Musings of a Country Editor: Critical Thinking and the Untested Promise
Long before I started the Spy in 2009, I had the unusual opportunity to work at two very different institutions of higher education. During the 1980s, I served as vice president for development and public affairs at Washington College, and my last real job was at the University of California, Berkeley, where I was a […]
The Politics of Reason: A Memory of the Mid-Shore’s Rogers Morton
Just the other day, I sat down with a well-known politician in Talbot County and discussed local politics, and I was surprised and a bit sad that they couldn’t remember Rogers Morton. And just this morning, the Talbot Historical Society made him the subject of their weekly Project Rewind Spy column, which triggered some wonderful […]
The Death of a Bookstore: A Belated Obituary for Mystery Loves Company
One of the saddest parts of being a Spy editor for so long is having to write obituaries for beloved downtown businesses as they come and go. None leave me bluer than saying goodbye to the independent bookstores of the Mid-Shore. When I started the Chestertown Spy in 2009, the town had three thriving bookstores. […]
The Musings of a Country Editor: Sometimes the Sunshine Still Has Something to Teach Us
I sometimes joke with friends that one reason I have remained reasonably sane during this troubling period in American history is that I spent so much time reading existential writers in college. The line usually gets a laugh, but there is some truth in it. During my senior year at Washington College, I spent a […]