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March 7, 2026

Centreville Spy

Nonpartisan and Education-based News for Centreville

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Let’s Resolve to Solve Our Nation’s Woes By Maria Grant

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The end of the year is a good time to take stock and identify what’s working and what’s not. This year such an exercise is especially important as, in my opinion, there is much that is not working. We cannot afford to repeat 2025. Here are some actions to consider as we enter 2026.

Get out the Vote! We need many more Americans to vote in 2026 than voted in 2024. Several initiatives are underway to do just that. Also, a detailed analysis of swing districts on which to focus is important. Get involved in supporting these efforts. Become a poll watcher or join forces with constituents who are taking steps to ensure election integrity. 

On Maryland’s Eastern Shore, hopes are high that the First District will be much more competitive if a Blue Wave occurs. Andy “Handgun” Harris, who pledged to serve no more than six terms in the House and has now served eight, could be defeated once and for all.  

Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion. The Administration’s efforts to dismantle the progress we have made in these areas undermine democracy and rob America of the contributions made from large swaths of our population. Such divisive efforts promote racism and discrimination. One of the things that makes America great is its diversity–its melting pot roots. Returning to White male supremacy or embracing oligarchy is a huge mistake. Let’s celebrate and embrace our differences and reject efforts to return to a white-bread world order. 

Preserve our environment. The damage this Administration has done to the environment is downright unconscionable. Trump has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Agreement. He has rolled back or weakened numerous regulations on greenhouse gas emissions, replacing them with less stringent rules. He has championed coal, oil, and gas production, opening tracts of public lands and ocean waters to new drilling. He has discouraged renewable energy projects. He has rolled back the Clean Water Act and protections for wetlands and streams. He has weakened the Endangered Species Act. He has undermined science and research by cutting critical research funding, firing government scientists, and removing climate change information from federal websites. 

Specifically on the Eastern Shore, because of Trump’s policies, the city of Crisfield has lost $36 million in federal funding from the FEMA program aimed at flood mitigation and managing rising sea levels. The Administration has actively sought to block the development of Maryland’s first offshore wind farm near Ocean City. It has also proposed drastic cuts to the Chesapeake Bay Cleanup Program and weakened federal clean water regulations which could eliminate protections for thousands of acres of wetlands and headwater streams vital to the Bay’s health. The Administration’s regulatory rollbacks have weakened limits on mercury and other toxic emissions from power plants and coal ash disposal, posing risks to air and water quality in our region. Plus, the removal of climate and research data is hindering access to information vital to plan for specific impacts of climate change. 

Fighting these environmental rollbacks involves a multi-pronged approach including legal actions, state level initiatives, public advocacy, and civic engagement. Do your research and get involved. It’s important.

Support the Arts. We on the Eastern Shore are the lucky ones to have top-tier music and art at our fingertips. These nonprofit organizations need your support to thrive and continue to bring culture at its best to the public at large. Do what you can to contribute to their funding drives. Also encourage your friends and neighbors to attend concerts and gallery openings. It’s vital to keep the momentum going. 

This year the options are plentiful. Check out Chesapeake Music’s website for information on its many concerts next year, including concerts in February and March, a Competition in April, June Festival concerts, Interlude concerts throughout the year and more; Gabriela Montero’s concert series at the Ebenezer Theater; Mid-Atlantic Symphony performances; the Avalon Theater’s bountiful programming; the Art Academy’s many exhibits; and the numerous galleries and shops open on Easton’s First Friday Gallery Walks. 

If the past year has taught us anything, it’s the importance of community engagement to address issues and promote workable solutions. Freedom is not free. We must work to preserve democracy, civility, empathy, and justice. 

Mahatma Gandhi once said, “The future depends on what you do today.”  

Peter Drucker, the revolutionary Austrian American management consultant, educator, and author, once wrote, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.”

And perhaps most importantly, Plato told us, “The price good men pay for indifference to public affairs is to be ruled by evil men.” 

Amen. 

Maria Grant, formerly principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, music, bicycling, and nature.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Postcard From Whitefish By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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Deep in the northwest corner of Montana, Whitefish is the gateway to the jagged peaks, lakes, and glacier-carved valleys of one of America’s most pristine treasures: Glacier National Park. The town of Whitefish and its eponymous ski resort lie just west of the Continental Divide on what was once the shared ancestral hunting grounds of three Native American tribes: the Kutenai, the Bitterroot Salish, and the Pend d’Oreilles. Trappers and traders crisscrossed this remote wilderness beginning in the middle of the 19th Century, but it was the logging industry that made the country literally go BOOM in the the 1890s. And when the Great Northern Railway found a gentler route through the mountains in 1904, Whitefish—then known as Stumptown—became a new dot on the map of the American West.

This is our clan’s second visit to Whitefish. We came last year, liked it, and so now here we are, back again, “only” twenty-four of us this time, scattered among two rented houses and the local ski lodge. Twenty-three of us are out on the slopes today despite a thermometer that reported the local temperature was -2. (Insert freezing emoji here.) Me? I’m in front of the crackling fire in the great room of the lodge with my computer, a book, and my cup of black coffee. Couldn’t be happier!

It wasn’t easy getting here. In our parcel of the party, there were seven sleepy adults and seven excited kids (age range four-to-twelve) on a 4am flight to Minneapolis, a two-hour lay over there, then another three hour flight to Kalispell, Montana. You can imagine all the ski bags, checked luggage, carry-ons with stuffed animals and all manner of winter weather gear, but we made it without losing anyone or anything. I think. And by the way, a great big shoutout to all those kind and hard-working Somali folk in the MSP Airport; that place could not function without you!

Two days ago, when we arrived in Whitefish, postcard snow was gently falling, but today, the sun is shining although it’s still bitterly cold. The skiers don’t seem to care; they’re up and out as early as the chaos allows. All bundled up, it’s difficult to tell who belongs to whom, but some innate parental instinct kicks in and off they all go. I pour myself another cup of coffee and throw another log on the fire. I’ll admit that up here in the lodge, I’m once-removed from all that chaos of skis and boots, helmets and googles, but, as I’ve said before, I’m an excellent vicarious skier and prefer to listen to everyone’s adventures over our evening meal. Plus, it’s warmer here and I’m not likely to hurt myself or anyone else, for that matter.

So, here we are, three generations, separate branches on a boisterous family tree: wild and free on the mountain, cozy and close around the dinner table. There is an ebb and flow to life here, a few tears but plenty of joy and memories that will last lifetimes. Yes, I may be once-removed from the maelstrom, but then someone has to write this postcard.

Wish you were here.

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. His editorials and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores. His newest novel, “The People Game,” is scheduled for publication in February, 2026. (It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.) His website is musingjamie.net.

 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

How Much will Appearance Matter in the Next Presidential Elections? By David Reel

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In 1960, then-U.S. Senator John F. Kennedy and then-U.S. Vice President Richard M. Nixon were opponents in the Presidential election. It was hard fought contest that led to Kennedy being declared the winner with a winning popular vote margin of 0.17%.

Then and still today, political observers suggest an event that was pivotal in that outcome was the first televised presidential debate featuring the candidates rather than surrogates debating on their behalf.

The first of three-hour-long debates held in 1960 was watched by an estimated seventy million viewers at a time when almost the same number (68,638) of the U.S. population actually voted in the subsequent presidential general election.

As presidential candidates, Nixon and Kennedy had much in common. Both were intensely ambitious, close in age — Kennedy was forty-three, and Nixon was forty-seven, World War II veterans, elected to serve as members of the U.S. House of Representatives and U.S. Senate, and both were seasoned campaigners.

Polling done after the first debate had starkly different results on who won and who lost.

Many of those who watched the first debate thought Nixon did poorly and “lost” the debate. They thought Nixon appeared old, haggard, and even menacing due in part to a five o’clock shadow beard made worse by his refusal to wear makeup.

Many of those who watched the first debate thought Kennedy did well and “won” the debate. They thought Kennedy appeared young, vigorous, and tanned due to pre-debate tanning sessions.

Conversely, many who listened to the first debate on the radio thought Nixon did well and “won” the debate and many who listened thought Kennedy did poorly and “lost” the debate.

Only years after the debate did it become well known that appearances can be deceiving.

John F. Kennedy had numerous, lifelong, chronic, and serious medical conditions, all of which were carefully hidden by himself and his campaign advisors.

Among other things, he had Addison’s disease, colitis, ulcers, autoimmune issues, back issues requiring several operations, and depression, all treated with regular and copious amounts of painkiller pills and injections.

Some medical professionals have suggested his Addison’s Disease alone could have led to an early death had he not been assassinated.

As often happens with public opinions, first impressions are lasting impressions.

That reality was duly noted by Richard Nixon, who, despite his ethical lapses, was an astute and shrewd politician.
In 1968, Nixon ran for president again and narrowly defeated then-Vice President Hubert Humphrey, winning the popular vote by 0.7%.

In the 1968 election, Nixon effectively rebranded himself using a television commercial blitz that is discussed in detail by Joe McGinnis in his bestselling book, “The Selling of the President.”

Despite Nixon’s landslide re-election in 1972, in which he won with a 23.2% popular-vote margin, he could not overcome the fallout from Watergate, which ended his presidency.

Fast forward to today.

Campaigning for the next cycle of presidential primaries and the 2028 presidential election is well underway.

A recent article by Holly Otterbein and Alex Thompson, published on the Axios website, featured the following headline: “Makeovers are part of the prep for Dems eyeing 2028.”

The article offers observations on several potential Democratic presidential candidates for 2028 with respect to their appearance in three areas: weight, fashion, and facial hair.

With regard to weight, they mention Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker and United States Senator Elissa Slotkin, both of whom have lost substantial weight.

With regard to fashion, they include observations by Derek Guy, the editor of “Put This On” and a writer on men’s fashion.

Guy had this to say about Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro — “When Shapiro was elected governor in 2022, his clothes looked like clothes that you bought in the ’90s. Shapiro’s suits [now] are more tailored and modern, but not flashy. Shapiro sometimes ditches a tie, has swapped out his old glasses for a trendier, rectangular pair, and often wears sneakers.”

Guy also had this to say about California Governor Gavin Newsom — “He dresses pretty well. I particularly like his ties but wonder if that look might be too stylish for some voters.”

Otterbein and Thompson wrote that United States Senator from Connecticut Chris Murphy and former United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg are now sporting beards.

The Axios article also includes this cogent observation from veteran Democratic campaign consultant and political pundit James Carville: “No one’s going to say, ‘I’m not going to vote for someone because they’re not attractive’… but it certainly matters.”

Yes indeed, it does matter.

After the next cycle of presidential primary elections and the 2028 presidential general election it will be interesting to review and analyze exactly how much candidate appearances and exactly how much candidate issue positions mattered on voter thinking and behavior.

David Reel is a public affairs and public relations consultant. He is also a consultant for not for- profit organizations on governance, leadership, and management matters. He lives in Easton.

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The World I Live In by Al Sikes

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Each year I have written a Christmas reflection; this year it is somebody else’s turn. Mary Oliver by name. But first, a brief prelude.

Sometimes thoughts turn into words quickly—this year quick was missing. Blessedly, a friend sent me The World I Live In. Marvelous, was my thought, as I turned the pages to find out more about Mary Oliver.

Mary Oliver, a Pulitzer Prize winner, died in 2019. She left us many gifts. I hope this one lingers with you, as it did with me.

THE WORLD I LIVE IN

I have refused to live
locked in the orderly house of
reasons and proofs.

The world I live in and believe in
is wider than that. And anyway,
what’s wrong with Maybe?

You wouldn’t believe what once or
twice I have seen. I’ll just
tell you this:

only if there are angels in your head will you
ever, possibly, see one.

— Mary Oliver

And, for those of you who want more:

THE PONDS

Every year
the lilies
are so perfect
I can hardly believe

their lapped light crowding
the black,
mid-summer ponds.
Nobody could count all of them—

the muskrats swimming
among the pads and the grasses
can reach out
their muscular arms and touch

only so many; they are that
rife and wild.
But what in this world
is perfect?

I bend closer and see
how this one is clearly lopsided—
and that one wears an orange blight—
and this one is a glossy cheek

half nibbled away—
and that one is a slumped purse
full of its own
unstoppable decay.

Still, what I want in my life
is to be willing
to be dazzled—
to cast aside the weight of facts

and maybe even
to float a little
above this difficult world.
I want to believe I am looking

into the white fire of a great mystery.
I want to believe that the imperfections are nothing—
that the light is everything—that it is more than the sum
of each flawed blossom rising and fading. And I do.

— Mary Oliver

Merry Chirstmas

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

Trump Has Killed the Kennedy Center, So Let’s Build a New One By J.E. Dean

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We might as well admit it:  Donald Trump will never revitalize The Kennedy Center in Washington. It is dead, a victim of the President’s narcissism. Trump hijacked America’s living memorial to JFK. By adding his name to the center, Trump destroyed it. 

And the Trump-Kennedy Center won’t be fit to serve as a living memorial to Kennedy (or anyone other than Donald J. Trump) after Trump “renovates” the building with gaudy gold decorations and other design details better suited for a house of ill-repute. 

John F. Kennedy was a President who loved and listened to classical music, opera, and other fine arts. The national center for the performing arts was an exceptionally appropriate memorial. That makes all of us who have attended concerts, opera, and theater at the Kennedy Center, pausing during our visits to reflect on Kennedy’s memory, sad—and angry. 

Throughout my years in Washington, I regularly attended concerts and other programming at the Kennedy Center. I recall the building opening in 1971 and experiencing joy that the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) finally had a proper home, one with great acoustics, good seating, and a design that shouted out dignity. JFK, I imagine, was in heaven looking down on the memorial dedicated to his memory with a smile on his face.

I hate to think what JFK might have been thinking last Friday as workers installed Trump’s name on the side of the building. Let’s not go there.

Because the Trump-appointed Trump-Kennedy Center board of directors likely did not have legal authority to rename the Kennedy Center, a future Democratic President (yes, there will be one) will remove Trump’s name.  Also going will be what is likely to be a huge bust of Trump’s head, or of Trump raising his fist in the air after the assassination attempt in Butler, Pennsylvania, in the Grand Foyer. The large portraits of Trump and J.D. Vance also would go, preferably on Inauguration Day. 

Unfortunately, removing the desecration Trump is wrecking on the Center will never reverse the fact that, courtesy of Trump, there is no longer a memorial dedicated to John F. Kennedy in Washington. Some crimes cannot be undone. 

 Trump killed the Kennedy Center. It almost would have been better had he simply razed it, just like he did with the East Wing of the White House. I don’t expect to ever attend another concert or play at the Center. Period.

But what should I do if I am in Washington and want to hear the NSO perform? Unfortunately, unless something is done, the NSO will have nowhere for its concerts, at least nowhere appropriate. 

One idea, one I would love to see, would be for donors, large and small, to build a new home for the performing arts in Washington, one that would not be funded, operated, or controlled by the federal government. It would be private, immune from the destructive impulses of a future Trump. 

Americans that want to see JFK honored again should fund the construction of a new Kennedy cultural center and create a sizable endowment to guarantee its independence from future Presidents like Trump. 

Ideally, the new Kennedy Center would, like the former one, include a world-class concert hall, a home for the Washington Opera, and a theater. It could also include high quality restaurants (no McDonald’s, please) and a small museum dedicated to JFK’s presidency. I would call the museum “The Camelot” museum and love to see “Camelot” performed in the new theater as the first production after opening.

What should happen to the “Trump Kennedy Center?” I would suggest Congress turn it over the Trump family with the stipulation that Kennedy’s name be permanently removed. Then the Trump family could take full responsibility for the facility. If the family wants to turn it into a venue for UFC cage matches or offer screenings of the upcoming Melania Trump biopic, titled “Melania,” of course, good luck to them.

President John F. Kennedy deserves to be honored with a cultural center that reminds all of America that Presidents can and should be role models that inspire Americans to ask not what the country can do for them, but what they can do for their country.

Happy Holidays! 

J.E. Dean writes on politics, government, goldendoodles, and other subjects. A former counsel on Capitol Hill and public affairs consultant, Dean is an advocate for democracy, sanity, and the rule of law.

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The Osmotic Drinker By Jamie Kirkpatrick

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By the time Wally arrived, the bar was already crowded. It was a Thursday—Martini Night—and my posse of friends and holiday spirit(s) filled the room to overflowing. Roberto the bartender was slammed, but not so slammed that he didn’t notice Wally walk through the door. He arched an eyebrow in Wally’s direction and Wally nodded once. The game was afoot…

A few minutes later, I watched Roberto shake and pour a vodka martini into a chilled glass he had set on the bar. Roberto’s a pro, and the pour came flush with the brim. Given the jostling crowd in the room, it would be hard if not downright impossible for Wally to retrieve his cocktail without spilling half of it. I was closer; maybe I could help. I started to reach for the glass, but Wally laid a hand on my arm and shook his head. I retreated back into my corner conversation with a friend.

When I looked up again, Wally’s martini glass was still on the bar, untouched, but If I weren’t mistaken, it wasn’t quite so full. Someone must have taken a sip. I looked at Wally, but he was engrossed in a jovial conversation with Iffy and The Skipper. Roberto had moved on to his next concoction. Just at that moment, Boo came into the bar, reddened by the cold, and we fell into a conversation about must-read books: 1929 by Andrew Ross Sorkin and Ian McEwan’s newest novel, What We Can Know, a gender-bending detective story set in a future Britain ravaged by climate change. “Best book I’ve read in ages,” Boo said. I reached for a bar napkin to make a note for myself and happened to notice Wally’s glass was still right where Roberto had left it. But the volume had again been reduced by another sip, a bigger one this time.

Wally had moved on and was now laughing at one of Stevie Mac’s jokes. (Stevie Mac is an inveterate storyteller with an endless supply of jokes which he delivers deadpan like he’s telling you the truth.) Roberto was making The Skipper his third gin and tonic; Iffy was well into his second martini. The room was getting louder and livelier—plenty of good craic, as they say in Ireland. Wally’s martini was still in its spot on the bar, but damn if the tide wasn’t lower still. What was going on?

It was a chilly night, but inside, it was cozy. Was Wally’s martini evaporating? Impossible. What was going on? I looked for Wally in the crowd and saw him down at the other end of the bar talking to a woman I recognized but whose name I couldn’t recall. I could tell he was enjoying himself—his cheeks were flushed, but his martini was still sitting on the bar, right where Roberto had left it, only now, it was nearly empty. 

Just then, Wally turned and caught Roberto’s eye. He smacked his lips gave him a thumbs-up grin. He also raised a finger in a way that was the universal sign for “one more.” Roberto nodded. The glass on the bar was now empty. Roberto set about making another Wally-special and when it was ready, he removed the empty glass and put the fresh martini right in the same spot. Wally’s eyes met Roberto’s—another wordless exchange that spoke volumes. No one else was paying any attention—they were having too much fun—but I was gobsmacked. I was also determined to get to the bottom of the untouched glass mystery, so to speak.

Angelique came over to chat, in French no less. I forgot I was on watch. When I remembered my duty, Wally’s fresh martini was gone. I don’t mean the glass was gone; it was right where it had been but was now as drained of liquid as a swimming pool in December. 

That was when Wally sidled up to the bar and flourished an air pen in Roberto’s direction, the universal sign for his tab. Roberto turned to the cash register and produced a check for two martinis. Wally signed, left a generous tip, and gave Roberto a sly wink. And just like that, he was gone.

They say osmosis is the natural phenomenon by which a liquid moves across a semipermeable membrane creating equilibrium. It’s a process crucial for the cells in our bodies, in fact, for life itself. Just another of life’s many little miracles…

Happy Holidays, and, please, God, a happier New Year. Cheers!

I’ll be right back.

Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer who lives on both sides of the Chesapeake Bay. His editorials and reviews have appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy Magazine. His most recent novel, “The Tales of Bismuth; Dispatches from Palestine, 1945-1948” explores the origins of the Arab-Israeli conflict. It is available on Amazon and in local bookstores. His newest novel, “The People Game,” is scheduled for publication in February, 2026. (It’s available for pre-order now on Amazon.) His website is musingjamie.net.

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

It’s a Good Time to Focus on Simple Pleasures By Maria Grant

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Let’s face it. This has been a tough year. It seems like almost every week there has been some kind of tragedy—murder, catastrophic weather, shootings, and more. Plus, many of us feel totally alienated by the goings on of the current administration. 

So, what to do? Perhaps it’s time to reflect on the simple pleasures that offer hope and glimmers of joy.in our lives. Here are some pleasures on my list this year. 

The many magnificent local concerts I’ve heard this year including those sponsored by Chesapeake Music, Gabriela Montero, Mid-Atlantic Symphony, the Avalon, and Oxford Community Center. How lucky are we to have such fabulous sounds at our fingertips!

My wonderful neighbors grow beets in their vegetable garden. They bring me jars of pickled beets that are beyond delicious.

My two book clubs have provided substantive conversations about books and the human condition. This year’s books included Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw; Lily King’s Heart the Lover; Yael Van der Wouden’s The Safekeep, Barbara Kingsolver’s Unsheltered, and Herman Melville’s Moby Dick. 

Behind our home in Florida, lives a gopher tortoise that we named Kevin. He brings a smile to my face every time he saunters down the path, basking in sunshine and checking out the neighborhood.

Our community’s Habitat for Humanity campaign raised enough dollars to sponsor yet another house in the area. It warms our hearts to know that another family will have shelter this holiday season. 

Our own gardens harvested a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, all shapes and sizes that were super sweet and tasty. We also had a successful cutting garden which meant vases of zinnias, lilies, and daisies on the screened porch and kitchen table. 

I began taking boating lessons and, although still far from adept at handling our boat, I can now navigate our waters using auto pilot and the Garmin system, which gives me a sense of accomplishment. I have much more to learn during next year’s boating season. 

Many coffees, lunches and dinners with friends and neighbors have provided connections, some laughs, and some much-needed commiserations about the state of our union. 

During my bike rides in Florida this season, I have come upon horned owls, great blue herons, eagles, roseate spoonbills, egrets, osprey, green herons, pelicans, and mottled ducks. What a special treat it is to see them in their nests and nearby ponds. I’ve even been fortunate enough to spot a few pods of manatees searching for warmer waters during a brief cold spell. 

I’ve done quite a bit of cooking this year including, of course, making a ton of crabcakes. I’ve also made spaghetti squash chicken parmesan, coq au vin, lasagna, and blackened salmon, just to name a few. These dinners have led to interesting conversations and some much-needed laughter. 

When I think about what could make things better next year, getting more people out to vote in 2026 is at the top of my list. It’s hard to believe that close to 90 million Americans failed to go to the polls in 2024. I am heartened by so many initiatives currently underway to ensure that that doesn’t happen next year. 

The writer Oscar Wilde once wrote, “Simple pleasures are the last healthy refuge in a complex world.”

This is a good year to remember those wise words. 

Maria Grant, formerly principal-in-charge of the federal human capital practice of an international consulting firm, now focuses on writing, reading, music, bicycling, and nature.

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Special Gifts By Angela Rieck

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‘Tis the season for giving. Some of us prefer to provide suggestions for gifts. But my favorite gifts are the ones that someone chooses for me. Gifts that show that the donor has thought about me and chosen something unexpected.

My daughter has a knack for giving special gifts. She thinks carefully about something that I might enjoy. I have a pair of slippers that she bought for me that are now threadbare.

Then there is my engagement ring. While my late husband and I knew that we would spend our lives together, we hadn’t really discussed marriage. He surprised me with a stunning engagement ring; I never would have let him pick out something so extravagant. It was what he wanted to give. I still wear it every day.

Over the years, I have been blessed with many gifts, large and small

When my husband died, I was lost in grief. Grief from knowing that I would never see him again, missing every moment of our time together. And one of the things that I missed was the gifts. My husband would surprise me frequently with a gift, “just because.” After he died, I knew that my birthday, our anniversary, Mother’s day, and Valentine’s day would never be the same. There was a void knowing that these days, which were full of joy and surprise, would slip away unnoticed, uncelebrated, and the loneliness and feelings of no longer being loved in that capacity would creep in. To my surprise, the first Valentine’s day that he was gone, my sister bought me some chocolates. A small gift, but it was deeply appreciated. I would not be given a Valentine’s gift again, but this one came at my lowest point and let me know that there were people who really loved me.

Then there are the handmade gifts. A close friend knitted me a sweater. Funny thing was, I never wore it (it was too big), but it was hanging up in my closet and every day it would make me smile.

Last year I got a surprise gift. My sister and I both commented on the exquisiteness of a Christmas decoration at a friend’s house. We both liked it, but that was it. Later I bought one for myself, and I decided to get her one even though we don’t normally exchange gifts. She did the same thing unbeknownst to me and both decorations showed up at my door step a week later. Now both of us enjoy two decorations. Almost like the gift of the Magi.

My wish for my readers (and everyone really) that you get at least one special gift this year and may your holidays be full of blessings.

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.

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Spy Art Review: 100 Years/100 Feet of Rauschenberg at the Academy by Steve Parks

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Born a century ago in Texas, Robert Rauschenberg lived and worked most of his life in New York City and Captiva Island, Florida, where he died at 82 in 2008. He would have turned 100 on Oct. 22, 2025, which accounts for the Rauschenberg centenary commemorations at art institutions all over the globe. Certainly not the least of these is “Rauschenberg 100: New Connections” at Easton’s Academy Art Museum – the centerpiece of which is “Chinese Summerfall,” a 100-foot-long photographic frame-by-frame panorama shot and assembled in 1982-’83.

Due to the scale and delicate handling it requires, this singularly epic exhibit all its own is rarely displayed in public. So how did it land in Easton, you ask? Donald Saff, Rauschenberg’s collaborator on “Chinese Summerfall,” lives in Oxford, also home to his studio, where parts of the 100-foot-long photograph, among several other of the artist’s major projects, were put together.

At the time, 1982, Rauschenberg was working closely with Saff at the University of South Florida in Tampa, where his Graphicstudio was located. Rauschenberg was already renowned for, as he put it, “connecting art to life,” which incorporated brushstrokes, snapshots, fabric, everyday found objects, plus newspaper and magazine clippings into collage commentaries he called “Combines” – a hybrid he invented by melding aspects of painting, sculpture, and photography.

“Chinese Summerfall,” however, is a purely photographic endeavor, the artist described as a “compositional tale unrolled according to its own appetite. What is already there dictates what comes next,” he said, before adding: “The witness – my camera – recorded not everything we saw, just everything we looked at.”

Indeed, there is a randomness to what Rauschenberg and his camera “looked at” in his 100-foot photo winding its way around AAM’s Lederer Gallery – encompassing urban alleys, ill-lit hotel rooms, wall paintings and statuary fragments next to utility poles. But there are manipulated scenes, too – a gnarled tree trunk spliced against a mountain vista at the start of the ribbon of photographs, while midway through, a pair of spoked wheels superimposed over a section of the Great Wall of China, concluding with understated irony – a sideways huddle of chickens.

A potential political controversy was averted, Saff recalls, when Chinese authorities objected to a blurry image of Lenin and Stalin together. When asked to relinquish the negative, Saff surrendered an unexposed roll of film instead.

Across the hall in the Healy Gallery, 30 framed stills from Academy Art’s permanent collection include a few that didn’t make the cut for the 100 feet of “Chinese Summerfall.” But most instructive is the large printer’s proof typical of the 8-to-10-foot sections into which the finished Rauschenberg Foundation project was divided before final assembly.

As a follow-up to “Chinese Summerfall,” Saff also collaborated on the Rauschenberg Overseas Culture Initiative which brought the artist’s work to nations isolated from the influence of Western democracies, including the Soviet Union, East Germany, Cuba (then ruled by Fidel Castro), Chile (under dictator Pinochet), and Venezuela, now much in the news.

The ROCI world tour culminated in a 1991 National Gallery of Art exhibition in Washington, after which Roschenberg was awarded the Hiroshima Prize for Peace through Art. About that time, Saff moved to Oxford, where he opened Saff Tech Arts, representing, along with Rauschenberg, other such innovators as Roy Lichtenstein, Nancy Graves, and James Turrell.

For a wider appreciation of Rauschenberg as America’s and perhaps the world’s most original and relatable post-World War II artist, consider a visit to his adopted hometown to take in “Robert Rauschenberg’s New York: Pictures From the Real World” at the Museum of the City of New York, running through April 19, 2026. The show traces his evolution from photography into an integration of painting, sculpture, and found-object hoarding to create a new art form of collage mosaics.

Steve Parks is a retired New York arts critic now living in Easton.

‘RAUSCHENBERG 100: NEW CONNECTIONS’
Through May 3, 2026, Academy Art Museum, 106 South St., Easton.

Related programs: Pianist Thomas Moore performs “White Paintings and Silent Music – John Cage and Robert Rauschenberg in the 1950s,” Friday, Jan. 16, 2026; the artist’s son Christopher’s lecture: “Robert Rauschenberg’s Photographic Legacy in Context,” Saturday, Feb. 21, and collaborator Donald Saff’s lecture: “Robert Rauschenberg in China and the Overseas Cultural Interchange,” Friday, March 27, all at 6 p.m. Other current AAM exhibits: “Clay: The Power of Repetition,” through Feb. 15, 2026, and “The Skin of Water,” through Feb. 22, academyartmuseum.org

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.

President Trump, The Public, and Chum by Al Sikes

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“Defining Deviancy Down” is a 1993 essay by sociologist and then U.S. Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Its core idea is “societies survive disorder by redefining it—at the cost of moral and social coherence.”

In my lifetime, America has redefined commerce. Scale now dominates.

We have redefined marijuana—it is now “recreational”.

Gambling has been redefined as “fun” and is featured in promotions during games.

Love is now “making love,” and too often friendship has been caught up in a transactional zeitgeist—“what is in it for me.”

And maybe most tellingly, let’s look at governance or what we call politics.

The great fisherman, Donald Trump, is certainly good at chumming the water. Trump stands tall on the bow deck of the statecraft, tossing pieces of fish in the water.

I have seen what chum does. Chumming is baiting the water with stuff fish like to eat and then slipping a hook into one or more of the baits. Trump on most days chums the water, much of the media and a too credulous audience rush to the bait. I want to shout: “watch out for the hooks.”

The President wants history to record him as a mythic leader. In his view, right up there with Washington and Lincoln. He will be recognized not as a great leader but as a mythic chummer. Maria Machado’s, Venezuela’s opposition leader, harrowing journey from Venezuela to Norway was mythic. She deserved the Nobel recognition.

But when it comes to chumming, wow! I watched its effect when I objected to the President’s use of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regulatory authority to help favored media at the expense of free speech. In a 48-hour cycle, I was called a number of times and interviewed.  But then the circus left town—my phone quit ringing.

The larger question: has Trump bent America’s institutions of government in such an egregious way that they will not straighten out?  Or will a true democrat (not the party) again occupy the White House? And, will the institutions that balance America’s government once again serve as intended?

But let me return to the chum. The public, especially independent voters, have begun to rebel. Even some in the Republican Party seem fed up. At some point, tactics are revealing. Increasingly, they reveal a President who will bend and reshape words and actions in self-justification. “The hell with democracy,” he says to himself, “I will do what I want to do. And celebrate myself.”

In my view, he is in a competition with himself for the most loathsome actions. Favoring Russia over Ukraine. Driving prices higher with tariffs. Failing to deal with our national debt. Disparaging. Bullying. Lying. Where to start? Stop?

But he has achieved one overriding tactical success—intimidating Members of Congress. Their compliant behavior proves what a woeful bunch of wannabes occupy many of the Congressional seats.

And in my list of mythically bad actions what about taking a wrecking ball to the East Wing of the White House? Once again, the Congress proved prey as Trump got his rich collaborators to pay for the destruction and presumably the rebuild. Transactional politics at its most egregious.

Final word. The President is clear; he wants to run things. He doesn’t want the Congress or States or Courts to get in the way. He wants what judicial theorists call the “unitary presidency”—the President as corporate Chief Executive (CEO) with authority to do anything and everything.

Similarity with CEOs is absent. Perhaps the theorists willfully overlook the obvious. CEOs can be immediately fired by their Boards.

If the Supreme Court, in a pending case on tariff authority, rationalizes Presidential authority, the court will join Trump in infamy. And if Congress persists in acting like a compliant board of directors it too will join Trump and his Supreme Court in disgrace. Importantly, if the scaffolding of checks and balances are removed our building will fall down.

Right now Trump is “defining deviancy down”. Can Americans reclaim it?

Breaking News

When learning of Rob Reiner’s death, Trump verbally applauded, referring to him as a “deranged person”. Surely this won’t define deviancy down any further.

The Days Ahead

Merry Christmas! Happy Hanukkah! Especially, “Peace on Earth and Good Will to All! And, sorry for the dark lead-in.

Al Sikes is the former Chair of the Federal Communications Commission under George H.W. Bush. Al writes on themes from his book, Culture Leads Leaders Follow published by Koehler Books. 

The Spy Newspapers may periodically employ the assistance of artificial intelligence (AI) to enhance the clarity and accuracy of our content.