One of the great things about living over here on the Eastern Shore is the variety of experiences that abound. Like last week when three couples boarded Dress Blue and cruised over to Annapolis. We motored under the Bay Bridge and anchored in the mouth of the Severn amid a flotilla of spectators to watch the Blue Angels dazzling air show. Six friends for six planes on a bluebird day; it just doesn’t get any better than that. Or so I thought.
If you don’t already know, the Blue Angels are the Navy and Marines premier air acrobats. They’ve been around since 1946 and perform about 70 shows a year to the delight of as many as eleven million spectators annually. Blue Angel pilots fly McDonnell-Douglas F/A Hornets often split into Diamond Formations (four aircraft) flying at speeds of around 400mph. Think that’s fast? Lead and Opposing Solos (two additional aircraft) execute a series of maneuvers—high speed passes, tight roles, and very tight turns—at speeds of up to 700mph—that’s just under Mach 1, the speed of sound. Near the end of the show, the two Solos join the four Diamonds to form a signature Delta Formation, making a series of passes wing-to-wing, belly-to-belly, or back-to-back, upright and inverted. It’s ear-splitting, heart-pounding, and breath-taking all at the same time. And not without risk: since 1946, 27 pilots have been killed in shows or in training—10% of all the pilots who flown throughout the squadron’s history.
Fast forward to the past weekend and Tea Party, Chestertown’s annual celebration of its colonial heritage and revolutionary roots. There are parades, all manner of food and drink, music, demonstrations, vendors selling crafts—all leading up to the glorious reenactment of the original Chestertown tea party when our patriot ancestors, weary of paying a tax on English tea, marched down to the river, boarded the Geddes’ (a role played flawlessly by the Sultana) in broad daylight, and dumped its cargo of fine tea overboard in 1774. “Did it really happen?” you whisper. Does it matter? It’s as good a reason as any to celebrate who we were and who we’ve become, for better or for worse.
But some locals opine that as stirring as Saturday’s reenactment is, the real highlight of Tea Party Weekend is Sunday’s raft race, the perfect showcase for the town’s penchant for creative genius and outright silliness. In any other year, those folks might be correct, but this year, the superstars of the whole shebang were a show-stealing octet of giant horses—the beloved Budweiser Clydesdales.
Cue the music. Whether in one of their endearing Christmas cards or memorable Super Bowl commercials, the Budweiser Clydesdales have clip-clopped their way into our hearts. They got their start with the repeal of Prohibition in 1933 and in one early advertising coup, they even delivered a case of beer to President Roosevelt at the White House! They’re one-ton divas on four hooves, groomed and pampered by a dedicated crew of handlers who travel with their charges from one of three home stables in St. Louis, MO, Fort Collins, CO, or Merrimack, NH. Despite their enormous size and strength, the horses seem to be gentle giants; in the parade, they pranced down High Street pulling the old Bud beer wagon complete with a smiling Dalmatian on top, and then patiently posed for photographs with thousands of adoring fans in Wilmer Park or (on Sunday) out at the Worthmore Equestrian Center.
By the way, it’s not easy to be a Budweiser Clydesdale. To qualify for a hitch, a horse must be strong, even-tempered, stand at least 18 hands tall, and weigh between 1800 and 2300 pounds. They also must have a bay coat, four white stockings, and a white facial blaze. Budweiser owns a total of about 250 Clydesdales; 15 new foals are produced each year.
So there you have it. Angels one day, horses the next. Where else but here?
I’ll be right back.
Jamie Kirkpatrick is a writer and photographer with homes in Chestertown and Bethesda. His work has appeared in the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Washington College Alumni Magazine, and American Cowboy magazine. “A Place to Stand,” a book of photographs and essays about Landon School, was published by the Chester River Press in 2015. A collection of his essays titled “Musing Right Along” was published in May 2017; a second volume of Musings entitled “I’ll Be Right Back” will be released in June 2018. Jamie’s website is www.musingjamie.com.
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