People

Farewell: Capt. Bob Slaff

He was ‘good for it’

Mick Blackistone

“I’m the only Jewish redneck captain on the Bay. What could be better?” Captain Bob Slaff liked to say, with a huge smile beneath his signature handlebar mustache. Capt. Bob was an icon in Maryland’s recreational and commercial maritime communities. He was also my good friend, mentor and colleague.

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– by Mick Blackistone – 3/21/13

Farewell James Hoage

Sandra Olivetti Martin

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– by Sandra Olivetti Martin – 3/14/13

Stretching Your Comfort Zone ... Joining the Super Plungers

For Michelina Scotto, raising $10,000 is easy. It’s the 24 hours of cold water that has her worried

Sandra Olivetti Martin

For Michelina Scotto of Stevensville, the easy part is raising the $10,000 qualification fee for joining the Super Plunge Team of the 17th Annual MSP Polar Bear Plunge benefitting Special Olympics Maryland. So what if fundraising — including a Fire and Ice Party January 19 — cost the restaurateur, co-owner of Luna Blu in Annapolis and Rustico in Stevensville, more than she expects to raise? Raising money is what Scotto knows. Cold is what she fears.

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– by Sandra Olivetti Martin – 1/24/13

Band Dodges Tragedy — Twice

After two members survive cardiac arrest, music keeps Telesma alive

Ashley Brotherton

Last spring, Ian Hesford dropped to the stage from cardiac arrest while playing a show with his band, Telesma. After 93 minutes of CPR, a hypothermic treatment and stents in his heart, Hesford survived. Knowing CPR saved their friend’s life, band members and dedicated fans took classes. Telesma vocalist Joanne Juskus didn’t realize how soon she would put that training to the test.

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– by Ashley Brotherton – 1/17/13

Dispatches from the Coldest Capital in the World

Leon Tucker’s tour in Mongolia has him longing for Southern Maryland’s balmy winters

Sandra Lee Anderson

To step out into December’s minus-20-degree weather, Leon Tucker layers up “in bundles and bundles” with long underwear, thermal sweatshirts, camel wool socks and a North Face parka. This is not what he meant back home in Deale when he called himself “an outdoors person.” Mongolia is not what Tucker’s mother, Kathy Norris, imagined for the son who always dreamed of travel. “I thought he was going to take off,” she says, “but not that far!”

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– by Sandra Lee Anderson – 12/13/12

Can Robots Reeducate America?

Craig Shelden is a believer

Michelle Steel

Craig Shelden’s two-car garage is his refuge from the world. From this lair, he runs his spare-time robotics business, Shelden Robotics. The two family vehicles are parked outside the double doors. Inside is neatness and order. A garden rake, trash can and recycling bins are the only clues to a family life beyond the closed door. Blue and red electric tape strategically stuck to the floor in circles and rectangles measures robotic achievement.

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– by Michelle Steel – 12/6/12

Christmas Tree Roundup

Mike Callahan’s Chesapeake Driftwood Tree

Michelle Steel

Mike Callahan was searching for creative ways to trim his Christmas tree this year. The president of the Southern Maryland Audubon Society wanted a unique, nature-themed tree that he created with his own hands. When a friend suggested using what Chesapeake Bay had to offer, Callahan hit the beaches, hunting and gathering for his creation. At home, he put his hands and mind to work.

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– by Michelle Steel – 12/6/12

Let Us Give Thanks

A dozen neighbors share their blessings. What are yours?

Thanksgiving is America’s feast. Like all our holidays, it’s a celebration created by immigrants, with each new culture learning the traditions and mixing in their own. Diverse as we are, Thanksgiving unites rather than divides us. We celebrate it, regardless of age, race, region, religion or heritage — even vegetarians, for whom the turkey gives thanks.

article – People

– by – 11/22/12

The Man Behind the Mask

Skip Smith has been makeup man for presidents and celebrities. But monsters and ghouls are his passion, which he shares in Twin Beach Players’ production of Frankenstein

Michelle Steel

“This is all you get,” Skip Smith tells me, drawing the gauze-covered prosthetic from the Walmart bag. Dark and empty sockets stare at me for the second before Smith re-seals the bag. To see the mask Smith had created for Twin Beach Players’ Frankenstein (now playing in North Beach), I had to brave the little shop of horrors of his St. Leonard home. Monsters are Smith’s favorite subjects to work with, above even Audrey Hepburn and U.S. presidents.

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– by Michelle Steel – 10/18/12

In Memory of Frank Sherman

Joe Slavin

I have been in many marinas in my 70 years of sailing, but none has been as interested in helping you as Sherman’s Marina in Deale, on the eastern shore of Rockhold Creek. Seven years ago when I moved my 35-foot Dickerson ketch to Sherman’s Marina, Frank Sherman became more than just my marina owner. He was someone who cared deeply about you and your boat: a real friend.

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– by Joe Slavin – 10/18/12

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