Puzz Brightwell, former Lisbon/ Woodbine community news reporter, turned 90 on May 26. In her usual inimitable style, Puzz, with family and friends, celebrated in high fashion. Puzz's wish was to celebrate looking at the ocean and eating all her favorite beach-side foods.
She accomplished both.
She, with her daughter Lisa Brightwell and son Rodney Mullinix with two of the grandchildren, Victoria Gaetani and Cameron Mullinix, spent the week in Ocean City.Friends Sandy and Dave Eash and Debbie and David Drown traveled to the ocean to attend her open house on the day of her birthday. A special surprise was a visit from Kristen Fuchs who drove all the way from North Carolina for the event. As for O.C.-style food, Puzz fulfilled her wish and ate all her favorites(most of which we all recognize and desire from time to time): Fisher's popcorn; Phillips crab soup; funnel cake; a dinner at Bayside Skillet, desserts from Candy Kitchen and finally a Dumser's chocolate soda followed later that week by a chocolate milkshake. During her birthday month there was a "huge surprise," as Puzz described it, from her brother-in-law Tom Mullinix and his wife , Aileen, and son Gregory, who drove from Sarasota, Florida, for the day solely to take her to dinner. Reaching 90 was an event to be remembered.
Meghan Erdman celebrated her sweet 16th birthday on June 4 with a costume ball complete with masks and floor length dresses in the activities room at the Lisbon United Methodist Church.Coincidentally, a best friend, Courtney Brown, turned 16 on the same day and shared the celebration with Meghan and a host of beautifully dressed friends.Meghan is an exceptional young lady who was diagnosed with cancer several years ago and has endured many rounds of cancer treatment since that time. She has kept up with her studies and maintained an active social life throughout. Meghan is a rising junior at South Carroll High School and along with her family, an active member of the Lisbon United Methodist Church. Meghan is the granddaughter of Mary Ann Hudson, of Woodbine.
Another right of passage of a different nature occurred at Lisbon Elementary School on May 26;the Simulated Congressional Hearings, a requirement for all fifth-grade students in the Howard County Public Schools. This year, my first retirement year, I volunteered to be a guest judge for this event at Lisbon.Being so impressed with the amount of preparation and with the involvement of the entire school, staff and students, I thought it worthy of mention in this column.This activity is a "culminating activity for fifth-grade social studies" writes the principal, Michael Caldwell. "It is an authentic performance-based assessment where students demonstrate their understanding of the U.S. Constitution." Students were grouped into panels where they debated with great respect positions and opinions concerning the content of the Constitution.Among the guest judges were Senator Gail Bates, a representative from Delegate Warren Miller's office and members of the armed forces and the fire department, along with several citizens from the local community.Senator Bates delivered the keynote address. The involvement of the students, the depth of their understanding and the fresh and sometimes novel ideas about the structure of our government and the political process were not only fascinating but encouraging when considering the future of our country.Thanks to Lisbon Elementary for a very successful event and for its part in the preparation of future voters in our society and the attendant assurance that our future will be in good hands.