Arts

2013 Shippensburg University student art exhibit The exhibit will feature a variety of visual art media produced by Shippensburg University art and design students. Exhibit continues through Thursday, March 28. Shippensburg University's Kauffman Gallery in Huber Art Center, 1871 Old Main Drive, Shippensburg, Pa. Call 717-477-1530. Printmaking and collage “Journey's Home” will feature the work of Rhonda Smith. Exhibit continues through Friday, March 29. Arts & Humanities Alliance of Jefferson County's Fire Hall Gallery, 108 N. George St., Charles Town, W.Va.

Although it's not Veterans Day or Memorial Day, it's a good day to remember our veterans and our freedoms. Although we just called him Bruce, Robert Bruce Allen was my great uncle (on my mother's side) and the meanest man in the world. Bruce was married to my grandmother's youngest sister, Ann Hedrick, who happened to be one of (I put my grandmother and my mother in the same category) the nicest women in the world. Confusing, sure it was, even in the day - the meanest man married to the nicest woman.

For the past few months, I feel like I live in an acting studio. My daughter's favorite hobby of late is acting out scenes from her favorite books, TV shows, or devising her own scenarios that involve these best-loved characters. We portray numerous characters. It's all up to her. We perform as most everyone who appears on "Dora the Explorer," "Caillou," "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" and "The Berenstain Bears," to name a few. Sometimes, it is as simple as a role reversal, where my daughter plays Mommy and I must be the young child.

We are now in the month of March madness, weather like lions and lambs, and when the March hare reappears in our lawns after a winter of hibernation. But we can be sure that another sign of spring is also soon to come - Art in Bloom.  A sign of success in the museum world is when a traditional activity becomes the subject of research and formalized discovery, as was recently the case with the November 2012 thesis of Marilyn Schachter on the subject of museum “Art in Bloom” events.

The hosts of an annual event, which invites participants to display floral arrangements crafted to depict pieces of artwork, worry that this year's audience might be smaller than anticipated. Over the past decade, the Hagerstown Garden Club has hosted an Art in Bloom weekend at the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, featuring a preview reception limited to 350 guests. This year, at the request of the museum, the garden club changed the way spots to the preview reception can be reserved, and has seen a decreased interest believed to be caused by confusion, garden club President Maureen Sasse said Monday.

Early after the first of this year, I wrote a column concerning interesting facts about our presidents, and I promised to write more. That column and this one - and possibly some future ones - are based on a book by Cormac O'Brien titled “Secret Lives of the U.S. Presidents: What Your Teachers Never Told You About the Men of the White House.” My wife, Ruth Anne, and I featured this book on our radio show, “It's in the Book,” and received several...

Name of business: Art Shack, Baby! Owner: Kweli Kitwana Address: 180 High St., lower-level stairs, Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Opening date: March 2, 2013 Products and services: A make-your-own arts and crafts shop offering a back-to-basics form of entertainment that can benefit a wide range of community members and area visitors. Every detail - including the intimate size of the space, the types of projects and classes, the “craft bar” and retail shop - meet creative needs, whether they be for families, individuals, artists or visitors to the area.

The children at Rehoboth Learning Center in Williamsport held an art show/sale in January at the Desert Rose Café.  The proceeds, totaling $400, were donated to Habitat for Humanity of Washington County.  Becca Burford from Habitat visited the children on Feb. 18 to accept the donation and tell the children about what Habitat for Humanity does for families.  The children had a lesson in loving others and unselfishness while sharing their...

I'm an addict. There I've said it. I'm addicted to several things, but the one I'm talking about in this column is books. I am a voracious reader and that costs me money, time, a broader behind and a larger girth. None of the costs is really good for me, but I can't help it. Like I said, I'm addicted. Although I read books in a variety of genres, mysteries and historical fiction are my favorites. My favorite authors are James Patterson, W.E.B. Griffin and Jeff Shaara. (And Nelson De Mille, Ralph Peters, John Grisham, David Baldacci, Bernard Cornwell, Ken Follett …)

Recently, I wrote a column in which I quoted an Episcopal canon who was speaking on the subject of “splintering” within Christian churches. The quote I used was: “Came looking for God; got church.” I applied that same thought - looking for something and getting (finding) something different - to a discussion about political parties. Several people liked that approach and asked me if it had other applications - positive or negative. The answer is yes. Most humans, and I can easily write about Americans from a point of view spanning nearly 50 years of personal observation, are always looking (searching)