Featured Articles

  Fishing  by Helen Chappell 
The older I get, the easier it is to recall things that happened years ago, even though I often have trouble reviewing the events of the previous week. They tell me this is a factor of aging, but considering that the past week including cataract surgery, a simple procedure that requires a lot of foresight (pun intended) on the part of the patient, maybe it’s just as well.  A friend of mine reported on Facebook that a pod of dolphins has been playing in the Miles River, which is increasingly common as the water grows warmer. Someone else reported spotting a shark out in the Bay.  Read More …

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  Getting High: A Road Trip Through the Rockies by Dick Cooper

My wife, Pat, and I aren’t exercise wimps. We work out regularly at the St. Michaels Y, pushing ourselves into a cardio sweat almost every day of the week. But during our recent trip through the Rockies, we were quickly winded just walking through a parking lot. Of course, it was the parking lot at the base of Bear Lake, a pristine, forest-ringed body of water 9,450 feet above sea level. “Why does it feel like everywhere we walk, it’s up hill?” Pat asks as we near the first overlook on the trail that winds its way around the edge of the lake. “Because it is,” I puff back.  Read More...

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  Cycle of Inspiration: A Tale of Two Mentors  by Sheila Buckmaster

“Here’s an idea. I can take Dulce on the Rails-to-Trails path to the silos ~ that would be a great subject for a photo,” Merrilie tells Jazmine (“Jaz”). Both women are mentors, and they are discussing an exciting photography-and-poetry project their mentees ~ Dulce (10 years old) and ‘Lai (8 years old) ~ are enjoying. Dulce and ‘Lai are benefiting from the guidance of two individuals who have known each other for a long time. And under very interesting circumstances. You see, 12 years ago Merrilie (now an 80-year-old Long & Foster real estate agent) became Jaz’s mentor.   Read More…

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  What to Do with the Time Given Us by Michael Valliant
Frodo Baggins had reached a point in his life and his quest where he didn’t want to carry on. In J.R.R. Tolkien’s Fellowship of the Ring, Frodo wished things weren’t the way they were. His wise advisor Gandalf replied, “So do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us.” Gandalf’s words made their way into a sermon Fr. Bill Ortt gave at Christ Church Easton and have since assimilated themselves into my mind as a kind of mantra. Decide what to do with the time that we have. And no one knows how much time that is.  Read More…

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  The Lottery  by Gary D. Crawford
Nope, sorry. You didn’t win it. (Maybe next time.) Actually, though, this article isn’t about Maryland’s modern game of chance at all. Rather, it’s about some rather deadlier gambles ~ ones that were played out around here over 200 years ago. But to learn about them, we’ll need to jump back to 1790. Ready? (Hold on!) There! The 18th century was drawing to a close. It was Washington’s second term, and our new country was still a teenager. The respective responsibilities of the states and the federal government were still being worked out, and Congress was short of cash.   Read More…

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  Changes: The Man Project (Part 4 of 4)  by Roger Vaughan

Letters from the Earth is a book by Mark Twain. In the title novella, the angel Satan is banished to Earth by the Creator as punishment. Once on Earth, he begins writing letters to his angelic friends, Michael and Gabriel, about what he finds. That element of Twain’s story forms the basis of this teleplay. In this story, Gabriel is a woman (Gabriella). Fearing that the negative letters being written by Satan will cause the Creator to cancel the Man Project, Gabriella has gone to Earth, confronted Satan, and engaged him in the first of a series of bets involving man’s ability to advance, or self-destruct.  Read More…

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Tidewater Times was established in 1952 as a specialized monthly magazine which would appeal to the tourist, the prospective land buyer, and others for whom the Eastern Shore has a special allure. It was created to be small enough to fit into a woman’s purse or a man’s coat pocket. Today it has blossomed as a vital symbol of our thriving community.

Our award-winning group of Feature Writers include Helen Chappell, Dick Cooper, Gary Crawford, Pamela Meredith, Roger Vaughan, Bonna Nelson, Michael Valliant, Tom Horton, and Marc Teffeau. Distribution covers an area including Dorchester, Talbot, Caroline, Queen Anne’s and Kent counties.

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