Artist Weiss explores concepts of time
The night before Michael Weiss’s 10th birthday, he found himself in the middle of an existential crisis about aging. “I was in tears because I was never going to be single digits again,” he said. “The notion of time, the passage of time, the delicacy of life, the fleeting nature of it — it’s been with me since I was that age.” Now 57, Weiss can laugh about this childhood ... READ MORE
‘Room Service’ delivers laughs at Vagabond
It’s a trope we’ve seen in films and theater over the years, usually for comic effect: a hall or wall of doors that open and close as characters spring in and out, surprising, shocking, and saying all sorts of salacious and sappy things. It’s used to slapsticky effect in John Murray and Allen Boretz’s farce Room Service, which debuted in New York in 1937 and returns in 2025 in... READ MORE
Toby’s brings on the boomer nostalgia
“Took a walk and passed your house late last night. All the shades were pulled and drawn way down tight. From within, the dim light cast two silhouettes on the shade.” If you read that sentence and feared a stalker, then most likely you don’t recognize the lyrics of “Silhouettes,” a 1957 song by The Rays. However, if you broke into song, then Jersey Boys, the current musical... READ MORE
Radio host lets others speak
Marc Steiner, the acclaimed talk-show host, podcaster, writer, teacher and civil rights advocate, says he was just in the right place at the right time. “I stumbled into radio,” Steiner said in an interview with the Beacon. In the waiting room of his dentist's office 31 years ago, Steiner struck up a conversation with the assistant general manager of Johns Hopkins... READ MORE
‘Merry Wives’ features a youthful Falstaff
“What is honor? A word. What is in that word ‘honor?’ Air.” So maintains Sir John Falstaff, Shakespeare’s rotund, vain, drunken and “sanguine coward.” A standout character in Shakespeare’s Henry IV plays, Falstaff commands sole attention in the comedy The Merry Wives of Windsor performed by the Chesapeake Shakespeare Company in a delightful outdoor production in... READ MORE
Baltimore Housing News July 2024
Edenwald purchases historic mansion for expansion After more than five years of eyeing the historic Bosley Mansion in West Towson, Edenwald Senior Living purchased the 4.4-acre property in February. “We’re very excited about the opportunity to do something in that neighborhood,” said Mark Beggs, president and CEO of Edenwald Senior Living, located about a five-minute drive from the... READ MORE
Community residents volunteer in-house
Retired Baltimore County music teacher Keith Derrickson enjoys performing on the piano, sometimes wearing a powdered wig. For almost seven years he has lived at Oak Crest in Parkville, Maryland, volunteering his talent at the community’s open houses. “I play while people are coming in and give them some ambiance. I have a Bach wig and a Beethoven wig,” he said. Indeed, Derrickson... READ MORE
Study volunteers needed for daily walks
We all know that exercise is good for us, but as we age, our joints might feel creaky or we may have more aches and pains. That may make exercise harder. Now a new study at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health hopes to help people age 65 and older get moving again. “Sit less by moving more,” explained Amal Wanigatunga, Ph.D., the principal investigator of the... READ MORE
Remembering East Baltimore in the 50s
Those who’ve ever lived in a Baltimore row house may remember scrubbing the front steps with a strong brush and brown soap or Ajax until the stone brightened and the white marble gleamed. “There was something about the cleanliness of the vestibule,” author Janet Vanik Divel remembers. “It was pride in ownership, maybe old-fashioned thinking,” but owning a home “was the end ... READ MORE
Elevating new writers over 50
Did you know Baltimore is home to the only national literary journal and press dedicated to writers over 50? Launched more than 30 years ago, the journal Passager was the brainchild of Baltimore writing instructor Kendra Kopelke. Then 28 years old, Kopelke was inspired to launch Passager while teaching older writers at the Waxter Center, a senior center in Baltimore City. Their work ... READ MORE
