War And Peace
Through the past three months, we’ve witnessed the war in Ukraine through news reports and social media feeds viewed on our living room TVs, laptop computers, or mobile phones, often […]
A 1772 Road Trip
We often take our modern transportation technology and infrastructure for granted. Our nationwide network of highways, bridges, and tunnels makes it easy to drive a gas-powered, electric, or hybrid car […]
Luck Of The Draw
According to recent articles in the Capital Gazette newspaper, the City of Annapolis and a group of companies called Annapolis Mobility and Resilience Partners (AMRP) will soon start work on […]
Nothing But A Dream
Across the ages, prim and proper elders have often asked some variation of this question: “What’s the deal with today’s young people?” This is commonly followed by the self-righteous assertion: […]
The Late Dreary Tempest
We Marylanders are used to the winter storm drill. As soon as forecasters warn of an approaching snowmageddon, we rush out to stock up on all the essentials: toilet paper, […]
The Happiest Nation Under The Sun
Two hundred fifty years ago, on January 30, 1772, Annapolis publisher Anne Catharine Green reprinted a positive piece of political prognostication penned by an “old Correspondent” to a London periodical. […]
Clubbing in Annapolis
Who knew that going clubbing was all the rage in colonial Annapolis? Of course, the city’s elite gentlemen’s clubs of 250 years ago were nothing like today’s nightlife hotspots. Some […]
A Vast Loss Of Time
I’ve written before (see especially “A Predictable Pattern”, November 26, 2020) about colonial Maryland’s last proprietary governor, Robert Eden, and his habitual mishandling of disagreements with the General Assembly’s Lower […]
Common Complaints
These days, when public complaints about politics, the media, and rising prices abound, turning back our attention 250 years ago reveals a time…when public complaints about politics, the media, and […]
The Meanest House In Town
A year after actress Nancy Hallam captivated an anonymous Annapolis gentleman (most likely Rev. Jonathan Boucher—see “In Praise of Artistic Genius”) with her dramatic skills and attractive appearance, she and […]
Down A Rabbit Hole
Sometimes a 250-year-old clipping from the Maryland Gazette sends me down a research rabbit hole. The welcome mat into this week’s warren was laid out by an advertisement placed in […]
Five Pounds Reward
A little more than a year ago, I mentioned two projects that told the stories of nine freedom seekers who tried to escape from bound servitude between 1728 and 1864. […]