The Annapolis Circulator, which hit the road July 1 on a six-month trial, can take the hell out of Annapolis city traffic.     The four trolleys that together are the Circulator make it possible, perhaps even easy, for you to park and ride throughout historic Annapolis — with Eastport and West Annapolis just over horizon.     Here’s how it works: Park at your choice of three Annapolis city garages. Park on the edge of downtown at Gott’s Garage (...

It’s no wonder that fireworks are Independence Day’s signature. The holiday is explosive with emotion.     And packed with participation.     This week’s 8 Days a Week calendar will tell you that throughout Chesapeake Country, as in all America, in communities large and small we wave flags; march, roll and pedal in parades; bake pies; gather for picnics and barbecues; listen to concerts; eat ice cream; watch baseball; make big bangs and...

Books leave marks on our lives that may or may not be indelible, the word my grade school nuns taught us to describe the imprint of the sacrament of confirmation. That mark would last so long God would see it on our souls, no matter how little else was left by the time we met up with him.     I’ve swum through the words of thousands of books in total immersion; yet most of them disappear from my memory the way water evaporates from my body when I climb from the pool to lie...

Walter Boynton has invested his life in the environment. World famous for his research into urbanizing watersheds, the plain-spoken professor is a public employee, laboring on salary at Chesapeake Biological Laboratory in Solomons.     “He was understanding, always encouraging my sister and me to do different things,” recalls daughter Sarah. “Showing us and telling us about the Bay and rivers. He kept us involved and gave us every opportunity to explore. But he...