Fun facts to know and tell about Baltimore
Whether you’re a lifelong Baltimorean or a recent transplant, chances are you don’t know everything about your hometown. How many of these fun facts did you already know? Fort McHenry is the birthplace of the American national anthem, written by Francis Scott Key during the War of 1812, when the Fort was defending the Baltimore harbor. Baltimore is home to the USS... READ MORE
Mid-summer care of blooming ornamentals
Let’s face it: July in metro Richmond is hot and humid. If you’re like me, you prefer the A/C to the sweltering heat. However, you can’t just let your garden go to seed — literally. There are a few tasks, um, “opportunities,” that take just a few minutes in the cooler hours of the morning or early evening to keep your containers and color flower beds healthy and... READ MORE
Exploring Napoleon’s power and splendor
A revolutionary republican who crowns himself Emperor of France — what kind of revolutionary is that? Whatever our opinions of Napoleon, we can no doubt agree he was an epic figure deserving epic treatment. The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts’ special exhibition, “Napoleon: Power and Splendor,” on view until Sept. 3, accomplishes a treatment befitting an emperor. Apart from... READ MORE
Learning what counts from ex-teachers
It’s a snazzy retirement party that a very good friend is tossing for herself. She has ordered grape leaves, hummus and lots of very good French wine. She deserves all of it. She has been dragging out of bed at 5 a.m. for nearly 20 years as a public school teacher in the Washington suburbs. She says her head hurts, her feet hurt, call her tomorrow and probably something... READ MORE
Try these delightful novels this summer
The Bibliophile Escape into fantasy, revel in the past, follow a detective on his rounds around the Louisiana bayous, join a tour to Cuba with a suspenseful side trip, and enjoy the company of characters created by talented writers. What a great way to spend a relaxing day! Whether soaking up the rays at the water’s edge, enjoying the shade under a favorite tree with a cool drink in... READ MORE
Marvelous musical revisits 1940s New York
So you’re still annoyed or let down that you can’t get in, or can’t afford, to see Hamilton? Well, here’s a theater-insider’s secret: go to Olney Theatre Center for their splendiferous production of the musical On the Town, and you will have just as much fun and just as much sublime pleasure, for much less money and bother. Go ahead: feel smug. You’re saving on astronomical... READ MORE
20 years on a field of dreams
On summer nights in the mid-1990s, Bruce Adams would travel to bucolic Virginia towns nestled in the Shenandoah Valley, take a seat in the bleachers of small ballparks, and revel in the thwack a baseball made against a wooden bat. Seemingly half the town would show up for the games to eat $1 hotdogs and watch the amateur college ball players who made up the summer teams and were housed... READ MORE
Play Ball!
While Big Train’s players are college athletes, older adult amateurs have a number of opportunities to join softball teams across the Washington area. Virginia Northern Virginia Senior Softball (NVSS) is a slow-pitch softball league open to men 50 and up, and women 40 and up. NVSS has more than 550 players. There are three conferences based on skill level. There are both... READ MORE
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ actress turns advocate
When Chandra Wilson’s daughter suddenly became ill with nausea, vomiting and intense abdominal pain — a condition that persisted and returned many times — the 48-year old mother and actress rolled up her sleeves and began to keep a log of her daughter’s symptoms. Eventually, the binder of information she put together, accompanied by her persistent advocacy, helped doctors... READ MORE
Ghostly matters raised in ‘The Quickening’
According to Wikipedia, “quickening” refers to the moment in pregnancy when “the woman starts to feel or perceive fetal movements in the uterus…the word, ‘quick,’ originally meant ‘alive.’” In award-winning local playwright Mark Scharf’s modern gothic tale, The Quickening, it’s the moment when one’s spirit — what constitutes one’s true self — takes... READ MORE
