The painting on our cover is by Lisa Tubach, from the exhibit "Intricate Oceans: Coral in Contemporary Art" coming next month to the Coastal Discovery Museum. See our story on page 11.
August 16 – August 29, 2023
Publisher: Jeff Evans — Jeff@LCWeekly.com
Editor: Margaret Evans — Editor@LCWeekly.com
Marketing Director: Amanda Hanna — 843-343-8483 or Amanda@LCWeekly.com
Advertising Sales: Hope Falls — 757-274-7184 or Ads.TheIslandNews@Gmail.com Sandy Schepis — 678-641-4495 or SandySchepis@Gmail.com
Art Director: Lydia Inglett
Layout & Design: Amalgamated Sprinkleworks
Contributing Writers: Vivian Bikulege, Katherine Tandy Brown, Debbi Covington, Sandra Educate, Lila Meeks, Margit Resch, Laura Lee Rose, Cele & Lynn Seldon, and Sutty Suddeth
What’s Happening Calendar: Staff – Editor@LCWeekly.com
Letters to the Editor, comments or suggestions can be addressed to: Lowcountry Weekly
106 West Street Extension, Beaufort, SC 29902 Call: 843-986-9059 or Email: editor@lcweekly.com
LLowcountry Weekly is published every other Wednesday and distributed throughout Beaufort County at various restaurants, retail locations, hotels and visitor’s centers. The entire contents of Lowcountry Weekly is copyrighted 2023 by P. Podd Press, LLC. No part may be reproduced without permission from the publisher. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited material. A stamped, self-addressed envelope must accompany all submissions expected to be returned.
I’m writing earlier than usual this week, trying to get work off my plate before taking myself on a solo road trip to Alabama for my 40th high school reunion. Forty. It’s hard to wrap my head around that number. Seems like only yesterday the idea of being 40 years old was unimaginable. To teenage me, 40 was utter decrepitude.
In fact, I vividly remember lying on my family’s backyard trampoline one night in the early 80s, with a few of my high school pals, gazing at the stars and imagining what we might all be doing on New Year’s Eve of 1999.
(Remember our cultural obsession with the impending turn of the century? It started early in my crowd.)
Somebody piped up and said, “We probably won’t be doing ANYTHING. We’ll be in our mid-30s by then.” We all groaned.
Well, now we’re all in our late 50s, and we’re absolutely planning to throw down this weekend! Funny how perspectives change over the years.
One of my old besties is on the reunion planning committee – she lives in our hometown, so the “honors” fell to her – and she recently posted all our senior portraits from the 1983 yearbook on our class Facebook page.
My heart squeezes as I scroll through them.
We look like children. Round, smiling faces, aglow with optimism. Our whole lives ahead of us . . . not to mention prom night.
Some of us – like me – are wearing way too much makeup. Some of us – again, raising my hand – are very unfortunately dressed. Some of us – and there’s no way to put this gently – are now dead. That includes our class president, a lovely guy who presided over our 30th reunion, just a decade ago, with boundless energy and vigor.
Again, perspectives change.
My friends and I came of age in the late 70s/early 80s, along with Disco. John Lennon was killed our sophomore year, MTV launched the following summer, and Pacman came into its heyday. Ronald Reagan was elected president, shoulder pads made a comeback, Michael Jackson’s ‘Thriller’ thrilled us, and hair was big.
But we were southern, and maybe a little behind the times. Madonna had yet to entice us away from our preppie wardrobes, “alternative music” was still on the distant horizon – along with cynicism – and we did not yet have college professors urging us to interrogate our Christian-Capitalist identity. (For you younger readers, that’s what we used to do in college before racial, sexual, and gender identity became the rage.) Indeed, it was the age of innocence. We had no cell phones, but somehow we
Writers, Far and Wide – Here’s a chance to get paid for writing! Sea Island Spirit Writers’ critique group is again sponsoring a short story contest open to all writers 18 years old and up. The word “alone” must appear in your story of 750 words or less. Your story could net you $100 for first place, $50 for second place, or $25 for third, and publication in Lowcountry Weekly
THE RULES ARE SIMPLE:
• Entry fee is $15 per story. Only one entry per person please.
• All entries must include your name, address, email address and phone number.
• Entries must be received by Friday, October 6, 2023.
• Entries cannot have been previously published. We want new, fresh fiction.
• Digital entries only please. Submit to editor@lcweekly.com by email with “Short Story Contest” in the subject line.
• Payment may be made either by check or credit card. To pay by credit card, call Lowcountry Weekly at 843-522-0418. To pay by check, make checks out to “Lowcountry Weekly” with “Short Story Contest” in the memo line. Mail to Lowcountry Weekly, 106 West Street Extension, Beaufort SC 29902.
• Winners will be published in the October 25th issue of Lowcountry Weekly.
managed to communicate. We had no social media. We had social lives, instead.
We went to Friday night football games. Hung out at McDonald’s afterwards. Threw clandestine parties in various parking lots and semi-sanctioned ones in our parents’ basements. We made out with boys under the baseball bleachers, drove up and down 6th Avenue (our “Main Street”) looking for something to do… and each other. We went tubing on the Tennessee River, “laid out” in the sun for hours at the neighborhood pool (without sunscreen!), attended Homecoming dances, sorority formals, and church youth retreats.
We were good kids living in simpler times. Maybe even better times.
I’m pretty sure everybody feels that way about their youth – that “the times” were simpler and better – and I know all manner of political pundits and cultural critics who love nothing better than disabusing people of that notion. But that’s my story, and I’m sticking with it.
Despite the garishness and outright tackiness of 80s pop culture, there was a palpable sense of optimism in our country back then. And I’m not just saying that because I was young and spritely. Even Gen Z – my daughter’s generation – is nostalgic for the 80s, or what they imagine that decade was like. Their obsession with the Netflix hit series Stranger Things is but one example of their infatuation with all things 80s.
Writing for admindagency.com, Rafat Sowinski muses on that infatuation:
“The question of the origins of the contemporary popularity of the ’80s can provoke different answers. Some would see it as ’80s nostalgia for a time of Western economic prosperity when it seemed that history was coming to an end and democracy and capitalism would fulfill all their promises. (Suffice it to say that soon after, in 1992, Francis Fukuyama announced the ‘end of history.’ How wrong he was!) Others would point out that the 1980s was actually the era of the birth of pop culture as we know it today. It was, after all, the era of cinematic adventure blockbusters, the new explosion of science fiction (although Star Wars or Alien are franchises that date back to the 1970s), the crystallization and creative development of significant musical genres (metal, hip hop, electronic music in the
Margaret Evansbroadest sense) or, finally, the popularization of video games. The 1980s saw the creation of MTV, the World Wide Web and CDs. The technology, business and creators of the ’80s revolutionized popular culture –which is perhaps why it is so keen to draw on the legacy of this era, where the possibilities seemed limitless.”
I don’t know. I think my own nostalgia for the 80s has less to do with all the worldchanging technology born in that era, and more to do with the fact that said technology was still so young. It was not yet dominating our lives. Not yet tearing us apart.
In its infancy, in fact, 80s technology seemed to be bringing us together. MTV was something we all watched, a conversation starter! Blockbuster films were a collective cultural experience, before streaming offered so many choices – and such ease – that nobody was watching the same movies anymore, or gathering under one roof to watch them. The internet wouldn’t be publicly available until the early 90s, but even then, it would unite us before it divided us. As for CDs – they made music sound better, but in the 80s, we were all still listening to the same handful of artists.
I recently asked my daughter, “Who are all the kids are listening to these days?” and she couldn’t give me an answer. Apparently, they’re all listening to different music. Because they can.
I’m not sure how a generation defines itself – especially in hindsight – when it has so many cultural references… but so few in common.
When my daughter’s 40th high school reunion rolls around, I can’t imagine how the DJ will know what “oldies” to play at the party.
On the bright side, chances are nobody will be wearing legwarmers.
Wings Over Beaufort, an Ecotourism & Birding Festival happening September 21 – 23, has taken flight! Working with Visit Beaufort, Jenn & John Clementoni are the creators of Wings Over Beaufort. They live on Harbor Island and co-own Birding Beaufort. Both are certified Lowcountry Master Naturalists and outdoor enthusiasts.
Wings Over Beaufort will feature a full 3-day agenda that encompasses speaking engagements, kayaking, presentations, and birding tours – at multiple locations including Hunting Island, Widgeon Point, Whitehall Park & Nemours Wildlife Foundation – as well as a boat tour to St. Phillips and a tour of the Port Royal Sound Maritime Center. It was important to the Festival creators to incorporate unique and special opportunities for people.
“Mother Nature has done the work, we just need to bask in the beauty of it all, but in a safe & responsible way,” says Jenn. “We have brought people into the festival that we admire or learned from, making it the perfect event!”
excitement of photographing birds in different locations. Kelley will also do individual instruction and mentorships for bird photographers who would like to learn to photograph birds with more intention and creativity.
Jenn also sits on multiple boards (Fripp Audubon Club, SC Lowcountry Master Naturalist and Friends of Cypress Wetlands). She is a shorebird steward with Audubon SC, is on the Harbor Island Sea Turtle Team, and is consistently ranked in the Top 10 Ebirders in Beaufort County, with more than 200 Species sighted, including several rare species.
Keynote Speaker Craig Watson currently resides in Charleston County South Carolina, where he previously worked as a full-time migratory bird biologist for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Now retired, Craig moved to South Carolina 33 years ago and began his career with the U.S. Forest Service managing Red-cockaded Woodpeckers, particularly after Hurricane Hugo decimated the habitat and population of the woodpeckers. Craig transitioned into his most recent position with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service 25 years ago, where his primary duties were securing funds for bird habitat conservation from North Carolina to Puerto Rico. His most recent collaborative effort is the newly released Black Rail Conservation Plan and working with partners on the Atlantic Coast for the conservation of Black Rail.
Kelley Luikey is a South Carolina based award-winning photographer who specializes in fine art bird images. Her photos consistently rank in the Top 100 Images for national and international competitions such as the National Audubon Society, North American Nature Photographers Association, and others. They have also appeared in numerous publications including the National Audubon Society magazine and the cover of Garden and Gun magazine. While the majority of her time is spent photographing the local species of birds that she loves, she does travel for her bird photography and enjoys the challenge and
Dr. Andy Jones is a lifelong naturalist with a passion for the biodiversity of the southeastern United States. He came to the Spring Island Trust as Executive Director in May 2022. He studied biological sciences at the University of Tennessee and completed his PhD on the evolutionary history of Philippine birds at the University of Minnesota. From 2006 until early 2022, he worked as curator of ornithology at the Cleveland Museum of Natural History. He also became one of the team leads on Lights Out Cleveland, a group working with building managers to turn lights off during migration as well as coordinating volunteers to recover injured and dead birds that collided with buildings. Along the way, Dr. Jones has been active in nonprofit leadership. He has served as a board member and on the research committee of Black Swamp Bird Observatory, as a board
member of Winous Point Marsh Conservancy, and as Secretary of the American Ornithological Society. He has been recognized as a Fellow of the American Ornithological Society for his contributions to ornithology.
For tickets and a complete schedule of events for Wings Over Beaufort, please visit https://birdingbeaufort.com/tours/
We all know what a honey-do list is, right? It’s things we desire our significant other to do to make our lives easier. As long as there’s a fair give and take to the relationship, then more power to these lists. These lists help get s*** done.
The issue comes when we’re faced with things in our everyday lives that leave us ruminating, fearing, and heading for the rabbit hole of indecisiveness and inaction. I’m not here to tell you what to do, but I have gathered a list of what not to do. The last thing you want is for your bestie to say, “Oh, hunny (this will be pronounced with extra, invisible syllables), no you didn’t!” The previous sentence is a nice way of calling you a sweet, precious dumba$$. Some of these will be silly, but true. Others will be watershed moments. Here goes:
– Don’t be a victim when you can make a decision. There are real victims out there that need the attention and sometimes inaction can
be worse than pulling the figurative trigger.
– Don’t mistake smothering for love. Left unchecked, it can be a force of destruction. Keep the phrase, “If I can’t have him, nobody will,” in mind when you think on this. It may not be that exact scenario, but absolutes can be absolutely dangerous.
– Don’t underestimate an inferiority complex and its potential for irrational behavior.
– Never trust a fart. We’ve all been there. If not, just wait.
– Don’t be heavy-handed when a light touch will do. You can add sugar and salt, but you cannot take it away.
– Don’t chase closure. It can be a portal to regret and frustration. Organic is always your ace in the hole.
– Don’t confuse grief with time-served. Grief takes as long as it takes, just make sure to check in with a professional if you feel stuck.
– Don’t ignore the red flags lest they become part of a Molotov cocktail that leads to the conflagration of your essence.
– Don’t hand over your power.
– Blood relations don’t always equal a caring and loyal relationship. Toxic is toxic. How many people have you heard say, “But she’s my _________.”? It’s even worse if you fill in the blank with the misunderstood and misrepresented word soulmate. Soulmates can come here to be our one true love, yes. They can also come to be our one true torturer until we take our power back. That’s the point of these soul connections. We can kumbaya on the other side of the veil.
– “Don’t rock the juke box,” if you want to hear some Jones. (Alan Jackson)
– Don’t be neglectful in working out your definition of forgiveness that makes your heart resonate. Tupac once said, “Just because you lost me as a friend doesn’t mean you gained me as an enemy. I’m bigger than that. I still want you to eat, just not at my table.”
– Don’t underestimate the change in energy of naming at least five things that went right with your day while trying to fall asleep after a crappy day. This is a good practice any day, but particularly after a rough one.
– Don’t “wake me up before you go go.” Please just go.
– Don’t underestimate the need to recharge your batteries, not to mention spending QT with significant others. This can
WHOLLY HOLISTICS
by Sutty Suddeth
look different for different people. Some need to take a trip to the other side of the world, some need a staycation. You do you.
– Don’t take on the attitude of the cancel culture we live in. Not everything or everyone needs to be excised from your life like a boil, perhaps it or they just need to be reprioritized.
– Don’t underestimate that perception can become a reality damn quick. This is why we can fall into the trap of not letting the truth get in the way of a good story.
– In a similar vein, never forget that context matters. It’s why the best lies are filled with half-truths with a heavy-hand of plausibility. My narcissists out there know this to be true to the extent that truth is so fluid and malleable that they likely don’t know the real truth.
– Don’t allow passive-aggressiveness in your life. There’s a price to be paid even if you think you’re the clever one.
– Don’t assume. Not all wounds are apparent. For that matter, neglect your mental health at your own peril.
– Don’t assume the loudest, most charismatic to be the voice of leadership.
– Don’t forget the adage, “fool me once . . . ”. There’s a reason for its adage status.
– Never underestimate the needy with their talent for victimization and drama. Not all nightmares have villains.
– Don’t go through life with cynicism as your ride or die. To paraphrase Dean Wormer, “Cynical, jaded, and ignorant is no way to go through life.”
– Finally, “Don’t stop believing.” (Journey) Faith matters.
Okay, this list is likely not complete, so if Wholly Holistics readers out there can think of some I’ve missed, please write to Lowcountry Weekly with suggestions for this or any other topic you’d like to see expounded upon. Thanks so much. As always, our hope is that this is received with the helpful nature it was intended.
The year: 1987. The setting: The Rocks of Fripp Island, SC. Sutty first answers the siren call of writing. In the years and publications since, the destination has been Divinely timed, while being Divinely unknown. A reformed Reiki Master of more than a dozen years, an emotional energetic alchemist, as well as a student in various energetic modalities. My favorite Buddha quote is, “Everything in moderation, even moderation.” Visit Home / Chris Suddeth (journoportfolio.com) for more info.
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host the 7th annual Lowcountry Book Club Convention on Saturday, September 30, at the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton, SC. Ideal for book club members, those interested in joining a book club, or anyone who simply loves the joy of reading, the Lowcountry Book Club Convention is presented in partnership with NeverMore Books and the Technical College of the Lowcountry, and made possible by the generous support of the Pulpwood Queens Books Club.
author events and a tour.$15-$40/person. Register in advance at https://lowcountrybookclubconvention2023.eventbrite.com
Violin Conspiracy and Symphony of Secrets) in conversation with Jonathan Haupt
12:00-12:45 p.m. Book signing break & lunch: Gourmet box lunches by Catering by Debbi Covington. (Register by September 18 for lunch)
12:45-1:45 p.m. Master entertainer and chef Johnathon Scott Barrett, (Cook & Celebrate: A Collection of Southern Holiday & Party Culinary Traditions) in conversation with Mary Martha Greene (The Cheese Biscuit Queen Tells All)
1:45-2:15 p.m. Book signing break
2:15-3:15 p.m. As featured in Forbes Magazine – Sidney Keys III, author of Books N Bros and founder of the Books N Bros book club, in conversation with local students.
3:15-3:45 p.m. Final book signing break and tour of the Culinary Institute of the South.
Saturday, September 30
This year’s presenters include musician, educator, and bestselling novelist Brendan Slocumb, author of The Violin Conspiracy (A Good Morning America Book Club Selection) and Symphony of Secrets; master entertainer and chef Johnathon Scott Barrett, author of Cook & Celebrate: A Collection of Southern Holiday & Party Culinary Traditions; and teenage entrepreneur Sidney Keys III, creator of the Books N Bros Book Club (featured in Forbes Magazine). The Convention will begin this year with a panel discussion highlighting five lowcountry novelists: Donna Keel Armer (The Red Starfish), Laura Elizabeth (All Is Now Lost), Nancy Ritter (Slack Tide), Lynn Seldon (Carolina's Ring), and John Warley (Jury of One).
A gourmet box lunch will be provided by Catering by Debbi Covington. Books by presenting authors will be available for sale and signing. The Culinary Institute of the South will also be offering guided tours of their facility for the convention attendees. The registration fee includes all-day access to all
9:00-9:30 a.m. Check-in Begins 9:30-10:30 a.m. Lowcountry Novelists Panel Discussion, featuring Donna Keel Armer (The Red Starfish), Laura Elizabeth (All Is Now Lost), Nancy Ritter (Slack Tide), Lynn Seldon (Carolina's Ring), and John Warley (Jury of One), moderated by Pat Conroy Literary Center executive director Jonathan Haupt.
(a selection of the Good Morning America Book Club) and the recently released Symphony of Secrets. www.brendanslocumb.com
Johnathon Scott Barrett is a seventhgeneration Georgian, and grew up amongst a family that placed high value on fresh, farmto-table food. He held onto those roots and became a renowned cook and host in his home state. A nonprofit executive, he is also an avid reader, fisherman, and gardener. Cookbooks include Cook & Celebrate, Rise & Shine, and Cook & Tell. www.johnathonbarrett.com
10:30-11:00 a.m. Book signing break
11:00-12:00 p.m. As featured in the Good Morning America Book Club -- musician, educator, and novelist Brendan Slocumb (The
Brendan Slocumb was raised in Fayetteville, North Carolina. He is a graduate of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a degree in music education, concentrations on Violin and Viola. For the past two decades, he has been a public and private school music educator from kindergarten through twelfth grade, teaching general music, orchestra, and guitar ensembles. His students were often chosen for district and regional orchestras. In 2005, Brendan was named Teacher of the Year for Robert E. Lee High School; he has been named to Who’s Who of American teachers, and is a Nobel Teacher of distinction. Brendan also serves as an educational consultant for the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. He is the author of two novels: The Violin Conspiracy
Sidney Keys III is a rising teen entrepreneur. At the young age of 10, he decided to take his love for reading to the next level and create Books N Bros, a book club to empower boys while advocating for African American literacy. Keys offers kids (continued on next page)
Author and chef Johnathon Schott Barrett
(continued from previous page) a place to be mentored by their "Big Bros" and connect over a shared love for reading and the “Cool Bros Read” mantra. Featured in Forbes Magazine, he has made appearances on Cartoon Network, Good Morning America, Today with Hoda and Jenna, CNN, MARVEL Hero Project on Disney+, and in Oprah's O magazine and the Huffington Post. Keys lives in Atlanta, GA. www.booksnbros.com
Donna Keel Armer is the author of the travel memoir Solo in Salento (recently translated into Italian) and the debut novel The Red Starfish. She has published numerous articles and photographs on travel, food, human interest, and home and garden in South Carolina magazines. She also teamed up with the Sons of Italy in Columbia, SC, to produce Bella Cucina Italiana, a cookbook featuring her photography. She and her husband Ray live in Beaufort where she volunteers with the Pat Conroy Literary Center and Hunting Island State Park. https://donnaarmer.com
Laura Elizabeth enjoys a well-established career in business as well as a rich family life that, many years ago, took her to Daufuskie
Island for the first time. Following her years of family experiences on the island, Laura imagined Mongin Island as the home for her new cozy series, The Island Mysteries, beginning with the newly released All Is Now Lost. www.theislandmysteries.com
Medal for her work at the U.S. Department of Justice on the nation’s missing persons crisis, where she first learned about “ambiguous loss,” an issue she explores in her debut novel. Ritter lives and writes in Beaufort, where she is a volunteer for the Pat Conroy Literary Center.
Graduate of Virginia Military Institute and Army veteran Lynn Seldon is a longtime writer with more than 500 magazine and newspaper credits, including USA Today, The Atlanta Journal- Constitution, TrailBlazer, airline inflights, several AAA publications, and dozens more. He is the author or coauthor of six nonfiction books, and the novels, Virginia's Ring and Carolina’s Ring. He lives in Beaufort with fellow writer and wife Cele Seldon. www.seldonink.com
The author of Slack Tide, Nancy Ritter has worked as a paralegal, a reporter, and an editor. She has received numerous awards for her writing, culminating in a Service to America
There’s no doubt that people yearn to feel the comfort and warmth of Christ during religious holidays.
To many, the term “Christ” might be seen as a synonym for Jesus. But through studying Christian Science, I’ve come to understand that Jesus was Christ Jesus because he most perfectly exemplified the Christ-spirit that can also be felt in the hearts and thoughts of us all as God’s messages to us. Whatever form they take in our experience, when we perceive these messages about how God’s great love guides us, and keeps us spiritual and whole, we find they are just the right thoughts to meet our needs.
For instance, just a day before Christmas one year, a friend of mine became very ill. She was feeling a sense of pressure to get better quickly because she was with family and friends, and felt she didn’t want to ruin things. She turned to God in prayer and was comforted, but was still very sick in the evening. She renewed her prayers, opening her thought to the Christ, and that’s when she felt in her heart a very beautiful message from God: that in her true being she already was well, not because she wanted to please everyone, but simply because we are all the spiritual, perfect creations of God (Genesis 1:26, 27). Embracing that Christly message quickly cured her.
Christ Jesus said, “To this end was I born, and for this cause came I into the world, that I should bear witness
John Warley is the award-winning author of seven books. His bestselling novel, A Southern Girl, was praised by Pat Conroy as "stylish as a novel by John Irving and as tightly written as one by John Grisham." His history of his undergraduate alma mater, Stand Forever, Yielding Never: The Citadel in the 21st Century, led to his selection to write both the inscription for the college's war memorial and "The Citadel at War," a narrative history of the wars and conflicts in
unto the truth” (John 18:37). Looking at Jesus’ ministry, we can see the healing power of the Christ. And this healing, saving Christ is still present, right now. On Page 333 of her book Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures,” Mary Baker Eddy, the founder of Christian Science, says,“Throughout all generations both before and after the Christian era, the Christ, as the spiritual idea, –the reflection of God, – has come with some measure of power and grace to all prepared to receive Christ, Truth.”
which Citadel alumni have made the ultimate sacrifice. NPR selected his essay "Lingering at the Doors" for publication in This I Believe on Fatherhood. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, he drew on decades of experience practicing law in writing Jury of One, his most recent novel. Warley lives in Beaufort. www.johnwarley.com
more tangibly, I have decided that I will daily choose one quality – such as goodness, honesty, humility, or faithfulness –to focus on, knowing that to the degree that I love and express such qualities, I will find myself more receptive to God’s healing Word. I invite you to join me in this activity! As we progress, let’s be patient with ourselves, while also aiming to be steady and consistent.
In light of that, what best prepares people like you and me to receive the angel messages – the inspiration – of the Christ? In a parable, Jesus compared what happens to seeds that fall on dry, rocky soil versus seeds that fall on fertile, good soil (Luke 8:4-15). The seeds represent God’s Word, or the Christ. The soil symbolizes the quality of thought of those who hear this Word. Jesus said, “That on the good ground are they, which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience.”
What helpful guidance that is! Our inherent receptivity to the appearing of Christ to our consciousness is enhanced by a good and honest heart, expressed in humility and faithfulness. Intentionally striving to express these qualities helps us hear and respond to God’s Christly messages. And in order to bring them to life in myself
Referring to the divine Science of the Christ, Science and Health states, “The effect of this Science is to stir the human mind to a change of base, on which it may yield to the harmony of the divine Mind” (p. 162). When our thought is in tune with the divine Mind, God, we are changed; we experience a deeper sense of peace and harmony.
This involves a humble willingness to get on our mental knees, to have our thought transformed by Christ. But it’s a joy to experience how the Christ heals us and washes us clean. As we are receptive to Christ, how will we be led? What new view will we see? What fresh healing idea will we better understand? What new sense of safety and security will we feel?
As we pray for our world let’s behold how the Christ is universally available, leading us to the truth about God and about what we all are as His loved, spiritual children.
By Mark SwinneyOur Perspectives discuss a topic that needs our local attention. For August it is “Receiving – always an act of divine love.” How can you express God’s love to address this in your life, our community, and the world? Learn more about Christian Science and our local services at BeaufortChristianScience.Org and view more Perspectives at CS Monitor Perspectives.
When Ashton Cradit moved to Beaufort in 2019, she began searching for opportunities to meet people and give back to her new community.
“I was unable to find what I was looking for, and the more I walked my dog around, the more I became frustrated with the amount of litter I saw,” she says.
Eventually, Ashton decided to organize something herself.
“I started a Facebook group, named it Beaufort Litter Patrol, and got to work putting the intention out there for monthly clean-ups. My idea quickly came to a pause for about a year while we navigated 2020.”
In time, Ashton says, she came to realize that, as important as this continuing effort was to the local environment, it was equally important to helping re-establish a safe sense of community, post-pandemic.
“Social connection through service and in combination with nature brings its own
special form of healing,” she says.
It’s now been two years since the organization’s first official Community Clean-up.
“It has been incredible to watch the growth in volunteers and interest for more,” Ashton says. “Currently, we meet once a month, coming together for a community clean-up.
After our time spent cleaning, I always have hand sanitizer and a treat ready (usually popsicles or cookies) to show my thanks to the volunteers. We're so grateful to Shellring Aleworks, as well, for supporting our clean-ups. When we finish cleaning up and having our tasty treat, we like to meet at Shellring for cheers well done! The first drink is on us and there are non-alcoholic drinks as well!”
“Ultimately, our mission is to build community by giving back to the one place that we ALL call home . . . and to make it fun!” Ashton continues. “We have a vision to continue building this mission with additional clean-ups, and a goal to plan a half-day festival with yoga, a community clean-up, music, food, and all-around good times!”
Anybody interested in donating to the ongoing efforts of the Beaufort Litter Patrol can donate to https://gofund.me/8f0176ca
Visit Beaufort Litter Patrol on Facebook or email ashtonkcradit@gmail.com with the subject line BLP to stay up to date.
By Margit Resch
We, the Fripp Island Friends of Music, invite you—no doubt also a friend of music—to join us for our 39th concert season. Membership, and thus access to all five concerts, is still only $100 per person. Tickets for non-members are $30 per person per concert. Included is a gathering after the performance where you can meet the musicians and enjoy delicious hors d’oeuvres by Harold’s Chef Services. What a deal! Where would you find a fabulous concert and free nibbles for $20 or even $30? And believe me, the musicians are world- class. Your attendance also helps us fund our Music-in-the-Schools program, where the musicians perform at a local school on the day after the concert.
for two decades, and her eight albums are all hits. You will not forget her singing and her songs, so the critics insist. Taylor Eigsti from Menlo Park, CA, also has eight albums to his name. He has toured and recorded with dozens of luminaries like Dave Brubeck, Chris Botti, Joshua Redman, Sting, John Mayer, Esperanza Spalding, and Chick Corea. Taylor and Erin together are unforgettable, you will agree.
On November 12, the Robert Lewis Quartet, which is enjoying a growing presence in the jazz community of the American South, will, no doubt, leave its remarkable mark on us. Robert Lewis has been hailed the most talented saxophonist in South Carolina. He is also a multi-instrumentalist, composer, arranger, band leader and educator. He serves as the Director of Jazz Studies at the College of Charleston and leads the acclaimed Charleston Jazz Orchestra, assembles laudable musicians for his trios and quartets. We might be privileged to experience both the performer and the educator.
Our season starts Sunday, October 22 at 5:00 pm with singer/songwriter Erin Bode and Grammy-award-winning pianist and composer Taylor Eigsti. Erin, a Minnesota native, has been delighting audiences with her pure voice, impressive phrasing and jazzy style
Join us to welcome the New Year on January 7 with the intriguing Trio Encore. Judy Teehan, flute, Margaret Herlehy, oboe, and Dan Weiser, piano, will entertain us with what they described as follows: “Dancing rhythms and playful harmonics will bend and blend to create perfect sound! A carefully curated selection of well-loved classics and an introduction to new-found inspirations. Don’t miss this seasoned arsenal of award-winning musicians who bring the very best to each and every music performance!” I believe that you will come to agree with the music critic of the Newburyport Daily News, Massachusetts, who considered the combination of oboe and flute a “perfect blend.” You cannot miss the concert on February 25, when the world-renowned classical
pianist Svetlana Smolina will honor us with her aural pleasures. According to The Herald Tribune, she brings the “audience close to frenzy, just as Chopin did in his concerts.” And The Day claims she “gets the most extended standing ovations ever.” Svetlana has enjoyed these kinds of remarkable responses all over the world, whether playing solo or with prestigious orchestras. Needless to say she has won countless international competitions and awards. She will certainly win our admiration. Our season will be concluded on March 24 by the eclectic Afro-American ensemble named Roots Grown Deep under the stewardship of Joel Karabo Elliott, who, to quote from his website, is an “Amer-Afrikan composer” and “musical healer.” His concert promises to be a unique blend of guitar, voice,
winds, piano and percussion, a unique blend of American and South African musical compositions, a genre-defying, captivating international musical feast, unlike anything you have heard before, I am sure.
To become a member of the Fripp Island Friends of Music, visit www.frippfriendsof music.com, or contact our Membership Chair Vanessa Peñaherrera at (704) 807-0255 or vandy116@gmail.com. The Sunday concerts take place at 5:00 pm in the Community Center, 205 Tarpon Boulevard. Tickets at the door: adults $30, students free, thanks to the Peg Gorham Memorial Fund. You get a free pass through the Fripp Island Security Gate. And remember: You are invited to join the musicians at a complimentary catered reception after the performance. We hope to see you there.
The Coastal Discovery Museum is excited to announce the upcoming exhibition Intricate Oceans: Coral in Contemporary Art, opening September 23, 2023. Featuring work from seven contemporary artists who are deeply concerned with the health of the coral reefs, the exhibition will explore through their work the environmental pressures facing our oceans.
International in scope, the exhibition will highlight work from ceramicists Courtney Mattison and Lauren Shapiro (USA), textile artist Vanessa Barragão (Portugal), painter Lisa Tubach (USA), mixed media artist Stephanie Kilgast (France), and sculptors Ginger Ertz and Mara Lefebvre (USA). While the news surrounding climate change, pollution, and over-fishing is grim and the effect on coral reefs undeniable, these artists have not given up hope. Each artist has a unique vision, but they all use their art to advocate for the health of the ocean with the goal of inspiring a change in public awareness and support for conservation efforts. Several of the artists have backgrounds in marine biology and collaborate with scientists, merging the beauty of art with the observations of science.
The urgency of the issue has never been greater. While coral reefs only represent 2% of the total surface area of the ocean, their effect on the ocean ecosystem is far greater, providing food and shelter for 25% of all aquatic species, protecting shorelines from storms and surges, acting as filtration systems for surrounding waters, and supporting tourism. As Dr. Sylvia Earle notes, “Even if you never have the chance to see or touch the ocean, the ocean touches you with every breath you take, every drop of water you drink, every bite you consume. Everyone, everywhere is inextricably connected to and utterly dependent upon the existence of the sea.”
The exhibition is curated by Elizabeth Greenberg, Director of Exhibitions at the Coastal Discovery Museum. Coastal Discovery Museum is located at 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island. 843-689-6767 or www.coastal discovery.org
Opening Reception: Thursday, September 28 from 5-7pm.
Curator’s Tours: Tuesday, October 24 at 1pm; Saturday, December 2 at 1pm; Thursday, February 22 at 11am.
Crystal Coral Lamp by Lauren Shapiro, right Coastal Development by Stephanie Kilgast, center right Blue Coral by Ginger Ertz, bottom Bijous by Mara Lefebvre, below left Aqueduct by Courtney Mattison, below
Basil (Ocimum basilicum): Called the “royal herb” by ancient Greeks, this annual is a member of the mint family. Fresh basil has a pungent flavor that some describe as a cross between licorice and cloves. It is a key herb in Mediterranean cooking, essential to Italian pesto and is becoming more and more popular in American cuisine. Choose evenly colored leaves with no sign of wilting. Refrigerate basil, wrapped in barely damp paper towels in a plastic bag for up to 4 days. Basil has traditional uses as a digestive aid and an herbal tonic as well as being used in aromatherapy.
Iadore fresh basil. Luckily for Vince and me, we have an abundance growing in our back yard. Uncooked fresh basil adds a unique flavor to all kinds of salads, sandwiches and pastas. It’s the perfect summertime herb. As long as you have access to a good sunny spot, growing basil is something that everyone can do. More importantly, I think that it’s something everyone should do, especially if you enjoy cooking. Buying those small containers of herbs from the grocery store is far more expensive than growing your own. I’ve found that when I have basil, mint and chives right outside my back door, I toss them onto everything. Growing herbs has become my go-to strategy for making easy meals into elevated ones – a handful of fresh herbs can transform a simple supper into something bright, flavorful and delicious. If you’re one of my loyal readers, you know that I load my LCW column with salad recipes in the summertime. Hot weather calls for cool and refreshing foods. Add a protein and some crusty bread to any of these basil-kissed salads and you’ll have a complete meal. If salads aren’t your thing, please stay tuned anyway. In just a few weeks we’ll be talking about pumpkins and tailgating. Happy Summer!
For the vinaigrette:
¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil
¼ cup white balsamic vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon honey
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Refrigerate any leftovers.
For the salad:
4 cups spring mix
3 medium peaches, cut into slices
20 grape tomatoes, halved
8 ounces fresh mozzarella pearls
¼ cup fresh basil, julienned
¼ cup sliced almonds, toasted
Place salad greens in a large bowl. Add peaches, tomatoes, mozzarella pearls, fresh basil and toasted almonds. Drizzle with vinaigrette. Serves 4.
For the basil vinaigrette:
¼ cup basil-infused olive oil
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon honey, or to taste
Salt and pepper, to taste
Mix all ingredients in a small jar with a tightfitting lid and shake to combine. Refrigerate any leftovers.
For the salad: Mixed salad greens
Fresh basil leaves
3 ears grilled corn, removed from the cobs
By Debbi Covington
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix all ingredients in a small jar with a tight-fitting lid. Shake to combine. Refrigerate any leftovers.
For the salad:
6 cups mixed salad greens
½ cup fresh basil leaves
1 cup red seedless grapes, halved
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 (8-ounce) goat cheese, crumbled
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cup grape tomatoes, quartered
½ cup crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons finely chopped red onion
4 tablespoons salted pistachios
Place salad greens and basil leaves in individual salad bowls. Drizzle each serving with a bit of the basil vinaigrette. In a medium bowl, toss corn with blueberries, tomatoes, feta cheese, red onion and vinaigrette. Divide corn mixture evenly over greens in each salad bowl. Toss with pistachios before serving. Serves 4.
For the vinaigrette:
2 tablespoons champagne vinegar
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
6 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup roughly chopped walnuts, toasted Place greens in a large salad bowl. Add basil leaves and toss to combine. Add grape halves, blueberries, goat cheese and walnuts. Drizzle with champagne vinaigrette. Serves 4 to 6.
Frederick + Frederick Architects, Beaufort, SC has been named a winner of the 8th Annual Kitchen & Bath Design Award Contest. Frederick + Frederick Architects won a silver award in the best kitchen category for the contemporary dogtrot project.
Nominees are kitchen and bath specialists from across the country and entries are judged on aesthetic appeal, handling of unusual situations/challenges, attention to detail, functionality of space, originality, selection of color and finishes and overall impression of the project.
The judges’ comments were “I love the open vibe, and the eclectic mix of styles and materials have such a beautiful balance.
Stunning Kitchen!
Bravo!”
Sponsored by Kitchen & Bath Design News magazine, the Kitchen & Bath Design Awards is a national contest recognizing outstanding achievement in project design and construction in 11 categories. For more information, visit Kitchen and Bath Design.
Founded nearly four decades ago, Kitchen & Bath Design News magazine is the only monthly magazine serving the kitchen and bath industry. The magazine is published by SOLA Group, Inc., and serves an audience of more than 45,000 professionals engaged in the design, construction and remodeling of kitchens and baths. Additional information on the Kitchen & Bath Design Awards can be found in the August issue of Kitchen & Bath Design News and at www.kitchenbathdesign.com
The nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center will host an evening with Amy Paige Condon, author of A Nervous Man Shouldn't Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs, newly released in paperback by the University of Georgia Press. This free event will be held on Tuesday, August 22, at 5:00 p.m., at the Conroy Center (601 Bladen St., Beaufort). Books will be available for sale and signing. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
About A Nervous Man Shouldn't Be Here in the First Place
"This is not a simple life, my friend, and there are no simple answers." The late editor of the late Miami News, Bill Baggs, stamped these words on plain white postcards and sent them to readers who sent him hate mail a frequent occurrence, as Baggs, a white editor of a prominent southern newspaper, championed unpopular ideas in his front-page columns, such as protecting the environment, desegregating public schools, and peace in Vietnam.
Under his leadership, the Miami News earned three Pulitzer Prizes. For his stances, Baggs earned a bullet hole through his office window, police officers stationed outside his home, and a used Mercedes outfitted with a remote starter so that if it had been rigged with a bomb, it would blow up before he opened the door. Despite his causes and accomplishments, when Baggs died of pneumonia in 1969 at the age of forty-five, his story nearly died with him, and that would
have been a travesty because Baggs still has so much to teach us about how to find the answers to those not-so-simple questions, like how to live in peace with one another.
In this first biography of this influential editor, Amy Paige Condon retraces how an orphaned boy from rural Colquitt, Georgia, bore witness and impacted some of the twentieth century’s most earth-shifting events: World War II, the civil rights movement, the Cuban Missile Crisis, and the Vietnam War. With keen intellect and sparkling wit, Baggs seemed to be in the right place at the right time. From bombardier to reporter then accidental diplomat, Baggs used his daily column as a bully pulpit for social justice and wielded his pen like a scalpel to reveal the truth.
“The marquee proclaiming the most celebrated journalists of the twentieth century probably wouldn’t include Bill Baggs. But ask everyone listed on the marquee who’s missing. By unanimous consent, they’d say Bill Baggs, the daring, fearless, ‘rapscallion’ editor of the Miami News. Why? Because as Amy Paige Condon so masterfully reveals, Baggs led them on race, Vietnam, the environment, historic preservation, land conservation, and the liberal conversation we’re still having today. This is a necessary resurrection of a departed journalist
worth celebrating.” – Hank Klibanoff, Pulitzer Prize–winning coauthor of The Race Beat: The Press, the Civil Rights Struggle, and the Awakening of a Nation.
Amy Paige Condon is the founder of the Refinery Writing Studio and associate editor of Beacon, a quarterly news magazine published by the Savannah Morning News. She is coauthor of Wiley's Championship BBQ Cookbook and The Back in the Day Bakery Cookbook. Learn more about the Pat Conroy Literary Center at www.patconroyliterarycenter.org
Tuesday - Sunday 11am-4pm
John Kenney
Now ~ August 26
913 Bay Street • 843.521.4444 www.beaufortartassociation.com
The biggest frustration that I encountered when I moved to the Lowcountry was trying to find a garden book that was specifically written for our unusual conditions. I bought a book on Gardening in the Carolinas . Imagine my surprise when it was basically the same book as Gardening in Ohio and Gardening in New England with a few things like a Palmetto and a Crepe Myrtle added. Most of what was written about were things that we cannot even dream to grow in this locale like lilacs and peonies. Maybe these plants can survive in the northern part of the state, but certainly not here. We have a little thing called a heat index and our heat zone is 9A. Sure, we get frosts and freezes, but our heat and humidity in the Lowcountry can challenge anyone’s gardening skills.
During the boredom of the Covid lockdown, I went online and entertained myself by taking the Royal Horticultural Society Level II Certification course from Britain. It was challenging, with lectures and homework graded by an expert. My tutor found my answers very amusing, especially when we had a class on gardening for wildlife. Instead of writing about how to build a habitat for hedgehogs, I wrote about keeping armadillos out of my garden as well as the morning I found an alligator in my front yard enjoying the sunrise. It was suggested that I should start a blog about gardening in my region. Thanks to prodding by Dr. Noel Kingsbury, who has written more garden books than I have room for in my office, my blog, The Comya Gardener, was born.
I had always loved the Gullah expressions for newcomers and old-time residents –comyas are newcomers and binyas are people who have been here for quite a while. It just sounds right! I had written my blog for nearly three years when I broke my foot while watching the Olympics. How can anyone break their foot while watching TV? I was not snowboarding or skating. In reality, I was watching curling (yawn) and my foot fell asleep. When I got up, it turned under and snapped. Ouch. It was then February and prime gardening season was about to begin. My doctor did not want me to hop around in the garden with a boot on my foot. What to do? I decided to write a gardening book just for the Lowcountry. No peonies, no lilacs, and with full attention paid to our unique conditions of heat and humidity.
Because I wanted photographs of my garden throughout the gardening year, it took a year to get the shots. I was fortunate in being able to work with an award-winning photographer, Joan Eckhardt, and an extremely talented graphic designer, Jan Hubbard. Then I had to find a printer. I did not want to be under the control of a publisher. I had written textbooks for years and was tired of writing under such constraints as textbook
adoption committees in states as varied as New York, California, Texas, and Florida. I wanted this book to be about my personal journey as a northerner gardening in southern conditions for the first time. I also wanted to save gardeners new to the area from the frustrations, trials, and errors that I had endured and to give practical advice learned from my successes and failures as well as from the many courses I had taken from Clemson University, the RHS, and other sources. My graphic designer found a topnotch printer in Atlanta and my book, Lowcountry Gardening for Newcomers: How to Succeed as a Comya Gardener, became a reality.
Last March, 16 boxes containing 500 copies of my book arrived. It was just what I wanted – a book showing the possibilities for Lowcountry gardening, but not too preachy or serious. Gardening is supposed to be fun and relaxing. I tried to write with a sense of humor,
By Wendy Hilty
for example titling chapters “Shrubs- Why Are They Eating My House?” and “I Have Killed More Things Than Most People Plant.” Is the book what I wanted? Absolutely. Of course, without a publisher or Amazon to back my sales, it has been largely sold through word of mouth and at various gardening events. The books have also been selling locally at garden centers and slowly, but surely the boxes are getting emptied.
I am not making a profit on the books, but just wish to recover the printing costs. I view the book as gift to all those gardeners who have helped me along the way and given me encouragement when I have tossed yet another dead plant on the compost heap. Gardening, like growing old, is not for sissies, but the rewards outweigh the perils. I hope that you are having fun in your garden although at this time of the year, it might be best to work in the very early morning hours or wait for our autumn cool down.
Wendy Hilty is a Master Gardener and member of the Lowcountry Master Gardeners organization. She is also a member of the Royal Horticultural Society and likes to spend her time attempting to grow an English Cottage Garden in our heat and humidity. Her Comyagardener blog won a state-wide award from Clemson University last year. Wendy firmly believes that the most important tool for a gardener is a good sense of humor.
ITALY: Tuscany townhouse for rent by the week in historic UNESCO village. Sleeps 4, large furnished garden, easy walk to shops and excellent restaurants. www.cozyholidayrentals. com or 401-862-2377.
FURNISHED LUXURY APT In the heart of downtown Beaufort. 2BR, 2BA, W/D, Housewares. Please call 843-812-4229.
BEAUFORT COUNTY LIBRARY ONGOING PROGRAMS & CLASSES Knitting/Crochet Club 1st Tuesdays @ 2:30; Line Dance Class 1st & 3rd Thursdays @ 3:30; Basic Computer Skills Class Wednesdays @ 9; Hoopla Class 2nd Mondays @ 10 and 4th Wednesdays @ 4; Escape Quest Games daily during library hours; Dungeon & Dragons Teen Club Mondays @ 4; Teen Art Club 1st & 3rd Tuesdays @ 4; Teen Anime Club 2nd & 4th Tuesdays @ 4; Teen Gaming Club 1st & 3rd Wednesdays @ 4
FRIDAY SOCIAL DANCES The Hilton Head Carolina Shag Club hosts Friday dances from 6-9:30 pm at Dolphin Head Golf Club, 59 High Bluff Rd, Hilton Head Plantation. Open to the public. Shag, ballroom, swing, country, or line. Singles welcome. Cash bar and light dinners available. $5 floor fee. HHICSC also teaches beginner Shag lessons Tuesday nights. www.hiltonheadshagclub.com , or www.facebook.com/HHICSC
ART LEAGUE OF HH CLASSES & WORKSHOPS With over 25 local professional art educators, and guests from around the world, Art League of Hilton Head offers classes and workshops in all media for all levels of students. Visit www.artleaguehhi. org or email academy@artleaguehhi.org for more info.
POTTERY CLASSES IN BEAUFORT McSweeney Clay Studio is offering morning, afternoon and evening classes for children and adults. Pottery dates and parties available as well. Classes are on going. Beginner or advanced welcome. mcsweeneyclaystudio.com or call 843-694-2049.
LOWCOUNTRY SHAGGERS Mondays at the Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd. 6-9pm. Carolina Shag Lessons with Tommy & Sheri O'Brien and others. Occasional Ballroom Dance and once a month a Line Dance is taught. Beginner, Intermediate and Advanced lessons. Beginner classes in Jan., Mar, May, and Sep. Open dancing after lessons. Visit www.lowcountryshaggers.com or lowcountryshaggers@aol.com
WEDNESDAYS, BEAUFORT SHAG CLUB meets evenings at AMVETS, 1831 Ribaut Rd., Port Royal from 7-9pm, and the 2nd Sat. of the month 7-10pm. Free lessons to members Sep. to June. Visit The Beaufort Shag Club on Facebook
MAYE RIVER QUILTERS meets 1st Saturday of Every Month, at Palmetto Electric Cooperative, 1 Cooperative Way, Hardeeville. Members meet at 9:30am for social exchange. The meeting starts at 10 am. We welcome new members. Please call 843-707-6034.
WILDFLOWER FAMILY THERAPY CENTER offers individual, couple, and family therapy for children, teens, and adults. Visit us at www. wildflowercenter.org
EVERY 2ND TUESDAY, SHAR-
ING HEARTS SUPPORT GROUP Come tell your 10-minute story of a life lesson or healing message using your own creative expression through song, poetry, reading, art or verbal storytelling. Come away with an uplifting sense of support and connections or to just listen. To register leave voice mail with name, and phone number at 843525-6115 or email reneesutton@healthierhealing. com. Notification will be done of any location change. Free. 2201 Boundary St. #208, Beaufort.
CARIS HEALTHCARE: WE HONOR VETERANS Hospice Program. You a Vet with a little time to share with other Vets with limited time? The We Honor Veterans program seeks volunteers who are Vets to offer a listening ear for our Veteran patients. Volunteers also participate in our Pinning Ceremonies for Veteran patients. Contact 843-473-3939 or smilliken@carishealthcare.com
SPIRITUAL COMMUNITY: Non-denominational meditation, silent prayer and healing group forming in the Beaufort area. All are welcome. No previous meditation experience needed. Please call Michael at 843-489-8525
HABITAT RESTORE NEEDS VOLUNTEERS
We're looking for volunteers for cashiers, sales floor associates, donation processing, donor data entry, and donor ambassadors. Interested? Go to lowcountryhabitat.org/volunteer or call 843-525-0055.
KARAOKE AT THE MOOSE Sing with us Thursday evenings at The Moose Lodge, 350 Broad River Blvd. 7:30-10:30pm. Brought to you by #top6entertainment Mardi & Dennis Topcik. The Moose is a family friendly place and Thursdays are also Pizza Night!
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for Calhoun Station
Thrift Store in Bluffton. All funds generated are returned to other nonprofits in the community. Store is open Wed & Sat 10am to 1pm and located at 77 Pritchard St. Volunteers can stop by store or contact Cate Taylor, 843-310-0594 or catetaylor@frontier.com
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for HELP of Beaufort, 1810 Ribaut Road. Looking for committed volunteers for clothes sorting, pantry help, front desk help and Mobile Meals drivers. We are open M-F from 9:30-12:30, Mobile Meals delivers to home bound seniors 5 days/ week, routes takes about 30-45 mins. Email Lori at helpbeaufort@gmail.com, or call 843-524-1223, or stop in and fill out an application.
PORT ROYAL MUSEUM is open Thursday through Sunday at 1634 Paris Ave., from 10 - 3 or upon request. Free admission! Call 843-524-4333 or email historicportroyalfoundation@gmail.com to request a special opening.
PARKINSON’S SUPPORT GROUP - First Thursday of the month at Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Center, from 1:30-2:45pm, 900 Ribaut Rd. Beaufort. We are individuals with Parkinson’s care partners of those with Parkinson’s, and individuals or companies providing products or services for Parkinson’s patients. For more info: Rick Ostrander at pdawaresc@ gmail.com or Facebook at Parkinson’s Support Group Of Beaufort SC Port Royal & Lady’s Island.
TOUR HISTORIC FORT FREMONT—-Travel to the 1800's and the Spanish American War. From 10:00 am until 2:00 pm every Friday and every Saturday from 10:00 until 4:00pm at the Fort Fremont
History Center at the Fort Fremont Preserve, 1124 Land's End Road, St. Helena Island is open. Docent-led tours are every Saturday at 11:00 am and 1:00 pm. Visitors to Fort Fremont can learn about the fort's history by reading interpretive panels, taking a self-guided tour with a smart phone, visiting the history center exhibit hall, or attending a docent-led tour of the property. The Preserve is open to the public Monday through Sunday from dawn to dusk. For more Information visit www. forttremont.org or contact Passive Parks manager Stefanie Nagid at snagid@bcgov.net
US COAST GUARD AUXILIARY, Flotilla 07-10-01, Port Royal Sound, a uniformed, all volunteer component of the U.S. Coast Guard. We conduct safety patrols, assist search & rescue, teach boat safety, conduct free vessel safety checks and other boating activities. Monthly meetings are open to all and held on the 2nd Tuesday of the month at the Port Royal Sound Foundation classroom at 7pm. For info call Flotilla Commander Pattie McGowan (706-633-6192) and visit us on Facebook - USCGA Beaufort.
BEAUFORT TOASTMASTERS CLUB meets from 5:30 pm - 6:45 pm the first & third Tuesday, in the Beaufort College Building, Rm. 103 (USC-Beaufort Campus), 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort. To learn more visit www.beauforttoastmastersclub.org
FREE ACUPUNCTURE FOR VETERANS – Veterans, Active Duty, Transition. Their Families and First Responders are Eligible. First & Third Wednesday 4 - 6pm. Walk In Clinic. No Need to Pre-Register or Call. Nourishing Health Acupuncture and Herbs Clinic. 1214 Prince Street, Downtown Beaufort
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for a few hours each week at St. Francis Thrift Shop. Open Tuesday thru Saturday. Call 843-689-6563 or come in to speak with Mr. Hal. Definitely shop.
COMMUNITY ACUPUNCTURE Safe & effective centuries old healing system treats and prevents a wide range of health-related conditions. Experience individualized treatment in a peaceful group setting. Sliding scale fee. Beaufort Acupuncture, 12 Fairfield Rd, 5B, Lady’s Island. For info and to schedule: (843) 694-0050 or www. BeaufortAcupuncture.com
SECOND HELPINGS seeking Day Captains and other volunteers to crew our trucks distributing food to local charities. Flexible schedule at your convenience. Email officeadmin@secondhelpingslc.org
AGAPE HOSPICE seeks volunteers to spend time bringing joy to our patients and families during a difficult time. Activities include playing music, baking, arts and crafts, pet therapy, manicures, listening to stories, holding hands, etc. Provide companionship to the elderly who often feel lonely and unappreciated. Contact Ashlee Powers at 843592-8453 or apowers@agapehospice.com
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED for HELP of Beaufort. Come join the team providing food, mobile meals, clothing and emergency financial assistance to those in need in our community. Open Mon-Fri 9:30-12:30. 2 Ice House Rd., Beaufort. Call or email Jennifer 843-524-1223 or info@helpofbeaufort.org
TIDEWATER HOSPICE SUPPORT GROUP: Last Wed. and Thurs. of the month. Weds. 10-11am at Sun City; Thurs. 12-1pm Brookdale Hilton Head Ct., Hilton Head; for those who provide physical, emotional or practical support to a family member or friend. Jodi Johnson, LMSW. Bereavement Group: 5-6 pm., Thursdays, 10 Buckingham Plantation Drive, Suite A, Bluffton; for those who have experienced a loss and would like support and info associated with grief and bereavement. Corrie VanDyke, LMSW or Marie James, MA. 843-757-9388
INTERESTED IN HEALTHY EATING? Second Helpings, of Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties, seeks committee members and chairperson for Healthy Food Program. Funding available to procure fresh produce and protein for the 60 food pantries and soup kitchens served by Second Helpings. Contact Exec. Dir. Lili Coleman, 843-689-3616 or execdirector@secondhelpingslc.org
BORN TO READ working for early childhood literacy, needs volunteers to deliver books and materials to new mothers at Coastal Community Hosp., HH Hosp., and BMH. Visits are from 10am – noon. More info at borntoread.org or call 843-379-3350.
ALZHEIMER’S FAMILY SERVICES OF GREATER BEAUFORT, Support Groups: Caregiver - Weds., 12:30pm, Senior Services of Beaufort, 1408 Paris Ave., Port Royal; Living with Alzheimer's - for those in very early stages - Mondays 1pm, Parsons Parlor, Carteret Street Methodist Church, 408 Carteret, Beaufort. Respite Programs: Social Day Program- 10am-1:45pm $40 Day Fee, Mon. at Cornerstone Christian Church, 2301 First Blvd., Beaufort, Weds. & Friday at Carteret Street Methodist Church, 408 Carteret St., Beaufort; In Home - Respite Aides available for 2 hr. minimum, $12$24. Early Memory Loss: Maintain Your Brain - 2nd & 4th Thursday, 10-11:30am, $10/person, $15 couple, Carteret Street Methodist Church, 408 Carteret St., Beaufort; Memory Screenings available call 843-5219190, free; Purple Haven Project - Educate local establishment staff to better interact with a person with Alzheimer's call 843-521-9190.
THRESHOLD SINGERS OF THE LOWCOUNTRY A choir to ease and comfort people at bedside by offering gentle voices and sacred songs, with sincere kindness. Two to four singers go to bedside when asked and sing a cappella and in harmony. Practice at St. John's Lutheran Church the 2nd & 4th Sundays of the month from 2:30-4:00 pm. Our songs are our gift of service for no charge. Call Pat Keown at 843-4766073 to either join or ask us to sing for a loved one.
THE LITERACY CENTER is seeking volunteers to tutor adults in reading, writing, math and ESL. Students hope to acquire skills to pursue life goals, support families, and contribute to our community. Daytime and evenings in Bluffton and HHI. Call 843815-6616 (Bluffton); 843-681-6655 (HHI). No teaching, tutoring or other language knowledge necessary. www.theliteracycenter.org
THE SANDALWOOD COMMUNITY FOOD PANTRY. Volunteer-based, non-profit provides groceries, clothing and basic needs items to ANYONE in need. Open Tues & Fri 11:30am-1pm at 114 Beach City Rd., Hilton Head. Donations of food and funds needed. For info: Rev. Dr. Nannette Pierson at 843715-3583 or email sandalwoodpantry@gmail.com
PARRIS ISLAND MUSEUM. The legacy of the Marine Corps and the history of the Port Royal region. Thousands of artifacts, images, and other materials illustrate the stories in exhibit galleries from Native American to modern Marines. FREE admission. Mon-Sat 10am4:30pm and 8am on Family Graduation Days. Closed all Federal Holidays. Info at parrisislandmuseum.org or 843-228-2166.
MEDICAL SERVICES OF AMERICA SEEKS VOLUN-
TEERS - Volunteers needed for companionship or skills like yard work, music, and crafts to patients and their families or assist in the office with admin tasks. Volunteers needed in Beaufort, Hampton, and Jasper counties. For info contact 843-322-0063.
CHRIST CENTERED RECOVERY MEETINGS Join Shell Point Baptist Church Saturdays for “Celebrate Recovery”, addressing life’s problems and looking to scripture for solutions. Meal at 6pm; Praise and Worship at 6:30pm followed by Small Groups at 7:15pm. 871 Parris Island Gateway, Beaufort. Info at 843-592-1046.
ately, for reasons that are clearly self-serving, I’ve come to believe that persons over age 65 should be allowed at least one good rant every calendar month. Doing so enables one to keep one’s status as a bona fide curmudgeon.
Want to know what my rant for this month is? If your answer is, “Absolutely!” then read on.
Being an aging baby boomer, I can admit without embarrassment that I watch the PBS NewsHour. Ever since the years of MacNeil and Lehrer, I’ve liked the program because, rather than simply lay out issues, its moderators interview people who are informed and have sufficient command of English to speak clearly, without falling back on the linguistic fluff that creeps into everyday speech. As late as 2009, the National Association of Media Literacy Education honored the NewsHour with its highest award. But that was then. (Here begins the rant.)
These days, on the NewsHour that is paid for by viewers like me (as they remind me
at the start of every show), people being interviewed and even some reporters use the same annoying words and speech patterns that once were reserved for Valley Girls, middle schoolers, and professional athletes. It is rare these days for interviewees to answer questions with a simple “Yes.” Instead, they respond, “Absolutely!” and then follow with “so,” to begin what comes off as a prepared discourse. And I’ve stopped counting the number of interviewees who interject the questioning tic “right?” at various points in their run-on sentences, as if asking the listener to agree with or affirm whatever they might be carrying on about without giving the listener the opportunity to confirm or deny the implication. It’s a slightly more sophisticated version of the “Know’m sayin’?” that J- Roc interjects into every sentence he utters on the Canadian television show, Trailer Park Boys. (Kind readers will ignore the incongruity of my watching both the NewsHour and Trailer Park Boys.)
Besides these tics, certain words and patterns of speech used commonly these days get so deeply under my skin that I scratch it raw. How many otherwise reasonable people use such terms as “incredible” or “amazing” to describe events or efforts that are entirely believable or hardly likely to fill one with astonishment?
“He put an incredible move on the cornerback to get free in the end zone,” says the ever-shilling NFL announcer, when all the receiver did was fake left and go right. And baseball players can’t just be “fast” anymore. They “have good foot speed.”
To no one’s surprise, politicians are the worst at this sort of thing. When asked a direct question, many of their ilk respond, “Well, first let me say . . . ,” and then proceed to talk at length about a subject they prefer. In my mind, they do this under the apprehension that if they pause for more than an eighth of a second, they may be asked an embarrassing question for which they will have to come up with an evident dodge. Lately on the NewsHour , when politicians get going into a “first-let-me-say” response, one can hear the ever-too-polite moderator struggling to interject a word. I’m forever wishing the program’s producers would wire the little buds placed in interviewees’ ears so that the moderator could, with the simple push of a button, administer a mild electronic shock, jolting the person into shutting up and allowing an interruption. If I were the moderator, I suspect I would tap the button frequently, but maybe that’s just me.
At times, I’ve even wondered if it’s in politicians’ job description to use many more words than needed when speaking publicly. (Who my age doesn’t remember
By Donald WrightRichard Nixon’s famous standard response, “Well, let me say this about that,” enabling him time to think of an answer that listeners might not judge as, well, incredible?) Extra words inserted willy-nilly into a response can effectively leave no time for questions over inconsistencies or half-truths. It is my current inclination to distrust anyone who says “each and every,” as in, “I wish to sincerely thank each and every one of you involved in this important and laborious effort.” “Thanks” works fine for me. Whew! It’s good to get some of this off my chest. Not sure what I’ve left for next month’s rant, know’m sayin’? It’s a toss-up at the moment between excessive use of exclamation marks (I draw the line at seven per sentence or nineteen per page), use of the passive voice to dodge responsibility (“Mistakes were made” rather than “I screwed up”), and overwrought academic jargon, which is something, to quote the late Winston Churchill, “up with which I will not put.”
Donald Wright retired from SUNY-Cortland after 31 years as a professor of African history. He has authored of half a dozen books, held Fulbright, Rockefeller Foundation, and NEH Fellowships, and lectured in South Africa, China, and cruises along Africa's Atlantic coast. He lives with his wife, Doris, in Beaufort.
Foolish Frog, 846 Sea Island Pkwy, St. Helena Island. (843) 838-9300 or Facebook
Luther’s Rare & Well Done, 910 Bay Street. (843) 521-1888 or www.luthersrareandwelldone.com
Q on Bay, 822 Bay St, Beaufort. (843) 524-7771 or www.qonbay.com
Rosie O’Gradys Irish Pub, in Beaufort Town Center. Irish American Sports Pub & Eatery. C'mon down! Rock & Roll Lunch. Mondays-25% off Burgers! Tuesdays-25% off Philly Cheese Steaks! Wednesdays-25% off Fish & Chips! Wednesdays, Friday & Saturday - Karaoke. (843) 379-7676 or Rosie's on Facebook.
Saltus River Grill, 802 Bay St, Beaufort. (843) 3793474 or www.saltusrivergrill.com
Big Bamboo, Coligny Plaza. (843) 686-3443 or www.bigbamboocafe.com
Captain Woody’s, 6 Target Rd., Hilton Head or 17 State of Mind St., Bluffton. www.captainwoodys.com
The Jazz Corner, Village at Wexf1ord, Hilton Head. Sundays - Deas Guyz; Mondays - A Journey Through Jazz with The Martin Lesch Band; Tuesdays - Fat Tuesdays: A Swingin' Celebration of New Orleans and Beyond; Thursdays - Lavon Stevens with Louise Spencer. 8/16 Lavon Stevens with Quiana Parler, 8/18 & 8/19 Guitarist Jocelyn Gould, 8/23 Bobby Ryder, 8/25 & 8/26 The Ben Wolf Trio, 8/30 Lavon Stevens with Quiana Parler, 9/1 & 9/2 John Brackett Band. (843) 8428620 or www.TheJazzCorner.com
Omni Hilton Head Ocean Front in Palmetto Dunes. Buoy Bar - HH Prime - (843) 842-8000 or www.omnihotels.com
The Music Farm, 32 Ann Street, Charleston. 8/17 Return of Disco Hell - Disco DJ dance party, 8/18 Country Clubbin' - Country music dance party, 8/19 Hardwired - Metallica tribute, 8/20 Jai Wolf; DeVaults; Tsu Nami, 8/21 Harry Potter Trivia - The Deathly Hallows; Trolls in the
Dungeon - Wizard & Witch dance party, 8/22 Business & Brews, 8/23 Pablo Cruise, 8/24 AJJ; Open Mike Eagle; Sad Park; Foot Ox, 8/25 Battle of Charleston with Enrage & Lithium - RATM & Nirvana tribute, 8/26 Dance Lab: Y2Slay, 8/29
Shane Barrett, 8/31 Majic Dust; Godwin Falcon; Tiger Beach, 9/1 Fo Daniels; The Simplicity; Deaf Andrews, 9/2 Big Bubble Rave. (843) 4081599 or www.musicfarm.com
The Pour House, 1977 Maybank Hwy, Charleston. Sundays - The Motown Throwdown, Mondays - Slim & Friends; Tuesdays - Fusion Jonez, Wednesdays - Grateful Dead Wednesday with The Reckoning; Thursdays - iLLA ZiLLA. 8/16
Charleston the Band, 8/17 Jazz is Led - Jazz Led Zeppelin, 8/18 Cosmic Charlie - Grateful Dead tribute, 8/19 Extra Chill Fest with Nordista Freeze; She Returns From War; Omiwimo; Baby Yaga, 8/23 Shadowgrass, 8/24 A Night of JJ Cale, 8/25 & 8/26 6th Annual Everyone Orchestra Weekend, 8/27 Josh Meloy, 8/31 Broken Speakers, 9/1 Love & Happiness - Al Green tribute, 8/2 The Travelin' Kine; Josh Roberts & the Hinges, 8/3 Dangermuffin. (843) 571-4343 or www.charlestonpourhouse.com
Windjammer, 1008 Ocean Blvd, Isle of Palms. 8/18 Getaway Bronco, 8/19 Matisyahu; G. Love & Special Sauce; Cydeways, 8/25 Cowboy Mouth, 8/25 Rock the '90s, 8/26 & 8/27 Sister Hazel, 8/26 Whiskey Run, 8/27 Larry Fleet, 9/1 49 Winchester, 9/2 Conner Smith, 9/3 Broken Hearts - Tom Petty tribute. (843) 886-8596 or www.the-windjammer.com
Through the Microscope, an exhibition of the 20 prize-winning images from the 2022 Nikon Small World Competition. Free and open to the public at Coastal Discovery Museum, 70 Honey Horn Dr, Hilton Head. www.coastaldiscovery.org
Now – 8/30, Simply Sea Islands, an exhibit of work by John Kenney at the Beaufort Art Association Gallery. www.beaufortartassociation.com
Now – 9/1, Abstract View, an exhibit of work by teenage artist Ellie Hicks at Hilton Head Island Recreation Center, 20 Wilburn Road, Hilton Head.
Now – 9/3, Myriad of Visual Expressions, an exhibit of art work by Haldora at the Society of Bluffton Artists Gallery. Corner of Church and Calhoun Streets in Old Town Bluffton. www.sobagallery.com
Now – 2/10/24, Anonymous Ancestors at Morris Center in Ridgeland. Artist Susan Lenz uses hundreds of anonymous vintage photographs, letters, and printed materials to form a societal family tree. www.morrisheritagecenter.org
8/29 – 9/29, Below the Surface at Art League Gallery. Acrylic and charcoal paintings of underwater environments by Judy Blahut. Inside Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 14 Shelter Cove Lane, Hilton Head Island, 843-681-5060.
9/23 – 3/24, Intimate Oceans: Coral in Contemporary Art at Coastal Discovery Museum on Hilton Head. 70 Honey Horn Drive, Hilton Head Island. 843-689-6767 www.coastaldiscovery.org
Tues 8/22, An evening with Amy Paige Condon, author of A Nervous Man Shouldn't Be Here in the First Place: The Life of Bill Baggs at the Pat Conroy Literary Center. FREE and open to the public at 5 pm. 601 Bladen St, Beaufort. Books available for sale and signing. Please call to reserve your seat in advance: 843-379-7025.
ism & Birding Festival. For tickets and a complete schedule of events, visit https:// birdingbeaufort.com/tours/
First Saturday of the Month, Teddy Bear Picnic Read-Aloud at Port Royal Farmers Market. DAYLO students and other volunteers will read to young children between 9am and noon. Children are encouraged to bring their favorite stuffed animal.
Tuesdays, Tours of Hunting Island sponsored by Friends of Hunting Island Keeper Ted and his team. For info call the Nature Center at 843-838-7437. Tours free are and park entry fees apply.
Second Friday, Beaufort Drum Circle 2nd Friday of every month. No experience necessary. All are welcome. Bring a chair and drum or other percussive device. If you don't have one, we have a bunch of extras. Facilitator Eric Roy will lead us in traditional rhythms and others 6:30 –8pm, under the Gazebo in Waterfront Park. For more information visit beaufortscdrumcircle@ gmail.com and check our Facebook page.
Third Thursday, TECHconnect is a monthly networking event for professionals working in and around technology. Come and join on the for the conversation at BASEcamp 500 Carteret 5:30-7:30pm. 843-470-3506. www. beaufortdigital.com
Thursdays, History Tours of Fort Mitchell by the Heritage Library, 10am. $12/Adult $7/Child. 843-686-6560
Ongoing, Beaufort Tree Walk sponsored by the Lady’s Island Garden Club. Meander through the historic Old Point neighborhood, enjoying some unique and noteworthy trees. The “walk” takes about an hour and is a little over a mile, starting at the corner of Craven & Carteret Streets and ending in Waterfront Park. Booklets with a map and info about each tree available FREE at the Visitors Center in the historic Arsenal on Craven Street.
Editors Note: Events listed here may be subject to postponement or cancellation. Please check for further information.
Now – 8/20, Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Vallie & The Four Seasons. The Tony Award winning musical sensation comes to the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, 14 Shelter Cove, Hilton Head. For more information and tickets, visit www.artshhi.com
Now – 8/20. A Stunning World Seen
Sat 9/30, 7th Annual Book Club Convention hosted by the Pat Conroy Literary Center at the Culinary Institute of the South at the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Bluffton, SC. For a full schedule of events, visit www.patconroyliterarycenter.org Register in advance at https://lowcountrybookclubconvention2023.eventbrite.com
Tuesdays, 8/22, & 9/5, Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra’s Jazz in the Park series. At 7:30 pm in Lowcountry Celebration Park. These concerts are free and open to the public. For more information, visit hhso.org or call 843-842-2055.
