https://chestertownspy.org Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Chestertown Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:17:59 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/22/out-and-about-sort-of-stars-in-different-realms-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/22/out-and-about-sort-of-stars-in-different-realms-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Sat, 22 Jun 2024 13:17:59 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/22/out-and-about-sort-of-stars-in-different-realms-by-howard-freedlander/ What did Willie Mays and Donald Sutherland have in common? Nothing. Except an overriding desire to excel in each’s craft. Mays was a true wonder to watch as he dominated baseball with an innate ability to hit well, exhibit acrobatic feats in centerfield and steal bases. His glove work in the wide expanse of centerfield […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/22/out-and-about-sort-of-stars-in-different-realms-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/18/out-and-about-sort-of-slavery-of-thought-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/18/out-and-about-sort-of-slavery-of-thought-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 18 Jun 2024 12:51:16 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/18/out-and-about-sort-of-slavery-of-thought-by-howard-freedlander/ In his commencement speech on May 19 at Brandeis University, renowned filmmaker Ken Burns identified the real culprit in the poisonous mix of tribal polarization in our nation: us. We are the enemy of racial, religious and cultural harmony in our not so united country. We expend unproductive time demonizing “others,” those people who think, […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/18/out-and-about-sort-of-slavery-of-thought-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 2 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/11/out-and-about-sort-of-higher-education-on-edge-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/11/out-and-about-sort-of-higher-education-on-edge-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Tue, 11 Jun 2024 12:10:28 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/11/out-and-about-sort-of-higher-education-on-edge-by-howard-freedlander/ As the school year has ended for U.S. colleges and universities, I hope that academic leaders closely examine their culture of tolerance and codes of conduct. Their decisions will be telling, if not determinative of the future. Protests,  encampments, anti-semitism and poor behavior have marked schools throughout the country. Local police have had to intervene. […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/11/out-and-about-sort-of-higher-education-on-edge-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/06/strike-for-democracy-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/06/strike-for-democracy-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Thu, 06 Jun 2024 12:30:39 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=177038 A bookcase in my home office, filled with the normal clutter and memorabilia (and some books), has a vial of sand. I look at it daily. The origin of the sand is Omaha Beach, a scene 80 years ago on June 6, 1944, of the greatest amphibious invasion in military history. The purpose was to […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/06/strike-for-democracy-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/04/out-and-about-sort-of-american-voter-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/04/out-and-about-sort-of-american-voter-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Tue, 04 Jun 2024 12:37:17 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/04/out-and-about-sort-of-american-voter-by-howard-freedlander/ Sen. Gary Hart, a rising star in the Democratic Party, was running for president in the 1988 primary when a photo of a woman, not his wife, sitting on his lap on a boat became public. He was cheating on his spouse. The yacht’s name was “Monkey Business.” Hart’s campaign and political career ended immediately […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/06/04/out-and-about-sort-of-american-voter-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/28/out-and-about-sort-of-hospice-heroes-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/28/out-and-about-sort-of-hospice-heroes-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Tue, 28 May 2024 13:17:17 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/28/out-and-about-sort-of-hospice-heroes-by-howard-freedlander/ In our dying days, it is not unusual for the patient and family to wish for a miracle. That hope is a way of staying alive under duress. It symbolizes a last-ditch effort to pray for life when it is slipping away far too quickly. At an event organized three weeks ago by the Hospice […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/28/out-and-about-sort-of-hospice-heroes-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/21/out-and-about-sort-of-an-apolitical-document-fails-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/21/out-and-about-sort-of-an-apolitical-document-fails-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Tue, 21 May 2024 12:46:04 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/21/out-and-about-sort-of-an-apolitical-document-fails-by-howard-freedlander/ Unbeknown to most Marylanders, the Maryland Constitution came under exacting review and revision 56 years ago. It failed miserably to gain public approval. My late mother was disappointed but not surprised. She had served as one of two women on the 31-person Constitutional Convention Commission, which rewrote the document, and then served as a delegate […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/21/out-and-about-sort-of-an-apolitical-document-fails-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/14/out-and-about-sort-of-fictional-insightful-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/14/out-and-about-sort-of-fictional-insightful-by-howard-freedlander/#respond Tue, 14 May 2024 13:06:26 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/14/out-and-about-sort-of-fictional-insightful-by-howard-freedlander/ Streaming along at night, my wife and I have found ourselves transfixed by the Netflix hospital drama, “The Resident.” If even a small portion of the series is true, hospital care is open to serious scrutiny for its goodness as well as its flaws. The series is absorbing. The casting is excellent. The operations seem […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/14/out-and-about-sort-of-fictional-insightful-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 0 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/07/out-and-about-sort-of-on-a-scale-of-1-10-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/07/out-and-about-sort-of-on-a-scale-of-1-10-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 07 May 2024 12:27:57 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=176415 I can recall countless times when a medical professional asked me to rate my pain or discomfort on a scale of 1-10. If I cannot be absolutely sure, I always default to 5 or lower. Frankly, I find the question a bit silly. If I seem disrespectful of the medical pros, I offer a universal […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/05/07/out-and-about-sort-of-on-a-scale-of-1-10-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/30/out-and-about-sort-of-on-being-humble-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/30/out-and-about-sort-of-on-being-humble-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 30 Apr 2024 13:02:08 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/30/out-and-about-sort-of-on-being-humble-by-howard-freedlander/ As I view student protests at an increasing number of colleges and universities, I disdain the disruption but respect free speech. I feel conflicted. When I ponder the dysfunction in Washington, D.C. and extreme difficulty recently in passing legislation to support Ukraine and Israel, I can see reasons for voting for and, not easily, against […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/30/out-and-about-sort-of-on-being-humble-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 2 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/23/out-and-about-sort-of-good-deed-awful-behavior-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/23/out-and-about-sort-of-good-deed-awful-behavior-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 23 Apr 2024 13:06:28 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/23/out-and-about-sort-of-good-deed-awful-behavior-by-howard-freedlander/ When Erwin Chemerinsky, dean of the Berkeley School of Law and a strong advocate of free speech, invited sixty graduating students to his home, one of them rewarded his and his wife’s kindness with appalling behavior. Using her own microphone in Chemerinsky’s backyard to plead the plight of Palestinians, she and ten other students showed […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/23/out-and-about-sort-of-good-deed-awful-behavior-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 2 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/16/out-and-about-sort-of-wondering-by-howard-freedlander/ Tue, 16 Apr 2024 13:02:02 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/16/out-and-about-sort-of-wondering-by-howard-freedlander/ One event represented a divided country, resulting in the bloodiest one-day battle ever carried out on American terrain. This Civil War action had favorable consequences for the Union cause based upon a pivotal decision by President Lincoln. The other occasion unified a polarized nation for two hours. Conversation and attention focused on a celestial phenomenon. […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/14/out-and-about-sort-of-calming-the-waters-in-oxford-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/14/out-and-about-sort-of-calming-the-waters-in-oxford-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Sun, 14 Apr 2024 12:15:19 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/14/out-and-about-sort-of-calming-the-waters-in-oxford-by-howard-freedlander/ Ever since my family settled in its first home in Talbot County on Pleasant Street in Oxford in 1976, I have always loved Oxford and its friendly folks. Its village feel was intoxicating. I have always understood that small towns face the same infrastructure and zoning issues as larger jurisdictions, with smaller staff. After watching […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/14/out-and-about-sort-of-calming-the-waters-in-oxford-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 2 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/09/out-and-about-sort-of-compromise-and-cars-by-howard-freedlander/ Tue, 09 Apr 2024 12:28:19 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=175768 Compromise, a dirty word in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, looks entirely different in Maryland’s General Assembly. Last week, as time was running out in the annual 90-day session, which adjourned yesterday at 12 midnight, the House of Delegates and the State Senate agreed on a $63 billion budget. Since both chambers are […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/02/out-and-about-sort-of-noteworthy-history-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/02/out-and-about-sort-of-noteworthy-history-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 02 Apr 2024 12:32:56 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/02/out-and-about-sort-of-noteworthy-history-by-howard-freedlander/ This is a story about an opportunity to spread the word about Blacks of the Chesapeake. Up to recently, that story went untold or ignored. Segregation forced resilience and resentment upon African Americans excluded from equal opportunity due to their skin color. In the fall of 2022, the door to a wonderful musical history created […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/04/02/out-and-about-sort-of-noteworthy-history-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/26/out-and-about-sort-of-race-to-watch-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/26/out-and-about-sort-of-race-to-watch-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 26 Mar 2024 11:46:53 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/26/out-and-about-sort-of-race-to-watch-by-howard-freedlander/ A friend recently asked if I thought that former Gov. Larry Hogan could win the U.S. Senate race against either Prince George’s County Executive Angela Alsobrooks or Congressperson David Trone (D, 6th). My immediate reaction: absolutely. A recent poll conducted by the University of Maryland and the Washington Post showed Hogan with a 20-point lead […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/26/out-and-about-sort-of-race-to-watch-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 1 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/19/out-and-about-sort-of-no-age-limit-on-romance-by-howard-freedlander/ Tue, 19 Mar 2024 12:17:50 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/?p=175124 Just as the daffodils have blossomed, so has a relationship developed between a 90-year-old woman and an 82-year-old man here at our BayWoods of Annapolis retirement community. Though amused, I am not surprised. I am pleased for my fellow residents. The 171 independent living residents at this Bay front village are senior citizens with young […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/12/out-and-about-sort-of-no-comparison-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/12/out-and-about-sort-of-no-comparison-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 12 Mar 2024 12:21:54 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/11/out-and-about-sort-of-no-comparison-by-howard-freedlander/ In recent weeks, my Spy columns have celebrated a “Ritchie Boy” who used his linguistic and cultural skills as a German Jewish immigrant to excel as an intelligence operative during World War II—and a legendary University of Maryland basketball coach who coached and mentored young men and developed an acclaimed, winning program. Both of these […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/12/out-and-about-sort-of-no-comparison-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 2 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/05/out-and-about-sort-of-makeover-artist-by-howard-freedlander/ Tue, 05 Mar 2024 13:40:31 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/03/05/out-and-about-sort-of-makeover-artist-by-howard-freedlander/ Charles “Lefty” Driesel was a legendary basketball coach at the University of Maryland, drawing statewide interest in, and acclaim for a sport that needed a spark. He ignited a flame that swept Marylanders under his spell. His death nearly 2-1/2 weeks ago at age 92 inspired memories of the 1970s and 1980s, a time when […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/02/27/out-and-about-sort-of-going-home-by-howard-freedlander/ https://chestertownspy.org/2024/02/27/out-and-about-sort-of-going-home-by-howard-freedlander/#comments Tue, 27 Feb 2024 13:39:57 +0000 https://chestertownspy.org/2024/02/27/out-and-about-sort-of-going-home-by-howard-freedlander/ It is often said you can never go home. The underlying meaning is that after a lengthy separation from a place in which you were born or lived many years, the feeling of comfort is never the same. Just imagine that your parents sent you more than 7,800 miles away to another country to avoid […]]]> https://chestertownspy.org/2024/02/27/out-and-about-sort-of-going-home-by-howard-freedlander/feed/ 1