significant erosion to the bluff. Although going down the bluff is not prohibited, you are encouraged not to do so for your safety and the safety of others below you. Refrain-

Great Lakes

ing

I learned that stranded climbers at the Lake Michigan Overlook shoreline beach are rescued with a variety of methods, including helicopters, boats, ropes and pulleys, thus the rescue fee that the stranded must pay. We observed a few younger visitors giving it a try. Also, a few travelers attempted to take photographs from precarious perches on bluff edges. We all know how that has turned out for others at parks such as the Grand Canyon. One misstep and…. We were content to enjoy the beauty from the overlook platform and took some marvelous photographs from there.

There is a more moderate dune climb a few miles north of the Visitor Center. Appropriately named “Dune Climb,” it rises 284 feet above sparkling Glen Lake near Lake Michigan and comprises loose sand, in contrast to the rock and gravel at the Lake Michigan Overlook. Also

formed by glaciers, its vast hills and plateaus rise above a beach, picnic area and NPS facilities. Rangers recommend this climb only with caution and lots of water. Visitors enjoy climbing up the dune from the beach and then sliding back down.

As I mentioned, the SBDNL on Lake Michigan is a perfect introduction to the Great Lakes and to learn how they were formed by glaciers over two million years ago. We learned this from the park rangers, the SBDNL Visitor Center video and NPS brochures, as well as from the Lonely Planet’s book Great Lakes , the Smithsonian series Great Lakes Untamed and an insightful book, The Living Great Lakes: Searching for the Heart of the Inland Seas by Jerry Dennis, a nature and outdoors writer who lives in Michigan.

When heavy, powerful, mile-thick glaciers advanced from the north, they crept along like bulldozers. They moved rock and soil. The glaciers gouged, carved, deepened and widened existing drainage basins and rivers. Then, around 14,000 years ago, the earth’s temperatures

from climbing the bluff will also ease the erosion that is occurring on the face of the bluff.”

warmed, causing the glaciers to melt. When they retreated, they left behind basins, ridges, glacial kettles (depressions or holes), glacial moraines (material, usually rocks and soil) and other landforms and deposited large areas of clay, sand and gravel, called glacial “till” or “drift.” Thus, the Great Lakes, smaller lakes and wetlands were created from the glacial meltwater fi lling the depressions the glaciers left behind.

We all remember from elementary school science class that there are five Great Lakes: Erie, Huron, Michigan, Ontario and Superior. The lakes are located in the mid-east region of North America, generally on or near the United States–Canada border, and are interconnected, with access

Each new year, we all resolve to do things better than we had the year before. When you assemble your list of resolutions for 2023, along with diet, exercise and getting the sleep you need, make switching to Queenstown Bank a resolution as well.

Eat Better. Get More Sleep. Move to Queenstown Bank. Start a bank account for the kids. Check into a CD, IRA or Money Market Account. 24

We combine the best of traditional customer focused banking with the technological conveniences of online banking and mobile apps so you can monitor your accounts 24/7. We have nine branches across the shore, and pick up the phone if you call.

If you are a current customer, we thank you for your continued business, and if you are looking for a community bank, we welcome you aboard.

Have a happy and prosperous New Year! (410) 827-8881

Great Lakes

to the Atlantic Ocean via the St. Lawrence River. Modern travel and shipping between the lakes are possible on the Great Lakes Waterway. Numerous sources, including Wikipedia and the resources cited above, state that the Great Lakes are the largest group of freshwater lakes on Earth and by total area contain 21% of the world’s surface freshwater and 84% of the surface freshwater in North America. With their surface covering almost 95,000 miles, the five lakes hold approximately 6 quadrillion gallons of freshwater.

On our exploration of Michigan and Wisconsin, we stayed on and walked along the shorelines of Lakes Huron, Michigan and Superior and traveled by ferry on Michigan and

Huron. The lakes are called inland seas because they exhibit features such as high, rolling, ocean-size waves, sustained winds, strong currents, great depths and distant horizons—all of which have contributed to many a shipwreck. Fortunately for us, the lakes were on their best behavior ~ calm and pleasant, like you would hope of a lake ~ for both of our ferry rides.

In his book The Living Great Lakes, Jerry Dennis writes that each lake “is different with its own character and characteristics.” Lake Erie, the next-to-smallest lake, is 9,910 square miles in surface area, with an average depth of 62 feet. Lake Huron is 23,000 square miles, with an average depth of 195 feet. Close in size is Lake Michigan, at 22,300 square miles, but with a greater aver-

Great Lakes

age depth of 279 feet. The smallest is Lake Ontario, with a surface area of 7,340 square miles but a depth of 283 feet. The prize for largest lake goes to Lake Superior. Covering a whopping 31,700 square miles, it also wins the prize for the deepest Great Lake at 483 feet. Lake Superior is also the largest freshwater lake in the world.

For the sake of comparison, the largest estuary in the U.S. is our Chesapeake Bay, with a surface area of 4,479 square miles, smaller than the smallest Great Lake, Ontario.

Back to Lake Michigan and the formation and shape of the sand dunes at Sleeping Bear, I found this tender and touching Native American Anishinaabe legend about how the dunes and two nearby islands were created.

“Once long ago, across the great lake in Wisconsin, there was terrible hunger and many people and animals died. A bear and her two little cubs, desperate for food, left that place to swim the long distance to the other side of the lake.

“After a while the cubs became very tired, and so the bear said: ‘Try hard, the land is not very far.’ But gradually the cubs weakened. Exhausted, one cub sank into the water when they were within sight of land and soon after the other also drowned.”

“The bear’s heart was broken, but

she could do nothing. She waded ashore and climbed the bluff to lie down looking out on the water where her cubs had died. However, both of them surfaced as two little islands (seen today across the lake from the Lake Michigan Outlook and called the North and South Manitou islands). And so, the [sleeping] bear still lies there now ~ looking after her children.”

We continued our exploration, including driving through lush forests of beech and maple with a few glimpses of fall color visible. We visited more dune overlooks with rewarding views of Lake Michigan vistas and drove through a covered bridge and past a lovely rustic red barn.

Every fall, we try to travel to states we have not seen, with the hope of visiting all 50 and maybe seeing some fall leaf color. Michigan and Wisconsin were just beginning to dress in gold, orange, scarlet and

Great Lakes

dunes and the glorious crystal-clear Great Lakes was particularly memorable for us.

It is not surprising that ABC’s Good Morning America viewers chose SBDNL as the “Most Beautiful Place in America” and National Geographic named SBDNL beaches among the “21 Best Beaches in the World.”

More adventure stories about Michigan and Wisconsin, as well as Lakes Superior and Huron, coming soon.

Bonna L. Nelson is a Bay-area writer, columnist, photographer and world traveler. She resides in Easton with her husband, John.

TIDE TABLE

1. Sun. 2. Mon. 3. Tues. 4. Wed. 5. Thurs. 6. Fri. 7. Sat. 8. Sun. 9. Mon. 10. Tues. 11. Wed. 12. Thurs. 13. Fri. 14. Sat. 15. Sun. 16. Mon. 17. Tues. 18. Wed. 19. Thurs. 20. Fri. 21. Sat. 22. Sun. 23. Mon. 24. Tues. 25. Wed. 26. Thurs. 27. Fri. 28. Sat. 29. Sun. 30. Mon. 31. Tues.

11:5412:16 1:07 1:56 2:42 3:26 4:08 4:50 5:31 6:15 7:02 7:52 8:46 9:42 10:39 11:3712:27 1:28 2:26 3:22 4:17 5:12 6:09 7:08 8:10 9:15 10:21 11:26 12:27pm

SHARP’S IS. LIGHT: 46 minutes before Oxford

TILGHMAN: Dogwood Harbor same as Oxford

EASTON POINT: 5 minutes after Oxford

CAMBRIDGE: 10 minutes after Oxford

CLAIBORNE: 25 minutes after Oxford

ST. MICHAELS MILES R.: 47 min. after Oxford

WYE LANDING: 1 hr. after Oxford

ANNAPOLIS: 1 hr., 29 min. after Oxford

KENT NARROWS: 1 hr., 29 min. after Oxford

CENTREVILLE LANDING: 2 hrs. after Oxford

OXFORD, MD JANUARY 2023 3 month tides at www.tidewatertimes.com

6:59 8:04 9:01 9:50 10:32 11:09 11:4210:56am 11:38am 12:21 1:09 2:06 3:17 4:40 6:04 7:18 8:20 9:14 10:03 10:48 11:3311:46am 12:47 1:52 3:02 4:18 5:34 6:45 7:47 Certified Cummins Dealer

CHESTERTOWN: 3 hrs., 44 min. after Oxford

5:24 6:05 6:45 7:25 8:07 8:49 9:32 10:14 12:14 12:44 1:15 1:46 2:17 2:51 3:26 4:05 4:50 5:42 6:40 7:41 8:43 9:45 10:45 12:16 12:59 1:42 2:24 3:06 3:49 4:34 5:22 HIGH LOW Campbell’s has three locations to serve you in Oxford, MD BACHELOR POINT 410.226.5592 JACK’S POINT 410.226.5105 TOWN CREEK 410.226.0213 Restoration H Repairs Haul-Outs H Slip Rentals Dry Storage H Yacht Sales info@campbellsboatyards.com campbellsboatyards.com

Darryl Hill: Creating Opportunities in Washington, D.C.

Part 2

by Michael Valliant

Football was the opening act for Darryl Hill. At University of Maryland, he did something that hadn’t been done before, becoming the first African-American football player to play Division I college football south of the Mason-Dixon Line. He broke the color barrier. Opportunities for others followed. And that is a theme that carried over into the next phase of Darryl’s life: creating opportunities for the Black community, especially around Washington, D.C.

After playing with Joe Namath and the New York Jets, Darryl realized that football had taken him as far as it was going to, so he looked for what was next. He attended graduate school for urban planning at the University of Southern Illinois, through a correspondence course for business executives. And since he was in New York City, he found a job there working for Continental Can Company.

“Continental Can was making an

honest effort to diversify its upper management ~ they didn’t have any Blacks in top management positions,” Hill said. “They thought this was a time to do it, and I was handpicked to be the first management trainee.”

Darryl learned firsthand what the term “elevator pitch” means.

“Continental Can was in a 40-story building in midtown Manhattan. I got on the elevator, and the president of the company was standing there and his office was on the top floor,” Hill said. “He knew who I was and he said, ‘You’ve got the real elevator pitch ~ ride with me up to the 40th floor and tell me everything you can tell me about yourself.’ After that, he gave me an

Darryl Hill - Part II

open-door invitation and said to come talk to him anytime.”

Worried his ambition and opportunities were frowned on by other management employees, Darryl talked to his supervisor, who told him, “It’s easier for me to pull you down off the ceiling than to pick you up off the floor.” That fit well with Darryl’s aptitude for breaking through ceilings.

After Continental Can, he came back to his home city of Washington. The Interracial Council for Business Opportunities (ICBO) ~ one of the early groups working on minority business development ~ made him its deputy director.

Darryl’s next job was being named first executive director of the Anacostia Economic Development Corporation (AEDC).

“Anacostia was a very poor, economically depressed area in Washington, and the objective of the group was to develop minority businesses in the community,” he said.

One of the people on the AEDC board of directors was Katherine Graham, who owned The Washington Post . She took a special interest in Darryl and the work he was doing and helped connect him with some inspiring people.

Darryl remembers the day he found Constantinos Doxiadis in his office.

“In order to create a better architecture- that is, a better habitatwe have to assist in the creation of a better way of living.”

~ Constantinos Apostolou Doxiadis

“He was the Frank Lloyd Wright of urban planning, one of the world’s most renowned urban planners,” he said. “He became interested in the American ghetto ~ they sent him to the Smithsonian, who sent him to the Anacostia Museum, who sent him to me. We spent a few days together surveying the Anacostia community, and he said we have to come up with a city plan that doesn’t let this happen again.”

Doxiadis invited Darryl to the Delos Symposium, a forum for discussion with some of the world’s leading minds for the study of human settlements. They came together in Greece on the Aegean Sea

Darryl Hill - Part

for 10 days each year. Presenters included Buckminster Fuller, Margaret Mead, Marshall McLuhan, Arnold Toynbee and Jonas Salk. Darryl was asked to be a lecturer. Katherine Graham paid for the trip.

While at the symposium, he spent the most time with Salk and his wife and with Margaret Mead, who had put out a book on anthropology and race with James Baldwin titled A Rap on Race .

Darryl came back inspired and started helping build businesses throughout Anacostia, working with landlords, tenants and startups to help create jobs and make an impact.

During that time, the Greater Washington Board of Trade and the Chamber of Commerce formed an organization to promote minority business development. They ap-

Darryl Hill - Part II

pointed Darryl the first executive director of the new organization, which he named The Greater Washington Business Center (GWBC).

“A great deal of the discrimination I saw was economic. And the emphasis for trying to fix this problem was jobs,” Hill said. “But jobs weren’t the only factor ~ business ownership was key to creating opportunities, and there weren’t enough minority-owned businesses. I could see that if you’ve got a healthy minority business community, everybody is happy and we’re all working together.”

In the 10 years (from the late 1960s) he was at GWBS, Darryl helped open or fund more than 2,500 new businesses in Washington, D.C. Under President Richard Nixon, he and GWBS worked with the government to ensure government contractors would buy from minority vendors. They formed a group called the National Minority Purchasing Council, which is still around today as the National Minority Supply and Diversity Council. Darryl helped start that organization, and Nixon appointed him as its first co-chair.

Darryl also helped write the rules for section 8(a) of the small business investment act, which ensured equitable access to federal contracting opportunities.

Creating opportunities for mi-

nority-owned businesses became Darryl’s mode of operations. And then he decided to start his own business. In the late 1970s, he noticed that he couldn’t find a single Black-owned fine dining establishment anywhere he looked, in any city. He wanted to change that.

Darryl Hill - Part II

one of their best and most frequent patrons, former U.S. Senator Barry Goldwater, coming to dinner.

People Magazine did a feature article with photographs and it was Darryl and Senator Goldwater on the cover.

Darryl with Barry Goldwater

“I wanted to open a Black-owned restaurant that was fine dining, that served ~ and I don’t like the term ‘soul food’ ~ that served Southern cuisine. A friend let me know they were shutting down the flagship location for Emerson’s Limited restaurant in southwest D.C., and we turned it into W.H. Bone and Company, opened in 1977. Our mantra was ‘chitlins on china.’”

W.H. Bone was a two-level facility that boasted a dining room on a mezzanine level and a main floor with a lounge, a full-time jazz combo that played every night and a bar where you could dine or drink. The waiters wore tuxedos.

It became the place to be and to be seen in D.C., with everyone from Muhammad Ali and Don King to

“Barry Goldwater had a table that overlooked the main floor, right at the railing. He paid me for that table whether he came or not ~ every Thursday night, I was to block that table for him. He would come or he would send people, including one time the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Barry would go and hang out with everyone in the kitchen, and there is a picture of him and the chef holding a big catfish. He would go in my office and make phone calls. And he drank bourbon and branch water and asked me to keep a case of branch water there for him.”

There came a point where W.H. Bone was more fun for Darryl than it was profitable. He knew he needed to look for his next business opportunity ~ one that would take him to Russia, as it turned out.

But another experience in D.C. would prove to connect to Darryl’s adventures in Russia.

It was March 9, 1977.

“I was sitting in City Hall in the City Council chambers in the Wilson Building in downtown D.C. I was sitting in a chair just outside the door to where the City Council was in session,” Darryl said. “I hear this loud noise in the hallway. I didn’t know

Barry after being shot.

what it was, and (then-Councilman) Marion Barry stumbles into the City Council chambers and sits in my lap, and he says, ‘Darryl, I’ve been shot.’ I thought he was kidding, and he takes his hand away and he has a hole in his chest.”

It was the day a group of Hanafi Muslim terrorists took over City Hall, taking 150 people hostage, killing two people and nearly killing Barry, wounding him just above the heart. Barry had been walking down the main corridor of the fifth floor when he ran toward a commotion and was shot.

Police and other first responders were pinned down in a stairwell and couldn’t get to Hill and Barry.

“Outside, the fire department

tried to send a cherry picker up for Marion, but it wouldn’t reach,” Darryl said. “So I ended up having to carry Marion across the hall through gunfire and put him on the gurney. I might have saved Marion’s life. He didn’t say anything, but I didn’t expect him to. At least not yet. And I didn’t need him to say anything. That isn’t why I did it.”

Barry had emergency surgery for the wound, and doctors made a statement that he “escaped death by inches.”

Darryl Hill’s time working in Washington, D.C., is characterized by creating opportunities for others in the minority business community. He channeled his life experience breaking barriers on the football field and helped others start businesses in ways the city hadn’t seen before. He worked with people who inspired and helped him, and then he became that figure for other small business owners.

His next chapter is an international adventure, going to Russia and beyond. How does helping save Marion Barry’s life connect? Find out next month.

Michael Valliant is the Assistant for Adult Education and Newcomers Ministry at Christ Church Easton. He has worked for non-profit organizations throughout Talbot County, including the Oxford Community Center, Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum and Academy Art Museum.

Easton Map and History

The County Seat of Talbot County. Established around early religious settlements and a court of law, Historic Downtown Easton is today a centerpiece of fine specialty shops, business and cultural activities, unique restaurants, and architectural fascination. Treelined streets are graced with various period structures and remarkable homes, carefully preserved or restored. Because of its historical significance, historic Easton has earned distinction as the “Colonial Capitol of the Eastern Shore” and was honored as number eight in the book “The 100 Best Small Towns in America.” With a population of over 16,500, Easton offers the best of many worlds including access to large metropolitan areas like Baltimore, Annapolis, Washington, and Wilmington. For a walking tour and more history visit https:// tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/easton-maryland/.

Save Lives as a Living Organ Donor by Tracey F. Johns

This is not Jason Lee’s first rodeo when it comes to seeking a live donor to help save his life. And right now, the clock is ticking to encourage more people to register as living organ donors.

Lee’s first gift of a medical transplant came when he was just seven years old. He was diagnosed at the age of five and beat the odds, facing a survival rate of less than 1 percent from AML leukemia, through a transplant of bone marrow donated by someone who was then a stranger. Now Lee, his family and that donor, Lori Groen of South Milwaukee, Wis., are lifelong friends and consider each other’s families their own.

“Lori originally donated her bone marrow anonymously, with an option to be reached if the transplant patient agreed,” said Lee. “I think it was her way of paying life forward or giving back life in a world where she had no children of her own.”

Lee ~ now aged 42 ~ remains cancer free and is the longest-living unrelated bone marrow transplant recipient with a still-living

Jason Lee with his bone marrow donor, Lori Groen.

donor. The consequences of the strong chemotherapy he received in preparation for the transplant 33 years ago, however, continue to wreak havoc on his continued health.

The chemotherapy that helped save Lee from AML leukemia also wiped out his growth hormones

Living Organ Donor

and left lingering effects on his heart, blood cells and kidneys.

Now, Jason Lee needs a new kidney.

After three years of declining kidney function, he now requires dialysis twice weekly and qualifies to be on the national organ transplant list. He is one of 92,000 people in the United States waiting for a kidney and one of 106,000 on the national transplant waiting list, according to the United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS).

Many local folks know Lee for his thriving residential and commercial computer business that’s been operating in Easton, Md., for more than 23 years. Jason’s Computer Services has a dedicated cadre of specialists on its team, including mom Holley Lee, the friendly voice and face greeting clients coming in to purchase or upgrade a computer or to have a bug fixed in one.

Lee says he doesn’t remember much about his young life when his

family moved from Easton to Wisconsin for his treatments and the following three years mostly spent in and out of Children’s Wisconsin ~ a bone marrow transplant pioneer ~ and the Ronald McDonald House in Milwaukee.

“It’s like a bad dream,” he says. “I think I’ve blocked out most of my memories from the whole experience.”

When I’m introduced to Lee’s mother later, I share his comment with her and say as I put my arm around her, “I bet you remember everything.” She slowly nods, and you can see in her widened eyes the faint remembrance of pain the experience brought the entire family.

“Now, here we are again,” she quietly says with a palpable pang of angst.

The Need for Living Kidney Donors

A kidney transplant from a living donor generally provides better outcomes for the recipient and is vital in reducing the time patients spend on organ transplant waitlists. That’s because living organ

Living Organ Donor

donation offers the opportunity for pre-screening to find the healthiest, best functioning organs, with organs immediately transplanted in a planned setting to preserve functionality.

Every day of waiting also means more opportunities for the recipient’s health to decline. As more people register as living organ donors, the waiting time can be lessened for those needing a kidney to sustain their lives.

“I’m lucky that I own a business and have a great team to take care

of our customers,” says Lee. “Because if my kidneys continue to decline, I’ll need to be out of the office with more than two days of dialysis. It’s something I worry about. Will dialysis work? Will a donor be found?

“I can’t imagine how hard this journey would be for, say, a single parent with their employment and health insurance on the line,” he adds.

The American Kidney Fund states that most people wait three to five years for a kidney from the national transplant waiting list in the United States.

Jason Lee with his mother Holley and John Sharp.

“This works well when a trans

plant candidate has someone who wants to donate a kidney to them, but tests show the kidney would not be a good medical match,” says Lee. “It’s a win-win for patients and donors.

“Basically, you can donate a kidney on my behalf to someone else, and in return, the system will move me up on the list and link me to another donor.”

The Process of Becoming a Living Donor

I am generally one of the first to raise my hand when asked to help someone out, much like Tidewater Times publishers Anne and John Farwell, who enthusiastically answered Lee’s written request to

Living Organ Donor

help him find a live organ donor and asked me to write this story. They’ve also agreed to share the story with as many people as possible, which is why you may be reading it elsewhere as well.

So, the first thing I did after briefly speaking to Lee on the phone to set up our interview was to register as a live organ donor. Lee’s life depends on it, as do the lives of so many others in need of an organ transplant. And maybe I can help. And maybe you can help.

I immediately went to ummclivingdonor.org to take the online health history questionnaire for the University of Maryland Transplant Center’s Living Donor Program, through which Lee will

hopefully receive his transplant. I’m already a registered organ donor upon my passing ~ and I know of three people who have benefited from a live kidney donation ~ so the decision to inquire and register came easily for me.

Lee says he checks in weekly with his Living Donor Kidney Recipient Coordinator, Jessica Davidson Lewis, RN, at the University of Maryland Medical Center for news of any new registrants who include his name in their online questionnaires and surveys.

“We’ve had about seven people register and take the questionnaire so far,” he says. “And I think we need a pool of about 30 on average to find a qualified donor and/ or match.”

For me, the online questionnaire took about 20 minutes to complete, with questions that were very thorough regarding my health, blood type, medications, lifestyle and more. Sadly, it turns out that I am not a live organ donor candidate.

It’s easy to see why many people are booted out of organ transplant consideration. The rigorous qualifications to be a live kidney donor also make it easy to understand why living organ donation is preferred for people facing kidney failure because so many unknowns can be ruled out.

“I think there’s a lot of disinformation about organ donation out there,” says Lee. “For example,

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Living Organ Donor

people think they need to have a direct match to me to donate, and they don’t.

“Each kidney that is donated into the system helps more people than just me,” he adds. “That’s why I’m asking your readers to please take the time to look into becoming a live organ donor or to at least answer the screening questions. Because your donation can save two lives. And that’s a big deal.”

Lee says the recipient patient’s insurance will usually cover the medical expenses of the person donating an organ. Most donors can return to light duty within two to three weeks of their surgery, or four to six weeks for more physically demanding jobs.

As I head out of Lee’s office after our interview, he shows me a photograph of Lori Groen and their extended family.

“I’m still here because of her,”

he says, his warm smile filled with gratitude and affection as he looks at the photo. “Lori’s decision to become a bone marrow donor helped give me a life beyond my childhood leukemia. Now I have hope that someone else will step up and answer that call for me again with a new kidney.”

To learn more about how you can help Lee and/or someone else in need, please visit ummclivingdonor.org.

Tracey Johns is a storyteller, engaging local, regional and national audiences through her words and photography. She has worked in communications, marketing and business management for more than 30 years, including non-profit leadership. Tracey’s work is focused on public and constituent relations, along with communication strategies, positioning and brand development and project management.

Mushrooms: A Super Food

There are many benefits of mushrooms, as they are incredibly healthy and contain many of the nutrients our bodies need to function well. Just to name a few: mushrooms decrease cancer risk, lower sodium intake, promote lower cholesterol, protect brain health, provide a source of Vitamin D, stimu-

late a healthier gut and support a healthy immune system. They are very versatile. Slice them raw and toss them in a salad; grill, sauté or roast them. Add mushrooms to soups, wraps, casseroles and Italian dishes. Portobello mushrooms are often served as a burger because of their meaty texture.

Mushrooms

In dishes that contain large amounts of meat, replace onefourth to half of the meat with mushrooms to make the dish lower in calories and still be delicious. You can also create a vegetarian dish by substituting mushrooms for all the meat and poultry. However, make sure the meal includes a half cup of dried beans or a quarter cup of nuts to add a good source of protein.

Although they are fungi, mushrooms are in the vegetable category for cooking purposes. They allow you to add extra taste without sodium or fat. When choosing your mushrooms, make sure they feel firm, are not moist to the touch and

are free from mold. They can be stored in a paper bag inside the refrigerator for about five days. Brush off the dirt and rinse lightly when you are ready to use them.

Yummy Baked Mushrooms

These mushrooms are baked in a tasty seasoned cream sauce and are perfect as a party appetizer or as a side dish for lunch or dinner! They may be the BEST baked mushrooms I’ve ever had. Makes about 4 cups.

2 lbs. whole mushrooms

3 T. butter 1 c. heavy cream 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. pepper 1/4 t. minced parsley

1/2 T. garlic powder

1 T. fresh lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Remove stems from mushrooms and brush off dirt. Arrange mushrooms, cavity side up, in a 9” x 13” dish. Dice the butter and distribute the pieces over the mushrooms. Mix all of the spices into the heavy cream and pour over mushrooms. Bake for 30 minutes.

Mushroom Galette

This savory tart is made with flaky pastry and a delicious combination of cheeses, mushrooms and caramelized onions. Serves 8.

1 sheet of pie dough, store bought or homemade

1/3 c. whole milk ricotta

6 oz. cremini mushrooms, cut into slices

1/4 of a jumbo white onion, cut into

Mushrooms

ing mat. Brush the egg white over most of the crust, leaving about a 1 ½-inch bare edge. Let the crust rest for a minute for the egg white to dry slightly.

Spread the ricotta over the area covered with the egg white. Use a zester to finely grate ¼ c. parmesan cheese as a light garnish over all the ricotta. Add a small pinch of salt and freshly ground pepper, as well as the pinch of nutmeg, over the cheeses.

thin crescent-shaped slices

1 c. gruyere cheese and 1/2 c. shredded parmesan cheese, for grating as a garnish

Pinch each of salt and freshly ground pepper Pinch of nutmeg 1 egg, separated Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 400°F. Add about a tablespoon of olive oil to a pan and warm over medium heat. Once hot, add the onion slices. Cook until the onions begin to turn golden along the edges and caramelize. Add the mushroom slices to the pan and cook for another few minutes, until mushrooms are tender. Turn off the heat and set the pan aside.

Unroll the pie crust onto a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan fitted with parchment paper or a silicone bak-

Distribute the mushroom-onion mixture evenly over the ricotta, then top with the shredded gruyere. Fold the bare edges of the pie crust over the mushroom filling. Brush the egg yolk over the pastry, then top the pastry with about ¼ c. of finely grated parmesan.

Bake the galette for 20–30 minutes. If you’re using store-bought crust, it will typically look golden and be ready at the 20- to 25-minute mark, whereas homemade pastry can take up to 30 minutes. Allow to rest for 10 minutes on the cookie sheet, then transfer to your serving plate.

Mixed-Up Mushrooms

This vegetable side goes with any entrée, and the assortment of fresh mushrooms makes the dish interesting and flavorful.

3 T. butter

1 lb. assorted fresh mushrooms, chopped (I like to use ¼ lb. each of

Mushrooms

2 T. butter

1 onion, chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced 8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps wiped clean and thinly sliced

1 T. tamari or soy sauce (see note) 6 c. chicken stock

1/3 c. pearl barley, rinsed and drained 1/4 c. dry sherry (see note)

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

button, cremini, shiitake and oyster mushrooms)

1 T. flour

1 8-oz. container sour cream

4 oz. chopped water chestnuts

1 t. celery salt

1 t. fresh lemon juice

1/4 t. sea salt

1 T. minced fresh cilantro or parsley

Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat; add mushrooms, and sauté for 10 minutes. Sprinkle with flour and cook, stirring constantly, 1–2 minutes. Add sour cream and the next 4 ingredients, then cook, stirring constantly, for 5 minutes. Stir in parsley or cilantro and serve. 4–6 servings.

Shiitake Mushroom Barley Soup

You can also make this with a combination of button and cremini mushrooms, but shiitakes have a more intense flavor.

Melt the butter in a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and garlic, and sauté for about 5 minutes. Stir in the mushrooms and sauté, stirring frequently, until softened, about 10 minutes. Add the tamari and sauté for another minute.

Stir in the stock and barley, then bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer over medium heat until barley is tender, 25–30 minutes. Add the sherry, season with salt and pepper and serve.

Notes: Tamari is thicker than soy sauce and has a richer, mellower

flavor. Sherry should be added at the end of the cooking time, as its fragrance dissipates quickly. Never use “cooking sherry”—as it will ruin the soup!

Quinoa-Stuffed Mushrooms

Using nutty, healthful quinoa instead of breadcrumbs makes this a great accompaniment for anything from roast chicken to steak to grilled, baked or poached fish.

8 button or cremini mushrooms with a 2-inch diameter, wiped clean, stems removed and chopped

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 T. butter

2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced

1 small leek, white part only, well washed and chopped (1/3 c.)

1/4 c. quinoa, well rinsed

1/4 c. chicken stock

1-1/2 t. fresh lemon juice

2 T. walnuts, chopped

2 T. fresh Italian parsley

1/8 t. sea salt

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Brush the mushroom caps inside and out

with 1 T. of oil. Arrange, open side up, on a baking sheet. Melt the butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add the garlic, leek and reserved mushroom stems and sauté until tender, 4 minutes. Stir in the quinoa and chicken stock, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover and simmer until all the liquid is absorbed and the quinoa is tender, 10 minutes. Stir in the lemon juice to taste, then add walnuts and parsley. Add salt to taste. Using a teaspoon, pack the stuffing inside the mushroom caps, mounding it up high. Drizzle the remaining 1 T. oil over the mushrooms and roast until they are hot and fork tender, about 10 minutes. Serves 4.

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Mushrooms

Wild Mushroom, Spinach and Goat Cheese Lasagna

It isn’t always easy to discern why some things go well together…they just do! The tang of the goat cheese complements the earthiness of the mushrooms and spinach.

1 lb. fresh spinach, trimmed of tough stems

1/3 c. extra virgin olive oil

1 small onion or ¼ c. finely minced shallots

3 large garlic cloves, minced

1 lb. white or cremini mushrooms, wiped clean and sliced

8 oz. shiitake mushrooms, stems removed, caps wiped clean and sliced

1/3 c. dry white wine

2 T. fresh basil, chopped

1 T. fresh thyme, chopped

1 c. ricotta cheese

Sea salt and freshly ground pepper 8 oz. (2 c.) mozzarella cheese, grated

10 oz. soft fresh goat cheese (chevre), crumbled

1/2 t. freshly grated nutmeg

1 lb. lasagna noodles, cooked and drained

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter an 11” x 7” baking pan. Place the spinach in a large bowl filled with cold water to soak while you cook the mushrooms. Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the

shallots and garlic, and sauté until just tender, 2 minutes. Add the mushrooms, tossing quickly to coat evenly with the oil, and sauté, stirring frequently, until they are tender, 4–5 minutes. Add the wine and simmer, scraping up any browned bits clinging to the bottom of the pan, until most of the liquid has evaporated. Remove from the heat, stir in the basil, thyme and ricotta and season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir in half of the grated mozzarella and set aside.

Shake the spinach free of water and place it in a large saucepan along with the water that is left clinging to the leaves. Cover and cook over medium heat until wilted and tender,

5 minutes. Drain the spinach in a fine-mesh sieve and press it lightly with the back of a spoon to extract excess moisture. Chop the spinach coarsely. In a large bowl, combine the spinach with the remaining mozzarella and just over half of the goat cheese. Add the nutmeg and salt to taste, and stir together gently until creamy.

Spread a third of the mushroom mixture over the bottom of the pan. Top with a layer of the pasta, then spread on half the spinach mixture. Top with another layer of pasta, and repeat the layers of mushrooms, pasta and spinach. Finish with a layer of the mushrooms, and scatter remaining goat cheese on top. Cover the pan with aluminum foil.

If you want, the lasagna can be refrigerated now. Before baking, remove from the refrigerator 30 minutes early. Bake, covered with foil, until hot throughout, 35–40 minutes. Remove the foil and place the pan under the broiler until the cheese is browned on top and bubbling. Allow to rest before cutting into serving pieces. Serves 10.

A longtime resident of Oxford, Pamela Meredith, formerly Denver’s NBC Channel 9 Children’s Chef, has taught both adult and children’s cooking classes. She currently resides in Easton.

For more of Pam’s recipes, visit the Story Archive tab at tidewatertimes.com .

Dorchester Map and History

Dorchester County is known as the Heart of the Chesapeake. It is rich in Chesapeake Bay history, folklore and tradition. With 1,700 miles of shoreline (more than any other Maryland county), marshlands, working boats, quaint waterfront towns and villages among fertile farm fields – much still exists of what is the authentic Eastern Shore landscape and traditional way of life along the Chesapeake.

For more information about Dorchester County visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/dorchester/.

TIDEWATER GARDENING

by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.

Try New and Old Plants in 2023

Welcome to 2023! The new year means that gardeners’ mailboxes have been inundated with garden seed and plant catalogs and our emails overloaded with gardening promotions. An interesting occurrence over the last few years is the emergence of small boutique seed growers and suppliers who focus on old ~ “heirloom” ~ seed

varieties in addition to the traditional seed suppliers who promote the new flower and seed varieties. Another new offering is the “open pollinated” varieties in addition to those bred through a deliberate pollination process by flower and vegetable plant breeders.

I skip the arguments that pit heirloom/open pollinated vs. in-

Tidewater Gardening

tentionally bred varieties. After a long professional career, I find those types of discussions usually generate more heat than light because there are passionate “believers” on both ends of the spectrum. Gardening should be a peaceful and enjoyable activity! I grow both and appreciate the characteristics of both. “Whatever floats your boat,” as the saying goes. It is fascinating to review the heirloom seed catalogs and websites and see what they are offering. So, in one sense, the old has become new again.

One of the characteristics of an “heirloom” variety is that the seed is a regional or local variety passed

down in families and in communities from generation to generation. While waiting the other day for our Silver Sneakers® exercise class to start, I was in a gardening discussion with one of our classmates who is 86 years old. Sybil asked if I had ever heard of an Alabama rattlesnake bean. She said that she ate them as a child in Alabama

Tidewater Gardening

and that her family grew them and passed them on.

When I got home from class, I consulted the Internet and learned that there is a rattlesnake bean. It is a pole green bean with purple/ red streaks on the seed pods. Southern Seed Exposure Exchange lists it as “a heavy producer in the hot, humid areas of the coastal Mid-Atlantic and South where sandy soil prevails. Steamed snaps are sweet, rich, and full flavored. Stringless when pods are small to medium size. Vigorous vines bear 7 in. round purple-streaked pods containing buff-colored seeds splashed with brown.” I plan to order some seed this spring and grow a crop for my exercise classmate.

are very tasty. Its heirloom history is attributed to breeding by Cherokee Indians in the Tennessee River Valley more than 150 years ago.

Cherokee Purple is an indeterminate variety that is heat and humidity tolerant. It produces large (12”) uniquely colored dusty rosebrown fruits that can weigh 12 ounces or more. When compared to other large slicer- and beefsteaktype tomato varieties, however, it can be considered somewhat “ugly.” It is a long maturing tomato ~ 75 to 90 days from transplanting. Both the rattlesnake green bean and the Cherokee Purple tomato are on the University of Maryland Extension’s list of recommended vegetable varieties for home gardeners in Maryland.

A very popular heirloom tomato variety offered in the major seed catalogs and by one of the companies that provides vegetable transplants to the big box stores is the Cherokee Purple tomato. I have grown some in the past, and they

Shifting to the “new” from the old, I always like to highlight some of the All-American Selections (AAS; all-americaselections.org) for the new year. One of the vegetable winners 2023 is the Squash kabocha Sweet Jade F1. According to the AAS, “This cute, singleserving-sized squash is the perfect addition to your garden for a fall harvest. Sweet Jade proved itself in the AAS Trials with its high yields and good holding capability which is great news for both home gardeners and growers. Each fruit is between 1–2 pounds and can be used for single servings of squash, as an edible soup bowl, or in any number of Asian-style dishes

where a sweet, earthy nutritious squash is typically used. Sweet Jade’s deep orange flesh is dry yet sweet and very flavorful whether roasted, baked, or pureed.” As a summer squash, Squash kabocha Sweet Jade F1 is a vining squash, spreading 6 to 8 feet and matures about 100 days after seeding.

If you are a hot pepper fan, another 2023 AAS vegetable winner is the Pepper jalapeno San Joaquin

F1. This pepper is a determinate plant, meaning that it sets its fruits all at one time rather than over the course of the gardening season. AAS’s comments on this winner include “This is a determinate jalapeno that sets most of its fruit in a short window so there is a generous (~50 fruits per plant) number of fruits ready all at the same time. Perfect for canning, pickling, and making roasted stuffed jalapenos for a crowd. But no worries if you won’t need them for a while as they hold their firmness and taste until you are ready to harvest. Judges loved the flavor of the thick-walled fruits that have just a hint of heat at 2500–6000 Scoville units. Leave them on the plant longer for

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Tidewater Gardening

a beautiful red, and still delicious, jalapeno.”

There are also heirloom annuals and perennials that have been grown for years and passed on from generation to generation. Annuals include fragrant and climbing petunias, zinnias, snapdragons, hollyhocks, balsam, cockscomb, sweet peas and poppies. Like heirloom vegetables, some are native and some are not. As you know, peppers and tomatoes are not native to the U.S.

first Lord Baltimore and the first planter in Maryland.

The purple coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) is another native heirloom perennial that thrives in the Chesapeake region. An easyto-grow, drought-resistant perennial, it is planted for its colorful flowers in the landscape and as a seed source for native birds during the winter months.

One native heirloom perennial that we all know is the black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia hirta), the official Maryland state flower since 1918. The yellow and black flower matched the colors of the Calvert family crest, which were also the black and gold colors on the state flag. Sir George Calvert was the

A 2023 AAS flower winter is the Echinacea Artisan™ Yellow Ombre F1. Over the past few years, plant breeders have conducted a lot of cross-pollination in the echinacea family to produce new colors. The AAS notes that “Artisan Yellow Ombre is a great plant for anyone wanting vibrant color all season long in their perennial garden, or to use as a cut flower. This is the first F1 hybrid echinacea series that comes in individual colors. This winner, with an intense golden yellow bloom along with graduated colors of yellow, is a gem in the garden. AAS Judges were impressed with the uniform growth habit, vibrantly colored flowers, and multi-branched plants that produce a prolific number of blooms. Pollinators will flock to this echinacea, and gardeners will love this low-maintenance, longblooming beauty.”

Three other echinacea have been AAS Winners. They include Echinacea Sombrero® Baja Burgundy (2020), Echinacea Cheyenne Spirit

Tidewater Gardening

(2013) and Echinacea PowWow

Wild Berry (2010). I recognize there is debate within the native plant enthusiast community regarding hybridizing native plants, whether they then are still truly native and whether the breeding results in plants and flowers that may not be as beneficial to pollinators in the landscape. I will leave that discussion for another day, as I have no desire to step into that cow pie in the pasture.

While you are contemplating old and new, heirloom and recent plants for the landscape, there are some mundane gardening activities you can do in January. I like houseplants ~ they don’t argue with you. During winter, our interests turn indoors to our houseplants and their care. Remember not to fertilize houseplants heavily in winter. They do not need it. Excessive fertilization can result in salt buildup in the soil and may cause root problems. If you are

growing plants in clay pots, excessive salts will show up as a white deposit on the outside of the pot.

Also watch your watering. Depending on where your plant is located in the house, it may require more or less water depending on the environmental conditions it is exposed to. If the plant in question is growing in a cool, north-facing room, it will need less water than one in the living room, den or family room where a woodstove is located and being used.

If the leaves of your houseplant are turning yellow and dropping from the bottom toward the top, the plant may be suffering from overwatering. Sometimes this condition is the result of a plant sitting in too large a pot. In this case, excess soil around the roots holds too much water, leading to low oxygen levels and root rot. To avoid this problem, never put a plant into a pot more than 1 to 2 inches wider than the root ball. Wilting can be caused by too much water, too little water or over fertilization. Leaves with brown edges may be a sign of chronic underwatering or periodic episodes of severe drying out.

If you use a wood stove this winter, wood ashes are a good source of potassium fertilizer when used correctly. Because of their alkaline nature, wood ashes will raise soil pH. Use them only in the garden if the pH is under 7.0 based on a soil test. Do not apply wood ashes

Tidewater Gardening

proximately a 5-gallon pail). Another alternative is to sprinkle them over the compost pile at different times during the winter. Remember, a little wood ash is beneficial, but a lot is not. Also remember to store the cold ashes in a covered metal container outside the house. Every year we read newspaper stories about house fires caused by incorrectly stored hot ashes and coals.

around “acid-loving” plants. The safe rate of wood ash application to lawn or gardens is 15 to 20 pounds per 1,000 square feet per year (ap-

Don’t forget to recycle your holiday decorations. Greenery used as ornaments inside and outside the house can be used again in the garden. Wreaths and branches stripped from Christmas trees make excellent mulch for protecting newly planted ornamentals.

Place the smaller branches curved end up around plantings as mulch. Build tepee-like protective canopies over laurel, azaleas, boxwood and other tender plants to ward off the snow. You can also strip the needles from the remaining branches and scatter them under the drip line of acid-loving plants.

The discarded Christmas tree can be used as a windbreak on the windward side of tender broadleaved evergreens by staking the entire tree in the snow. And don’t forget the birds. Use the discarded tree as a bird feeder by hanging pinecones covered in a mixture of peanut butter and bird seed on the branches. This month, curl up in your favorite chair with your hot beverage of choice, page through the seed and garden catalogs and dream of spring! Happy Gardening!!

Photo credits: Christmas tree – UFL/IFAS Extension Marion County

All American Selections AAS Winner Images

Marc Teffeau retired as Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs at the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Washington, D.C. He now lives in Georgia with his wife, Linda.

St. Michaels Map and History

On the broad Miles River, with its picturesque tree-lined streets and beautiful harbor, St. Michaels has been a haven for boats plying the Chesapeake and its inlets since the earliest days. Here, some of the handsomest models of the Bay craft, such as canoes, bugeyes, pungys and some famous Baltimore Clippers, were designed and built. The Church, named “St. Michael’s,” was the first building erected (about 1677) and around it clustered the town that took its name.

For a walking tour and more history of the St. Michaels area visit https://tidewatertimes.com/travel-tourism/st-michaels-maryland/.

Role Models by A.M.

If you’re not doing anything special on January 18, consider celebrating National Winnie-the-Pooh Day. The 18th of January was the birthday of author A. A. Milne. One person who never celebrated any such Pooh Day was Milne’s son, Christopher Robin Milne. As he aged, A. A.’s boy grew increasingly resentful toward his father, feeling his identity had been stolen. Let’s just call him Chris and quote from his autobiography about how his father “filched from me my good name and left me with nothing but

Foley

the empty fame of being his son.”

At the same time, A. A. himself resented being thought of as a children’s author. Before Chris ever came along to cuddle a cute stuffed bear, Milne the Elder supported himself as a writer and assistant editor of Punch magazine, enjoyed success as a playwright, and had written a detective novel and other adult fiction, including World War I British government propaganda. Alan Alexander Milne was 44 before Winnie-the-Pooh was published.

Role Models

their foibles and ever ready to offer them a helping hand.

When gloomy Eeyore lost his tail, it was Pooh who realized that the verbose Owl had innocently picked it up and hung it by his door as a bell-pull. And when Eeyore was feeling friendless on his birthday, Pooh and Piglet proved him wrong, bringing him well-intentioned gifts. In times of peril, despite being a non-swimmer, Pooh saved Piglet from a flash flood and later rescued little Roo when the toddler was swept away by the river.

Any fan of the immortal Pooh must be disillusioned to learn of such strained family relationships and resentments arising from the sweet-natured denizen of the Hundred Acre Wood ~ the creation of a doting father immortalizing his only child’s favorite toy.

The Bear with Very Little Brain was my earliest role model and remains high on my list. Pooh had his best friend, Piglet, but he was also fond of their neighbors of every size, shape and hue, tolerant of

By then, Kanga and Roo had gained acceptance in the Hundred Acre Wood, though initially the native creatures, especially Rabbit, were leery of their alien ways. To quote Rabbit on Kanga, a sweet-

Oxford Map and History

Ave.Stewart Norton St.

The Strand Tilghman

13

Factory St. Morris St. Oxford Bellevue Ferry T r e d A v o n R i v e r

WilsonSt.

St. Market St. HighSt.

Banks St. Oxford Park

12

9 10 11

BenoniAve. Pleasant St. Robes Hbr. Ct. South

Sinclair St. Richardson St. South Street TownCreek Rd.

Mill St. St.Jefferson Oxford Community Center

15 16 17 18 19 4 5 6

Town Creek Oxford

Street Bachelor Point Road Pier St. E. Pier St.

Morris

Third Street Jack’s Pt. Rd.

14 © John Norton

8 1 2 3 7

First Street 2nd St.

East St. Division St. Oxford Road

Bonfield Ave.

To Easton 333

Oxford is one of the oldest towns in Maryland. Although already settled for perhaps 20 years, Oxford marks the year 1683 as its official founding, for in that year Oxford was first named by the Maryland General Assembly as a seaport and was laid out as a town. In 1694, Oxford and a new town called Anne Arundel (now Annapolis) were selected the only ports of entry for the entire Maryland province. Until the American Revolution, Oxford enjoyed prominence as an international shipping center surrounded by wealthy tobacco plantations.

Today, Oxford is a charming tree-lined and waterbound village with a population of just over 700 and is still important in boat building and yachting. It has a protected harbor for watermen who harvest oysters, crabs, clams and fish, and for sailors from all over the Bay.

For a walking tour and more history visit https://tidewatertimes. com/travel-tourism/oxford-maryland/.

natured exemplar of Motherhood: “Here—we—are,” said Rabbit very slowly and carefully, “all—of— us, and then, suddenly, we wake up one morning and, what do we find? We find a Strange Animal among us. An animal of whom we have never even heard before! An animal who carries her family about with her in her pocket! Suppose I carried my family about with me in my pocket, how many pockets should I want?”

“Sixteen,” said Piglet. “Seventeen, isn’t it?” said Rabbit. “And one more for a handkerchief ~ that’s eighteen. Eighteen pockets in one suit! I haven’t time.”

After getting sidetracked updating his family’s number, Rabbit ultimately hatches a plan: “The question is, What are we to do about Kanga? . . . The best would be this. . . . to steal Baby Roo and hide him, and then when Kanga says, ‘Where’s Baby Roo?’ we say, ‘Aha!’. . . so that Kanga knows that we know where Baby Roo is. ‘Aha!’ means ‘We’ll tell you where Baby Roo is, if you promise to go away from the Forest and never come back.’”

In the course of executing the plan, of course, all the natives of the Wood get to know and appreciate the new neighbors with unWoodsian customs.

Personally, I’ve had a number

of role models at different stages of my life, from Winnie-the-Pooh to my Labradorish Retriever, the late Chuck Abbott. In between those two, as a wiseacre teen, having outgrown Pooh Bear, I fell for Alfred E. Neuman. One could do worse than follow an insouciant youngster with the attitude “What, me worry?”

While Mad taught generations about satire and alternative viewpoints, Neuman’s image on its cover displayed none of the snarkiness of the magazine’s contents. Alfie’s motto urged readers not to get too riled up about transitory day-to-day events. A valuable lesson. But perhaps Alfie would have been wise to pay more attention

to business, as Mad was relocated from New York to California, repeatedly absorbed by larger and

larger corporate behemoths. Regular distribution of original content ended in 2020. Nonetheless, Alfie’s rather-vacant, gap-toothed visage endures. In 2022, he and his optimistic motto graced the cover of the magazine’s 70th anniversary issue. And he doesn’t look a day older than when he debuted around 1900 in ads for “painless dentistry.”

In considering past and present role models, the absence from my list of an actual human being became troubling. Admirable people abound, but they are such mixed bags ~ swayed one way and another by nature, nurture and, as we now

know, genetics. Science has recently uncovered a specific trait affecting disposition, carried in both canine and human genomes. Our two species’ mutual chromosome relates to Chuck’s most endearing quality but, in rare human cases, is associated with a mutant disorder. Too much information indeed.

Chuck himself was a mixed bag: predominantly Chesapeake Bay Retriever in appearance and Labrador in disposition. We two used to camp in an old island house, me on the sofa, he beside me on the floor. Around sunrise, before Chuck stirred or opened his eyes, the thump, thump, thump of tailon-linoleum foretold the start of his day. Never having been a morn-

ing person myself, I couldn’t help but admire his attitude. Once he was alert, his expression wasn’t dissimilar from Alfie’s. Now I’m learning that science has an explanation for Chuck’s sunny disposition.

A husband-and-wife team at Duke University, Brian Hare and Vanessa Woods, authored a book in 2020, Survival of the Friendliest, which attributes evolutionary success not to the biggest and baddest of a species, but to the friendliest. Their theory suggests that natural selection favors the least aggressive specimens of a species ~ for example, that evolution selected us over several other hominids with whom we once coexisted because

we were more sociable than they.

In the case of dogs, they suggest dogs’ evolution from wolves was likely due to a tendency of some wolves to live closer than others to humans. Dining on scraps of our food waste, wolves doing less hunting required less aggressiveness. Over tens of thousands of years,

Role Models

variations in canine size and coat eventually developed, along with a mutation in dog genes that predisposes them to befriend humans, a trait not present in the genome of wolves.

Comparing wolf and dog genes, Bridgett vonHoldt, a Princeton geneticist, identified in 2010 the development in dogs’ chromosomes that she calls “the friendliness mutation.” Since it’s absent from wolves, she thinks this is a mutation that evolved from pre-dog days and relates to a dog’s ultimate inclination to bond with humans. While absent from wolves, the friendliness mutation suggests a link between dogs and humans. If the same chromosome in a human lacks several genes, their absence causes Williams Syndrome, a genetic condition identified with exceptionally friendly and sociable people. Along with emotional vulnerability and several adverse physical issues, those with Williams Syndrome exhibit outgoing,

empathetic personalities and are gifted with good facial recognition and excellent long-term memory. In social situations, they tend to focus on another’s eyes, leading to the shorthand description of their “cocktail party” personalities.

Anderson Cooper has been tracking studies of canine, as well as human, mentality for years. In a recent segment of 60 Minutes, he met Ben Monkaba, a young man with Williams Syndrome, and asked what makes him unique. Ben said, “What makes me unique is my way of giving happiness to people, my friendliness, my kindness.

Terry and Ben Monkaba

When people are happy, it makes me feel like I’ve achieved something.’ Asked his feelings about scientific discovery of a link between dogs and humans, he smiled and said, “It makes me feel so happy and proud that dogs and people have similarities.”

These particular scientific findings reinforce my ambition to be more Chuck-like. Perhaps it may be possible after all for me to follow closer in the footsteps of Pooh, Alfie and Chuck ~ maybe even to the footsteps of a human, Ben Monkaba.

Forty-some years ago, A.M. Foley swapped the Washington, D.C., business scene for a writing life on Elliott Island, Maryland. Tidewater Times has kindly published portions of one upcoming work, Chesapeake Bay Island Hopping, along with other regional musings. Foley’s published works are described at www.HollandIslandBook.com.

When Life Hands You Lemons

a multi-part series by Dan Hoyt

Hospital - The First 36 Days

In retrospect: in writing this story about my experiences, I looked at all the Facebook posts I used to update family and friends. This brought back a lot of memories, both good and bad. It’s hard to believe how positive I was through this experience. But at the time, I felt I had two choices in accepting my fate and the future of my treatment: worry about the outcome or give in wholeheartedly, putting my trust in my doctors and nurses to get me through success -

fully. I chose the latter. It was the right choice, and it made the whole journey a bit easier and much less stressful.

The first week seemed easy. Besides the start of brain fog (chemo brain) and the beginnings of what felt like exhaustion, treatment went well, with little to no side effects. But at the start of week 2, Dawn had to make the first Facebook update. I had started to develop mouth and throat sores (mucositis) that took this big, strong man to his knees. You see, I’m a big guy:

The First Day - Dan Hoyt with his wife Dawn.

Lemons

Let the chemo begin.

6’ 2” and 248 pounds at the start of all this. That weight changed dramatically during my time in and out of the hospital, but for the most part, I took a beating. The chemo did what it was supposed to be doing, but the side effects were starting to kick my butt. Fevers, headaches and mouth and throat sores made it impossible for me to eat or drink.

I continued to remain positive and loved my nurses and oncology team. But of all my nurses and doctors, one stood out. Ellie. She was the first nurse I had when we arrived that first day. Luckily, I ended up having her as my main day nurse the first few days, and we hit it off right away. We ended up having a lot in common. We knew a lot of the same people in Dubuque, Iowa, a place Dawn and I lived and raised our children for 15 years before moving back to Mo-

line, Ill., our hometown. Ellie was a wonderful nurse. She took exceptional care of me during those first 36 days, but it wasn’t until a few months later, when I returned

to the hospital to receive my stem cell transplant, that she happened to be my nurse on that first day yet again. This was quite the surprise, since she had accepted a new job at the University of Wisconsin while I was receiving my chemo treatments and was supposed to be gone by then. It turned out there was a delay in her start date, and she had a few days left before leaving. We were so thankful it worked out.

Little things like this happened throughout this overwhelming experience: unexpected, unpredictable things that seemed to go in my favor. Not everything went my way, but enough happened that there was an obvious tilt in my favor.

I had an amazing oncology team.

Dr. Sutam (Grerk Sutamtewagul) and his team were wonderful. They jumped right in with both feet to do all they could to cure me and extend my life. AML (acute myeloid leukemia) is a rare cancer, like my PV (polycythemia vera). AML makes up only about 1% of cancer diagnoses each year, while PV is even rarer, affecting less than 1% of the population (.057% of 1%). Even crazier, people with PV have a rare chance of developing AML within 10 years of diagnosis, with those odds affecting around 5% of patients. I can’t seem to win anything when I play the lottery, but I somehow was diagnosed with a very rare blood disease (PV) that developed into AML. I may still

have a chance at that lottery after all.

Joking aside, sometimes I feel like I’ve already hit the lottery. When you go through what I have, you learn just how lucky you are. I’m especially lucky to have a wife who loves me as much as she does. She’s done so much for me since all of this started. She’s been an amazing caregiver, wife and friend. I can’t thank her enough for all she’s done. I’m so lucky to have such an amazing family that was always there for me ~ there to help Dawn through the thick of it and to show their overwhelming love for me while I fought this terrible cancer. How lucky I am to have so many friends support me, pray for me

Lemons - Part II

and do what they could to help during this trying time. I feel like the luckiest man in the world to have so much love and support in my life. Most people will never know how much so many people care for them. I know, and I can’t thank them enough for sticking with me during my journey. Something else that seemed to go my way happened on one of my worst days in the hospital, though that turned out to be one of the best days of my life. With COVID restrictions, I was only allowed to have one visitor per day, from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., and I could choose only two people in all to be on my list of visitors. My number 1 was

easy ~ it was going to be Dawn. But my number 2 was much harder to choose. I ended up deciding on my brother in-law, Jeff (Hoss) Mendoza. He means more to me than just a brother in-law, he’s a great friend and someone I could always talk with about anything. We decided to have Hoss come for a visit to give Dawn a break from her long commute. It was a bad day for me. I had terrible mouth and throat blisters and could barely talk. I had been battling fevers as well but was well enough to see Hoss. While sitting there, I was messing with my beard and pulled out a large chunk of hair. It came out with no effort and was kind of cool. I tried what was left of the hair on my head, and it, too, came out with no effort. I told Hoss to grab some, but he wanted no part of it. A few minutes later, my hospital phone rang with information about my possible stem cell donors. Additional blood work and tissue samples were taken when I arrived at the hospital, and they

Dan and Hoss

were put against a registry to try and find a single match from someone around the world. When the person from the registry told me I had 19 potential matches from the world registry, I nearly fell out of my chair. I had the phone on speaker, so Hoss heard as well. We looked at each other, and I instantly broke down in tears. Hoss also teared up, and we could no longer speak. I managed to thank the person on the line and hung up, not believing what I’d just heard. Some people never find a match and lose their battle with this horrible cancer, but for some reason, luck was on my side. I had 19 potential donors. Unbelievable! Throughout my time in the hos -

pital, I was showered with gifts from family and friends. As mentioned earlier, my daughter Logan gave me a huge bag full of presents labeled for each day I was expected to be in the hospital, 30 total gifts and letters. I still don’t know how she managed to get them ready in such a short time. We found out

about my diagnosis on Friday, April 23, and she gave me the large bag on Sunday, April 25. For a normal person, this might be doable, but Logan was six months pregnant, writing her thesis for her master’s degree, studying for her finals and working a full-time job, but somehow, she found the time to come up with 30 presents wrapped and ready to go for her father. Every day was thought out so well, with funny meanings behind each gift, and it gave me something to look forward to when I opened them each morning. I’m still amazed at what she accomplished, but I assume it was a good coping mecha-

nism as she tried to process what I was about to go through.

I also received some thoughtful gifts from many families and friends and a few letters from people I hadn’t heard from in years. The letters and gifts meant a lot to me as I spent my long days in the isolated hospital room. Some friends from Dubuque found out I needed more chemo, which was going to extend my stay in the hospital, so they put together an awesome present that really helped me get through the extended time there. They sent me 19 pairs of socks with a card that said “Cancer Sucks,” but “Sucks” was crossed out and replaced with “Socks.” It made the days much easier to get

through, and as part of my daily posts I shared the pair of socks I wore that day. You wouldn’t believe the fun themes each pair of socks had. I loved them, the nurses and doctors loved them, and they really helped the last weeks speed by.

Reading my old Facebook posts

has been difficult, but to tell my story, I needed references to what I went through. A lot of what I read, I had forgotten or hidden somewhere in my mind to protect myself from all the ugly. I want to share one of my posts I shared that showed my struggle. I was as upbeat as I could be in my daily posts, but I also wanted to make sure everyone knew my struggle was real.

May 22nd (Morning)

I wanted to share another side to my Leukemia battle. I make it look easy, but it’s not. It’s a struggle each day. It’s hard, painful, emotional, and just plain sucks. The struggle is real, I have tubes hanging out of my right bicep, they provide the things I need to fight

this cancer, lifesaving blood and platelets, but they also can pull blood from them (two times a day) and pain relief through my pump. But they get tangled and are a pain when trying to sleep. I’m tethered to this 6 wheeled IV cart, everywhere I go, it goes with me. But so does a picture of my grand babies, they are with me everywhere I go. I get my blood sugar checked 4–5 times a day, both hands, both sides of my fingers have small holes in them. I get insulin 4–5 times a day, in my stomach or the back of my arms or the fatty part of my thigh every day. We must keep moving the location of the shots because of

bruising. I have to brush my teeth 4–5 times a day with a soft toothbrush, rinse with a saltwater rinse,

Melissa Grimes-Guy Photography

magic mouth rinse as it’s the only relief to the blisters in my mouth and my throat. I can only talk for a short period of time because the blisters in my throat start to hurt so bad. Some days it’s so bad and the fevers are so bad, I sit and shake and shiver and don’t want to talk or text or communicate to anyone. It’s even a struggle some days to talk with my number 1, Dawn, the love of my life. But I find a way, I fight though it and do all I have to do so she knows I’m okay. I’ve lost all my hair, I’ve lost 10 lbs. to date, at times I’ve lost my dignity, my spirit, and my joy, but I find a way to battle back. I have so much to

live for. My 4 wonderful kids, my 5 amazing grandchildren, my immediate family, and my friends. Dawn and I have so much more living to do, that I find a way to fight back.

The struggle isn’t over, it’s just getting started, but there is no quit in me. “Woe is me” is not in my vocabulary. It’s a struggle some days to get out of bed, but I do it. Between 6–6:30 each day I get out of bed and stay out of bed. Some days I only make it to that chair, but I’m up. Most days I’m in my room for 23 + hours a day, it can feel like a prison, but I find a way to be active do different things to mix it up when I can motivate myself. I force myself out of the room to walk, some days I can get 1 lap

Lemons - Part II

in, some days only enough to walk to the end of the hallway, but I get out of the room.

I’m sorry for the Debbie Downer post, but I wanted you all to know there is a bad side to all of this and that each one of you helps me though the day. YOU help me get out of bed; YOU help motivate me to keep going. Your prayers are being answered and it’s amazing to witness it daily.

Thank you for all you do, stick with me and I’ll show you what fight I have, and we’ll get through this together.

Love you all!

It was a difficult and emotional

post to write, and what made it worse was my original post was lost while proofreading it on my iPhone. My phone rebooted before I could post it, and I felt sick to my stomach and broke down in tears. I phoned Dawn and told her what happened. I knew I needed to get this message out, but I wasn’t sure

I had it in me to write it over again. Somehow, I mustered up the courage to do it. It wasn’t exactly like my first thoughts, but I said most of what I wanted to say. Another post I read concerned one of the gifts from my daughter.

It was one of my favorite books, The Gift of Peace (Personal Reflections) by Cardinal Joseph Bernardin. I was reading the chapter about his cancer and how he handled things, and he spoke of prayer.

I shared a lot of the same experiences he did. Surprisingly, he was also very open about his cancer and his experiences (the good and the bad) in the hope it would help others in some way. I wrote how I had struggled with prayer since starting this cancer journey. I had not lost my faith or anything; I just wasn’t feeling it didn’t know where to start. Cardinal Bernardin mentioned when he was at his lowest and in the most pain he, too, struggled with prayer. He wrote,

“Pray while you’re well, because if you wait until you’re sick you might not be able to do it.” How true that turned out to be. He mentioned how he devoted the first hour of each day to prayer and one was the Rosary. I had prayed portions of the Rosary, but never the daily mysteries. I wrote how I decided to try and started with the Joyful Mysteries, which includes a lot of prayers, including 53 Hail Marys. The Rosaries really helped me get back to prayer and helped fill some time in those long days. Dawn brought me some Rosary beads so I could use them to help with my counting. I used my fingers those first days, and that wasn’t easy. A lot of my family and friends

supported me each day with prayer. I truly believe the power of prayer got me through a lot of those rough days. I was amazed at some of my accomplishments while deep into chemo. I got out of my room daily for walks. My personal best was 16 laps around the transplant ward. That put me somewhere close to 10,000 steps, and this was after 10 days straight of chemo, receiving a blood transfusion, wearing an N95 mask and tethered to a six-wheeled chart. Looking back, it truly amazes me. Eventually, they knocked out enough of my cancer and my blood numbers increased enough to let me out of the hospital. My first stint was 36 days, and on the last day I was able to wear my Captain

America socks (hero socks). My friends and family all looked to me as a hero for being strong enough to get through the rough treatment. That last day was bittersweet. As much as I wanted to leave, I was going to miss my nurses. I knew I’d be back to see them again, though. I remember writing and reflecting on what I missed most during those 36 days in complete isolation. I missed the sunlight touching my skin, breathing in the fresh

air and the touch of my family in a hug or in a kiss from my wife. I missed the fluffiness of our goldendoodle, Nellie. I also missed the taste of coffee from my Keurig, the softness of my recliner as I drank my coffee and the comfiness of our outdoor patio and sounds of the birds and critters in our backyard. We all take so many of these things for granted, but I so missed them when I couldn’t have them.

For all I went through in those 36 days, I really had no concept of what was still to come. Yes, I was weak and fighting each day to get stronger, increasing my blood numbers to a point where transfusions were no longer needed. Just when I started feeling better, though, they would hit me with another round of chemo. This went on for the next three months as I waited to receive my stem cell transplant. But the worst was yet to come, as you’ll soon find out.

Next month we will focus on the stem cell transplant, and what was yet to come.

American Musicals and their Jewish Legacy

Join us on Sunday, January 22, from 2 to 4 PM, as Temple B’nai Israel ~ the Satell Center for Jewish Life on the Eastern Shore ~ presents a discussion and performance of selections by composers and lyricists George Gershwin, Irving Berlin, Oscar Hammerstein II, Kurt Weill, and others that pays homage to the contribution of these legendary creators.

Concert pianist and pre-concert lecturer Rachel Franklin and The Annapolis Opera will present a program of Broadway musical highlights exploring the crucial role this group of composers and

lyricists played in the development of the modern American musical.

The Annapolis Opera has provided professionally staged operas and concerts for the Mid-Atlantic Region for over 40 years. Their mission is to enhance the cultural life of the region by presenting artistically excellent opera programming and educational experiences while furthering the development of emerging performing arts professionals.

Rachel Franklin is well known in Easton’s artistic circles. Besides appreciating her performing artistry, audiences enjoy her witty,

Is

bike ready to ride?

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*Sale prices available through February 28, 2023. Not valid on prior purchases. No cash or gift card value. Service packages vary by location.

engaging style as she gives unique illustrations on the piano. From a 30-minute pre-concert presentation, a lecture-recital, Rachel Franklin focuses on the sheer joy and passion of great music so the audience can discover their own personal connections with its creative force. The Washington Post has praised her “cool-headed bravura and panache,” and the Baltimore Sun lauded “a flawless crystalline technique, and warmth and electricity in her playing.”

Maestro Craig Kier, the Annapolis Opera's Artistic Director since 2020, receives high praise for his “Tesla-like intensity” and "impeccable orchestral support,” while leading performances throughout the United States and on international stages. He will accompany artists Dirk Holzman, a rich lyric baritone whose versatility in many vocal genres has kept him active in the D.C., Maryland and Virginia area, and Colleen Daly, hailed in the Washington Post for her “mezzo-tinted lower register rising to a wonderful warm top.”

Tickets may be purchased at eventbrite ticketing https://www. eventbrite.com after January 1, 2023. For more information, please call Temple B’nai Israel at 410-822-0553.

Rachel Franklin

Wilmington Collection

For more than a decade, Lancaster Legacy has been creating quality hardwood furniture in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. As a family-owned business, we take special pride in every piece we build, and we continuously strive to bring our customers the nest handcra ed furniture available.

Kent County and Chestertown at a Glance

Kent County is a treasury of early American history. Its principal towns and back roads abound with beautiful old homes and historic landmarks.

The area was first explored by Captain John Smith in 1608. Kent County was founded in 1642 and named for the shire in England that was the home of many of Kent’s earliest colonists. When the first legislature assembled in 1649, Kent County was one of two counties in the colony, thus making it the oldest on the Eastern Shore. It extended from Kent Island to the present boundary.

The first settlement, New Yarmouth, thrived for a time and, until the founding of Chestertown, was the area’s economic, social and religious center.

Chestertown, the county seat, was founded in 1706 and served as a port of entry during colonial times. A town rich in history, its attractions include a blend of past and present. Its brick sidewalks and attractive antiques stores, restaurants and inns beckon all to wander through the historic district and enjoy homes and places with architecture ranging from the Georgian mansions of wealthy colonial merchants to the elaborate style of the Victorian era.

Second largest district of restored 18th-century homes in Maryland, Chestertown is also home to Washington College, the nation’s tenth oldest liberal arts college, founded in 1782. Washington College was also the only college that was given permission by George Washington for the use of his name, as well as given a personal donation of money.

The beauty of the Eastern Shore and its waterways, the opportunity for boating and recreation, the tranquility of a rural setting and the ambiance of living history offer both visitors and residents a variety of pleasing experiences. A wealth of events and local entertainment make a visit to Chestertown special at any time of the year.

For more information about events and attractions in Kent County, contact the Kent County Visitor Center at 410-778-0416, visit www. kentcounty.com or e-mail tourism@kentcounty.com . For information about the Historical Society of Kent County, call 410-778-3499 or visit www.kentcountyhistory.org/geddes.php . For information specific to Chestertown visit www.chestertown.com .

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Discover your new favorite spot to dine in Caroline County, MD! From fine dining at Caroline’s in Denton and vegetarian cuisine at Earth Tones Cafe to Tenchi Spanish American Kitchen in Greensboro and the Ridgely Ice Cream Parlor, we’re open for you, if you’re

Photo: Caroline’s in Denton

Caroline County – A Perspective

Caroline County is the very definition of a rural community. For more than 300 years, the county’s economy has been based on “market” agriculture.

Caroline County was created in 1773 from Dorchester and Queen Anne’s counties. The county was named for Lady Caroline Eden, the wife of Maryland’s last colonial governor, Robert Eden (1741-1784).

Denton, the county seat, was situated on a point between two ferry boat landings. Much of the business district in Denton was wiped out by the fire of 1863.

Following the Civil War, Denton’s location about fifty miles up the Choptank River from the Chesapeake Bay enabled it to become an important shipping point for agricultural products. Denton became a regular port-ofcall for Baltimore-based steamer lines in the latter half of the 19th century.

Preston was the site of three Underground Railroad stations during the 1840s and 1850s. One of those stations was operated by Harriet Tubman’s parents, Benjamin and Harriet Ross. When Tubman’s parents were exposed by a traitor, she smuggled them to safety in Wilmington, Delaware.

Linchester Mill, just east of Preston, can be traced back to 1681, and possibly as early as 1670. The mill is the last of 26 water-powered mills to operate in Caroline County and is currently being restored. The long-term goals include rebuilding the millpond, rehabilitating the mill equipment, restoring the miller’s dwelling, and opening the historic mill on a scheduled basis.

Federalsburg is located on Marshyhope Creek in the southern-most part of Caroline County. Agriculture is still a major portion of the industry in the area; however, Federalsburg is rapidly being discovered and there is a noticeable influx of people, expansion and development. Ridgely has found a niche as the “Strawberry Capital of the World.” The present streetscape, lined with stately Victorian homes, reflects the transient prosperity during the countywide canning boom (1895-1919). Hanover Foods, formerly an enterprise of Saulsbury Bros. Inc., for more than 100 years, is the last of more than 250 food processors that once operated in the Caroline County region.

Points of interest in Caroline County include the Museum of Rural Life in Denton, Adkins Arboretum near Ridgely, and the Mason-Dixon Crown Stone in Marydel. To contact the Caroline County Office of Tourism, call 410-479-0655 or visit their website at www.tourcaroline.com .

Queen Anne’s County

The history of Queen Anne’s County dates back to the earliest Colonial settlements in Maryland. Small hamlets began appearing in the northern portion of the county in the 1600s. Early communities grew up around transportation routes, the rivers and streams, and then roads and eventually railroads. Small towns were centers of economic and social activity and evolved over the years from thriving centers of tobacco trade to communities boosted by the railroad boom.

Queenstown was the original county seat when Queen Anne’s County was created in 1706, but that designation was passed on to Centreville in 1782. It’s location was important during the 18th century, because it is near a creek that, during that time, could be navigated by tradesmen. A hub for shipping and receiving, Queenstown was attacked by English troops during the War of 1812.

Construction of the Federal-style courthouse in Centreville began in 1791 and is the oldest courthouse in continuous use in the state of Maryland. Today, Centreville is the largest town in Queen Anne’s County. With its relaxed lifestyle and tree-lined streets, it is a classic example of small town America.

The Stevensville Historic District, also known as Historic Stevensville, is a national historic district in downtown Stevensville, Queen Anne’s County. It contains roughly 100 historic structures, and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is located primarily along East Main Street, a portion of Love Point Road, and a former section of Cockey Lane.

The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center in Chester at Kent Narrows provides and overview of the Chesapeake region’s heritage, resources and culture. The Chesapeake Heritage and Visitor Center serves as Queen Anne’s County’s official welcome center.

Queen Anne’s County is also home to the Chesapeake Bay Environmental Center (formerly Horsehead Wetland Center), located in Grasonville. The CBEC is a 500-acre preserve just 15 minutes from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Over 200 species of birds have been recorded in the area.

Embraced by miles of scenic Chesapeake Bay waterways and graced with acres of pastoral rural landscape, Queen Anne’s County offers a relaxing environment for visitors and locals alike.

For more information about Queen Anne’s County, visit www.qac.org .

“This novel ~ set in the round the world race ~ has some very bad characters out to ruin a young man struggling to find his identity, an unexpected love interest, and some intense blue water sailing."

The book was originally serialized in Tidewater Times. Available on Amazon, print or eBook.

Changes: Coming Again

A novel in progress

by Roger Vaughan

Chapter 16: The Doldrums

Andy figured the leg from Punta to Miami had to have been designed by sadists to test sailors’ sanity. If the Southern Ocean had tried their stamina, their endurance, and severely challenged every crewman’s ability as a seaman, the 7,000 miles from Punta to the States promised a bout with light and variable conditions highlighted by the dreaded Doldrums, situated in the convergence zone where the weather systems of the northern and southern hemispheres merge at the equator. The result is a band of breathless calms cluttered with huge puddles of seaweed and other flotsam that can further inhibit headway. Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s poem The Rime of the Ancient Mariner ~ a tale of dehydration and starvation caused by a mariner’s thoughtless killing of a friendly albatross ~ is presumed to be set in the Doldrums. Becalmed under a blazing sun for many days, the mariner and his hapless mates were, Coleridge wrote, “as idle as a painted ship upon a painted ocean.”

Sargent, Damaris and Andy had

spent hours ashore before the start, looking at weather patterns for March/April going back 20 years and consulting with meteorologists about current influences. Their hope was to pick a spot in that thousandmile expanse of limbo where they might find a breeze that would carry them through. They knew it was a very long shot. Luck would be a considerable factor.

They had done well on the 2,800mile section from Punta del Este to Recife, a city on the tip of the elbow Brazil extends into the Atlantic. They had stayed 150 miles or so offshore, enough to avoid the erratic behavior of the easterlies as they approached the coast, but not so far east as to fall into the recurring mid-Southern Atlantic low between Brazil and Africa’s west coast. Recife had been off the port beam after 16 days of sailing. Not bad. “I drove Punta to Recife once,” Sargent had told his crew. “Took me 70 hours.” And still they kept moving well, crossing the equator on day 17, with the Amazon basin abeam to the west. It wasn’t for almost 300 more miles that they

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came to a halt ~ a painted ship upon a painted ocean.

After more than 19 days afloat, with the finish line in Miami still 3,000 miles distant, encountering the Doldrums was like running into stopped traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike on a hot summer day with the air conditioning struggling and a couple grumpy toddlers in the backseat. There wasn’t much to do about it, or to say. For several hours, it was quiet on the boat as the sailors retreated into themselves, taking naps and organizing their spaces in between hoisting the largest, lightest headsail they had. After a while, that was lowered to the deck rather than letting it flap about. The main was also lowered and flaked on the boom. Having it snapping above the crew’s heads as the boat rolled in the gentle swells was just adding fuel to the frustration. Normally the main would be left up in a calm to catch whatever zephyrs happened along. But there were no zephyrs. The speedo was stuck on zero.

seen! And I’ve raced on Long Island Sound! Come on...what the hell!”

Angry cursing was heard below deck. It was Larry Kolegeri. A few minutes later, Larry’s head appeared in the hatch. “Has anyone,” he said in a voice that could have stopped a bear, “seen my boot?”

“Would that be the right or the left boot, Larry?” It was Joe Dugan, the smallest sailor on the boat, casually making light of the situation.

Larry glared at him. “It would be the right boot, Joe, not that it fucking matters which goddamn boot it is. They were in the useless goddamn drying locker, and now one of them is not there.”

But there were no zephyrs. The speedo was stuck on zero.

“Think someone took it?” It was Eric Menici.

“I dunno,” Larry said with a dangerous smile. “What size feet do you have, wise ass?”

“It must be in the locker if that’s where you put it,” Stu said.

“Maybe you’d like to come down here and have a look, Stu,” Larry said, his anger building. “I’d be glad to stuff your ass in there so you could have a really good look.”

“I mean, this is flat!” Stu exclaimed, breaking the silence after several hours. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. Flat! And we’re in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, hundreds of miles offshore, thousands of miles from Africa, and we’re in the deadest, flattest calm I’ve ever

“Calm down, Larry. Calm down, for crissakes. The boot will turn up. We’ll find it.” Sargent, down below, was trying to forestall trouble.

“Yeah, calm down, bro,” Larry’s brother Caskie chimed in from on deck. “I mean, it’s not like you need boots right now, man. Or maybe you

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do, I dunno. It’s only 94 degrees. Boots might be a good call. Myself, I’d prefer more sunscreen. Or maybe a cold beer.”

Larry came out of the hatch and made his way through the cockpit to the mid-deck where Caskie was sitting. People moved out of his way. Caskie quickly stood up. This wasn’t the first time his big brother had run amok.

“You take my boot, bro?” Larry asked. The two linebackers were face to face.

“What if I did?” Caskie said.

The two came together with a dull smack, both struggling to take the other down. The crew was silent. Sargent, who had rushed on deck, said quietly, “Okay, knock it off. Right now!” It was too late. As one tangled mass of muscle, the two lost their balance and went overboard. They came up still grappling. Sargent shook his head.

“Shark!” Stu yelled. “Shark!”

“I didn’t realize it was fourth and one,” Sargent said.

Larry laughed again, then stood up and dove back in. One by one, the rest of the crew followed until only Sargent was left on the boat. “It’s all yours from here,” Andy shouted at him.

“Screw you,” Sargent muttered, securing the rope boarding ladder to the rail. Then he dove in. *

“Shark!”

Stu yelled. “Shark!”

The two broke it off and sprinted for the boat. Crewmen grabbed their arms and shoulders and pulled them on board. Sputtering, Larry Kolegeri wiped his eyes and scanned the water. “No shark, right?”

“I swear I saw one,” Stu said.

Larry started laughing. “Man, that felt good.” He looked at Sargent. “Sorry.”

It was a full 24 hours before a breath of wind stirred the masthead fly. It was night, but Andy’s watch was on the case. Up went the big Code Zero heads’l that had been flaked on deck. A very light sheet had already been attached. The sail was trimmed with care by hand and actually assumed some shape before the main was hauled up. Andy watched the speed gage actually registering some headway: .5, 1., 1.5 knots. Several more little zephyrs brushed the sails, with the calm periods between them getting shorter and shorter until All American was ghosting along at between 2 and 3 knots. In the wrong direction. At least they were moving. Andy’s fingertips were ever so light on the big wheel, teasing the boat toward the north as he felt the breeze trending ever so slightly right, moving due east as the minutes passed. They sailed several hours like this, with

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Damaris confident they were on the right track. “The easterly is a good sign,” he assured Andy. “It should keep strengthening on this course.”

He was right. In six hours, the Code Zero had been replaced by the number one jib, and the speedo was steady on eight knots. The mood on the boat had improved noticeably. Larry had found his boot and mumbled apologies all around. No one had accepted them.

The easterly had strengthened enough so that in another day the afterguard was faced with the decision of how to best handle the approach to Miami. That decision had been the subject of a long discussion between Sargent, Andy, Damaris and Stu several days before the start. The default course was to leave the Caribbean Islands ~ from Grenada near South America, to the Bahamas off Florida ~ to port, then turn left through the Bahamas into Miami. Damaris had broached another idea. “If the easterly trades seem locked in,” he had argued, “we could sail into the Caribbean Sea, leave all those islands to starboard until we got to Puerto Rico, then cut back into the Atlantic between Puerto Rico’s west end and the Dominican Republic. We’d have a faster, deeper wind angle instead of fighting a tighter reach all the way. And,

it’s actually a shorter distance.”

“How much deeper?” Andy asked. “Ten degrees. At least. Maybe 15.” “Worth a few knots,” Sargent said. “Yep. Spinnaker, maybe.”

“How wide is that passage off Puerto Rico?” Sargent wanted to know.

“Hundred miles,” Damaris said. “Isn’t there a little island in the middle?”

“Yeah, Mona Island. About five miles wide. Unoccupied.”

“Wildlife sanctuary,” said Stu. “Man, how I’d love to stop there. But guys, that’s Mona Passage, very tricky place, very close to the Puerto Rican trench that’s five miles deep.

Monica can kick ass. Wild thunderstorms, confused seas

Deepest trench in the Atlantic. It depends on tides and weather patterns, but Mona can kick ass. Wild thunderstorms, confused seas. Boats have been beat up going through Mona. Cruising boats sometimes wait weeks for a friendly weather window.”

“Could be nasty at night,” Sargent said.

“Actually, it’s supposed to ease off at night when the land cools.”

“There’s a lighthouse, Mona light, east side, right where we want it,” Damaris said.

“Puerto Rico could block an easterly wind,” Andy said.

“Puerto Rico lays dead east and west,” Damaris said. “I figure we’ll slow down a little for maybe as much

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as 10 miles running the cut. But it wouldn’t be that bad if the easterly holds. We’d give the Puerto Rico side a wide berth.”

“You’d be asking a lot,” Sargent said. “We’d have to decide inside or outside at least 24 hours before we got there, and hope the easterly would hold.”

“What about the other side?” Stu had asked. “The east end of Puerto Rico, St. Croix side. I’ve been through there. Culebra Island is smack in the middle of that passage, lot of bars and rocks, but at night the whole place is lit up like a stadium.”

“We’d have to sail higher to get there,” Damaris said. “May as well stay outside. Puerto Rico is 100 miles long. The whole idea is to stay deeper and faster.”

played making a call on the way to Auckland that hadn’t exactly turned out well. Ram Bunctious had made up a mile on them and drawn even, setting up the wild finish.

“You still got your case of rum,” Andy said. Sargent: “Yes I did.”

Risks are a part of this game ~ knowing when to take them

The discussion had ended with three plans on the table. Plan A was going outside, referred to as the Koonce route, leaving the islands to port. Plan B was going inside, through the Caribbean Sea if the easterly trades were locked in, and using Mona Passage to get back into the Atlantic. Plan C was also inside, cutting back into the Atlantic at Culebra. But that was considered a backup in case it looked like Mona was behaving badly.

Andy said he figured that Koonce would be going outside. “Don’t we all agree?”

“Yes,” Sargent had said. “Common knowledge is only fools go inside. Every one of those islands is a blocker in an easterly.”

“Not if you stay 50–60 miles away from them,” Damaris said.

“Risks are part of this game,” Andy said. “Knowing when to take them…”

“Remember Hens and Chickens,” Sargent said, momentarily tempering the enthusiasm as they all re -

Damaris had established a GPS point on the chart where a decision had to be made about which route they would take. It was very far out, 300 miles from Grenada. But if they were to go the Koonce route, that’s where they would have to start steering a little higher, more northerly. Given how the easterly had strengthened, Damaris’s point of no return was coming up fast. The decision was made difficult by what they didn’t know, like where Ram Bunctious was, or how badly ~ or favorably ~ their rival had been affected by the Doldrums.

Andy was enthusiastic about

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Damaris’s Plan B. One had to assume that Ram Bunctious had done well in the Doldrums, better than they had done, and that their job was to catch them. Risk was part of racing, and, as he had argued, as far as risk was concerned, Plan B wasn’t very extreme. Mona Passage might be tough, but it wasn’t Cape Horn by any means.

Damaris went over the weather one last time as All American approached the GPS point he had named “Helen,” after an old girlfriend. The easterly was holding, looking good for a couple days. Sargent wasn’t totally sold on Plan B, but he ended up yielding to Damaris and Andy. With one condition. If Ram beat them by taking the Koonce route, they would buy the rum. Andy argued they should split it three ways. Done deal.

a bit of a struggle, but it added two knots of boat speed. After the long haul up the South American coast and the many grim hours in the Doldrums, the creative move to sail through the Caribbean had refocused the crew. They were cranked, ready to make the most of it.

*

Mona Passage might be tough, but it wasn’t Cape Horn

It had gotten dark when All American lined up Mona Passage. They had flown through the Caribbean. The easterly had stayed strong, and the course from Grenada to Mona had kept them away from the closest islands. As Damaris had figured, the deeper wind angle had allowed them to keep the spinnaker up and pulling for the 24 hours it had taken them to sail the 400 miles. The Isla de Mona light on the island’s southeast side had come into view around 10 p.m., meaning they were 15 miles out.

GPS Helen (8.11 degrees north, 52.7 degrees west) was roughly 150 miles north of French Guiana. When they had made Helen, they set a course to Mona Passage that would take them close by the northeast side of Grenada, a course that improved their wind angle by five degrees. With the wind blowing less than 20 knots, sometimes, the combination of course and wind speed allowed Sargent to call for the small asymmetrical spinnaker. Carrying it was

The current was with them, normally a good sign. But the water depth went from 25,000 feet to 2,000 feet in just 50 miles, a fact Damaris hadn’t bothered to mention when he proposed Plan B. No sense getting everyone excited. The ocean floor had the same profile coming from the other direction. Imagine a very slender mountain four miles high ~ a massive submarine piton ~ topping out a couple thousand feet under the surface, its peak located

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in mid-Mona Passage. Such a radical contour could create some nasty waves if wind and current were right. Damaris hoped no north had developed in the easterly wind on the Atlantic side of Puerto Rico that would cause a wind against tide situation, creating brutal wave action known as “rooftops.”

They were giving Puerto Rico the widest berth possible, cutting Mona Light as close as they dared, in hopes of staying out of the lee created by the large island. Still, they had slowed noticeably. “Not good,” Sargent said as he watched the speedo drop to 10 knots.

“The Passage is more quiet at night, don’t forget,” Damaris reminded him. Sargent quietly cursed.

side, and it seemed to push the boat sideways. It felt more solid than a wave, but it was subtle. There it was again. “Have a look,” Andy said to Dugan.

With his light, Joe peered along the port side. “Nothing,” he said, but kept looking. “Wait…holy cow… you’re not gonna believe this…it’s a freaking whale! Damn near as big as the boat.”

“Whales have been spotted in here,” Damaris said as the whale made contact with the boat again.

“What else did you decide not to mention?” Sargent asked Damaris.

“What’s the whale doing,” Stu asked. “Is it love?”

With Mona light close abeam, Stu felt a bump that was heavier than from a wave.

As All American approached Mona Island, the seas began to build into a confusing chop. With the wind speed down, the boat gave up its control to the seas that seemed to come from every direction, knocking the crew about mercilessly. Stu was driving. “Not much to do,” he said, working the wheel to find an advantageous course. “I’d suggest going to the big jib, but the chute’s still full. We’re probably doing the best we can.”

With Mona light close abeam, Stu felt a bump that was heavier than from a wave. It was on the leeward

“Hope not,” Dugan said. “That could be a bit strenuous.”

“Our bottom is white,” Sargent said. “Whales are usually attracted by dark bottoms.”

Teddy Bostwick poked his head up the hatch. “It’s barnacles,” he said. “Whales often use boats for rubbing off the barnacles that grow on them. What kind of whale?”

“Big,” Dugan said. “He, or she, is definitely rolling after she nudges us,” he said, his eyes fixed on the whale. “Teddy might be right.”

Teddy went to the rail. “Humpback,” he said. “One of the smaller ones. Only 35, 40 tons. Forty feet, maybe.”

The crew was stunned into silence by Teddy’s casual description as the

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whale’s gyrations shook the boat. The smell of the animal was strong. The odor was more deeply aquatic than foul. It conjured the murk of low tide with just a hint of rotten lobster bait spicing the salty freshness of the mist of waves breaking on rocks. It was the powerful essence of a huge, well-traveled marine being.

“As an animal lover, I’d like to accommodate this guy’s needs,” Andy said as the whale continued to deliver solid bumps to the boat, causing the spinnaker to collapse for a moment. “He’s a menace. We’ve got to concentrate on getting through here. Any suggestions?”

The idea is to scare the shit out of this thing so she’ll find another loofah for her beauty bath.”

“He,” Teddy said.

It was the powerful essence of a huge, well-traveled marine being.

“We could poke him with something,” Teddy said.

“I doubt he’d even feel it,” Stu said. “Or it might piss him off.”

There was a particularly heavy bump toward the bow that altered the boat’s course by 10 degrees.

Andy had gone below. He came up with the Very Pistol ~ a flare gun ~ and a box of cartridges.

“I doubt those things will burn underwater,” Dugan said.

“You got a better idea? Look, I never fired one into the water. I’m not sure I ever fired one, period. But they don’t have to burn long. I think they go off hot enough to burn for a few seconds, which is all we need.

“Whatever,” Andy said as he walked to the rail and looked down at the immensity of the animal that had been attracted to their hull. Forty tons ~ 80,000 pounds ~ was difficult to imagine. The boat weighed around a third of that. He walked forward to find the head just as the whale rolled and looked him in the eye. It was a sobering moment. Later, in an interview, Andy would say he had definitely felt awed by one of the ocean’s mighty sovereigns. “It might not have been sex he was after,” Andy had said. “The boys joked about that. But it was personal. He was taking care of his skin. It didn’t seem wise to get between a whale and his toilet. Maybe it was because we’d been at sea so long, 26 days or so. When you are out that long, you tread very softly. You’re a speck on the ocean, a stranger in a strange land. The odds are so against you. You don’t want to put out any bad vibes, like that ancient mariner who shot the albatross. He paid dearly. You mind your manners, observe the rules. ‘Yes sir, Mr. Whale, your excellence.’ And here I was, about to shoot at him, maybe hurt him. It was a bad minute.”

Andy had fired. He made sure not

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to aim directly at the whale’s eye and possibly blind him. But if he didn’t fi re near the head it made no sense. He had to get the animal’s attention, and he succeeded. The flare had hit the water with an explosive burst, digging a hole and blowing water in every direction. The flare burned so hot it repulsed the water for a good five seconds before it yielded. But two seconds was all that would have been needed. In that short span, 40 tons of whale leapt away from the boat like it had been electrocuted. It dug in flukes as wide as the boat, and with a mighty lunge disappeared, lifting a wall of foam that soaked everyone on the boat. The pointed tip of the animal’s tail gave the hull a slap, leaving an abrasion.

them every 2.5 seconds. It was on one of those sweeps that Joe Dugan noticed the disturbance in the water behind them. Something was coming at them at a fast clip. “Incoming!” Joe shouted. “Incoming!”

“Incoming!”

Joe shouted. “Incoming!”

Andy could never explain why he had reloaded the Very Pistol. Must have been automatic, he had said. But after a few silent moments while the crew was catching its collective breath, while heart rates subsided and calm returned to the boat, Andy would be glad he did. Stu had brought All American back on course. The spinnaker was pulling. Speed was back up to 10 knots, with the bad chop continuing to punish boat and crew. Mona light was now slightly behind them, with its powerful white beam sweeping across

Andy turned, waiting for the next sweep of the light. He saw the bulge a sizable underwater object makes when it is moving fast, close to the surface. He aimed in front of the bulge and fi red. Startled by the bright explosive flare, a good 20 feet of the enormous whale breached majestically from the water, seeking the sky. It wore a glistening cloak of water clinging to its massive body. The animal’s angry eye above the pleated ventrals, at the base of a powerful pectoral fi n as long as 20 feet, seemed demonically fi xed on them. The half turn it executed was frozen for a second, dramatically backlit by the next sweep of the light, before the whale landed with a resounding smack close behind the boat, a splashdown that displaced another foamy tsunami of water. All American’s crew, mesmerized, hardly realized it was again soaked to the skin. “Got it,” Eric Menici said, cradling his video camera in its waterproof case.

That would be the last they’d see of the whale.

Chapters 1-15 can be found at www.tidewatertimes.com

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