When I meet confident women, I discover that they had a close relationship with their father or father figure.

It began with my mother. She was able to take any criticism in stride. When my father would complain about the meal, she just brushed it off. When we were annoying teenagers, she just told us that she knew we would get past this. As a teenage feminist, I asked her if she was ever going to do something with her life (she raised 6 children by the way); and she smiled and said, “I can’t wait until you are old enough to see me as a person.”

My mother’s relationship with her father was memorialized in the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum, where my grandfather, a part-time lighthouse keeper, wrote how the highlight of his year was when my mother, Annalee, spent 2 weeks in the summer with him at the lighthouse. He simply adored my mother and openly cried at her wedding, insisting that my father take good care of her.

Other confident women that I have met report similar relationships. Their fathers would spend special time with them and told them how wonderful they were.

So, I was wondering, is there data to match my anecdotal observations?

Turns out there is.

While most of the research is on problems in fatherless homes; there is research to suggest that daughters with active fathers are more intelligent, more confident, more willing to take risks, and have better language skills.

Fathers engage with their children differently than mothers. Mothers are focused on safety and are more likely to meet children at their level (e.g., baby talk, going to age appropriate activities).

Fathers are more likely to speak in normal language and take their children with them on the things that they like to do. They allow their daughters to take more risks. A friend told me about how her dad took her fishing whenever he could. Another one of my confident friends told me that her father was gone a lot. But whenever he was home, they would go walking in the woods for hours. He loved nature and loved teaching her about his passion.

A common feminist theme is that the best thing that a father can do is love his wife. And the research shows that is true. Daughters learn how they should be treated, their value, and how to interact with peers (especially boys).

And daughters with supportive fathers have a much healthier body image, have a higher emotional intelligence, and are more confident when dating.

In 2006, President Bush commissioned a study on the impact of fathers on children and discovered that their impact was much greater than previously believed. They found that the father’s presence reduced aggression and facilitated positive play in even very young children. Children with active fathers tended to be more independent, intelligent, confident, and willing to take risks.

Young girls lose self-confidence when they reach puberty (called the confidence gap). A positive father presence reduces that decline.

And there is more good news. Parenting has changed since when I was a mom. During my career, women were just venturing out into different (equal) jobs in the workplace. We were the generation who could “have it all.” That meant working a high stress job and going home to our primary job. While our husbands would “help out,” it was our responsibility to care for the children and manage their child care when we were gone. And full-time mothering was considered a 24/7 job with little help from working fathers.

As a career woman who was also a mom, I relied on full-time moms. Unlike the stories that you may have read about the divide between work-at-home and career moms, I never experienced it. Let’s face it, career moms knew that full time childcare was much harder than any high stress job we may be in, and we respected stay-at-home moms for being able to do it. I used to say that I went to work to relax because I could get a cup of coffee whenever I wanted it.

Today’s parents are more evolved. I made a comment to a full-time mom about how nice it was that her husband helped her out. She looked at me with disdain and said, “they’re his kids too, fatherhood is his job.” Today’s fathers are expected to share equally in parenting duties.

This is only good news for daughters. So, I expect this next generation of women to be brimming with confidence.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The Spy recently posted an article about the settlement between the family of Anton Black and three local municipalities Greensboro, Ridgely, and Centreville. Anton Black was a handsome, athletic, and charismatic 19-year-old African American man who died in 2018 while police were shackling him.

On September 15, 2018, a couple observed two boys roughhousing. Unaware that the two were lifelong friends and fearing for the younger boy’s safety, they called the police. Black was holding the victim in a headlock and the victim feared that Black would throw him into the river. When the Greensboro policeman, Thomas Webster, arrived, he questioned Black. Black replied, “I love you,” and ran home. The victim was angry about Black’s behavior and told the officer that Black was schizophrenic. (In fact, Black had been recently diagnosed as bi-polar and not schizophrenic.)

That is when things began to escalate.

After Black took off, Thomas Webster, two off-duty policemen from neighboring towns, and a civilian motorcyclists (all white) began chasing Black.

The escalation continued.

They found Black at his home inside the family car. Without saying a word, Webster smashed the car window and attempted to tase Black.

The escalation continued.

Black got out of the car, and ran toward his house, just a few feet away. A scuffle between Black and the others began.

The escalation was out of control.

A six minute struggle ensued. For several minutes after Anton was handcuffed, one off-duty officer laid on top of Black and held him down with his face on the ground and his legs bent back towards the sky. Black struggled to breathe, eventually lost consciousness, and died. Throughout the ordeal, a terrified Anton Black cried for his mother who was on the steps and pleaded with police.

The Maryland State Medical Examiner, Dr. David Fowler (more about him later), determined that a previously undiagnosed heart condition and bi-polar disease was the cause of death and pronounced the manner of death “accidental.”

The Maryland State Police investigated the incident.

After reviewing the results from the inquiry and the cause of death, the Caroline County prosecutor elected not to present the case to the grand jury.

It is important to understand what Black was not. He was not armed. He did not commit a crime. He was not a criminal. He did not aggressively attack police. In fact, he ran home, chased by a policeman and three large white male civilians, one sporting a confederate flag decal on his motorcycle helmet.

But he was African American, and Black would become one of 31 people to die in Maryland in an officer-involved incident in 2018.

The Black family pressed for more information about Anton’s death.

But it was not forthcoming until Gov Hogan intervened and demanded that the Medical Examiner release his findings and that Greensboro release the body cam footage.

Greensboro complied, however, there is controversy about the released video. The Black family’s attorneys and the NAACP have evidence suggesting that the body cam footage was edited.

While reviewing the investigation report, Black’s attorneys discovered that the investigation into Black’s death was inexplicably incomplete. Key witnesses such as the trailer park owner who witnessed the entire incident, EMTs, and others were not interviewed. According to Maryland Matters, a former internal affairs police captain indicated that standard procedure is to interview all witnesses.

The released police body cam footage makes it clear that the weight of the off-duty officer lying prone on Black’s body was excessive. Several times another participant asked the officer to get off. The autopsy identified 34 separate injuries and hemorrhaging in the eyes (which is an indicator of asphyxiation).

Based on a review of the autopsy report, a Johns Hopkins cardiologist and a former Chief Medical Examiner for Washington DC concluded that the manner of death was positional asphyxia, and the cause of death was homicide. In addition, they noted that adding bipolar disease as a contributing factor was “head scratching.”

Unlike Derek Chauvin, Thomas Webster did not appear malicious, he told the mother that Anton was not being arrested. Webster just made poor decisions each resulting in a dangerous escalation. His poor decisions continued at his hearing, rather than express regret over the death, he praised the civilians who came to his aid. Without them he believed that it wouldn’t have ended so “safely.” Huh? Anton Black’s death was a safe resolution? How much danger could a younger, smaller, unarmed black man running home to his mother pose?

I have a question for any attorneys who might be reading this column. How is it legal that a larger, middle-aged white civilian on a motorcycle who is wearing a racist decal be allowed to chase down a young, unarmed black man running home (assisting the police)? It certainly smacks of the bad old days when black men were chased down, punished, and sometimes lynched by white racist posses.

But Black’s death is in the middle of this story.

To tell the whole story, we need to go back before this tragedy. Greensboro is small town with fewer than 2,000 people and three police officers. Before this incident, the police chief was Jeff Jackson, who practiced community policing. During his tenure, residents felt that this town was peaceful with racial harmony.

But the newly elected mayor believed that Greensboro’s policing was too lax. He fired Jackson and appointed Michael Petyo, who believed in a more aggressive form of enforcement. Petyo immediately hired Thomas Webster.

Webster was a controversial choice. He was a former policeman in Delaware who had 32 incidents of excessive force (26 with African Americans). He was captured on video brutally kicking a man and breaking his jaw, despite the man being on all fours. Inexplicably, he was acquitted, but as part of a settlement, he was prohibited from being a police officer in Delaware.

Over NCAAP and community protests, Thomas Webster was hired.

Anton Black died 7 months later.

And there is another “wrinkle” in this case. Dr. Fowler, the retired Maryland medical examiner who determined the manner of death was “accidental,” testified for the defense in the George Floyd trial. Fowler testified that the manner of death should have been “undetermined” instead of “homicide.”

Experts in the field were so outraged by Fowler’s testimony that over 400 medical professionals signed a letter demanding the Attorney General and Governor Hogan investigate Fowler’s findings on all in-custody and suspicious deaths.

After things went so wrong, things started to go right.

Within hours of receiving the letter from the experts, Attorney General Brian Frosh and Gov. Larry Hogan demanded a review of 1400 in-custody deaths during Fowler’s 17-year tenure.

After the body cam footage was released, Greensboro commissioners put Thomas Webster on administrative leave. The Maryland State Police reviewed Webster’s credentials and deemed him unfit to be a police officer in the state of Maryland.

Over Hogan’s veto, in 2021 the Maryland state legislature passed police overhauls that repealed the Law Enforcement Officers’ Bill of Rights and changed the rules regarding use of force. A special provision, named after Black, required that officer histories be available to the public. The bill also set up an independent unit within the state Attorney General’s Office to investigate police-involved civilian deaths. The bill limited no-knock warrants, required body cams for most officers, and forbade the purchase of dangerous surplus military equipment such as weaponized drones, silencers, and grenade launchers.

Former Greensboro police chief Michael Petyo, who concealed Webster’s history when he applied to the Maryland State Police for certification, pleaded guilty in January 2020 to one count of criminal misconduct and was sentenced to three years’ probation.

The mayor of Greensboro regrets what happened and takes responsibility for hiring Petyo and Webster.

The Black family recently settled their wrongful death lawsuit against Greensboro, Ridgely, and Centreville (the off-duty officers were from the latter two municipalities). The towns agreed to a new use-of-force policy that prohibits officers from restraining a suspect in the prone position, more transparency with hiring, and more police training for: interventions, implicit bias, de-escalation, and the mentally ill. The family also received $5 million.

But it never should have happened.

In an interview with Dateline, Jeff Jackson, the former Greensboro police chief described how this scenario would have played out under his Community Policing model.

First, his priority would have been for the victim. He would have talked to the victim, determined if there were injuries requiring attention, and taken the victim to his home (Webster and his posse ignored the victim who ran off). As part of his Community Policing model, Jackson knew both victims and their families. He knew Black, he knew his mom, and he knew where they lived. He knew Black was not dangerous and assumed that Black would run home. So, after things had cooled down, he would have gone to Black’s home to discuss the incident. He would have talked to Anton and his mother and evaluated the incident and determined what needed to be done. His philosophy was always de-escalation.

And Anton Black would be alive today.

And that is another tragedy. We don’t know about all of the deaths and injuries that have been prevented by competent and caring officers. We only know about the mistakes, the bad cops. A police officer who knows the community and finds a way to de-escalate and calmly respond to a dangerous situation (such as a domestic dispute) is an unsung superhero.

So, we have the good: Gov Hogan and Frosh demanding transparency, the Black family whose goal is to make policing safer, the mayor apologizing, and holding the Greensboro Police chief accountable.

We have the bad: policeman who do not know how to de-escalate, civilians and off-duty officers chasing an unarmed young black man, the Greensboro Police chief who was willing to put the community in danger to give a dangerous policeman a second chance, an incomplete investigation by the Maryland State Police, and a potentially biased medical examiner.

And we have the tragic. The death of a promising young man.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

The end of the summer is here, and it is time for some really big flowers.

The Limelight Hydrangea and Crepe Myrtles (also spelled Crape Myrtles) are on display.

Limelight hydrangeas are showing off all over the Eastern Shore. Huge, greenish-white puffy snow cones appear at the tips of branches filled with dark green leaves. The bushes can reach heights of over 10 feet, but most of us try to contain them by cutting them back every spring. These bushes don’t care what we do to them, they will generously respond with voluminous, cumulus clouds of flowers. The flower heads are so large that some branches bend to their majesty. As if that is not enough, they also make impressive cut flowers. And if you cut them at the right time, they will dry to bring cheer to your home through early winter. A fresh and clean respite from this summer’s relentless heat.

But of course, if you live on the Eastern Shore, this is time for the Crepe Myrtles. Although not good as cut flowers and are known as messy bushes (you don’t want to park your car underneath them or put them near your deck), but they are good for almost everything else.

They are prolific and long bloomers. Their crepe-like flowers combine to appear as large torches ablaze with pink, red, maroon, purple, and white flames. So voluminous are the flower heads that they form a bonfire of color. Where I lived in New Jersey, it was too cold for these towering, majestic bushes. So, I particularly delight in the love that the Eastern Shore has for these beauties.

Just in case their blooms aren’t enough, they are shedding their bark. In many species, the new bark is a warm cinnamon color. Some old bark remains, so the bark becomes a cinnamon camouflage, resembling a paint-by-number living artwork.

The range of colors keeps Crepe Myrtles from being boring. My favorite Crepe Myrtles sport bubble-gum colored flames that contrast beautifully with the small dark green leaves. There is something about that color that reminds me of childhood. Maybe it is the memory of sweet-smelling bubble gum or soothing Pepto Bismol. But there is more.

This color is very close to a shade called Baker-Miller pink.

A controversial study in the 1970s by Alexander Schauss found evidence that this hue reduced aggression in prison inmates. Subsequent studies failed to replicate these findings. But, just in case, the University of Iowa football team painted the visitors’ locker room this color and recently coordinated it with pink lockers and pink urinals.

(I don’t know if it had any impact on games, but it did annoy coaches. University of Michigan’s coach, Bo Schembechler, made his staff cover the walls with paper when the Wolverines played there.)

In 2011, Swiss psychologist Daniela Späth used a shade of pink on prison walls that is even closer to the pink on Crepe Myrtles (called Cool Down Pink). Over a four-year study, prison guards reported fewer aggressive behaviors in prisoners living in the pink cells. Späth also found that the inmates seemed to be able to relax more quickly. One British newspaper reported that while prison guards reported an improvement in behaviors, prisoners disagreed and felt that it was degrading to be put in a cell with these girly colors.

So, who knows. Personally, I am not sure that I would want this color on any wall in my home. But I delight in seeing it on Crepe Myrtles.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

Netflix posted a documentary “Trainwreck” about the 1999 Woodstock Festival.

Thirty years after Woodstock, one of the original event promoters decided to offer one for his children’s generation. He envisioned a concert dedicated to ending gun violence. It was not even close.

According to the Netflix documentary, the concert erupted into a violent, testosterone-fueled mob, where women were raped and assaulted, and the location was trashed. Female musicians were pelted with objects and subjected to repeated harassment from the audience, screaming (among other things): “Show us Your T***s.” The documentary featured footage of Jewel and Sheryl Crow clearly unnerved by what they had witnessed.

It was clear that the 1999 Woodstock concert goers came from a different era than the 1969 Woodstock concertgoers. The motives of 1999 were not “peace and love and community.” Their expressed motives were party, drugs, rock and roll, and sex.

Given the different objectives, the outcome was probably predictable.

The 1999 Woodstock concert reminded me a little of the January 6^th insurrection; and many of the most violent insurrection participants appeared to be from the same generation.

According to the Netflix documentary, Woodstock 1999 was a three-day rock festival featuring 40 of the most popular musicians and bands. But there was another significant difference between 1969 and 1999.

The music had changed.

While most of the 1999 musicians were peace-loving, a majority of the concert goers went to see the rage-filled music of the time. This heavy rock music featured angry, white-privileged men promoting violence. The first night, the premiere act, Korn, amped up the audience to a fever pitch of rage, excitement, and sexual energy. Rather than calm a crowd that was becoming out of control; the lead singer, Jonathan Davis, reveled in his command of the 200,000, extolling them to greater and greater energy. Fortunately, the last band of the night was Bush and the lead singer, Gavin Rossdale, recognized the danger of the crowd and used his music to tamp them down as much as possible.

Like Woodstock 1969, the weather didn’t cooperate, and the facilities were woefully inadequate. In 1969 it rained and rained and rained. In 1999, it was extremely hot, reaching 100 degrees. The heat was exacerbated by the venue of the concert, which was a closed military base, covered in asphalt. At both concerts the facilities, security, medical care, affordable food were tragically inadequate. But while the 1969 Woodstock was about coming together, 1999 was about taking.

Over the next two days, it got worse. On Saturday, another popular rage-filled, entitled, white male band, Limp Bizkit, stoked the testosterone-fueled crowd with a song titled Break Stuff. The mob complied; tearing down structures, sexually molesting women, while the lead singer, Fred Durst was imploring them “not to get mellow.”

In defending himself later, he said “It’s easy to point the finger and blame [us], but they hired us for what we do — and all we did is what we do. I would turn the finger and point it back to the people that hired us.” (Sound familiar?)

By Saturday, concert officials had lost any control of the mob and the fear of mob violence pervaded; with Durst and other heavy metal bands fueling male, white-privilege rage. A van slowly entered a late night tent, inside was an unconscious 15-16 year old girl who had been sexually assaulted.

By Sunday, the conditions were deplorable, drinking water was contaminated, the porta-potties were spilling sewage into mud, vendors were charging exorbitant prices for food and water, people were filling medical tents at the rate of 125 per hour from heat exhaustion, dehydration, drug overdoses, and assaults.

And a rumor had spread, there was going to be a surprise performer to end the concert. The concert ended with another rage, white, male-privileged band, Red Hot Chili Peppers. The energized, out-of-control mob exploded when the rumor of this special band proved to be unfounded.

The mob set fires, destroyed buildings and vehicles, littered, assaulted women and each other. (The private fire department hired by the promoters was too afraid to go into the facility.) Knowing that there would be no consequences for their actions, testosterone, fueled frat-boys mugged for the cameras in exhilaration. Young, exhausted, sexually charged, raged-filled men began looting and attacking the facility, destroying everything that they could.

By the end of the concert there were three deaths and over 1200 injuries.

To justify the violence one woman explained. “We were frustrated, we didn’t have TikTok or Facebook or Instagram or Twitter to express our displeasure, so what else could we do?”

I don’t know, perhaps leave?

Of course, all musicians of that era did not promote this rage or entitlement. Alanis Morissette, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, and U2 are just a few who were focused on the needs of others. Nor do I believe that this crowd reflects this generation. Instead, it is a mob; plain and simple. A white, entitled, mob who behaved with impunity.

Throughout the documentary, the male participants were described as disrespectful and entitled. If they didn’t get what they wanted, someone had to pay: inebriated girls, concert promoters, concert security members, and, of course, property.

Compare it to Woodstock 1969; where festival goers endured similar challenges. Despite these issues, the leaders, and musicians spread the message of love, peace, and understanding. The Woodstock residents came together to feed the hungry concert goers. To many participants, it was life-changing event.

Since generational music began, the young have been strongly influenced by music and musicians, the poets of our times. In 1999, many festival goers were fueled by a small contingent of musicians who extolled anger.

But I also saw some parallels to this group and the January 6^th participants.

In the 2020 election, the rioters didn’t get what they wanted. They wanted Trump to be elected. And, since he didn’t been, they were entitled to take over. So, they stormed the Capitol with the intent of harming anyone who kept them from getting what they wanted.

Thinking about it, do any of the 1999 Woodstock band leaders remind you of some people? The bands, Limp Bizkit, Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Korn, reveled in the power and control that they had over the large crowd. They were unwilling to take down the energy or take any responsibility for what happened.

And then there were the people who tried to help, Jewel, Gavin Rossdale, who reminded me of Pence and the police who put the needs of the country over their egos.

It is up to the sociologists to determine if there are any parallels between these two events. To evaluate the extent to which some concertgoers have been inspired by rage music. Or if it is just typical mob mentality.

Most people who participated in storming the Capitol were not held punished. (I recall the couple who was helped down the stairs by a police officer.)

But there is a silver lining.

I look at the generation who came of age in the 21^st century. Their focus is on the rights of others: Black Lives Matter, Me Too, and the rights of LBGTQ. While it can be confusing to my Woodstock generation, their direction is clear…other’s needs are important.

Sounds promising.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

For those who are up at 5-6 AM and like to walk the nature trail in St. Michaels, don’t be surprised if you hear very loud, angry squawks coming from the tips of the loblolly pines across the covered bridge.

Great Blue Herons have a rookery (also called a heronry) there. In the early morning, you can often see the herons’ silhouettes, shimmering in the dawn light, at the very top of the loblolly pines. While heronries can include up to 500 nests, I suspect this rookery features fewer than a dozen.

And, let’s face it, the sounds herons make are as ugly as herons are mesmerizing. Their voices are most strident in the morning, and I wonder if they are merely feeding greedy chicks, as great Blue Herons can hunt at night and during the day. After the squawking abates, a few herons fly away.

According to ornithologists, Great Blue Herons are somewhat indifferent parents, and their nests may be a reflection. The nests lack curb appeal; built from twigs and lined inside with moss, leaves, grass, and other soft materials.

Some Great Blue Herons overwinter on the Eastern Shore, but many return from South America in mid-March and April. They typically begin laying eggs in April, but this year it could have been delayed by the cold spring.

Migrating males arrive first, choose an existing nest from last year’s rookery, and work their charms. The females arrive and select their mate for the year. They stay together for the childcare period but find different mates the following year.

After selecting the nest, it is time to upgrade. The male supplies the material and the female, the decorating skills. Their nests can get pretty large, from 20 to 45 inches. She lays between 2-5 greenish-blue eggs. The parents share the incubating duties and within a month, voila chicks!

According to the Chesapeake Bay Program website, Great Blue Herons can be a little cruel (or pragmatic, depending on your perspective). While they typically lay up to five eggs; they will only feed one or two of the hatchlings and allow the others to starve to death. Chicks hatch over a couple of days which gives the oldest a decided advantage in the fight for survival.

Great Blue Herons are not known as being particularly attentive guardians, and have been observed nesting near eagles, buzzards, and other predatory birds.

The hatchlings stay in the nest from 1 ½ to 2 ½ months. So, probably by now, everyone’s nerves are frayed. And like human babies, young adult chicks continue to return to the nest for meals for several weeks after leaving.

Our brackish waters are a heron’s dream, and they will dine on the variety that is available to them including fish, amphibians, reptiles, small mammals, insects, and other birds. We have a ringside seat to their hunting skills on the Eastern Shore, it is unusual to see a waterway at low tide without an elegant Great Blue Heron. They silently stalk their prey in the shallow, muddy water, motionless for hours. In a quick flash, they will plunge their bills into the murky water. They grab smaller prey using their beaks like scissors. They use their sharp, long beaks as knives to impale larger quarry. But they need to be careful, Great Blue Herons can choke on larger prey.

Back in the rookery, their young get regurgitated food from both parents.

I do wonder, what is all the commotion in the heronry? Are we dealing with teenagers demanding their meals? Are they arguing about whose turn it is to get the food…or is this their way of communicating? It certainly sounds like an unpleasant conversation. Last week, the grumbling was particularly fierce and at the end, I saw four white Ibis fly away.

It has quieted down now, maybe the young ones have left for good.

But if you missed them, don’t worry. Herons come back to the same heronry every year, but not to the same nest. And when they are 1 ½ years old, these new fledglings will return to their hometown rookery, to take their place as parents.

It is a sight worth seeing, but maybe not hearing.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

On July 12, NASA released the first pictures from the James Webb space telescope. They were breathtaking, outstripping even art in depicting the vastness and beauty of our universe.

But it didn’t come easy.

It started with a lie. The Webb telescope was originally estimated to cost $500 million, then upped to $1.3 billion. It was scheduled to launch in 2007.

It ended up costing upwards of $10 billion and was launched on December 25, 2021. Once in space, it took six months to unfold and calibrate; allowing us to get the first released pictures in July 2022.

When NASA provided the original estimate, they knew that it was a very, very unrealistic goal. Partly, they didn’t know what they didn’t know. Would this telescope have been attempted if Congress knew that it would take an additional 15 years and cost another $9 billion to build?

So why did the Webb telescope become so expensive? To meet their ambitious goal, scientists and engineers had to build a massive telescope. The sunscreen is almost 70’ high. The primary mirror (which is composed of 18 mirrors) is 21 ft. The Webb telescope ended up being so large that it couldn’t fit into the nose cone of a rocket. It was deemed the “origami telescope,” since it had to unfold in space.

The telescope was built at the Goddard Space Center in Maryland, is currently managed in Baltimore, but had to be tested in Houston. Just building the transportation mechanism (which requires its own clean room) took years. Other unexpected requirements, new materials, operating in extreme cold, the limitations of infrared, and of course, the inevitable mistakes piled on. Even its greatest supporter, Sen. Mikulski, got frustrated.

The Webb telescope was so complex that it had 344 single points of failure. A “point of failure” is a task that absolutely critical for the telescope to operate properly. As someone who has developed new technology, I can tell you…that is a lot!

Another technical problem, since the telescope would be orbiting in the L2 (called the Sweet Spot) orbit, one million miles away from earth’s orbit, it had to be built so that it could be repaired virtually. Unlike the Hubble telescope, there would be no astronauts to fix it.

Why did NASA develop the Webb Telescope? NASA was a victim of the Hubble telescope’s success. What scientists learned from the Hubble telescope dramatically changed their view of the universe, and astronomers, physicists, engineers, and others wanted to learn more.

The idea for the Webb telescope probably began in 1995, when the Hubble telescope was pointed at an “empty” patch of sky, the size of a straw. To the astonishment of all, using infrared technology, the Hubble telescope discovered thousands and thousands of galaxies and stars in that tiny, tiny patch of darkness. This tiny patch came to be called the Hubble Deep Field and made scientists realize that the universe was more massive than ever imagined and would be filled with billions of galaxies and stars. The Hubble Deep Field gave us an inkling of the vastness of the universe.

The Hubble telescope (and now the Webb telescope) can see into the darkness because they use infrared waves to “see” our universe. Infrared light, which is not in our visible spectrum, measures heat given off by an object. This is why our earth-bound telescopes could not “see” it.

The Hubble telescope gave us a peek into the vastness of our universe; but it has also helped identify the age of the universe (now estimated at 13.8 billion years), exoplanets (which are planets that orbit a star and could be habitable), two Pluto moons, the rate at which the universe is expanding, star and galaxy formation, and that every major galaxy is anchored by a black hole at its center.

These telescopes are capturing the universe back in time. Since light travels as 186,000 miles per second (300,000 km/sec); the tiny images we see today occurred billions of years ago, when some of these galaxies and stars were forming. A view through these telescopes is a view of history.

The Webb telescope has already discovered galaxies orbiting galaxies; stars orbiting each other (one dying) and the Southern Ring Nebula, a galactic nursery of sorts. Webb has discovered its own deep field, the size of a grain of sand, with thousands of galaxies and stars.

While the Hubble and Webb telescopes are the best known, there are 20 space telescopes actively gathering data. From the Gaia telescope, launched by the European Space Agency, which allows astronomers to calculate the distance between stars and galaxies; to the telescopes launched to detect particles.  For example, The Dark Matter Particle Explorer, was launched by the Chinese to detect and understand dark matter. Russia has also launched a space telescope.

Although NASA footed the bill, we involved other global partners in the development of the Webb telescope: Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom.

So, for the next 30 years or so, scientists expect to learn more about the universe. It makes me proud, that while our democracy is struggling, America continues to provide leadership in supporting science for the globe. A proud moment, indeed.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

A friend is considering moving to Europe. She has become disgusted with the racial hatred, the insurrection, the division, Trump’s behavior, and the refusal of the Republican Party to hold him accountable. She is equally frustrated by politicians refusing to recognize the likely environmental catastrophe and has little hope that America will turn things around.

It was hard to hear.

So, I started to reflect on who could help us now, and my thoughts went to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Of course, he would be 93 now…but I am convinced that if he were here, he could heal us. Just a few quotes from him made me hopeful.

• “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”
• “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality… I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”
• “We must develop and maintain the capacity to forgive. He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power to love. There is some good in the worst of us and some evil in the best of us. When we discover this, we are less prone to hate our enemies.”

I can hear his melodic, comforting, calm voice. This is the voice of a man who had been badly abused; and had to comfort people who had faced pure evil. He understood, as did Gandhi, that it breaks a person’s soul to abuse others when they won’t retaliate.

But we can’t benefit from his wisdom because we let him die.

By not protecting him, by not warning him of the imminent danger, the agency created to protect its people (FBI) was guilty of neglect. Instead of focusing on his safety, the FBI investigated him and allowed white supremacy groups to move freely.

And sadly, that is happening today. The most dangerous terrorists we face are our fellow citizens.

I watched a recent documentary on Netflix about white supremacist groups. These groups are convinced that Trump’s refusal to condemn their behavior are coded messages of support. (Of course, the people that are in these white supremacy groups and their intellectually challenged leaders are a constant reminder of the absence of white supremacy.)

But the tragedy is that the philosophy that killed Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is still allowed in America by the organizations that are supposed to protect us.

The behavior of some leaders and organizations during the Capitol riot is suspicious. The Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was both a security failure and an intelligence failure. But was it a planned failure or caused by neglect?

The groups that are there to protect us, were not there to protect us. The Secretary of the Army initially refused to provide National Guard Resources. The Department of Homeland Security was conspicuously absent. The US Capitol Police chief initially refused to ask for resources, despite warnings of imminent violence. Capitol and Washington DC police fought with their lives; despite being mysteriously understaffed. Two Capitol police were suspended for supporting the rioters.

There was significant intelligence that there would be violence on January 6^th. Yet, leadership did not take the threat seriously and during its worst, delayed requesting additional support. Despite this being an obvious coup, the military was nowhere to be found.

We now know that Trump contributed, his incendiary speech and his attempt to shut down the metal detectors. The January 6 texts from the Secret Service (who is part of the Department of Homeland Security) have mysteriously and perhaps illegally been deleted. It has been revealed that Mike Pence was concerned that the Secret Service might not take him to the Capitol Building to certify the election.

Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan is one of the few Republicans who condemned his actions. “I never thought I’d see a day like this in America. All Americans should be outraged by this attack on our nation’s Capitol.”

Trump’s behavior will be revealed tonight; but we know that he did not ask the rioters to leave until 4 hours after they broke through the minimal defenses of the Capitol building. Once he asked them to leave, most left quietly, inexplicably aided by some members of the Capitol police.

There remains a lack of concentrated effort on protecting us from hate groups. Despite a clear mandate from Congress, the FBI has yet to produce statistics revealing the scale of white supremacist crimes. A former FBI agent, Michael German, is critical of the FBI.

“When I was undercover in the 1990s I was warned about sympathy towards white supremacy among officers.” In 2006 the FBI learned that white supremacists and those supportive of their causes had infiltrated law enforcement agencies. Yet, there has been no national effort to root out these individuals.

“I think that’s a reflection of lack of concern for the victims of that violence. White supremacists kill far more Americans than anybody else,” German said.

So, it is easy to understand my friend’s frustration.

I hope that holding these institutions to task will make them more accountable.

And, determined to be optimistic, I focus on the philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. who reminded us that “the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.”

Our country misses him so….

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I was born when television was emerging, and radio was dying. So, I missed the radio soap operas, news, sports, adventure stories, and variety shows. Some entertainers who remained on radio, best known among them are probably, Jean Shepherd and Garrison Keillor.

Jean Shepherd has become famous for the beloved movie, A Christmas Story. But he had been a famous radio storyteller for many years before this movie, which was based on his stories and books, in particular In God We Trust: All Others Pay Cash

Garrison Keillor revived the media with A Prairie Home Companion, a weekly variety show on Public Radio, the best known part of the show were his stories about a fictitious town, Lake Wobegon “where all the women are strong, all the men are good-looking, and all the children are above average.” It featured guest musicians, comedy skits and old fashioned sound effects.

Radio stories are back. Well, not radio per se, rather podcasts. For those who have been living under a rock, podcasts are on demand audio content that you can listen to from your computer, phone, or iPod.

Being a creature of television, it took me a while to understand the popularity of podcasts. Podcasts are exceeding popular with millennials, Gen X and Gen Y’ers. My daughter spends about an hour each day listening to a favorite podcast series. It is the perfect genre for busy people.

She is not alone. As of 2021, there were 850,000 podcast series, etc. with over 48 million total episodes.

Podcasts are often produced weekly (or until a series is over) and the content is varied, but generally feature political, news, sports, celebrity interviews, comedy skits, and “true crime” stories. True crime stories are one of the most popular genres in podcasting. In fact, these true crime stories have provided important new clues in cold cases.

So my question, is Why? Why are podcasts so popular?

Part of the reason is that “everybody does it.” If you are following a podcast series, it is likely that your friends are as well.

But it is also a good opportunity to get news and factual information while you are multitasking. Most listen to podcasts while they are walking, exercising, driving, or cooking. It is a quick way to catch up on the way to work. There are so many different podcasts and podcasters that you can follow whatever you want to hear.

Given the wide range of topics, there are a lot of choices and since podcasts are available on demand, all you need is a smart phone, a computer or an iPod.

So, I decided to listen to a few podcasts. I chose a weekly “true crime” series and my daughter’s favorite, Pod Save America. The latter is a political show hosted by four former Obama aides. They describe it as “a no-b######t conversation about politics hosted by former Obama aides Jon Favreau, Jon Lovett, Dan Pfeiffer, and Tommy Vietor.”

Unlike radio, they are uncensored. There is a lot of colorful language and very frank comments. In the podcasts that I chose I heard few sound effects; instead, they favored non-tonal music. With the exception of comedians, they tended to speak in a low key tone, like Public Radio broadcasters.

So, it is interesting, but it doesn’t necessarily appeal to me. I am retired and have more time than I used to. When I am outside, I prefer listening to nature; and indoors, I prefer combined auditory and visual information (TV) over solely auditory.

But I am in the minority. Podcasts are increasing at rates beyond expected. In the last decade podcast listeners have doubled. Today it is estimated that 57% of U.S. consumers listen to podcasts regularly.

One of the reasons that there is so much content is that anyone can create their own podcast. All they need is a microphone, a hosting platform, and auditing software. That is it…

So, what is old is new again…but different, it is uncensored, customized, and available whenever you want it, just like our world.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

I received a link last week that had “humorous” misogynistic videos about women. One of their slogans was that “women just want to hear their opinion in a man’s voice.” While the site tried to mask its misogyny, the readers’ got the message and in graphic terms commented on their hatred (fear) of women.

I was surprised because the true heroes of the women’s movement have always been men. Men recognizing the abilities of their wives, daughters, sisters, aunts, moms, and friends. Without their willingness to share power, the women’s movement would never have been successful.

But I shouldn’t have been surprised. Given the Supreme Court’s recent Roe v Wade decision, it is clear that women’s rights are in retreat. In the opinion of the Court, pregnant women have lost their status as people and are merely a vessel for a fetus.

Women tell many stories about abortion. Here are a few of mine.

Several years ago, I got a call from a friend who asked me to be with her college-age daughter. While on vacation she had to be admitted to the emergency room of Catholic hospital in severe pain. I stayed with the coed until her mother could arrive. The young girl was doubling over and vomiting continuously, clearly in excruciating pain and very, very ill. The day before her trip, she had discovered that she was pregnant. It had been a birth control failure with a former boyfriend, and she intended to end it. After waiting an interminable amount of time in the treatment area, a nurse arrived and announced that the coed was pregnant. The coed indicated that she was terminating the pregnancy. Within 15 minutes a doctor arrived. Not to treat her, but to convince her to keep the baby.

In between her retching and doubling over from the pain, he proceeded to her how it important it was for her to keep the baby. He ordered a fluid IV to prevent dehydration…but nothing else. He told us that he was unwilling to prescribe tests for appendicitis despite her symptoms because he was concerned the test could damage the fetus. I offered to sign a waiver, but he was unmoved. The friend’s fever swelled, and her pain continued relentlessly, but he departed. While we waited for treatment, two nurses attempted to convince her to keep the baby but offered no treatment or solace. Finally, after four hours a different doctor arrived, seeing the coed’s vitals and her extreme pain, she asked the other doctor why no tests had been ordered and no treatment was given for her pain. The doctor explained that he was concerned about harming the fetus. The new doctor was apoplectic.

“If this lady dies, that isn’t going to help the fetus, now, is it?” She ordered tests and a pain killer (that was safe for pregnancy) and stormed off.

The testing took place, now 6 hours after she had arrived at the hospital. But no pain killer; despite the fact that the coed was vomiting so violently that they had difficulty conducting the tests.

I repeatedly went to the nursing station to get her the prescribed painkiller. Instead, I got excuses (we can’t find the order, we’re busy, the order is unclear). It took another two hours to get the prescribed painkiller.

Finally, her mother arrived, and checked her out of the hospital and took her to a facility that would treat her; later that week the pregnancy was terminated.

I realize now that I was seeing the future of women’s healthcare.

The recent Supreme Court decision also reminded me of a conversation that I had with an acquaintance many years ago. A test had revealed that her daughter would be severely disabled. As a practicing Catholic, she and her husband didn’t know what to do. Planned Parenthood gave her contact information for resources, support groups, and advocacy groups for special needs children. She told me how grateful she was for their help, and they decided to keep the baby. I asked her how she felt about her decision. She was glad she chose to keep her daughter, that her daughter had taught her so much about joy and acceptance. But she admitted that it was hard. The daughter was too disabled to go to the Catholic school or even attend CCD. They couldn’t take vacations or be empty nesters because they needed to provide continuous care for their daughter during and after their lifetime.

I asked her about her thoughts about choice. She said that she still didn’t know; but being able to make the choice made her and her husband more invested in their daughter’s care. “When things got tough and we considered an institution,” she said. “We reminded ourselves that this was our choice, our commitment.”

These are two of the many stories about the complexity of abortion and the people who had to make their choices. There is no scientific proof that the fetus or even adults have souls. Since many are convinced that the fetus is a person, I don’t object to their providing pregnant women (on a voluntary basis) with their perspective.

But for most of America, the issue is not about an unborn fetus; but about the living, breathing women who are carrying them. An anti-choice position at its worst is misogyny. Or it is punishing women for having sex (as I believe happened to the young coed in the hospital). At best it is indifference to women.

A woman carrying a fetus has lost her personhood…and that is the real tragedy.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.

As many of my readers know, my dog, Gus, is my muse.

One of the things that never ceases to amaze me is how Gus is over-the-moon excited to begin each day. He waits for any movement (often around 4 a.m.) and starts to get excited. If I am not ready, he tries to wait.

He tries.

But it is hard for him, because, he knows, he just knows, that today is going to be the most awesome day, ever.

Once I awaken, he can no longer contain his excitement, twirling rapidly, running around, often in circles, going up and down the stairs (even with his heart condition); just so excited that today has finally arrived.

For Gus, life is joy.

And that joy is meant to be shared. On our walks, Gus encounters each stranger with the assumption that the stranger wants to pet him. He hovers for a few minutes, giving them every chance to take advantage of his affectionate nature. Sometimes they do and sometimes they don’t, but he waits patiently in front of them, until they decide.

Because Gus sees humanity in every human.

Including the homeless. It doesn’t matter how dirty, angry, unkempt, or hirsute they are. Some homeless use their appearance and expressions to keep us away.

But all Gus sees is a person who might need some affection. And many actually do. A pat on the head to Gus almost always elicits a smile. Gus stays until they are done and then walks back. The stranger, a stranger no more, smiles. His hidden humanity exposed.

One of the most profound demonstrations of Gus’s capability was at the dog park in Key West. A homeless man chose to spend every day at the dog park, sitting on a bench. He sported a long dirty beard to match his unkempt appearance. He scowled as we entered the park and kept his head down, muttering.

Gus would have none of that. He went over the bench and waited patiently by the man’s side. It took less than a week before the man reached down to pet the 12-pound fluffy white dog. Gus snuggled with him until the man was done and trotted back to me. Every day, Gus came over and as the days progressed their time together grew longer. The man would call Gus as soon as he saw him. It took only a couple of weeks before the man was talking to everyone. Other dogs started to come over and people began to share a smile or a commence a light conversation. Within a couple of months, he was clean shaven, washed, and every morning he waited for that little soft fluffy white dog to come over and gaze at him with his soft doe-eyes. When I returned to Key West the next year, the man was gone; I hope he found a home.

It happened again recently. A man who walked with this head down was no match for Gus. After Gus weaved his magic, we now smile and greet each other.

Last week I was in the supermarket when I noticed an elderly woman having difficulty with her groceries. I came to her aid. It took no longer than a couple of minutes to help her; and afterwards, I felt a euphoria. It is called the Helper’s high. And it is an amazing feeling.

I may have stumbled upon one of Gus’s secrets.

Angela Rieck, a Caroline County native, received her PhD in Mathematical Psychology from the University of Maryland and worked as a scientist at Bell Labs, and other high-tech companies in New Jersey before retiring as a corporate executive. Angela and her dogs divide their time between St Michaels and Key West Florida. Her daughter lives and works in New York City.