Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 34, No. 10

So Thankful For This Community And Each of You

C R E A T I N G

A

M O R E

P O S I T I V E

R E H O B O T H

November 15, 2024 Volume 34, Number 10 camprehoboth.com

inside

THIS ISSUE

VOLUME 34, NUMBER 10 • NOVEMBER 15, 2024

4 In Brief

24 Community News

74 Celebrity Interview

6 From the Executive Director

26 Health & Wellness

MICHAEL COOK

KIM LEISEY, PHD

SHARON MORGAN

8 CAMP News

28 Buy Nothing Day

10 CAMP Stories

STEPHEN RASKAUSKAS

Tots and Tipples RICH BARNETT

12 Saturnalia

The Glass Half-Full

76 Book ‘em

34 Out & About

20 It’s My Life

CHRIS AZZOPARDI

82 Cyndi Lauper’s Farewell Show

CHRISTOPHER MOORE

14 Lori’s Café

TERRI SCHLICHHENMEYER

Meet Lukas Gage

Renovating Woodbine

31 Holiday Haikus

A Marathon of Thanks(givings)

78 Behind the Smile

30 Feels Like Home

NANCY SAKADUSKI

16 So Many Feasts

Love, Pets, and Health

10 Tips to Consume Less

A Very Queer Festival

MATTY BROWN

Nina West

CHRIS AZZOPARDI

Goldstar performs at the CAMP Rehoboth Block Party, see page 4.

The Worst Amendment ERIC PETERSON

38 Straight Talk Another Road Trip DAVID GARRETT

42 CAMP Sights

From “Sisters” to Acceptance JAMES SEARS

44 View Point

Trump’s Rough Hour

22 Words Matter

48 Historical Headliners

RICHARD ROSENDALL

John Maynard Keynes

Empowered by the Pen CLARENCE FLUKER

Ski the Great—Indoors?!

MARY JO TARALLO

Early and Often

MICHAEL THOMAS FORD

84 Let It Snow

ANN APTAKER

60 CAMPshots

Awesome October!

64 Talking Trash (and Recycling)

Beyond Lawn & Garden

My Cousin Cookie PATTIE CINELLI

GLENN LASH

71 Booked Solid

Counting Birds BETH SHOCKLEY

58 Sea Salt Table

105 We Remember

66 Reflections 68 CAMP Arts

52 OUTLook

ROMEO SAN VICENTE

JEFFREY DANNIS

50 CAMP Library Chronicles

Awareness by the Book

86 Deep Inside Hollywood

LESLIE SINCLAIR & JOE GFALLER

ON THE COVER House and Heart

Illustration by Murray Archibald

TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

72 The Real Dirt The Mighty Oak ERIC WAHL

Baked Succotash ED CASTELLI

See page 74..

EDITOR: Marj Shannon EDITORIAL ASSOCIATE: Matty Brown DESIGN AND LAYOUT: Mary Beth Ramsey

Letters from CAMP Rehoboth welcomes submissions.

Email editor@camprehoboth.com. Photographs must be high resolution (300 dpi). Documents should be sent as attachments in Microsoft Word®. Deadline for submissions is two weeks prior to the issue release date.

Letters to the Editor (up to 300 words) are published at the discretion of the Editor on a space-available basis.

Letters may be edited for length or clarity.

Letters 2

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER: Tricia Massella DISTRIBUTION: Mark Wolf CONTRIBUTORS: Ann Aptaker, Chris Azzopardi, Rich Barnett, Matty Brown, Ed Castelli, Pattie Cinelli, Michael Cook, Jeffrey Dannis, Vincent DeLissio, Clarence Fluker, Michael Thomas Ford, David Garrett, Joe Gfaller, Glenn Lash, Kim Leisey, Tricia Massella, Christopher Moore, Sharon Morgan, Eric Peterson, Mary Beth Ramsey, Stephen Raskauskas, Richard Rosendall, Nancy Sakaduski, Romeo San Vicente, Terri Schlichenmeyer, James Sears, Marj Shannon, Beth Shockley, Leslie Sinclair, Mary Jo Tarallo, Eric Wahl

Letters from CAMP Rehoboth is published 11 times per year, between February and December, as a program of CAMP Rehoboth Inc., a non-profit community service organization.

CAMP Rehoboth seeks to create a more positive environment of cooperation and understanding among all people. Revenue generated by advertisements supports CAMP Rehoboth’s purpose as outlined in our mission statement.

The inclusion or mention of any person, group, or business in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth does not, nor is it intended in any way, to imply sexual orientation or gender identity. The content of the columns are the views and opinions of the writers and may not indicate the position of CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. © 2024 by CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. All rights reserved by CAMP Rehoboth. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the editor.

CAMP REHOBOTH

MISSION STATEMENT AND PURPOSE

From the Editor

BY MARJ SHANNON, EDITOR

MISSION

CAMP Rehoboth is an LGBTQ+ community center determined to Create A More Positive (CAMP) environment that is inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities in southern Delaware and beyond. We seek to promote cooperation, understanding among all people, and well-being, as we continue our to work to build a safer community with room for all.

VISION

CAMP Rehoboth envisions communities in Southern Delaware and beyond where all LGBTQ+ people thrive.

PURPOSE

Promoting the health and wellness of our community through a variety of programs including HIV testing and counseling, mental health support, fitness classes, mindfulness classes, support for LGBTQ youth, and building community and support.

Promoting artistic expressions and creative thinking, and giving aid to artists and craftspeople with an emphasis on the works of LGBTQ people.

Advocating for our community to build a safe and inclusive community through voter information, education, and registration; and analysis of issues and candidates.

Education and outreach to the larger community, including sensitivity training seminars, and printed materials to promote positive images of LGBTQ people and our allies.

Networking resources and information by publishing a magazine, and functioning as an alternative tourist bureau and information center.

PRESIDENT Wesley Combs VICE PRESIDENT Leslie Ledogar SECRETARY Pat Catanzariti TREASURER Polly Donaldson

Happy (upcoming) Holidays! So many holidays, so little time….

Right now, I’m focused on the one emphasizing gratitude: I’m thankful (and thrilled) to have received some readers’ holiday haikus! See those on page 31. Still working on yours? No worries! That invitation is open till our next deadline: Friday, December 6. When it’s good-to-go—send your haiku to editor@camprehoboth.org.

Several of our contributors also are focused on gratitude: Terri Schlichenmeyer introduces us to a wide array of thanks-giving celebrations across many countries and cultures. Christopher Moore has been renovating a great little get-away cottage; he’s excited, as well as grateful, for both the result and the life-lessons learned in the process. Pattie Cinelli is thankful for her accordion-playing cousin Cookie. Beth Shockley revels in her backyard birds and the time she now has to admire them. Sharon Morgan outlines the health benefits of gratitude and offers some suggestions on establishing a gratitude habit.

There’s lots more in this issue, too, starting with some sources of fun: A CAMP Rehoboth arts workshop and loads of holiday entertainment options—concerts, theatre, and dance. Browse CAMP Arts for more. The CAMP Rehoboth Holiday Handmade Market is back—details in CAMP News. A little further afield—Mary Jo Tarallo introduces us to a New Jersey indoor ski (and snowboard) destination that might be just what you’ve been looking for.

Of course, we also have some tasty comestibles: Rich Barnett came late to Tater Tot fandom but has lost no time in testing alcohol pairings. He has recommendations for those of you hosting festive gatherings. Ed Castelli has a recommendation (and recipe!) too: a feed-a-crowd dish perfect for any gettogether.

Also tucked into this issue is the first column of a new, four-part series. See James Sears’ CAMP Sights for a glimpse into the lives of two lesbians who moved to a rural area of Sussex County 40-odd years ago. The remaining columns in the series—focusing on LGBTQ+ life in areas outside of Lewes/Rehoboth—will follow at two- to three-month intervals.

Of course, not every notable day before us is a holiday; there are somber days, as well. We honor those, too: Glenn Lash points us toward some books perfect for Transgender Day of Remembrance, and David Garrett reflects on Will & Harper.

See pages 4 and 5 for details on how CAMP Rehoboth is honoring both that day and World AIDS Day (December 1). Plan to join us.

There’s also a notable day that (by the time you read this) has passed: election day. Michael Thomas Ford, Eric Peterson, and Richard Rosendall offer their perspectives, all written in advance of the day. They each offer truths I’m grateful they shared. ▼

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS Amanda Mahony Albanese, Lewis Dawley, Mike DeFlavia, David Garrett, Jenn Harpel, Kim Leisey (non-voting), Michelle Manfredi, and Teri Seaton EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Kim Leisey

CAMP REHOBOTH 37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 tel 302-227-5620 | email editor@camprehoboth.com www.camprehoboth.org

CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. is tax-exempt under section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code. Contributions to CAMP Rehoboth are considered charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes and may be deducted to the fullest extent of the law.

A copy of our exemption document is available for public inspection.

OPPORTUNITY Holiday Haikus: Welcome through December 6. Just two “rules”: BOX Three lines, arranged in a pattern of 5-7-5 syllables.

Flash Fiction Contest:

WATCH THIS SPACE, next issue, for details. And rev up those pencils and keyboards: We’ll need your story by February 15, 2025.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

3 Letters

Block Party Boasts “Beautiful Day”

O

n Sunday, October 20, CAMP Rehoboth hosted over 100 vendors, sponsors, and performers on the second block of Baltimore Avenue. As CAMP Rehoboth’s largest outreach event of the year, Block Party brought in an estimated 4,000 attendees to shop art and merchandise from local craftspeople and small businesses, learn more about featured nonprofits, and enjoy the performances from musicians, actors, and drag entertainers.

“Since starting this event in 2015, I had only hoped it would grow in the way it has. We could not do this without the generous support of our community, and especially our sponsors, volunteers, and vendors,” said Chris Beagle, Block Party Co-chair.

“It was such a beautiful day this year,” said Michelle Manfredi, Block Party Co-chair. “We love bringing the community together like this and can’t wait to do it all again next year!” ▼

Toy & Clothing Drive

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uring the holiday season, CAMP Rehoboth is partnering with the Rehoboth Beach Bears to host a community toy and clothing drive. Community member Paul Christensen kickstarted the drive in 2008, and it’s grown to bring cheer to hundreds of local families and organizations in need. The CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) will once again help to organize donations to this year’s beneficiaries.

CAMP Rehoboth, Diego’s Bar & Nightclub, Rehoboth Beach Main Street, and the Auto Gallery in Lewes will serve as drop-off points for donations through Friday, December 13. There will be several opportunities to donate at the Rehoboth Beach Bears’ upcoming events at Aqua (November 30) and at Diego’s (December 6), among others. For additional information on other drop-off locations and this year’s beneficiaries, visit camprehoboth.org. ▼ MARK YOUR CALENDAR!

Women’s FEST 2025 | April 10-13

S

ince its inception as a Women’s Conference and Weekend back in 2001, the CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST (Fun, Entertainment, Spring, Tradition) has become a bona fide, beloved annual event in Rehoboth Beach. It offers a whole lot of fun, some sensational entertainment, awesome workshops, and lots of sports—it’s one of the best events on the East Coast for women, nonbinary and trans folks, and those who live on the spectrum of the feminine spirit. Be sure to stay tuned to camprehoboth.org for hotel discounts and more info! ▼

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Transgender Day of Remembrance

C

AMP Rehoboth will honor Transgender Day of Remembrance on Wednesday, November 20, with an all-day vigil in the CAMP Rehoboth Elkins-Archibald Atrium. Trans Day of Remembrance is dedicated to honoring the memory of transgender individuals whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Plan to stop by the atrium between 9:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. to honor our trans siblings lost within the last year.

Carnations will be available, either to share with a transgender person to whom you want to show your love and appreciation, or to leave at the peace pole at the entrance to the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard in remembrance of those that we've lost.

CAMP Rehoboth is also a proud sponsor of Salisbury University's second annual Transgender Care and Experience Symposium, "Achieving Trans Health Equity in a Polarized Society: The Role of Interprofessional Health Care," on Wednesday, November 20, from 1:00-5:00 p.m.

This engaging and meaningful event will offer the chance to dive deeply into gender-affirming care, critically examine the effects of anti-trans legislation through an insightful panel discussion, and honor the Transgender Day of Remembrance at a heartfelt vigil. The keynote speaker is Noah Duckett, LCSW. CAMP Rehoboth will also have a presence at Sussex Pride's Transgender Day of Remembrance vigil at the Community Lutheran Church in Frankford, Delaware, at 6:30 p.m. For all the ways CAMP Rehoboth is celebrating Transgender Awareness Week, visit camprehoboth.org. ▼

Giving Tuesday Is Coming

T

his year, Giving Tuesday is December 3, 2024. Celebrated the week after the Thanksgiving holiday and directly following Cyber Monday, Giving Tuesday is a global generosity movement unleashing the power of radical generosity. This year, CAMP Rehoboth’s end-of-year theme is “Strides in Pride.” Stay tuned to camprehoboth.org for more details. ▼ ⊳

TRAVELS WITH LETTERS ⊲

CAMP GEORGE-KLASERIE PRIVATE NATURE PRESERVE | SOUTH AFRICA (L-R): Susan Trencher, Kay Allison, Sheena Hall, Marilyn Hewitt, Safari Guide Jacques, Leslie Ledogar, Polly Donaldson, Laurie Snyder, Jo Picone, Kathy Bastedo

Waving the Flag at Sea Witch® Parade

O

n Saturday, October 26, CAMP Rehoboth Community Center walked the Sea Witch® Parade for a third consecutive year. CAMP Rehoboth invited community members, friends, and family to dress in costume or wear one of the orange CAMP Rehoboth shirts.

This year, thanks to donors Dennis Diaz and Michael Ewald, CAMP Rehoboth marchers carried a 50-foot-long Inclusive Pride Flag to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community among thousands of festival attendees.

Thanks to the 20+ marchers who joined CAMP Rehoboth and helped to spread the community’s love and joy to parade attendees! Marchers also waved custom CAMP Rehoboth signs that shared empowering messages like “Love Is Love,” “Room for All,” and “U = U (Undetectable = Untransmittable),” among others.

“Thank you to Dennis, Michael, and all who marched with CAMP Rehoboth in the Sea Witch® Parade. We were delighted that the entire community

responded so positively when they saw our Pride,” said Kim Leisey, PhD, Executive Director at CAMP Rehoboth.

According to Carol Everhart, President/CEO of the Rehoboth-Dewey Chamber of Commerce, estimates place this year’s festival attendees at exceeding 200,000, with Saturday’s count bringing in over 15,000 more attendees than 2023. ▼

World AIDS Day

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oin CAMP Rehoboth for a World AIDS Day service on Sunday, December 1. This event will begin at CAMP Rehoboth at 5:30 p.m., and attendees will walk over to All Saints’ Church on Olive Avenue for the service. The service will begin at 6:00 p.m., and a reception will be held immediately following in the parish hall.

Once again, CAMP Rehoboth will host a portion of the AIDS Quilt for viewing at All Saints’ Church, where it will serve as a powerful visual backdrop for the service as we remember the many lives lost to AIDS and reflect on its continued impact today.

The Sunday evening service will feature names of those lost to the AIDS epidemic. These names are submitted by community members; submit names to remember by visiting camprehoboth. org/worldaidsday. The program will showcase performances by the ALLIANCE singers of the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus. The service will be non-denominational.

This year, CAMP Rehoboth’s World AIDS Day commemoration will also include an art activity/exhibit: Drawn Together: A Tribute to Keith Haring and AIDS Activism. Community members of all ages and skill levels are invited to create artwork in the style of Keith Haring. Participants may take part in a workshop at CAMP Rehoboth or may create artwork at home to be displayed in the gallery at CAMP Rehoboth.

The workshop will be led by local artist Jane Knaus and the CAMP Rehoboth Visual Arts Team. Materials for the workshop will be provided. Pre-registration for the workshop is required and may be accessed via the link in our weekly email newsletter.

The workshop will be held on Saturday, November 23, from 1:00 to 4:00 p.m. with created art exhibited for CAMP Rehoboth’s World AIDS Day commemoration on December 1. ▼

AIDS Quilt Viewing Hours Viewing opportunities not only include the service on Sunday, but also: ➡ Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. and 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. for private prayer and meditation and a service at 5:00 p.m. ➡ Sunday from 7:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. with services at 8:00 a.m. and 10:00 a.m. and the World AIDS Day service with special music and readings at 6:00 p.m. ➡ Monday from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. for private prayer and meditation.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

5 Letters

From the Executive Director

BY KIM LEISEY, PHD

Giving Helps Build Democracy Note: This was written before the outcome of the election was known; our writers’ deadline for the issue was four days prior to election day.

W

hether it is pre- or post-election, there are two words that are notable: giving and democracy. CAMP Rehoboth is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. Although laws prevent us from engaging in partisan policy work, we are well-positioned to be agents of democracy, thanks in large part to your giving.

Those who give to CAMP Rehoboth aspire to: • Build our democracy • Be the change they want to see • Inspire others to give • Live the role of “difference maker” We are in the season of collaborative giving. Those who give to CAMP Rehoboth compose a giving circle that ensures our End of Year Giving and Giving Tuesday campaigns exceed our goals. Our fundraising campaigns sustain CAMP Rehoboth’s continued work of democracy and creating a more perfect union.

We have an obligation to represent our community’s needs to the government, media, and public at large. Just this past month, we have been present and advocating for our queer families, LGBTQ+-affirming aging services in Sussex County, cultural humility in LGBTQ+ healthcare across the lifespan, and LGBTQ+ affirming environments in our

schools. Here are some specific examples of progress: 1. Cape Henlopen School District’s implementation of the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s “Welcoming Schools” professional development program is progress to be applauded. And more progress is happening within the school district!

2. CAMP Rehoboth’s year-long collaboration with CenterLink and Yale University to train mental health care providers in LGBTQ+-affirming cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is both a service to our community and a contribution to the research that will inform future training.

3. A group of CAMP Rehoboth members recently met with Beebe Healthcare and Delaware State University’s Dr. Dorothy Dillard to jumpstart a healthcare needs assessment for the queer community in Sussex County.

4. Our elected officials engage with us regularly; they understand how important the work and people of CAMP Rehoboth are to our county, state, and country.

I am proud of our coalition building and lobbying. We have friends and partners with such organizations as Planned Parenthood, the City of Rehoboth Beach, Beebe Healthcare, La Red Health Center, Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, Alzheimer’s Association, Children’s Beach House, Bayhealth, Delaware HIV Consortium, the Delaware Department of Health and Social Services, Delaware

Hospice, Village Volunteers, the Community Resource Center, AARP, Southern Delaware Alliance for Racial Justice, Delaware Division of the Arts, Lewes Chamber of Commerce, Rehoboth-Dewey Chamber of Commerce, Speak Out Against Hate, PFLAG, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Dewey Police Department, Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, and Rehoboth Beach Main Street. These organizations and many more support our vision.

We are also thankful for those faith communities who support and provide consultation, including Epworth United Methodist, All Saints’ Episcopal, Westminster Presbyterian, Seaside Jewish Community, St. Peter’s Episcopal, and Groome Church.

The businesses that provide support and funding through donations and sponsorships are also important to the work of building a democracy that is just, inclusive, equitable, and caring of each other.

Giving during this time of year and all year long is a loving and intentional act.

Our hearts are full of gratitude. Knowing that CAMP Rehoboth is the heart of the LGBTQ+ community in southern Delaware, our large collective heart is especially grateful. Thank you for giving and helping to build democracy. ▼ Kim Leisey, PhD, is Executive Director of CAMP Rehoboth.

CAMP REHOBOTH THANKS OUR 2024 ANNUAL SPONSORS

For information on how to become a CAMP Rehoboth Annual Sponsor, email development@camprehoboth.com or call 302-227-5620.

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Please Support CAMP Rehoboth with a Year-End Gift.

Help Us Make Strides in Pride Your gift will help keep CAMP (Creating a More Positive) Rehoboth as a vital resource that continues to serve the LGBTQ+ community.

Your generosity will enable us to further our mission to seek and promote cooperation and understanding among all people, as we work to build a safer community with room for all.

This year we have an exciting opportunity thanks to an anonymous donor, who has stepped forward with a $20,000 Matching Gift. Any gift made between now and December 31st will be matched dollar for dollar.

Surprise us!

YOUR GIFT OF: ► $50 will double to $100

► A contribution of $100 will grow to $200

► A most generous gift of $500 will be matched dollar for dollar and become $1000

Our heartfelt thanks to all who are able to contribute to our Year-End campaign!

IF YOU PREFER TO DONATE ONLINE, please visit camprehoboth.com and scan the QR code to the right.

If you have questions, please contact Laurie Thompson at laurie@camprehoboth.org or call 302.227.5620.

37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 302.227.5620 | camprehoboth.com

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

7 Letters

CAMPNews Holiday Handmade Market

Catch Up with Queer History

‘T

is the season! Join CAMP Rehoboth on Friday, December 13, from 5:00-8:00 p.m. for the Holiday Handmade Market in the Elkins-Archibald Atrium. Come stroll through the atrium, shop local, and support LGBTQ+/ally artists. Entry is free and open to the public!

A variety of vendors and artists will be showcasing their works and merchandise from a variety of mediums, including reverse painting on glass, ornaments, jewelry, photography, sweaters, and more. Shop to the sounds of Robb the Uke Guy, who will bring his signature Hawaiian flare to cherished holiday classics. ▼

LGBTQ+ Bereavement Group

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rief can present special challenges for members of the LGBTQ+ community. In partnership with Delaware Hospice, CAMP Rehoboth will again be hosting an LGBTQ+ bereavement group monthly—this year on first Wednesdays, at 6:30 p.m., in-person at the Elkins-Archibald Atrium. After kicking off with a meeting in October, monthly meetings are set through April 2024.

This space will be for anyone who has lost someone and would like to have the safety and security of a bereavement group within their own community. Please register in advance by contacting Ann DeLazaro, Director of Provider Services, Delaware Hospice, at adelazaro@delawarehospice.org or 302893-9456. ▼

A

re you up-to-date on CAMP Rehoboth’s podcast, This Month in Queer History? The show publishes—that’s right— every month and shares LGBTQ+ history that is both accessible and entertaining. The latest episodes include “The Bathroom Battleground,” where host Julian Harbaugh discusses conflict over public restrooms, from segregation to cruising to anti-trans bathroom bills, and ultimately why public bathrooms are particularly fraught with moral panics.

In “Lawrence v. Texas (2003),” learn about how the titled Supreme Court case functionally decriminalized gay life in the US by overturning the anti-sodomy statutes of 13 states, including Texas. It was argued on similar grounds to Roe v. Wade, making its future tenuous. In this episode of TMQH, listeners will get a run-down of the fascinating facts of the case and what can be done to ensure that it stays on the books.

TMQH’s next episode will cover Transgender Day of Remembrance. Be sure to catch up on past episodes and subscribe to the podcast on Spotify, Apple Music, or the podcatcher of your choice by visiting camprehoboth.org. ▼

Hands on Leather Care

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AMP Rehoboth and Sussex LeatherFolks are sponsoring a “Hands-On Leather Care Workshop” at CAMP Rehoboth on Saturday, December 14, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. Tom Buckley, Bootblack, will be there to guide attendees through cleaning, conditioning, and polishing.

Attendees are asked to bring their own leather and leather care products and some rags. The workshop will provide supplies as well.

This workshop is open to all at no cost. ▼

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16712 Kings Highway, Lewes 302.645.6661

Donna Whiteside

302.381.4871 donna.whiteside@penfedrealty.com A member of the franchise system of BHH Affiliates, LLC

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C A M P RE HOB OT H THA NK S OUR S PO NS OR S, V EN DO RS , V OL UN T EE RS , AN D A TT E ND E E S FOR MA K IN G BL O CK PA R T Y 2 0 2 4 A M AJ OR S UCC E S S!

T H A NK Y O U SPO N SO RS P res enti ng Spon so r

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Su pp o rt in g Sp o ns or s

T H A N K YO U V OL UN TEE RS

Kris Aulenbach, Chris Beagle, G Michael Beigay, Lillian Berenberg, Rick Buske, Jett Butterworth, Dottie Cirelli, Ken Currier, Jeff Dannis, Mike DeFlavia, Eric Engelhart, Herb Engert, Tina Ervin, Michael Fetchko, Greta Gardner, Peter Garneau, Sam Gerbino, Kasey Gonzalez-Cruz, Helene Guilfoy, Brian Heldson, Sarah Herrman, Muriel Hogan, Fay Jacobs, Susan Leathery, Leslie Ledogar, Eleanor Lloyd, Deanna Marlow, Sherri McGee, Valerie McNickol, Beverly Miller, Tim Miller, CeCe Mitrani, Kevin Pelland, Keith Petrack, Bonnie Quesenberry, Barb Ralph, Jennifer Rubenstein, Carol Scileppi, Diane Scobey, Leslie Sinclair, Lindsay Soja, Kathy Solano, Sandy Souder, Lorraine Stanish, Patricia Stiles, Russell Stiles, Kat Takacs, Mike Tyler, Kathy Wiz, Melanie Wolfe, Debbie Woods

37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 302.227.5620 | camprehoboth.org NOVEMBER 15, 2024

9 Letters

CAMPStories

BY RICH BARNETT

Tots and Tipples

I

don’t know about you, but I’m exhausted with politics and almost 10 years of Donald Trump’s venom. So, rather than trying to write a thoughtful and poignant political piece for this issue of Letters, I’ve decided instead to lighten things up and devote this column to a more joyful topic: tater tots. When everything around you feels dark and heavy, I find a touch of humor always helps.

I was recently re-introduced to tater tots when my partner ordered them for an appetizer. Frankly, I was shocked.

I’ve lived with this man for more than 30 years and he’d never ordered “kid food” before. They’re trendy, he said. Humph, I replied.

When the basket of hot tots arrived, I examined them closely, like a jeweler scrutinizing a suspicious gem. They were perfectly uniform, lightly crispy, and glistening with a sheen I’ve never seen on a French fry. I popped one into my mouth.

The crispy outer shell cracked open to reveal a warm, fluffy interior. It was like French fries and mashed potatoes had a perfect baby. I ate another and my skepticism melted away. Why had I turned up my nose to these little golden dreams?

After eating almost the entire basket, I was hooked. And I naturally began to wonder what drinks would pair well with these little beauties because the red wine I had been sipping while nibbling wasn’t doing the trick.

But before we dive into pairing adult drinks with tots, I’d like to take a moment to recount the origin of the humble tater tot. Some call it a culinary masterpiece, born from the most genius of inventions: leftovers. In 1953, Ore-Ida founders Nephi and Golden Grigg were producing a lot of French fries in their factory on the Oregon-Idaho border (hence the name Ore-Ida), but they had all these bits and pieces of leftover potato. So, like any great innovators, the brothers turned trash into treasure by mixing the potato scraps with flour and seasonings, extruding the potato slurry through holes in a plywood board, and then blanching, Letters 10

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

quick frying, and freezing the result into tiny cylindrical nuggets. The tater tot was born.

The Griggs took a 15-pound bag of their new creation to the 1954 National Potato Convention at the luxurious Fontainebleau Hotel in Miami Beach. I love this juxtaposition. Somehow, the brothers persuaded the hotel kitchen staff

To explore the burning question of which adult beverages to pair with tater tots, I convened a loyal team of experienced tipplers… to serve up samples at breakfast. They were an instant hit. Since that beach breakfast, Tater Tots have amassed an enormous following all over the world. In the US alone, Americans consume about 70 million pounds of tots each year.

To explore the burning question of which adult beverages to pair with tater tots, I convened a loyal team of experienced tipplers, whom I learned by chance are tater tot afficionados. We met up at a local establishment known for its handmade tots and began our exploration.

Round one started rather conservatively. Yours truly ordered a dry Riesling

and my companions went with a Prosecco and an Old Fashioned. Both wines were a tad sweet and lacked the zippy acidity to cut through the richness of the tots. A champagne, we agreed, would have been a better wine pairing. The Old Fashioned was the hands-down favorite of this round. It sounds crazy, but the whiskey and citrus flavors of the cocktail brought out an unexpected umami deliciousness that mellowed the saltiness of the tot while deepening the savory potato taste.

In round two, I ordered a Grey Goose dirty martini, thinking the olives might be interesting with the tater tots. They weren’t. The Bombay Sapphire gin martini, on the other hand, was a superb choice. Cold and clean with a slight hint of juniper berries, the cocktail paired perfectly with the hot crunch of potato starch. It felt sophisticated and decadent, an exciting high-low mix I thought couldn’t get any better.

But I was wrong. The Cadillac margarita on the bar looked rather pedestrian.

However, its acidity and effervescence perfectly balanced the saltiness and grease of the tater tot. Next, we swiped our tots through an Old Bay-and-mustard hot sauce and followed it up with a big sip of the cold margarita. Sí papi! Whereas the Sapphire martini felt decadent, this pairing felt naughty. It was as if the Old Bay and the mustard were banging all night in Dewey Beach on a waterbed.

Ay papi!

The final round of tots and drinks, frankly, were kind of uninspiring. So, I shall spare you the details.

In closing, I hope this column provides a bit of levity during these unsettling days and months ahead. And if you’re interested, National Tater Tot Day is coming up on February 2. It’s a perfect excuse to explore tots and tipples. Enjoy! ▼ Rich Barnett is the author of The Discreet Charms of a Bourgeois Beach Town, and Fun with Dick and James.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

11 Letters

IO, SATURNALIA!

BY NANCY SAKADUSKI

A Very Queer Festival

T

he Romans sure knew how to party.

Saturnalia, the pagan celebration of Saturn, the Roman god of agriculture and time, began as a day-long feast on December 25 (which on the Julian calendar coincided with the winter solstice). By 133 BCE it had expanded (much like my birthday celebration) into a weeklong bash starting on December 17.

During Saturnalia, Romans abandoned rules, turned class structure on its head, reversed gender roles, pranked each other, and, well, I’m going to let anthropologist Susan Lanigan describe the scene: “Drag was openly encouraged. We have more than one record from the period describing boys running naked through the streets, men dressed as women, women dressed as men, masters of the house waiting on slaves, and an overabundance of wine, cunnilingus, and fruitcake.”

It was a week to overindulge in every possible way. Banquet tables groaned with fattened pigs, genitalia-shaped cakes, and massive quantities of wine.

The price to pay was sometimes more than just a holiday hangover. One group

of banqueting guests was suffocated by the weight of violets dropped through a false ceiling as a special effects gimmick. Others reported awakening from a drunken debauch to find a pet tiger sniffing their crotch.

And then there were the presents.

Thoughtful gifts included phallic cakes, knucklebones (used as dice), books of filthy epigrams, and cosmetics or hair extensions for either sex. Some gave statuettes of beautiful youths and “hermaphrodites.” Others went beyond statuary and gifted the real thing.

Saturnalia activities included DonRickles-style roasts, scavenger hunts, nude choral performances, and full-on orgies. Reports from the time describe festivities that make today’s Mardi Gras look like a sweet 16 party. Lucian of Samosata listed “drinking and being drunk, noise and games and dice…[and] singing naked” as common Saturnalia activities. The holiday is said to have included “lads running naked about the place, cross-dressing for dinner, tops becoming bottoms, masters waiting on their servants…sausages, wine…” and, of course, the aforementioned fruitcake pairing.

Want to Celebrate in the Spirit of Saturnalia?

Appoint a member of your group Lord of Misrule (or take turns) to give ridiculous orders and reign supreme.

Wear crazy clothing or dress in drag.

Eat and drink way too much. Serve bowls of olives, dates, figs, and nuts.

Decorate with ivy, holly, and evergreens.

Light candles.

Swap household roles and chores (children love this one).

Play games, especially those using dice (knucklebones are optional).

Make anatomically correct gingerbread figures (use piped white icing to draw your features of choice).

Dance or sing naked. Tell bawdy jokes or read ribald poems.

Answer someone’s “Happy Holidays!” with “Io, Saturnalia!”

Host an erotic cake bake-off (extra points for dressing up as Prue Leith or Noel Fielding).

Enjoy lots of fruitcake (wink, wink).

Images: (left) Harvard, Harvard Art Museums/ Fogg Museum, Bequest of Grenville L. Winthrop.

Above: Pompeii, Wikipedia.

Letters 12

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

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Saturnalia activities included Don-Ricklesstyle roasts, scavenger hunts, nude choral performances, and full-on orgies.

Casa dei Casti Amantid, Banquet.

Wikipedia

The level of feasting, drinking, and general debauchery during the week reached such levels that the Roman author Pliny (apparently the Grinch of his day) reportedly built a soundproof wall in his house just so he could keep working.

Households appointed a mock king or “Lord of Misrule” whose sole job was to make mischief during the week. The king would order others to dress in silly clothes, shout embarrassing insults at guests, dance naked, or chase others around the house in a randy fashion.

A large part of the holiday was the swapping of roles, especially master and slave. This was for comedic effect, but also to show appreciation for the working class and enslaved peoples who, for the rest of the year, did the heavy lifting to keep the Roman world running.

Saturnalian feasts were often just a prelude. As the Roman poet Martial said, “give me kisses, boy, wet with wine/… if on top you’ll add a f**k, Jove couldn’t be happier with his Ganymede than I am with mine.” Included in Martial’s playful

descriptions of over 200 Saturnalia gifts were many along the lines of this bedroom lamp: “I am a lamp, confidante of your sweet bed. You may do whatever you will, I shall be silent.”

One thing seems clear—Saturnalia was a queer affair. When Lanigan was asked to rate just how queer, she replied, “Somewhere in the [Harvey] Fierstein category, cuddled firmly between Elton John and Liberace.”

At the end of the fourth century, Saturnalia festivities began to be replaced by a considerably more sedate celebration of December 25 as the birth of Jesus Christ. Some of the pagan traditions were included to smooth the conversion. Feasting, gift-giving, singing, candles, and even decorating with wreaths had their origins in Saturnalia.

And then there’s the traditional Saturnalia greeting of “Io, Io, Io!” You might recognize it better through its pronunciation: “Ho, ho, ho!” ▼ Nancy Sakaduski is an award-winning writer and editor who owns Cat & Mouse Press in Lewes, Delaware.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

13 Letters

SPOTLIGHT on Lori’s Café

BY MATTY BROWN

Teamwork Makes the Dream Work …and Chicken Salad to Die For!

O

n Saturday, October 26, Lori’s Café wrapped its 28th season in the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard. The staff shut down the kitchen at 12:00 p.m., running out of its “last chance” menu well ahead of standard schedule. It’s been a busy, tireless, and rewarding season for the Rehoboth Beach eatery.

In an issue that celebrates gratitude, owner Lori Kline spoke with Letters about the keys that make the Oy Vey Café operation such a success.

In 1997, Lori’s Oy Vey Café opened its doors after Kline left a career in teaching for the attractive beach life. In the years that followed, the cafe became a signature breakfast and lunch hotspot. Famous for its chicken salad sandwich, Lori’s offers morning bites, salads, vegetarian delights, salad sandwiches, meat-lover sandwiches, coffee and signature beverages, and sweet treats. Over the years, the staff has welcomed visits from the Biden family, including frequent visits from the secret service detail during the Biden presidency.

This year, the staff extended a “lifeguard lunch” special, where customers could purchase a meal for a member of Rehoboth Beach Patrol. When lifeguards approached the counter to place an

order, they would find out their meal had been paid for already. The special was a tremendous success, and a generous way to thank lifeguards for being such loyal patrons through the years.

“Lori’s Café not only offers delicious lunches and specials for the Rehoboth Beach Patrol, but also creates a tangible sense of community in the CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard,” said Kim Leisey, Executive Director at CAMP Rehoboth.

Throughout the café’s season, the courtyard tables are filled daily with hundreds of hungry patrons who enjoy the space provided by CAMP Rehoboth Community Center. They get to learn about CAMP Rehoboth’s services and initiatives while getting a bite.

Between record-breaking sales days and the high volume of summer guests, Kline seems to have perfected the formula to a successful café. “Of course, it couldn’t run without customers. However, what makes it absolutely the best is the incredible staff I get to work with every day,” she said.

The diverse staff ranges in age from 20 to 77, according to Kline. A true sense of camaraderie translates to hard work and a shared familiarity that helps to smooth daily operations. Plus, daily laughter and jokes help the team finish the days strong.

“I could not ask for a better group of people to work with, depend on, and call friends…”

Lori’s Café staff together for dinner at Salt Air

Letters 14

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

“This year, my staff consisted of Raymond, Sharon, Sarah, Kathy, Rick, Shelby, Holly, and Ava,” said Lori, adding that friends Smittee and Dawn help out when the café is in a bind. Some of the crew comes in specifically for the season, while others are locals. The team’s familiarity with each other is thanks in large part to how long Lori has known each member.

“To give a picture, I met Ava when she was an infant and I’ve had the pleasure of knowing Raymond for 30 years,” said Kline.

The “Oy Vey” crew boasts a diverse background of experiences. Outside of the summer season, staff members return to school (Ava is a junior at Haverford University); other jobs, including a school disciplinarian, a full-time nanny, and a special educator; or retired life.

As any successful establishment will attest, diverse personalities create a sense of balance in the workplace. While Sharon never stops moving, Kathy keeps calm and collected. Raymond shares his long-standing service career, while Sarah brings fresh ideas and holds the title as the café’s technological guru. Ava’s zest for life is infectious, almost as much as Rick’s wit and commitment to keeping the team laughing. Holly’s baked goods are unbelievably delicious, and Shelby rocks it out, filling in the gaps for the team.

While not all seasons have been easy, Lori reports that, “the past few have been pretty darn amazing!” The team at Lori’s is a key component in that trajectory. “I could not ask for a better group of people to work with, depend on, and call friends,” said Kline. The staff will be enjoying its much-deserved break, and will keep in touch in the off-season.

Before we know it, April will roll around again and the café will prepare to open for its 29th season. “By that time, we’ll be itching to come back,” says Lori.

A great team can scratch that itch. ▼ Matty Brown is the Communications Manager for CAMP Rehoboth.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

15 Letters

SO MANY FEASTS!

BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

A Marathon of Thanks(givings)

M

erci. Arrigato. Danke schöen. Did you say “Gracias”? Or “Grazie”?

Or “Tack”?

It’s never too late for gratitude, y’all, but you’ve got time. With their usual last-Wednesday-of-November day of gratitude, Norfolk Island near Australia is usually the Jock-come-lately.

But this year, we in the US are dead last in the world’s cultures to count our blessings.

Since you were a kid in elementary school, you’ve probably heard the American story of Thanksgiving, complete with Pilgrims, Indians, and a feast at the end of the harvest in 1621.

We bought that tale lock, stock, and wine barrel for decades. But the story is told differently these days, and it comes with controversy: did the Pilgrims take advantage of the native Wampanoag Indians? Did they really serve turkey, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce, pumpkin pie, and Cool Whip?

The Encyclopedia Brittanica says that the first feast started out with a hunting party to bag not turkeys, but something easier to shoot: ducks and perhaps geese. The Wampanoag showed up and the Pilgrims were not amused because the house was a mess, but they graciously invited the Natives in.

They were, apparently, used to surprise houseguests.

Somebody decided to see what was in the freezer—vegetables, various kinds of seafood, the harvest of fowl—and beer, proving that the Pilgrims weren’t the humorless people you learned about in third grade. The Wampanoag brought the venison and it was a party—one that fortunately cemented good relations between the two groups for a good halfcentury.

When the US Constitution was in the works, the Continental Congress encouraged a day of thanks, but after the American Revolution ended, the idea of holding a day of gratitude was left up to each of the states. That didn’t go well. Some early-18th-century lawmakers Letters 16

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

thought that expressing gratitude was religious in nature and they nixed it.

Still, the idea of a day of thanks didn’t go away and in the mid-1800s, Sarah Josepha Hale, editor of Godey’s Lady’s Book, reached out to President Lincoln for support on a national day of thanks.

On October 3, 1863, he proclaimed November 26 of that year (in the middle of the Civil War, no less!) to be America’s first Thanksgiving Day.

If you really, really love Thanksgiving Day, you’re in luck: most First-World countries celebrate their own day of gratitude.

For years afterward, every president made the same proclamation, but the actual date moved around most years. In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in an attempt to give retailers more chance to sell stuff, proclaimed the fourth Thursday in November to forever be America’s Thanksgiving Day. And there you have it. When you’re done making a turkey out of your handprint, please applaud.

If you really, really love Thanksgiving Day, you’re in luck: most First-World countries celebrate their own day of

gratitude. You can start in Ghana and bring your appetite: the Homowo Festival is a celebration that lasts three months and culminates in a feast that’s generally sometime in fall, depending on the harvest.

Hurry over to Saint Lucia, which celebrates its Thanksgiving on the first Monday in August, then race over to Rwanda and Umuganura Day, the first Friday in August at the start of the harvest season.

Take a deep breath and then do some cyphering because China has their Mid-Autumn Festival which is celebrated on the 15th day of the 8th month of the current lunar calendar with a full moon—which ends up being sometime in mid-September to October-ish.

You can squeeze Germany’s Thanksgiving in here, only it’s called Erntedankfest or just Erntedank, celebrated on a day that moves around in September or October, depending on who’s celebrating and where they’re festing.

Canada holds their Thanksgiving Day on the second Monday in October. Japan celebrates Kinro Kansha no Hi, which is a thankful day for labor and workers, on November 23. Liberia celebrates National Thanksgiving Day on the first Thursday in November with spicy roast chicken and cassava.

And then there’s us who, just like in other countries, gather our loved ones (or not-so-loved ones, which is a whole other column—we’ll talk later) to eat, talk, argue, eat some more, then we watch football, eat, loosen our belts, and take home leftovers because Mom insists, lest we starve.

Thankful. Full. Happy. Thank you for reading. ▼ Terri Schlichenmeyer’s third book, The Book of Facts and Trivia: Science, came out in September 2024.

Photo by Shamblen Studios on Unsplash

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

17 Letters

Letters 18

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

19 Letters

It’s My Life

BY MICHAEL THOMAS FORD

Early and Often

T

he election will be over before this column runs.

Whether or not it will be decided is another story.

This is my 10th presidential election as an eligible voter. The first was in 1988, when I unenthusiastically voted for Michael Dukakis over the eventual winner, George H. W. Bush. Overall, my picks have won five times, and the opposing candidates have won four times. In two of those losses, the winning candidate received fewer popular votes than my candidate, but that’s an irritant, not a consolation.

I’m hoping that my record will be 6-4 after this election, but it’s a wild year and anything could happen.

I’ve been thinking a lot about my voting history this year. In the 1988 election I had just turned 20. I was in my senior year of college, newly out and soon to move to New York City, and the HIV/ AIDS crisis was foremost in my mind.

The Reagan administration had been a disaster for the queer community, and Bush promised more of the same. Voting for Dukakis felt like voting to save the lives of the thousands of people ignored

by Reagan and his kind.

In 1992, as a way to combat the indifference of the Bush administration, I published my first book, a guide to HIV/ AIDS for young readers. I was involved with ACT-UP, as well as GLAAD. Casting my vote for Bill Clinton felt like another salvo in the ongoing war against an administration determined to ignore what was happening to my community. This time, we won.

We won again in 1996. Then, in 2000, another Bush reared his head and, arguably, won the election only with the help of a Supreme Court appointed almost entirely by his Republican predecessors. He repeated in 2004 in a lackluster matchup against one of the most uninspiring candidates the Democrats could find.

In 2008 I was finally truly excited by a candidate. After spending most of my 30s living under the cloud of Bush Jr., Letters 20

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

I started my 40s by voting for Barack Obama. It was the first time I felt like I was voting for something rather than mostly against something else. That election seemed very much to signify a tipping point in American culture, where we were opting to move forward instead of being mired in the past.

…here in our village we know that…we all have to live together and work together to make our community the wonderful place it is regardless of politics.

If I was slightly less enthusiastic by the time 2012 came around, it was mostly due to frustrations with the political process in general, which never seemed to create as much forward movement as I wanted it to. Plus, I was now living in Texas, the first time I’d lived in a state where my political candidate was not the favored one.

By 2016, my life had changed dramatically. I was nearing 50, and living in rural Maryland helping my sister care for our mother as Alzheimer’s made her disappear a little bit at a time. Hillary Clinton was running against the most

unlikely of candidates in Donald Trump, and although the area of the country in which we lived was enthusiastically proTrump, she was highly favored to win.

On election night, I first drove to a UPS office to pick up a truckload of boxes containing my new novel, then went and cast my vote for who I assumed would be the first female president of the United States. I went to bed excited, still believing I would wake up to good news.

We all know how that worked out.

In 2020 I was living in Ohio, another red state, but in one of the blue dots inside of it. I didn’t quite know what to expect from the matchup between Trump and Joe Biden, who felt a bit like the Ghost of Administrations Past to me.

And having lived in San Francisco when Kamala Harris was the District Attorney, I was well-aware of her baggage and feared there might be a repeat of the frustrating “she’s unlikable” problem we had with Clinton that prevented even some of my liberal friends from voting for her.

That one turned out okay, despite the weeks of agonizing over the certification and, you know, the literal assault on the democratic process. Even then, I didn’t believe we were rid of Trump until I watched the plane with him and his family in it take off shortly before the inauguration.

I remember thinking that I could breathe more easily for at least four years. Now, those four years have flown by, and we’ve had one of the oddest and most surprising campaigns in American history. I’m still in Ohio, and for the past two years I’ve been a poll worker at our local precinct. In the 2020 election, while overall Ohio went for Trump, our little village voted 52 for Biden and 42 for Trump, mirroring the general ideological split we have here.

This year, three of my immediate neighbors have Trump signs in their yards, while four have Harris signs.

I’m friends with all three of the Trump supporters, and while I may disagree with their choice of candidate, I like

them all as people and as neighbors. I’ll be happy to see them come into our polling place, knowing my vote will cancel out at least one of theirs as we all participate in a process I believe so strongly in. While I see a lot of acrimony between opposing sides on social media, a lot of “If you vote for this candidate we can’t be friends” rhetoric, here in our village we know that no matter the outcome, we all have to live together and work together to make our community the wonderful place it is regardless of politics.

If I live to the age that people in my family tend to, I’ll vote in six more elections, making a total of 16 times I’ve gotten to choose who I want to lead my country. I’ll be 60 the next time I cast my vote, which seems impossible. I hope when I do, I’m truly excited about my choice and not just attempting to stop something worse from happening. The last few elections have felt like the final minutes of a slasher film, where the villain has to rise and be vanquished a couple of times before there’s a more or less happy ending.

I understand why young people seem to think voting achieves very little. I’m old enough to know that progress is slow, that sometimes we go backward before we go forward again, and that the endgame is a very long one. I also know that our system is a flawed one. But I still believe in it and want to see people participate. If we give up, we all lose. ▼ Michael Thomas Ford is a much-published Lambda Literary award-winning author. Visit Michael at michaelthomasford.com.

Photo by Nina Strehl on Unsplash.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

21 Letters

Words Matter

BY CLARENCE FLUKER

Empowered by the Pen

A

fter reading my column from last month, someone noted that my writings tend to be very personal. Over the years, I’ve shared a lot of my story. This is true.

Sometimes I write because pen and paper are an outlet for me to make sense of the thoughts and ideas swirling in my head and whatever is going on in my life.

There are times that I write with the intention of helping myself. There are times when I write with the hope that maybe something I pen may help someone else.

I trace this back to college.

The fall of 2000 was significant period in my life. It was the season in which my uncle, who was a gay man, died. It was the season in which after an emotionally taxing process, I was initiated into my fraternity, and because it was my senior year in college, it was also the season for me to decide what would be the topic of my senior thesis paper. As a result of the emotions and realities that I was dealing with, I chose as a thesis topic “HIV/AIDS: A Crisis in Communication in the African American Gay Community.”

I decided that as a communication scholar I would analyze the role of communication in the epidemic and spread of HIV/AIDS among Black men who have sex with men in the United States. I would examine the history of messaging, the messenger, and its impact on the public health crisis along with providing recommendations for what could be done moving forward to help stem the epidemic among this population that I cared so deeply about. I wanted to know how harnessing the power of communication could help improve the miserable statistics.

Even though I was sure this is what I wanted to do my thesis on, I was somewhat anxious to bring this as a topic to the woman who taught my senior thesis course. She was Dr. Luchia Hawthorne.

She was a senior member of the faculty of the Morgan State University Communication Department and had served also for a time as department chair. Dr. Hawthorne had long been recognized as a leading Letters 22

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

scholar of rhetoric and speech communication. She had gone to Morgan State as an undergraduate before pursuing her PhD at Penn State University where she became the first African American woman to receive a PhD in her field of study.

Dr. Hawthorne had a long history of being active with the National Communication Association, very active in the Morgan State alumni community, as well as in the city of Baltimore and as a member of her sorority. Highly regarded, she was also up there in age by the time I was a senior and that was part of my hesitation. Some of my hesitation was with continuing to be even more open about the fact that I was gay and doing research so specific on a topic that affected so many gay men.

A lot of my second guessing my decision was knowing I’d have to present it to an older African American woman, and I was unsure how she would react and if she would ask me to choose a new topic. I didn’t know if I’d experience bias from her as an advisor in my research process or final grading.

Again, internalized homophobia and fear of rejection reared its head and almost paralyzed me. I had come up with all this in my head before ever mentioning it to her or anyone else on faculty.

But the day came that October for me to present a proposal for my thesis and I nervously went to her office to have the conversation and see what she thought about my idea.

I presented her my few sheets of paper with the written proposal. Dr. Hawthorne sat quietly and started reading through the pages. I sat waiting on a reaction as my hands began to get clammy and cold. Finally, the silence in the room was broken when she sat my papers down and exclaimed, “What an excellent idea! This is something that needs to be addressed.”

She told me it was original that as a young scholar I wanted to look at a public health issue from a communication standpoint. I was so inspired by her words that followed: “Because everyone is a child

of God, everyone deserves love, and everyone deserves the best—the best in health.” With that, I moved on with my topic feeling very relieved she was willing to work with me to make it a first-class thesis.

I created a more concrete outline and decided what type of qualitative and quantitative research I would want to add to the project. One of the people I wanted to interview was Dr. Ron Simmons. He was the President of Us Helping Us, People into Living, a community-based nonprofit in Washington, DC, that primarily deals with HIV/AIDS prevention and treatment work with Black gay and bisexual men. Us Helping Us is one of the oldest community-based organizations in the United States that focuses on prevention and treatment within this specific population. Dr. Simmons was there from the beginning.

Reading about him, I knew that he was someone that I wanted to speak with. I also previously had read some of his work in Brother to Brother, edited by Essex Hemphill. This made me even more interested and excited to meet him—not just to talk about the topic of my thesis but also just to talk to him as a writer and see what insights he might have to share with me.

On a Thursday afternoon in November, I took the train to DC to meet Dr. Simmons and it became the start of a valued relationship. Dr. Hawthorne and Dr. Simmons aided in me finding the courage to use my words and for that I’m thankful.

More than two decades ago, I started in earnest to use my voice to explore and express. In this season, even if it cracks, I encourage you to do the same. Your words matter and not only do you need to hear them, but others may need to hear them too. ▼ Clarence J. Fluker is a public affairs and social impact strategist. Since 2008, he’s also been a contributing writer for Swerv, a lifestyle periodical celebrating African American LGBTQ+ culture and community. Follow him on Instagram: @Mr_CJFluker.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

23 Letters

CommunityNews Save Your Appetite!

R

ehoboth Main Street’s Community Unity Dinner returns on Sunday, December 8, 4:30-7:30 p.m., at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center. Tickets are $20 per person (all you can eat); ages eight and under are free. Unlimited beer and wine are available for a $5 donation at the door. ▼

The HMS DeBraak: The Archeology of a British Warship

O

n Thursday, November 21, at 7:00 p.m., at the Lewes Public Library, Historical Archeologist Charles H. Fithian will provide an archeological perspective on the world of the 18th century sailor. On May 25, 1798, the British sloop of war DeBraak was struck by a sudden squall, capsized, and foundered on the Delaware coast. The 1984 discovery of its surviving hull remnant and its associated artifact collection offered a rare view into the material world of shipboard life aboard a Royal Navy warship.

Using information derived from the study of the DeBraak and its artifacts, Fithian will discuss the complexities of a sailor’s “wooden world,” and place it into the wider context of maritime culture, naval warfare, and the historical events shaping the late eighteenth century Atlantic World.

The presentation is free; registration is requested at: lewes.lib.de.us.

Walk-ins are welcome on a space-available basis. For more information: lewes.lib.de.us. ▼

Holiday Peace Concert The Rehoboth Concert Band will present its annual holiday concert on Sunday, December 22, at 3:00 p.m., at Cape Henlopen High School.

The concert will include a blend of traditional carols, joyful melodies, and heartwarming performances. Tickets are $20 for adults (youth 18 and under are free) and may be purchased on the band’s website (rehobothconcertband.org) or at the door. ▼

Third Annual Santa Bar Crawl

T

he Rehoboth Beach Santa Bar Crawl, benefitting the Marine Toys for Tots Foundation and the Stephen Siller Tunnel to Towers Foundation (T2T), steps off SANTA BAR CRAWL on Saturday, December 7, at 1:00 p.m.

All participants are encouraged to bring at least one new, unwrapped toy for drop-off at any collection bin (available at each participating establishment), AND make a donation of at least $5 to T2T via the Santa Bar Crawl website (rbsantabarcrawl.com). The event wraps up with a last stop/ closing party from 5:30-7:30 p.m. More information about the event, including participating locations and photos from last year’s festive crawl, are available at rbsantabarcrawl.com. ▼

Letters 24

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

JANUARY 2025

Commemorative Weekend Celebration

T

he Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Organization, Sussex County, Inc. invites everyone to participate in the 37th Annual Commemorative Weekend Celebration in honor of the late civil rights leader, January 18-20, 2025.

The theme for the Photo: Atomazul - stock.adobe.com weekend is "Together We Make the Dream Work: Love + Unity = Power.” The theme reflects the great importance Dr. King placed on the beloved community.

The Annual Banquet will be held on Saturday, January 18, beginning at 4:30 p.m., at the CHEER Center, 20520 Sand Hill Road, Georgetown, Delaware. The program will be presented by children throughout the community, and include musical, dance, and spoken word components.

On Sunday, January 19, everyone is encouraged to worship at a location of their choice. And throughout the weekend, everyone is encouraged to participate in the various activities sponsored by local organizations, especially service projects.

On Monday, January 20, there will be a Monday Holiday Community Worship Service, beginning at 10:00 a.m. The service will be held in person at Conley’s United Methodist Church, 33106 Jolyns Way, Lewes, Delaware.

The Messenger will be the Rev. Janice Herman, the pastor of the Harmony/Friendship Charge in Millsboro; her message will be in the form of a one-woman skit, “The Bag Lady.” The worship leader will be the Rev. Cynthia Daniels Williams from Friendship Baptist Church in Lewes. For Monday Holiday Worship Information, call Janie Miller: 302-227-3118.

Banquet tickets are $50 for adults, and $25 for children 15 and under. Tickets are offered through advance sales only; no tickets will be sold at the door.

The deadline to reserve tickets is January 4, 2025. For ticket sales or additional information, reach out to Don Peterson at 703-963-1871, or email donpetersonde@ gmail.com.

The community’s support is always needed and appreciated in perpetuating and nurturing the legacy, the vision, and the dream of Dr. King. Donations to the Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Organization may be sent to PO Box 781, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 19971. Contributions help fund scholarships for deserving youth in Sussex County and the on-going work of the Organization. ▼

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

25 Letters

health+wellness

BY SHARON MORGAN

The Glass Half-Full I have been finding treasures in places I did not want to search. –SUZY KASSEM

T

he history of the human species is a cautionary tale of a bunch of curmudgeons. “The children now love luxury; they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise,” decried Socrates. “The beardless youth…does not foresee what is useful, squandering his money,” complained Horace. “…a fearful multitude of untutored savages…[boys] with dogs at their heels... [girls who] drive coal-carts, ride astride upon horses, drink, swear, fight, smoke..,” warned Anthony Ashley Cooper in the 1800s. “The term ‘slacker generation’ is often associated with Generation X, characterized by a perceived disinterest in traditional career paths and a rejection of the materialistic values of their predecessors...,” observed Matthew Hennessey in his 2020 book Zero Hour for Gen X. Part of the “kids these days” persistent attitudes is a result of flawed memory, where one’s own generation is viewed as far more sophisticated when younger.

But part is due to the asymmetry in the way adults perceive negative and positive information.

Several studies point to humanity’s focus on negative information as an evolutionary protector. Negative stimuli are thought to carry greater informational value; hence, require more focus. Adults spend more time on negative stimuli, believing it is more complex. This bias spills over into decision making, as people weigh the negative aspects more than the positive. This is also true of impression formation, as the negative traits of someone are more likely to be reported first.

Adults tend to learn more from negative events, and negative outcomes can be greater motivators for change. That said, the negativity bias can skew one’s outlook. Negative news is often thought to be more truthful and believable. For that reason, negative stories outweigh positive ones in online forums and social media. People may have trouble forming lasting relationships, always focusing Letters 26

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

on the negative. The constant preoccupation with the negative can increase stress, adversely impacting one’s health, and limit one’s constructive life choices through fear.

A powerful mitigating strategy to the negativity bias is giving thanks. Gratitude is an appreciation of what is valued and

…multiple studies empirically associate gratitude with an increased sense of wellbeing and satisfaction. meaningful to oneself. While it may seem intuitive, multiple studies empirically associate gratitude with an increased sense of well-being and satisfaction. In one study, participants were divided into three groups: those who documented only positive experiences, those who documented only negative experiences, and those who recorded significant events, without a focus on negative or positive. After several weeks, those who recorded only gratitude reported feeling more optimistic. Of note, they also reported exercising more and seeing health workers less than the other two groups reported.

In another study, couples who practiced routine expressions of gratitude toward each other reported an increased intimacy and greater willingness to discuss troubling behaviors. The connection-building extends beyond just the couples, however. Practicing gratitude also leads to a greater desire to participate

within the community. Finally, studies on consistent use of workplace gratitude— the simple ‘thank you’—reflected a more positive, constructive work climate.

Gratitude can temper toxic emotions.

In studies analyzing gratitude journaling, the more participants used positive words or inclusive “we” statements, the less the writings reflected negative expressions.

Concurrently, those participants also expressed enhanced mental health or sense of well-being.

Gratitude does not necessarily need to be shared to produce positive results. In one study, only 23 percent of participants who wrote gratitude letters sent them.

Regardless, most participants, whether the letters were sent or not, felt they had benefitted from the exercise. This change in well-being takes time, however. Most participants reported seeing changes in about four weeks. Moreover, the brain reflects these changes, with those reporting feeling more grateful exhibiting distinct brain region activity by MRI. Those who have a brain built or reshaped by gratitude demonstrate more resilience to adversity and a stronger immune system. Grateful individuals have enhanced empathy and less aggression.

Thankful people have heightened self-esteem, in part, because they can take pleasure in another’s accomplishments.

Giving thanks provides a way to embrace all that makes life meaningful.

People feel and express gratitude in many ways. They can remember the past, recalling positive memories or significant childhood events. They can relish in the present, plucking out moments of daily joy. And they can look to the future, maintaining and expressing an optimistic attitude. Being grateful provides an avenue to appreciate what one has, instead of yearning for something new in the hopes of improved happiness.

Journaling is a common, simple, and enjoyable avenue to express gratitude.

Routinely jotting down three to five things that provide joy helps to focus on all the little things that provide meaning to one’s life. The gratitude jar is another simple technique to document the little aspects of daily life that bring meaning. Each day,

health+wellness

write down one to three things for which you are grateful: the coffee in the morning, the shining sun, the empty dishwasher. Such an activity helps underscore how the mundane can provide happiness. On the move? Use the gratitude rock. Carry it with you, have it visible, and recite a moment of gratitude several times during the day.

A fun activity to do with children is the gratitude tree. Cut out leaf prints from colored paper. Collect some stones and twigs. Create a tree from the twigs and place it in a container filled with the stones. Record expressions of gratitude on the leaves, and hang them from the

tree. With the tree as base, a gratitude garden can be created. Within the intended space, create stations such as Grumpy Mountain or the Frosty Forest, where all can express what was negative, always ending at the gratitude tree.

A variation to the gratitude tree is the gratitude collage, where mementos or photos are collected and then celebrated in a weekly reflection. A gratitude box is a lovely tradition to begin around holidays or when visiting those you only can see periodically. Collect expressions of gratitude for someone, wrap, and give as a present.

Meditation and prayer can take many

forms. A periodic reserved time to reflect on all that has provided joy is a great way to de-stress. Some combine such activity with a walk to cleanse and refresh. Of course, a gratitude visit (with forewarning!) can provide just that impromptu moment to reflect and share the thanks.

Humans will tend toward the negative.

But people can shape their world. Pour that glass of water and reflect. Is it half empty, or half full? ▼ Sharon A. Morgan is a retired advanced practice nurse with over 30 years of clinical and healthcare policy background.

It’s the Most—Challenging?—Time of the Year

BY M. SHANNON

W

ell, let’s face it: It can be. The holiday marathon is upon us, and it can be a LOT. Some of us will barely have swallowed the last bite of pumpkin pie before we’re asked (directed?) to deck the halls with holly-jolly. Or dash through the snow (assuming there is some) in a sleigh. Or hang some mistletoe or festoon a tree. Not to mention the cards and gifts and get-togethers and…. Or, maybe there is none of that—and the deafening silence is its own source of sorrow.

Maybe, this year, you’re grieving a loss, or are overwhelmed by day-to-day demands, or are just tired of the pressure to be merry and bright—when you’re feeling glum and dull. Maybe you’re someone who struggles with short days and dim light. It’s all you can do to hang on till December 22, when the days—albeit imperceptibly at first—begin to lengthen.

Fa-la-la-ing just isn’t happening for you.

If you’re finding yourself with a case of holiday doldrums, here are a few things you can do that might give you a lift (or at least, help you power through):

Prioritize self-care: Take time to rest.

Eat wisely. Imbibe even more wisely. Stay active. Need some help with that activity thing? Maybe one of CAMP Rehoboth’s yoga, mindfulness, or tai chi classes would help. Many are even online.

Set (or expand) boundaries: You can simply decline an invitation, if you’re at the just-too-much end of the activity spectrum. Maybe you’re at the mid-point? You can limit the time you spend at one gathering/event, saving some energy for the next. If you’re at the nothing-to-do end, the holidays offer many, many opportunities for volunteering. Some of CAMP Rehoboth’s are listed on page 109; browse volunteermatch.org for many more.

Create new traditions: If the old ones are a source of sadness—or are just too much work—it may be time for something new. Used to celebrating at home—with folks who are no longer there? Maybe this year’s gift is a holiday get-away. Dreading the days in the kitchen that “the usual” menu requires? Could be time for Chinese take-out. Or make-ahead lasagna.

Seek support: CAMP Rehoboth has lots of programs you can try. Women in Circle, maybe? The new monthly Benevolent Community Initiative/Community Circle might be just what you’re looking for.

Practice gratitude: As Sharon outlines so well in her article, this practice truly can make a difference. Whether you’re merry-and-bright or feel like you’re barely flickering, you are part of this community.

And we’re oh-so-grateful you’re here. ▼ Youth Crisis Support: Crisis intervention services for children under 18. Parents and caregivers are connected to a crisis clinician. Available 24/7. Call 800-9694357 or text DE to 741-741.

988: Free, confidential support and resources for anyone in distress.

Available 24/7. Call 988.

Delaware Hope Line: Free coaching and support. Links to mental health, addiction, and crisis services. Available 24/7. Call 833-9-HOPEDE (833-946-7333).

LET’S STAY CONNECTED! All of CAMP Rehoboth’s programs, services, and events are listed here: camprehoboth.org/community-calendar.

Please visit the site often to ensure you have up-to-date information on what is being offered—and when. ▼ NOVEMBER 15, 2024

27 Letters

BUY NOTHING DAY

BY STEPHEN RASKAUSKAS

10 TIPS to Consume Less

E

very year, as Black Friday approaches, many of us prepare for a flurry of deals, discounts, and shopping frenzy. But while Black Friday might excite bargain hunters, it also brings attention to our growing culture of consumption. In reaction to this, a grassroots movement called Buy Nothing Day emerged in the early 1990s, championed by environmentalists and activists who wanted to challenge the hyper-consumerism that fuels waste and environmental degradation.

Buy Nothing Day encourages people to step back from the race for more “stuff” and rethink their relationship with consumption. Instead of buying more, participants are encouraged to buy nothing for 24 hours. This simple act serves as a powerful protest against the ecological damage and inequality fostered by overconsumption.

In recent years, Buy Nothing Day has gained traction, especially with the rise of social media trends like the underconsumption core on platforms like TikTok. This movement embraces a minimalist approach to life, celebrating resourcefulness and conscious living over the constant pursuit of new things.

As we approach Buy Nothing Day, which falls on the last Friday of November annually, consider these 10 actionable ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle without spending a cent. Let’s embrace sustainability and a lighter impact on the planet!

1. REPURPOSE OLD ITEMS INTO NEW ONES

One of the best ways to practice sustainability is by giving new life to items you already own. That old t-shirt can be turned into a reusable tote bag if you’re handy with a needle and thread. Or, you can simple reuse it to do your household cleaning. With a bit of creativity, the items collecting dust in your closet can be transformed into useful objects.

Crafting with items you already have on hand and upcycling are also fun ways to spend time without spending money.

2. HOST A CLOTHING SWAP

Instead of shopping for new clothes on Black Friday, why not organize a clothing swap with friends and family?

Swaps are a great way to refresh your wardrobe while decluttering at the same time. The clothes you no longer wear could be someone else’s new favorite outfit, and vice versa. Plus, you’ll enjoy the sense of community that comes from sharing resources.

3. PARTICIPATE IN LOCAL BUY NOTHING GROUPS

Local Buy Nothing groups on Facebook and other platforms allow neighbors to give away items they no longer need or request things they’re looking for. From household goods to clothes, toys, and books, there’s no shortage of things being offered. It’s a beautiful way to share within your community without relying on money or adding to the clutter of consumerism.

4. DECLUTTER AND DONATE

ni

Letters 28 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Buy Nothing Day offers a great opportuty to declutter your home. Go through closets, cabinets, and drawers to find items you no longer need or use. Instead

of throwing things away, donate them to a local thrift store or charity. Someone else could benefit from what’s gathering dust in your home, and you’ll free up space in the process.

Instead of buying material goods, why not opt to enjoy priceless experiences?

5. REPAIR BEFORE YOU REPLACE

Before rushing out to replace broken items, why not try to fix them? Many things, like clothing, electronics, or furniture, can be repaired with a little time and effort. This is also a great way to develop new skills or even start a repair group within your community, where people help each other fix broken belongings. YouTube and TikTok are full of tutorials that can guide you through everything from sewing a hole in a shirt to fixing a minor appliance.

6. DIY HOLIDAY GIFTS

With the holidays around the corner, Buy Nothing Day is a great time to get creative with DIY gifts. Homemade candles, baked goods, artwork, or even upcycled crafts make thoughtful presents that are personal and ecofriendly. They also show that you’ve put time and care into your gifts, rather than simply buying them off the shelf. Ideally, make something with items you already have on hand, rather than going out to buy new supplies for your projects.

7. OPT FOR EXPERIENCES, NOT THINGS

Instead of buying material goods, why not opt to enjoy priceless experiences?

Experiences often create more lasting memories than physical items. Instead of looking to consume products and experiences by yourself or with family

With the holidays around the corner, Buy Nothing Day is a great time to get creative with DIY gifts.

and friends, opt to do things which are free like spending time outdoors, hosting a game night, or volunteering.

These activities also align with the values of Buy Nothing Day by focusing on connection rather than consumption.

8. EXPLORE THE UNDERCONSUMPTION CORE TREND

The underconsumption core trend on TikTok is all about intentional living, buying less, and using what you already own. This minimalist lifestyle has resonated with many younger people who are looking for ways to resist the pressures of consumerism and focus on sustainability. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the #underconsumptioncore hashtag on your favorite social media platforms to learn more about

how you can incorporate its principles into your life.

9. BORROW INSTEAD OF BUYING

Before rushing to purchase something new, consider borrowing it from a friend, neighbor, or local community group.

Many of the things we need, like tools, books, kitchen gadgets, or even formal attire, are often used only occasionally.

Borrowing helps reduce demand for new products and fosters a sense of community. Local libraries, “tool libraries,” and online lending platforms also provide excellent resources for borrowing what you need instead of buying.

10. ASK, “DO I REALLY NEED THIS?”

pausing before any potential purchase and asking yourself, “Do I really need this?” Often, we buy on impulse or out of habit rather than necessity. By reflecting on whether an item will truly add value to your life, you can make more mindful decisions and avoid unnecessary purchases. This small act of mindfulness can help break the cycle of overconsumption and lead to more intentional, meaningful choices in the future. ▼ Stephen Raskauskas is a Sussex County native who has produced content for radio, TV, digital, and print.

One of the simplest but most powerful habits to adopt for Buy Nothing Day is

WE HELP FAMILIES:  Create Wills and Powers of Attorney  Utilize Trusts for probate avoidance  Shelter assets from long term care costs  Apply for Medicaid & VA long term care

benefits  Preserve public benefits for persons with special needs  Administer their loved ones’ estates

Planning today to protect your family’s tomorrow. w w w. p w w l a w. c o m ••••••••••••••••••••••••••

302.628.4140

Estate Planning Elder Law

Estate & Trust Administration NOVEMBER 15, 2024

29 Letters

FEELS LIKE HOME

BY CHRISTOPHER MOORE

Renovating Woodbine

I

’ve spent the last year in a bit of a daze. After leaving the only professional life I’ve known since university, I started to experience a crisis in identity—the one thing I was always sure of. For so long, I was defined by my work. Now, I was facing the challenge of reconciling not only who I was as a human, but also where I was going. It turns out, this time in the emotional wilderness was just what I needed. This period of rediscovery led me to a small town in Bucks County, where on a weekend away with friends, I found something which upended my life: a 130-year-old cottage.

To be fair, one of my best pals was the catalyst for this. We had long fantasized about building a camp where our close friends could spend weekends and vacations. He found his cottage first, and we spent the late spring and early summer helping to transform this gloomy house into a cozy escape. It was on one of these trips that I discovered mine.

The decision to buy my cottage was impulsive and motivated by the desire for change. After years of relentless corporate work and city living, I needed something different. Bucks County was unexpected, and perfect. Now, I was the owner of this little house, with a pitched roof and a screened porch. Little did I know the adventure I was starting would become more than a home improvement project—I, too, was about to undergo my own emotional renovation.

I immediately realized owning a piece of history came with a litany of challenges. The cottage, though charming, was in desperate need of repair. I felt a mix of excitement and trepidation, as I had never owned anything but some bad behavior and a BMW. I was a renter, through and through; commitment to anything longterm did not appeal to me. I had to get real with myself immediately—could I handle this project? Or was I simply romanticizing the dream of being like my best friend and learning how to be a DIY pro?

As summer carried on, I started to empty the cottage of its contents and to dream about what it could be. This often Letters 30 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

happened in solitude, where I was left to my own thoughts and devices. I am usually surrounded by people and moments like this were few and far between. I soon started to crave them. The peace offered an opportunity to process the hamster-ina-wheel life I had been living for so long.

Every task I took on—every challenge I discovered—echoed my own internal struggles.

With each bag of items I removed, I cleared the path for my own future in this space, revealing the potential for growth and change.

When I encountered rotting wood in the kitchen wall, I was reminded of the times I let my own desires wither from neglect. Each repair was not just about fixing the cottage; it was about confronting the parts of myself that I had overlooked for too long. The cracks in the wall needed mending and caulk, much like my own cracks needed grace and forgiveness.

I also thought about the redemption I found in the last few years through love, through learning how to be myself, and how to enjoy life. With each bag of items I removed, I cleared the path for my own future in this space, revealing the potential for growth and change.

Mistakes became my teacher. The first time I attempted to install kitchen cabinets, I measured incorrectly. Instead of a perfect fit, I ended up with a pantry with no place to go—or so I thought. Once the frustration subsided, I saw the humor in it.

I thought about the spaces I once inhabited when I felt like I didn’t fit in. I certainly made those work, and I could make this pantry work, too.

I also found a place in the community.

I got to know my neighbors, and to enjoy evenings spent learning and laughing.

While we are all cosmically different, the common thread of place and time is what binds us together; it’s been the sweetest surprise. In a world where we often keep to ourselves, the sense of togetherness among the other cottagers has been refreshing.

As I settled into my cottage, now named Woodbine, I reflected on the lessons. The peeling paint and creaky floors were no longer symbols of neglect; they represented resilience, growth, and connection. I had embarked on this project to create a refuge, and in doing so, I unearthed parts of myself buried beneath layers of doubt and fear.

Recently, I was sitting on the porch surrounded by changing leaves and illuminated by the bright, late-afternoon glow of the setting sun. I realized in that moment I had not only been able to see the opportunity within the walls of this cottage, I also was able to reinvest in my own potential. At 44, I am still growing, still changing, and still in need of a few small repairs. Every moment I spend there serves as a reminder that we are all capable of renewal, and sometimes, the most meaningful renovations are the ones which happen within our own selves. ▼ Christopher Moore is the Interim Executive Director of AIDS Delaware. He spent the entire summer listening to “Hejira” by Joni Mitchell, eating homemade chicken salad, and loving a man who lives in Canada.

Holiday Haiku There are many holidays these next several weeks. Send us a haiku about one of yours. Fun, poignant, feisty, sad—you decide.

RULES:

17 syllables total Arranged in three lines as: • Five syllables here • Seven syllables this line • Five syllables here

HOLIDAY HAIKU 1

HOLIDAY HAIKU 4

Cookie cutters and Colored sugar; Mom and me Make sweet memories.

I prayed on All Saints The mad wannabe tyrant Gone! Did they listen?

– Glen C. Pruitt

– Richard Rosendall

HOLIDAY HAIKU 2

HOLIDAY HAIKU 5

Pale breast in soft light, Anticipation growing Turkey is ready.

Na zdrowie to all Orion high in the sky Right next to Santa

– Nancy Sakaduski

– Joann W.

HOLIDAY HAIKU 3

Submissions welcome through December 6. Send to: editor@camprehoboth.org.

Enjoy Thanksgiving.

Embrace friends and family.

Election over.

– Nancy Sakaduski

Love where you live.

Live where you love!

Chris Beagle chrisbeaglegroup.com @chrisbeaglegroup M 215.262.6209 | O 302.273.4998

The Chris Beagle Group is a team of real estate licensees affiliated with Compass RE. Compass RE is a licensed real estate broker and abides by Equal Housing Opportunity laws. 131 2nd Street, Lewes DE 19958

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

31 Letters

CAMPsafe Serves Our Community Upcoming Opportunities

A

s December approaches, the CAMPsafe program at CAMP Rehoboth looks forward to its upcoming events in recognition of World AIDS Day (December 1) and HIV/ AIDS Awareness Month (throughout December). As we come together to honor those in our community affected

by HIV/AIDS, CAMPsafe aims to promote awareness, education, and community support. We are committed to fostering an inclusive environment where individuals can engage, learn, and share their experiences.

One such event taking place in December is a lecture and training series in partnership with the MidAtlantic AIDS Education and Training Center (MAAETC).

On December 17, CAMPsafe and the MAAETC will host trainings on “LGBTQIA+ Gender Affirming Care” for people living with HIV, as well as “Understanding the Power of Cultural Humility” in the HIV community.

CAMPsafe believes that raising awareness for the diverse experiences of people living with HIV is crucial to combating stigma and instilling our community with knowledge about prevention, treatment, and support resources.

Join CAMPsafe in our mission to create a healthier, more informed community by attending these training sessions in December. Stay tuned for details on other HIV/ AIDS Awareness Month events and how you can participate by checking our events calendar at camprehoboth. org/events-calendar. ▼

BY VINCENT DELISSIO

PREVENT HIV & Mpox

FREE WALK-IN HIV TESTING

Free, rapid, walk-in HIV testing and counseling is available at CAMP Rehoboth and in western Sussex County. Testing days/ times are subject to change; please call ahead to verify the current testing schedule.

CAMP Rehoboth 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE Tel: 302-227-5620

Laurel State Service Center 31039 N. Poplar St., Laurel, DE Tel: 302-227-5620*

Mondays.....................10 AM-1 PM Tuesdays.................2:30-4:30 PM Wednesdays....................... 1-4 PM Thursdays............................ 1-3 PM Fridays .......................9 AM-12 PM

*Call CAMP Rehoboth to schedule an HIV test at the Laurel State Service Center.

Addiction Medical Facility - Seaford 1309 Bridgeville Hwy., Seaford, DE Tel: 302-629-2300 Higher Ground Outreach 12 E. Pine St., Georgetown, DE Tel: 302-470-7497

Springboard Village 411 Kimmey St., Georgetown, DE Tel: 302-253-8246 Scan the QR Code for the most up-todate testing hours and locations.

Vincent DeLissio is the CAMPsafe Program Coordinator at CAMP Rehoboth.

KNOW YOUR STATUS! Results in only 15 minutes!

GET TESTED

with Leslie Hayes, HIV tester, at CAMP Rehoboth.

Letters 32 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

MA KE A M EA N INGFUL DI FF E RE NCE W IT H

Your Required Minimum Distribution If you’re 73 or older, your Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) can be more than just a financial obligation.

By choosing to direct a portion of your RMD to CAMP Rehoboth, you can make a lasting impact in our community and reduce your taxable income.

Your RMD gift will help us continue our vital work, with immediate benefits for you and lasting benefits for our community.

How Your Gift Helps: A gift directly from your IRA counts toward your RMD and is tax-free for you.

Every contribution goes directly to support CAMP Rehoboth programs, community outreach, events, workshops, and more!

To Learn More or Make Your RMD Gift: Contact Laurie Thompson, 302-227-5620 or via email at laurie@camprehoboth.org

TOGETHER, WE CAN TURN YOUR RMD INTO REAL COMMUNITY IMPACT. 37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | 302.227.5620 | camprehoboth.org NOVEMBER 15, 2024

33 Letters

Out & About

BY ERIC C. PETERSON

The Worst Amendment

W

henever I write for Letters, I’m always writing for a readership that doesn’t quite exist yet. We’re not a daily paper, so the words I type into my laptop don’t reach your eyeballs the very next day. It’s usually a few weeks after I’ve formulated my thoughts and compiled a draft that my words are actually read.

A few weeks usually doesn’t make that much difference, but the words you’re reading now were written before the 2024 US election. So, in a very real way, the man who wrote this column doesn’t know who you are right now.

But no matter how the election turned out, I’d like to bend your ear for a bit about the role of the media in all of this. For context, I live in Washington, DC, on the eve of a national election, and just last week I canceled my subscription to my hometown paper, the Washington Post.

You see, just a week ago (I don’t know much about you, except that this story probably feels like it happened months ago, not weeks), the Post declared that it would not be endorsing a candidate for President in 2024. They claim that this decision will apply to all future Presidential races, and that it was done in the name of fairness and credibility.

In fact, the Post’s Editorial Board (the folks who write these endorsements) had, earlier in the year, urged Joe Biden to exit the race multiple times. When Biden did drop out, they immediately published a call for Democrats to hold an open convention, rather than allowing Kamala Harris to earn that nomination ahead of time. It was only in the weeks leading up to a particularly consequential election that they decided neutrality should be their brand. A bit ironic, since their tagline since 2017 has been “Democracy Dies in Darkness.” Or silence, to my mind.

In the days after declaring their non-endorsement, it was revealed that Donald Trump had met with executives from Blue Origin, a fledgling space tourism company founded by billionaire Jeff Letters 34 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Bezos. Bezos, famously, also founded Amazon, and currently owns the Washington Post. It seems clear to anyone who has been paying attention to the Trump campaign or the behavior of billionaires in general that Bezos didn’t want to get on Trump’s bad side, just in case. This was an act of anticipatory obedience.

I’m sad for the ghost of Katherine Graham, who refused to cede to tyranny when it was at her door, who was a profile in courage just as Bezos is a profile in cowardice.

The term “anticipatory obedience” was first coined by Timothy Snyder, author of On Tyranny. He wrote, “the major lesson of the Nazi takeover, and what was supposed to be one of the major lessons of the twentieth century, [is] don’t hand over the power you have before you have to. Don’t protect yourself too early.”

Bezos has argued that newspapers exist to objectively report the news, and therefore have no business endorsing candidates in the first place. To be fair, many readers, on the left and the right, agree. But the timing of this decision, in addition to the news of Trump’s visit to the Blue Origin headquarters, reveals a darker truth. Bezos, who promised to never interfere with editorial decisions when he bought the paper in 2013, was willing to break that promise if it served other, competing interests.

That the paper was poised to endorse Kamala Harris is no secret. If anything, the self-inflicted scandal that Bezos created amplified the feelings of the Editorial Board more than running the endorsement (which had already been written

when editors learned it would not run) ever could have. In axing the endorsement when he did, Bezos failed the “neutrality” test spectacularly. And in doing so, he irreparably damaged the trust his readers place in his paper.

To be clear, I didn’t cancel my subscription to “punish” Jeff Bezos. The man has more wealth than I can easily imagine; he’s untouchable. If you’re wondering, I have not taken the “extra step” of canceling my Amazon Prime membership, because I still retain some value from being a member of Amazon.

It’s worth the money. Sadly, I cannot say the same for the Washington Post.

In a fundamental way, I no longer trust the paper to come through when it’s most important. I type these words with a heavy heart, not in a fit of pique or with a delusion that Jeff Bezos cares one bit whether I or 250,000 of my fellow subscribers hit the cancel button.

Mostly, I’m sad for the ghost of Katherine Graham, who refused to cede to tyranny when it was at her door, who was a profile in courage just as Bezos is a profile in cowardice.

Reader, you probably know how the election turned out by now. As I write this, I do not. In a way, I’m jealous. What the Washington Post did or did not do probably didn’t have much of an impact either way. But if I’m writing these words to someone who can still make decisions about what to read and who to trust, I only ask that you take that freedom seriously, and not take it for granted. Pay attention to what you’re told, and what isn’t being said. Vote with your clicks, vote with your eyeballs, vote with your dollars, and let’s keep fighting the good fight. ▼ Eric Peterson is Interim Managing Editor of Amble Press, a novelist (Loyalty, Love & Vermouth), and a diversity, equity, and inclusion practitioner. Follow Eric on Threads at @red7eric.

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35 Letters

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37 Letters

Straight Talk

BY DAVID GARRETT

Another Road Trip!

R

oad trip movies cover a variety of genres of filmmaking. Many are comedies, such as National Lampoon’s Vacation, Smoky and the Bandit, and Tommy Boy. Other road trip movies are pure adventure, with a mix of drama. Think Thelma and Louise, Speed, and (who can forget?) Easy Rider. A new road trip film has just been released on Netflix.

Will & Harper is a film about Will Farrell and his good friend of 30 years, Harper Steele. Harper emailed Will out of the blue one day and shared with him that she was transitioning. Will replied with a note saying that he loved her and supported her.

Both of them had lots of questions for each other, so they decided to sort things out on a road trip. This forms the basis of the film.

Harper had traveled the country prior to transitioning. Will asked her if she wanted to take a road trip and visit many of the places she had visited before.

Harper just wasn’t sure if that was a good idea, but finally agreed to do it. Harper reflects, “So many of us don’t know what the rules of engagement are. In terms of our friendship and our relationship, it’s uncharted waters.”

Will wanted to know how Harper chose her new name. At first, she was going to choose a name that was similar to her “dead name.” [Side note: A trans person’s birth name is called a dead name, because that person has transitioned and no longer uses that name. A new name is chosen that reflects the unique personality of this person. Choosing a new name is something that every trans person faces.

The cis world does not understand the major hurdle that choosing a new name presents to the trans community.]

Harper said she at first wanted to make it easy on everyone else. But the more she verbalized that name to herself and imagined using it in different situations, she decided it was not the right name.

Harper told Will that her mother had gone to school with Harper Lee. She kept saying the name Harper and it felt good; it felt right.

A very poignant moment in this road trip came when Harper shared with Will a passage from a journal that she kept. She was seeing a therapist,

“She seems to think dressing up like a woman has a lot of defiance/anger in it.

She’s got a theory.

I, on the other hand, am losing faith in theories.”

Letters 38 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

and this is from her journal: “My therapist today batted down my silly notion that I might be a girl instead of a boy. She’s not buying it. At one point she said I was living in fantasy. The weird feeling of sickness and dread I described to her while I’m dressed in my male clothes didn’t make any sense to her.... She seems to think dressing up like a woman has a lot of defiance/anger in it. She’s got a theory. I, on the other hand, am losing faith in theories.”

Therapists who have no understanding of the trans community (AND the gay/lesbian community) rely upon their cis gender/straight education and life experience. This presents a significant obstacle to providing the mental and emotional health support that is needed. Not only can they undermine the ability of the trans person to heal, they can actually drive that person to consider suicide.

This is precisely why many states have outlawed “conversion therapy.” Why haven’t they all?

A very awkward moment in this film came when Will and Harper attended an NBA game between the Indiana Pacers and the Philadelphia Sixers. The Governor of Indiana was at the game and wanted a photo op with Will Farrell. He asked Will what brought him to Indianapolis and Will told him that he was traveling with his good friend who recently transitioned. The next scene showed them in the car listening to a news report that Governor Eric Holcomb had signed a bill denying all genderaffirming care and access to bathrooms for the transgender community.

The film continues with other stops along the way and other encounters with people, some of whom are supportive, some not. Will & Harper allows its viewers to come to terms with the same questions that they face. This film is worthwhile for both cis gender and trans persons alike. It brings us together, and isn’t that the whole point anyway? ▼ David Garrett, a CAMP Rehoboth Board member, is a straight advocate for equality and inclusion. He is also the proud father of an adult trans daughter. Email David Garrett at davidg@camprehoboth.com.

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39 Letters

Letters 40 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

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41 Letters

CAMP Sights

BY JAMES SEARS

From “Sisters” to Acceptance A Journey of Faith in Rural Delaware

D

uring the 1970s and ‘80s, Newark and Wilmington emerged as centers of LGBTQ+ advocacy. At the University of Delaware, the 200-member Gay Student Union co-published the newsletter OUT with the Gay Women’s Caucus and the off-campus The Gay Community. There were “CR” (consciousness-raising) groups, The Delaware Dyke Hotline, and The Lobby, a small bar near the Howard Johnson’s, that the groups had assumed financial responsibility for in exchange for turning the ailing establishment into a queer bar.

In Wilmington, queer life revolved around several bars and discos, notably the Golden Greeks (commonly known as Stella’s) and the Gas Lamp. Although there were a few lesbians and gay men

Letters 42 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

who were publicly out, like Marshall Gealt, May Barrows, and Ivo Dominguez, Jr., most preferred to keep their “lifestyle” private. Two healthcare professionals, Carol and Helen, were part of the closeknit lesbian community. “We had monthly dinners with a huge gay group in New Castle County,” Helen recalls, noting how her father would cook whenever they hosted at their home.

As property values in Rehoboth Beach escalated through the 1980s, many lesbians found themselves priced out of the market. While gay men increasingly purchased vacation homes in town, Carol and Helen, along with other women, found sanctuary in Sussex County’s expansive—and inexpensive—farmland.

They purchased property and built a second home.

In 1993, the couple sold their New

Castle County home and businesses, moving to live full-time in the rural county.

Though just a short ride into Rehoboth, “It was like two different worlds,” Carol explains. Maintaining discretion about their relationship, they found comfort in a small community of fellow lesbian homesteaders.

Rehoboth’s lesbian social scene was evolving. The Frogg Pond on South First Street hosted women’s nights on Fridays, while the Renegade’s Saturday “Ladies Night” drew hundreds. Still, most gatherings occurred in private homes.

Helen, now 88, remembers the monthly performances at Barbara Fishel’s house. “You couldn’t come without doing skits,” she says. Carol, three years her junior, proudly recounts their first-prize performance of “Glad Ass Knight and the Tits.”

As former Catholics yearning for spiritual connection, their lives changed with an unexpected knock at the door in 1996. Their neighbor Annie Sloan, a sculptor, arrived with an invitation.

“Ladies,” she declared in no uncertain terms, “get yourself cleaned up for Sunday, ‘cause I’m taking you to church!”

That Sunday marked their first visit to the historic St. George’s Chapel on Beaver Dam Road.

The eighteenth-century red-brick church, built by plantation owners’ ancestors using local materials, immediately touched Helen’s spirit. “It was what a country church was always like, treating strangers as friends,” she says softly. Introducing themselves as “sisters,” they gradually integrated into church life, assuming leadership roles as the congregation’s acceptance—and curiosity—grew.

Like others of their generation—including novelist Anyda Marchant and Muriel Crawford, longtime parishioners at St. George’s sister parish, All Saints’ Church—Helen and Carol proceeded carefully. “You have to understand how people are raised down here,” Carol explains. “It’s different than the city.” Helen

Introducing themselves as “sisters,” they gradually integrated into church life, assuming leadership roles as the congregation’s acceptance—and curiosity—grew.

nods in agreement: “If you want to live in this old farm area, then it’s up to you to integrate into it.”

Over the years, some parishioners suspected the truth and a few floated seemingly innocuous questions. After one Sunday service, a woman joined Helen for coffee, casually observing, “I haven’t gotten any sleep with Charlie snoring; does Carol snore?”

A few years later, while hosting an Advent service, more than 40 parishioners filled their home. “They felt comfortable,” Helen explains. “We were no longer sisters.” Carol adds, “We were no different.” Their patient approach to acceptance—similar to that of Steve Elkins and Murray Archibald at CAMP Rehoboth—helped pave the way for others.

Today, Jon Rania, Director of Music and Communications of the Episcopal parish composed of All Saints’ Church and St. George’s Chapel, estimates their congregation is now 35-45 percent LGBTQ+. “We now stand on Carol and Helen’s shoulders,” he lauds, pointing to the chapel’s growth, “at a time when small churches around the country are struggling, merging, or closing.”

“People who come to the Rehoboth area have often been kicked to the curb,” Carol says, “When they found out you were gay, they didn’t want you.”

Yet she brightens when speaking about their church home: “There is a refuge in this little church,” sitting peacefully along Route 23.

The chapel continues offering

sanctuary, though Carol emphasizes the need for awareness in rural Sussex: “We live in a community where people are generous and kind, but you must remain mindful. You still need some kind of reserve to protect you.”

“Everyone has a place and every place is good,” Helen reflects. “It is changing, step-by-step.” ▼ James Sears’ most recent book, Queering Rehoboth Beach, is available at Browseabout Books. He is currently working on a novel set in nineteenth-century Wales.

Pictured, L-R: Helen and Carol. Photo by James Sears

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

43 Letters

View Point

BY RICHARD J. ROSENDALL

Trump’s Rough Hour I Will Go Down Writing

I

write this before the election for reading after. I wonder if it made a difference that Donald Trump said Kamala Harris wanted to ban cows and windows.

Washington Post columnist Dana Milbank, after pointing out that Trump said the same thing about Joe Biden in 2020, writes, “Four years later, there are still 87 million head of cattle on US farms. And the multibillion-dollar US window market is growing steadily. Yet it didn’t occur to Trump to defenestrate these wacky claims.”

Defenestration is execution by throwing people out windows. Someone once told me defenestration is a synonym for masturbation, which is true only if it is done with extreme carelessness.

This election felt like a referendum on America’s original sin, embodied in the hypocrisy of a slave owner declaring that “all men are created equal.”

The contrast between our creed and our conduct has driven 248 years of struggle.

As I write, it is unclear whether our constitutional republic will endure or be ripped apart by some people’s refusal to let go of their racism, sexism, and determination to hold power to the exclusion of all who look or think differently from themselves.

Vice President Harris, the most qualified presidential nominee in living memory, was the only practical alternative to a disastrous return to power by Trump. Those who said they didn’t know enough about her were hardly credible, considering they knew enough about her opponent to disqualify him many times over.

Trump said “one rough hour” by police would end crime. He was not referring to his own crimes.

Soviet-era Russia made it a crime to possess a photo of anyone who had been purged and rendered a nonperson. Hitler’s Germany forced the Letters 44 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

exile of sexologist Magnus Hirschfeld, both gay and Jewish, whose Institute for Sexual Science was looted and its books burned by Nazis in 1933.

What makes anyone think Trump, who admires Putin and echoes Hitler in calling minority populations vermin, would spare queer folk?

A British friend advises me to keep a packed bag ready in case I find myself in a situation like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca…

As for myself, it is fruitless to try to erase the hundreds of commentaries I wrote that remain online, including my 2015 year-in-review in the Washington Blade titled “Year of the Arsonist” and illustrated with a photo of the Reichstag Fire. The arsonist, naturally, was Trump.

In the intervening years I have cursed and mocked him, sometimes simultaneously. I might as well throw myself on the mercy of the court.

The truth is, any fear I might feel is overcome by indignation. Those writers able to stand endless kowtowing to an ignorant thug are already with him.

The rest of us will go down writing.

Harris showed the right stuff with her strong, confident handling of a hostile interview with Bret Baier on Fox News.

She did not let herself be rolled. After the interview, Baier said he “made a mistake” by running the wrong clip of Trump. Was it also a mistake when he repeatedly talked over her? Harris didn’t let him get away with erasing Trump’s talk of an “enemy from within” and his

threat to use the military against his opponents.

Why should we be intimidated by a man who is unhinged and doesn’t know what he’s talking about?

A British friend advises me to keep a packed bag ready in case I find myself in a situation like Humphrey Bogart in Casablanca, taking the last train out of Paris. I live in a town where every other person thinks they’re the lead character, so the train will be awfully crowded.

Trump is deteriorating before our eyes, but let us not pretend he was a prize to begin with. Facebook reminds me of something I posted in 2019: “Trump’s ignorance and refusal to prepare are a continual source of embarrassment. He called Italian President Sergio Mattarella ‘President Mozzarella.’ He called American DefSec Mark Esper ‘Mark Esperanto.’ He calls the Asian countries Nepal and Bhutan ‘Nipple’ and ‘Button.’ He referred to the nonexistent African country Nambia.

Next he’ll invite General Tso to a summit meeting.” (General Tso, it turned out, was too chicken to show up.)

Perhaps you who read this in midNovember or later still do not know the election results, given extensive efforts by Republicans to obstruct vote counting and certification. Whatever happens, there is more fighting for our country ahead.

Fascism has threatened us before. It can never be accepted. I took an oath at the start of my federal career to defend the Constitution, and I will uphold that oath until the day I die. ▼ Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist at rrosendall@me.com.

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45 Letters

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47 Letters

Historical Headliners

BY ANN APTAKER

Money, Money, Money: John Maynard Keynes

E

conomics has been called “The Dismal Science,” and economists are often thought of as either dreary bean counters at one end of the spectrum or irresponsible advocates of throwing government money around at the other end. With numbers in their heads and banking systems their preferred light reading, economists are not usually regarded as the freewheeling life of the party.

Well, I suppose it depends on the party. The gatherings of the Cambridge Apostles—a quasi-secret society of intellectually snobbish Cambridge University students—in the early 20th century was described by the appalled mother of a member as “a hotbed of homosexuality.”

Okay, whatever.

Cambridge at the time was all male, and among the Cambridge Apostles’ notable students was a young man whose economic theories would later affect economies around the world. That man was John Maynard Keynes. Keynesian economics, whose core idea (which I state here in its most simplistic terms) is that managed capitalism and government spending could mitigate the ups and downs of economic cycles and therefore keep civic society on a more or less even keel. The mathematical details of this theory and Keynes’ own evolution of his ideas are, frankly, beyond my math-deficient understanding. But it’s not just Keynes’ intellectual life we’re concerned with here, but his surprisingly lively homosexual life.

During his Cambridge years and beyond, there were affairs with Lytton Strachey, who would later gain fame as a founding member of the Bloomsbury Group (Virginia Woolf, et al) and author of Eminent Victorians; Daniel Macmillan, brother of Harold Macmillan, who would go on to be British Prime Minister; and Dillwyn Knox, who became a noted Classics scholar and a codebreaker who was part of the Bletchley Park group to break the German’s Enigma code during World War Two. One of Keynes’ more significant Letters 48 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

relationships was with artist and designer Duncan Grant, whom he met in 1908.

Between these affairs, Keynes led a lively sexual life, which he chronicled in a series of diaries. His sexual adventures included trips to Tunisia, where young men were readily available to Western travelers willing to pay.

Between these affairs, Keynes led a lively sexual life, which he chronicled in a series of diaries.

Through all this hectic romantic and sexual activity, and well into his middle years, Keynes wrote a number of his most important economic treatises and established himself as an advisor to institutions and governments. He was instrumental in advising the British government during World War One regarding the economics of the war, and was eventually a formal employee of the British Treasury, devising bold and modern economic policy.

During the Great Depression of the 1930s, Keynes wrote and published The Means to Prosperity. The book not only influenced British policy to alleviate the

harshness of mass unemployment and resultant poverty, it also was central to Franklin Roosevelt’s policies here in America during the Depression.

The economic stresses of the Second World War called upon Keynes’ expertise yet again, both in Europe and America.

By this time, John Maynard Keynes was rightly considered the most influential economist in the world.

While his homosexuality was known among his circle, the larger public was unaware of his homosexual life. Moreover, since the 1920s, when he entered into a relationship with Russian ballerina Lydia Lopokova, Keynes began to define himself as bisexual. They married in 1925, and the marriage lasted until Keynes’ death in 1946 at the age of 62. His marriage, though, did not end Keynes’ affairs with men.

Throughout his life, John Maynard Keynes was a supporter of the arts. As an atheist, he was a strong proponent of secularism and humanism. Though he held strong views regarding economics, religion, philosophy, and other matters regarding civic life, he was not above modifying his views as times changed and his experiences changed with them.

At one time chided for his views on race and considered antisemitic, Keynes nonetheless recognized and appreciated the contributions of his Jewish colleagues to the science of economics as well as to other intellectual and cultural endeavors, and he grew to understand the Nazi threat to Jewish lives. Throwing off his early and brief fascination with Hitler’s ideas, Keynes became an active anti-Nazi, lending his support in assisting various Jewish colleagues to escape Hitler.

A complicated man, indeed.

But then again, there’s nothing simple about economics. ▼ Ann Aptaker is the author of short stories and the Lambda & three-time Goldie award winning Cantor Gold series. Her latest book, A Crime of Secrets, was released in July 2023.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

49 Letters

CAMP Library Chronicles

BY GLENN LASH

Awareness by the Book “When you know someone’s story, it becomes much harder to hate them.” –SARAH MCBRIDE, DELAWARE STATE SENATOR AND ACTIVIST

I

n observance of Transgender Awareness Week, I was excited to ask my siblings on the Delaware Trans Community Facebook page to share which books have influenced their lives.

Twenty titles were shared. Here are the five you can find in CAMP’s Library (where there are 75 books in the transgender section).

• Vienna had Beyond Magenta by Susan Kuklin on their list—a Stonewall Honor Book. Transgender teens speak out on their lives.

• Jay suggested Black on Both Sides by C. Riley Stanton.

Black trans women led the way as early as 1830.

• Original Plumbing written by Amos Mac (along with a link to Goodreads) was offered by Soren. Originally an independent publication (2009-2019) dedicated to trans men, this 10th Anniversary edition compiles the best of OP.

• David had Stone Butch Blues by Leslie Feinberg at the top of his list. Still groundbreaking.

• And one of Sam’s titles—Tomorrow Will Be Different by Sarah McBride—just happened to be the book I was reading.

Our community should take the opportunity to enter the life of one who has transitioned. Senator McBride is generous and oh so real in the retelling of her life story leading to her authentic self. I found myself beaming as I read of her triumphs. Reading of her lowest moment, I had to put the book down as I was overcome with tears.

It got me thinking of my own journey. After coming out to my mom in 1981, she shared the story that when I was six years old, I told her I wanted to be a girl. The family doctor was immediately called and fortunately I was not subjected to hospitalization. “It’s a phase,” he said to calm my worried parent.

To have the strength to become the “you” known in your deepest core, even when it is all you have to spur you on…deserves nothing less than our support…and a hug wouldn’t hurt. ▼ Glenn Lash is CAMP Rehoboth’s Volunteer Librarian Extraordinaire.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

51 Letters

OUTlook

BY BETH SHOCKLEY

Counting Birds

B

efore my latest cataract surgery last month, I was finally able to spot the distinctive dove-gray, pointy head of a titmouse at our backyard feeder. Very different from a chickadee or nuthatch. On a regular basis, I also see cute little Carolina wrens, red-bellied woodpeckers, cardinals, and so many more kinds of birds that I am not yet able to identify.

We have more than a feeder; you might call our back deck a feeding station. Our philosophy is to let everyone eat, including the raccoons and possums, and, of course, the squirrels. Sandy fills the little bird feeder on the daily. She also spreads the premium seeds and peanuts on the deck railings and the little table by the grill. We do this in the spring, fall, and winter.

It’s especially important because of the drought Delaware is currently in, and we may add water to the mix, although we’re pretty sure they have access to fresh water.

Our house backs up to a state nature preserve, so I don’t doubt that other wild creatures (including a just-discovered groundhog) sometimes get the special treats our birds enjoy.

Watching the birds is such a great pastime and I feel so fortunate to have the time to do it. Before I retired, I did not have time or interest for backyard birding.

But I was aware of the steep decline in bird populations and I remain concerned.

Everyone should be.

According to the Delaware Nature Society, three billion birds have been lost from North America since the 1970s. That means more than one in four North American birds have disappeared in less than 50 years. Our beloved, intrepid shorebirds have been hit especially hard with a decline of 37 percent in 50 years around the Delaware Bay. Our songbirds and grassland birds are losing their habitats and declining by 38 percent and 53 percent respectively in Delaware. Millions of acres of bird habitat are lost to development, agriculture, and forestry practices.

Letters 52 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Even the common birds—blackbirds, finches, and sparrows—are disappearing, declining by 44, 37, and 38 percent respectively. All of these species feed their young on insects—which have also seen frightening declines I won’t even go into.

According to the Delaware Nature Society, three billion birds have been lost from North America since the 1970s.

Yes, these statistics are scary, sad, and depressing. But we can all take a small action. I find diving into the science a helpful part of taking action, and it’s why we will be participating in this year’s Christmas Bird Count (CBC), sponsored by the National Audubon Society.

Begun in 1900 by Frank Chapman and 26 other conservationists, the CBC was begun to promote counting—as opposed to hunting—our feathered friends.

Now, 125 years later, it’s long been an early-winter bird census program.

Thousands of volunteers across North America and other countries in the Western Hemisphere go out over a 24-hour period on one day to count birds between December 14, 2024, and January 5, 2025.

While it’s free of charge and open to

anyone, each count occurs in an already-established 15-mile-diameter circle and is organized by a count compiler. You can see the maps for Delaware’s circles at audubon.org. Delaware has more than seven circles, including one each for the Lewes and Rehoboth Beach areas.

You must make arrangements to participate—in advance—with your circle compiler. All the information you need is on the maps. If your house is within the boundaries of a CBC circle, you can count from home and report the birds that visit your feeder on count day, but you must have made prior arrangements with the count compiler. You cannot just do your own CBC and send your data to Audubon.

The CBC is a real census. Its data is used for official, scientific studies. If you want a less structured but just as important bird count, participate in the Great Backyard Bird Count on President’s Day weekend in February. You can enter your data online from home. Audubon is a sponsor of the Great Backyard Bird Count, along with the Cornell Lab of Ornithology and Birds Canada.

The Christmas Bird Count is completely funded through donations and Audubon can certainly use more of those. But again, participation in CBC is completely free.

The data from the count over the past 100 years have become one of just two large sets of information educating conservation biologists and ornithologists how birds of the Americas are doing. You can track populations over time and find out other interesting factoids by visiting Audubon’s website. Contributing to the science—even in a small way—really helps fight off that feeling of helplessness and despair, and you’ll be doing something to help our bird friends. They need us now more than ever. ▼ Beth Shockley is a retired senior writer/editor living in Dover with her wife and furbabies.

Photo by Joshua J. Cotten on Unsplash

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

53 Letters

Letters 54 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

55 Letters

CAMP REHOBOTH BEACH GUIDE BEACH AREA LODGING Atlantic Sands Hotel, Boardwalk & Baltimore Ave.........................302-227-2511 Atlantic View Hotel, Ocean Front 2 Clayton St, Dewey.................302-227-3878 Atlantis Inn, 154 Rehoboth Ave.....................................................302-227-9446 Beach View Hotel, 6 Wilmington Ave.............................................302-227-2999 Breakers Hotel, 105 2nd St & Baltimore Ave.................................302-227-6688 Canalside Inn, 34 6th St.................................................................302-226-2006 Rehoboth Guest House, 40 Maryland Ave.....................................302-227-4117 Sea ‘n Stars Guest Suites, 44 Delaware Ave.................................302-226-2742 Summer Place Hotel, 1st St & Olive Ave........................................302-226-0766 The Avenue Inn & Spa, 33 Wilmington Ave....................................302-226-2900

LEWES FOOD & DRINK

Visit the Beach Guide Directory on the CAMP Rehoboth website to find links to these area businesses in BOLD. The Guide includes: Food and Wine, Shopping, Lodging, and Services—all at camprehoboth.org.

REHOBOTH RETAIL SHOPS Atlantic Jewelry, 313 South Boardwalk.........................................302-226-0675 New Wave Spas, 20660 Coastal Hwy............................................302-227-8484 Stuart Kingston Gallery, 19470 Coastal Hwy.................................302-227-2524 Unfinished Business, 18389 Olde Coach Rd.................................302-645-8700

ART GALLERIES | MUSEUMS Biggs Museum of American Art, thebiggsmuseum.org Gallery 50, 50 Wilmington Ave......................................................302-227-2050 Peninsula Gallery, 502 E Savannah Rd..........................................302-645-0551 Rehoboth Art League, 12 Dodds Ln...............................................302-227-8408 Rehoboth Beach Museum, 511 Rehoboth Ave..............................302-227-7310

REHOBOTH FOOD & DRINK 1776 Steakhouse, Midway Shopping Center................................302-645-9355 Aqua, 57 Baltimore Ave................................................................ 302-226-9001 Back Porch Café, 59 Rehoboth Ave...............................................302-227-3674 Blue Moon, 35 Baltimore Ave........................................................302-227-6515 Café Azafrán, 18 Baltimore Ave.....................................................302-227-8100 Chesapeake & Maine, 316 Rehoboth Ave.....................................302-226-3600 Coho’s Market & Grill, 305 Rehoboth Ave......................................302-227-2646 Diego’s Bar Nightclub, 37298 Rehoboth Ave................................302-227-1023 Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats 320 Rehoboth Ave.......................302-226-2739 Dos Locos, 208 Rehoboth Ave.......................................................302-227-3353 Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, 3 South First St.......................302-527-1400 Go Fish, 24 Rehoboth Ave..............................................................302-226-1044 Goolee’s Grille, 11 South 1st St.....................................................302-227-7653 Just In Thyme, 38163 Robinsons Dr..............................................302-227-3100 Lori’s Café, 39 Baltimore Ave.........................................................302-226-3066 Loves Liquors, LLC, 305c Rehoboth Ave........................................302-227-6966 Lupo Italian Kitchen, 247 Rehoboth Ave.......................................302-226-2240 Purple Parrot Grill, 134 Rehoboth Ave...........................................302-226-1139 Rigby’s, 404 Rehoboth Ave............................................................302-227-6080 Shorebreak Lodge, 10 Wilmington Ave.........................................302-227-1007 The Pines, 56 Baltimore Avenue....................................................302-567-2726

Letters 56 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Go Brit, 18388 Coastal Hwy...........................................................302-644-2250 Harbour Waterfront Dining, 134 West Market St...........................302-200-9522 Matt’s Fish Camp, 34401 Tenley Ct...............................................302-644-2267

OTHER AREA FOOD & DRINK Bluecoast Seafood, 30904 Coastal Hwy, Bethany........................302-539-7111 Catch 54, 38931 Madison Ave, Selbyville.....................................302-436-8600 Matt’s Fish Camp, 28635 Coastal Hwy, Bethany...........................302-539-2267

SERVICES AT THE BEACH BUILDING/CLEANING/REMODELING/LANDSCAPING

A.G. Renovations ...........................................................................302-947-4096 bsd, 35603 South St............................................................ 302-684-8588

CHURCHES/SYNAGOGUES

All Saints’ Episcopal, 18 Olive Ave.................................................302-227-7202 Epworth UMC, 19285 Holland Glade Rd.......................................302-227-7743 Grace of God Lutheran, ELCA, 26089 Shoppes at Long Neck.......302-947-1044 M.C.C. of Rehoboth, 19369 Plantation Rd.....................................302-645-4945 Seaside Jewish Community, 18970 Holland Glade Rd..................302-226-8977 St. George’s Episcopal, 20271 Beaver Dam Rd, Harbeson..............302-227-7202 St. Peter’s Episcopal, 2nd & Market Sts, Lewes.............................302-645-8479 Unitarian Universalist, 30486 Lewes-G’Town Hwy........................302-313-5838 Unity of Rehoboth, 98 Rudder Rd, Millsboro.................................302-945-5253 Westminster Presbyterian, 301 King Charles Ave.........................302-227-2109

COMMUNITY RESOURCES

AARP of Delaware (age 50+)..........................................................866-227-7441 ACLU of DE—Lesbian & Gay Civil Rights Project............................302-654-5326 CAMP Rehoboth Chorus—Program of CAMP Rehoboth................302-227-5620 CAMP Rehoboth—LGBTQ Community Service Org........................302-227-5620 CAMP Rehoboth Families—LGBTQ parents connect......................302-227-5620 Cape Henlopen Senior Center—Rehoboth (age 50+)....................302-227-2055 CHEER Centers of Sussex County (age 50+)..................................302-515-3040 Delaware Aging & Disability Resource Center...............................800-223-9074 Delaware Human Relations Commission Housing & public accommodation............................................877-544-8626 Delaware Information Line.....2-1-1Delaware Pride—Community events, annual Pride Festival..................................................................................302-265-3020 Lewes Senior Activity Center (age 50+).........................................302-645-9293 Meals on Wheels Lewes-Rehoboth................................................302-645-7449 PFLAG-Rehoboth—3rd Tuesdays, Public Library, 111 Adams Ave, Lewes Social Security Administration—Georgetown office......................800-772-1213

COUNSELING/THERAPY/LIFE COACH

REAL ESTATE

Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium................................ 302-645-9520

Allen Jarmon, NextHome Tomorrow Realty...................................302-745-5122 Chris Beagle, Compass..................................................................302-273-4998 Coldwell Banker Premier, theflatsatcoastalstation.com....... 302-227-5000 Donna Whiteside, Berkshire Hathaway, 16712 Kings Hwy...........302-381-4871 Hugh Fuller, Realtor........................................................................302-745-1866 John Black, Patterson Schwartz, 18958 Coastal Hwy...................302-703-6987 Lana Warfield, Berkshire Hathaway, 37230 Rehoboth Ave...........302-236-2430 Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, 16698 Kings Hwy....................... 302-645-6664 Lingo Realty, 246 Rehoboth Ave....................................................302-227-3883 Mark Macomber, RE/MAX Realty Group, 317 Rehoboth Ave.........302-584-0815 McWilliams Ballard, Kevin McDuffie.................................. kmcduffie@mcwb.com McWilliams Ballard, Justin Orr.....................................................jorr@mcwb.com Randy Mason/Shirley Kalvinsky, Lingo Realty................................302-227-3883 Sea Bova Associates, 20250 Coastal Hwy........................... 302-227-1222 The Joe Maggio Group, 37169 Rehoboth Ave Ext., #11....... 302-226-3770 Troy Roberts, Mann & Sons, 414 Rehoboth Ave............................302-228-7422

HAIR SALONS/TATTOO & PIERCING

RETIREMENT LIVING/SENIOR CARE FACILITIES

Jewish Family Services........................................................ 302-478-9411 Kevin J. Bliss, Personal/Professional Coaching.............................302-754-1954 Nancy Commisso, LCSW, Therapeutic Services.............................703-598-2938 Time to Heal Counseling & Consulting, Lewes ............................302-574-6954

ELECTRICIANS

Silver Electric..................................................................................302-227-1107

FINANCIAL SERVICES

County Bank, 19927 Shuttle Rd.......................................... 302-226-9800 Jenn Harpel, Morgan Stanley.........................................................302-644-6620

FLORISTS

Windsor’s Florist, 20326 Coastal Hwy...........................................302-227-9481

FUNERAL SERVICES

Beach Cuts, 214 Rehoboth Ave...........................................302-226-ROBB Gregory Meyers Hair Studio, 20245 Bay Vista Rd & Rt 1..............302-727-5331 Stephan & Co Salon & Spa, 19266 Coastal Hwy................... 302-260-9478

HEALTH-RELATED

AIDS Delaware – Kent & Sussex Counties.....................................302-226-3519 AIDS Delaware – New Castle County............................................302-652-6776 AIDS Hotline – Delaware statewide...............................................800-422-0429 Brandywine Urology Consultants...................................................302-824-7039 Beebe Healthcare, 26744 J.J. Williams Hwy.................................302-645-3300 CAMPsafe AIDS education & prevention program of CAMP Rehoboth........................................................................302-227-5620 Christiana Care HIV Wellness Clinic ..............................................302-933-3420 Christiana Care LGBTQ+ Health Initiatives.....................................302-733-3113 Delaware HIV Consortium - Statewide..........................................302-654-5471 Delaware Hospice..........................................................................800-838-9800 Delaware Total Foot & Ankle Center.................................... 302-297-8431 National Alliance on Mental Illness of DE (NAMI)...........................302-427-0787 Rehoboth Beach Dental, 19643 Blue Bird Ln....................... 302-226-7960 Maplewood Dental Associates, 18912 J.J. Williams Hwy..... 302-645-6671

Springpoint Choice, 17028 Cadbury Cir, Lewes............................302-313-6658 The Lodge at Truitt Homestead, 36233 Farm Ln.................. 302-232-6372

TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION

Accent On Travel, 37156 Rehoboth Ave.............................. 302-278-6100 CHEER Transportation (age 50+)....................................................302-856-4909 Jolly Trolley Shuttle from Rehoboth Ave & Boardwalk...................302-644-0400 Olivia Travel...........................................................800-631-6277 ext. 696 Where 2 Next Travel? where2nexttravel.com ...............................302-945-3460

POPULAR LGBTQ BEACHES

Poodle Beach, south end of the Rehoboth Boardwalk Cape Henlopen State Park, Ocean Dr north to Cape Henlopen State Park. Daily parking rate in effect March-November.

INSURANCE

Eric Blondin, State Farm...................................................... 302-645-7283 Jeanine O’Donnell, State Farm............................................ 302-644-3276

LEGAL/ACCOUNTING/TRUST SERVICES

PWW Law LLC, 1519 Savannah Rd, Lewes................................... 302-628-4140 Steven Falcone CPA, Taxes & Planning..........................................302-644-8634

MASSAGE THERAPY/FITNESS

Midway Fitness & Racquetball, Midway Center.............................302-645-0407 One Spirit Massage, 169 Rehoboth Ave........................................302-226-3552 Reiki CENTRAL, thecentralfirm.com...............................................302-408-0878

PEST CONTROL

Activ Pest Solutions, 16803 New Rd, Lewes................................ 302-645-1502

PET RETAIL

Critter Beach, 156 Rehoboth Ave..................................................302-226-2690 Pet Portraits by Monique................................................................717-650-4626

PET SERVICES

Brandywine Valley SPCA, 22918 Dupont Blvd, G’twn.......... 302-856-6361 Humane Animal Partners (formerly Delaware Humane Association & Delaware SPCA).......................................................... 302-200-7159 Little Landmines Pet Waste Removal. littlelandmines.com.......... 302-521-3983 Parsell Pet Crematorium, 16961 Kings Hwy, Lewes............ 302-645-7445

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

57 Letters

The Sea Salt Table

BY ED CASTELLI

Baked Succotash STEPS

 Cook over medium heat for about 3 minutes: 1 cup finely diced onion and 4 Tbls unsalted butter.

 Add the following and cook until very soft, about 8 to 10 minutes:

• 3 cups fresh or thawed corn • 1 cup green beans or sugar snap peas, diced in ¼ inch pieces • One red pepper, diced in ¼ inch pieces • 12 oz thawed edamame or lima beans • 1 Tbl fresh thyme leaves

T

he funny thing about writing an article for a periodical is you often work very far in advance. It’s not unheard of for my husband and me to be experimenting with a Christmas dish, writing, and staging pictures before Halloween.

And so, as I compose my Thanksgiving installment, it occurs to me that you, my reader, will be consuming these very words post-election. We’ll know what we know then, what we don’t know now, and it will be over.

Win or lose, it’s a beautiful thing just to be done with it. It will be what it will be, and by the time you read this, it is what it is.

And if your candidate lost, then you’re in the middle of picking up the pieces and figuring a way forward. Even that can be a relief. The act of moving on. Because let me remind you, pre-election felt a lot like limbo.

So not knowing now what we know when this goes to press, I’m trying to picture being thankful. Or even being in the mood to be thankful. Win or lose, it’s all a bit relative.

There’s relief in winning certainly, or at the very least an exhale. But honestly, are any of us winning right now? Blue or red, we’re full of angst. There’s so much healing needed.

My vision of winning certainly doesn’t conjure up singing “We Are the Champions.” Not by any means. And if we’ve lost, I certainly pray I don’t overhear it. Either winner feels like loss until we come together again.

So maybe instead of being thankful in November, I’ll be gladdened just to be around those I love. Reveling in the company of treasured family and friends.

And maybe I’ll be making a comfort dish. Because win, lose, or draw, we’re gonna need sustenance. And comfort food fills that bill.

So, this month I’m highlighting my recipe for Baked Succotash. It’s love on a plate from me to you. And perfect for your Thanksgiving buffet.

Let’s get started, shall we?

Letters 58 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

• Pinch of salt and cayenne, both to taste

Make a small well in the middle, place 1 minced garlic clove in the well, and cook for about 30 seconds.

Add 2 Tbls flour and cook the entire mix another two minutes. Set off to the side to cool.

In a large bowl, mix: • 2 large eggs • 1 cup heavy cream • ½ cup parmesan • ½ cup scallions (white and light green parts), diced in ¼ inch pieces

 Add the vegetables from above and pour into a 2-quart dish. Mix the following and sprinkle on top: • ½ cup panko crumbs • ½ cup parmesan • 1 Tbl olive oil Bake at 400° until golden brown on top, about 30 minutes or so.

TIPS • This is good dish to do all your chopping and measuring in advance.

• I say ¼-inch dice, but what you’re shooting for is for everything to be about the same size as the beans/edamame.

• You can prep this dish and chill overnight. Bring to room temperature before baking. ▼ Ed and his husband Jerry split their time between homes near Harrisburg Pennsylvania and Bethany Beach. Ed builds websites to pay the bills but loves to cook, garden, hike, and dote on their dog Atticus.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

59 Letters

CAMPshots

SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

Awesome October!

CAMP Rehoboth Block Party, Sea Witch® Parade, Mr. Rehoboth Leather, Jazz Festivals, Halloween, National Coming Out Day, and More !

THIS PAGE (left to right) 1 ) at CAMP Rehoboth Block

Party: Peggy Martin, Ed Martin, Maggie Ottato, Ellen Wagner, Barbara Carrow, Michael Yousko, Alex Petrino, Grant Oines, Sondra Arkin, Victor Madrigal, Rick Tedrick, Shawn Wright, Jason Forman, Rocky Bible, Karen Anderson, Tony Burns, Brenda Dunn, Terri Windlan, Janice Bowker, Dennis Bland, Marina Laws,

OPPOSITE PAGE 2) at CAMP Rehoboth Block Party:

Roxy Overbrooke, Norma Eckard, Bailey Weaver-Rank, David Mariner, Sahleel Norman, Dan Truitt, Mark Queen, William Fullam, Thomas Kittell, Rich Barnett, Ski Rowland, Michael Winn, Michael Craig, Jack Morrison, Bob Dobbs, Bren Kriegel, CJ Sieber, Kim Leisey, Dennis Diaz, Michael Ewald, Deb Bievenour, Gwenn Solito James, Lisa Pennington, Dina Solito, Helene Guilfoy, Barb Ralph, Ken Sharples, Freddie Lutz, Fay Jacobs, Bonnie Quesenberry.

More CAMPshots page 62

1

Letters 60 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

2

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

61 Letters

SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

1

(Continued from page 61) THIS PAGE (left to right) 1) at Sea Witch® Costume Parade: Vincent DeLissio, Michelle Manfredi, Kevin Pelland, Charlie Furce, Chad Stover, Kat Takacs, Andy Guthridge, Michael Beigay, Wes Combs, Teri Seaton, Joanie Seaton, Jane Gruenebaum, Patrick Sommer, Dustin Mistrot, Keir Llewellyn, Mike DeFlavia, Tony Sowers; 2) at Sea Witch® Pet Parade: Carla Camino, Anita Broccolino, Danielle DiMarco, Kathy Solano, Kim Leisey, Sasha Teague.

2 Letters 62 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

OPPOSITE PAGE: 3) at National Coming Out Day at Aqua: Sarah Herrmann, Matty Brown, Tracey Hepner, Tammy Smith, Cathy Picard, Catherine de Villada, Ruth Kloetzli, Holly Lane, David Lasher-Pennington, Lawrence Lasher-Pennington, Greg Becker, Lewis Dawley, Mark Purpura, Matthew Adams, Myrna Kelley, Dottie Cirelli, Carol Bresler, Carolyn Billinghurst, Chris Beagle, Laurie Thompson, Matt Castina, Debbie Woods, Leslie Sinclair. 4) Bark on the Boards at the Rehoboth Beach Bandstand: Sandra Pace, Barbara Passikoff, RB Commissioner Edward Chrzanowski, Patrick Sommer, Greg Mayer, Miss Mann, Magnolia Applebottom.

(More CAMPshots page 100)

National Coming Out Day!

3

4 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

63 Letters

TALKING TRASH (and Recycling)

BY JEFFREY DANNIS

Beyond Lawn & Garden

A

s a compost professional, I commonly focus my attention on composting grass, leaves, and garden waste, because that is a majority of the feedstocks that many composters see. But if I look to what is in my home compost bin, I should also include the food scrap that we put in.

But then, when I think about what is done at industrial composting facilities, they often process industrial food waste and commercial food waste such as restaurant scraps or waste from food processing facilities. This is not only leftovers or spoiled food from groceries and food distributors; it can also include brewery waste, as well as thousands of tons per year of onion rinds (tops, bottoms, and skins). These local producers can easily overwhelm a small composter.

Interestingly, state departments of agriculture are responsible for providing guidance to farmers who are raising thousands of chickens. Even without bird flu, many hatchlings don’t make it to adulthood. According to a 2023 US Department of Agriculture report, a typical Delmarva chicken farm will have about 25 percent loss; this includes those rendered, destroyed, died, composted, or disappeared.

This can become a much bigger deal in the case of bird flu, where thousands of fowl are to be disposed of or composted.

And because bird flu virus is transmissible through the air, culled birds should not be transported, to eliminate the risk of spreading the disease. Thus, they must be composted on site. Big long mounds are built of straw and wood chips, and the culled birds are laid out and covered with more organic material. Composting gets hot enough to destroy the contagious virus.

I shouldn’t have been surprised when I saw in my husband’s advance directive that he included composting (aka “natural organic reduction”) as a burial option. This is a new option for folks in Delaware. In May, we became the 10th state to allow this alternative funerary practice. With no chemicals, no permanent use of land, and Letters 64 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

I like the idea that my body is not any more special than the trees in our backyard.

significantly less greenhouse gases, it is the greenest way we get to “from earth to earth, ashes to ashes, and dust to dust.”

Recompose, a Seattle based company (Recompose.life), processes the body using organic products such as wood chips, alfalfa, and straw to produce what they identify as a “soil.” The soil is returned to the family or donated to natural areas.

The composting takes place over five to seven weeks and is then followed by a cure time of three to five weeks. The process produces about a cubic yard of soil for donation or use by the family.

I haven’t identified any funeral homes here in Delaware that would facilitate the wishes of my husband, but I’m sure one or more will be available soon. I will likely want that done for me as well when there is a local option.

As a Reform Jew, I find the process is not counter to any of my religious beliefs.

Meanwhile, I dislike the idea of traditional burial. What right do I have to take up a plot of land on earth for hundreds of years? A cubic yard of soil/compost would provide much more post-life value after I am gone than would a square of land with a polished rock over me. (I cannot imagine our son wanting to visit my grave or appreciate receiving an urn of ashes.)

I like the idea that my body is not any more special than the trees in our back-

yard. They will eventually die, collapse to the forest floor, and decompose back into the soil. Let me go that same way. I understand that argument may not be for everyone, but it works for me.

So why is it not in my final directives yet? Simply because I have not updated my plans since the law was passed in May. Writing this for publication, however, forces me to confront my mortality and avoid the procrastination normally associated with making/updating final plans.

I hope to commit the update to writing before the end of the month. If you see me, please ask.

One last thought: I wish to thank the state legislators who pushed through and passed the human composting bill, HB 162, this year. They gave us a nice alternative for final rites that matches our ethics.

And don’t forget to compost any pumpkins you still have on hand—or gourds from your Thanksgiving décor—instead of placing them in the trash. ▼ Jeffrey Dannis is a Delaware professional engineer, nutrient consultant, and certified composter. He can be reached at FitnessEngineering.net or at Jeff.Dannis.FE@ outlook.com.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

65 Letters

Reflections

BY PATTIE CINELLI

Being Thankful for My Cousin Cookie

I

was at The Room at Cedar Grove recently listening to electric blues singer and song writer Johnny Sansone. His talent and versatility mesmerized me. When he strapped an accordion to his shoulders and made his squeeze box sing, I was transported back a half-century to a city street in the Bronx where my cousin Cookie lived.

Cookie was the only kid I knew who played an accordion. Everyone— including me—took piano lessons, except for my neighbor who played the awkward, screechy-sounding cello.

Cookie was special. She’d whip out her instrument from the closet and move in rhythm with the sounds she created from the tap of her fingers. She loved transforming the keys she touched into a familiar tune. Sometimes she’d play a song that spurred toe taps and sing-alongs from our parents.

Cookie was my idol. She was sweet, vivacious, petite, funny, pretty, and three years older. She had shiny red hair that matched the atomic tangerine color in a box of Crayola crayons; it glistened and moved when the sun hit it.

Cookie was everything I wanted to be. She exuded an air of confidence and positivity that attracted both girls and boys to her in droves. We’d hang out on the stoop of her row house with her bestie Monica and hold court. Kids who walked up and down the avenue stopped to shoot the breeze. I felt so important sharing the stoop with Cookie and her friends.

We didn’t visit Cookie often. Even though Sunday was the day my parents reserved for family visits, we had lots of relatives to choose among. We’d go to Mass, then to Pelligrino’s Bakery for hard rolls and sweet treats. We’d buy extra to bring with us. After my mother made breakfast, my brother and I (seven years younger) scooted into the back seat of my dad’s Chevy sedan and drove to one of the several relatives’ homes that were within an hour’s drive from us in White Plains, New York.

Letters 66 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Hearing the distinct sound of Sansone’s squeeze box awakened memories of how excited I was when my dad announced we were going to Cookie’s. Even the drive down the scenic Bronx River Parkway, past the old Yankee Stadium and through the

Cookie was my idol….

Cookie was everything I wanted to be. neighborhood that AOC (Congressman Alexandria Occasio-Cortez) would come to represent decades later made my stomach churn in anticipation of visiting my favorite cousin. As Sansone eked out familiar sounds on stage, I felt the warmth deep in my gut that reminded me what it was like to be with my cousin.

Cookie was the sister I never had.

She was my role model. She showed me how to be lighthearted and silly. Cookie also exposed me to people, places, and experiences I never would have learned about on my own. While the adults sat in the backyard with a highball, chatting, we’d be off exploring the Bronx streets with her gang of friends. When I was just 11, Cookie and her teenage friends took me to a pool hall in her neighborhood.

They made me swear (cross my heart

and hope to die) that I would not tell my parents. I tried my best at pool, but I often made the ball jump on the table.

I also scratched a lot (missed hitting the ball), yet my poor pool acuity didn’t dampen my thrill of learning how to play the game. They also taught me how to smoke cigarettes. I, too, felt like a teenager. I thought I was so cool.

Cookie used to spend some holidays and occasional long weekends with me.

While White Plains was not as exciting as the Bronx, my house in the suburbs afforded benefits that the borough’s streets didn’t have. The family next door to us had a son named Frank who became smitten with my cousin.

Frank and Cookie dated for a while, but when they broke up, her visits became less frequent. She got a new boyfriend, John, who lived in her neighborhood. As she and I grew older our connection grew weaker. I went off to college, but not before I celebrated her marriage to her high school sweetheart, John. We settled on different coasts. Years passed without seeing each other.

When John called me eight years ago with the news that Cookie had transitioned, I was sad. Sad because she died at a young age and sad because we lost our closeness long ago. She gave me gifts that one gets from having a sister. Cookie was instrumental in helping me develop into a strong, independent, adventurous woman. She gave me a sense of comfort, security, and belonging. I wish we had talked more as adults, so I could have told her how much she meant to me. ▼ Pattie Cinelli is a writer and a holistic health & fitness professional. Email her with questions or column ideas to: fitmiss44@aol.com.

Any way you SLICE it...

Happy Thanksgiving!

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

67 Letters

arts+entertainment

BY LESLIE SINCLAIR

SPOTLIGHT ON THE

arts

CAMP Rehoboth Puts Art at the Heart of Our Community Two Art Exhibits at CAMP Rehoboth Celebrate Connection and Activism Tapestry of Two: A Mother and Son’s Creative Connection On View Through November 23 Discover the powerful bond between mother and son through Tapestry of Two: A Mother and Son’s Creative Connection, now open at CAMP Rehoboth.

This intimate exhibition brings together the talents of Coca de Silveira and Guillermo Silveira, who share a deeply personal narrative through a rich blend of visual art, poetry, music, and fabric art. Each piece reveals intricate and complex layers of influence and mutual inspiration, inviting viewers into a world shaped by shared vision and creative expression.

Be sure to experience this remarkable exhibition before it closes!

Drawn Together: A Tribute to Keith Haring and AIDS Activism December 1, 2024-January 10, 2025 Opening on World AIDS Day, Drawn Together: A Tribute to Keith Haring and AIDS Activism invites community members of all ages and artistic abilities to create pieces in the spirit of renowned artist Keith Haring. Emerging from New York City’s vibrant graffiti scene in the 1980s, Haring’s art brought urgent attention to AIDS awareness, blending captivating aesthetics with powerful social messages.

In advance of the exhibition, CAMP Rehoboth will host a workshop on Saturday, November 23, from 1:00-4:00 p.m. in the Elkins-Archibald Atrium.

Led by artist Jane Knaus, this hands-on session will introduce participants to Haring’s legacy and his iconic style. Attendees will receive instruction and all materials needed to create their own works, which will be featured in the exhibit. Artwork made at home can also be delivered for inclusion. This workshop, limited to 20 participants, is free, but advance registration is required.

Join us as we honor Keith Haring’s legacy and raise awareness through art. The exhibition coincides with CAMP Rehoboth’s World AIDS Day commemoration on December 1, underscoring our mission of community connection and social impact.

Above, top to bottom: Imaginary Flowers and Peacock by Coco de Silveira.

Exhibitions will be on view at the CAMP Rehoboth Gallery, Monday through Friday, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.

Letters 68 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

arts+entertainment

BY JOE GFALLER

MARK YOUR CALENDARS!

Vibrant Art—Reflecting 40 Years

M

ark your calendars now for one of CAMP Rehoboth Gallery’s coming attractions: Renowned Rehoboth-based artist Gary Fisher will bring his vibrant, colorful oil paintings to CAMP Rehoboth in June 2025 for a solo show titled Vibrant Art—Reflecting 40 Years. This exhibit will celebrate Fisher’s four-decade journey as an artist, from his early student showcase at the Corcoran Gallery of Art to his distinctive works inspired by nature and his own gardens. Known for his versatility, Gary’s paintings span textural abstract landscapes, lively still lifes, and pleinair works that evoke the poppy fields of Provence.

If you’d like to see his work before June, here’s one option: From December 4 to 8, 2024, Gary’s work will be featured at Art Basel Miami during the prestigious Art Aqua Miami fair, presented by Nepenthe Gallery of Alexandria, Virginia. Art Aqua, a highlight of Art Basel Miami week, is known for spotlighting emerging and mid-career artists in an energetic setting. Gary will be the featured artist for a

gallery talk at Nepenthe Gallery’s booth (#226) on Friday, December 6, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Honored to receive this recognition, Gary says this opportunity is “a dream come true.” ▼

Lavender and Poppies, oil on board, 2024, by Gary Fisher.

PERFORMING ARTS

Stages Filled with Holiday Cheer

T

his time of year, as the temperatures get cooler and all the winter celebrations that bring us together draw nearer, it always feels to me as if the arts matter just a little more. So many of our holiday traditions are tied to special performances, from the Rockettes to The Nutcracker to hearing The Messiah or seeing young people in their school pageants or at countless staged retellings of A Christmas Carol over the years.

We may know the rhythm of the stories, the cadence of the music, the very words themselves by heart. But each time we encounter them again, it inspires a little bit of joy and wonder anew and reminds us how we are connected. No matter your age, your race, who you love, or where you’re from,

these traditions are almost universal— and they remind us that there is more that connects us than separates us.

While the outlets light their tree early in November, the “official” start of the holiday season in Rehoboth is the lighting of the great tree at the bandstand the day after Thanksgiving.

It’ll be my first tree lighting since moving here (I’m almost to the one-year mark!), but everyone tells me part of the delight comes from everyone singing carols together led by some of Clear Space’s performers.

Directly after the tree lighting, Clear Space opens its production of White Christmas, which is already sold out for its entire run through December 15. I hope you have tickets!

Continued on page 70

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

69 Letters

arts+entertainment

BY JOE GFALLER

Continued from page 69

If you are looking for more doses of holiday cheer over this next month, never fear. There is “room at the inn” all over the region at lots of other great holiday shows. Here is a round-up of a few of those holiday stage treats.

Lovers of A Christmas Carol are in luck as Possum Point Players brings it to the stage December 6-15.

What looks exciting and fresh about this production, adapted by John Jakes, is that Charles Dickens himself is front and center. In his life, Dickens traveled across the great stages of the US and the UK to give live readings of his books. In this version, as he does so, his book comes to life around him. It sounds like a charming frame to breathe new perspectives into the classic story. And with Scrooge played by Liz Roe and Scrooge’s love interest Belle played by Zach Stutzman, it does sound like it’ll be a different take than one you’ve likely seen before!

If you’d like to get your Messiah fix, you can say “Hallelujah” to the Southern Delaware Chorale’s holiday concert, “Light of the World,” on December 7 at 4:00 p.m. at Epworth United Methodist Church. The concert will feature selections from Handel’s masterwork.

You’ll have to travel a little further afield to get your fill of The Nutcracker, but for 41 years Delaware Dance Company has been bringing the holiday tradition to life. This year, performances are December 13-15 on the campus of the University of Delaware. Sussex Dance Academy has been offering their version of The Nutcracker for 20 years. To see their young performers in action, make plans for shows on December 8 and 14.

Don’t worry if you want family-friendly fare that isn’t holiday-themed; there are great options there, too. At Second Street Players in Milford, from November 29-December 15, you can enjoy The Sound of Music, a perennial favorite getting its third production in the region in the last Branden & James Letters 70 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

five years. And at Milton Theatre, everyone’s favorite plucky orphan and her dog Sandy take the stage in Annie from December 5-22.

For some more contemporary holiday fare, Milton is offering a range of holiday tribute shows, including “Close to You: Carpenters Christmas” on November 20, Sean Reilly’s “Sinatra Christmas” on November 29, as well as the popular duo Branden & James for “Little Bits of Christmas” on December 23. And a few tickets still remain at Clear Space for Edmund Bagnell’s three performances of Home for the Holidays, nestled right in between performances of White Christmas on December 8 and 9. ▼ Leslie Sinclair is a member of the Delaware State Arts Council and a passionate leader of CAMP Rehoboth’s visual arts program.

Joe Gfaller is Managing Director of Clear Space Theatre Company.

arts+entertainment

BY TERRI SCHLICHENMEYER

BOOKED SOLID

Low-Hanging Fruit: Sparkling Whines, Champagne Problems, and Pressing Issues from My Gay Agenda

by Randy Rainbow © 2024, St. Martin’s Press, $28.00, 224 pages

Whine, whine, whine.

You got something to say, say it. Got an opinion? The world is waiting. It doesn’t do any good to mutter, sputter, or whine when something’s bothering you. As in the new book, Low-Hanging Fruit, by Randy Rainbow, take it to the complaint department.

Randy Rainbow has a lot to say, and he’s not afraid to say it.

For starters, he’s “resigning from trying to fix you, effective immediately.” Any boneheaded thing you want to do now, whatever. Nothing is his responsibility anymore. He has other issues to worry about.

“The truth is,” he says, “I have a lot of complaints about a lot of things.”

There are right ways of doing things, he says, and there are wrong ways, and we just all really need to know the difference—especially if you’re a “Karen.” Now, he’s compassionate, if you were born with that name, but not too much.

“I’m a flamboyant homosexual who’s lived my entire life with the name Randy Rainbow, so you’ll get little sympathy from me in this department.”

Other than that, you may wonder what Rainbow’s (ahem) “position” is: he’s actually thinking about running for president as a member of “a Rainbow coalition....” He doesn’t have much

experience but, he says, if there’s one thing we’ve learned in the past few years, that doesn’t matter at all. He stands on a green platform, but he can’t ban fluorocarbons because, you know, the hair thing and all.

Rainbow misses his twenties, old-school dating sites, hooking up, and his former attention span. He waxes nostalgic about the places he’s lived, including an apartment overlooking a “fruit market.” He wonders why teenagers are suddenly “successful lifestyle gurus.” He hates when “stars begin losing their luster” and he wishes again for actors like Hayworth and Garbo.

But, he says, “Diva-complaints aside... I really do thank God for all the opportunities I’m given.”

So, the Elephant in the Room right now might be one you’d (never?) have voted for, but you know that author Randy Rainbow will reliably skewer that political animal online, hilariously. The fun-poking continues in the most deliciously snarky way in Low-Hanging Fruit.

And yet, that’s not the only subject Rainbow tackles. Readers who love catching his posts and videos are treated here to a random string of observations, opinions, and rants-notrants, with the signature sassy style they’ve come to expect.

What you’ll read can be spit-out-your-wine funny sometimes, and other times it touches a nerve with nods toward culture, new and old, that’ll make you nod with recognition.

Nothing in Rainbow’s path goes without sharp-edged comment, which is exactly what you want from his books.

Unexpectedly, this one also includes a soft word or two and a few slight confessions that are gentle and that might even make you say, “Awwwwww.”

If you’re ready for something snide and cynical that’ll make you laugh, something that you’ll want to read aloud to a companion, Low-Hanging Fruit is what you need. Look for this book now and you’ll have no complaints. ▼

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71 Letters

The REAL DIRT

BY ERIC W. WAHL

The Mighty Oak

N

ative oaks hold a special place in Delaware’s ecosystem, history, and local culture. These majestic trees, with their sturdy trunks and sprawling canopies, not only enhance the beauty of the state but also provide ecological benefits that are crucial for biodiversity and environmental resilience.

Delaware is home to a variety of native oak species, the most common of which are the white oak (Quercus alba), northern red oak (Quercus rubra), willow oak (Quercus phellos), and scarlet oak (Quercus coccinea). Each of these species is adapted to Delaware’s specific climate and soil conditions, and they collectively contribute to the diversity of local woodlands.

The white oak, often regarded as one of the most iconic oak species, is known for its light gray bark and roundlobed leaves. It has a long lifespan, with some trees living up to 500 years, and it provides essential shelter and food for various wildlife. The northern red oak is a fast-growing species recognized for its rich red fall foliage, while the willow oak and scarlet oak add variety in texture and color to the landscape. These oaks are often found in Delaware’s hardwood forests, enriching the environment with their unique characteristics.

For centuries, native oaks have held cultural importance for Delaware’s inhabitants. Native American tribes like the Lenape revered oaks for their strength and longevity, and they used acorns as a food source. Oak wood was traditionally used for tools, utensils, and building materials. Oaks were even used in ceremonial contexts, representing endurance and the cycle of life.

With European settlement, oaks became essential to Delaware’s colonial economy. The wood’s durability made it invaluable for construction, shipbuilding, and tools. Oak trees became symbolic of resilience and strength, traits celebrated by the early settlers and reflected in community rituals and folklore.

One of the most valuable contributions Letters 72 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

of native oaks is their role in supporting local biodiversity. Oaks are a keystone species, meaning they support a disproportionately large number of other species within their ecosystem. Oak trees provide food, shelter, and nesting sites for countless species, including birds, mammals, and insects. The leaves, bark,

By preserving and celebrating Delaware’s native oaks, communities are safeguarding a natural legacy that benefits both people and wildlife. and acorns are a primary food source for many native wildlife species, including squirrels, deer, and various bird species, like woodpeckers and blue jays.

Oaks are especially important to caterpillars, which are a key food source for many bird species. According to research by entomologist Dr. Douglas Tallamy, oak trees can support hundreds of caterpillar species, far more than most other tree species. This role is crucial during bird breeding season, when young birds rely on caterpillars as a high-protein food source. By sustaining bird populations, oaks contribute to pest control and the overall health of Delaware’s woodlands.

Oaks are also excellent at carbon sequestration, storing significant amounts

of carbon throughout their long lifespans.

This ability helps mitigate climate change by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Additionally, their extensive root systems help prevent soil erosion, support water retention, and contribute to soil health by breaking down and recycling nutrients.

Planting and preserving native oaks bring numerous benefits to Delaware communities. Besides supporting biodiversity, oak trees contribute to the quality of life in urban and suburban areas. Their dense foliage provides shade, which can reduce temperatures and energy costs in the summer. Oak-lined streets and parks create a pleasant environment, boosting property values and fostering community well-being.

Oaks are also resilient to local pests and diseases, making them ideal for sustainable landscaping in Delaware. By choosing native oaks over non-native species, homeowners and city planners can reduce the need for pesticides, water, and maintenance, creating more self-sustaining landscapes. These trees, adapted to Delaware’s natural climate, are typically more resistant to drought and other environmental stresses than non-native species.

By preserving and celebrating Delaware’s native oaks, communities are safeguarding a natural legacy that benefits both people and wildlife. The continued presence of these trees is a testament to Delaware’s commitment to environmental stewardship and the cultural respect for nature passed down through generations. For Delawareans, native oaks are more than just trees—they’re an enduring symbol of resilience, providing beauty, ecological benefits, and a vital link to the state’s natural heritage.

Be safe—and plant an oak tree! ▼ Eric W. Wahl is Landscape Architect at Pennoni Associates, and President of the Delaware Native Plant Society.

Photo by Malachi Brooks on Unsplash

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

73 Letters

Celebrity Interview

BY MICHAEL COOK

Nina West

A Brand New Drag Queen Christmas Tour, Her Latest EP, and Her Dream Broadway Role

F

ive years after first walking into the RuPaul’s Drag Race Werk Room, Nina West recently returned for a stunning All Stars turn reminding fans very quickly why she is arguably one of the most popular queens on the franchise. Now, she is wrapping up 2025 with another turn on Murray & Peter’s Drag Queen Christmas tour. I caught up with Nina—as the country headed to the ballot boxes—to dish about the importance of voting, her passion for the holidays, and we manifested her dream Broadway role!

MICHAEL COOK: The most important

question is this; have you started shopping yet?

NINA WEST: I have! I am going on this tour and this is my third or fourth time on this tour and I always wait until the last minute, then I’m only home on Christmas Eve, then I go back on the road. This year, I started a little bit ahead of time which is good.

MC: A Drag Queen Christmas consistently offers absolutely something for everyone whether you celebrate Christmas or not. Does it give you a taste of familiarity and home when you’re touring for the Christmas tour?

NW: You know, what’s great about this specific Murray & Peter tour is that they have a regular cast of people that they book and then they sprinkle in some new people from the more recent seasons or that season that year to balance it out. I’ve worked with Jimbo before, I’ve worked with Crystal Methyd before, and Brooke (Lynn Hytes) so when you’re on the road during this time of year, it is magical.

For a lot of people, this is their big special thing, and it does mean a lot more than just going out on tour. We get to go and celebrate a whole season full of magic, hope, and joy and bring a little bit of that drag magic along with it as well.

Letters 74 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

We get to go and celebrate a whole season full of magic, hope, and joy and bring a little bit of that drag magic along with it as well.

MC: We will see some quintessential

Nina West holiday tracks, but we hope to see some tracks from your latest EP The Very Queen as well.

NW: I have been working on this EP off and on since the pandemic. “The Princess Song” was written during the pandemic, a version of “You Are the Dream” was written during the pandemic. The Very Queen is a celebration of every queen who has ever walked into the Werk Room. It was

wanting to benchmark the five years of my life since I was on Season 11 to now and kind of remind people of who I am and bring out another level of camp and fabulousness that exists in my drag.

MC: In the song "It's Giving (Drag Is for Everyone), the line, “Here’s to the misfit kid watching this alone” audibly chokes people up, including me just now….

NW: You know, it’s because the kids who are watching that show…for me it

was another kind of show, it was the Oscars or the Tonys. Now these kids have RuPaul’s Drag Race and they’re consuming it all over the world in small towns whether or not family members or parents know it. It’s an access point to seeing themselves and I think that speaking directly to the person at home and telling them they’re going to be okay is really important.

MC: It’s always about leaving the generation behind us just a tiny bit better than we actually had it, don’t you think?

NW: Yeah! And you know what we have to do, we have to remind these kids who are consuming the show who are LGBTQ+ and existing and engaging in a world of social media that is not necessarily always kind and pleasant, we have to remind them that they will have a task thrust onto them as well; to do this very same thing for the next generation.

MC: Okay let’s say you get an audience with Santa himself; what are you asking for this year?

NW: I am going to ask for a lifetime pass for all Disney parks globally. I am asking for peace and love to reign supreme, specifically peace. Since we’re talking before the election, I think that I would ask Santa to help people this week to find the will to find their way to a ballot box to cast their vote. If I could get a fourth wish, I would love to make my Broadway debut in 2025 or 2026.

MC: if you could do any show, what do you think it would be? The role in Hairspray for you was absolutely point perfect.

NW: Well, you know, the 25th anniversary of Hairspray is coming up and my

hope is that they consider a Broadway revival of it. I am going to put my vote in now to revive Edna. I would love for them to consider Miss Hannigan for Annie. I would love to go into Hamilton as King George. I would love to play the dentist in Little Shop of Horrors, a big character part! ▼ Follow Nina West on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ninawest/ For tickets to Drag Queens Christmas check out their website: https://www.dragfans.com/#VOD Michael Cook has been a part-time resident of Rehoboth Beach for over a decade. He is currently a contributor to Instinct Magazine, World of Wonder’s WOW Report, and South Florida Gay News.

Images: Photo of Nina West, courtesy of Nina West.

A Drag Queen Christmas courtesy Murray & Peter.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

75 Letters

BOOK ‘EM!

Love, Pets, and Health ...All between two covers!

As the holidays approach, maybe you’re looking for something sure to please, easy to shop for, and even easier to wrap.

Here are some books suggested by our reviewer, Terri Schlichenmeyer.

Fiction for the LGBTQ+ Reader

If there’s someone on your gift list who’d enjoy a comingof-age story, Shae by Mesha Maren (Algonquin Books, $28.00) is a good choice to give. It’s a boy-meets-girl tale, but when a pregnancy happens, it spurs bigger changes in their lives than just parenthood.

If a fun little rom-com is what your giftee loves to read, then look for We Could Be Heroes by Philip Ellis (Putnam, $20.00).

It’s a light tale of a chance encounter and a friendship that starts out small and becomes pretty super. You might want to wrap it up with Love and Hot Chicken by Mary Liza Hartong (Wm. Morrow, $30), a sweet, funny story of two Tennessee women, a chicken shack, and amour. Or, consider The Ride of Her Life

by Jennifer Dugan (Avon, $17.99), a girl-meets-girl novel of a new ranch-owning horsey-girl and the farrier who disagrees with her ranching ideas.

Nonfiction for the LGBTQ+ Reader

The person on your gift list who loves memoirs will devour Cactus Country

by Zoe Bossiere (Abrams Letters 76 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Press, $27.00), the story of an eleven-year-old and a new start in which everyone sees him as the boy he is.

But life as a trans boy isn’t easy in the beautiful area he’s come to embrace, and neither are the people who surround him. Wrap it up with The Long Hallway by Richard Scott Larson (University of Wisconsin Press, $21.95), a memoir of a boy who identifies with a movie monster who helps him see that hiding parts of himself can help him come to terms with who he is.

For the trans man or woman on your gift list, look for The Last Time I Wore a Dress

by Dylan Scholinski and Jane Meredith Adams (Penguin Publishing), a story of abuse, bullying, mental anguish, and a happy ending. This book was first published more than 25 years ago but now has a new, satisfying, and joyful ending.... Wrap it up with Mama: A Queer Black Woman’s Story of a Family Lost and Found by Nikkya Hargrove, the tale of a love, responsibility, and more love.

If your giftee is exploring their sexuality, Fierce Desires: A New History of Sex and Sexuality in America by Rebecca L. Davis (Norton, $35) might be a

welcome gift. Have we come a long way, in understanding people’s sexuality? Yes and no—your giftee may have ideas about that.

Pets and Animals

For the dog lover on your gift list, Rethinking Rescue by Carol Mithers (Counterpoint, $28.00) will be a welcome present. It’s the story of Lori Weise, Los Angeles’s “Dog Lady,” who helps pets and their owners in the city’s poorer neighborhoods. It’s also a basic history of animal rescue and activism.

Is there someone on your gift list who’s wild about animals? Then Meet the Neighbors: Animal Minds and Life in a More-ThanHuman World

by Brandon Keim (Norton, $29.99) will make a great present under the tree. It’s a look at wild animals and the ways they’re not quite so different from us. Pair it with Earthly Bodies: Embracing Animal Nature by Vanessa Chakour (Penguin Life, $20), another, differently nuanced book about animal and human behavior.

The grieving pet owner on your list may like I’m Still Here: A Dog’s Purpose Forever by Cathryn Michon (Andrews McMeel, $19.99). It’s a story as told by a dog who crossed the Rainbow Bridge, but never really leaves. Hint: Wrap it up with tissues.

If you have a cat lover on your gift list, Cats of the World

by Hannah Shaw and Andrew Marttilla (Plume, $32.00) will be exactly the right thing to wrap. It’s filled with stories and photographs of cats, kittens, and owners, taken from around the world.

Health, Self-Help, & Wellness

There are several people on your gift list just now who might like to read Soothe: Restoring Your Nervous System from Stress, Anxiety, Burnout, and Trauma by Nahid de Belgeonne (Penguin Life, $19), a book that explains where emotions are from, where the body stores them, and how you can self-soothe when things get really bad.

The insomniac on your gift list will be so happy to unwrap Sleepless: Unleashing the Subversive Power of the Night Self by Annabel Abbs-Streets (Putnam, $28).

It’s a book about neuroscience, creativity, and learning to harness our “Night Selves.”

Wrap it up with This is Why You Dream by Rahul Jandial, MD, PhD (Penguin Life/Viking, $29) and a gift certificate for a nice warm glass of milk. ▼

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

77 Letters

Behind the Smile

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

Meet Lukas Gage

The Smile 2 actor on his ‘deep fear of being boring,’ his jaw-dropping roles, and his theory on why fans think he’s hot even in a horror film.

O

n hit shows such as Euphoria and You, Lukas Gage has perfected the art of being captivatingly chaotic. His fearless approach to exploring unconventional territory has become a hallmark of his ever-ascending career.

Admirably, it’s one filled with bold detours and exhilarating choices, like an encounter with Murray Bartlett during The White Lotus, an iconic sex scene that got the internet talking. Then, in the supernatural detective comedy-drama Dead Boy Detectives, released earlier this year on Netflix, Gage pounced into the role of the Cat King, an unabashedly queer feline-human hybrid.

With his latest film, Smile 2, Gage dives headfirst into thought-provoking horror with yet another balls-to-the-wall role that manages to turn his handsome, real-life smile into a terrifying grimace, proving that sometimes the most intriguing stories come with a side of deliciously dark humor. Written and directed by Parker Finn, the film offers a twisted take on stardom. It follows pop star Skye Riley (Naomi Scott) as she confronts her past trauma triggered by a series of horrific and gruesome events unfolding around her.

As Lewis Fregoli, Quinn’s former classmate and drug dealer, Gage is so terrifying in the film that when we connected on a video call recently, I began by jokingly asking him not to smile (“I’ll try not to,” he assured, laughing—though he still did, abundantly). During our candid conversation, it became clear that Gage isn’t just here to play roles; he’s treading these waters with intent, redefining what it means to be compellingly complex in Hollywood.

On a break from filming in the mountains of Spain, Gage spoke about the origins and inspirations behind his daring and nontraditional choices across diverse roles. He also reflected on his Letters 78 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

I have a hard time with where the intersection of private and public meets and how much I should share with the world…

fans, who are so enamored that no tweet is too thirsty for them.

CHRIS AZZOPARDI: Based on the

offbeat roles you’ve taken, when did you realize that committing to the unexpected and the not-so-politicallycorrect was the path you wanted to take as an actor?

LUKAS GAGE: I think, honestly, it comes from a deep fear of being boring, and it maybe comes from a deep fear of not getting enough attention when I was younger, so I knew I had to do stuff that was sometimes big and loud. I have empathy for characters that really go to those places and do some things a lot of people see as unlikable or that maybe are unlikable, and I try to tap into why they are the way they are instead of judging them. But I’m just inspired by interesting, bold performers like Gena Rowlands and Ellen Burstyn, who play characters that

are bigger than life, but still grounded.

CA: I imagine you admire Ellen Burstyn in Requiem for a Dream then.

LG: I mean, one of the best performances.

CA: When I see you perform, I often think about what it would be like if you collaborated with queer filmmakers like Gregg Araki or John Waters.

LG: Yeah, I would love that. Give me some Doom. Give me some Serial Mom. They are definitely on my list of filmmakers that I looked up to and I am just in awe of when I would watch their films. Harmony Korine was another one growing up that I was just shocked by, and, growing up, some of the Pasolini Italian films from the ’60s that were doing things that were pushing the boundary.

And people, when they watched it, were very shocked, and some people were disturbed by it. I admire that bravery in filmmakers.

Continued on page 80

John Black, Realtor®

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79 Letters

Celebrity Interview Continued from page 78 CA: For Smile 2, what went into creating

a look—both the smile and the eyes— that was effectively horrifying?

LG: I mean, I just watched Smile a bunch and I practiced in the mirror. I think a lot of it comes from the stillness. A lot of it comes with taking your time and not rushing any moment in the little micro movements and the little micro eye movements. I worked with this lady named Julia Crockett, who’s a movement coach, and she really helped me try new things and get in my body and try different micro movements with my face.

That was a new thing that I hadn’t really been familiar with, and now it’s something that I do in everything I work on.

CA: What qualities do you think make Skye a potential gay icon?

LG: I think her looks, the dance moves, and the pop music itself is very queer and very fun. Her vulnerability and her sadness too. I feel that’s why we connect with Lana Del Rey and Miley Cyrus. Their vulnerability and honesty to talk about things that some pop stars won’t is why a lot of people relate to them, and I think Skye Riley does that in a way.

CA: Her relationships with men and women in this film seem to be pretty ambiguous, maybe intentionally so. How do you read her sexuality in this film?

LG: I think it’s the same thing with her

performances: You can’t put them in a box, and I think that Skye Riley as a character, you can’t put her in a box.

You saw that she had an ex-boyfriend, but she seems like the kind of character who definitely experimented and is open to anything, but she has a complicated relationship with both male and female figures in her life. I mean, [and] complicated mom issues. We don’t know anything about where her dad went, why he’s not in the picture. We don’t know. Her female friends are not great. The way that she treats men is not great. I mean, it’s just all very, very, very layered and interesting and not defined.

CA: How do you connect with Skye’s experience of dealing with public expectations? And how do you navigate that pressure in relation to your queerness and the ways others try to box you in?

LG: I think I’m still figuring it out, and it’s still a thing that’s a work in progress. I have a hard time with where the intersection of private and public meets and how much I should share with the world and how much I want to keep to myself because it’s sacred to me.

Tina Fey said something recently in an interview about authenticity coming at a price, and authenticity is expensive,

I feel an immense amount of pressure at times that I should have it all together, but then I remember that I’m a human and I’m going to make mistakes…

and as you gain more success, you’re going to want to give less away to the world because that’s important to you.

I’m doing a bad job of paraphrasing, but it’s true. I think that I’m still figuring it out, and I want to be someone that is someone that can be a role model and someone that can be looked up to and someone that I maybe didn’t have as a kid, but also I’m not perfect and I’m damaged just like Skye is, and I have my faults and I’m definitely a work in progress, as we all are.

So I feel an immense amount of pressure at times that I should have it all together, but then I remember that I’m a human and I’m going to make mistakes, and that’s why we love characters like Skye because she is so cracked and so vulnerable and so raw and so layered and so poised, at times, and then at other times she is just a complete mess. And I think we all are, and I think that’s why Naomi’s character is resonating with so many people and getting such amazing reviews—it’s not just playing this idea of this pop star. I mean, she is really, really doing something amazing with that performance.

CA: Thanks to you, the LGBTQ+ and kink communities have increased representation. Is there a motivating factor for you in taking on these roles, knowing that you can contribute to queer culture and influence perceptions of sexuality?

LG: I wish I could tell you that I went in, when I started my career, with that goal, but I honestly can’t say that. I can’t say it was an intentional thing to do. I wish I could take credit for that, but no. But if it did that and it helped people have an open conversation about sexuality or their kinks or sex positivity, that’s amazing.

CA: How do you hope queer sex will evolve on screen 10 years from now?

LG: Hopefully it won’t even be so revolutionary...it will just be. It’ll just be so normal and so openly talked about. ▼ Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service.

Photos courtesy of Paramount Pictures.

Letters 80 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

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81 Letters

CYNDI LAUPER’S FAREWELL SHOW

BY CHRIS AZZOPARDI

A Suitcase of Memories The Gay Icon Defied Time During the Chic, Heartfelt Concert

I

spent 15 years attending the Catholic church (and over 15 years more attending pop concerts), so I can confidently say that pop music shows are a form of congregational worship in their own right. They serve as sermons for the soul, and sometimes when you’re a gay kid born in the 1980s, led to believe that God condemns you, you turn to the catharsis of sparkly pop bops from someone like singer and gay icon Cyndi Lauper. I was that kid.

I wanted to have songs that mattered to me,” Lauper said, reflecting on her journey from pop star to genredefying artist…

Letters 82 NOVEMBER 15, 2024

To survive as a closeted gay teen in the 1990s, which I consider the pop era that defined my youth, I latched hard onto music as escape and catharsis. (I consider the 1980s to be the musical era of Me Loving Anything My Mom Played, including Lauper, who rose to fame then.)

I needed to fling open those closet doors, which I did in 2001 during the summer after I graduated high school, before I could truly get closer to the history of who Lauper was to so many gay men who allowed me to also live openly as one.

Then I saw Lauper on stage for the first time, opening for none other than Cher. I still can’t believe this was all in one night, and seeing Lauper open the show, well, it really just felt like its own main event, as did the giant scabbedover zit on my face.

My self-esteem was in tatters then; even though I had come out, an acne-speckled face had me feeling like an outsider in a crowd of people with seemingly perfect skin. Hearing Lauper sing “True Colors” that night became a religious experience, and, through tears that I thought would never stop, I would play it ritualistically, but especially before bed in place of “Our Father.” It was me, with the sad eyes, in a world full of people, that Cyndi was singing to. And she saw my true colors.

Appropriately, I was there with my mom, an ally herself. This history sets the stage for what happened last week, again with my mom, now 22 years later, as Cyndi Lauper sang that song again, deepened by time and life experience and my own knowledge of its history (Lauper recorded the song in the 1980s because it reminded her of her friend Gregory Natal, who died of AIDS) and its ever-growing resonance in our community. I consider it now to be a prayer for all of us outsiders. And yet, when she sings it, even still, you are made to feel very much on the inside. The only person in the room.

Though she’s playing mostly arenas on this trek, called the Girls Just Wanna Have Fun Farewell Tour, Lauper took the stage at the Fox Theatre on October 24.

Detroit, it seemed, got a pre-Halloween treat—a chic, retro-meets-modern show that combined grand-scale production with the intimacy of a theater performance. What a way to say goodbye.

At 71, Lauper has accepted her own mortality. “Well, hon’, you know, right now I’m strong, and I can do an arena tour,” she told me in June when I asked her

about what led to this being her last tour.

“And I haven’t done it in years, like a real bonafide arena—‘go see Cyndi, it’s not 50 minutes, it’s a f***ing hour and a half’ and you actually can hear a lot of music.

Right now, I’m strong and I can do it. But in five years, I don’t know what the heck.

Sure, I’ll probably sing. I’ll probably do something because I love singing, but I don’t know that I would have the physical strength to do an arena tour. The people that can, God bless them.”

And God bless Cyndi Lauper, whose performance defied the passage of time as she gave one hell of a concert.

Lauper’s liquid voice showcased just how robust it still is on this night, and when it soared to places that sounded like I was seeing her in 2002 all over again, I stood proudly. The truth is, though, if there were a prayer bench, I would’ve been on my knees. Her underrated cover of the breakup ballad “I’m Gonna Be Strong” resonated with the same emotional intensity it has since she released it as a solo cover in 1994, culminating in soaring notes that, if you didn’t know her version, would have you wondering if this is the same voice singing “Girls Just Want to Have Fun.” “I Drove All Night” challenged that notion too. Though Lauper’s career is often defined by catchy bops that show-

case only a fraction of her vocal prowess, she is an undeniable powerhouse when she lets it rip.

Emotionally, she can still pack a punch. Upon its 1993 release, “Sally’s Pigeons” could pierce even the hardest of hearts. Today, it should change the minds

A man behind me wept, and I wondered if he was crying because he, too, remembered the first time he heard that song and felt its embrace. of Republican voters who’d rather see women die from medically unsound abortions than have control over their own bodies, and with the fate of safe abortion rights on the 2024 election ticket, her poignant song about the tragic death of a young woman from a back-alley abortion left a few women around me in tears.

“I wanted to have songs that mattered to me,” Lauper said, reflecting on her

journey from pop star to genre-defying artist, before performing “Who Let in the Rain.” Alongside “Sally’s Pigeons,” she wove several political statements into the night, adding a “Girls Just Want to Have Fundamental Rights” rap to the song that perfectly encapsulated that evolutionary sentiment. At the onset, a video montage set the stage for the show, featuring footage of Lauper testifying before a Senate subcommittee about LGBTQ+ youth homelessness in 2015. This montage highlighted scenes from her life and career, showcasing four decades of artistry and LGBTQ+ activism.

Lauper acknowledged her queer fans when she mentioned that Christian Siriano designed some of her wardrobe for this tour. She shared how he helped her achieve a level of glamor not typical for her, noting that if this was indeed going to be her last tour, the LGBTQ+ community would expect nothing less.

Wig or not, “True Colors” still takes me back to 2002. When she performed it near the end, following the ebullient “Shine”—another song that has become an LGBTQ+ anthem—she stepped into the audience, a gesture of togetherness.

A man behind me wept, and I wondered if he was crying because he, too, remembered the first time he heard that song and felt its embrace. Our youth behind us, we had survived. No zits! And mom, still by my side.

We were older now, as was Lauper; old enough that we might never experience one of the defining songs of our younger years the same way again.

Unbeknownst to us all, that night, if this truly was farewell, we weren’t just saying goodbye to Cyndi Lauper, but to so much more than we ever anticipated. ▼ Chris Azzopardi is the Editorial Director of Pride Source Media Group and Q Syndicate, the national LGBTQ+ wire service. He has interviewed a multitude of superstars, including Cher, Meryl Streep, Mariah Carey and Beyoncé. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, Vanity Fair, GQ and Billboard. Reach him via Twitter @ chrisazzopardi.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

83 Letters

LET IT SNOW!

BY MARY JO TARALLO

Ski the Great—Indoors?!

W

hat is YOUR “Dream Vacation”?

Consider exploring New York City and sampling North America’s first and only indoor ski and snowboard area just a hop, skip, and a jump away.

Big SNOW is part of the American Dream Entertainment and Retail Center located in The Meadowlands of East Rutherford, New Jersey. The complex offers plenty to do on a mini-vacation getaway and boasts the “world’s largest theme park.”

The slopes at Big SNOW are 1,000 feet long, with a 160-foot vertical drop with a maximum 26 percent pitch. Its climate-controlled environment is set at 28 degrees. According to Marketing Director Hugh Reynolds, the consistent temperature ensures the optimal mix of snow quality and guest comfort. Snow is machine made, just like machine-made snow at outdoor facilities.

Big SNOW encompasses 180,000

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square feet. It has four acres of terrain, and four lifts including a four-passenger fixed grip chairlift, two “magic carpets” (conveyor belts that move skiers to the top of the slope), and a Poma lift (another conveyance). Maximum slope capacity is 500. Snow-making capacity is 4.4 tons per hour.

The complex opened on December 5, 2019. Since then, it has hosted more than a million guests. Most are locals but Big SNOW gets its share of out-oftowners.

“We see a good number of tourism guests visiting NYC,” said Reynolds.

“We’re only four miles from the Lincoln Tunnel and the NY/NJ Port Authority offers direct bus service from NYC to American Dream daily.”

Reynolds says that a robust local community has built up around Big SNOW. He noted that Big SNOW has thousands of guests who hold either a monthly subscription or multi-visit card.

New Jersey resident Iseult Devlin has been to Big SNOW three times.

Devlin visits Bethany to visit family several times a year. She is a part-time ski school instructor who heads to Breckinridge, Colorado, in the winter to teach. She’s impressed with Big SNOW. “It’s cool because there’s something for everyone,” she said. “One can go there to learn as lessons are available. There are beginner terrain-based features like banked turns to aid in turning and a magic carpet to easily get up hill. One slope is a dedicated terrain park, perfect for skiers and riders working on new tricks or just to get some fun in when skiing down such a short run! It’s a twohour ticket—just enough time. Anyone can work on tweaking technique.”

Big SNOW has a history dating back to the early 2000s when an effort known as the Xanadu project was in the works to bring indoor skiing, shopping, and entertainment to the Meadowlands.

The project stalled so the state of New Jersey approached the Triple Five Group, owners and operators of the West Edmonton Mall and Mall of America, to revitalize it.

Enter snow sports creative visionary Joe Hession and his company called SNOW Partners. Hession is the founder and CEO of SNOW Operating, and a recognized leader in the field of resort operations.

Hession and Reynolds met while working together at Northern New Jersey’s Mountain Creek (formally Vernon Valley). Hession was vice president, prior to founding SNOW Operating in 2012, and Reynolds was marketing director.

Hessian started SNOW Partners in 2012 and Reynolds joined him in 2014. Both are long-time advocates of introducing newcomers to skiing or snowboarding.

“Based on our reputation in the ski industry, we got on Triple Five’s radar and were brought into a meeting in 2015 to talk about the operating of Big SNOW,” Reynolds explained. They secured the lease to run the business in 2016.

Big SNOW programs for beginner and experienced skiers and

Merry & Bright

“There are beginner terrain-based features like banked turns to aid in turning and a magic carpet to easily get up hill. One slope is a dedicated terrain park…”

snowboarders include equipment rentals, outerwear (pants and jackets), a helmet, a two-hour slope access ticket, and complimentary access to the Terrain Based Learning skills area and instructors.

To prevent overcrowding, guests are asked to book lift ticket time slots in advance, similar to tee times in golf.

Ski bikes are available for those who want to try something different. These bicycle-like devices are engineered with

skis instead of wheels and use the force of gravity to descend the slopes. They stop, just like skiing or snowboarding, by pressuring and edging to control the ski boards and skidding the skis across the hill or turning slightly uphill to stop.

Big SNOW gets its fair amount of destination visitors, especially in the summer months when ski and snowboard enthusiasts can’t get on snow outdoors. It also serves as an early season warm-up for practicing before the

snow flies or as a unique way to learn.

“Skiing and snowboarding are amazing sports that you can participate in for your lifetime,” Reynolds says.

“We know first-hand the impact and joy that skiing can bring to people’s lives. What excited us most about Big SNOW was the opportunity to introduce these sports to a broader audience by removing the traditional barriers to entry: accessibility to the slopes, access to equipment, commitments of time, and costs.”

There is not much “walk-up traffic” from casual shoppers, although some return to try Big SNOW after being exposed to it, according to Reynolds.

“On an annual basis, more than half of our visitors are new participants to the sports, trying them for the first time.” ▼ Mary Jo Tarallo is a former journalist and public relations professional for various non-profits including a ski industry trade association. She won a Gold Award for a United Way TV program starring Oprah Winfrey.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

85 Letters

Deep Inside Hollywood Sydney Sweeney to Star in Christy Martin Biopic

C

hristy Martin is a former professional boxer whose career spanned from 1989 to 2012.

She helped put women’s boxing on the map with her talent and power. She is queer and her eventful life, which includes athletic triumphs as well as an attempt on her life by an ex-husband, is the stuff of movies—there was already a Netflix documentary about her, Deal with the Devil. So it’s probably no surprise that Sydney Sweeney is going to play her in an upcoming biopic from Animal Kingdom director David Michôh and writer Mirrah Foulkes. Sweeney is training hard and a cast is coming on board, including Ben Foster, Merritt Wever, and Love Lies Bleeding star Katy O’Brian. No word on a title, production schedule, or release date, but tell all the lesbian jocks you know and get the hype train rolling.

Photo credit: KathClick

BY ROMEO SAN VICENTE

Jodie Foster Living la Vie Privée

A

ny Jodie Foster fan worth the name knows that the queen speaks French fluently, has appeared in French films, and even released pop singles in that country when she was a teenager. Now, we don’t know if Rebecca Zlotowski’s (Other People’s Children) new drama, Vie Privée will be in French or not, but a look at the supporting cast has us about 99 percent sure of that subtitled fact. Heavy hitters of French cinema on board for the project include Virginie Efira (Other People’s Children and Paul Verhoeven’s Benedetta), Mathieu Amalric (The French Dispatch), Vincent Lacoste (Irma Vep) and Luana Bajrami (Portrait of a Lady on Fire). The film is a murder mystery about a psychiatrist (Foster) who comes to believe that one of her patients has been murdered, so she begins her own private investigation into their death. Currently filming in France, look for this one sometime in 2025. ▼

Chloë Grace Moretz Speaks a Love Language

F

ilmmaker Joey Power—director of the Jeremy Allen White-starring 2018 indie drama After Everything—has a new project in the works featuring queer stars Chloë Grace Moretz (The Miseducation of Cameron Post) and White Lotus alum Lukas Gage. It’s called Love Language and the rest of the cast, a career-hot gang, includes The Good Place co-star Manny Jacinto, Anthony Ramos (Twisters), Isabel May (Young Sheldon) and Billie Lourd (The Last Showgirl). What’s the movie about and when do we get to see it, you ask? They won’t tell, except that it’s a romantic comedy, coming sometime soon. That’s fair, really, and we’ll be more than patient for the full resurgence of that genre, one that got temporarily lost in a bleak forest of superhero movies. P.S. Can we get some queer characters? ▼

Jonathan Groff Takes on Bobby Darin

B

roadway A-lister Jonathan Groff, whose career is dotted with big show credits like Hamilton, Merrily We Roll Along, and Spring Awakening, is about to headline a show as legendary American pop singer Bobby Darin. Just in Time, a bio-musical about Darin directed by Alex Timbers, is coming to Broadway in 2025. Darin, for those too young to remember, was what people used to call an “entertainer,” meaning he did it all, and well. His hit songs Like “Beyond the Sea” and “Dream Lover” still resonate today, and Groff will perform them in an intimate theatrical environment unlike most Broadway productions, as New York’s Circle in the Square Theatre will be transformed into what is being called “an immersive night club setting,” including a live on-stage big band to accompany the performers. Sound intriguing? Book yourself a trip to New York when the show opens next April. ▼

Romeo San Vicente hopes you voted as queerly as possible.

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

87 Letters

MEALS ON WHEELS DELAWARE

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89 Letters

Family Keeps You Grounded

2024.01 - Letters.pdf 1 1/23/2024 11:39:52 AM

ACROSS 1 Attorney general of dancer Ron’s dad 6 Margaret Cho’s Can’t ___ Dancing 10 Supergirl’s birth name 14 Lesbos and more 15 His grandmother had a Woody 16 Top Norse deity 17 Australian actress Wilson 18 Mark with a branding iron 19 “When ___ said and done ...”

20 Reverend Perry 21 Start of what Wilson’s family says if she “tries anything diva” 23 Where to say “Aloha” when you come 25 Novelist Miller 26 Neptune’s bottoms 30 More of the quote 36 Antony’s Shakespearean partner 37 As such 38 Sucker or suckee?

40 Makes a hole bigger 42 GI mail drop 43 ”___ now our gay apparel...”

44 “The Lonely Goatherd” singer 46 Dietrich of Blue Angel 48 Big load 49 Non-Judy garland

Solution on Page 108 50 End of the quote 59 K-12 60 Actor Milo of Oz 61 Deli sandwich 62 Opposed to, to Gomer 63 Fagged out 64 Mabius of Ugly Betty 65 Singer k.d.

66 Some Balkan people 67 Like a dungeon DOWN 1 Gaiety 2 Former NFL player Tuaolo 3 Where two bones touch 4 “So long!”

5 Subj. for some aliens 6 Merit badge site for the “morally straight” 7 Family diagram 8 Word on a drag queen’s bottle 9 Food for The Three Bears 10 Eucalyptus muncher 11 Speak off the cuff 12 Poet from Prague 13 Gay porn director Rainier 21 Be active in B&D 22 Gas brand in the land of Jane Rule 24 Language suffix 27 Dangerous emission for Tin Man 28 Tupperware sound 29 Race site in Auden’s land 30 Breakfast spread

31 What fluffers give 32 What Hamlet said was rotten in Denmark 33 What Lincoln did to slavery 34 Zip 35 One way to go 36 Have a bawl 39 One ruled by a queen 41 Gin flavor 43 De Matteo of Desperate Housewives 45 Provides funding for 47 In every case 50 Stud poker demand 51 Poet Broumas 52 Watered down 53 Frasier’s response to a client 54 Femme’s Guide to the Universe author Rednour 55 Alpert of Mame fame 56 Greek queen of heaven 57 Sinead O’Connor’s country 58 Hudson of Giant

C

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CM

MY

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CMY

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91 Letters

OUR SUPPORTERS MAKE IT HAPPEN PURPLE LEVEL Greg Albright & Wesley Combs X Sondra N. Arkin X Carol Bresler & Carolyn Billinghurst X Pat Catanzariti & Carole Ramos* Lorne Crawford & Simon Fares Polly Donaldson Dawn Dupre & Megan Keating* Skip Dye & Steven King* David Grossman & Jeremy Graboyes William Himelright & David Carter Judy & Carole Jesiolowski James W. Johnson & Matthew H. Shepard* Lynn Johnson* Kim Leisey & Kathy Solano Anita Matson Celie & Tabitha Niehaus Jeanine O’Donnell - State Farm* Chris Rinaldi & Brian Powers X Jennifer Rubenstein & Diane Scobey X Danny Sebright Gary Seiden & Ah Bashir X Leslie Sinclair & Debbie Woods X Jen Walker

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BLUE LEVEL Marge Amodei & Penni Hope* Ronald Bass & George Robbins X Tim & Meredith Birrittella* Teresa Bolduc & Kim McGeown* Chris Bowers* Tony Burns X Coleen Collins & Berdi Price X Donna Davis & Gail Jackson X Sharon Denny & Kim Parks Anne Geary* Irene & Lou Katz* Nancy & Tora Kennedy* Paul & Anne Kuhns* Deborah Qualey & Karen Gustafson X Chris Rouchard X Kimberly Sheaffer & Karen Brause* Donna Voigt & Jo Hamilton*

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Wesley Hacker & David Block* John Hackett & Tom Newton* David Hagelin & Andy Brangenberg* Steve Hoult & Rick Bane X Karen Hugues & Cathy McCallister X Anthony Incalcatera & James Buswold Alex IX & Gare Galbraith Jocelyn Kaplan & Idalie Adams & In Memory of Adeline Kaplan X Jon Kaplan X Deborah Kennedy & Beth Yocum* Eric Korpon & Steven Haber* Greg Kubiak* Leslie Ledogar & Marilyn Hewitt* John J. MacDonald & Douglas James John Mackerey & Donald Filicetti* Jill Masterman & Tammy Jackson* Evelyn Maurmeyer & In Memory of Natalie Moss X James Mease & Philip Vehslage* Doug Murray & Bob Mancuso Dennis Neason & Steve Bendyna* Kim Nelson & Lori Simmons X Fran O’Brien & David Gifford* Keith Petrack & Michael Fetchko* Anne Pikolas & Jean Charles X Gail Purcell & Sandy Kraft* Bill Rayman & Frank King* Marty Rendon & John Cianciosi* Sandra L. Roberts Lucien Rossignol & Tom Harris* Douglas Sellers & Mark Eubanks* Sheila Sferrella & Cindy Wedel Marj Shannon & Carla Burton* Scott Shaughnessy & John Hassell* Carol Sink David Streit & Scott Button* Laurie & Matthew Thompson Anne Tracy & Mary Gilligan* Kathy Wiz & Muriel Hogan X

YELLOW LEVEL Ann Abel & Carol Morris Keith Anderson & Peter Bish X Dale Aultman & Paul Gibbs X Shannon & Sarah Avery* Pamela Baker & Diane Dixson* Mike Ballenger, In Memory of Martin Thomas* Paul Barbera* Tom Beall Michael Beigay* Sherry Berman & Deb Hamilton X Abby Bernstein & Karen Frank X Linda Bova & Bridget Bauer The Sea Bova Associates Michael Boyle & Greg Murphy X Mary Ann Brewer Mark Bromley & David Salie* David Carder*

CAMP REHOBOTH MEMBERSHIP 2024 Kate Cauley & Pat Newcomb* Jim Chupella & Jim Wigand* Dottie/Myrna Cirelli-Kelley* Steve Clayton & Brad Lentz* Gary Colangelo & Gerald Duvall X Nancy Commisso* Billy Cox & John Carr* Monica & Lona Crist X Kenneth Currier & Mike Tyler X Drexel Davison - Bad Hair Day?* Anthony Delacruz & Ronald Mangano Susan Delaney & Susie Ball X Ann DeLazaro & Annette Potemski Fred DiBartolo & Steve Wood X Maureen Dolan & Karen McGavin* Gail Donohue & Tiny Varner* Joan Doyle Albert Drulis & Scott Silber* Sandy Duncan & Maddy Ewald* Karen Faber & Lisa Balestrini Faber* Alice Fagans & Ruth Ann Mattingly X Lisa Fernandez & Allison Lindon Cecily Fisher & Loretta Higgins Keven Fitzsimmons & Jeff Stroud X John Flournoy & Jim Chrobot* Susan Goudy* Ken Green & Joe Kearney* Siobhan Halmos & Beth McLean* Robert Henthorne & Roger Bolduc Mary Hoban Philip Johnson* Elaine Kakareka Jim King Bonnie Kirkland & Wanda Bair X Jay Kottoff & Mark Matey* Patricia Layton* Judy Lettes & Sandra Sue* Monica Lewis & Ann Zimmerman* David Lindeman & Andrew Phipps Frank Liptak & Joe Schnetzka* Patricia Magee & Anita Pettitt X Tony Mazzarella* Jedediah Millard & Alex Reed Margaret Moore & Sheree Mixell X Barbara Moulton Adamaris Navarro Sandy Neverett & Pam Cranston* Pat Nickols* Terry O’Bryan & Jack Musser Donna Ohle & Susan Gaggiotti X Judy Olsen & Joanne Kempton X Maggie Ottato X Dotti Outland & Diane Mead X Rutland Paal & Robert Mittleman* Ilene Palena Peninsula Gallery - Tony & Carol Boyd-Heron* Joanne Picone & Kathy Bostedo* Denny Pintello & Coke Farmer* Frank Pirhalla Stephen Pleskach*

Barbara Ralph X Gene Roe X Thomas Rose & Thomas Sechowicz X Kate Sapio Mark Saunders & Bob Thoman* Sheryl Schulte & Jeanne LaVigne* Troy Senter & Stacey Chan* Polly Smale & In Memory of Charlotte Reid* David Smith & Kenn Williams Susan Soderberg & Terri King X John Michael Sophos & Miss Dot Sophos* Diane Sozio & Patricia Hutchinson* Lorraine Stanish & Beverly Miller* Matthew Stensrud & Michael Cohen* Greig Stewart & Jake Hudson* TJ Stone Lenny Stumpf & John B. Pitchford* Kaye Sullivan Kimberly A. Takacs Barb Thomas & Colleen Harper Thrasher’s French Fries* Kenna Utt & Lauren Ghidotti Lana Warfield & Pamela Notarangelo X Michael Weinert X Walter Welsh & Martin Thomas Steven Wunder & Rod Hastie Joanne Yurik* John Zingo & Rick Johnson*

ORANGE Dawn Alexander & W. Kerr Gracie* James Apistolas & Christopher Galanty* Romulus Barba & Dean Yanchulis* Miriam Barton* James Beal & In Memory of David Van Patter* Sue Becker & Mary Ellen Wivel Joel Berelson & Charles Maples* Beatrice Birman & Mary Malgoire Kathy Board & Jackie Maddalena Boland Family, In Memory of Michael J. Kelly* Richard Bost & Thomas Moore* Bill Briganti & Gary Moore* Ronald Butt & Steve Cannon* James Carfagno & David Szumski* Deborah Carroll Chris Coburn & Anne Kazak X Mark Conheady* Lois Cortese & Jill Stokes X Carl Alan Cox & Darin Henderson Kay Creech & Sharon Still* Kathy Davison & Ruth Dickerson* Ann De Blasi Linda DeFeo X J. Lynne Dement & Lisa J. Snyder* Donna Dolce* Continued on page 94

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

93 Letters

Continued from page 92

Kevin Doss & Arie Venema* Arlyce Dubbin & Katie Heintz* Lissa Dulany Brenda Dunn & Karen Anderson* Susan Eig & Ellen Schiff X Jeanne Embich* Peggy & Evie Englebert Robin Esham Maureen Ewadinger* Ellen Feinberg & Lesley Rogan X Gary Fisher & Josh Bushey* Otto & Ashley Foster Deb Fox & Deb Bonneau* Kathleen Gilroy & Rosanne Marroletti* Ron Glick & Tien Pham* William Gluth & Channing Daniel* Ed Gmoch* Gail Gormley* Deborah Grant & Carol Loewen* Tracey & Erica Hellman* Nancy Hewish & Vicki Martina* Bill Hillegeist X Vance Hudgins & Denny Marcotte* John Hulse X Janet Idema & Patricia Higgins* Madelyn Jablon Myra Kramer & John Hammett* Rob & Jean Krapf X Barbara Lang & Diane Grillo* Jeanette Laszczynski & Marianne Perry* James Lawrence & Bob Palandrani Jim Lesko* Robb Mapou & Mike Zufall* Marsha Mark & Judy Raynor* Marie Martinucci & Pam Kozey* James Mastoris & Edward Chamberlain X Michael & Stephan Maybroda Kevin McDonald & Sean McClafferty* Ray Michener & Tom Carlson* Sherril Moon & Louise Montgomery* Sandra Oropel & Linda Frese* Carolyn Ortwein & Ann Barry* Sharon Owens & Doreen Halbruner* Sandra Pace & Barbara Passikoff X Steve Parker* Ellen Passman X Patricia Pawling & Jennifer Butz* Rina Pellegrini Colleen Perry & Jane Kuhfuss* Peter Pizzolongo & Carlos Prugue* Susan Reinagel & Dawn Henderson* Pat Renninger & Tammy Plumley X Judy Rosenstein & Elva Weininger X Deborah & Charles Ross X Michael Safina & Tim Bean Katherine Sams* Teri Seaton* Frank Shockley & Arthur Henry* Sam Smulyan Peter E. & Kathy Stoeher Robert Stoltzfus & Gerald Warhola*

Letters 94

Sandra Sullivan & Lorie Seaman* Terrence Sullivan Trudie Thompson & David Welch* Lisa & Nikki Turgeon-Williams Joseph Vescio Tama Viola* Scott Wagner & John Sohonage* Don Wainwright & Tom Jamison* Troy Watson & Dennis Wolfgang* Don Wessel* Ralph Wiest & Anthony Peraine* Lynne Wilmer & Jeannie Marsh Melanie Wolfe & Monica Niccolai* Robert T. Wright & Jack Lim* Sherri Wright & Dick Byrne* Niki Zaldivar & Cecil McNeil X Helaine Zinaman & Roselyn Abitbol X

RED Brenda Abell X Guy Abernathey X Dale Adams Jim Affonco X Mark Aguirre & Wayne Gleason X C.J. Albro Bill Alldredge Anthony Andalft & Marvin A. Lawson Alan Anderson X Andrea Andrus & Maggie Shaw X Peter Antolini X Patricia Antonisse X Diane Athanas Josh Bach & Edward Ginley Kathleen Bailey X Christine A. Baker John Baker & Richard Latham X Lana Baldwin Ruth Ball & Mary Ellen Jankowski* Curtiss Barrows X John Batchelor X Karen Beck* Alex Belano & Ron Laxton George Benes & Michael Mallee X Suzanne Bennethum & Deborah Smith* Joe Benshetler & Kurt Angell Jeri Berc X John Berdini X Lisa Beske - In Loving Memory of Steve Elkins* Christine Bielenda & Karen Feuchtenberger* Thomas Biesiadny X Debra Bievenour Lorraine Biros* Cathin Bishop & Laura Simon X Ann Black & Kaye Wachsmuth X Eric Blondin - State Farm Insurance Rehoboth Beach* Jacquelyn Blue X Rev. Dr. Tom Bohache & Tom Laughingwolf Simmons X Annabelle Boire X Carl Bomberger & Mike Rhoads* Robin Bond & Leanna Johannes* Bob Bonitati X Joy Boone & Marina Simmers X

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Randall Borgerson X Nancy Bouse & Norma Morrison X David & Donna Bowman Denise Boychuk Barb Boyer Deni Boyer & Loretta Imbrogono* Brian Boyle & Larry Gee X Beth Bozman* Jim Brady & Mike Hays X Emerson Bramble & Randy Butt* Susan Brinsfield & Barbara Devenport* Jennifer Broomfield & Dana Broadway Kevin Brown X Matty Brown Tom Brown & James Lemly X Erin Bryan Carol Buck Geoffrey Burkhart & Bruce Williams* Carol L. Burnett X Timothy B. Bush X Richard Buske & Shawn McHugh Sherry Butler James Byrnes X Robertine Cale* Ingrid Callmann & Karen Askins* Leslie Calman & Jane Gruenebaum* David Camorali Cabrina Campbell & Kimberly Olson Terri Campbell & Victoria Smith Michele Campisi & Julie A. Slick X Joe Canter Matt Carey X Jim Carlo X Justine Carpenter X Shirley Carpenter & Mary Coldren X Jo Cason & Peggy Neidlinger Peggy Castle & Debbie Geismar Sara Cavendish & Wendy Bunce X Denis Chandler & Sebastion DiMauro Linda Chaney & Irene Lawlor* Ann Mei Chang Helen Chang & Pat Avery* Dr. Harvey J. Chasser X Mike Chateauneuf X Dan Childers & Ted Hernandez* Tom Childers & John Hall X Sandra Chinchilla & Michelle Holmes X Billy J. Christian X Dennis Chupella & Rob White X Norma K. Clark X Rob Cline Barbara Clipper Amy Clouse & Betty Long X Julie Cockley Anne Cole & Sandra Freeman Carolyn Cole X Stuart Comstock-Gay X Inez Conover X Sharon Conover Josh Cooper & Steve Rathburn* Jeffery A. Coover X Edith Coppotelli & Joan Ciolko E. Corbin Amy J. Cormier & Alison C. Cormier Michael Cornell X

Elissa Corrado Lois Corson X Mary Costa & Kris Nygaard* Renate Costner Becky & Tom Craft X Wendy Cramer & Carolyn Baranowski* Theresa-Ann Crivelli & Angela Murray* Thomas Croce Robert Crocetti X Bill Cross & David McCall X Madeline Cunningham & Linda Matulaitis Mark Cunningham & Ken Tattersall X Rich Custer Howard Cyr & Lynn Ashley* Ellen Dahl* Judith Daleo William T. Darley X Carol Davidson Jeff Davidson & Steve Yahn Denise Davis & Jeanne Bilanin Jeremiah Davis Marsha Davis X Michael Davis Julie de Mello Frederick Dean & Steven Swierzy X Penny Dean* Scott Dechen & James Maino* Michael Decker & Arley Jaimes X Bernie Delia X Eileen Della Volle Frank Dell’Aquila X Tracy Denton & Brenda Welsh Karen DeSantis & Carol Brice* David DeVargas & Steven Champion X Dawn Devries & Helen Krum* David DeWitt & Larry K. Ash Henry & Marcia DeWitt X Julie Dickson X Phyllis Dillinger* Mary Dipietro & Wendy Schadt* Deb Dobransky & Ketty Bennett* Arthur Dochterman X David & Lizann Dockety X Peg Dolan & Mary McDevitt X Frances Doyle X Paul Dradransky X Michael Driscoll & Ben McOmber X Susan Dube & Diana Patterson* Barry Dunkin* Deborah Duran Gene Dvornick X Susan Ebbitt AJ Eckman Eden Restaurant X Richard Egler Laurene Hedrick Eheman & Deb Hedrick Gail Elliott & Bea Hickey* W. Kay Ellis* Lisa Evans & Joann Gusdanovic X Jacqueline Everett & Vicki St. Germain Jean Falise & Karen Belles Susan Farr & Joanne Pozzo* Rene Fechter & Cynthia Smith*

Larry & Ro Fedorka* William & Claudia Fenderson Karen Ferguson* Virginia Fessler* Irene & Edward Fick* Ben Ficks & Bob Angell Allen Fred Fielding X Dorothy Filbert Jerry Filbin* Mark S. Finkelstein & Michael Zeik X Rick Fischer X Barbara Fischetti & Janet Thoden Kathy Fitzgerald & Lisa Gourley Kathy Fitzgerald & Alicia Mickenberg Barbara Fitzpatrick & Denise Centinaro* Chuck Flanagan X Nan Flesher X Paul Florentino & Chris Pedersen X Sandra Fluck & Bev Pasquarella* Karen Folger Mary Ford & Judy Hedrick X Jodi Foster & Caroline Pellicano Joyce Foster & Maggie Bishop Debra M. Fox & Miriam Perez Phil Fretz X Neil Frock & Bob Harrison* Marilyn Fuller & Teresa Marigliano* Susanne Furman Cathy Gaiser Marcia Gallo & Ann Cammett Jerry Gallucci & Conrad Welch* Karen Gantz & Jeanie Geist* Kathryn Gantz & Kathryn Gehret* Alexis Gardner Peter Garneau & Dennis Rodriguez Cheri Garnet Dona Garofano & Janet Blaustein Ed Gasper Mindy Gasthalter* Wilson Gates X Charles George & Dennis Rivard X Gary Gillard X Joan Glass X Angela & Cheryl Glodowske* Karen Glooch X Ronald Gluck* Jane Godfrey* Randall Godwin X Jackie Goff & Mary Vogt X Dave Gold & In Memory of James Yiaski X Milton Gordon & Bill Hromnak X Teresa Gordy & Barb Ford X Dan Goren & Peter Robinson X Robert Gotwalt & Norman Jones* Bill Graff & Jeff Schuck* Maryanne Graham Joe Greenhall & Tom Klingler Richard Grifasi X John Grillone & Paul Schlear, Jr. X Joseph Gritz X Wendy Grooms & Barbara Fishel X Carol Gross X James Gross X Richard & Frances Grote* Paula Grubbs X Continued on page 96

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ShoreUnitedBank.com | 302-260-6338 | MD. DE. VA | MEMBER FDIC |

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

95 Letters

Continued from page 94

Timothy Gualdoni Helene Guilfoy X Renee Guillory & Melissa Vila-Guillory Bill Gunning & Joe Greoski X Linda Haake & Holly Schneider Gerard M. Haley & George D. Zahner X Cynthia Hall X Mark Hare & Mike Newman X Kelley Harp X Sue Claire Harper David Harrer & Floyd S. Kanagy* Mary Hartman & Laurie Nelson Jeff Haslow X Janece Hausch* Mary Diane Hausman John & Mary Havrilla* Nancy Hawpe* Daniel F.C. Hayes* Gail Hecky* Leslie Hegamaster & Jerry Stansberry* Linda Heisner X David Herchik X Fred Hertrich X Howard Hicks & Stephen Carey X Shelli & Barbara Hilbert Helen Hilderbrandt Barbara Hines & Nancy Froome X Howard C. Hines, MD X Karen & Mickey Hinman Janel Hino & Patricia Ann Scully X Sharon Hoffer Connie Holdridge* James & Edna Holsinger Chris Holt & Emory Bevill X Mollyne Honor & Shelley Garfield* Larry Hooker X James T. Hopkins X Elaine Horan & Debbie Sciallo X Frank Hornstein & Mark Henckel X James Hospital & Jack Fraker* Robert Hotes X Corey Houlihan & Karen Abato* Ellan Hylton Batya Hyman & Belinda Cross* Thomas Ingold X Claire Ippoliti X Chris Israel & John Stassi X Geoffrey Jackson X Fay Jacobs & Bonnie Quesenberry X Sharon Janis X Steve Janosik X Kathy Jantzen & Debi Cunn* Robert Jasinski* Mary Jenkins & Laura Reitman* Susan Jimenez & Cathy Benson* Chip Johnson & In Memory of Joseph Lachac* Derrick Johnson & Darryl Isom Donna A. Johnson* Richard Jolly & Charles Ingersoll X Gay Jones & Barb Bartels* Glenn Jones X Sparky Jones* Tom Jones X Wayne Juneau X

Letters 96

Mick Kaczorowski X Darleen Kahl & Susan Poteet* Bob Kaplan & Jeff Davis X Daphne Kaplan & Steve Scheffer* Sharon Kaplan & Pamela Everett* Dawn Kasow Marilyn Kates & Laura Glenn* Linda Kauffman & Deirdre Speck X Peter Keeble & Tom Best* Donald Kelly* John Kelly & Randy Sutphin X Michael J. Kelly X John Kennedy* Hunter Kesmodel X Tom Ketterman Marge Keyes & Julie Arenstein X Charlotte King* Lloyd Kingswell & Frank Rogers X Ilene Klein & Eli Scearce* Tom Klotz & Noel Nazario Jane Knaus* Kathleen Kombacher Stephen Kopp* John Kort & Hung Lai* Robert Kovalcik & Bob Howard X Marcia Kratz* Karen Kreiser & Beth Nevill* Barbara (BJ) Kutsmeda Kevin W. LaBarge X Cheryl Landry Peter Lanzaro & Frank Bodsford X Gail Larabee & Lynne Butcher Dr. Mathilda Laschenski & Dr. Kathleen Heacock X Mary Jo & Rachel Lauer Kate Lavelle X Mary Layne & Monika Ruppert Leah VanLaanen Beauty Charlie Lee X Edmund LeFevre & Keith Wiggs X Lisa Lekawa & Lori Guitson Charles & Matthew Lentz Jen Leonard & Claire McCracken* Jeri Leonard Christine Leslie & Mary Leslie Cecelia & Robert Leto Nancy Levenson Marsha Levine & Susan Hamadock X Arlene & Ginny Levy-Balmforth Barbara Lewis Barbara Lilien* Michael Linardi & Dean Tyson Alexander Lincoln Cindy Lins & Diane Milam Duwayne Litz X Nicole Lohr Kim & Liz Lokhard Robert E. Long X Cynthia Lowe & Rae von Doehren* Debbie Lupton & Ramona Dobbs* Minda Lynch* Becky Lyons & Ebie Hamrick X Tina Maddox & Susan Green Jim Madgey & Ted Bywalski Joseph Maggio Bernadette Maher & Cheryl Tarlecky* Jack Maher X

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Barbara Mahoney Amanda Mahony & Alex Albanese Eddie Major X Bruce Majors X Marcia Maldeis & Stan Mills* Scott Mallan & E.B. Easter Harvey Manchester X Joseph Manente & Mike Mireider Michelle Manfredi Domenic Mannello X Stephen Marana Jr. Anyda Marchant X Diane Markey* Christa Marks & Lisa Koenigsberg Harold Marmon & Robert Hill* Shelly Marsh & Barb Sann Norma Martin X Nan Martino* John Matthews & Nick Polcini* Eric Matuszak X Donna McCabe & Mac Ignacio X Debbie McCall & Cyndi Brooks Marcia McCollum Kathleen McCormick & Elizabeth Fish X Mary McElhone & Nancy Kaiser X Thomas McGlone X Sharon Mcintyre & Lisé Butier Joe McMahon X Anita McMullin Joseph McNally & Terry Jones X Chuck McSweeney & Michael Clay X Jim & Bruce McVey-Back* Michelle Meitzner Buck Melton X John Messick & C/O Wayne Messick X Jamie Middelton* Dr. Phyllis J. Mihalas X Alicia Miller & Shawn Noel* Bruce R. Miller & Dean D. LaVigne X Frank Miller X Marilyn Miller & Candice Zientek* Robin Miller Shelly Miller & Lida Frankel Todd A. Miller & Michele Frame X Doreen Millon & Julie Boughn* Lee Wayne Mills & Don Gardiner X Linda Miniscalco & Jeanne Drake* Sue Monismith X Teri Moore & Barb Kulbaba* Todd Moore & David Coccagna Mary Morgan Meg Morgan & Susan Lynham X Pearl Morris* Jack Morrison & Bob Dobbs* Joan Moses & Janine Davidson* Barry Moshinski & Robert Ponzini Andrew K. Moss & Richard Blevins X Brent Mundt X Joanie Murphy Lisa Murphy Marie Murray & Deb Ward X Cynthia Myers* Marc Nasberg & Howard R. Nelson X Noelle Navarro

Keith Neale X Cindy Necaise & Debbie Cole X John Neff Darrell Netherton & Robert Wheeler X James Newkirk & Leon Wilkowsky* Janet Newkirk X Arletta Nicholl & Mary Anderson* Scott Nickle* Konrad Noebel, MCAT, LMT & Brian Cox* Janet Nosal X James O’Dell X James O’Malley X Richard O’Malley X Missy Orlando & Patty Violini X Jeffrey & Lisa Osias X Kathy Osterholm* Randy Overbaugh X Sally Packard & Dinah Reath X Richie Pagnotta X Meredith Palmer Fran Panzo & Karen Groething Stephen Pape & Jerry Clark* Monica Parr* Diane Pasatieri & Karen Jorgensen Marilyn Pate & Dorothy Smith* Carol Patterson & Carol Hughes X Tim Patterson & Harvey Sharpe X Daniel Payne Michelle Peeling & Wendy Adams* Kevin Pelland Roy Perdue X Al Perez & Gary Kraft* Grace Pesikey & Janet Urdahl* Don Peterson & Jeff Richman* Eric Peterson X Beth Petitte Bruce Pfeufer X PFLAG-Rehoboth Beach* Cynthia Phillips Peggy Phillips & Norma McGrady* Frank Pileggi & Jon Blackman X Mark Pipkin & Karl Zoric* Terry Plowman X The Pond X Alynda Ponder & Louann Pope Trudy Portewig & Luanne Schinzel* Linda Porto & Linda Tobin Roni Posner X Sue Potts & Karen Kohn X Timothy Price & Gerard Sealy X Jana Puffenberger Joseph Purdy & Anthony Pontorno* Jean Rabian & Ralph Hackett X Mary Rakosky Elaine Raksis & Maxine Klane* Rob Ramoy X Bob & Mary Beth Ramsey X Linda Rancourt & M. Sue Sandmeyer* Julie Rasmussen & LeAnn Erickson Lewis Rathbone* Julie Rathman & Sandra Eagles Nancy Ratner & Linda Feinman Carole Redman* Janet Redman X Carolyn Redmon & Nancy Allen* Randy Reed X

Peter S. Reichertz X Ken Reilly & Tony Ghigi X Virginia Reime & Gene Tadlock* Jeff Reinhart & Jack Miller* Hanna Rennhoff & Kate Kopriva Thomas Resh & Jeffrey Meyers X Judith Retchin & Elyse Wander X Gloria Richards* Paula Rickter Sandie Riddell & Eileen Siner* Patricia Ridge* Marion Ridley & Mark Lundy X Ronica & John Ridley-Martin Linda Rikard & Mary Jo Tarallo Keith & John Riley-Spillane X Joel Robbins & Michael Linder X Wm Paul Robbins & Gary D. Ralph* Sandy Roberts X Rob Robertson & Carlos Taylor X Craig Rocklin X Tim Rodden & Randy Clayton X John & Susan Roehmer* Roy Rollins X Lauren Romig X Debbie Ronemus & Peggy Sander* Ed Rose & Sandra Robbins X Michael Rose & David Le Sage Larry L. Ross X Mary Rossettini & Kathleen Taylor* Ellen & Terry Roth Perreault X Barb Rowe X Ski Rowland & Gary Mosher X Joan Rubenstein X Gail Ruffins Herbert Russell* Kelly Sabol & Erin Reid* Steve Sage & Thom Swiger X Nancy & Joe Sakaduski* Richard Scalenghe & Thomas Panetta* Gary Schell & Jim DiRago* Carol Scherling Nancy Schindler & Eric Youngdale Michael Schlechter & Kevin Sharp X Rosemarie Schmidt & Carolyn Horn X Sharon Schmitt* Jaime Schneider & Glenn Randall X Melissa Schooler Peter Schott & Jeffrey Davis* Craig Schwartz John Scotti & Greg Landers* David Scuccimarra & Dorothy Fedorka* Shirley Semple* Paul Seyfert Dale Sheldon & Pat Coluzzi X Banner Sheppard & Marlin Hubler Kelly Sheridan* Marianne Sheridan David Sherman X Donna Shifflett Frank Silverio X Marc Silverman & John Campbell* Linda Simeone & Belinda Buras* Terry Simon* Melody Siska & Jana Bazzoli Cheryl Siskin Sandra Skidmore X Continued on page 99

WAYS TO GIVE TO CAMP REHOBOTH CASH/CHECK

ONLINE GIVING

The fastest, most convenient way to make a gift to CAMP Rehoboth is to donate online at: camprehoboth.com/donate.

ERE H N SCA TE! A DON

To donate by check, please make your check payable to: CAMP Rehoboth 37 Baltimore Ave Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971

TO

PLANNED GIFTS

MATCHING GIFT

There are a number of ways you can use planned giving to build charitable giving into your life plans, even after death. Some can even help you lower your taxable income now! Consider planning ahead now and explore some of these ways for giving after life: Bequest Planned Gift Life Insurance Qualified Retirement Plan

Matching gifts are a great way to enhance your gift to CAMP Rehoboth. Please check with your company’s human resources department to determine if your company offers matching gifts.

ESTATE AND LIFE INCOME GIFTS A charitable gift from your estate is a favored method of giving that enables you to achieve your financial goals and benefit CAMP Rehoboth.

TRANSFER FROM AN IRA If you are 70 ½ years of age or older, a transfer from an IRA may be a beneficial way to support CAMP Rehoboth.

Contact our Development Manager, Laurie Thompson, at laurie@camprehoboth.com to learn more about these ways to give.

EIN # 51-0331962 © CAMP Rehoboth 2023

Give Today at camprehoboth.com NOVEMBER 15, 2024

97 Letters

PRIDE In Progress SCAN FOR INFO

Join us! Become a member today!

Support our mission. Join with others to continue our mission

of celebrating diversity and building a strong community for all.

37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 | 302.227.5620 | camprehoboth.org Letters 98

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Continued from page 96

Ken Skrzesz X Jeffrey Slavin X Anne Smith & Lisa Taylor Carol Smith* Harlan Joe Smith & Dustin Abshire* Leonard Smith X Marti Smith & Mag Strittmatter Meg Smith & Nancy DeToma Rosanne Smith & Brenda Butterfield* Rich Snell X Claire Snyder-Hall & Mikki Snyder* Sandra Sommerfield & Cindy Scott X Jim Spellman X Christine Stanley & Joyce Rocko* Christy Steer X Frank Sterner X Shelley Stevens & Joanne Locke Kimberly Stevenson Lisa Stewart X Libby Stiff & Bea Wagner X Russell & Patricia Stiles* Terry Stinson* Tracy Stith & Laura McCarthy* Kyle Stokes Dr. Frederick C. Stoner* Judy Stout & Lisa Weidenbush* Christine Strauss X Lois Strauss X Joy Strieby Jackie Sullivan & Sharon Padbury Emma Swatman & Kim Migliore John Swift & Ron Bowman X Tracy Szczepaniak & Kathy Knopf T Knott REI Gail Tannenbaum & Wendy Walker* Ronald Tate & Jacob Schiavo X Susan & Jill Taylor Micaela Tedford X David Thomas & David Tiburzio X The Hon. Henry E. Thomas IV & John-Kevin Litschgi X Thomas Tibbetts X Otto F. Tidwell X Felice Tilin, PhD & Trudi Sippola Cassandra Toroian X Manny Tortosa X Steve Touzell & Marshall Scott Beadle Cheryll & Bill Trefzger* Jan Tricarico Roz Troupin & Mary Harris X Lindsay Trout Patricia Truitt* Matt Turlinski & Jerry Sipes X Ed Turner & Steve Baker X Lisa Tusick Judy Twell & Cheri Himmelheber* Bruce Uliss X Kevin Ussery Michael Utasi Donna Valla Debra Van Dyke* Jennifer Varone* V. James Villareale & In Memory of Dale Ebert* Gail Vitale & Carmen Garrett Jeffrey Voesack

Beverly Vogt & Waneeta Mack X Patrick Wadsworth & Mike Converse X Marianne Walch X Jennifer Walker & Mary Ann Veitch X Paula Walker & Gayle Dumonceaux David Wall & Robert Houck* Kenneth E. Walz & Robert G. Ward, Jr. X Garold Wampler X Michael E. Ward X Sharyn Warwick X Ellen Watkins X Debbie Webber & Terry McQuaid* Becky Wessel West Side New Beginnings* Donna West Pat West & Zip Warmerdam Carl R. Wetzel X Judy Wetzel* Chris White Steve White X Thomas White & Robert Freeman X Steven Wildasin Keith Wilkinson X Diane & Ken Williams Edward Williams* Jim Williams* Rich Williams X Donna L. Wilson & Laurie R. Levin X Sue Wilson David Wolanski* Max Wolf X Carol Woodcock & Carol Lewis* Chi Wu Alexander G. Yearley X Linda Yingst* Vickie York X Kay Young* James Zeigler & In Memory of Sam Deetz* Lisa Zimmerman X

PINK (YOUNG ADULT) Jerdahn Campbell Maureen Keeney Carson McClung

X Founders’ Circle 10 X years * Members five years or more

Names in bold are new or upgraded members as of 11/01/2024 Founders’ Circle designation has been added to our Membership roster. Please send kudos, questions, or listing updates to membership@camprehoboth.com.

CAMP REHOBOTH MEMBERSHIP Join today to support our mission!

RAINBOW MEMBERS RECEIVE:

• Basic Membership Package - Advance ticket sales to CAMP Rehoboth events - Recognition in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth - Rainbow Member window cling(s) - Weekly “What’s Happening at CAMP” email • Discount on CAMP Rehoboth Event Tickets for Levels Green and above (as noted) • Free Health Screenings, Counseling Services, and Support Groups • Youth, Adult and Senior Programs, Services and Outreach • The satisfaction of knowing you are helping others!

PAY ANNUALLY or MONTHLY

☐ PURPLE LEVEL ☐ $2400 annual or ☐ $200 monthly

Basic + 25% ticket discount and one 1/4 page ad in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth

☐ INDIGO LEVEL

☐ $1200 annual or ☐ $100 monthly Basic + 20% ticket discount

☐ BLUE LEVEL

☐ $900 annual or ☐ $75 monthly Basic + 15% ticket discount

☐ GREEN LEVEL

☐ $600 annual or ☐ $50 monthly Basic + 10% ticket discount

☐ YELLOW LEVEL ☐ $300 annual or ☐ $25 monthly ☐ ORANGE LEVEL ☐ $180 annual or ☐ $15 monthly ☐ RED BASIC

☐ $50 annual or

☐ YOUNG ADULT (18-25 years old) NAME

☐ Basic Dual/Family, $85 annual ☐ $25 annual PARTNER/SPOUSE NAME

ADDRESS CITY

STATE

EMAIL 1

CELL 1

EMAIL 2

CELL 2

ZIP

HOME PHONE

☐ Enclosed is my check payable to CAMP Rehoboth for the full annual amount. ☐ Please charge my Recurring Monthly or Annual Membership fee to: CREDIT CARD NUMBER

VALIDATION CODE

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RATHER JOIN ONLINE? Go to camprehoboth.org/membership Call 302-227-5620 or visit us at 37 Baltimore Avenue.

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

99 Letters

SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

1

(Continued from page 63) THIS PAGE (left to right) 1) atat RB Jazz Festival and True Blue Jazz Festival: T.K. Blue, Benji Porecki, Mike McShane, Joe Balone (The Pines), Tim Bray, Eddie Sherman, Peggy Raley, Jerry Weldon, Lee Smith, Maria Marmmarov, Terell Stafford (Boardwalk Plaza), Patrick Lawler, Deborah Dean (Purple Parrot), Bob Dienor, Holly Lane (Café Azafran), Wes Crawford, Bob Abbott, Mitt Patel, Vann Williamson (Dos Locos), Sam Noble, Dale Melton, Jonathan Whitney (Aqua), Mitch Shavitt, Barry Caudill, Mike Peruch, Richard Walton, David Meer (Eden), Ken Effinger, Sharon Rose, Richard Lynam, Bridget Buckman, Terry Plowman (Back Porch Café); 2) at DE Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester Reception: DE Congresswoman Lisa Blunt Rochester, DE State Senator Russ Huxtable, Steve Schaeffer, Donna West.

OPPOSITE PAGE 2) at Mr. Rehoboth Leather at Aqua: William Gestole (Winner), Chad Allen, Steve Ranger, Garrett Taggart, J.D. Beam, Ken Nelms, Josh Collier, Edwin Brownell, Mike English, Roger Reavis; 4) at Leather Weekend Meet and Greet at Aqua: @dcpupboy, Dee Jay, Milo Alfarero, Adam Gold; 5) at Diego’s: Mahana Barbadillo, Michael Coveney, Alex Thomloudis, Bev (Drew Gaver), Matt Harris, Kevin Naff, John Bator; 6) at Diamond in the Rough Art Reception at CAMP Rehoboth: Kevin Briggs, Cindy Robinson-Brown, Lady Jo, Theresa Angela Taylor, Jacalyn Duffy, Maya Belardo.

(More CAMPshots page 102)

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SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

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THIS PAGE (left to right) 1) at Coastal Concerts/Galvin Quartet at CAMP Rehoboth : Sydney Lee, Haddon Kay, James Balk, Luis Fernando Venturelli, Madelyn Jablon, Lori Kline; 2) at DE State Senator Sarah McBride Reception: Diane Scobey, Bruce Anthony, Jennifer Rubenstein, Kimberly Grim, Kelly Phillips, Karen Anderson, Brenda Dunn, DE State Senator Sarah McBride, Chris Beagle, Eric Engelhart, Wes Combs; 3) Accent on Travel’s LGBTQ+ Travel Expo: Monica Parr, Murray Archibald, Mary McElhone, Claire Snyder-Hall, Nancy A. Kaiser; 4) at Rigby’s: Ryan Williamson, Javon Johnson, Latasha Lovett; 5) at DE Restaurant Cornerstone Awards: Lion Gardner, Tyler Townsend, Bob Suppies, Chase Cline, Dru Tevis; 6) Sweeney Todd Opening Night at Clear Space Theatre: Stephanie Loucas, Bill Fuchs, Sussex County Councilman Mark Schaeffer, April Armstrong; 7) at Peninsula Gallery: Bradley Hendershot, Katherine Krieg.

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OPPOSITE PAGE: 8) at Bodhi Restaurant: Mike Lucas, Bill Amery, Paula Revell, Brian Revell; 9) at RB Bears Halloween Party at Above the Dunes: Robert Beiber, John Rafter, Michael Clay, Andy Dorosky, Greg Oliver, Ed Kuebler, Todd Loveland, Toby Dunbar; 10) at Blue Moon: Charles Esham, Ze Lagarteira, Magnolia Applebottom, Kali Coutour, Frank Delcampo, Kevin Comerfod, Richard Looman; 11) at Aqua: Adam Linder, Terry Isner, Michael Taggert, Cory Peterson, Bruce Clayton, Eric Bloodsworth, Jill Bloodsworth, Cliff Lassahn, Jason Fluke, Alonza Parker, Tim Murray, Tom Newton, John Hackett, Matt Rice, Sara Rowen, Joanne DiBonaventure, Walter Maga.▼

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103 Letters

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Letters 104

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

WE REMEMBER

John Paré

I

t is with a sense of profound loss that the siblings of Dr. John L. Paré announce his passing on September 8, 2024, at the age of 61. He resided in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. He is predeceased by his parents, Laval and Theresa Paré. He is survived by his nine siblings: Father Paul (Godfather-Wisconsin), Robert (New Jersey), Norma (Godmother-New Mexico), Khlaire (Virginia), Gerard (Texas), Theresa (Massachusetts), Bernard (Maine), Mark (Georgia), and Raymond (Maine). He is also survived by 12 nieces and nephews, and 11 grand-nieces and -nephews.

Dr. Paré received a Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine degree from the University of New England in Biddeford, Maine, in 1994. A highly respected family medicine

physician, Dr. Paré was practicing most recently at Beebe Healthcare in Millville, Delaware, specializing in geriatric care.

Prior to this he was a family health care physician in Manassas, Virginia.

Dr. Paré will be forever remembered for his unique sense of humor, quick wit, and a ready joke. Through this gift, he was able to comfort, understand, and “be there” for all he knew. In the words of Dr. Paré himself, “Laughter—I prescribe it daily.” His interests included yoga, kayaking, travel, and he was quite a “foodie.”

Dr. Paré also will be remembered as a loving, special brother, and for the example he set as a dedicated, knowledgeable, and compassionate physician who delivered high quality medical care.

Dr Paré leaves behind a legacy of

love, service, and happiness that will live on in the hearts of everyone who knew him. In the spirit of his compassionate and joyous life, let us celebrate him with gratitude alongside our tears.

Dr. Paré’s family express their heartfelt gratitude for the overwhelming outpouring of condolences they have received from his large circle of friends.

A Celebration of Life was held on Saturday, November 2, 2024, at Parsell Funeral Homes Atkins-Lodge Chapel in Lewes, Delaware. Memorial contributions honoring Dr. Paré’s passions and interests may be sent to CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware 19971, or submitted online at give.camprehoboth.org/give; contributions will benefit the CAMP Families program. ▼

Theodore (Ted) Becker

T

heodore W. Becker, 75, a former mayor of Lewes and beloved community member, passed away at 2:30 p.m. Sunday, October 6, at Thomas Jefferson University Hospital, Philadelphia.

A native of Mt. Vernon, Ohio, Ted received his bachelor’s degree from Ohio State University and served in the US Army National Guard from 1978-94.

Ted and his partner, W. Joseph Stewart, purchased their home at 221 Second Street in Lewes in 1974 and proceeded to acquire retail properties along Second Street, as well as a marina on Pilottown Road. After Stewart-Becker Properties acquired today’s Inn at Canal Square on Front Street and began renovations there, Ted became a full-time resident to devote the time needed for property management.

Over those years, Ted became increasingly involved with the Lewes Chamber of Commerce, where he later served as a board member; he had recently been installed as the chamber vice president.

In 2000, Becker and Mr. Stewart initiated and led a community-wide effort to

save Lewes’s waterfront from development. Both became founding members of the Greater Lewes Foundation (GLF), which organized an $11 million campaign to purchase the land and create the Lewes Canalfront Park, which opened in 2008.

Ted was elected to Lewes City Council in 2004 and served five terms before becoming mayor in 2014. As a councilman, he was instrumental in strengthening Lewes’s Historic Preservation Code, which established the city’s historic district and enabled Lewes to retain its character and charm in the face of rapid development.

Always looking to the future, Becker worked closely with Mayor James Ford to float Lewes’ first city bond bill, raising $19 million to upgrade city sidewalks, sewer and water service, lighting, the city hall and police department expansion, and to construct a new sanitation plant for the Board of Public Works.

Ted was on the board and finance committee of Beebe Medical Center beginning in 2005 and remained an emeritus board member thereafter.

In 2021, Ted was appointed by Gov. John Carney as a Delaware Commissioner on the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Earlier, in 2005, Gov. Jack Markell had also named him to the Delaware Health Care Commission.

In 2022, after two terms as mayor, Ted turned his interests to the threat posed to Lewes and other coastal communities by climate change. Lewes, Bowers Beach, Slaughter Beach, and Kent and Sussex Counties joined in creating the Bay Beach Association.

In December 2022, Ted underwent regenerative heart surgery. Before his recent illness, he was working actively with the GLF on several important projects, including the restoration of the Nassau School, a redesign of the DeVries Monument, and an $8 million project to save the Fourth Street Preserve, all in Lewes.

A celebration of Ted’s life for the entire Lewes community was held October 26; his interment in Lewes was private. Memorial donations to the Fourth Street Preserve project may be made at osalewes.org. ▼ NOVEMBER 15, 2024

105 Letters

WE REMEMBER

Alan Berman

A

lan Berman, 76, cherished husband, beloved friend, and lover of life, passed away Friday, October 25, 2024, in Lewes. He was born June 2, 1948, in Baltimore, Maryland, son of the late Morris and Beatrice Berman.

Alan is survived by his husband, Charles Marino; their two Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, Charlotte Louise and LilyRose; as well as many extended family and friends who will miss him always.

Alan met Charles, the love of his life, in 1981 in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and soon thereafter relocated to Westchester, New York, where they built a life together. They became proud and loving dads to nine dogs, multiple puppies, and even several show dogs!

Alan and Charles were married in 2013, right after gay marriage was legalized in the state of Delaware, a long-awaited milestone for them. At the time of Alan’s passing, they had shared almost 44 beautiful years together.

Alan lived life to its fullest and gave his heart and soul to all that he did. His 58-year career as a hairstylist began

upon his graduation from high school in Baltimore, Maryland., and continued in Hollywood, Florida, in a top salon. When Alan and Charles moved to Westchester, New York, they opened Hair Studio One, which they ran together for many years.

In addition to winning many styling competitions, Alan loved hosting events, including fashion shows at the salon for local charities. Overlooking not even the smallest detail, his parties were unparalleled and the talk of the town.

Upon retiring, Alan and Charles moved to Lewes in 2012, where they knew they had found their forever home.

Not one to be able to sit still for long, Alan abandoned retirement and became a stylist at Bad Hair Day? in Rehoboth Beach, where he continued to pursue his passion and befriended all who sat in his chair.

Alan lived every moment with an unparalleled zest for life. He was a talented chef, loved to plan gatherings with friends and family, and his Christmas decorations were a sight to behold. Whether he was cooking

or styling hair, his attention to detail was impeccable, and all that he did showcased his unique flair and desire to make things perfect for his family and friends.

Among so many other things, he will be remembered for his sense of humor, strength, courage, and tenacity, the traits that will continue to inspire his loved ones. “Climb Every Mountain” from The Sound of Music is the song that his husband considers the perfect theme song for him. Alan truly climbed every mountain and gave all the love he had, every day of his life.

A celebration will be planned for a future date to honor Alan’s vivacious life.

In his memory, the family welcomes donations to CAMP Rehoboth Community Center at give.camprehoboth.org/ give, honoring Alan’s commitment to the gay rights movement that advocates equal rights for the LGBTQ+ community and supports those in the community who are in need.

Visit Alan’s Life Memorial webpage at parsellfuneralhomes.com. ▼

Patrica Foley

P

atricia D. Foley, known to everyone as Patti, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, passed away peacefully surrounded by family Sunday, October 6, 2024, at Brandywine Assisted Living in Rehoboth Beach.

She was born July 22, 1940, in Queens, New York, daughter of the late Marguerite (Grady) Dow and Kenneth Dow. She graduated from Roslyn High School on Long Island and went on to further her education at Bowling Green University in Ohio, majoring in physical education.

After returning to Long Island, she began a fulfilling teaching career at Westbury High School. Patti also served as a job counselor at the Katherine Gibbs School and Western Temporary Services.

Her passion for teaching inspired countless students, and her dedication to her family was unwavering.

Patti’s laughter and love will forever echo in our hearts,

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

reminding us of the joy she brought into our lives. Patti was a shining light in our lives and will remain in our hearts forever.

In addition to her parents, Patti was predeceased by her sister, Barbara Maley. She is survived by her loving wife, Susan Hunt; her sons, Chris (Danielle) and John Foley; stepson, David Hunt; stepdaughter, Chelsea Fitzgerald; and six cherished grandchildren, Liam, Allison, Colby, Olivia, Blake, and Ainsley. She is also remembered fondly by her ex-husband, John, and her wonderful extended family and friends.

A Celebration of Life was held October 18; interment was private. Anyone wishing to make a memorial donation is asked to consider the American Heart Association, heart.org, or the ASPCA, aspca.org. ▼

WE REMEMBER

Bernadette (Bunny) Maher

B

ernadette Maher, fondly known as Bunny, passed away peacefully Wednesday, October 2, 2024, in Milton. Bunny entered this world November 25, 1954, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, bringing joy to her parents, the late Joseph and Bernadette Maher.

Bunny expanded her horizons through education at St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, before furthering her studies at University of Wisconsin-Madison. Her intellect and strong work ethic led her to a distinguished career at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia, where she retired as a procurement manager after 41 years of service. Bunny’s professional achievements were matched only by her commitment to her colleagues and the deep ties she fostered within the business community.

Bunny’s life was a testament to love in all its forms; she shared a joyful and loving partnership with her wife of eight years, Cheryl Tarlecky, and she adored her faithful lab, Bailey. She was a big sister to Joseph Maher (Soo) and an aunt to Michael and Megan. She was a beloved figure within a vast network of friends across various walks of life, from the Epworth United Methodist Church community to fellow pickleball enthusiasts.

Her spirit of service shone brightly at Epworth United Methodist Church, where she was not only a member, but served as the chair of the board of trustees, was one of the founding members of the Epworth Safety Team, participated on the cemetery committee, and stood as a welcoming presence every Sunday.

Bunny’s altruism extended to her work with Cape Henlopen Elks Lodge 2540, which was very important to her.

Known for her kind, thoughtful, and direct nature, Bunny readily and quietly helped others in need. An avid fan of the Philadelphia Eagles and Phillies, she watched nearly every baseball and football game, nearly willing them to playoffs and championships. Other interests were gardening, travel, and cooking; she performed each of them with enthusiasm.

Bunny will be profoundly missed.

A celebration of Life will be held at 11:00 a.m., Monday, November 25, at Epworth United Methodist Church, 19285 Holland Road, Rehoboth Beach. Visitation for family and friends will begin at 10:00 a.m. ▼

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CAMP Rehoboth Volunteer Opportunities VOLUNTEER APPRECIATION PARTY

Don’t miss a thing.

11 issues of LETTERS from CAMP Rehoboth by first class mail.

CAMP Rehoboth will plan to celebrate our volunteers with an appreciation social on Friday, November 22, from 3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Any volunteers who supported our events, programs, fundraisers, or advocacy initiatives are invited to join us by registering online at camprehoboth.org/volunteers.

CROP: CAMP REHOBOTH OUTREACH PROGRAM The CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) is constantly working to cultivate community and strengthen relationships and the connection between us all. Check the site for monthly volunteer opportunities. Next up for CROP: Toy & Clothing Community Drive.

YOUR NAME

Sign up at camprehoboth.org/volunteers.

PARTNER’S NAME ( IF APPLICABLE)

Your volunteer efforts benefit you and others.

STREET MAILING ADDRESS

CITY, STATE, ZIP

— PLEASE VISIT — camprehoboth.org/volunteers

☐ YES ☐ NO PHONE

to register as a volunteer and to sign up for available opportunities.

IS THIS A RENEWAL?

Send your check for $50 to CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971. If you prefer to use your Visa, MasterCard or American Express call 302-227-5620.

THANK YOU ACCESSIBILITY

Hope Vella

ADVOCACY TEAM

Daniel Bruner David Garrett Leslie Ledogar Sherri McGee ARTS TEAM

Logan Farro Jane Knaus Lois Powell Leslie Sinclair Patricia Stiles Debbie Woods BARK ON THE BOARDS

Mark Eubanks Doug Sellers Susan Taylor CAMP ADMIN

Sherri McGee CAMP CHORUS LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE

Bill Fuchs Dianna Johnston Carolyn Laurenzo Judy Olsen

Gloria Richards Dave Scuccimarra Travis Stevens CAMP DATABASE

Sondra Arkin

CAMP FACILITIES

Carol Brice Lisa Evans Eric Korpon

CAMP LIBRARY

Glenn Lash

CAMP REHOBOTH BLOCK PARTY

See volunteer list on page 9.

CAMPCIERGES

Joe Benshetler Barbara Breault Ken Currier Adam Emel-Firestone Will Freshwater Jim Mease Kim Nelson Pamela Rule Mitchell Shahade Patricia Stiles

Russell Stiles Joe Vescio

CAMPSAFE HIV TESTING AND COUNSELING

Dick Hospital E.J. Kenyon Sharon Morgan Joe Vescio

CAMPSHOTS PHOTO VOLUNTEERS

G Michael Beigay Tony Burns

DEVELOPMENT TEAM

Jane Blue Pat Catanzariti Wes Combs Mike DeFlavia Amanda Mahony Albanese

GALVIN QUARTET AT CAMP REHOBOTH

Larry Rosen

LETTERS DISTRIBUTION TEAM

Glenn Lash Jim Mease

to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center Volunteers for the period: October 4 - November 1, 2024

LETTERS MAILING TEAM

Nancy Hewish Grant Kingswell Stephen Palmer Linda Yingst

LETTERS PROOFING

Barb Ralph

MILTON THEATER’S ZOMBIE FEST

Mike English Margaret Tobin

RAINBOW THUMB CLUB

Chris Bowers Carol Brice Linda DeFeo Richard Dietz Patty DiModugno Monica Fleishmann Mitchell Shahade Rachel Summers SEA WITCH PARADE MARCHERS

G Michael Beigay Daniel Bruner Jett Butterworth Wes Combs Billy Costello

Ken Currier Polly Donaldson Jeff Donovan Charlie Furce Andy Guthridge Claire Ippoliti Susan Leathery Leslie Ledogar Donett Love Cory Mangini Marcia McCollum-Martin Tamia Mykles Kevin Pelland Lori Rocheleau Kathy Solano Russell Stiles Chad Stover Kat Takacs Susan Taylor Mike Tyler Manfredi Zip THIS MONTH IN QUEER HISTORY

Beth Shockley

VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Madelyn Jablon Marce McCollum-Martin Jim Mease Kim Nelson Rina Pellegrini John Michael Sophos Joe Vescio VOLUNTEER OPPORTUNITIES MEETING

G Michael Beigay Ron Dempsey Herb Engert Emily Geckle Madelyn Jablon Susan Leathery Marce McCollum-Martin Tim Miller Todd Moore Kevin Pelland Kathy Solano Margaret Tobin Joe Vescio

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

109 Letters

AD INDEX AG Renovations......................................................41 All Saints’ Church, St George’s Chapel..................43 Atlantic Jewelry......................................................35 Beebe Healthcare..................................................36 Beebe Medical Foundation....................................37 Brandywine Urology Consultants...........................23 Brandywine Valley SPCA........................................46 Café Azafrán...........................................................87 CAMP Rehoboth & Rehoboth Beach Bears Toy Drive.................................................................93 CAMP Rehoboth Annual Sponsors...........................6 CAMP Rehoboth Block Party Thank You..................9 CAMP Rehoboth Chorus, On Broadway.................95 CAMP Rehoboth Development/Charitable Distribution.............................................................50 CAMP Rehoboth Development Ways to Give.........97 CAMP Rehoboth Development Required Minimum Distribution.............................................................33 CAMP Rehoboth End of Year Campaign..................7 CAMP Rehoboth Letters Subscription................. 109 CAMP Rehoboth Membership................................98 CAMP Rehoboth Save the Dates............................51 CAMPsafe...............................................................32 Caroline Huff, Artist................................................89 Chris Beagle Group, Realtors.................................31 Clear Space Theatre...............................................18 Coastal Critter Care................................................21

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NOVEMBER 15, 2024

Coho’s Market & Grill..............................................19 County Bank...........................................................85 Delaware Community Foundation...................... 104 Delaware Hospice............................................... 107 Dogfish Head.........................................................77 Donna Whiteside, Realtor........................................8 Elegant Slumming..................................... 15, 17, 19 Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant...................... 111 go fish go brit.........................................................31 Hugh Fuller, Realtor................................................54 Humane Animal Partners Delaware.................... 110 Jack Lingo, Real Estate..........................................73 Jenn Harpel, Morgan Stanley.................................21 John Black, Realtor................................................79 Jolly Trolley............................................................87 Lana Warfield, Realtor............................................41 Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, Realtors........................67 Lori’s Café..............................................................15 Loves Liquors.........................................................13 Maplewood Dental Associates...............................17 Mark Macomber, Realtor........................................75 MCC of Rehoboth...................................................40 Meals On Wheels Delaware...................................88 Mid-Atlantic Symphony Orchestra..........................87 Milton Theatre........................................................45 New Wave Spas......................................................77 Olivia Travel............................................................11

Purple Parrot..........................................................55 PWW Law................................................................29 Randy Mason/Shirley Kalvinsky, Realtors..............65 Rehoboth Beach Bears...........................................49 Rehoboth Beach Dental.........................................41 Rehoboth Beach Volunteer Fire Company.............47 Rehoboth Guest House..........................................53 Rigby’s Bar & Grill...................................................81 Saved Souls......................................................... 108 Sea Bova Associates, Realtors............................ 112 Seaboard Hospitality..............................................89 Shore United Bank.................................................95 Shortcutz Landscaping...........................................71 Southern Delaware Chorale...................................91 State Farm - Jeanine O’Donnell/Eric Blondin.........41 Stuart Kingston Gallery..........................................25 Sussex Family YMCA..............................................47 The Flats, Coldwell Banker Premier.......................59 The Joe Maggio Group, Realtors...........................87 The Lodge at Truitt Homestead..............................90 Troy Roberts, Realtor..............................................17 Volunteer Opportunities...................................... 109 Volunteer Thank You........................................... 109 Where 2 Next Travel...............................................39 Windsor’s Flowers..................................................17

NOVEMBER 15, 2024

111 Letters

LINDA BOVA

BRIDGET BAUER

BROKER-ABR®

ASSOC. BROKER-REALTOR®

CELL

CELL

302-542-4197

302-245-0577

www.SEABOVA.com

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SANDPIPER VILLAGE Rehoboth. 2BR/2BA 3rdfloor condo is an end unit.

1,060sf Chesapeake model.

4.5 miles to Rehoboth or Lewes beaches. Near bike trail. $340,000 (2072724)

SILVER VIEW FARM Rehoboth. 2016 3BR/2BA is 1,624 sq. ft. w/family room addition. Split bedroom plan.

Shed. Community pool & 3 miles to beach. $314,900

SEA AIR - Rehoboth.

Newer 2006 16’x60’ 2BR/1BA. Partially furnished. Open floor plan. Community pool & 3 miles to beach. $109,000

SEA AIR - Rehoboth.

1997 3BR/2BA. Split BR plan.

Nice interior. Eat-in kitchen.

Side deck. Community pool & 3 miles to bch. $96,500

(2071230) Lot Rent $725/mt.

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SILVER VIEW FARM Rehoboth. 2010 3BR/2BA + Fla. room for 1,456 sq. ft.

Big shed. Outdoor shower.

Across from the pool & 3 miles to beach. $248,800

SILVER VIEW FARM Rehoboth. 1983 3BR/2BA. 2017 full interior remodel, roof new 2020, HVAC new 2022. Shed Pool community.

3 miles to bch. $139,000

(2064776) Lot Rent $725/mt.

(2071662) Lot Rent $725/mt.

SEA AIR - Rehoboth.

Retro cool 1971 3BR/1BA w/ 9’x39’ enclosed porch. Eatin kit. Furnished. Community pool & 3 miles to beach. $75,000 (2071664) Lot Rent

S E A A I R - Rehoboth.

1970 2BR/1BA has sunroom w/wood-burning fireplace.

Fenced front patio. Shed.

Community pool & 3 miles to beach. $75,000 (2058494)

(2072818) Lot Rent $672/mt includes water.

(2069844) Lot Rent $704/mt includes water.

$747/mt includes water.

Lot Rent $681/mt includes water.

CAMELOT MEADOWS - Rehoboth. 1998 3BR/2BA doublewide w/sunroom. Big kitchen. Dining area. Shed w/elec. Community pool. 4 miles to beach. $150,000

CAMELOT MEADOWS - Rehoboth. 1972 3BR/2BA is 1,288 sq. ft. Fully fenced side yard. Main bedroom is en Suite. Community pool. 4 miles to beach. $129,000 (2071060)

CAMELOT MEADOWS - Rehoboth. 1976 2BR/2BA home was fully remodeled inside & out in 2011!

Community pool. 4 miles to beach. COMING SOON! Lot

(2069438) Lot Rent $1,080/mt.

Lot Rent $1,080/mt.

Rent $1,080/mt.

ASPEN MEADOWS Rehoboth. 1980 3BR/2BA. 1,100 sq. ft. Nicely updated inside & out. New HVAC & more. Community pool. 4 miles to beach. $154,900

ANGOLA BEACH - Lewes.

1983 1,100sf 3BR/2BA fully remodeled in 2023. Furn.

Community pools, marina. 10 miles to beach. $184,500

REHOBOTH BAY - Rehoboth.

1989 2BR/2BA w/screened porch overlooking the pond.

Stainless steel appliances.

Furnished. Pool. Marina. 6.5 miles to beach. $129,900

REHOBOTH BAY - Rehoboth.

Water views of White Oak Creek out to the Bay. 1986 3BR/2BA w/VinylTech porch.

Pool. Marina. 6.5 miles to beach. $189,900 (2064280)

SHAWN’S HIDEAWAY Millsboro. Remodeled 1973 3BR/1BA. 1,100 sq. ft.

Turnkey. Wrap-around deck.

Shed. Marina community. $146,500 (2064756) Lot

(2073060) Lot Rent $780/mt. includes water & sewer.

(2066238) Lot Rent $705/mt.

Lot Rent $819/mt.

(2062092) Lot Rent $943/mt.

Rent $485/mt. includes water.

20250 Coastal Highway - Suite 3, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971  302-227-1222 office www.SEABOVA.com 

EMAIL – RealEstate@SEABOVA.com

Office Independently Owned & Operated by SBA, Inc. Prices, promotions & availability subject to change without notice. *A/C Active/Under Contract -- Accepting Back-Up Offers

11/05/2024