Mid-Shore Life

The skipjack Nathan of Dorchester is accepting new volunteers for crew, maintenance and administrative positions as she gets ready for her 2010 sailing season.

Owned, operated and maintained by the nonprofit Dorchester Skipjack Committee, the Nathan sails late April through early November from Long Wharf in Cambridge. She offers charters for all occasions, educational sails and special event trips throughout the Chesapeake Bay, along with a regular public sailing schedule.

A volunteer orientation session will be held on Thursday, March 25, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the Dorchester County Airport. Registration for the session is requested by March 20. Light refreshments will be provided.

Special help is needed this year in handling reservations. The organization can use one or several individuals who have computer access and time to answer phone and email requests, along with someone to help at the dock during public sails. Except for the times at the dock, most of the work can be done from home.

Websites, email marketing and social networking

Online marketing 101 luncheon program set Thursday, March 25 in Denton

The Internet and its ever-growing technology have provided an unprecedented opportunity for businesses and organizations to communicate and cultivate relationships. “Tweeting,” emailing marketing and blogging seem to be all the rage these days --- and not just for kids. But how can this technology be harnessed to market a business or organization?

You can learn more about online marketing at a special Caroline County Chamber of Commerce luncheon program on Thursday, March 25, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Cohee’s 404 Restaurant, 26171 Shore Highway, Denton. Carol D’Agostino of Purple Cat will facilitate the program.

Take Time for Yourself by Michelle Danelle Sebly

 No time for traditional book clubs? Try the Online Book Club, created by the personable Suzanne Beecher for the express purpose of reawakening a love of books in readers who find themselves too encumbered by their modern lives to find the time to even browse their library’s shelves, much less sit down to relax and read.

“When you spend time trying to find a book that’s good for you – you’re using up your time, the hours in your day . . . I wanted to make it easy for people to find the time to read and to make it easy to sample books”, Suzanne explains.

Five minute excerpts of a weekly featured book are conveniently delivered to your email each day, resulting in 2-3 chapters by the end of the week, and giving the reader an exploratory glimpse into books they may have not otherwise noticed. The authors run the gamut of the debuting to the well known and each excerpt is preceded by a warm welcome from Ms. Beecher herself. A new book is begun every Monday. You may enjoy your daily excerpts as a relaxing, solitary activity or share your thoughts and comments about the week’s book with other readers at Suzanne's Book Club Forum by visiting: http://www.emailbookclub.com/talk.html.

The excerpts encompass a variety of genres, including fiction, non-fiction, teen, business, romance, science fiction, mystery, and thriller. Classics are offered as well, on a bi-monthly basis.

 LEARN THE SECRETS OF CATCHING STRIPED BASS WITH CAPT. RICHIE GAINES

WYE MILLS – Join Capt. Richie Gaines on Saturday, March 13 at Chesapeake College for a one-day seminar on how to find and catch striped bass (rockfish) throughout the different seasons of the Chesapeake Bay.  All levels of anglers are welcome! 

Fishing techniques such as trolling, chumming, live lining, and light tackle will be covered along with rigging, knots, and equipment selection.  Gaines will also share his knowledge on how to find and fish productive locations in the mid Bay.

Captain Richie Gaines has been guiding anglers in the Chesapeake region for over twenty years and has earned the reputation as one of the top light tackle guides on the Bay.  He fishes the Bay from the Susquehanna Flats to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel, moving with the fish to follow the best bite.  Gaines serves as President of the Chesapeake Guides Association, is past Chairman of the Maryland Sport Fishing Advisory Commission, and has been featured in several national fishing magazines and television shows.

By Cyndi Paxton Johnson

Do you ever feel pulled in different directions – only to realize you’re doing all the pulling? There are SO many things you need to do, plus the things you SHOULD do – that there is rarely time for the things you WANT to do! You either spend all your time and energy on the “needs” and “shoulds” or, like me, you stand paralyzed at the crossroad, trying to decide which direction to take! (I have the same problem bowling – can NEVER pick up a split – the ball goes right down the middle!)

If this sounds familiar – the very first thing to do is get RID of the “shoulds”!  Take a look at each one and see if it really belongs in a different category.  For example: I have an elderly great aunt & uncle I SHOULD visit.  Just phrasing it that way makes it sound like work.  Instead,  I’ll turn it around and realize why I WANT to visit them – because it will bring us all joy and sometimes there is no “later”.  Go through each “should” – if one doesn’t move naturally into another category – release it.  Don’t say you “can’t” do it (very disempowering word) – but realize you CHOOSE to do or not do something.   Every time you make a conscious choice your world expands – and you grow to fill the void.

But even after you’ve eliminated the “should” – there’s a LOT let on your plate. How do you make time for the things you WANT to do?

EASTON—Create with classes from the artists of Gallery 26,
Easton’s newest art gallery with studio and classroom space for
artists-in-residence. Classes—for both adults and kids—range from
knitting and mosaics to printmaking and jewelry design. (See below for
the listing of classes and registration information.) Gallery 26 is
located at 26 W. Dover Street, in the old Cherry’s building.

By Dwayne Eutsey

Someone I admired very much, activist historian Howard Zinn, died recently at age 87.

You may know Zinn from a book he wrote in 1980 called A People’s History of the United States. With over 1 million copies sold since its publication, this landmark (and controversial) volume retells American history from the point of view of “common people” often not included in our official historical narrative—Native Americans, slaves, workers, the poor, women, pacifists, anarchists, unionizers.

Last month, the History Channel broadcast “The People Speak”, a documentary co-produced, incidentally, by Easton native Chris Moore and his friend, actor Matt Damon. With Zinn narrating, the film featured the likes of Morgan Freeman, Marisa Tormei, and Bruce Springsteen reading and singing words from the original letters, songs, diaries, and speeches that Zinn used to write A People’s History and other works. (http://www.history.com/content/people-speak)

Coming from a working-class background myself, I am forever in debt to Zinn for showing me how this often marginalized group is actually an integral strand among many other strands that together make up our national history. His inclusive view of American identity is true to our country’s unofficial motto, E pluribus unum: “Out of many, one.”

13th Bay to Ocean Writers Conference Announces Speakers & Conference
Registration

James Michener, John Barth, and Gilbert Byron – all experienced
success as writers using the Chesapeake Bay region as inspiration for
their penned words. This winter,
aspiring and established writers from the region will have the
opportunity to learn from 23 experienced authors, poets, film writers,
writing instructors, editors, publishers and agents at one of the
region’s premier educational seminars – the 13th Annual Bay to Ocean
Writers Conference at ChesapeakeCollege in Wye Mills, MD on February
20, 2010.

Registration for the conference will be from December 1, 2009 through
February 12, 2010. Advance registration is required as past
conferences have sold out. The program is sponsored by the Eastern
Shore Writers’ Association (www.easternshorewriters.org), a nonprofit
organization supporting writers and the literary arts across the
Delmarva Peninsula.

At one time, Elkton Maryland was the marriage capital 
 EVERYONE traveled to the small town to get hitched quickly!   Step back in time!
 
Mark your calendar for this special Valentines Weekend program at the
Historical Society of Cecil County.  Elkton's history as a place for quick
marriages will be examined in an entertaining program on Saturday, Feb. 13
at 7 p.m. 

Stop in to hear about when the marriage industry thrived in Elkton
and the honeymoon express arrived in town several times each day, as the
marriage parlors lining Main Street were swamped with business.  The program
will also take a look at some of the characters behind this unusual past.

This is a free program and the Society is located at 135 E. Main Street in
Elkton.    The Society's web site is www.cchistory.org

by Cyndi Paxton Johnson

It’s easy to be grateful when everything is going our way – there’s no talent in it.  In fact, when things ARE going well we tend to become complacent, to take good news and good fortune for granted.

And then something happens that reminds us to appreciate every moment.  This week the terrible reminder came in the form of a horrific earthquake in Haiti. The devastating loss of life from the quake has turned into the tip of the iceberg. Now people that survived the quake are dying from hunger, lack of drinkable water and simple injuries.