Pickleball craze picks up speed in Howard County

By Margaret Foster
Posted on November 22, 2022

Pickleball — a game that early on attracted mostly older adults at senior centers — is now the fastest-growing sport in America and the country’s newest major league sport. It’s attracting the rich and famous: George Clooney, Stephen Colbert and author Brené Brown are avid picklers, along with other celebrities like Phil Mickelson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Larry David, Melinda Gates,... READ MORE

New sports memoir hits home

By Robert Friedman
Posted on November 21, 2022

“I saw Brooks Robinson dive to his right, I saw Cal Ripken Jr. dive to his left” in magical fielding plays for the Baltimore Orioles, writes Baltimore-raised Tom Callahan in his latest book, Gods at Play: An Eyewitness Account of Great Moments in American Sports. “I saw [Johnny] Unitas hand the ball off and still go through his many fakes” to fool would-be tacklers, Callahan... READ MORE

Granny nannies who love their jobs

By Margaret Foster
Posted on October 31, 2022

Call it good timing. Seven years ago, Silver Spring resident Margaret McDermott was expecting her first grandchild. At the same time, her longtime job as an event planner fizzled out. When she realized she could spend her empty days with her baby grandson, McDermott jumped at the chance, much to her surprise. “I thought, ‘I’ll just try it for a day,’ and I was hooked,” said... READ MORE

Pickleball craze picks up speed in Baltimore

By Margaret Foster
Posted on October 17, 2022

Pickleball — a game that early on attracted mostly older adults at senior centers — is now the fastest-growing sport in America and the country’s newest major league sport. It’s attracting the rich and famous: George Clooney, Stephen Colbert and author Brené Brown are avid picklers, along with other celebrities like Phil Mickelson, Leonardo DiCaprio, Larry David, Melinda Gates,... READ MORE

More than half his life at the Post

By Margaret Foster
Posted on October 03, 2022

John Kelly, the intrepid writer of a daily column for the Washington Post for almost two decades, can’t quite believe he’s turning 60 this year. After all, he plays in a rock ‘n’ roll band and works as hard as ever. “I remember when I first started at the Post when I was 26, seeing the grizzled old newsroom people and thinking, ‘Oh man they’re just so out of... READ MORE

Join the club — so many options in Howard County

By Margaret Foster
Posted on September 26, 2022

When Marge Ewertz was working full-time as a nurse at Johns Hopkins, she started taking Mondays and Fridays off so she could go on bike rides with an over-60 cycling group. “I had to retire because I was having way too much fun biking,” Ewertz said. Now 70, Ewertz bikes with three groups, including Cycle2Health, a peer-led club coordinated by Howard County’s Office on Aging and ... READ MORE

Join the club — so many options in Baltimore

By Margaret Foster
Posted on September 21, 2022

When Marge Ewertz was working full-time as a nurse at Johns Hopkins, she started taking Mondays and Fridays off so she could bike with Cycling Seniors of Baltimore County, a group of about 150 bikers who are over age 60. “I had to retire because I was having way too much fun biking,” Ewertz said. Now 70, she rides 3,600 miles per year and leads fellow bikers on rides each... READ MORE

Join the club — so many options in DC

By Margaret Foster
Posted on September 06, 2022

When Mano Malayanur first moved to America from India three decades ago, he struggled to meet people. Then he learned about a new club at the time, the Northern Virginia Hiking Club, which organized group hikes in the area. He joined one hike and has been a member of the club ever since. “It’s been fantastic. For me, as an immigrant to the U.S., when I joined the club, it helped me... READ MORE

Nonprofit helps clients succeed

By Catherine Brown
Posted on August 23, 2022

While working as a fashion consultant two decades ago, Howard County resident Jeannette Kendall had a realization that transformed her life. Her clients had clothing they no longer wanted. At the same time, people in crisis were struggling because they lacked professional clothing and the skills needed to get a job. With that a-ha moment in 2001, Kendall launched the nonprofit Success ... READ MORE

From war coverage to thrillers

By Robert Friedman
Posted on August 22, 2022

Baltimore-area spy novelist, Dan Fesperman, worked for 21 years at the Baltimore Sun as a reporter. During those years, he mostly covered Europe and the Middle East, traveling to 30 countries and covering three wars. He retired in 2005, after “I did all I wanted to do” in journalism, he told the Beacon, and turned his full-time attention to writing novels of intrigue and... READ MORE