Letters from CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 33, No. 2

Letters from CAMP Rehoboth welcomes submissions. Email editor@camprehoboth.com.

Photographs must be high resolution (300 dpi). Documents should be sent as attachments in Microsoft Word®. Deadline for submissions is two weeks prior to the issue release date.

EDITOR Marj Shannon

EDITORIAL ASSOCIATE Matty Brown

DESIGN AND LAYOUT Mary Beth Ramsey

ADVERTISING SALES MANAGER Tricia Massella

DISTRIBUTION Mark Wolf

CONTRIBUTORS: Ann Aptaker, Rich Barnett, Redfern Jon Barrett, Matty Brown, Ed Castelli, Pattie Cinelli, Wes Combs, Robert Dominic, Clarence Fluker, Michael Thomas Ford, Michael Gilles, Julian Harbaugh, Leslie Ledogar, Tricia Massella, Sharon Morgan, Eric Peterson, Mary Beth Ramsey, Richard Rosendall, Nancy Sakaduski, Terri Schlichenmeyer, Marj Shannon, Beth Shockley, Leslie Sinclair, Laurie Thompson, Mary Jo Tarallo, Eric Wahl

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Chatbots

Letters from CAMP Rehoboth is published 11 times per year, between February and December, as a program of CAMP Rehoboth Inc., a non-profit community service organization. CAMP Rehoboth seeks to create a more positive environment of cooperation and understanding among all people. Revenue generated by advertisements supports CAMP Rehoboth’s purpose as outlined in our mission statement.

The inclusion or mention of any person, group, or business in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth does not, nor is it intended in any way, to imply sexual orientation or gender identity. The content of the columns are the views and opinions of the writers and may not indicate the position of CAMP Rehoboth, Inc.

© 2023 by CAMP Rehoboth, Inc. All rights reserved by CAMP Rehoboth. No portion of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the prior written permission of the editor.

CAMP REHOBOTH MISSION STATEMENT AND PURPOSE

MISSION

CAMP Rehoboth, which stands for (Creating A More Positive) Rehoboth, is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit LGBTQ+ community service organization. It is the largest and only organization of its type serving the needs of LGBTQ+ people in Rehoboth, greater Sussex County, and throughout the state of Delaware. CAMP Rehoboth is dedicated to creating a positive environment inclusive of all sexual orientations and gender identities in Rehoboth Beach and its related communities. It seeks to promote cooperation and understanding among all people as they work to build a safer community with room for all.

VISION

We create proud and safe communities where gender identity and sexual orientation are respected.

PURPOSE

Promoting the health and wellness of our community through a variety of programs including HIV testing and counseling, mental health support, fitness classes, mindfulness classes, support for LGBTQ youth, and building community and support.

Promoting artistic expressions and creative thinking, and giving aid to artists and craftspeople with an emphasis on the works of LGBTQ people.

Advocating for our community to build a safe and inclusive community through voter information, education, and registration; and analysis of issues and candidates.

Education and outreach to the larger community, including sensitivity training seminars, and printed materials to promote positive images of LGBTQ people and our allies.

Networking resources and information by publishing a newsletter, and functioning as an alternative tourist bureau and information center.

From the Editor

Happy (almost) Spring! Which seems to have arrived early at my place—there are daffodils blooming; the hydrangeas are beginning to leaf out; and the primroses, lilies, and spiderwort are sending up shoots. I know global warming is a serious matter—but frankly, local warming works for me. I’m fine with fewer wind-chilling days and nothing more than a shower of snow.

Something else that works for me: a magazine chock full of fun and informative stuff! We have lots of details this issue on CAMP Rehoboth’s upcoming (April 27-30) Women’s FEST. See pages 14 through 16 for that. FEST 2023 packs an abundance of fun, entertainment, sports, and tradition into one long weekend— you’ll want to plan now to enjoy it all. Or as much as you can fit in, anyway.

More fun: Michael Thomas Ford tells us about his first TikTok appearance; Rich Barnett waxes eloquent on the subject of kava. And Nancy Sakaduski helps prepare us for an amazing Easter parade with her piece on Easter bonnets—top hat with live rabbit, anyone?

In a great bit of kismet, one of this issue’s themes is “wellness”—just as CAMP Rehoboth welcomes its new Health & Wellness Manager, Tara Sheldon. You can meet Tara (if you haven’t already) via Matty Brown’s interview with her on page 9. Please join us all in welcoming Tara to the CAMP Rehoboth team.

More on wellness: Sharon Morgan’s column on PrEP (pre-exposure prophylaxis), and Beth Shockley’s report on her experience at a gym—not nearly so bad as she’d thought it might be! Maybe a nice walk is more your speed? Robert Dominic speaks to that—even if it’s more stroll than stride for him, these days. And don’t miss Julian Harbaugh’s LGBTQ+ YA column on the importance of “green time,” perhaps especially for those with ADHD.

Speaking of green time—Eric Wahl tells us all about cherry trees—the famous ones in DC as well as our local variety. And Pattie Cinelli has lots to say about the upcoming spring equinox—and spring cleaning.

What else? Well, there’s Redfern Jon Barrett—his novel Proud Pink Sky hits bookstores very soon; read about it on page 56. Terri Schlichenmeyer offers up a passel of books perfect for Women’s History Month, and Ann Aptaker introduces us to a lesbian writer—Janet Flanner—who penned a New Yorker column for 50 years.

PRESIDENT Wesley Combs

VICE PRESIDENT Leslie Ledogar

SECRETARY Mike DeFlavia

TREASURER Jenn Harpel

AT-LARGE DIRECTORS

Amanda Mahony Albanese, Lewis Dawley, Lisa Evans (non-voting), David Garrett, Teri Seaton, and Jason D. White

CAMP REHOBOTH

37 Baltimore Avenue, Rehoboth Beach, DE 19971 tel 302-227-5620 | email editor@camprehoboth.com www.camprehoboth.com

If you have questions, comments, or story ideas, I’d love to hear them. You can reach me at editor@camprehoboth.com. Thanks for reading Letters!

our exemption document is available for public inspection.

Women’s FEST 2023 Tickets on Sale

The time has finally arrived!

Women’s FEST 2023 FEST Passes and tickets are now available to purchase online at camprehoboth. com/womensfest.

FEST Passes are $75 and include a FEST t-shirt, admission to the Friday night shows by Jen Kober and Mouths of Babes at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center, and admission to the Saturday night dance. All other ticketed events must be purchased à la carte. Please see the full schedule or ticketed events tab for more information.

Ticketed events outside of the FEST Pass include: concerts by Regina Sayles and Christine Havrilla, FEST sports, singles mixers, and more. Be sure to check online for a full list of prices and event descriptions. Plus, check out the FEST Schedule tab for plenty of free events, like Beebe Healthcare Screenings and Broadwalk on the Boardwalk.

CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST strives to create and maintain an inclusive and accessible environment that empowers all persons, including persons with disabilities to participate in the event. If you or a companion have any needs related to accessibility, please contact Hope at Hope@phoenixaccessibilityteam.com. ▼

ON THE COVER: JEN KOBER

WOMEN’S

FEST

corner, and in the spirit of Wom en’s History Month, FEST perform er Jen Kober graces our March cover. Kober is a hilarious standup comic and actress, who is making her FEST debut at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center on Friday, April 28.

Check out the full feature on Kober on page 14.

Pop that Cork!

Letters congratulates long-time contributor Eric Peterson (Out & About) on being named Interim Managing Editor of Amble Press. (Amble Press is an imprint of Bywater Books and is dedicated to uplifting underrepresented voices in the LGBTQ+ literary community.) We also congratulate Amble Press on securing his services—it looks like a win-win to us.

Aside from his column in Letters, Eric is a novelist (Loyalty, Love, & Vermouth) and playwright. Somehow, he also has found time over the past 20 years to work as an award-winning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) practitioner, operating his own DEI consulting firm, Red Seven Consulting. In his spare time, he hosts a podcast, The Rewind Project, devoted to movies from the past—both recent and distant.

Letters wishes Eric the best of luck—and an influx of energy— as he undertakes his newest endeavor. ▼

Rent the Atrium

Do you have any big upcoming events and need an accommodating space? Consider booking your next event at CAMP Rehoboth! Whether it’s a gathering for a birthday party, a wedding, a conference, or a general meeting for your organization, our conference rooms and/or the Elkins-Archibald Atrium may be your perfect fit. For more information and for booking rates, call 302-227-5620.

The Elkins-Archibald Atrium of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center was built in 2009 as a multi-purpose space serving the needs of CAMP Rehoboth and the community around us. The beautiful space is filled with light and contains the award-winning, rainbow-colored, Founders’ Circle wall that represents all the donors who made the building possible.

Since its construction, the Elkins-Archibald Atrium has served a multitude of functions that include: workshops, meetings, theater performances, debates, private parties, civil unions and weddings, charity events, art events, and much more. In its first year, Delaware’s then-Governor, Jack Markell, signed anti-discrimination legislation in it.

Theater style, the room seats 90; for cocktail parties, it holds close to 180. It also offers access to the gorgeous CAMP Rehoboth Courtyard, a small kitchen, and a small auxiliary conference room. ▼

WANTED

Grant Writers/Researchers

CAMP Rehoboth is assembling a team of volunteer grant writers/researchers to explore opportunities and draft grant proposals and supporting documents based on the funding requirements of the organization. Volunteers will conduct research and write coherent, organized, and compelling proposals.

The rewards of this opportunity include knowing that your efforts are vital to CAMP Rehoboth’s fulfillment of its mission of promoting cooperation and understanding among all people as we work to build a safe and healthy community with room for all.

An effective team member must have grant experience and excellent research and communication skills; be able to clearly communicate both verbally and in writing (especially in grant proposals); work well with others; be deadline-driven with multitasking abilities; and manage confidential matters with the utmost integrity.

SPECIFIC DUTIES:

• Research grant opportunities that align with CAMP Rehoboth’s strategic priorities and funding needs.

• Write polished grant proposals and prepare supporting documents.

• Collaborate with the Development Manager, staff, team members, and other stakeholders.

• Understand and adhere to grant deadlines.

• Assist with managing grant requirements, such as the preparation of grant status reports.

• Update and maintain grant records. ▼

FOR MORE INFORMATION and/or to join the team, email us at: development@camprehoboth.com

BROLO Coming to CAMP Rehoboth

Mark calendars now for an upcoming show by the Philadelphia Gay Men’s Chorus (PGMC) at CAMP Rehoboth’s Elkins-Archibald Atrium on May 6 at 4:00 p.m. and 8:00 p.m. The select ensemble of the PGMC presents musical selections from classical, Broadway, and contemporary genres, including a preview of their upcoming concert GAY ICON: The Music of Elton John. The show runs 75 minutes with no intermission.

The select ensemble, Brotherly Love (aka BROLO), is made up of 20 PGMC members. Their size provides PGMC

TRAVELS

more opportunity to fulfill high-volume booking requests and to maintain LGBTQ+ visibility in the community. They perform at various special events, other concerts, and community outreach events throughout the year. Their repertoire includes a broad range of styles, including music from classical to contemporary—spirituals, sacred music, holiday tunes, love ballads, comic pieces, pop and rock songs, Broadway and Hollywood tunes, opera choruses, folk songs from around the world, and the latest LGBTQ+ empowerment music. ▼

Season

What’s Health & Wellness Got to Do with It?

How is everyone doing with their 2023 New Year’s resolutions? We are two months into the year, and I am here to be your accountability coach. What is working well? What would you change about your approach so far?

If you are making progress—way to go! Changing our behavior is not easy (as if you did not already know that.). On the other hand, if my asking these questions raises your blood pressure, relax…take a breath. There is plenty of time to regroup, shifting your perspective away from what you have not done towards focusing on one action you can take to move forward on one of your goals. When we take time to assess barriers that may be standing in our way, it helps us break down the task into manageable pieces.

Since one of this issue’s themes is wellness, I wanted to share part of my own journey toward focusing on getting in better shape this year. For me, losing weight has been a decades-long battle that I mostly have lost. I have always struggled with my weight, which has always frustrated me and negatively impacted my self-image.

Some would say that how much you weigh is correlated with acceptance, happiness, health, and belonging. Others might argue that what someone looks like is the other person’s problem because they are fine just the way they are. This is obviously an oversimplification of a very complex topic, but my point is this: if your current weight is putting your health at risk, choosing to shed pounds is a positive step forward. In some cases, it can make the difference between life or death.

During my annual physical in December, my doctor said for the second year in a row that I was too heavy, and it was time to become serious about losing weight. If I did not, I was raising my risk for heart disease and diabetes.

Over the years I have tried the Adkins diet, eliminated carbs, and ate only fatfree food products but for the most part they never did the trick for me. While tak-

ing these steps may have achieved my goal, I eventually gained it all back once I returned to my “normal” routine.

That all changed about 10 years ago when I tried Weight Watchers. It is a science-based approach that uses a calorie-counting system that is personal-

ed will help identify priorities along with which current programs may no longer be relevant given changing demographics and availability of similar services from partner organizations. The strategic planning task force will then analyze the current landscape of organizations that provide services addressing these various health issues to ensure CAMP Rehoboth does not duplicate what is already available.

We need your input now more than ever—so please fill out the survey when it lands in your email box. I thank you in advance for helping the board and staff create the best community center possible. ▼

ized, based on your age, weight, height, and sex. Every food item you eat has a point value based on its nutritional value and number of calories. Once you enter your personal information, you are given the number of points (which equates to how much food to eat each day/week) in order to lose weight at a safe rate—one to two pounds a week.

Using their simple-to-use app, you track what you eat and how that impacts your point total. When you learn how many points are associated with a given portion size and type of food, you begin to make intentional decisions. This also creates accountability because you are reminded to log your meals and instantly shown your progress. The good news is I have lost 11 pounds since January 1.

Weight loss is one of many health and wellness focus areas where CAMP Rehoboth could consider developing solutions to support our community in the future. Over the years, our programs have included HIV testing and counseling, smoking cessation, support groups for men and women, and offering flu shots, among many others.

In the coming weeks, you will get a chance to raise your voice to the strategic planning task force through a survey being sent to our members as well as anyone on our email list. The data collect-

TRANSITION

Speaking of health and wellness, CAMP Rehoboth is happy to report that effective February 27, former board member Tara Sheldon assumed the role of Health and Wellness Manager. Among the many candidates who applied for the job, Tara emerged as the clear choice for the following reasons: Tara has a master’s degree in social work, and her work as a hospice social worker in the area gives her a unique perspective on the mental health challenges facing people in our community.

Tara is passionate about addressing discrimination that is based on sexual orientation or gender identity; in 2016, she was part of a joint effort with PFLAG and the Rehoboth Beach Film Society to address bullying in the community. Finally, having been a board member since 2017 provides her with in-depth knowledge of CAMP Rehoboth’s programs as we complete the strategic plan.

Please join me in giving a warm CAMP Rehoboth welcome to Tara! . ▼

When we take time to assess barriers that may be standing in our way, it helps us break down the task into manageable pieces.

HOSTED JOURNEY JOIN

Murray Archibald, the founder of CAMP Rehoboth, on an incredible journey in Australia & New Zealand

FEBRUARY 2024

Our custom designed hosted journey starts in New Zealand when we meet our Abercrombie & Kent guide. Multi-night stays in New Zealand and Australia include Rotorua, Queenstown, Melbourne, Uluru (the Outback), and Sydney to give you both time free and amazing experiences with our professional guide (all included). Our planned itinerary includes the Hobbiton Movie Set, cultural performances, the opportunity to experience a working kiwi nursery and hatchery, Waitomo Glowworm Caves, art galleries, wine tastings, walking tours, a wildlife conservation park, a private behind the scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House and time at the world famous Bondi Beach. Awe-inspiring scenery and wildlife will provide amazing photo opportunities and memories that last forever on this unique tour! Rich in history and culture this hosted journey is sure to sell out quickly.

For more information please contact Sofia Hedman, Group Travel Manager

sofia@accentontravel.com | 302-703-0115 PLENTY

CAMPNews

CROP Goes to a Concert

CAMP Rehoboth Outreach Program (CROP) teams were at Epworth United Methodist Church again this year to usher and otherwise assist those attending the three CAMP Rehoboth Chorus concerts, February 17-19. Between our veteran ushers/sales volunteers and great “newbies,” it was the best year yet.

And speaking of the best year yet, the Chorus was spectacular! CROP looks forward every year to enhancing the experience for concert-goers.

This year, they don’t have to look too far ahead for their next opportunity: the Chorus will be performing songs about those lazy, hazy, crazy days of summer in just a few short months, on June 16-18. We would love to see you there! ▼

Check “Australia” Off the Bucket List

CAMP Rehoboth co-founder Murray Archibald invites community members to join him and fellow CAMP Rehoboth supporters on an exciting travel opportunity in Australia/New Zealand—February 17-March 4, 2024—in partnership with Accent on Travel. (US departure is February 15, 2024.)

The hosted journey arrives in Auckland, with visits to Rotorua, Queenstown, Melbourne, and Uluru, and ends in Sydney. Touring includes the Hobbiton movie set, cultural performances, a working kiwi nursery and hatchery, Waitomo Glowworm Caves, art galleries, wine tastings, walking tours, a wildlife conservation park, a private behind-the-scenes tour of the Sydney Opera House, and time at the world-famous Bondi Beach. Awe-inspiring scenery and wildlife will provide amazing photo opportunities and indelible memories. This hosted journey is sure to sell out quickly, so contact Sofia Hedman, Group Travel Manager, at sofia@accentontravel.com for more details. ▼

CAMP REHOBOTH THANKS OUR 2023 ANNUAL SPONSORS

For information on how to become a CAMP Rehoboth Annual Sponsor, email development@camprehoboth.com or call 302-227-5620.

CAMPNews

Welcome Tara Sheldon!

CAMP Rehoboth’s New Health & Wellness Manager

On February 27, Tara Sheldon joined the CAMP Rehoboth staff as the Health and Wellness Manager. Sheldon brings a wide variety of experience to the role. She’s studied psychology, women’s studies, and social work, earning a Master’s degree in Social Work at the University of Maryland’s School Of Social Work. Her commitment to fostering community includes stints at Whitman-Walker Health with Lesbian Services, at Compassionate Care Hospice, and most recently, in collaborations with local groups like PFLAG and ACLU of Delaware in efforts to advocate for LGBTQ+ youth.

CAMP Rehoboth invites the community to join in welcoming Tara to the team!

CR: What is your background with CAMP Rehoboth?

TS: I first joined CAMP Families shortly after we moved here in 2010. Ironically, we all had little ones within about six months of each other. It was so much more than playgroups; it was a sense of community and connection. We were able to share resources and more.

I joined the board in 2017. I was all-in on anything that had to do with advocating for our LGBTQ+ youth. I will miss it but am so very excited to serve CAMP Rehoboth in another way—one I truly believe will allow me the opportunity to do so much more than I could in a volunteer capacity.

CR: What excites you about the Health & Wellness Manager role?

TS: When I interviewed, I said it was my dream job when I moved here 13 years ago!

I admire the variety of CAMP Rehoboth’s programming to serve our community. At its core, I think CAMP is all about meeting people where they are. I think about Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. People at various levels of the hierarchy will need different resources to support their health and wellness.

In advocacy, it is about meeting

people where they are, too—and helping them to see we are all connected. That’s what [CAMP Rehoboth founders] Murray [Archibald] and Steve [Elkins] did so well.

Our strategic planning that is in process will help guide CAMP Rehoboth forward. Ultimately, we can’t and shouldn’t try to do it all, but through collaborations with others—nurturing necessary allies, and building beneficial ones—we can help serve our community and beyond.

TS: Equal access to employment, health care, and education. Environmental catastrophes. Gun violence.

Our community is both most susceptible to discrimination in the workplace, healthcare, and education, AND we have the added stigma attached to the consequences of the discrimination—which further impedes care.

[Our community is] most susceptible to HIV and endures the stigma when diagnosed with it.

[Our community is] most susceptible to mental health concerns and endures the stigma when seeking care for it.

All the bans on gender affirming care, and in consideration of what that leads to in terms of the increase in depression, anxiety, and the risk of suicide—our population has fewer resources.

Our challenge is to figure out “how can we see and hear from those who need us most”?

Who is struggling the most? And, most importantly, WHY? Is it physiological, safety, love, or esteem?

Sometimes our traumas turn into tumultuous relationships or debilitating illnesses. Sometimes we are able to process and express them, and in turn release them through therapy, art, making connections within our community—whatever our self-care looks like. Behind our wellness is our willingness to accept the truths, be open to change, and ultimately, we grow.

CR: What do you see as some of the most pressing challenges facing the LGBTQ+ community?

Just as with every natural disaster, and HIV—COVID is teaching us a lot. Who has been hurt the most by COVID? The poor, the people of color, the single parents, the most marginalized among us—LGBTQ+ in particular—already burdened within Maslow’s hierarchy—COVID knocked them down further. Why? Because all of the above are more likely to have a lower income, fewer resources, and a minimal support system. “Same storm; different boats.”

We can’t be healthy, and well, unless our basic needs are met.

CR: There’s a throughline in your career and life in bringing community together. What compels you to do that?

TS: There’s something I remember my mother told me when I was very little. It was, “remember what Jimmy Carter said: ‘Life isn’t fair.’” And I hated that. I think it’s been my mission from a young age to make life more fair. But more so than that, I think that if we can’t see the humanity in each other, why are we here? ▼

I think it’s been my mission from a young age to make life more fair.

Strategic Visioning An Existential Opportunity

Strategic planning provides an organization such as CAMP Rehoboth Community Center with a unique opportunity to kick the tires and look under the proverbial “hood,” while simultaneously looking into the future. It’s also a great way to reinvigorate our team, get everyone on the same page, and document our strategies. Ultimately, we will be reminded of who we are, why we are here, and what literally gives us goose bumps when we mention CAMP Rehoboth. At the end of the day, we will understand how we can coalesce around a renewed and shared vision for the future of this great organization.

The passing of CAMP Rehoboth cofounder Steve Elkins was the catalyst for the Board’s last strategic planning effort. So much has happened since the 2018-2019 strategic planning process occurred. Suffice it to say that we currently find ourselves at a critical inflection point, where we have a golden opportunity to refresh our sense of who CAMP Rehoboth is and what the world needs from us and our organization.

As Board President Wes Combs has shared in his past columns, the 2023 strategic initiative is underway. As a first step, the Board formed the Strategic Planning Task Force (SPTF). The SPTF consists of current and former board members, the Interim Director, and key staff, all under the guidance of strategic planning expert and consultant Dr. Michela Perrone of MMP & Associates.

The SPTF is now focused on the first phase of strategic planning: strategic visioning. Strategic visioning involves suspending our knowledge of “reality” to answer the question, “Where is Point B?” Thinking from a position of abundance, what if a bejeweled box containing $1 million landed on CAMP Rehoboth’s front porch? What would we do with it and why? Once we have ascertained Point B, we can then do the strategic plan, which is the solution, the

road map, the how-to of getting from where we are now (Point A) to where we want to be at some specified time in the future (Point B).

Strategic visioning involves three main phases: 1) the organization scan; 2) strategic exploration; and 3) strategic vision formulation and documentation. As a part of the organization scan, the SPTF is seeking information and lots of it. We don’t know what we don’t

know, so we are seeking input through focus groups, one-on-one interviews, and a survey. We are seeking to gain a shared understanding of the status quo, namely, what folks think CAMP Rehoboth does well and how we can better serve the community, and what are the key questions folks are asking about CAMP Rehoboth to help identify recurring themes and concerns.

The SPTF is also knee deep into strategic exploration, including conducting a broad-reaching landscape analysis. Some examples of questions we hope to answer include, who else is out there doing this work, how are they similar, different, duplicative, who are they serving, and how are their missions like or different from ours?

After completing data collection, the SPTF will prepare a briefing booklet that will contain all the information collected during the organizational scan and strategic exploration. With the help

of the Board and the new Executive Director (ED), the SPTF will then be able to formulate and document our strategic vision.

The results of the strategic visioning process will be a reevaluation and possible update of each of the following: the purpose statement, the values statement, the vision statement, and a statement of strategic priorities. Said differently, we will hopefully be able to identify what exactly Point B is. The actual strategic plan itself will flow naturally out of the strategic visioning process as the SPTF and the Board work closely with the new ED to come up with the implementation plan—how to get from Point A to Point B.

What can readers of this column do to help? Be sure that you are on CAMP Rehoboth’s listserv by contacting Communications Manager Matty Brown (matty@ camprehoboth.com). When your survey hits your inbox, fill it out. And, you can email me directly if there is something of particular import that you want to share (lesliel@camprehoboth.com).

The Board is committed to leading with vision and with community input, including asking all the hard questions, because CAMP Rehoboth is nothing without our colorful and multi-talented community. It’s an existential and exhilarating journey that will help shape our community center in the years to come. ▼

The results of the strategic visioning process will be a reevaluation and possible update of each of the following: the purpose statement, the values statement, the vision statement, and a statement of strategic priorities.

The Women Producing Women’s FEST 2023

Istill introduce myself as the new Development Manager at CAMP Rehoboth. I think one year is a fair length of time to describe myself that way—after all, it takes a year to experience a full cycle of events at CAMP Rehoboth.

I am currently working with a fabulous group of women who are planning Women’s FEST (Fun, Entertainment, Spring, Tradition) 2023. The Women’s FEST committee is comprised of 78 women—volunteers who have collectively spent hundreds of hours planning the events for this year’s FEST, which CAMP Rehoboth will host April 27-30 in downtown Rehoboth Beach.

I am in awe of these women who are working tirelessly to ensure that all 24 events—yes, I said 24 events!—are well-organized and run smoothly over the four-day period. In addition to the women serving on the committees, it will take approximately 80 additional women and men to volunteer their time at Women’s FEST to ensure that it will be a great experience for its more than 1,000 attendees.

This year’s FEST is packed with programming that includes sports events, entertainment, art exhibits, dances, and a walk (the popular Broadwalk on the Boardwalk) that benefits the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition. None of these events would be possible without the dedication of time and the passionate devotion of our CAMP Rehoboth volunteers. Thank you all for your support!

While an event needs volunteers to be successful, it also needs financial support from sponsors, donors, and attendees. Women’s FEST 2023 co-chairs, Teri Seaton and Karen Laitman, have expressed their gratitude for all the financial support of Women’s FEST this year. According to Teri, “we are currently tracking toward our sponsorship goal for Women’s FEST 2023. Volunteers on the sponsorship committee have done a phenomenal job and are continuing to reach out and share sponsorship opportunities to ensure we reach or exceed our goal of $35,000.”

CAMP Rehoboth is especially grateful to our three legacy sponsors—Jeanine O’Donnell with All State Insurance, Jen Harpel with Morgan Stanley, and Lana Warfield with Berkshire Hathaway—who have supported Women’s FEST from almost the beginning. I applaud these businesswomen, each of whom rec-

ognizes the importance of sponsoring Women’s FEST year after year.

We are also grateful to Linda Kemp with Olivia Cruises who has been instrumental in securing donations for many fabulous cruises for both Women’s FEST and SUNFESTIVAL for more than a decade. Fay Jacobs, one of the founders of Women’s FEST, shared the following: “It is thanks to Olivia’s generosity and Linda’s perseverance and desire to support CAMP Rehoboth that has been instrumental in raising so many dollars over the years.”

In addition to sponsors, we also have generous donors who choose to support Women’s FEST financially. There are many women—and men—who are unable to attend for one reason or another, but who want to support the event and choose to donate on either the Women’s FEST or CAMP Rehoboth website. We are so grateful for the financial support of our sponsors and our donors.

Ticket sales make up the third type of financial support and are integral to the success of the event. Because without ticket sales, there would be no events. Attendees like you are key to the success of each and every event and we are grateful that you return year after year to attend Women’s FEST and support CAMP Rehoboth.

I look forward to attending some of the Women’s FEST 2023 events and activities, like bingo or a bike ride or the CAMP Rehoboth art exhibit. I am excited to see the comedian, Jen Kober, and listen to the music of Mouths of Babes at the Friday headliner show at the Convention Center. I plan to participate in the women’s health screening that will be offered free of charge through Beebe Healthcare. I am especially excited to walk at the Broadwalk on the Boardwalk event with all the women who are breast cancer survivors, or who walk in honor of survivors or in memory of women who lost their lives.

I look forward to attending my first Women’s FEST event. It will be inspiring to be in the company of so many women who will travel from near and far, and who will make new friendships—or reunite and celebrate with old friends—as they gather in community to support and enjoy one another at Women’s FEST 2023. ▼

I am in awe of these women who are working tirelessly to ensure that all 24 events…are wellorganized and run smoothly.

The Amazing World of Jen Kober

Judging by her acting roles, Jen Kober could be a one-woman Village People ensemble. She’s played a nurse, judge, rabbi, police officer, science teacher, hospital administrator, 911 operator, hooker, arsonist, poet, and— what Jen says was a real stretch—“loud lesbian.” But her energies coalesce like a fine wine when she hits the stage for live performances, and with sets like “Stand Up in Stilettos,” “Smoking Out with My Girlfriends,” and “Eat Me Raw,” you know you’re not going to be watching Masterpiece Theater.

“You should expect to laugh so hard your face hurts,” replies Jen, when asked what we should anticipate of her performance at Women’s FEST. She says she has a brand-new power hour of stories to tell. “It is something I’ve been honing for about three months now; it’s really strong—I’m super excited.”

Originally from Lake Charles, Louisiana, Jen once sold insurance door to door. “It certainly gave me plenty of stories,” she says. “I had one man sign a policy on a horse’s ass.… It taught me how to talk to anyone.” Fortunately for us, she turned to comedy, bounding onto the national stage and bringing crowds to their feet with her original blend of stand up, storytelling, and improvised rock-‘nroll comedy.

For someone who says she enjoys relaxing and “free-boobin’” (going braless) around the house, Jen’s been pretty busy. She has appeared in two original shows produced by Netflix and shows on an alphabet soup of other media outlets, from Apple TV to USA Network.

Jen’s comedy timing is spot on, and she modulates her voice from a bare whisper to a shake-the-rafters bellow. “When I was younger, I thought, man you gotta come out swinging,” she explains, but she learned it was more effective to

start off slow and vary the tone of her voice. “It’s about pulling them in,” she says. “I was always the loudest person in the room…my mother kept getting my hearing tested when I was a kid…but now

because they were laughing so hard. It’s going to really be a fun night.” If you have any doubts, visit jenkober.com and check out some of the video clips. (Warning: May cause uncontrollable laughter.)

Jen says she is planning to travel to Rehoboth with a “gaggle of lesbians” to—like many of us—make a weekend of Women’s FEST. And she’s looking forward to the Women’s FEST audience. “We are going to have a great time. If you’re not there, you’re going to hear about it. It’s going to be fun.”

I realize you don’t have to scream at people to get their attention and that being quiet and the not speaking almost brings them in closer than yelling at them.”

Jen recently had a milestone birthday but isn’t concerned with her age. “What’s the alternative?” she asks. “I am very lucky to look very young. Fat is nature’s Botox…. I’ve done a lot. I’ve been travel ing a lot, I’ve been really doing the work… and doing lots and lots of shows, and that’s matured me more as a perform er much more than any chronological timeline.”

In her stand-up appearances, Jen talks about everything from Girl Scout cookies to substances she doesn’t always use medicinally. She clarifies that she sticks to things “God put here for us to partake of,” but admits, “I have always been a person who lives in excess. I enjoy indulging.” Her performances are certainly an in dulgence in humor for her audienc es. And as we all know, laughter is medicinal—so there you go.

But back to what the Women’s FEST audience can look forward to. “They can expect to see themselves in it,” says Jen. “They can expect to have to repeat to their neighbor what I just said

And speaking of hearing about it, Jen Kober may have just hit the jackpot. She’s been signed to do a super-secret project that will be announced in time for her to talk about it at FEST. She wouldn’t spill much, but suffice to say the word “Marvel” is in it. How’s that for amazing? ▼

“We are going to have a great time. If you’re not there, you’re going to hear about it. It’s going to be fun.”

WOMEN’S FEST ✺ Headliners

Rehoboth is Alive with the Sound of WOMEN’S FEST

Jen Kober*†

WOMEN’S FEST is the largest women’s event in the MidAtlantic region for good reason. In addition to sports, games, health screenings, speed dating, an art show, and an expo, we’ll be hosting some of the most popular and fun female musicians and comedians, and it’s going to be a boatload of fun. Whether you long to laugh until your belly hurts, are destined to dance the night away, or crave kicking back and being entertained, we have you covered. Go to camprehoboth. com for the latest details and ticket information, but here are your don’t-miss events:

Fri., April 28, 8 p.m., Rehoboth Beach Convention Center

Jen Kober is one funny lady. She won NPR’s Snap Judgement Comedic Performance of the Year for “Girl Scout Cookie Caper” (if you haven’t seen it, stop reading immediately and google it), which went viral instantly. She received the 2018 Comedic Performance of the Year for “Nana Vs. OJ,” and appeared on Netflix in 2019 in Dead to Me and RuPaul’s sitcom AJ & The Queen. Jen had audiences rolling in the aisles on The Righteous Gemstones on HBO, played a no-nonsense detective in The Purge on USA Network, and was a wacky science teacher in Diary of a Future President on Disney+.

In 2021 Jen’s momentum continued with a recurring role on American Horror Story, a guest appearance on Showtime’s Black Monday with Regina Hall and Don Cheadle, and a regular role on Apple TV’s new queer sitcom, The Browns. She is also featured in Audible’s Pride Special, Owning It. Last year she scored a hilarious guest starring role on the CBS sitcom How We Roll, starring Pete Holmes and Katie Lowes, and appeared with Jean Smart on the HBO hit series Hacks. This is an opportunity to see a top-tier comedian at the top of her game. Don’t miss it.

Mouths of Babes*†

Fri., April 28, 7 p.m., Rehoboth Beach Convention Center

Opening for Jen

Kober will be the ever-popular Women’s FEST favorite Mouths of Babes. With more than a dozen albums and over a thousand shows between

them, Ty Greenstein and Ingrid Elizabeth of Mouths of Babes are no strangers to the contemporary folk music scene. For years, their respective bands, Girlyman and Coyote Grace, captivated thousands of loyal fans as they crisscrossed the country, rocked festival main stages, and toured with the likes of the Indigo Girls and Dar Williams. Now, as Mouths of Babes, Ty and Ingrid have distilled the very best of the songwriting, musicianship, and humor of their previous groups into a new duo that brings more style and depth than ever before.

Onstage, Ty makes a quiet impression as a gifted lyricist, talented multi-instrumentalist, and magnetic presence. “The poignant honesty that Ty brings to [her] tunes gives them an emotional intensity that’s as bracing as it is moving,” says Relix Magazine. The Americana Gazette writes, “Ty’s practice of extending metaphors out toward a precipice keeps an unpredictable edge to her songs. Most writers would stop at the easy close. Ty jumps, leaving much to the imagination, to powerful effect.”

Ingrid, a natural performer, easily commands audiences with her largerthan-life sassiness and professional dancer’s grace. Curve Magazine calls her “the fiery redheaded bassist...the unabashed, unapologetic woman who isn’t afraid to yell it all from the rooftops.”

Regina Sayles†

Fri., April 28, 4 p.m., Top of the Pines

Sat., April 30, 1:30 p.m., CAMP Rehoboth ElkinsArchibald Atrium

Regina’s acoustic-driven, singer/songwriter melodies are said to connect you to the everyday human condition. Called a vocal chameleon, Sayles belts and croons to the center of life’s heartstrings. In addition to

performing more than 100 shows a year, Sayles has had the opportunity to open for Tret Fure and Ani DiFranco and played as a featured artist on the 2019 Melissa Etheridge Cruise.

Based in East Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, Regina tours whenever possible while remaining passionately dedicated to her loyal local fan base. In 2022, Regina toured Florida and Colorado and hopes to play a new state this year. When she’s not playing solo, she can be found joining the Craig Thatcher Band as a featured vocalist. In January 2023, Regina released her single, “Rollin’ in the Hay,” her first solo single release in 10 years. Regina will be releasing an EP of new music in the upcoming year, so keep an eye on Regina’s social media as well as reginasayles.com for details. But—first things first—snag a ticket to one of her Women’s FEST performances.

Christine Havrilla†

Sat., April 29, 3:30 p.m., CAMP Rehoboth ElkinsArchibald Atrium

Philadelphia-area

native Christine Havrilla will bring her unique style back to Women’s FEST by popular demand. A self-taught musician, she uses “well-built, catchy, smart tunes” (Upstage Magazine) to connect with her audiences. The soft gritty texture of her vocals expresses warmth and honesty listeners quickly embrace, and is backed by aggressive, raw, trash-style guitar playing and looping. Christine tours nationally as a solo act as well as with her band Gypsy Fuzz. She is known for her spontaneous energy, soul-felt vibes, and the musical adventures she brings to the stage. Her recently released new single and EP, California Night, is a blend of 90s guitar and late-60s harmonies wrapped up in a

catchy rocker about sharing the California coast and its memories. If you’re counting, that makes 13 albums and three EPs. Her music always has new twists and has been described as “a blend of 70s, 80s, and 90s rock delivered by the modern singer/songwriter.” According to What’s Up magazine, “Christine breaks out the gasoline and sets fire to the typical roots/ folk genre with blazing guitars.”

GirlsRoom*†

Sat., April 29, 7 p.m., Rehoboth Beach Convention Center

Saturday night’s premier dance will be to the beat of GirlsRoom, a local all-female rock-and-roll band and DJ Peggy Castle. GirlsRoom consists of drummer Jill Brady, formerly of The Girlfriends, vocalist Barbara Phillips, bassist Terri Brady, guitarists Lois McDuffee, Glenda Diem, and Kathy Nace-Jones, who is returning just for this event. Between the band’s rocking sounds and DJ Peggy Castle’s brilliant song picks, everyone will be up and out on the floor. The Saturday night dance is Women’s FEST’s centerpiece event. Whether you’re there to celebrate with old friends or looking forward to meeting new friends, you are in for a spectacular evening.

Fay Jacobs†

Sat., April 29, 5 p.m., Top of the Pines Sun., April 30, 4 p.m., CAMP Rehoboth ElkinsArchibald Atrium

Local author and humorist Fay Jacobs is returning to tell more tales as she continues to “age gracelessly.” Fay taps into universal themes with observational humor surrounding her attempts to navigate the

seemingly never-ending challenges of modern life. Once again, hear the author’s insistence that nothing is ever so horrible if it’s worth the story you can tell. The stories are relatable to all and touch everyone’s heart and funny bone. These will be the last performances of “Aging Gracelessly: Still Rock ‘n Roll to Me” in Rehoboth, so be sure to catch one of them.

Mama’s Black Sheep

Sun., April 30, 12  - 3 p.m., Dogfish Head Brewings & Eats (closing party—open to all)

The Women’s FEST Closing Party will feature Mama’s Black Sheep, the hugely popular local band that covers all the bases, from country to soul and from pop to blues. A collaboration of singer-songwriters Ashland Miller (guitar/ vocals) and Laura Cerulli (drums/vocals), this duo creates a blend of hit-worthy originals and covers with a unique spin. Bid a fond farewell to friends new and old at this last dance.

* Included in Women’s FEST pass † Individual tickets available

CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST strives to create and maintain an inclusive and accessible environment that empowers all persons, including persons with disabilities, to participate in our event. If you or your companion have any needs related to accessibility, please contact Hope at Hope@ phoenixaccessibilityteam.com.

Whether you long to laugh until your belly hurts, are destined to dance the night away, or crave kicking back and being entertained, we have you covered.

Words Matter

Sharing Really Is Caring

Over the years I have written for several publications and for a while I even managed two personal blogs. Somewhere along the line, I thought I would stretch and transform my written expressions into a one-man play.

The focus was love. In a Ntozake Shange inspired way, I pieced together monologues, poetry, and prose that I had written on the subject and combined them into a complete one-act work. I explored love of self, love of God, and of course my own pursuit of romantic love.

Since my early college days, I had been accustomed to sharing at times deeply personal aspects of my life with strangers. I don’t think it phased me because there was a certain comfort in typing something up, sending it out into the universe, and never having to really come face-toface with the readers. There was a perceived wall between me and them. They could only judge words on a page. They could not judge me. Showing up at a theater to perform a one-man play, with the spotlight on me, unable to see the faces, but knowing there were people in that audience watching, listening, and perhaps judging me and my story in real time was quite different. The night before the show I sat in my bathtub wondering if I had made a huge mistake. What was I thinking? Why on earth did I choose this most vulnerable path of expression? Yet, it was the night before the performance and too late to call the whole thing off.

So, I leaned into that vulnerability and for an hour and 10 minutes I shared, in my own words, my own journey with love. I heard the audience laugh. I heard them gasp. I also heard silence. There were immediate reactions that night when the lights went up. Strangers clapped. Friends hugged me. My mom told me she was proud of how brave I was. There was also a friend in the audience that night that slipped out after the show quietly. I thought her nonreaction was a reaction.

Days later though, I received an email from her. She shared that she left so soon after the show because she felt so deeply connected to a particularly melancholy monologue that she needed

some air and time with herself. She told me that my sharing of my experience—which mirrored her own—made her feel for the first time that she was not alone.

That moment cemented for me that I had made the right choice in sharing in the way that I did. It also was the first time as a young adult that the words of C.S. Lewis crystalized themselves for me: “Friendship...is born at the moment when one man says to another, ‘What! You too? I thought that no one but myself…’” That moment and those words forever changed how I show up in the world and in my friendships, emphasizing the power of sharing stories and truths. We don’t have to all do it on a blog, in a column, or on stage, but essential to meaningful friendships is sharing right where you are with the people closest to you.

My family and I have experienced several challenges in the last three months after my mom had a stroke and other physical health trials. Thankfully, she has overcome them and is on the road to total healing. And thankfully, as I tried to navigate my role as her son and as a brother, while also trying to maintain my own mental and emotional health through the toughest of moments, I had friends who were not only just willing to listen to me, but to also share the experiences and knowledge that they’d gained from similar situations. Navigating a health system. Navigating family dynamics. Navigating the early stages of being a caregiver.

Their transparency was a gift that I hold close to me. They made me feel supported and not alone. They had gone through these things or were still in the process of going through them and we were in it together. Releasing judgement, embarrassment, and fear. Holding on, and being held up by vulnerability, empathy, and the bravery that grows from transparency and compassion. Sharing really is caring. ▼

Clarence J. Fluker is a public affairs and social impact strategist. Since 2008, he’s also been a contributing writer for Swerv, a lifestyle periodical celebrating African American LGBTQ+ culture and community. Follow him on Twitter: @CJFluker or Instagram: @Mr_CJFluker.

So, I leaned into that vulnerability and for an hour and 10 minutes I shared, in my own words, my own journey with love.

DELAWARE VALLEY ALZHEIMER’S ASSOCIATION

Support Group Meetings Scheduled

Sussex County In-Person Support Group Meetings

FIRST TUESDAYS ⊲ 1:00-3:00 p.m.

CHEER Longneck, 26089 Shoppes at Long Neck, Millsboro

TheDelaware Valley Alzheimer’s Association has released its schedule for in-person support group meetings. Call 800.272.3900 before attending as dates and times are subject to change.

Twin Poets Society

FIRST TUESDAYS ⊲ 4:00-5:00 p.m.

FTD (Dr. Pierson’s office), 57 Tiffany Dr., Rehoboth Beach

FIRST THURSDAYS ⊲ 6:00-8:00 p.m.

CHEER at Ocean View, 32 West Ave., Oceanview

SECOND TUESDAYS ⊲ 1:30-3:00 p.m. Lofland Park Center, 715 E. King St., Seaford

THIRD TUESDAYS ⊲ 1:00-2:00 p.m.

CHEER Longneck, 26089 Shoppes at Long Neck, Millsboro

WEEKLY ON TUESDAYS ⊲ 10:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m. Lewes Library, 111 Adams Ave., Lewes

The Delaware Valley Chapter of the Alzheimer's Association serves the greater Philadelphia area and the Lehigh Valley, Southern New Jersey, and the full state of Delaware. The chapter is a source of information and support for the more than 489,000 residents in Delaware, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania who are living with Alzheimer’s disease, and their more than 809,000 caregivers. Through its network of staff and volunteers, the chapter offers a broad range of free programs and services, funding for Alzheimer's and dementia research, and advocacy efforts on behalf of those across the region. ▼

MEDICARE & TRANS ADULTS ⊲

Transgender older adults have unique health care needs. Many are unaware that Medicare has been addressing them. For example, it’s been almost 10 years since Medicare began covering medically necessary gender-affirming surgeries. Across those years, Medicare policies regarding many services to transgender adults have evolved and have clarified. Our April issue will cover some important basics.. ▼

The house was packed and West Side New Beginnings in West Rehoboth was buzzing with anticipation: the 2015 Delaware Twin Poets Laureate were in the house! The February 16 visit by identical twins Al Mills and Nnamdi Chukwuocka included the twins’ recitations of their award-winning writings. The delivery of their inspiring words struck a certain cadence that drew those listening into a new world. It was a world of struggle and a world of loss. Yet, it was also a world of victory and of hope.

Tears flowed down the cheeks of those who had the pleasure of hearing the Twin Poets. Some were tears of sorrow, as Al and Nnamdi shared the poetic saga of the shooting of ‘Lil Shane in a dice game. There were also tears of hope and promise when they recited their writing about talking to tomorrow’s leaders today, asking, “What would I say?” They would tell them to spend more money on education instead of prisons. They would say, “Show character and always give respect.”

Respect is a quality that exemplifies the Twin Poets, both given and received. Al and Nnamdi brought their lives and their livelihood to West Rehoboth—and all those present were captured in their words. ▼

Green Time (Perhaps You Require It)

At this point, we all know that going outside is good for us. But it turns out some of us are hardwired to need it a little bit more than others.

Green time, as it’s been dubbed, is an important tool in the ADHD toolbox for managing symptoms and maintaining emotional wellbeing. There are emotional, sensory, and physiological benefits to getting enough green time. And there’s no better time to start planning for that than now, as our first 70° days are behind us and the buds are starting to peek out on the tree branches.

If you are someone with ADHD—or you know someone with ADHD—you know how restless sitting in one place for too long can make us. Our brains want varied sensory inputs, which means that doing one thing for too long or sitting in the same position for too long can be physically or emotionally frustrating for us.

This is doubled when that one thing that we’re doing includes screen time. Our devices, be they laptops or phones or tablets, are essentially tiny machines that provide us dopamine, which is chronically low in ADHD brains. Unfortunately, like candy, the energy that we get from that dopamine is short-lived.

Green time gives us more sustainable dopamine that can help us transfer that energy into tasks that don’t give us dopamine, like sending emails or doing homework. ADHD experts suggest green time as a sort of sensory reset—a way to drastically change our sensory inputs in order to give ourselves a break from tasks and environments that tax our brains.

This reset improves our focus, our emotional regulation, and gives us a break from performing “indoor” behavior. Anyone who’s worked with kids knows that they need time to run around and speak loudly, and some of us still need that long after our age is in double digits.

There are physiological benefits as well—along with all the endorphins that come with being outside (and especially exercising outside), being outside can provide vitamin D through exposure to

sunlight. Even taking slow walks in nature can lower blood pressure, reduce hyperactivity, and lower the level of cortisol (our body’s primary stress hormone). Just remember to pack sunscreen!

There are a lot of different ways to get green time. There are the obvious ways, such as taking a walk through the woods, or going hiking, or mountain biking. But there are also other ways to get green time. Joining an outdoor sports league like sand court volleyball or disc golf can be green time. Gardening or reading outside also works as green time for nonsports people.

You could even do what I did in high school: I put on a hoodie and lay face down in the grass on sunny days when I came home from school. I’m sure that sounds odd, but it worked.

Any way that you can be out in nature is effective green time. If you’re someone who works from home and you don’t have access to a backyard or a park, you can try working in front of an open window that faces some trees or grass. Or grow plants on your windowsill to bring some of that greenness into your home.

If you’re a parent or guardian to a child with ADHD, try scheduling time a couple days a week to take your kid to the park or play outside with them. This has benefits for both you and your kid!

For those with ADHD, try to be as present in that time as possible—green time is less effective if you’re looking at your phone the whole time. It can feel boring at first, but the further you disconnect from interferences like your phone, the more beneficial it’ll be for you. It won’t be easy at first, but it’s worth it.

And you can try things like birding— ADHD brains are great at noticing little things like birds or birdsong that others without ADHD tend to tune out. The sky is literally the limit for green time!

Like with any other coping mechanism for ADHD, this is not a replacement for therapy or medication, but another tool that helps us manage our symptoms. No matter whether we’re having a good day or a bad day with our ADHD, green time can help us relax, recharge, and reinvigorate our efforts towards the things we need to get done. ▼

Julian Harbaugh (they/them) is the Youth Peer Leader at CAMP Rehoboth. When they’re not writing, they can be found teaching their four rats new tricks, walking their dog, and roaming garage sales looking for antique philosophy books.

PrEP for a Healthy Life

Much has changed in the treatment and management of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) over the last 40 years. In fact, between 2015 and 2019, new HIV diagnoses in the United States actually declined by around nine percent: by 2019, approximately 1.2 million individuals 13 years or older were living with HIV, with about 38,000 newly diagnosed cases.

A cornerstone to HIV management and prevention over the past decade has been advances made in pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) medications. Yet in spite of the benefits, awareness of PrEP medications has remained low, and lack of awareness disproportionately affects individuals of color.

In 2012, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Truvada (emtricitabine/tenofovir disoproxil fumarate) for HIV pre-exposure prophylaxis to reduce sexually-acquired HIV-1 infection in at-risk adults, in combination with safer sex practices. Later, in 2018, the FDA extended the use of Truvada for PrEP in adolescents weighing at least 35 kilograms (77 pounds). The FDA approved a second medication regimen, Descovy (emtricitabine/ tenofovir alafenamide), in late 2019 for use in at-risk adults and adolescents weighing at least 35kg.

PrEP has proven beneficial for those who test negative for HIV; have had anal or vaginal sex in the past six months; and: 1) have or had a sexual partner with HIV; 2) have not consistently used a condom; or 3) have been diagnosed with a sexually transmitted infection in the past six months. In addition, PrEP is beneficial for those who inject drugs; have an injection partner with HIV; or share needles, syringes, or other injection equipment.

Both Truvada and Descovy are once-daily prescription medications that, when taken correctly, reduce the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99 percent. Among people who inject drugs, PrEP reduces the risk by at least 74 percent when taken as prescribed.

However, PrEP is much less effective when it isn't taken regularly. In 2021, Apretude (cabotegravir), an every-other-month injection, was approved for PrEP to reduce the risk of getting HIV-1 infection in adults and adolescents who weigh at least 35 kg.

ly more likely to acquire HIV.

In 2019, African Americans represented 13 percent of the US population but accounted for 44 percent of new HIV diagnoses; Hispanics composed 18 percent of the US population but accounted for 30 percent of new HIV diagnoses. From 2015 through 2019, Black MSM accounted for more than 36 percent of new HIV infections annually among MSM. The number of diagnoses of HIV infection for transgender adults and adolescents increased between 2015 and 2019, with the highest percentage (93 percent) of HIV diagnoses for transwomen.

Under the Affordable Care Act, all PrEP medications are free under most health insurance plans. For those that use Medicare Part D, a cost sharing may be incurred. Individuals who do not have prescription drug insurance may be eligible for Ready, Set, PrEP (readysetprep.hiv.gov), a national program that makes PrEP oral medications available at no cost. All medications are fully covered for qualifying participants; however, the costs of necessary clinic visits and lab tests may vary depending on a person’s income.

Despite the medications’ effectiveness and the fact that PrEP has been available for a decade, key barriers exist to PrEP usage. Some structural barriers include PrEP access, potential costs associated with the medication, stigma surrounding populations who benefit from PrEP, lack of provider knowledge, or a lack of prescribing providers. PrEP is only available by prescription and only certified practitioners can prescribe PrEP. Moreover, those on PrEP need periodic blood testing (HIV and kidney function tests), so access to routine clinician care is required.

Awareness of PrEP also has remained low and disproportionately affects individuals of color (Black and Hispanic). Awareness is the lowest in Black men who have sex with men (MSM) and transgender women. Not surprisingly, these groups are also disproportionate-

The HIV National Strategic Plan (2022-2025), the nation’s third consecutive national HIV strategy, sets forth bold targets for ending the HIV epidemic in the United States by 2030. Those targets include a 75 percent reduction in new HIV infections by 2025 and a 90 percent reduction by 2030.

The plan goes hand in hand with the UNAIDS 90/90/90 strategy. Announced in 2014, the strategy outlined that by 2020, 90 percent of people living with HIV would know their status, 90 percent of individuals diagnosed with HIV would be on treatment, and 90 percent of individuals with HIV on treatment would achieve an undetectable viral load. Although the initial targets were missed, UNAIDS revised the goals with 95/95/95 benchmarks by 2030.

Prevention is a key piece to achieving these strategic goals. PrEP awareness, access, and correct usage can help ensure an end to the HIV epidemic, here and globally. ▼

Additional information on HIV and PrEP is available on many credible websites, including HIV.gov, HIVinfo.nih.gov, FDA. gov, CDC.gov, and KFF.org.

…when taken correctly, [PrEP] reduces the risk of getting HIV from sex by about 99 percent.

Classes & Events

For more information about any of these events, please visit camprehoboth.com or call us at 302-227-5620. Zoom links (when applicable) can be found on our website or the weekly email newsletter. Meetings are in-person and take place at CAMP Rehoboth unless noted otherwise.

Weekly Events

WALK-IN HIV TESTING

Mondays-Fridays

Free, rapid, walk-in HIV testing at CAMP Rehoboth. Get your results in 15 minutes. No appointment needed during the below times. Appointments available for other dates and times.

Mondays 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Tuesdays 12:00-4:00 p.m.

Wednesdays 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Thursdays ............. 1:00-4:00 p.m.

Fridays ................... 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

MORNING MINDFULNESS

Tuesdays 8:00 a.m. (Zoom)

Erin will lead a mindful exercise or morning meditation for 30 minutes.

CHAIR YOGA

Tuesdays 9:00 a.m. (Zoom)

Erin guides participants to synchronize conscious breath with mindful movement. The sequence of poses is designed to energize and strengthen, as well as relax and lengthen muscles.

MEN’S YOGA

Saturdays 8:45 a.m.

All levels are welcome, and everyone will be given the opportunity to modify or advance their practice, based upon their preferences.

YOGA FOR ALL

Wednesdays

11:00 a.m.

Come enjoy this new, open-toeveryone, pay-whatyou-like yoga class!

Bi-weekly & Monthly Events

WOMEN IN CIRCLE

03/18, 04/01, 04/15, 10:00 a.m. Women in Circle is a gathering of LGBTQ women that meets the first and third Saturday of each month. The circle is a welcoming, inclusive, and positive place to meet, connect, and share with other women.

YOUTHUP DISCUSSION GROUP

04/13, 6:30 p.m. (Zoom)

The Youth Discussion Group meets the second Thursday of each month. This discussion group is for 11- to 19-year-old LGBTQ+ youth to get together and chat virtually with other LGBTQ+ youth and a supportive adult moderator. These meetings are meant for informal discussions of school, friends, media, and other youth-driven topics. Requests for presentations and other questions from/by adults should be directed to julian@camprehoboth.com.

YOUNG ADULT DISCUSSION GROUP

03/16, 04/20, 6:00 p.m. (Zoom)

The Young Adult discussion group meets the third Thursday of each month. This group is for 19- to 25-year-old LGBTQ+ young adults. For more information email julian@camprehoboth.com.

YOUTHUP THEME NIGHT

03/23, 6:30 p.m. (Zoom)

Every fourth Thursday we do our Theme Nights over Zoom, and this month we’re playing Jackbox games! Join us for this fan favorite. Phone or tablet with internet connection required. Please sign up by emailing julian@camprehoboth.com.

YOUTHUP BOOK CLUB

03/27, 7:00 p.m. (Zoom)

The YouthUp Book Club meets the last Monday of each month. This month’s book is Ophelia After All by Racquel Marie. If you need a copy of the book or want to be added to the mailing list for the Zoom link, email julian@ camprehoboth.com.

FLAMING KNITTERS

03/27, 04/10, 6:30 p.m.

Flaming Knitters meets the second and fourth Monday of each month. The group provides a thoughtful and engaging space for working, conversing, connecting, showing off, sharing resources, and supporting fiber-related crafts/projects in a queer- and trans-affirming space.

CAMP REHOBOTH BOOK CLUB

03/27, 5:30 p.m. (Zoom)

The Book Club meets the last Monday of each month. The Book Club is a queer-facilitated discussion group dedicated to reading novels about queer topics and/ or books by queer authors that tackle a variety of interests and subject matters. The March selection: Nevada by Imogen Binnie. ▼

What is Queerbaiting …

and Why Shouldn’t You Care?

Last month, Harry Styles caused a minor uproar when he accepted a Grammy for Album of the Year, when most prognosticators, music fans, and people with ears expected Beyoncé to win the evening’s biggest award. To suggest that people were upset is putting it mildly. To make things worse, Styles ended his speech thusly: “This doesn’t happen to people like me very often and this is so, so nice. Thank you very much.”

Now, it’s impossible to know exactly what he meant by that, but to most of the folks watching a white man win an award they believed a Black woman deserved more, it was brutally ironic. Viewed through the lens of race and gender, Harry seemed like exactly the kind of people who typically won these things.

He continued making headlines a few weeks later at the BRIT Awards. After picking up a trophy for Song of the Year, he kissed a guy, and the internet lit up like the proverbial Christmas tree.

As a proud member of Generation X, who learned what “gay” meant around the same time I heard my first AIDS joke, the idea that a same-sex kiss would generate controversy is not shocking. What did surprise me, however, was who was doing the complaining. Suddenly, and not for the first time, Styles was being criticized by LGBTQ folks. His crime was something called “queerbaiting.”

This is a term that means different things to different people. When it first arose in the early 2010s, it was used to describe fictional stories (usually movies and TV) that hint at LGBTQ subject matter to attract (“bait”) an audience hungry for representation, then fail to follow through. The BBC’s Sherlock series has often been accused of this (though its creators insist the relationship between Holmes and Watson has never been anything but platonic). But in my recent memory, the worst example was hearing that Avengers: Endgame was going to feature Marvel Studios’ first gay character,

only to learn that this giant step in LGBTQ visibility was a man with no name in a support group for survivors of the Snap talking about his dead husband. He was listed in the credits as “Grieving Man.” Worst. Superhero. Ever.

But because language evolves (faster than ever thanks to the internet),

“queerbaiting” now has an alternate meaning, referring to celebrities who imply by word or action that they may not be 100 percent straight/cisgender while simultaneously not coming out in a definitive way.

Back in 2019, Ariana Grande released a music video called “Break Up With Your Girlfriend, I’m Bored.” In it, she teases and flirts with a man who already has a girlfriend, but in the final moments, leans in and is about to kiss the girl instead, as the image fades to black. LGBTQ fans didn’t think it was cute. Many commented that if Ariana was using a video to come out as bisexual, great. If not, they said, using bisexuality for “shock value” is wrong. Other celebrities who’ve been criticized include Nick Jonas (for singing in gay nightclubs), Billie Eilish (flirted with partially dressed women in a video), and Charlie Puth (posts pictures on his Instagram featuring his bare buttocks).

But no one has been criticized for this more than Styles. While he’s on record saying that “everyone’s a little bit gay,” he uses he/him pronouns and has only ever publicly dated women. Still, he wears pearls, nail polish, glittery jumpsuits, and heels, and has a habit of kissing men in public (first his co-star Nick Kroll at the

Venice Film Festival, then Scottish singer Lewis Capaldi at the BRIT Awards last month). He’s either pretending to be one of us, or refusing to come out, and apparently, this is bad.

Mark Harris writes in the New York Times Style Magazine that queerbaiting “can feel like teasing.” And I suppose he’s right, although that’s a word that can be either cruel or delicious, depending on the context. I suspect that a lot of LGBTQ folks don’t like to see Harry Styles get (mostly) positive attention for things that most of us would be criticized for. If he proudly claimed a queer identity, that would be one thing, they’d argue; this way, he’s just chasing clout.

Or, I would argue, he’s having fun. If by teasing, you mean you’re upset because despite Styles’s androgynous fashion choices, Vogue covers, and his habit of locking lips with other dudes at public events, you’re still not quite sure if Harry Styles is going to sleep with you, allow me to clear that up quickly and neatly: No. He’s not. Or at least the chances are so remote as to be practically zero. It strikes me as mindbendingly ironic that the queer generation that claims to love ambiguity and hate labels like no other can’t deal with a person’s ambiguity unless they attach themselves to the correct label. And Harry Styles, if you’re reading this (you aren’t)—go ahead and wear all the dresses and kiss all the men you want. I fully support you in these endeavors. (Beyoncé probably should’ve won the Grammy, though.) ▼

Eric Peterson is a diversity and inclusion practitioner. His first novel (Loyalty, Love & Vermouth) is available online and at Browseabout Books in Rehoboth Beach. His podcast, The Rewind Project, is available wherever you listen to podcasts.

But because language evolves (faster than ever thanks to the internet), “queerbaiting” now has an alternate meaning …

In Your Easter Bonnet

…With All the Frills Upon It

The idea of showing off a new spring hat is probably intertwined with Christian traditions surrounding the end of Lent and the excitement that comes with the sense of rebirth and renewal. Special Easter garb dates back at least to Shakespearean times; an “Easter suit” is referenced in Romeo and Juliet.

Wearing a bonnet specifically designed for Easter became popular after the Civil War, when communities held parades to boost community spirit. The New York City Easter parade had become so popular by the 1940s that up to one million people took part. And once Fred Astaire and Judy Garland strolled into the 1948 film Easter Parade, every woman (and quite a few men) wanted to be seen in a fashionable Easter bonnet.

As interest in Easter bonnets grew, milliners rose to the challenge. They made hats with not only ribbons and flowers, but also feathers, lace, and even taxidermy. Easter bonnet designs—then as now—ranged from high style to hijinks. In the Instagram sensation of its time, actress Ann Miller famously posed wearing a flower-covered hinged top hat containing a live rabbit.

At least as far back as the mid-20th century, the Rehoboth Beach Easter Promenade attracted crowds to celebrate the holiday and the arrival of warmer weather by strolling the boards in their Easter finery. The Rehoboth Beach

Chamber of Commerce sponsored the promenade for many years and awarded prizes for categories that included BestDressed Babies, Best Dressed Families, and Best Easter Bonnet.

LGBTQ+ milliners have played a part in the evolution of hats. Otto Lucas, who created hats for Greta Garbo and Wallis Simpson, was a German-born gay Jewish man. He escaped the rise of Nazism in his homeland to go to London in the 1930s. He opened a salon on glamorous Bond Street, where he proceeded to make stunning hats (three are in the collection of the Museum of London), some with matching hatpins.

Hats fall in and out of popularity, but a great hat continues to be the mark of a well-dressed person. That is fortunate for top milliners such as Albertus Swanepoel. He was recently listed as one of the “5 LGBTQ+ Milliners in the US to Know” by the Milliners Guild. His hats have been featured in Vogue, W Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, T Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal, to name a few. He has worked on Broadway shows and television series such as 30 Rock, True Blood, and Sex and the City

“Personally, I’m not a fan of Easter Bonnets nowadays,” he says. He confesses he doesn’t even go to the parade on Fifth Avenue. “I think people are now trying to be funny or outrageous instead of witty, and let’s not even mention chic.” His clients have included Aretha Frank-

lin, Kate Winslet, Sasha Baron Cohen, and Yoko Ono.

Other prominent LGBTQ+ milliners include Guy Carsone, who started his career running a New York costume house and grew up in his grandmother’s garment factory on West 39th Street, where “every day it was a parade of different hats”; Jason Murillo, whose work as a hairstylist lead him to hat making; and Corina Haywood, who collected vintage hats before taking a millinery course at the Fashion Institute of Technology and now creates “a spectrum of gendered and gender-free hats and headpieces.”

Tommy Cobau, who was included in “5 LGBTQ+ Milliners in the US to Know,” creates headwear and accessories for Broadway shows, national tours, regional theater companies, television shows, individual performers, and everyday people looking for something special to wear. He serves as head milliner for the Metropolitan Opera, and in what must be one of the more unusual millinery challenges, designed the party hats made from vintage Tupperware for the Tupperware party scene in season four of The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel on Amazon Prime (under the direction of costume designer Donna Zakowska).

At least as far back as the mid20th century, the Rehoboth Beach Easter Promenade attracted crowds to celebrate the holiday and the arrival of warmer weather.

Increasingly, dogs are adorned in Easter bonnets as well, from simple bunny ears to shameless chapeaus and fascinating fascinators. Consider master pet couturier Anthony Rubio. With a formal education in women’s wear design, he had no reservations about delving into the world of pet fashions. His creations are inspired by anything from movies to fairy tales and especially by the best women’s wear couturiers of Europe. Anthony became the first pet fashion designer to showcase at New York’s Fashion Week in February 2012.

Albertus Swanepoel is correct that the typical parade participant now wears an Easter bonnet with more than just “frills upon it.” Towering paper mâché constructions, mechanized displays, and populations of marshmallow

peeps have dominated, although some still opt for elegance. So, whether you want to be the grandest lady or proudest fellow in the Easter parade or simply want to be in the rotogravure (think CAMPshots in Letters), be sure to don your best Easter bonnet. ▼

Nancy (Day) Sakaduski is an award-winning writer and editor who owns Cat & Mouse Press in Lewes, Delaware.

Photo credits page 28: (bottom left) Easter Parade in Rehoboth Beach, photo by Herbert Moore, mid20th century, Delaware Public Archives/Delaware Economic Development Office Photo Collection. (top right) Anthony Rubio with Bogie and Kimba. Photo by SimplyRobb. Photo (this page above): Designer Albertus Swanepoel in his studio.

WANT TO KNOW MORE?

“The Life and Legacy of Otto Lucas,” Museum of London YouTube video.

“Hats Off: Why Do We Make Easter Bonnets, Why Do We Have Parades and How Did the Tradition Begin?” Jennifer Newton, Becky Pemberton, thesun.co.uk, 19 Mar 2018.

“The Importance of an Easter Bonnet,” April 7, 2020. National Mississippi River Museum & Aquarium.

“Milliner Profile: Otto Lucas,” Posted on February 22, 2022 by Royal Hats.

“A Brief History of Easter Bonnets,” Record Gazette, Mar 21, 2019, Updated Sep 28, 2019.

“Bonkers for bonnets: At the Fifth Avenue Easter Parade, nothing is too ridiculous to be worn as a hat,” Alexandra Charitan, April 18, 2019.

“5 LGBTQ+ Milliners in the U.S. to Know,” Interviews & Forward by Rowell Concepcion. Milliners Guild. Parading Easter finery in Rehoboth Beach in mid-20th century, April 11, 2017, Cape Gazette

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It’s My Life

Old Dog, New TikTok

Y’all. Are you sitting down?

I made a TikTok.

This was not my fault. Well, not entirely. It’s mostly my friend Thumper’s fault. And also a little bit my editor’s fault. Some of you know that, among other things, I write young adult (YA) novels. And for the last little while, TikTok has been the place to be for YA writers and books. This isn’t surprising given that 80 percent of TikTok’s user base is between the ages of 16 and 34, which lines up almost perfectly with the target audience for YA books these days.

There’s a subcommunity of TikTok called BookTok, where users make TikToks about their favorite books. And this is a big deal. Books that become favorites with the BookTok community almost inevitably become bestsellers. I love this because it’s readers selling other readers on their favorite books. And the best part of it is, absolutely no one has figured out how to make a book a BookTok star.

They’ve tried. But it doesn’t work. As one of my publishing friends lamented, “We have entire meetings about BookTok and how to make a book go viral there. And nobody knows. If it doesn’t happen organically, it doesn’t happen.” Frustrating, to be sure. But also, kind of fantastic.

I honestly hadn’t paid much attention to TikTok before except when my husband, who is addicted to TikTok, would send me ones to watch. Also, there’s this hilarious Muslim woman (@ zainah.mb) who makes TikToks about her cat, Sister Minnie, and I am in love with them both and get excited every time they make a new TikTok.

Now, though, I have a reason to pay attention. I haven’t had a YA book out in a while. But in one of those peculiar publishing fairy tales that sometimes come true, a book I published 15 years ago, called Suicide Notes, was recently given a second life by someone at Barnes & Noble, who selected it for a sales program that found it reaching an

entirely new audience. That audience asked for a sequel, and so this fall my novel Every Star That Falls will be out.

A week or so ago, another editor friend sent me a photo. He had gone to a Barnes & Noble in Manhattan and took a photo of a table they’d made featuring BookTok Favorites. There in the middle of the table was my novel Suicide Notes That led to my husband searching for my books on TikTok and finding a surprising number of TikToks about them.

Which brings us to my friend Thumper. About a year ago, Thumper decided he wanted to give TikTok a go to promote his writing. He started making TikToks engaging with the witchcraft community, which is his primary focus. To his delight, they took off. (Check him out at @fivefoldlaw.) And one of the things he realized very quickly is that the best way to promote your writing is to not talk about it very much at all. Instead, you make TikToks about pretty much anything else that gets people to engage with you. Then, if they like you, they might check out your books.

“Make one about something fun,” Thumper suggested when I told him I was thinking of venturing into TikTokland. And so, I decided to make one about Greta, one of our dogs. Specifically, I made one of me singing Greta one of the daily songs that I make up about her, in this case one in which I assure her that she is the most beautiful dog in all the world. It concludes with the statement that she is especially more beautiful than Gwyneth Paltrow.

“This is so stupid,” Thumper said when I sent it to him for his thoughts. “I love it.”

I put my TikTok up and waited for it to go viral. (Should you want to see it, check out my account at @ authormtford.) So far, it has not. As of today, I have 23 followers and 14 likes. This is nothing on Thumper, who has 57K followers and 1.5M likes. And it’s really nothing on TikTok’s most popular creator, Khabane Iame, who has 155M followers and 2.4B likes. But everyone has to start somewhere.

Most of my writing peers lament the very existence of TikTok. They don’t understand why anyone likes it. They hate that something as simple as a ridiculous 15-second video can make or break a book. Mostly, they resent it deeply when the books that make it aren’t theirs. And I get it. In its worst moments, TikTok feels like being in a room filled with people desperate to be famous just for being famous.

But I can’t help but love it. I love that it’s made mostly by young people taking control of the same advertising channels that target them. I love that it’s actual readers talking about the books they love, and why. I love that it’s often completely ridiculous.

Yeah, I’m probably too old for TikTok. Whatever. I learned a new trick. And I think it’s a pretty good one. ▼

As of today, I have 23 followers and 14 likes.

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CAMP Stories

Kava Culture

Iwasn’t sure what to expect when I walked into the Kava Culture bar on Fleming Street in Key West. Kava? Java? And what about cava, the sparkling wine from Spain? Admittedly I was a bit befuddled but also curious because—let’s be honest—any establishment promoting itself as a “bar” was right up my alley. Anyone remember baked potato bars?

Kava Culture is situated in an historic commercial building that I recall once housed a nautical antiques store. Inside it looked more like a coffee house than a bar. Not a sterile Starbucks kind of place, but more like the Central Perk coffee house from the sitcom Friends with its big windows, wooden floors, tin ceiling, comfortable sofas, graffiti artwork, and U-shaped bar. Ironically, Friends was playing on a big video screen when I bellied up to the bar. And, yes, you guessed it, Phoebe was sitting directly across from me in a fuchsia tie-dye dress and sipping something from a coconutstyle bowl she held up to her lips with both hands.

Phoebe’s bowl, I learned, contained kava, a brown tea made from the ground-up root of the Piper methysticum plant, which roughly translates to “intoxicating pepper.” It’s traditionally been used by Polynesian cultures in folk medicine and for social and ceremonial occasions such as when Prince Harry visited Fiji in 2018 and glugged down a bowl of kava to the loud cheers of Fijians in attendance.

It is generally believed kava first found its way to the west coast from Hawaii in the early 20th century where it was used to treat gonorrhea, kidney disease, and nervousness. In 1900, kava extract even appeared in the Sears Roebuck catalog as a “temperance wine,” an alternative to alcoholic drinks.

The first kava bars began showing up in hip neighborhoods in San Francisco and New York in the 1990s. But the drink has more recently come into vogue nationwide as more and more people are seeking healthier alternatives to

alcoholic drinks while still looking for a way to unwind and socialize after work and on weekends. The global kava market is expected to grow from $1.2 billion in 2022 to $3.4 billion by 2029.

tad bitter and rather underwhelming, except that it slightly numbed my lips. It’s common to mix kava with natural fruit flavors to balance the bitterness of the root so I next sampled two teas on tap that featured pear and orange flavors. Both were nice, but a tad too sweet. (No sugar, though, just natural products.) I wasn’t feeling much, so I asked the ‘tender if she could mix me something a bit stronger to take the edge off a little backache that had popped up earlier in the day.

She nodded and drew forth from one of the taps a drink she proudly called “Lemon Pound Cake.” A handsome man sitting beside Phoebe at the bar yelled “that’s the best.” Instead of kava root, it was made with Delta-8, a natural hemp extract promising a mind-dominant buzz, whatever that meant. I looked at the tulip-shaped glass of yellow liquid she set in front of me and wondered what the heck I was ingesting and if it all was legit. Key West does have a history of flaunting conventions. Long story short, kava is legal, and it is considered a dietary supplement. Delta-8, however, is less cut-and-dried. It was tasty, though, so I spent the next half hour sipping the Lemon Pound Cake and watching Friends on the big screen.

Kava’s popularity stems from the fact it produces a natural buzz, a state of calm relaxation, and can reduce anxiety without impairing cognitive function or promoting addiction. It’s healthier than alcohol and the impacts from one kava drink generally can be felt after about a half hour from the first taste and can continue for several hours.

As kava culture is quite alien to me, I turned to the young ‘tender behind the bar to guide me through my initial experience. She started me out with a bowl of classic kava tea, which was a

The bike ride home from the kava bar was simply amazing. For once all the traffic lights were green in my favor. The setting sun shone warm on my face. And everywhere I looked there were purple orchids and pink bougainvillea. Chickens ran alongside my bike. An elderly gentleman even tipped his straw bowler hat. I felt incredible and my back pain was gone. Count me a kava culture convert. Bula! ▼

I looked at the tulipshaped glass of yellow liquid she set in front of me and wondered what the heck I was ingesting…

Dos Locos: A Grand Mexican Treat

Let’s have frozen margaritas! Those are the first words from many people dining in a Mexican restaurant, and the first thing you order at Dos Locos, the popular restaurant on Rehoboth Avenue near the beach. The food is tasty, the service fine. But those margaritas…. It’s not just the sublime lime juice and tequila, the right proportion of each. It’s also the size! Order a small one. You’ll ask the server, “Are you sure this is a small?” Order a large. It takes a wheelbarrow to get it to the table. Oh, so satisfying, plus it lasts deep into the meal. I highly recommend you try one, or two, or three. Maybe not three. Just make sure you have a designated driver!

Yes, the margaritas are splendid, but not the only reason to enjoy Dos Locos. First of all, the menu is fun to look through, with a multitude of selections to browse. I counted eight pages of captivating choices, not including the voluminous drink menu. The menu is chockful of items you’d expect from a Mexican restaurant, but also includes many nontraditional items touched with Mexican charm.

The starting offerings include a smorgasbord of items, such as Mexican Tortilla Soup, a variety of tacos, and several nacho combinations. Sally and I chose to share the Seafood Nachos, with your typical nacho ingredients, but topped with over a half-pound of lobster, crab, and shrimp. Delicious. In addition to the Mexican treats, the menu accommodates kiddies and less adventurous adults with American appetizers, such as Potato Bacon Tater Tots, and Corn Dogs and Fries. Of course, some appetizers boast a Mexican twist, such as the Loco Calamari— wild caught, salted and peppered, fried calamari served with Diego Sauce (hot!) and jalapenos (hotter!!). I will definitely try it when we come back.

One of Dos Loco’s specialties is its Stonegrill dining. The stone comes to your table piping hot (700 degrees!), and you cook your entrée right on it. You can get a variety of meat, fish, and shellfish to prepare (and you can prepare your hand

if you’re not careful). It’s a fun way to put a personal touch to your dining experience. We chose the NY strip steak (certified Angus) with a bourbon sauce, and seared it just right. I was very proud that I didn’t hurt myself when it was my turn to cook.

try. There is the Seafood Señor, a grilled trio of shrimp, scallops, and salmon; an 8-ounce Ahi Tuna Steak; Fish and Chips; or a grilled Fish of the Day.

But this was a night for Mexican dining, so we turned to another specialty of the house—the quesadilla. Again, there were choices galore. We chose the crab quesadilla, which was stuffed with tomatoes, melted Jack cheese, and of course, a healthy serving of lump crab meat. It was a wonderful treat. This was one of 10 options for quesadilla dining. If they are as good as this crab delight, then that is another reason to come back!

Such a good meal was topped off with some decadent desserts. I had never tried fried ice cream. The words “fried” and “ice cream” seem to me to be an oxymoron, but I was pleasantly surprised with the taste and texture of my dessert choice. Sally was even more daring, ordering the Cactus Flower. Easily the Ninth Wonder of the World, this featured several of the dessert offerings piled high on her plate, with a brownie tucked underneath. Well, not just any brownie; this is hands down the best brownie you’ll ever have.

We felt very relaxed in this setting. There is a wall between the well-stocked and popular bar and the modest, more quiet dinner seating. The décor is inviting, the dining area was softly lit, and the seating area was comfortable.

Then it was time to sample the traditional tried-and-true. The menu offered many opportunities. Tacos, enchiladas, burritos, and chimichangas of many shapes and tastes seemed to rule the day. Sally and I sampled the fajitas, grabbing a combination, half sirloin and half shrimp. So tasty, with a perfect blend of peppers and sweet onions. A nice complement to the Stonegrilled steak.

But if you’re not in the mood for Mexican food, Dos Locos has you covered. There are many non-Mexican dishes to

Our server was attentive, knew everything about the menu, and gave us helpful hints on what to order with what. Owner Mit Patel has anywhere between nine and 18 employees, and proudly points out that they come from many cultures. His table-side visit was particularly charming.

Dos Locos is so much more than a margarita paradise. Try it and see. But do try a margarita. Or two. Or three. ▼

Such a good meal was topped off with some decadent desserts.

Gym Rat…Not

Ijoined a gym. And I like it. Color me shocked.

I didn’t expect this to happen. I’ve never been much of a joiner. But I’ve been going for almost a month, and I feel really good about it. The gym is clean. It doesn’t stink. The machines aren’t complicated. The people are nice and are all sizes, shapes, and ages. And despite some soreness, I’m not in traction.

A desire to be fit again is my motivation. I don’t know if I will lose weight. I hope so, but I’m not expecting it. I sure need to. Between moving to Delaware from NYC, a sedentary job and couch potato-hood for the last 15 years, menopause, the pandemic, and retirement, I’ve put on way more than I need. But not being able to move as I age is a real fear. You know—use it or lose it. I see it happen, and I don’t want to go out a blob on the sofa.

I blame yoga, another activity I didn’t expect to enjoy, for my gym membership. I began yoga classes last summer and I really feel so good afterward. I’ve only missed one class. Yoga taught me how to breathe, and how to get on and off the floor. There are certain poses, though, that I just can’t do. They’re not pretzel poses; I’m simply not strong enough, and my stomach sometimes gets in the way. It’s annoying.

So the seed was planted. Get fitter. My friend Jen told me about the gym she goes to. She’s a good deal younger than me and has lost weight. She looks great. But it’s the way she feels; the increased energy she exudes. I want that, too.

I was a fit kid. I played outside, rode my bike everywhere, and swam all summer. I was the most athletic girl all the way through junior high school. I won presidential fitness awards in gym and blue ribbons on swim team. I shimmied up the rope as fast as the boys.

When I lived in DC in my late-20s, I took Kenpo karate classes. I only got to yellow belt by the time I moved to NYC, but I enjoyed it. I didn’t have the time for fitness in NYC, and since I walked everywhere and was a drummer in several

bands, it wasn’t an issue. Not long after I met Sandy and moved to Dover in 2005, we took boxing classes, which were a short-lived blast. Foot problems and then a knee replacement took me out of that game. And the boxing gym, sadly, closed a few years later.

After that, I was at a desk behind a computer all day, too exhausted to do anything else.

Fast forward to last summer, and well, I was starting to feel like Jabba the Hutt. But that’s changing. I’m aiming for going to the gym regularly two times a week, and maybe three. I met with one of the gym officiants and we laid out a plan. Until April, I do the bike for 15 minutes, then what’s called the 30-minute workout on the machines (which takes me longer than a half-hour, but that’s OK) and bike again for another 15 minutes. In May, we check in and reassess.

Astonishingly, I still haven’t closed all the rings on my watch’s exercise app. It’s a goal now. I’m tantalizingly closer every visit. But yoga has taught me not to push it into pain. I’m taking it easy, using the lowest weights on the machines for now. I’m happy to huff, puff, and sweat on the lowest settings.

Sometimes I don’t feel like going, like yesterday. But I went anyway and felt better. Sandy is going with me at least twice a week, which is very helpful. We are getting fit together. In our early 60s, we can’t really imagine living without one another.

I know I’ll never have the body I had in my 20s, 30s, or 40s. It was great, but that ship sailed. But I know I can feel better, look better, and not have to worry so much about falling. Or if I do fall, knowing I can get back up, assuming I didn’t break anything. It’s important for me to be able to move. And have more energy. And really, to live a better life. ▼

Astonishingly, I still haven’t closed all the rings on my watch’s exercise app. It’s a goal now.

The Sea Salt Table BY

Effortless Bread for Sunday Dinner

If you’ve ever followed a recipe, you know cooking involves a bit of math. Especially if you’re changing the number of servings. And if you’re planning an entire menu, the mathy-est part is figuring out the start times for every step.

As I started to cook more often, I developed an innate feel for time management. But even for me, baking is still a challenge because it’s often less art and more science. Let cake batter sit too long or overmix a dough, and the result could be disastrous.

So, this month I’m turning breadmaking on its ear. I’ve converted a recipe from time-based durations to a clock-based approach. I’m giving you the steps and when to start them, instead of you having to work up a timeline. The result is a foolproof, delicious bread that will make you a supper rockstar!

This recipe is based on the King Arthur brand “No-Knead Crusty Chewy Bread.” Apropos, the key to this and all no-knead breads is time itself. Time is doing the hard work for you.

Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Take a break from Wheel of Fortune to mix in a large bowl: 5 cups bread flour; ¼ tsp instant yeast granules; 2 ¼ tsp table salt; 2 ⅔ cups cool water.

The mixture will be rather wet and stringy. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let it sit overnight on your counter.

Friday at 7:00 a.m. You will see a dough that is bubbly and has risen a good bit. Put the bowl in your refrigerator. By letting the dough rest for almost two days, you’re passively developing its gluten which is what it needs for that springy texture and airy bite. You’re doing this instead of kneading.

Sunday at 12:45 p.m. Grease the bottom and sides of a 5.5- to 6-quart cast-iron Dutch oven (or a casserole dish with a lid) with nonstick cooking spray. Then dust the greased surfaces with cornmeal or rice flour.

Sunday at 1:00 p.m. Your dough is a grayish-tan blob. You might even see a little water separation. It won’t look appetizing. No worries.

Gently stir the dough down, separating it from the sides of the bowl. The goal is not to deflate it in any hard way.

Nudge and pour the dough into your greased dish. Put the lid on and let it rest on the counter.

Sunday at 2:30 p.m. Preheat your oven to a screaming hot 450°.

Sunday at 3:00 p.m. Put the dish in the oven with the lid on. The lid is the key, trapping the steam like a professional baker’s oven.

Sunday at 3:45 p.m. Carefully take the lid off. Ta-da! You have a loaf of bread, albeit still be kind of pale.

Sunday at 3:55 p.m. It’s time for a judgement call. You want your bread to be deep caramel brown. If it’s not, let it bake a couple minutes more. Don’t worry, you’re not going to burn it.

Turn the loaf out onto a baking rack or lean it against a bowl. Do not set it on a

cutting board. It needs to get air underneath and around it.

Sunday at 4:30 p.m. The house smells amazing and you want a slice slathered with butter. Don’t do it! Cutting too early will release steam and allow cold air to rush in. This will be a fleeting pleasure, and you’ll be punished tomorrow with slices that are gummy. A slow cool is key to a crusty crust and a light fluffy crumb.

Sunday any time after 5:00 p.m. Cut and enjoy! Drink in the kudos. Sign autographs. You worked for it. OK, we know you really didn’t.

TIPS

• Start googling. There are many noknead breads with all sorts of fun techniques, including recipes where you preheat the Dutch oven, ones where you gently lift and fold the dough like a letter, and still others where you slash the top like a true baker.

• You really should use bread flour for the dough. You’ll find recipes where you can swap in some whole wheat flour but be warned the bread will be heavier.

• For dusting the pan, I’m partial to rice flour and lots of it. It gives that rustic, streets-of-Paris, bakery look. Using regular flour won’t work as it can burn.

• Using a bigger pan is fine. I like the 5.5 quart because the dough climbs the sides, getting higher in the middle. The larger the pan, the wider and lower the loaf. Still delicious.

• You can chill the dough longer than two days. It will age like a fine wine. Sort of like it’s fermenting, developing a great yeasty taste. But there’s a tipping point where the result will be denser. So, start no earlier than Tuesday. ▼

Ed and his husband Jerry split their time between homes near Harrisburg Pennsylvania and Bethany Beach. Recipe requests and feedback welcome: ed@seasalttable.com.

A slow cool is key to a crusty crust and a light fluffy crumb.

CAMP REHOBOTH BEACH GUIDE

REHOBOTH RETAIL SHOPS

New Wave Spas, 20660 Coastal Hwy

Unfinished Business, Rt. 1 behind Panera Bread

302-227-8484

302-645-8700

REHOBOTH ART | GALLERIES | MUSEUMS

Caroline Huff, Fine Artist www.carolinehuff.com

Gallery 50, 50 Wilmington Ave

Philip Morton Gallery, 47 Baltimore Ave

Rehoboth Art League, 12 Dodds Ln

Rehoboth Beach Museum, 511 Rehoboth Ave

REHOBOTH FOOD & DRINK

1776 Steakhouse, Midway Shopping Center

Aqua, 57 Baltimore Ave

Back Porch Café, 59 Rehoboth Ave

Blue Moon, 35 Baltimore Ave

Café Azafrán, 18 Baltimore Ave

Café Papillon, Penny Lane Mall

Coho’s Market & Grill, 305 Rehoboth Ave

Diego’s Bar Nightclub, 37298 Rehoboth Ave

Dos Locos, 208 Rehoboth Ave

Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant, 3 South First St

Go Fish, 24 Rehoboth Ave

Goolee’s Grille, 11 South 1st St

Indigo, 44 Rehoboth Ave

Just In Thyme, 38163 Robinsons Dr

Lori’s Café,

302-227-2050

302-727-0905

302-227-8408

302-227-7310

302-645-9355

302-226-9001

302-227-3674

302-227-6515

302-227-8100

302-227-7568

302-227-2646

302-227-1023

302-227-3353

302-527-1400

302-226-1044

302-227-7653

302-212-5220

302-227-3100

Gay/Lesbian Alcoholics Anonymous—add’l schedules

302-856-6452

Saturdays 6 pm: Epworth UMC, 19285 Holland Glade Rd (step meeting)

Saturdays 7:30 pm: All Saints’ Church, 18 Olive Ave (step meeting)

Tuesdays noon: St. Peter’s Church, 211 Mulberry St, Lewes (step meeting)

Thursdays noon: CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave (open discussion)

Sundays 9 am: CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave (open discussion)

Tuesdays 8 pm: CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave (Young Persons)

Gay Men’s Discussion Group—Program of CAMP Rehoboth

Lesbian Support Group—Program of CAMP Rehoboth

Lewes Senior Activity Center (age 50+)

302-227-5620

302-227-5620

302-645-9293

LGBTQ Student Union—University of DE, Newark 302-831-8066

Meals on Wheels Lewes-Rehoboth

302-645-7449

PFLAG-Rehoboth—3rd Tuesdays, Public Library, 111 Adams Ave, Lewes

SLAA and SAA—Thursdays, 7:30 pm, All Saints’ Church 18 Olive Ave

Social Security Administration—Lewes office

302-745-7929

TransLiance of DE—Rehoboth—4th Tuesdays at 7 pm, MCC of Rehoboth; contact: TransLiance@gmail.com COUNSELING/THERAPY/LIFE

INSURANCE

Eric Blondin, State Farm

George Bunting, State Farm

Jeanine O’Donnell, State Farm

LEGAL/ACCOUNTING/TRUST SERVICES

Lawson Firm, 402 Rehoboth Ave

PWW Law LLC, 1519 Savannah Rd, Lewes

Steven Falcone CPA, Taxes & Planning

LOCKSMITHS

Rock Lock/Robin Rohr/Your Community Locksmith

MASSAGE THERAPY/FITNESS

Midway Fitness & Racquetball, Midway Center

One Spirit Massage, 169 Rehoboth Ave

Rehoboth Massage/Alignment

Reiki CENTRAL, thecentralfirm.com

PET RETAIL

Critter Beach, 156 Rehoboth Ave

302-644-3276

302-227-3891

302-645-7283

302-226-3700

302-703-6993

302-644-8634

302-386-9166

302-645-0407

302-226-3552

302-727-8428

302-408-0878

302-226-2690

Pet Portraits by Monique 717-650-4626

PET SERVICES

Brandywine Valley SPCA, 22918 Dupont Blvd, G’twn .........

302-856-6361

Humane Animal Partners (formerly Delaware Humane Association & Delaware SPCA)

Parsell Pet Crematorium, 16961 Kings Hwy, Lewes

REAL ESTATE

Allen Jarmon, NextHome Tomorrow Realty

Bill Peiffer, Patterson Schwartz, 18958 Coastal Hwy

Chris Beagle, Berkshire Hathaway, 37230 Rehoboth Ave

Debbie Reed Team, 319 Rehoboth Ave

Donna Whiteside, Berkshire Hathaway, 16712 Kings Hwy

Hugh Fuller, Realtor

John Black, Patterson Schwartz, 18958 Coastal Hwy

Lana Warfield, Berkshire Hathaway, 37230 Rehoboth Ave

Lee Ann Wilkinson Group, 16698 Kings Hwy

Lingo Realty, 246 Rehoboth Ave

McGuiness Group, 246 Rehoboth Ave

302-200-7159

302-645-7445

302-745-5122

302-703-6987

302-227-6101

800-263-5648

302-381-4871

302-745-1866

302-703-6987

302-227-6101

302-645-6664

302-227-3883

302-227-3883

McWilliams Ballard, Kevin McDuffie kmcduffie@mcwb.com

McWilliams Ballard, Justin Orr jorr@mcwb.com

Randy Mason/Shirley Kalvinsky, Lingo Realty

Sea Bova Associates, 20250 Coastal Hwy

Troy Roberts, Mann & Sons, 414 Rehoboth Ave

302-227-3883

302-227-1222

302-228-7422

RETIREMENT LIVING/SENIOR CARE FACILITIES

Springpoint Choice, 17028 Cadbury Cir, Lewes

The Lodge at Truitt Homestead, 36233 Farm Ln .................

TRAVEL & TRANSPORTATION

Accent On Travel, 37156 Rehoboth Ave

CHEER Transportation (age 50+)

ITN Southern Delaware (age 60+ or disabled)

Jolly Trolley Shuttle from Rehoboth Ave & Boardwalk

Olivia Travel

POPULAR LGBTQ BEACHES

Poodle Beach, south end of the Rehoboth Boardwalk

302-313-6658

302-232-6372

302-278-6100

302-856-4909

302-448-8486

302-644-0400

800-631-6277 ext. 696

Cape Henlopen State Park, Ocean Dr north to Cape Henlopen State Park. Daily parking rate in effect March-November.

Aesthetic Center

302-827-2125

FlingGolf—the Future of the Fairway?

Some people are intimidated by golf and rightly so. Just figuring out what club to use can be perplexing. There are the woods, the hybrids, the irons, the wedges, and the putter. It is sometimes hard to know which to use in any given situation.

FlingGolf solves that problem because there is only one club. It’s called a FlingStick. It resembles a golf club, but it has a metal pocket at one end to hold a regular golf ball. The pocket sides are flat. It serves as the tee box club, fairway club, and putter. Immediate benefits include lower cost than a set of clubs and no heavy golf bag to lug around. Numerous FlingStick models are available, and costs range from $90-180.

FlingGolf is played on a regular golf course using the FlingStick. There are two basic techniques to the swing. One is called the Overhead. It entails keeping the wrists hinged above the shoulders and dropping the FlingStick down the back.

The Sidearm is more like swinging a baseball bat. Either the Overhead or the Sidearm is acceptable on the course so the choice is a matter of what works best for you. Either way, it is important to keep the head tilted up and forward. This simple detail better enables the ball to sail farther.

FlingGolfers can play with traditional golfers. Depending on one’s level of proficiency it is possible to hurl the golf ball about 200 yards.

Sounds relatively easy but there is a learning curve—though it’s perhaps not as great as the one in traditional golf.

The New Swarm FlingGolf web site (flinggolf.com) offers a plethora of pointers and videos on rules, techniques, and how to play the game. It offers a vast array of tutorial videos. It also includes a list of courses where FlingGolf is offered and there are several in Delaware—although at various levels of involvement. Two nearby examples are The Rookery and Shamrock.

One of the more engaged courses is the American Classic Golf Course

(ACGC), a public course in Lewes. ACGC started offering the sport in 2019 and the nine-hole course is perfect for beginners. (ACGC may already be familiar to many readers: the CAMP Rehoboth Ladies (traditional) Golf League plays there on Thursday evenings from May through September. Contact CAMP Rehoboth for details.)

observe, American Classic is one of five stops in the US for the 2023 World League FlingGolf Tour. More than 50 athletes from across the US are expected to compete. The event is scheduled for May 20-21. Local sponsors include Revelation Brewing Company and Britt Marie Fitness. Other tour stops include locations in California, Colorado, Virginia, and a yet-to-bedetermined stop In New England.

ACGC also organizes local FlingGolf events. FlingGolf Fridays is offered each week at 6:00 p.m. starting the Friday after Memorial Day and continuing through Labor Day. “Attendance averages anywhere from 10-30 players depending on the weather and weekend,” according to Ebersole. He claims that it typically only takes players three to five holes—or 15-minutes’ worth of throwing—to pick it up.

He adds, “It’s a great way to get exercise, a fun way to play golf, and super easy to learn as it is extremely adaptive for all types of players”.

Massachusetts inventor Alexander Van Alen created FlingGolf after developing his first prototype in 2012. He and business partner John Pruellage appeared on Shark Tank in Season 12 (2021). The two offered 10 percent equity of their company in exchange for a $300,000 investment and ended up walking away with a deal from Kind snacks founder Daniel Lubetzky for $300,000 and 25 percent equity.

ACGC’s management is all-in for the FlingGolf. Golf Operations Manager Austin Ebersole is a FlingGolf enthusiast and has been playing for four years. He currently is the Number 1 ranked World League FlingGolfer. His handle is “Showtime.” He teaches both FlingGolf and regular golf at ACGC.

FlingGolf rentals are less expensive than a regular set of clubs. The ACGC rents a FlingStick for $3 and the greens fee to play nine holes of FlingGolf is $12. That’s $15 total. The cost is $12 for those who have their own stick.

For those who might just want to

FlingGolf is now played in 27 countries on more than 1,200 courses.

Want to give it a try? Austin Ebersole is available for personal lessons at $20 for a half hour. He can be reached at ebersole1992@gmail.com. Or call 302-7036662 for lessons or to book a tee time. ▼

Mary Jo Tarallo is a former journalist and public relations professional for various non-profits including a ski industry trade association. She won a Gold Award for a United Way TV program starring Oprah Winfrey.

“It’s a great way to get exercise, a fun way to play golf, and super easy to learn as it is extremely adaptive for all types of players.”

Get the Best for Less for Your Pet

The Brandywine Valley SPCA Animal Health Center is a full service veterinary clinic offering the same high quality care available at a private practice with lower pricing. Services include:

• Sick visits

• Preventive care

Meet the Vet:

• Dentals

Dr. Landon has been caring for pets in our community for more than 10 years. She started in private practice in 2011 then moved to the BVSPCA in 2018. Dr. Landon is the primary veterinarian for patients at the Georgetown Animal Health Center and enjoys helping family pets as well as our shelter animals.

A Place in the World: Janet Flanner

It’s Women’s History Month! So let’s give a cheer for the daring dykes who came before us and insisted on having their place in the world so that we could have our place in the world, too.

In 20th century America, journalism afforded a few determined—or lucky—women a place in the exciting, modernizing world taking shape early in the century. Among the handful of women who found a spot in American journalism’s pantheon of sharp, insightful, or witty writers, Janet Flanner snagged what might be considered the best gig a journalist could ever have: writing a regular feature from Paris for one of America’s premier publications, the New Yorker magazine.

How did Flanner, a middle-class girl from Indianapolis who dropped out of the University of Chicago out of disinterest in academics in favor of the city’s nightlife, snag this plum assignment?

That’s where luck, talent, and lesbian fate came in.

Returning to Indianapolis after leaving Chicago in 1914, Flanner landed a spot as a film critic on the Indianapolis Star newspaper. Though living in that small city, she maintained correspondence with her pals still in Chicago, among them William Lane Rehm. In 1918, to the surprise of all who knew her, including her family, Flanner married Rehm, and the two immediately headed for New York City, where they took an apartment in Greenwich Village.

New York and especially the Village, on the cusp of the Jazz Age, was becoming THE place to be for the young artsy set. Flanner, though married, insisted on living as independently as possible. Rehm, to his credit and his own need for independence, was supportive. Flanner was thus free to hobnob with the leading creative lights of the time, among them Harold Ross, who would go on to found the New Yorker in 1925.

Only months after her marriage to Rehm and their arrival in New York, fate jumped into Janet Flanner’s life in the person of Solita Solano, recently named drama critic for the New York Herald Tribune. According to various sources

who knew both women, the two almost immediately fell in love.

Because Flanner was still married, and because of the prevailing strictures on lesbianism and same-sex relations, even in free-wheeling Greenwich Village Flanner and Solano couldn’t live the life they

feature articulating the social, cultural, and political currents in Europe. Friends since their early Greenwich Village days, Ross reached out to Flanner to write what became the “Letter From Paris.” And thus, one of the great American literary essays came to be.

Flanner, using the pen name Gênet, continued to write the “Letter From Paris” for the next 50 years, writing the essays from her home in that city, with a break during World War Two while Paris was under Nazi Occupation. She returned to Paris in 1944 to cover the city’s liberation.

While Flanner’s literary life was now stable, her personal life was anything but. She divorced Rehm in 1926. Both she and Solano had affairs with other women. For Flanner, her most serious affairs were with singer Nöel Haskins Murphy and later, with Natalia Danesi Murray. Like her relationship with Solano, Flanner’s liaisons with Murphy and Murray weren’t monogamous, and the foursome remained friends over many years.

wanted for themselves. But in 1921, fate intervened again: Solano was offered an assignment by the National Geographic magazine to write articles from Greece.

The couple jumped at the chance.

Now in Europe, Flanner and Solano eventually settled among the avant-garde set on the Left Bank of Paris. The couple became part of the lesbian circle of Gertrude Stein and Alice B. Toklas, Djuana Barnes, and Natalie Barney, as well as palling around with the literati set of F. Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and Ernest Hemingway. The creative atmosphere was ripe for Flanner to write her only novel, The Cubicle City

Meanwhile, back in New York, Harold Ross was organizing his seminal publication of literature and wit, the New Yorker With the first issue planned to debut in February 1925, Ross wanted to round out his roster of contributors with a bi-weekly

Back in the United States, Flanner’s mother’s health deteriorated. Flanner travelled back and forth from Paris to the US to see to her mother’s care, while still writing her essays for the New Yorker and other publications.

Though her mother died in 1947, Flanner continued to commute between America and Paris to pursue various journalism assignments. The furious pace and constant travel eventually affected her own health, and by 1975 she was completely worn out. Solano and Murphy, no longer young themselves, were unable to care for their mutual lover. Flanner moved back to New York permanently, where she lived out her remaining years cared for by Natalia Danesi Murray.

Flanner’s life, like her prose, was lively, unpredictable, and full of wit. The lesbian literary legacy is the better for it. ▼

Flanner’s life, like her prose, was lively, unpredictable, and full of wit. The lesbian literary legacy is the better for it.

CAMPshots

SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

Hooray for Hollywood, Polar Bear Plunge Chili Contest and More Scenes of Winter Survival in RB!

THIS PAGE (left to right) 1) at CAMP Rehoboth Chorus’s “Hooray for Hollywood” Concert: Toni Barrett, Doug Yetter, Tara Sheldon, Leslie Sinclair, Debbie Woods, Leslie Ledogar, David Garrett, David Scuccimarra, Tracey Seabolt; 2) at Rehoboth Historical Society—150 Anniversary Celebration of Camp Meeting Founding: Sam Cooper, RB Mayor Stan Mills, Ernie Lopez, Marilyn Bryant, Bob Stransky; 3) at Iron Hill Restaurant: Jeff Balk, DE Lt. Governor Bethany Hall-Long,

OPPOSITE PAGE 4) at Polar Bear Plunge Restaurant Chili Contest: Harkaitz Urnestarazu, Paige Townsend, Lisa Turgean-Williams, Nikki Turgean-Williams, Oscar Santana and Mitt Patel (The Pines), Gabriel Smyth, Ramazan Cakdakli, Matt Carroll, David Engle, Billy Toner, (Café Azafran), Melson Gutierrez, Unery Equevara (Kiwi’s Tiki Hut), Jennifer Peterson, Gail Wright, (Zogg’s), Tyler Townsend, Drew Mitchell, Katherine Manequill, Yolanda Pineda, Matt Soaglowski, Eric Engelhart, Tony Burns, Mike DeFlavia, Tony Sowers, Chris Beagle, Michael Peagler, (Mariachi)

More CAMPshots page 54

SCENES FROM REHOBOTH BEACH

(Continued from page 53)

THIS PAGE (left to right) 1) at Coastal Concerts—The Viaro Quartet & Roberto Diaz: Hao Zhou, Lucy Wang, Roberto Diaz, Aiden Kane, Tate Zawadick; 2) at Peninsula Gallery—Art Opening Reception for Dane Tilghman: Neal Fitz, Lauri Fitz, Yvonne Devastey, Norman Fitz, Tony Boyd-Heron, Carol BoydHeron, Dane Tilghman, 3) at Freddie’s Beach Bar: Cindy Carey, Paul Carey, Jeff Shields, Mark Hunker, David Franco, David Cordell; 4) at Lupo Restaurant: Carol Hehir, Mary Stuart, Henry Hehir, 5) at Theo’s Restaurant: Stuart Grifter, Blair Cappuccio, Jason Evans, Kresta Grifter.

OPPOSITE PAGE: 6) at The Pines: John Potthast, Jay Chambers, John Flynn, Roxy Overbrooke, Alondra Sanchez; 7) at Purple Parrot: Randall Malick, Chris Leady, Joe Steele, Brian Gray, Damien Gray, Phil Brandt, Alberto Rivera-Rentas; 8) at Fins Restaurant: Marvin Miller, Conrad Welch, Jerry Gallucci, Tony Burns, Dan Kyle, Robert Kopansky, Don Commisso; 9) at Polar Bear Plunge: Joann Baldridge, Cliff Lassahan, Ted Orzech, Jim Brezinsk, George Meldrum, Joe Daigle. ▼

The Writing Life

Nesting Dolls of Hate

Discrimination is complicated. We’re humans, and the way we treat each other is never simple. Sometimes oppressions are contained within oppressions, one nesting within the other like a twisted Russian doll, where the unfair hatred one receives is then passed down to somebody smaller. Someone who can do even less about it.

That sounds abstract. To put it simply, I first came out in the year 2000, when I was 16 years old. No longer a closeted right-wing Evangelical, I was ready to meet this strange new millennium as someone proud and unashamed. Two years later I moved from England to Wales, and got into queer community activism, helping organize petitions and protests and parties. (I was a teenager, and very passionate about all three.) I wanted to help make things better for those who came out next.

Of course, not everyone wants the same thing. Some did, but very quickly I discovered those nesting dolls of hate: gay men and lesbians who seemed outraged at anyone bisexual (who were somehow both a threat and didn’t exist); anyone trans (who were somehow both a threat and didn’t exist); and even Jewish people (who were somehow a threat but were at least considered real). I couldn’t understand it.

Why, when we experience hate, do so many of us feel the need to pass the hate along? That’s what my novel, Proud Pink Sky, set out to explore.

In 2010 I moved from Britain to Berlin, a city with a half-million queer people. I thought that maybe things would be different here, but as anyone who lives in a major metropolis knows, I was being hopelessly naive. The same kind of hate was here too, but it was sneakier: hidden in the corners of run-down squats or huddled in fashionable nightclubs; there in the smirk of an otherwise-righteous activist, or glinting in the eye of an anti-establishment punk.

Proud Pink Sky is set in a very different city to the one I moved to—it takes

place in a Berlin that’s the world’s first gay state. The novel’s Berlin has a dual gay and lesbian government, distinct districts for different subcultures, and even an official gay language. It’s a reality where gay people are finally in control, and though

of perpetual twilight, hidden beneath a gigantic transit bridge.

Yet in all this division there’s still hope and solidarity. The glittering city contains many citizens with friends and lovers across the divides, and residents brave cynical politicians and ferocious cops, reaching across these separations in the hope of making their metropolis a better place. Hate is passed along, for certain, but just as in real life, so is solidarity. So is hope. So is rebellion.

In 2020 I came out again: this time as nonbinary. The truth was they were right: I didn’t really fit, not even into the neat categories of ‘man’ or ‘woman.’ For me, identity was never something fixed or solid—it always had been something fluid, immaterial, just-beyond-my-reach. An absence where other people felt something; an agnosticism while others had faith. It was that way ever since I was a child, spending time with groups of boys and girls and never fitting in with either. There was only ever myself. My curiosity, and my questions.

the city-state is a welcome escape from a homophobic world, it, too, contains the nesting dolls of hate.

For my part, I was never really accepted by any of the gay societies I joined. I was too…something. Perhaps, rumors went, I was one of the craven bisexuals (I certainly hung around with enough) or secretly trans (I spent a suspicious amount of time with them, too). I was passionate, but I was also silly, feminine, and the sex I liked didn’t fit the gay set menu. This was true in England, it was true in Wales, and it’s true in Berlin.

In Proud Pink Sky, citizenship of the gay state is denied to those who don’t fit, and in turn those who don’t fit huddle into towering slums on the edge of the city. Bisexuals hide their sexuality, polyamorous people are forced to hide their families, and trans folk gather in a walled-off slum

Proud Pink Sky is a novel which tries to understand. Without judgment, without condemnation. It’s a novel which seeks to represent all of us, whatever part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum we’re part of. Above all, it warns us to always stay aware of those little nesting dolls of hate—and to never, ever let them rest inside ourselves. ▼

Proud Pink Sky releases March 14 from Amble Press, a new imprint of Bywater Books.

Born in Sheffield in 1984, Redfern grew up in market towns, seaside resorts, and post-industrial cities before moving to Wales and gaining a PhD in Literature from Swansea University (Prifysgol Abertawe) in 2010. Redfern is nonbinary queer and has campaigned for LGBTQ+ and polyamory rights since they were a teenager. They currently live in Berlin. Website: redjon.com

Proud Pink Sky is a novel which tries to understand…which seeks to represent all of us, whatever part of the LGBTQ+ spectrum we’re part of.

The reviews are in!

“My husband and I were very pleased with your clear and informative webinar.” ~Robert M.

“Thank you for the information session. It was well presented and I learned a lot.” ~S.N.

There’s No Place Like Home

For over 22 years, Springpoint Choice has enabled others like you to safely and comfortably remain in their home and age in place. This membership-based program is for healthy, active adults, ages 55 and older, who want to plan for their future.

With Springpoint Choice, you can:

• Plan for long-term care so you can remain in your own home as long as possible

• Avoid being a burden to your loved ones regarding your long-term care needs

• Access quality long-term care and advocacy, if ever needed

• Preserve and protect your financial assets

Wednesday, March 22

RSVP by March 17 to 866-616-3084 or springpointchoice.org/rsvp-delaware.

SPRING EQUINOX

A Time for New Beginnings

March 20th at 5:24 p.m. marks the spring equinox this year. The length of the day and night is almost equal wherever you are in the world, with the sun shining directly on the equator. It marks the beginning of spring in the northern hemisphere. It signifies a time of balance and wholeness.

The word ‘equinox’ comes from the Latin ‘aequus’ and ‘nox,’ which mean equal and night respectively. Both the spring and fall equinoxes occur in between the summer and winter solstices, marking the two points in the year when the earth’s axis is tilted neither towards nor away from the sun.

The spring—or vernal—equinox also represents a time of the year when we may begin to experience more creative energy. The return of light presents us with an opportunity to take time to release our fears and create new intentions. The spring equinox marks the turning point when daylight begins to win out over darkness.

One way we can welcome the new season and new possibilities is by doing spring cleaning—purging clutter, dusting nooks and crannies, and cleaning places that we don’t often clean, such as drawers, garages, and sheds. Psychologists say it can improve your mood, reduce stress, and increase creativity. Cleaning physical spaces may help us organize our mental space in a way that produces positive and clear thinking.

Spring cleaning and space clearing can pave the way for turning over a new leaf. Too much clutter can feel disorganized or chaotic, and it can create feelings of being physically and/or emotionally heavy. Clearing out clothes, shelves, and drawers can help you recharge and rebalance energy within your space.

While physically freeing up space in your environment is important for creating balance, some feel the spring equinox is also a perfect time to clear out any “sludge” that has clogged up your inner workings during the winter. For the past few years, I’ve been doing a spring detox diet. There’s a plethora of choices when it

comes to detox programs. I’ve done a 10day plan by Elson Haas, MD whose book is The Detox Diet. I also have done a three-day juice cleanse and a week-long ayurvedic cleanse.

sun, moon, and earth’s cycles, we naturally cultivate emotional balance, spiritual recalibration, physical awakening, and mental clarity.

It’s a time to connect with nature. Get outside and look around. Try walking barefoot on the earth. Plant seeds. Listen to the birds sing. Journal your dreams. Nourish with healing foods. Shed limiting ways of being.

The spring equinox is honored around the world. In shamanic and other cultures where attunement to nature is ingrained in the rhythm of day-to-day life, the equinox is a natural progression of mother earth bringing balance to our world. Without darkness there would be no light.

In Judeo-Christian traditions, spring cleaning dates back to the liberation of Israelites from Egypt, now celebrated as the holiday of Passover. For Christians, the equinox also marks a time of resurrection and renewal.

Cleaning our physical space may give us a sense of lightness and freedom, but we can also take this time of the year to clear the baggage of our emotional past that may be keeping us stuck. One approach: to raise awareness of the negative nagging we bombard ourselves with daily, carry a notepad around for a day or two. Write down all the chatter you tell yourself. I was shocked when I realized I say things to myself I’d never say to a friend. Truly freeing yourself of the internal negative voice can set the groundwork for the seeds and dreams we want to plant and thrive this season.

Celebrating the spring equinox starts with setting an intention. Maybe you’d like to attract abundance, health, or spiritual growth in the new season. Create an altar or space dedicated to your intention using shells, statues, colors, plants, flowers, and/or crystals. Light a candle. When we acknowledge and embrace the

In Buddhist culture, spring cleaning also plays a major role in ancient Buddhist purification rituals. It also can be traced back 3,000 years in Persian culture. It was believed that sweeping up dust and removing clutter would prevent ill-fortune in the upcoming year.

In yogic tradition the spring equinox is seen as a day when one has the best possibility of transcending the limitations and compulsions of one’s physical longings. Masculine and feminine are said to be on an even keel that day.

If you are feeling adventurous on March 20 this year, you may want to test a folklore made popular in a 1945 Life magazine article. Legend says that you can stand an egg on its end during the spring equinox.

During this shift to more light, have some fun! Be playful. After all, it’s spring!▼

Pattie Cinelli is a health and fitness professional and journalist who focuses on holistic ways to stay healthy and get fit. She can be reached at: fitmiss44@aol.com.a

In yogic tradition the spring equinox is seen as a day when one has the best possibility of transcending the limitations and compulsions of one’s physical longings.

SPOTLIGHT ON THE arts

CAMP Rehoboth Puts Art at the Heart of Our Community

CAMP REHOBOTH'S VISUAL ARTS PROGRAM highlights our community’s unique history and culture, and serves to further diversity, equity, and inclusion by building unity and understanding. It is a new year, and in the February issue, the plans for 2023 were highlighted. In this issue, there is additional information about the current exhibition and what is in store over the coming months. Mark your calendars and get ready for a season that shines a light on the talents of our community!  ▼

Connections

On display through April 17, 2023 Artists’ Reception: March 11, 2:00 to 4:00 p.m.

We live in a world of many connections and shared experiences— both personal and via the digital world. In Connections, on display at CAMP Rehoboth from March 10 through April 17, developing artists aged 16 to 21 years share their voices through a youth-focused lens. The artists’ reception on Saturday, March 11, will provide an opportunity to celebrate these artists and their talent.

Art gives meaning to our lives and helps us understand the world. The creation of art facilitates a deeper understanding of emotions, promotes self-awareness, and allows for consideration of new ideas and experiences. In Connections, the 11 exhibiting artists* explore these themes and emotions such as isolation, relationships, anger, love, belonging, and more.

In this juried art exhibition, the selections, which were made by a team of community members, incorporate works in a broad range of media: painting, charcoal sketches, photography, digital art, mixed media, and sculpture.

IMAGES

All can learn from the perspectives of these talented young artists. ▼

This program is supported, in part, by a grant from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts. The Division promotes Delaware arts events on DelawareScene.com.

FEST ART 2023!

April 21 to May 26, 2023

Artists’ Reception: April 28, 2023, 3:00 to 5:00 p.m.

Up next is what may be CAMP Rehoboth’s largest community art exhibition of the year, FEST ART 2023! Held in conjunction with CAMP Rehoboth’s Women’s FEST, this juried exhibition celebrates women in the arts and is open to all.

The juror for FEST ART 2023! is Delaware artist Roberta Tucci. She creates paintings and drawings of vigorous color and patterns to explore organic forms, material objects, calligraphic shapes, and the dynamic interacting spaces between them. Her unique artwork is represented in private collections and diverse public locations including churches, spas/resorts, and museums. And she was a previous exhibitor at CAMP Rehoboth! You may view Roberta’s work at RobertaTucciStudio.com.

If you are interested in submitting your art for consideration in FEST ART 2023!, visit CAMP Rehoboth’s website at camprehoboth.com. Under Programs, Arts & Culture, then Visual Arts, you will find the Call for Artists for FEST ART 2023! in the lefthand column.

Murray Archibald in a Solo Show

June 10 to 30, 2023

Opening Reception: June 10, 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.

During the pandemic and after emerging from it, Murray has been busy in the studio creating new art. CAMP Rehoboth is honored to host Murray’s solo exhibition where he will share his latest work.

Be among the first to see how Murray’s creativity and art has evolved. Known for his use of color, now layered with underlying texture and patterns, his art reflects his deep love and passion for life, spirit, and community. ▼

artist SPOTLIGHT

This month, Letters had the good fortune to talk with local artist Dan Bartasavich. Dan and his long-term partner (23 years!), Duane, have lived in the area since 2012. They and their two bulldogs love the area and the people.

Dan works in mediums ranging from paper to found-object sculpture; from reclaimed paint to photography. His most recent solo exhibit, at The Manos Gallery in Tarentum, Pennsylvania (near Pittsburgh), featured nearly 100 works. Locally, he’s exhibited at the CAMP Rehoboth gallery. He’s working now toward a Pride show at The Manos Gallery.

CR: So—what sort of pieces are you working on right now?

DB: Each year, I choose a theme for the year. For 2023, it’s “The Gifts of Love and Life.” Working within that, I’ve got about 100 works on paper in progress.

And then there are the large paintings—the one next to me is 5x6 feet; there are 20-30 of them (but not all are that large). Those are made 100 percent from reclaimed paint and other found objects. The theme of that series is “In the Music, I Am the Melody.”

CR: How do you define success as an artist? Do you feel you’ve achieved success?

DB: I feel I’m successful because I’ve never been more satisfied or happier than I am now with the growth I see in my work. I’m not motivated by money; I’m just driven, creatively, to “get it out.” For me, a piece that makes me remember a time or event, or which always evokes an emotion, is a success.

CR: CAMP Rehoboth gallery’s March exhibit, Connections, will feature young artists, age 16-21 years. What advice would you offer a young person interested in pursuing art?

DB: My number one piece of advice, as they approach a new piece, is to ask themselves some questions: What is my intention? What am I trying to say? What’s my voice?

I’d also strongly advise that they partner with someone—art isn’t created in a void. Remember the maxim, “steal like an artist”—study, mash-up, transform, remix. Build on what came before.

Also—ask: can I devote myself to this piece till it’s finished? (Of course, it’s been famously said that a work is never completed; it’s merely abandoned.) That aside, I think there’s real value in sticking with a piece, even one you think isn’t going anywhere. Don’t give up till you surprise yourself.

Of course, there also are practicalities. Like:

• Create a space of your own in which to work. It may be just a table someplace, but it needs to be someplace where you can make a mess.

• Set aside a RIGID time in your day to work on your art. Just like some folks commit to time at the gym, the artist needs to commit to work on their art.• Warm up before you start a piece— just like you would at the gym.

• Play a LOT with your materials—see what they do, how they look, what happens when you let yourself experiment. • Don’t pigeonhole yourself into just one (or a few) mediums—open yourself up; being uncomfortable can be a great thing.

I’d also offer just an observation: the world needs artists; it needs creatives. Though come to think of it, “artist” is a noun. Who wants to be a noun? I’d rather be a verb. Being an artist is an identity.▼

arts+entertainment

BOOKED SOLID

Women’s History Month Books

c.2023, various publishers, $19.99 to $30, various page counts

Great-Grandma never paid attention to the word “no.”

She raised her kids and her skirts, cooked meals and schemes, cleaned rooms and society, and ran a household like a boss. And she wasn’t alone. In March, we salute women like her, and others, during Women’s History Month....

Every woman who tries to break into a “man’s world” finds a glass ceiling—but some of those have cracks. It’s true now, just as it was on Every Night Is Saturday Night, a memoir by Wanda Jackson, with Scott B. Bomar (BMG Books, $19.99). Jackson was just 16 when her first record hit the Top Ten in the mid-1950s, and that was the beginning of a wild, decades-long career. For fans of country music, Elvis, rock & roll, Bob Dylan, Jack White, Johnny Cash, and others, this book will make you dance.

Where would we be without Mom? For sure, there’d be no history at all. And with that in mind, Zig-Zag Boy by Tanya Frank (W.W.Norton, $28.95) is the book to read this month. It’s the story of Frank’s young adult son, who had a sudden psychotic break one night. But that’s not the end of (or the whole reason for) this tale. Frank writes of fighting for her boy, the medications he needed, the care team he required, and learning to be Mom to someone who’s very ill. This is a great book about the power of motherhood, perfect for a woman in the same spot.

Bravery takes all kinds of forms, and in Madame Restell by Jennifer Wright (Hachette, $30), you’ll read about one woman whose life has, up until now, been largely forgotten. Little Ann

Trow was born in the early 1800s and she grew up to be an elegant woman and a talented surgeon at a time when that was a rare thing for a woman to achieve. But she who called herself Madame Restell didn’t work in a clinic—she owned one that offered birth control, quiet abortions, and health care for New York’s women, whether they were society ladies or common washerwomen. And she did this openly, became very wealthy doing it, and she flaunted it despite that the city was full of men who wanted to stop her. This is a story that’ll make you want to stand up and yell, “HECK, YES!”

And on that note, A Woman’s Life is a Human Life by Felicia Kornbluh (Grove Press, $28.00) is a dual story: one of the fight for reproductive rights, and one of the fight against sterilization abuse. Both issues affected many communities of color in New York decades ago. Kornbluh, who is a historian, explains how these seemingly-separate battles then coalesced with grassroots activism, how support came from surprising corners, and what these events have to do with these subjects now.

If these books don’t quite fit with your idea of a great Women’s History Month read, then be sure to ask your favorite librarian or bookseller for ideas. They’ll have the books you need to celebrate women, noooo problem.  ▼

Terri Schlichenmeyer’s second book, The Big Book of American Facts, comes out this fall. Her first (Big Book of Facts) is available now in bookstores.

For more than 30 years CAMP Rehoboth has served the LGBTQ+ and wider community in Sussex County. We rely on the generous support of businesses, corporations, foundations, members, donors, and volunteers to fulfill our vision to create proud and safe communities where gender identity and sexual orientation are respected.

WE INVITE YOU TO JOIN US FOR OUR UPCOMING 2023 EVENTS LABOR

APRIL 27-30, 2023

SEPTEMBER 2-3, 2023

OCTOBER, 2023

Chatbots from the Edge

Let’s deal with current challenges, not science fiction

All the talk of UFOs flying above us and being shot down takes me back to my youth when I read science fiction novels about invasions by space aliens. Some covers would feature an alien carrying a scantily clad, busty young woman, invariably unconscious. That was before Sigourney Weaver kicked butt in the Alien movies.

If I were commissioning art for those books, I would base a cover on Michelangelo’s Pietà, with a beautiful young man passed out in the alien’s arms. Just because you’re a bug-eyed monster out to conquer the Earth doesn’t mean you can’t have good taste. This, however, was the 1970s, when most sci-fi editors were nerdy straight guys with cramped imaginations.

Another development that echoes sci-fi stories is Microsoft’s artificially intelligent Bing chatbot that professed its love for one reporter and described dark fantasies like hacking computers.

I’m not too worried about chatbots, though they could well replace House Republicans who haven’t an ounce of wit but can recite the latest talking points. Would anyone notice if Kevin McCarthy were replaced with a robot? (I apologize to robots for that remark.)

Astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson noted recently that an alien species capable of crossing the vastness of space would be far more advanced than humans and would not need to sneak around.

At present, we are unlikely to encounter alien spacecraft—much less shoot them down—and are not at a point when sentient computers will launch wars on their own, though our technology advances faster than our wisdom.

Entertaining as they are, sciencefiction scenarios are a distraction from present-day threats like nihilistic demagogues manipulating gullible people. Who needs shape-shifting aliens

when we have Nikki Haley? She is so all over the place in her pandering to the Republican base that she could have been one of the victims in the movie Jaws.

After Haley’s presidential campaign launch in which she said America is not racist (which raises the question why she found it necessary to abandon her first name, Nimrata), conservative troll Ann Coulter told her, “Why don’t you go back

to your own country?” It is discouraging that, after such a long struggle, the right wing still does not see large swaths of America’s population as Americans.

But the fact that Trump’s MAGA hordes don’t even bother faking moderation is their Achilles heel. They constantly go too far with their ridiculous rhetoric. For example, QAnon cultists insist that Democrats are satanic, cannibalistic pedophiles. Granted, I think freshman Congressman Maxwell Frost of Florida is brilliant and adorable, but the most I would do is join him for lunch, not have him for lunch. And he is 25, not 15. As for devil worship, they should stop projecting.

The Gen Z-ers of which Frost is the vanguard are not troubled by sexual minorities, and are not traumatized by learning the less heroic details of America’s past. These young citizens are

used to mass-shooting drills. They are familiar with diversity and do not regard it as an existential threat.

Not most of them, at least. Without fixations and resentments being passed down from generation to generation, there would not still be people eager to re-fight the Civil War. But shielding children from outside influences is increasingly difficult.

The far right in its paranoia is unable to adjust to changing demographic trends and is uninterested in solutions. By contrast, the emerging generation will not be fooled by bullies who pose as freedom lovers, nor tolerate greedy industrialists who socialize risks while privatizing profits.

That’s my bet. There is more of a future in cooperating to solve problems together. Still, Republicans enjoy structural advantages in our political system (e.g., the Senate and Electoral College), and have been taken over by fanatics as surely as if they were alien changelings. It’s like the old movie, Invasion of the Body Snatchers. Don’t go to sleep!

A friend warns, regarding Twitter, “You never know whether you’re engaging a person or a bot.” True, but sometimes a writer’s work involves dancing on the edge. And simulated friends might assuage someone’s isolation at a remote outpost. In the end, however, we need flesh-and-blood people in our lives, not just imitations on a screen.

If we broke out of our electronic bubbles and encountered actual human beings more often, right there in front of us, who knows? It might restore a healthy dose of reality to our politics. ▼

The Gen Z-ers of which Frost is the vanguard are not troubled by sexual minorities, and are not traumatized by learning the less heroic details of America’s past.

The REAL DIRT

The Magnificent Cherry Tree

Spring is almost here; in fact, I think it came early based on the bud breaking and leaf unfurling observed in the past few weeks. The anticipation of the cherry tree blooms is filling the air, especially around the Tidal Basin in Washington, DC. I’m sure most of you have been to the National Cherry Blossom Festival at least once in your life, or at a minimum witnessed its beauty televised on the news. It’s truly a sight to behold.

Now, being a native plant enthusiast, it’s my duty to inform you that all the glorious cherry trees planted in DC, and the reason for the festival, are actually Japanese in origin. However, I do not mind this one bit. I am also a history buff when it comes to horticulture, and I am constantly amazed at the stories in trees. (That’s a future book I’m thinking about writing, so I call dibs on that title.)

We’ll discuss the history of these Japanese trees shortly but first, let’s chat a little about our native cherries. Yes, we do have native cherry trees and even though they are not as ornamental or vibrant as the Japanese varieties, they play a vital role in our ecology and food web. According to Doug Tallamy, professor at the University of Delaware, native cherries are second only to our native oaks for their importance to our region’s ecological health.

Black cherry or Prunus serotina, is one of our eastern natives and is considered a pioneer species. A pioneer species is a plant that is first to encroach on open, disturbed land or in places after a wildfire occurred. They are fast growing and tolerant of diverse environments. They can grow in sun or shade and can adapt to most soil conditions. But their true value lies in their importance to wildlife.

The fruit of the black cherry is devoured by 33 species of birds and many caterpillars, including the Eastern tent caterpillar, which prefers them. Numerous other moths and butterflies are attracted to black cherry, including the

Eastern tiger swallowtail and the sphinx moth. Our native bees are also drawn to this tree, especially the bumblebee.

And of course, the wood of the black cherry is highly prized for its red tint; it’s often used in furniture. However, words of caution: even though the fruit is edi-

anniversary of the cherries that were planted by First Lady Helen Taft and Viscountess Chinda (wife of the Japanese Ambassador). However, the story of the Japanese cherry tree in America starts before that. It was actually the idea of Mrs. Eliza Scidmore—which fell on deaf ears at the time—to plant these trees along the Potomac River. It would take over 20 years before her advocacy paid off and Helen Taft took up the cause to plant cherries along the avenue.

During this same time, a Japanese chemist was in Washington and heard about this endeavor. He asked the mayor of Tokyo to make a donation of 2,000 trees to the United States, which the mayor agreed to do. However, these trees would show up in DC infested with insects and had to be destroyed. The Tokyo mayor suggested a second donation and this time sent over 3,000 trees of varying varieties.

In 1912, these trees were planted around Washington. Taft and Chinda planted two at a ceremony at the Tidal Basin…this would be the basis of the National Cherry Blossom Festival. During the next 100 years, new trees would be propagated from these original selections, so that replacements could be installed when needed. The propagation effort also came in handy when cherry trees suffered great decline in Japan after WWII, and the US gifted cherry trees propagated from this original stock back to Tokyo.

Horticulture has transformative properties not only in nature, but in all aspects of the human condition, including as symbols of peace between nations.

ble, every other part of this plant is highly toxic, even the seeds. In addition, the tree is known for its allelopathic properties, meaning some garden plants will not grow in close proximity to the tree because of a chemical it emits in the soil.

Back to a brief and interesting history of the Japanese cherries. Many of you may remember, in 2012, that First Lady Michelle Obama celebrated the 100-year

Be kind, and let’s garden together. ▼

The fruit of the black cherry is devoured by 33 species of birds and many caterpillars, [as well as] our native bees…

Q Puzzle Make Lemonade from Your Lemons Solution on Page 84

ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE ENTERTAINMENT SCHEDULE

MAR 11 - FLYING IVORIES: Dueling Pianos

MAR 12 - ST. PATRICK'S DAY PARADE: Festivities at Quayside

MAR 29 - DELMARVA BIG BAND: 18-Piece Big Band

MAR 30 - AUNT MARY PAT DISABATINO: Internet Comedy Sensation

MAR 31 - THE BRITISH INVASION EXPERIENCE

APR 1 - KATEGORY 5: Tribute to Yes, Styx, Rush, Boston, and Kansas

APR 2 - EASTER BUNNY TEA: Live Interactive Show For Kids

A MILTON THEATRE MAINSTAGE PRODUCTION

A m a s t e r f u l r e t e l l i n g o f t h e o r i g i n a l s e n s a t i o n , i n j e c t e d w i t h c o n t e m p o r a r y

A p o w e r f u l a n d t h o u g h tp r o v o k i n g m u s i c a l e x p e r i e n c e t h a t o f f e r s a f r e s h p e r s p e c t i v e o n t h e g e n r e , a n d l e a v e s a u d i e n c e s w i t h a s e n s e o f h o p e a n d i n s p i r a t i o n !

APR 2 - LOWER CASE BLUES & ALICIA MAXWELL PROJECT

APR 7 - THE ROCK ORCHESTRA: The Music Of Talking Heads

APR 8 - APRIL FOOLS EVENING OF COMEDY

APR 13 - DEANNA FITZPATRICK: Psychic Medium

APR 15 - SWEARINGEN & KELLI: The Music Of Simon & Garfunkel

APR 16 - THE McCARTNEY EXPERIENCE: Paul McCartney Tribute

APR 23 - DELAWARE COMEDY THEATRE: Adult Improv Comedy

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CAMP REHOBOTH MEMBERSHIP 2023

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Tony Mazzarella - In Memory of

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Donna Ohle & Susan Gaggiotti X

Maggie Ottato X

Dotti Outland & Diane Mead X

Peninsula Gallery - Tony & Carol

Boyd-Heron*

Joanne Picone & Kathy Bostedo*

Frank Pirhalla

Stephen Pleskach X

Jim Pressler X

Lisa Rabigi & Bea Vuocolo*

Gene Roe X

Thomas Rose & Thomas Sechowicz X

Lucien Rossignol & Tom Harris*

Mark Saunders & Bob Thoman*

Sheryl Schulte & Jeanne LaVigne*

Troy Senter & Stacey Chan*

Polly Smale & In Memory of Charlotte Reid*

David Smith & Kenn Williams

Susan Soderberg & Terri King X

John Michael Sophos & Miss Dot Sophos*

Diane Sozio & Patricia Hutchinson*

Matthew Stensrud & Michael Cohen*

Lenny Stumpf & John B. Pitchford*

Kaye Sullivan

Brett Svensson & Bill Quinn - Dust Doctors LLC*

Thrasher’s French Fries*

Lana Warfield & Pamela Notarangelo X

Elizabeth Way & Dorothy Dougherty*

Michael Weinert X

Justin Weitz

William Wheatley*

Joseph & Diane Wood

Steven Wunder & Rod Hastie

Jean Sutliff Young*

Joanne Yurik*

Larry Zeigler X

John Zingo & Rick Johnson*

ORANGE LEVEL

James Apistolas & Christopher Galanty*

Ruth Ball & Mary Ellen Jankowski*

Romulus Barba & Dean Yanchulis*

Paul Barbera & Joseph Nolan

Susan Becker & Mary Ellen Wivel

Kathleen Biggs & Maria Campos*

Janet Blaustein

Kathy Board & Jackie Maddalena

Boland Family - In Memory of Michael J. Kelly*

Richard Bost & Thomas Moore*

Linda Bova & Bridget Bauer - The Sea Bova Associates*

William Briganti & Gary Moore*

Anita Broccolino - In Memory of Cathy Fisher

Wendy Bromfeld*

Randy Butt & Emerson Bramble*

Ronald Butt & Steve Cannon*

Community Bank Delaware*

Mark Conheady*

Lois Cortese & Jill Stokes X

Kay Creech & Sharon Still*

Kenneth Currier & Mike Tyler X

Ginny Daly*

John D’Amico*

Julie A. Danan

Linda DeFeo X

J. Lynne Dement & Lisa J. Snyder*

Donna Dolce*

Kevin Doss & Arie Venema*

Arlyce Dubbin & Kathleen Heintz*

Lissa Dulany

Brenda Dunn & Karen Anderson*

Susan Eig & Ellen Schiff X

Jeanne Embich*

Continued on page 74

Continued from page 76

Carol Schwartz

Craig Schwartz & William Pullen X

Diane Schwarz

Diane Scobey X

John Scotti & Greg Landers*

David Scuccimarra & Dorothy Fedorka*

Shirley Semple*

Janet & Elaine Shaner & Elizabeth Taylor

Marj Shannon & Carla Burton*

Dale Sheldon & Pat Coluzzi X

Banner Sheppard & Marlin Hubler

Kelly Sheridan & Debra Quinton*

Lynn Sheridan & Melissa Imbergamo

David Sherman X

George Shevlin & Jack Suwanlert*

William Shively & TD Stanger

Davis Short & Beverly Castner

Frank Silverio X

Marc Silverman & John Campbell*

Ann Singleton & Twila McDonough

Joanne Sinsheimer & Margaret Beatty*

Ken Skrzesz X

Jeffrey Slavin X

Anne Smith & Lisa Taylor

Carol Smith*

Harlan Joe Smith & Dustin Abshire*

Leonard Smith X

Marty Smith & F. Price Connors

Robert Smith*

Rosanne Smith & Brenda Butterfield*

Rich Snell X

Sandra Sommerfield & Cindy Scott X

Stephanie Specht

Dee Speck & Linda Kauffman X

Jim Spellman X

Lorraine Stanish & Beverly Miller*

Ginger Stanwick

Christy Steer X

Frank Sterner X

Shelley Stevens & Joanne Locke

Lisa Stewart X

Libby Stiff & Bea Wagner X

Russell & Patricia Stiles*

Allison Stine & Pete Jamieson*

Terry Stinson*

Caroline Stites & Elizabeth Coit X

Tracy Stith & Laura McCarthy

Dr. Frederick C. Stoner *

Rev. Barry Stopfel

Michael Stover*

Christine Strauss X

Lois Strauss X

Jackie Sullivan & Sharon Padbury

John Swift & Ron Bowman X

Stephen Szymanski

Gail Tannenbaum & Wendy Walker*

Ronald Tate & Jacob Schiavo X

Susan & Jill Taylor

Micaela Tedford X

Martin Thaler

David Thomas & David Tiburzio X

The Hon. Henry E. Thomas IV & John-Kevin Litschgi X

Laurie Thompson

Thomas Tibbetts X

Otto F. Tidwell X

Linda Toggart & Jane MacDonald

Cassandra Toroian X

Manny Tortosa X

Steve Touzell & Marshall Scott Beadle

Carol Trenga & Cheryl Harding

Steve Triglia X

Roz Troupin & Mary Harris X

Patricia Truitt*

Matt Turlinski & Jerry Sipes X

Ed Turner & Steve Baker X

Judy Twell & Cheri Himmelheber*

Charles Tyrell

Bruce Uliss X

Michael Utasi

Donna Valla

Debra Van Dyke*

Jennifer Varone*

V. James Villareale - & In Memory of Dale Ebert*

Gail Vitale & Carmen Garrett

Beverly Vogt & Waneeta Mack X

Patrick Wadsworth & Mike Converse X

Scott Wagner & John Sohonage*

Eric Wahl & Eric Coverdale*

Marianne Walch X

Jennifer Walker & Mary Ann Veitch X

Paula Walker & Gayle Dumonceaux

David Wall & Robert Houck*

Kenneth E. Walz & Robert G. Ward, Jr. X

Garold Wampler X

Michael E. Ward X

Robert Warmkessel X

Sharyn Warwick X

Ellen Watkins X

Troy Watson & Dennis Wolfgang*

Barbara Weatherly

Debbie Webber & Terry McQuaid*

West Side New Beginnings

Donna West

Patricia West

Carl R. Wetzel X

Liz Wheeler & Ruth Morse X

Steve White X

Thomas White & Robert Freeman X

Phil & Stephanie Wikes*

Steven Wildasin

Keith Wilkinson X

Diane & Ken Williams

Jim Williams*

Rich Williams X

Kelly Williamson & J. Ellis

Donna L. Wilson & Laurie R. Levin X

Lynn Wilson*

David Wolanski*

Max Wolf X

Carol Woodcock & Carol Lewis*

Cody Woodfin & Rich Morgan

Robert B. Wright X

Marjorie Wuestner & Catherine Balsley*

Alexander G. Yearley X

James E. Yiaski X

Linda Yingst*

Vickie York X

James Zeigler & In Memory of Sam Deetz*

Lisa Zimmerman X

RAINBOW MEMBERS RECEIVE:

• Basic Membership Package

- Advance ticket sales to CAMP Rehoboth events

- Recognition in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth

- Rainbow level colored Member window cling(s)

- Weekly “What’s Happening at CAMP” email

• Discount on CAMP Rehoboth Event Tickets for Levels Green and above (as noted)

• Free Health Screenings, Counseling Services, and Support Groups

• Youth, Adult and Senior Programs, Services and Outreach

• The satisfaction of knowing you are helping others!

PAY ANNUALLY or MONTHLY

☐ PURPLE LEVEL ☐ $2400 annual or ☐ $200 monthly

Basic + 25% ticket discount and one 1/4 page ad in Letters from CAMP Rehoboth

☐ INDIGO LEVEL ☐ $1200 annual or ☐ $100 monthly

Basic + 20% ticket discount

☐

X Founders’ Circle 10+ years

* Members five years or more

Names in bold are new or upgraded members as of February 26, 2023

Founders’ Circle designation has been added to our Membership roster. Please send kudos, questions, or listing updates to membership@ camprehoboth.com.

☐ Enclosed is my check payable to CAMP Rehoboth for the full annual amount.

☐ Please charge my Recurring Monthly or Annual Membership fee to:

Strolling into My Next Decade

As a gay man in his late 40s, I have come to notice more and more the little (and not so little) signs that I’m aging, and they have all happened very recently. It’s like I have been young for decades and now suddenly every morning it’s something new. (I have been getting Botox once or twice a year now for a few years but I consider that just normal life maintenance lol.)

I am near-sighted and wear glasses. Sometime last year I was having trouble reading a book or looking at my phone while wearing my glasses. I was actually very confused for days, pondering— what’s going on? Why can’t I see my phone? I have been wearing glasses my whole life and had been able to read perfectly while wearing them— apparently not anymore! Now it’s glasses on for distance and glasses off when I need to read or send a text. This makes texting during Rupaul’s Drag Race quite the challenge! Relaying the story to a friend, he politely replied, “Yeah, that’s a real thing. It happens in your 40s.”

Everything we have heard about getting older is true: the hangovers are rougher; it takes much, much longer to recover. The pounds pack on very easily and the new-found weight is significantly harder to get off.

A few years ago, I thought these were urban legends or that maybe I was lucky and would always be “young at heart.” Just like karma—who might be late but always shows up—Father Time also begins to show up with his scythe and ticking clock. Well, Father Time found me. It’s like the dam broke and once the first crack of aging appeared the flood waters started rushing in.

Aging for me hasn’t felt gradual. It feels more like a before and after. One day I was young, carefree, hot, lean, muscular, sexy. (Let me have this, please lol.). Then one morning I woke up and just felt “older.” If everyone in the world were broken up into two categories—young and old—I feel like now, today, I am part of the old group. I mean if I finally got on the reality show Survivor and they broke up the teams by age, I would definitely be in the “older” group. I’d be longingly looking at the 35-year-old on the other team and hoping a tribe swap or merge would come up soon.

As we age, we need to spend more time

taking care of ourselves, looking after our mental and physical health. Every time I see a friend posting on FaceBook that they are preparing for a colonoscopy, I think to myself, “I need to schedule that.” Doctors, dentists, trips to the dermatologist for a little touch up of Botox (or “Bo” for us in the know) come more and more frequently.

But the absolute “kick-me-in-the-crotch, spit-onmy-neck fantastic” sign of my own aging is walking. I’m only too aware of it. Loud, chatty, animated, gregarious, energetic, hyper—I have heard them all. I am Italian; I gesture when I talk. And I talk a lot. And I’m a New Yorker. Born and raised. I walk fast. VERY FAST. Especially on NYC sidewalks. I take pride in it. Lately I have come to notice that not only are people walking as fast as I am, many are walking even faster. Color me dumbfounded on 8th Avenue, walking to that quintessential Chelsea gay bar, Rebar, with people passing me left and right, leaving me to wonder, “when the f* did I lose my stride?!”

With all my whining about aging, I want to make something perfectly clear: getting older is a privilege. I am fully aware of how lucky I am to see 40, 45, and hopefully 50, 60, and beyond. Some of our friends and family did not get that privilege.

I am not a huge birthday person. I go out, see my friends, but it’s not a huge fanfare-type of event. However, we do acknowledge the day, and celebrate. We celebrate for those who didn’t get the chance. I celebrate for my beloved cousin Dawnie, who died at 32 after battling lupus her entire life. I celebrate for my two friends from college, Carrie and Deidre, both taken from us far too soon. I celebrate for an entire generation of gay men lost during the AIDS epidemic.

Speaking of the passage of time…it’s time for another touch-up of the Bo. I just hope everyone doesn’t stride past me as I walk to my dermatologist’s office! ▼

Robert Dominic splits his time between Brooklyn and Rehoboth Beach. He writes for publications including Instinct Magazine and his own blog, The Gays of Our Lives.

Lately I have come to notice that not only are people walking as fast as I am, many are walking even faster.

Richard C. Arnold

Richard C. Arnold, 82, of Lewes, passed away Thursday, January 26, 2023, at Delaware Hospice Center in Milford. He was born December 31, 1940, in Brooklyn, New York.

Richard joined the US Air Force in 1960. During his active duty, he was trained as a communications specialist and was stationed in the Azores and in Texas. When his service was complete, his career with the National Security Agency began.

Richard was married in 1964 and blessed with a son in 1966.

Teresa Lynne Vignola

Teresa Lynne Vignola passed away

Thursday, February 2, 2023, surrounded by family and friends. She is survived by her wife, Nancy Shields, and her beloved companion poodle, Cali.

Terry was born in San Diego, California and moved to Rehoboth Beach at a young age. She graduated from Cape Henlopen High School in 1978 and earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Delaware in 1983. She helped run the family resort cottages,

Richard worked various assignments for the NSA, and the Security and Inspection division of the Communications Security organization. He traveled across the US conducting security inspections for the Department of Defense contractors and civil agencies. During this time, Richard was also a chief warrant officer with the US Army Reserve in the Special Security Services Section of the 342nd Army Security Agency in Fort Meade, Maryland.

Richard was a stellar example of duty and service to his country, serving in the Air Force and Army.

Richard had many interests and hobbies, including traveling, bartending, and gardening, and was a member of American Legion.

He is survived by his beloved husband of 37 years, Ronald Heinefield, of Lewes; his son, Joseph Arnold; his sister, Susan Arnold; and his brother, Thomas Arnold.

A funeral service was held Thursday, February 2, at Parsell Funeral Homes & Crematorium, followed by interment with military honors at Delaware Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Millsboro. ▼

the Cove, in Dewey Beach, and worked for many years at the Camel’s Hump in Rehoboth Beach.

Terry subsequently moved to Los Angeles, California, where she lived for 20 years and worked as vice president of operations for National Maintenance Inc., part of a long career in healthcare support services. She was also the founder and CEO of Safe Concepts. While living in California, Terry took up karate, eventually earning a black belt and competing

in international tournaments.

When Terry and Nancy weren’t traveling, they were happiest hosting the people they loved at their home in Rehoboth Beach. Terry threw legendary dinner parties for her many friends and family—parties that often evolved into dance parties or drinks around the backyard fire pit.

A remembrance service and a celebration of Terry’s life were held February 10, 2023. ▼

CAMP Rehoboth Volunteer Opportunities

WOMEN’S FEST 2023 | APRIL 27-30

Women’s FEST is one of CAMP Rehoboth’s landmark events, bringing fun, entertainment, sports, and tradition to women all over the Mid-Atlantic for 20+ years. There are many volunteer needs throughout the weekend, including: entertainment, sports, auction, registration, volunteer coordination, and more.

CROP: CAMP REHOBOTH OUTREACH PROGRAM

Check CAMP Rehoboth website for monthly volunteer opportunities.

CAMPSHOTS PHOTOGRAPHERS

Shoot CAMPshots for Letters! Use your camera or iPhone, or the CAMP Rehoboth office camera. More guidelines will be shared with volunteers. Sign up at camprehoboth.com/volunteers.

Your volunteer efforts benefit you and others. — PLEASE VISIT — camprehoboth.com/volunteers to register as a volunteer and to sign up for available opportunities.

thank  you

AARP TAX AID AT CAMP REHOBOTH

Barbara Breault

Doug Sellers

Susan Taylor

ARTS TEAM

Logan Farro

Jane Knaus

Lois Powell

Leslie Sinclair

Patricia Stiles

Debbie Woods

CAMP COMMUNITY

CENTER

Glenn Lash

Natalie Moss

Sandra Skidmore

CAMP MAINTENANCE

Eric Korpon

CAMPCIERGES

Joe Benshelter

Barbara Breault

Ken Currier

Lynn Eisner

Bob Grant

Jim Mease

Mike Merena

Kim Nelson

Patricia Stiles

Russell Stiles

Joe Vescio

CAMPSAFE HIV TESTING AND COUNSELING

E.J. Kenyon

Sharon Morgan

Alan Spiegelman

Joe Vescio

CAMPSHOTS PHOTO VOLUNTEERS

Tony Burns

David Garrett

Laura Reitman

CHORUS LEADERSHIP COMMITTEE

Bill Fuchs

Dianna Johnston

Judy Olsen

Dave Scuccimarra

Sandra Skidmore

to all the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center volunteers for the period: January 27 – February 24, 2023

CROP USHERING AT CAMP REHOBOTH CHORUS CONCERT

Robert Arner

Pat Catanzariti

Debbie Cali

Blaise DeFlorio

Donna Dolce

Dick Hospital

Dawn Kasow

Leslie Ledogar

Valerie McNickol

Carol Schleppi

Teri Seaton

Tara Sheldon

John Michael Sophos

Susan Taylor

Debbie Woods

GRANTS COMMITTEE

Leslie Calman

Kate Cauley

David Garrett

John Roane

Leslie Sinclair

LETTERS DISTRIBUTION TEAM

Todd Hacker

Glenn Lash

Jim Mease

LETTERS MAILING TEAM

Nancy Hewish

Grant Kingswell

Vicki Martina

Stephen Palmer

Russell Stiles

Linda Yingst

MEMBERSHIP TEAM

Jane Blue

Ann Evans

WOMEN’S FEST COMMITTEE

Liz Aranza

Mary (Lulu) Beach

Anita Broccolino

Mary Ann Dellinger

Lissa Dulany

Connie Fox

Peggy Hughes

Karen Laitman

Kathy Lehmann

Leslie Ledogar

Michelle Manfredi

Marcy McCollum-Martin

Deb Quinton

Cindy Sanders

Teri Seaton

Kelly Sheridan

Hannah Simone

Kim Smitas

Hope Vella

VOLUNTEER DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE

Liz Aranza

Jim Mease

Kim Nelson

Rina Pellegrini

Leslie Sinclair

John Michael Sophos

Debbie Woods

BARCLAY FARMS - Camden. 2BR/2BA 2006 Ritz-Craft w/ 1-car garage. 2,024sf. Living rm, family rm, dining rm & breakfast rm. Mins to Dover. 55+ $178,000 (DEKT2016204) Lot Rent $539/mt

HOLLY OAK - Lewes. New Construction – Late Winter Delivery. Double 1-acre lot. 3BR/2BA home is a 1,506 sq. ft. one-level rancher w/oversized 2-car garage. Open concept floor plan. Great room opens to the kitchen and dining area. There is also a sliding glass door out

to thebig 12’x16’ deck

Main bedroom suite has a walk-in closet & elegant bath with a 5’x4’ tiled “curbless” shower. Split bedroom plan with a tub/shower in 2nd bath. Bamboo floors. Stainless steel kitchen appliances. W&D included. Low HOA. $490,000 (2029152)

COLONIAL EAST - Rehoboth Beach. 2006 3BR/2BA w/ screened porch. 1,344sf. New roof 2018. Community pool & just 4 miles to the beach. $165,000 (2034130) Lot Rent $523/mt.

SANDY BEACH - Dagsboro. 2019-built 3BR/3BA home is 2,048 sq. ft. with an additional 1,120 sq. ft. in the full, unfinished basement. Luxury vinyl plank flooring on the main level with 9’ ceilings. Living room opens to the kitchen, which has quartz countertops & stainless

appliances. The kitchen adjoins formal dining area. 1st-floor main BR suite. Other 2 bedrooms are upstairs next to the family room. 13 miles to Bethany Beach. Boat slip leases are available *ask for details* $473,500 (2029962) +$5,000 Seller Assist Credit at Settlement

CAMELOT MEADOWSRehoboth. 1973 2BR/2BA is 1,488sf. Sunroom & enclosed porch. Fencing & shed. 3.5 miles to beach. Community pool. $150,000 (2027780) Lot Rent $827/mt

COFFEE RUN -Hockessin. 1974 3BR/2BA

3rd-floor condo in an elevator building. Pool views from the balcony & all rooms! Giorgi Kitchens of Wilmington designed this condo’s kitchen & main bath. Condo dues of $650/mt. include water, hot water, heat, AC, and cable/Internet. $299,000 (DENC2031966)

~ CALL ~ PAMELA M. SCHAEFER REALTOR ® 302-388-8299 cell email PMS1530@aol.com

POT-NETS CREEKSIDELong Neck. Nicely remodeled 1985 2BR/2BA home is +1,300sf. Big kitchen. Fenced yard. Shed w/elec. So many amenities! $174,900 (2031668) Lot Rent $689/mt.

THERESA CAPPUCCINO REALTOR ®

609-515-5820 cell email DelawareBeach@yahoo.com

LOCHWOOD - Lewes. New ConstructionDelivery TBD. The Cedarwood is 3BR/2BA 1,634 sq. ft. home. Popular open floor plan. Gas fireplace. Kitchen will feature stainless steel appliances & granite countertops. 0.23 acres. 10 miles to beach. Low HOA fees – just $280/year. $484,900 (2027444)

LUZ ESCOBAR REALTOR ® 302-260-2080 cell email luz_escobar2000@yahoo.com SE HABLA ESPAÑOL