We welcome your opinions and letters — with name and address. We will edit when necessary. Include your name, address and phone number for verification. Mail them to Bay Weekly, P.O. Box 358, Deale, MD 20751 • E-mail them to us at [email protected].

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Right on on Crab Culture

Dear Bay Weekly:
Like Allen Delaney, I don’t remember being taught how to pick a crab [Reflection Vol. 12, No. 28: July 8]. Growing up, my cousins and I sat up to picnic tables piled high with steamed crabs in summer, probably learning to pick the same way we learned to swim, by simply wading in. (We learned about the beer part later.)

Delaney’s take on tourists tackling hard crabs kept me laughing the better part of the day. We’ve all seen the scenario, but no one has ever described it quite as hilariously and aptly as Delaney.
—M.L. Faunce, Churchton

Capturing Who We Are And What We’re About

Dear Bay Weekly:
On behalf of all the members of the Annapolis Rotary Club, I’d like to thank you for the wonderful front page and positive story about our planned renovation of the Newman Street Park that appears in your July 1 issue [Vol. XII, No. 27: July 1]. Please tell your writer, Carrie Steele, that she did a terrific job of capturing who we are and what we are all about.

Of course, we think the story of Rotary in general, and our club in particular, is one that should be told, especially in this, our centennial year, and we are glad that you feel the same way.

Again, thanks so much for the wonderful story in your wonderful publication.
—Ronald A. Baradel: President, Annapolis Rotary Club

Zumstein Catches Kudos

Dear Bay Weekly:
Wow!

Vivian Zumstein certainly knows how to craft words. What a beautifully written piece she did in “Don’t Miss Nature’s Fireworks” [Vol. XII, No. 27: July 1]. Of course, you know that. But I wanted to throw some kudos, some roses, some praise and appreciation Ms. Zumstein’s way.

Like Oliver Twist, I hold out my bowl and ask for more.

P.S. I wish I had written the the hook sentence, “Dusk decends.”
—Jack Lewnes Jr., Port Republic

Pugh’s Review Replays
Redd’s Magic

Dear Bay Weekly:

Many thanks to Matthew Pugh for the simply wonderful review of jazz artists Chuck and Robert Redd [Pugh’s Reviews: Vol. XII, No. 27, July 1] and their performance last month at 49 West Cafe in Annapolis. I loved it! Though I was not at 49 West that evening, I have heard Chuck and Robert Redd play that sort of “musical conversation” and I know what pure magic it is. Matthew Pugh’s words replayed all that magic in my head.
—Barbara Miller, Fairhaven

Loving 101 Ways

Dear Bay Weekly:
I absolutely love the watercolor on the front cover of your Indispensable Guide to Summer on the Bay [supplement to Vol. XII, No. 25: June 17. Where can I purchase a print?
—Linda Nolan: [email protected]

Editor’s note: Write to artist Gary Pendleton at [email protected].