Older Than Dirt

'Someone asked the other day, 'What was your favorite fast food when you were growing up?' 'We didn't have fast food when I was growing up,' I informed him. 'All the food was slow.''C'mon, seriously. Where did you eat 'It was a place called 'at home,'' I explained. ! 'Mom cooked every day and when Dad got home from work, we sat down together at the dining room table, and if I didn't like what she put on my plate I was allowed to sit there until I did like it.' By this time, the kid was laughing so hard I was afraid he was going to suffer serious internal damage, so I didn't tell him the part about how I had to have permission to leave the table. But here are some other things I would have told him about my childhood if I figured his system could have handled it : Some parents NEVER! owned their own house, wore Levis , set foot on a golf course, traveled out of the country or had a credit card. In their later years they had something called a revolving charge card. The card was good only at Sears Roebuck. Or maybe it was Sears & Roebuck. Either way, there is no Roebuck anymore. Maybe he died. My parents never drove me to soccer practice. This was mostly because we never had heard of soccer. I had a bicycle that weighed probably 50 pounds, and only had one speed, (slow). We didn't have a television in our house until I was 5. It was, of course, black and white, I was 13 before I tasted my first pizza, it was called 'pizza pie.' When I bit into it, I burned the roof of my mouth and the cheese slid off, swung down, plastered itself against my chin and burned that, too. It's still the best pizza I ever had. We didn't have a car until I was 4. It was an old black Dodge. I never had a telephone in my room. The only phone in the house was in the living room and it was on a party line. Before you could dial, you had to listen and make sure some people you didn't know weren't already using the line. Pizzas were not delivered to our home. But milk was. All newspapers were delivered by boys and all boys delivered newspapers my brother delivered a newspaper, six days a week. It cost 7 cents a paper, of which he got to keep 2 cents. He had to get up at 6AM every morning. On Saturday, he had to collect the 42 cents from his customers. His favorite customers were the ones who gave him 50 cents and told him to keep the change. His least favorite customers were the ones who seemed to never be home on collection day. Movie stars kissed with their mouths shut. At least, they did in the movies. Touching someone else's tongue with yours was called French kissing and they didn't do that in movies. I don't know what they did in French movies. French movies were dirty and we weren't allowed to see them If you grew up in a generation before there was fast food, you may want to share some of these memories with your children or grandchildren. Just don't blame me if they bust a gut laughing. Growing up isn't what it used to be, is it? MEMORIES from a friend : My Dad is cleaning out my grandmother's house (she died in December) and he brought me an old Royal Crown Cola bottle. In the bottle top was a stopper with a bunch of holes in it. I knew immediately what it was, but my daughter had no idea. She thought they had tried to make it a salt shaker or something. I knew it as the bottle that sat on the end of the ironing board to 'sprinkle' clothes with because we didn't have steam irons. Man, I am old. How many do you remember?Head lights dimmer switches on the floor.Ignition switches on the dashboard.Heaters mounted on the inside of the fire wall.Real ice boxes.Pant leg clips for bicycles without chain guards.Soldering irons you heat on a gas burner.Using hand signals for cars without turn signals.Older Than Dirt Quiz : Count all the ones that you remember not the ones you were told about Ratings at the bottom. 1 Blackjack chewing gum2. Wax Coke-shaped bottles with colored sugar water3. Candy cigarettes4. Soda pop machines that dispensed glass bottles5. Coffee shops or diners with tableside juke boxes6 . Home milk delivery in glass bottles with cardboard stoppers7. Party lines8. Newsreels before the movie9. P.F. Flyers10. Butch wax11. TV test patterns that came on at night after the last show and were there until TV shows started again in the morning. (there were only 3 channels) 12. Peashooters13. Howdy Doody14. 45 RPM records15. S& H greenstamps16 Hi-fi's17. Metal ice trays with lever18. Mimeograph paper19 Blue flashbulb20. Packards21. Roller skate keys22. Cork popguns23. Drive-ins24. Studebakers25. Wash tub wringers

If you remembered 0-5 = You're still youngIf you remembered 6-10 = You are getting olderIf you remembered 11-15 = Don't tell your age,If you remembered 16-25 = You're older than dirt!I might be older than dirt but those memories are the best part of my life.

Compliments via e-mail from S. Bennett

Have another example to contribute, please do!

This is your neighborhood. This is your town. This is North Beach.

Buy Locally

Bank of America has issued the following alert:

"Store Closings & Gift Cards"

I wanted to give a heads up that if you tend to give gift cards around the holidays, you need to be careful that the cards will be honored after the holidays. Stores that are planning to close after Christmas are still selling the cards through the holidays even though the cards will be worthless January 1. There is no law preventing them from doing this. On the contrary, it is referred to as 'Bankruptcy Planning). Below is a partial list of stores that you need to be cautious about.

Circuit City (filed Chapter 11)

Ann Taylor- 117 stores nationwide closing

Lane Bryant, Fashion Bug ,and Catherine's to close 150 stores nationwide

Eddie Bauer to close stores 27 stores and more after January

Cache will close all stores

Talbots closing down specialty stores

J. Jill closing all stores (owned by Talbots)

Pacific Sunwear (also owned by Talbots)

GAP closing 85 storesFootlocker closing 140 stores more to close after January

Wickes Furniture closing down

Levitz closing down remaining stores

Bombay closing remaining stores

Zales closing down 82 stores and 105 after January

Whitehall closing all stores

Piercing Pagoda closing all stores

Disney closing 98 stores and will close more after January.

Home Depot closing 15 stores 1 in NJ ( New Brunswick )

Macys to close 9 stores after January

Linens and Things closing all stores

Movie Galley Closing all stores

Pep Boys Closing 33 stores

Sprint/Nextel closing 133 stores

JC Penney closing a number of stores after January

Ethan Allen closing down 12 stores.

Wilson Leather closing down all stores

Sharper Image closing down all stores

K B Toys closing 356 stores

Loews to close down some stores

Dillard's to close some stores.

So what better reason is there to buy locally ?

It is good for the Town. It is good for the Neighborhood stores. It is good for North Beach

Great Recipe

1. Take a 10-30 minute walk every day. And while you walk, smile. It is the ultimate anti-depressant.

2. Sit in silence for at least 10 minutes each day. Talk to God about what is going on in your life. Buy a lock if you have to.

3. When you wake up in the morning complete the following statement, 'My purpose is to__________ today. I am thankful for______________'

4. Eat more foods that grow on trees and plants and eat less food that is manufactured in plants.

5. Drink green tea and plenty of water. Eat blueberries, wild Alaskan salmon, broccoli , almonds & walnuts.

6. Try to make at least three people smile each day.

7. Don't waste your precious energy on gossip, energy vampires, issues of the past, negative thoughts or things you cannot control. Instead invest your energy in the positive present moment.

8. Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince and dinner like a college kid with a maxed out charge card.

9. Life isn't fair, but it's still good.

10. Life is too short to waste time hating anyone.

11. Don't take yourself so seriously. No one else does.

12. You are not so important that you have to win every argument. agree to disagree.

13. Make peace with your past so it won't spoil the present.

14. Don't compare your life to others. You have no idea what their journey is all about.

15. No one is in charge of your happiness except you.

16. Frame every so-called disaster with these words: 'In five years, will this matter?'

17. Forgive everyone for everything.

18. What other people think of you is none of your business.

19. GOD heals everything - but you have to ask Him.

20. However good or bad a situation is, it will change.

21. Your job won't take care of you when you are sick. Your friends will. Stay in touch!!!

22. Envy is a waste of time. You already have all you need.

23. Each night before you go to bed complete the following statements: I am thankful for__________. Today I accomplished_________.

24. Remember that you are too blessed to be stressed.

25. When you are feeling down, start listing your many blessings. you'll be smiling before you know it.

Send this to everyone you care about.
Direct attribution goes to our very good neighbor Michael Parrish. (Thanks Michael!)

Have any other good recipes, you know what to do.

This is your Town. This is your Neighborhood. This is North Beach

Pie n the Sky

Pete’s Pies (Key Lime Pies to be exact) is on vacation while getting its act together with the Calvert County Health Department as one person, who obviously didn't get a sample, felt the need as a responsible (sic) citizen, to accomplish. The citizen was right on the mark because in Maryland, unlike the Commonwealth of Virginia, you cannot bake food products in your home kitchen for commercial distribution. I am thankful that this person informed on me, during the proposed Town Hall debate, to the Health Department, since, after receiving a certified letter from the agency, I got to speak with one of its very attentive staff members. Since then, I also got to meet an ancillary victim of this incident-Kim of Kim’s Key Lime Pies in Solomons Island, Maryland.

As previously stated, I am doing what I should have done in the beginning, learning the applicable rules, mustering the funding, so when approval to begin anew “Pete’s Pies” is given, I can hit the ground running.

With all that has happened in the past two months, it never dawned on me , contrary to Health Department information, that Kim was not the one who reported my transgression. I visited Kim last Sunday and she was stunned that someone had used her name to complain about Pete’s Pies . A very engaging entrepreneur, Kim regaled me with the histrionics of her career and her store’s operation, which was both impressive and informative.

For obvious reasons, I think my Key Lime Pie is the absolute best, but all should know that Kim’s is a definite contender. After all, that is how it all got started.

On a balmy early summer evening on the porch of the Westlawn Inn, there was a discussion about Key Lime Pies and who could make the best one. Great topic for a small town. I had an old "family” recipe and held an informal tasting of my pie on the porch of the Westlawn Inn to celebrate former Mayor Mark Frazer’s appointment by Governor O’Malley to the state's higher education board. Indeed the pie was a contender and “poof” it was gone. Similar ‘free’ distributions of the pies went to friends, neighbors, relatives, commercial establishments, restaurants, and judicial officials as far away as Annapolis, and, not to my surprise, the responses were all very positive. Samples were also given to Town Hall staff in an effort to get permission to sell the pies at this summer’s Farmer’s Market. The response to the two pies that were left was very positive, but I abandoned the marketing effort in light of the fact that I could not honestly attest to a requirement that the ingredients were locally grown, a criteria for any submission to the Farmer's Market. I probably could have satisfied the process by buying eggs from a local farmer, but it seemed like such a costly effort when I can walk six blocks to Roland’s to get the same. Catch 22, support a local establishment or……you get the picture.

Kim and I are in complete agreement that Key Lime pies are not cheap to make both in terms of product costs and also preparation time, so to market the same would have to be at a price of at least $3.50 a slice, with a minimum of eight slices to a pie, you may net a decent hourly rate with multiple pies in the oven. So my investment in this new venture, with market testing and consumer sampling of this ‘contender’, was very substantial.
I am moving forward with “Pete’s Pies” and hope to be fully licensed over the winter so Kim and I can have a ‘bake off” in the spring of 09. She would actually like to have a ‘throw down” with Bobby Flay, but I am initially from New York, so ……………, what do they say about.....seconds?

There is a multi faceted moral of this recital: I was able to dust off an old “family” recipe, which has been uniformly well received and experience ideally what small towns are all about. ‘Two steps forward, one step back” is a process that I am becoming used to as well. I am learning what entrepreneurism is all about. Even with this “one step back” experience, I got to meet Kim, who is making a difference! Last but not least, small minded people, who operate in the shadows of cowardice, deception, using someone else's identity and who engage in mean-spiritedness really do not know what they are doing, and like the donkey in the "Wells Are All Covered Up", it may ultimately come back to bite you!

I make a very good Key Lime pie!

This is your Town. This is your Neighborhood. This is North Beach.

Veterans Day

I met a guy while working in the middle of the night Saturday who commented on the recent election results, in the context, "That he hoped his two tours as a jumper with the "82nd Airborne" in Viet Nam in the late 60s-early 70s was not in vein." The emotions simmered a little when I told him my older brother Mike did two tours with an armour division out of Ft. Hood Texas in the late 60s as well. Unlike those brave ones who fought for the United States in Viet Nam, we sometimes forget what sacrifices, personal, physical and emotional they experienced or continue to endure.

When I used to ride Harleys, I participated in the annual Rolling Thunder to the Wall in DC, initially for the fun of it, but upon arrival at the Pentagon Parking Lot staging area, my purpose changed. Seeing the hundreds if not thousands in worn military jackets, or jackets with symbolic MIA patches, my focus turned to the higher meaning given to this important event. Some of my grade school and high school friends' names are engraved in the Wall. I occasionally think about them, remember the pranks, the sports challenges we shared, the girls we dated, the alcohol we drank while being underage. My friend Joe Blanchard, served two tours in the Special Forces in Viet Nam. The frustration got the best of him and he took his own life shortly after his return. His neighbor Marine Lieutenant Eddie Bower's name is on the Wall and I have vivid memories of the wailing and tears running down Trish Hunt's face upon learning of the loss of her brother. They are not here now to share in the memories, but I am here to pray for their salvation and the hope that he or she is looking out for me.

Similarly, to Denise Lucero, Mike Overfelt, Bob Tinari, Mark Frazer, Aric Euler, Smokey Ward, Gene Brown, Bud Hunt, Greg Dotson, Ron Russo, George Owings, Fr.David Russell (U.S. Marine) and hundreds if not thousands of other veterans in Calvert County, my brother Mike in Long Island, my former neighbor and friend Robert Gonder, dec'd (101st. Airborne), G. Gordon Liddy, Sen. John McCain, Sam Raker, Willard Morris, Uncle Dent and so many others who have served our country with distinction on the battlefield or off, in Viet Nam, the Middle East or elsewhere, I say: "Thank you for your service to our Country!"

A special thanks to Gen. A.C. Widemeyer, who made it possible for brother Mike and I to achieve some goals in life and to so many others who served with distinction in Korea, and in World Wars I & II.

I would not be able to have this blog or the ability to write profiles or speak out on the issues that I believe to be important had it not been for all of them or you. My prayers are with them and you.

To formerly respond to the veteran's rhetorical question: I do not think your service was in vein!

This is your Country. This is your Town. This is your Neighborhood. This is North Beach!.

The Wells Are all Covered Up

One day a farmer's donkey fell down into a well. The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided the animal was old, and the well needed to be covered up anyway, it just wasn't worth it to retrieve the donkey. He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to every one's amazement, he quieted down. A few shovel loads later, the farmer finally looked down the well. He was astonished at what he saw. With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey was doing something amazing. He would shake it off and take a step up. As the farmer's neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed as the donkey stepped up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off!
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick to getting out of the wells created by the North Beach Citizens Council is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles are a steppingstone. We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up! Shake it off and take a step up.
Remember the five simple rules to be happy: Free your heart from hatred - Forgive. Free your mind from worries - Most never happen. Live simply and appreciate what you have. Give more. Expect less.
NOW............ Enough of that c...p. ... The donkey later came back, and bit the farmer who had tried to bury him. The gash from the bite got infected and the farmer eventually died in agony from septic shock.
MORAL FROM TODAY'S LESSON: When you do something wrong, and try to cover your butt, it always comes back to bite you.

Alternatively, the harder people work the more chance of success they have. The more they practice the more chance of success they have. In case of emergency hard work, and practice pay off. Prayer’s help also. Sometimes emergencies are opportunities in disguise – our hard work and years of practice will soon pay off as opportunities will come our way because we keep our chin up and never give up. When the time comes we will be ready to perform and succeed!

You have two choices...smile and close this page, or pass this along to Russell K. Thurston and fellow members of the North Beach Citizens Council!

Small Town

John Mellencamp had it right in his song "Small Town" If you don't know it, get that I-Pod working!

According to North Beach staff, the beach this summer had thirty one thousand visitors, yes 31,000 visitors. Pretty impressive and perhaps very profitable for the Town of North Beach.

Private businesses did not fair as well as the beach and it was not for lack of merchandise or the every ready friendly greetings of our shop owners and restaurateurs. While NorthBeachNeighborhood.com over the winter months tries to analyzes how to route this beach traffic to our local shops and restaurants, bear in mind that this is your town and these are your neighborhood shops. If we do not support them during this Fall and upcoming Winter months, some will not be here for next summer's beach traffic. Even if you can't make a purchase or buy a meal, let our shop owners know that you care about each and every one of them and also that you care about the fact that they are our shops and restaurants. This is what being a good neighborhood is all about. If you have not met the owners, stop in and make an introduction. You may be pleasantly surprised just how interesting our shop owners and restaurateurs are. They may also get to learn something about your background and interest as well.

We will be making a concerted effort to profile each business and restaurant within the 20714 Zip Code in the weeks and months to come with the hope that a facet of each owner or a history of each shop can be captured as well. Similarly, your impressions from your visits can be posted in our Neighborhood News-Announcement section.
Give it a try.

This is your town. This is your neighborhood. This is North Beach.

Chili Anyone?

Sometime today, you will be able to see and download our very effective and marvelously productive State Delegate Sue Kullen's award winning Chili recipe. You may have already tasted her Chile at the Polar Bear swim events on this North Beach's New Years Day event. It is coming to you with limited conditions. Make it exactly as dictated and give Sue credit for this marvelous creation, by extending her a smile, a hand shake, or a big North Beach hug whenever she visits. Contributions to her political campaign or publicising her positive contributions throughout our wonderful neighborhoods would also be a nice gesture.

Think you have a great Chili recipe? Think the neighborhoods could benefit from a Chili Cook Off? Send me your thoughts. This is another way for us to be good neighbors and to bring our neighborhoods together. Reluctant to post a recipe with a response posting, e-mail it to me @ijlaw@aol.com or send it to my P.O. Box 213, North Beach,Maryland 20714. You can also post it directly to the recipe section of this website to insure you receive proper attribution.

Thanks again Sue and a very big North Beach Neighborhood "h...........ug" to you.
This is your town. This is your neighborhood. This is North Beach.

Coming Together As A Neighborhood

As evidenced by the wonderful turnout for last Sunday's "Celebration Of Our Neighborhoods" event and the opportunity to "Meet & Greet" Maryland Attorney General Doug Gansler, (see website-Neighborhood News regarding this event), and the recent substantial involvement of residents in current events involving North Beach, there is a strong desire among our neighbors to be heard and to become involved in each others lives and global community issues. As this dynamic moves forward , there will be no detractors. Efforts to silence those promoting better utilization of town funds, responsiveness to resident's questions and complaints and other quality of life issues, will be unsuccessful.
While the adage" We Cannot Undue History" comes to mind, the adage "You Are Either The Cause Of The Problem or The Instrument For Solution" is a more potent statement for living, working and/or playing in this wonderful community of ours known as North Beach.

Today and each day hereafter is "Day One" for the betterment of North Beach Neighborhoods, and we only get one chance to do it right! Anything less than a total commitment for excellence in stabilizing our infrastructure, code enforcement, ensuring safe streets, a drug free community, aesthetically pleasing streets capes, better utilization of funds, and maintaining a healthy environment is unacceptable. Efforts by those to inhibit this effort has no place in this great community of ours.
This is your neighborhood. This is your town. These are quality of life issues.

ZipLoc Omlette

Good Idea for omelets....Ziploc 'em Ziploc Omelets This works great!!! Good for when you're alone or when all your family is together. The best feature is that no one has to wait for their special omelet. Have the guests write t heir name on a Quart Size Ziploc Freezer Bag with a permanent marker. 1. Crack 2 eggs into the quart size Ziploc bag (not more than 2) shake to combine them. 2. Put out a variety of ingredients such as: Cheeses, Ham, Onions, Green Peppers, Tomatoes, Hash Browns, Salsa, crab meat, Etc. 3. Each guest adds prepared ingredients of choice to their bag and shake the bag to mix them well. 4. Make sure to get the air out of the bag and zip it up. 5. Place the bags into rolling, boiling water for exactly 13 minutes. You can usually cook 6-8 omelets in a large pot. If you have more omelets, make another pot of boiling water. 6. Cut the bags and the omelet will roll out easily. Be prepared for everyone to be amazed. 7. Nice to serve with fresh fruit and coffee cake; everyone gets involved in the process and it becomes a great conversation piece. Imagine having these ready the night before, and putting the bag in boiling water while you get ready. And in just 13 minutes you have a nice omelet for a quick breakfast. Who said we don't know how to cook!
Attribution for this recipe is unknown. I received it from my good friend T. Marvin Throckmorton, III, an author extraordinaire. Any feed back will be reported to Marvin. Inclined to try this recipe, call me and I will be the taster. I like my bacon crisp!
This is your neighborhood.

SHARON'S WAY

Many years ago, a loved one in our neighborhood died in an automobile accident. A 501(c)(3) Charity "Sharon's Way" was established and the donations and fund raising efforts have made it possible for deserving students to receive scholarship funding. Additional monies have been donated to worthwhile causes.

What has taken a back seat is the completion of a permanent structure at the site of Sharon's Way Garden at 1st. Street & Bay Avenue. What is contemplated is a memorial statue in the garden plot, perhaps with a fountain feature.

The anticipated cost of this memorial is $30,000. So for you residents who loved Sharon or care about Gill, the love of her life, or her many friends who have done so much to insure that her many good works are not forgotten, dig deep when you can and make a donation to Sharon's Way, making a specific notation that it is for her memorial garden.

Make any checks payable to Sharon's Way and mail or drop off to Peter Davis @ 4110 1st Street, P.O. Box 213, North Beach, Maryland 20714 Also, my net proceeds from the sale of North Beach T-Shirts will go to this worthwhile charity. A nice selection of large, x-large and xx-large are still available @ $12.50 each. A small number of Children sizes 14-16 are available.
Thanks so much. This is your neighborhood.

There's A Moon Out Tonight

Monday evening, neighbors on 1st Street, exited their homes to view the priceless reason some of us moved here. It was the setting of the sun, and the rising of the moon over the Chesapeake Bay. The reflection on the water from this phenomenon seemed to lead itself right to Sharon's Way, our wonderful garden established as a tribute to a former special friend of some good citizens of North Beach, Holland Point and Rose Haven.

It seems that whenever this special nocturnal takes place, it is followed by a special day when Tilghman Island. appears so clear and so close, you sense that you can touch this island that is eleven miles away.

Have a moon out tonight story, let's hear it!

This is your neighborhood. This is your town. We are special here in this neighborhood.

Fathers

Neighbors & friends gave Michael Horstkamp's dad a very nice send off yesterday. The eulogies by the visiting priest and Mike's brother brought to focus some reasons for Mike's unique stature in this wonderful community of ours. His sense of wisdom is an unknown quantity. His charm and personality are traits that are admired by men and women alike. His contributions to the neighborhood and community are genuine and without agenda. He is just an all around good person and so was his dad, according to those who spoke. His dad was one of thirteen children and he was born on Friday the 13th. No jinx here, just a great wife and great children, for whom he devoted his entire life.

Some of us were not as lucky to experience a mature relationship with our fathers. Some die early in our childhood, mine died when I was fifteen. So when someone like Mike's dad dies during his senior years, I am a touch envious and sad that I was unable to experience the ups and downs of a father and son relationship, the mentoring, the celebratory moments when one of us accomplishes something, or the consoling moments when the opposite occurs.

What is most striking is the collection of photographs of Mike's dad in live, work, and play situations. These will generate so many memories for Mike and his siblings in the years to come. Me, I only have two pictures of my father "Jim", and they were taken of him in a professional setting.

Three of my sisters were under the age of six when Jim died, and look to me for history of this man who died so young, age forty-six. Tough decisions have to be made. He was a devout Catholic and very strict " belts & brooms" father-you get the picture. The need to avoid sin, prevailed over the need for childhood mischief. There were no vacations with Jim, no hunting or fishing lessons, not a hug, high five or "good job" and most importantly, an "I love you". He did have an interest in our athletic development, swimming, football, baseball & boxing. Sometimes, we were driven to these activities by some cab driver that Jim sent. Always working was something he did and promoted us to do, splitting wood, being a paper carrier, cutting grass & an occasional cement sidewalk pouring, without rubber boots-the scars are still evident. Naturally, Jim took the proceeds of our labor. So I focus on the less somber moments in my and my elder siblings dealings with Jim, when answering the younger one's questions.

Fathers today are not so different than Mike's dad or Jim. Some live their lives for their children (Mike's dad) and some live their lives for some other purpose, children being an incidental.

So you dads out there, you only get one chance to do this "Father" thing right.For some it comes naturally, for the rest it is a constant effort. For you sons and daughters out there, whose fathers are still alive, make some memories, take some pictures, capitalize on the positive features of your dad's life, in the end , the negatives only keep you up at night.

Thanks to Mike's dad's passing, I was reminded how important fathers are in the development of our positive and less admirable qualities.

For you dad 'want to be's', the Boys & Girls Club will be opening next month. Volunteer some time, put a smile on a young one's face. Sense what it is like to be a "Father" on some level.

For you dads that have lost a son or daughter, for you sons and daughters who have lost a dad, you and they are in our thoughts & prayers.

This is your neighborhood. This is your town. This is your life.

SOME GOOD NEWS

A recent study conducted by Harvard University found that the average American walks about 900 miles a year.

Another study by the American Medical Association found that Americans drink, on average, 22 gallons of alcohol a year.

This means, on average, Americans get about 41 miles to the gallon.

Kind of makes you proud to be an American.

Have a funny story, joke, or something funny that will fuel your engine, lighten your spirit, or keep someone from slitting his or her wrist, let us have it as we will do in return. This is your neighborhood. This is your town.

SEEN A SUBMARINE LATELY

Some time ago, a resident and friend was regaling me and others with his past sighting of a submarine offshore of the North Beach coastline. Believable or not-it depends on your perspective.

Since I believe anything is possible, I did not discount the possibility of submarines offshore.

Well, some time later, I was discussing this topic with another resident living in the Twin Beaches. He too had seen evidence of a submarine and he had heard that others had seen this as well.

Seen a submarine? Let's hear about it? Think it is a crock? Your thoughts are just as valuable.
Seen or heard anything just as interesting or perplexing, let's hear about it.

This is your town. Good people like my friend are the ones who we look to in times of joy and sadness, hope and despair.

Get involved!

WELCOME TO NORTH BEACH

The comedian "Arliss" fame and HBO educator with a great sense of humor ,Robert Wahl(spelling?) has so many novel and funny ways of getting historic messages to his students. One is "When the legend becomes fact-you print the legend"

Well adjoining towns on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay are rich for legends, historic facts, and other notable information which enhance the town's history. Some is true and some is not, just legend based on repetition. North Beach is just such a town. It is rich in legend, whether the bars, parlors, eateries, hotels in and around the boardwalk, and most of it is true. George Washington did not sleep here.

There is a wonderful postcard book of places that can be purchased at the drug store in Chesapeake Beach, but is there a book of stories, folk lore, or legend that genuinely depicts this great town of ours? Got a story?, Aware of folk lore? Know a fact based on legend? How about the myths? How about a piece of property? People are still alive to talk about them. Get them involved. Listen to their stories and get them to me ijlaw@aol.com. Let's do a communal manuscript or book. Let's live the proverbial statement "When the legend becomes fact-print the legend". Let's give the residents of North Beach and the world-yes the world- reasons for wanting to visit, shop in our stores, eat in our restaurants, or buy property so he or she can live here.

My Two Cents. The Farmer's Market is undoubtedly a big success, but I question the wisdom of having a banner at 1st & Chesapeake Avenue marketing the same. We need a banner at the same location marketing North Beach, i.e., "WELCOME TO NORTH BEACH" Put another at Bay Avenue at 8th or 9th Street. I for one want our visitors to come back not because of the Farmer's Market but because North Beach is such a great place to live, work or play.

Agree or disagree, get your two cents in here or by e-mailing me ijlaw@aol.com or contact Town Hall. This is your town-get involved!

KIOSK

A lifetime ago-slight exaggeration-the Town of North Beach purchased a kiosk or multidimensional sign board or box. I remember seeing a drawing but that is all. Well a few weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending my brother Mike's daughter-Wendy's wedding in a Long Island waterfront town of Oyster Bay. There were several entrances to Oyster Bay,just like there are several entrances to North Beach, i.e. Chesapeake Avenue & 1st Street, 5th. Street and Greenwood, and Bay Avenue, either at the County line or if you want to be closer, 7th @ Ewald Square. Any one of these locations would be an ideal setting for a kiosk. It would be a natural landmark for visitors to stop and read notices and postings. Although, I favor a placement at Chesapeake Avenue & 1st Street, this would necessitate tearing down the existing sign, redoing the landscape etc. 5th & Greenwood is also a great location but it would also require some landscaping. What may be the best choice is Bay Avenue & 7th Street. Undoubtedly, there will be new development in and about this location, but that corner of Ron Russo's lot would be a killer location. It is walkable, historic, and a visually pleasant site. Hey Ron, kind of like "can you spare a dime" only Can you spare a 12x12 feet plot of space? It is tax deductible. You are already a good guy-this will make it indelible in the minds of residents and visitors.
Have another location?, have additional thoughts?, Can you spare a dime?-just kidding.
Get your two cents in here-I will pass it on with proper attribution. Better yet, notify Town Hall.
Maybe Town Hall can promote a design contest for the plot of space.
This is your town-get involved in something positive!

CHANGE IN SEASONS

What does it mean to you. Is there a memory that you want to share. Did you fall in or out of love? Did you mist over a child going to school for the first time? Was there a special end of summer vacation or road trip or trip across the Bay? Did you move into or out of a home? Did you, did you, did you-Was there-was there-was there? You get the picture. This is the place to write about it. Get to know your neighbors-let them get to know you.

It is your town. It truly is a special place with special people. Get it out.

TREES IN FLOWER BOXES

The large mature trees in the flower boxes on 1st Street east of Chesapeake Avenue and Bay Avenue from 1st Street through the Anne Arundle County line , and from Atlantic Avenue on the boardwalk all the way north and along some other side streets east of Chesapeake Avenue, are infected by a blight. It is attacking the trees from the top down and it will kill all the trees unless they are treated immediately with some type of spray. If the town loses these trees, two choices will be available. Dig them up or dig them up and replace them. Both alternatives are expensive. The treatment will be expensive as well.

Even though Town Hall, the Mayor and several Council members have been notified of this problem and have been given some contact information by his writer, if you know what specie of tree these are, what type of blight is causing the damage or what is the recommended course of treatment, respond to this blog, e-mail me @ijlaw@aol.com or contact Town Hall. This is your Town! This is your neighborhood! This is protecting your environment! Get involved.

Kudos to Michael Parrish for spotting this problem. Way to go Michael!

Painter's Palette

If you have visited Neighborhood Photos in the NorthBeachNeighborhood.com website, you will notice a house on 3rd. Street with the trellis entrance way. Owners Mark & Mike moved into this charming cottage in 2006. With a steady hand, an eye for preservation & detail, and lots of elbow grease, they have transformed this cottage into a showplace, and they have set an example of what many cottage owners in North Beach can accomplish. Their quiet demeanor contrasts well with their membership in the North Beach Garden Club and their acclaimed plantings and maintenance of the many flower pots in and around North Beach. Some times only the cottage owners in town know how much time, effort, and frustration goes into cottage preservation and upkeep, so when you see Mark and/or Mike, tip your hat to him or them, give them a nod with a smile, or note a job well done. They deserve it!