April 2024

Your Southern Maryland correspondent, John Wharton, continues to enjoy life with Linda at our home along Kingston Creek, off the lower Patuxent River. Losing my brother Peter and our stepsister Zoe in the past year, and other good friends, too, brought much pain and sorrow, but the flipside of grief includes the gratitude to still be around, including when sitting or walking along those waterways. Hearing landlords and tenants discuss their troubles, as a volunteer mediator with the state’s day-of-trial program, also reminds me that we’re blessed to have a roof over our heads. Singing and playing tenor ukulele at the country jams in Laurel Grove can be tantalizing and terrifying, in equal measure. Seeing nieces and nephews in Virginia, and places further south and west, is always fun. And meeting up with an old chum for lunch, coffee, or just a chat is delightful.