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Grace to Gephyrophobiacs
The view from the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel Did you know that God lowered a bridge for me? And not just any bridge, either. It was a 17 mile expanse across the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay. A bridge...
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It Takes a Foul-Mouthed Village
Last night, Baltimore fans showed how to end the stalemate over the NFL referee strike. Until now, the NFL has had little incentive to negotiate with the referees because there’s no financial...
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George Washington Stepped Here First
It was just a little sign but it caught my attention. “George Washington Birthplace Monument →.” Since my first mystery is George Washington Stepped Here, I thought it would be cool to see the place...
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Gambling for Tupperware
Tupperware® is an icon of American suburbia and the Tupperware Party as classic as Jello® salad. But I had never been to a Tupperware party. So when a friend handed me an invitation, I eagerly...
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Witches where you don’t expect them
I’ve found witchcraft in some pretty unexpected places, so in honor of All Hallow’s Eve, I thought I’d share a few. They’re in the Bible, for starters. Although the Lord tells Moses in Deuteronomy that...
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Really Bad Table Manners
My new story “Change of Address” features some terrible table manners and that inspired me to research the whole concept of manners and how they change. So for the rest of the month, Living History...
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Sterling silver solecism
I was all set to delve back into manners with a discussion of proper nose-picking etiquette in the 16th Century, but then real life interrupted. Sort of. I’m getting ready for Thanksgiving and that...
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Farewell to vinyl frosting
No more Twinkies? No more HoHos? No more “dot bread?” Oh no! What is childhood without Hostess? When I heard that the company that makes those iconic treats was going out of business, I felt an...
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Handling the Gross Stuff
In the first article about really bad manners, we learned that you should not throw bones on the floor or scratch yourself in rude places, but no one’s going to throw a fuss if you belch. But is it...
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How to Hold Your Face
Last week we learned from our 16th Century manners expert Erasmus that the well-mannered should keep their noses “free from any filthy collection of mucus.” But it’s not just the nose – the entire face...
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Have yourself a scary little Christmas
It took me by surprise. I was viewing a gingerbread town Christmas display at the Broadmoor in Colorado Springs and there, right next to the chocolate bison, was a gingerbread graveyard. The sweet,...
View ArticleIts no mystery
I had heard that “Mystery Plays” were once popular entertainment at Christmas and given some of the scary storytelling traditions in the dark days of winter, I expected these mysteries to be like the...
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Exploding bottles: the history of Champagne
Champagne, I had always heard, was invented by monks who made a mistake and “ruined” a batch of wine. But this year as I prepared to drink my way into the New Year, I decided to find out if that was...
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When black was beautiful
We all know that people of African descent were not treated well in Europe and the Americas during the 18th and 19th Centuries. But if we look back to an earlier time, the Renaissance age, Africa and...
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Unlocking clues from a pile of stones: the shipwreck on Molasses Reef
The Turks and Caicos National Museum looks like a little old house because that’s what it is. But the displays inside don’t have much to do with the building or the people who lived there or even life...
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Goodbye Saloons, Hello Cocktails: Prohibition causes more problems than it...
The Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was ratified on this day in 1919, marking the end of one era and the beginning of another. Outlawing the “manufacture, sale and transportation of...
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Football = Wizard’s Chess
Before I started paying much attention to football, I thought it was a brainless game played by brainless people to entertain brainless fans. But I’ve learned a little in the last few years, and I’m...
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Jane’s Island is worth looking for
When I first bought my own car, I used to page through my atlas and imagine the places I could go see. Of course, since owning a car requires for paying for insurance, gas and maintenance (way more of...
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A leopard changes its spots
My neighbor has decided to convert to Catholicism. That’s not news in most cases, people convert all the time. But the neighbor I’m referring to is not a person, it’s a church. St. Timothy’s (soon to...
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Good news, for a change
Boy Scout Troop 306 in Catonsville has a long tradition of presenting a bouquet of roses to the mother of a new Eagle Scout. At the troop’s most recent Eagle Scout investiture ceremony, however,...
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