The Way I See It
Can you feel it? The beginning of the new season! This year, perhaps like no other, we welcome it with a sense of hope—the vaccine providing a chance for our lives to return to something resembling normal. We may still need to wear our masks and to socially distance, but the summer season is upon us regardless. With some precautions, we can reconnect with friends, once again enjoy the sights and sounds of the ocean and the boardwalk, and delight in the return of parties and our much-anticipated nightlife.
We look forward to the rebirth of art openings, volleyball on the sand, concerts at the bandstand, crab feasts, and our CAMP Courtyard craft markets.
There’s all that and so much more we enjoy this time of year. For me, I’m looking forward to one of the touristy things I especially love to do—playing the horses game on the boardwalk. I can’t help it, I’m a kid in an older body. I used to be good at it; not so much anymore. Mainly because I can’t see as well as I used to. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it. My wife is the one who brings home the stuffed horsies now—and we have a collection that needs to go to charity. One of these days....
Memorial Day marks the beginning of this kind of fun and celebration. But it’s also a time of reflection, when we honor the lives and the sacrifices of the veterans who have committed to uphold the freedoms we do enjoy in this country. The ranks of our military include, like every part of life, our LGBTQ servicemembers.
Word has it there are many ex-military LGBTQ folks here in Rehoboth, like Berdie Price, Anita Pettit, Hugh Fuller, Deb Knickerbocker, Marie Martinucci, Hali Confer-Jones, Des J. Jones…to name just a few. Not surprisingly, the servicemembers we profile in this issue, including our transgender veterans, have mixed reviews of their time in the military—positive, negative, and in-between.
Also in this issue, learn about an organization that coaches trans and non-binary folx to learn to use their voices to speak more authentically in the way they’ve chosen. We’ve also got the second installment of our series on the Christina School District’s action to secure the rights, safety, and well-being of transgender students.
As always, Fay Jacobs offers the inside scoop on a fabulous place to enjoy a meal. We’ve got the return of our column “Before the Beach,” highlighting the lives and careers of our neighbors before they retired here, our take on the Oscars, a rundown on our many health and wellness classes offered at CAMP Rehoboth, and a spotlight on some of the dedicated and tireless volunteers who help make CAMP Rehoboth the warm, wonderful, and welcoming place it is.
Enjoy and be well.