Diving into Reading at Anna Maria Oyster Bar

Gabriel, my "rising" second grader

You've probably heard the expression "reading is fundamental." It's not just a clever catchphrase. Reading comprehension is crucial to being a good learner. Having strong reading skills increases your ability to communicate and to think critically. Experiencing other people's lives and feelings through reading promotes empathy. The list of benefits goes on and on. The importance of children becoming proficient readers cannot be overstated. And if reading becomes something they enjoy, it's all the better. 

Sadly, the reality is that many students fall behind in their reading skills at an early age. In Manatee County, 46% of students are not reading at grade level by the third grade. This percentage hovers just above 30% in Sarasota County. One of the issues is "summer slide," i.e., the reduction in elementary school children's reading and math skills over the summer. The question is how to combat this problem. 

Enter John and Amanda Horn, owners of the Anna Maria Oyster Bar restaurants. When the Horns learned about the issue of summer slide, they didn't just shake their heads and go back to their lives. Instead, they established the Dive into Reading program. On a June morning in 2017, 25 students students from a Title I school gathered at the Ellenton location of the Oyster Bar where they were matched with volunteer mentors. Each duo shared a hot breakfast (with mentors gently suggesting ways to improve table manners as needed) and then got to work on the student's reading and comprehension skills. The program took place weekly over the course of June. 

Dive into Reading was an instant hit with both the kids and the mentors. And so the program has expanded to three mornings a week at locations across Manatee, Charlotte and DeSoto Counties. Since its inception, more than 3,000 "rising" first through third graders have participated. This summer alone, 400+ students could be found having breakfast and working on their reading skills with their mentors. Thanks to my friend Barb, I was one of this year's participants. 

I have to admit to being a bit nervous about meeting my student. Many of the mentors are teachers -- not to mention parents/grandparents -- and are used to interacting with children. Me, not so much. And while we'd had an online training session, I feared that I would falter once an actual child was sitting with me. My concerns fell away the moment our rising second graders came single file into the restaurant. They were so little and cute and well-behaved. This was going to be fun. Before I knew it, I had been matched with Gabriel, and we were on our way to a table to get to work. 

While I don't know precisely what a second grader's vocabulary and comprehension skills should be, it was immediately evident that Gabriel's skills are at a higher level than those of many of the participating kids. We started by flipping through sight words, and I had to keep increasing the level of difficulty. Sure, he found words like "definition" and "certainly" challenging to pronounce, but I suspect I would have as well at his age. Once we were past the pronunciation threshold, we did some exercises to make sure he knew what the words actually meant. We talked about opposites and homonyms and used the words in sentences. He did well.  

Gabriel was cooperative throughout, but when we came upon the word "ghost" the second week, he became downright excited. He loves the "Ghostface" movies (also known as "Scream.") What???!!! He's only seven years old, and he's seen five of the movies -- multiple times. (He has three older brothers, which explains a lot.) Okay, I thought, I can work with this. For the final week, I made up some of our own sight cards with words relating to the movie, including mask and knife and scary. I was thrilled when he asked if he could take the cards home with him. I hope the school didn't get a call when he showed his parents his mementos. At least he was engaged. 

My thank you note from Gab --
I seem to be spewing information at him! 

A crucial part of the program is giving kids books to build their home libraries. Each week the student takes home a book selected by his mentor. One week I found a hard cover book in which monsters told each other jokes, so I grabbed it for him. I realize that cute monsters aren't quite the same thing as the characters in the "Scream" movies, but it was as close as I could get. In addition to reading, we used the books to work on Gabriel's writing skills. He enjoyed the game in which he'd roll a die, count words to the relevant number and then write them on a chart. I was pleased to learn his handwriting was quite legible despite spending a good deal of his time online. 

Each session ended with the program director reading a book aloud to the students. A copy of this book was added to the pile of goodies the kids bring home, so students who make it weekly end up with eight new books. At the final session, each child also received a backpack with school supplies and a Dive into Reading t-shirt. For a full year, any child wearing this shirt gets a free meal at Anna Maria Oyster Bar. The goodies also included a $25 gift certificate for an adult to use while dining. 

I had a great time working with Gabriel during this year's Dive into Reading program and am already looking forward to participating next year. For more information, click here. Maybe you, too, will be a mentor come 2026. 

Good Reads

With the summer upon us, I have a bit more time to read those books that have piled up on my nightstand. (Yes, I still like the feel of an actual book in my hands, preferably a hard cover.) Read on for some of my recent favorites.

When a novel gets as much advance praise as "Heartwood" by Amity Gage did, I take notice. That's not to say I'd run out and get the book if it didn't sound up my alley. Nor would I buy a book without perusing the first few pages to make sure I like the writing. "Heartwood" checked both of those boxes, with the bonus that I'd previously read Gage's "Schroeder" and enjoyed it. So the novel made its way into my hands as soon as it hit the shelves. 

"Heartwood" tells the story of a woman who's hiking the Applachian Trail on her own. She's consistently met up with her husband at agreed locations to resupply, so her failure to show up within a day or two after the expected date was cause for concern. So was the fact that she hadn't been in contact via her cell phone. Sure, there are plenty of dead zones on the Trail, but this too was unusual. She had vanished. 

The story is told from multiple perspectives. Valerie, our hiker, is of course a dominant voice. But so is that of Lt. Bev, co-head of the Incident Management Team for the Warden Service. (Learning about how these searches are conducted was particularly interesting.) We also hear regularly from a former fellow hiker, Valerie's husband and a woman living in a retirement community who becomes obsessed with the search. 

I don't want to tell you more for fear of ruining the twists and turns the story takes, but I will say that I gobbled this book up. If you're interested in mysteries, books about the outdoors or novels with strong female characters, "Heartwood" is for you. (Another book with the same feel -- absent the strong females characters -- is "The River" by Peter Heller.) 

"The Names" by Florence Knapp explores the question of how a child's name can affect both his personality and the family dynamic. Knapp delves into this idea by looking at what's happened/is happening with a family in seven year intervals, beginning with the year of the child's birth. 

The alternative names are quite different. The father assumes his son's name will be Gordon. After all, naming the first born son Gordon is a family tradition that dates back generations. The young daughter's choice is Bear because it calls to mind a brother who will be soft, cuddly and kind yet strong and brave. The mother likes Julian, or "sky father" in Latin and Greek. It's a name that will honor the baby's father while giving the child more freedom to carve his own path in life than naming him after his dad would. 

How the family's future unfolds due -- at least in part -- to the choice of name is for you, the reader, to learn. I will, however, share that pere Gordon is an abusive husband who is used to getting his way. If you like a strong family drama, "The Names" should be on your "to read" list.  

"The Measure" by Nikki Erlick is a work of speculative fiction. Erlick has envisioned a near future in which everyone aged 22 and older wakes up one morning to find a closed box on his or her doorstep. Inside each box is a string, with its length representing the amount of time the recipient has left to live. Perhaps not surprisingly, the world is suddenly composed of "short stringers" and "long stringers." (Note: "Short stringers" is a broad term that encompasses people who might not die for years but who aren't going to live for decades.) 

The story follows the lives of multiple characters with strings of varying lengths while envisioning the ways in which short stringers and long stringers are treated differently. On the personal front, the obvious question is how you would live if you were a short stringer. Would you get married, have children, change jobs, retire, volunteer, travel the world? How would that decision-making change with the length of your string? It's hard to imagine this knowledge wouldn't always be in the forefront of your mind. 

What I found even more interesting was the way the existence of this data was handled as a policy matter. Take the area of health care, for instance. Would/should resources be expended -- and to what extent -- on short stringers? Hmm. And what about the implications for national defense? In the novel, all people in the U.S. military are required to disclose the length of their strings. Short stringers weren't banned from serving, but their prospects for going into combat -- even it that's what they'd trained for their entire lives -- have been significantly reduced. After all, the success rate of a mission could well depend upon the survival of the combatants. These are just two examples of the issues Ehrlick contemplates being raised by the availability of this information.  

While I've never been in a bookclub, it's hard to imagine a novel that would foster a more lively discussion. It's a thought-provoking read, and Erlick's writing is engaging. Her sophomore novel -- "The Poppy Fields" -- is now out and has been added to my "to read" list.  

If you have a moment, drop a note in the comment box to let me know a book you'd recommend. Happy summer reading! 

Oil Painters of America 34th National Exhibition at Herrig Center for the Arts

"Day Tripper" by Sean Witucki (Depew, NY) 

The new Herrig Center for the Arts (formerly Art Center Manatee) is now home to the 34th National Exhibit of the Oil Painters of America (OPA). The space is filled with light and showcases the 200+ works of these master artists beautifully. OPA is an organization dedicated to the preservation of representational art. With more than 3500 members, it's no surprise that the artists whose work was selected for this exhibit achieve that mission in very different ways. Read (but mostly look) on to see a few of the works in the show. 

"Day Tripper" by Sean Witucki was one of the first works to greet us. Wow. While boat motors aren't a subject that would typically draw my attention, the realism of this work did. I felt like you could lift this motor up, secure it to a fishing boat and head out for a day on the water. And that's exactly what Witucki was going for in this painting. Growing up in the Berkshires, he developed a love for the great outdoors to which this painting pays homage (in a slightly indirect way). For more examples of Witucki's work, click here. 

"Red Lips" by McGarren Flack (St. George, Utah)

It was the hairstyle of the woman in McGarren Flack's "Red Lips" that drew me in. It's just so cute. But as I looked more closely at the painting, I began to appreciate the detail in his work. Just look at the patterning on her blouse and the thin chain with three small silver balls and the letter A hanging from it. I'm curious about the meaning behind the letter. Is this the first initial of her name or does it have some deeper significance? It's up to the viewer to decide. 

My research on Flack revealed that he's known for quite different work than the one on display here -- paintings of emergency scenes. While the topic is a bit unusual, it makes sense once you know that Flack grew up with visions of becoming a doctor. His career path swerved from medicine to art after taking a drawing class to fulfill a college course requirement. Drawn from his work as a paramedic, his emergency scenes are pretty disturbing. He noted in an interview that while those works are satisfying to create, they aren't the type of painting most people want to hang in their homes. And so he balances that work with more marketable images such as "Red Lips." To see some of Flack's emergency scenes, click here. And for his website, click here.  

"Tibetan Plateau" by Tony Luo (Levittown, New York) 

"Tibetan Plateau" by Tong (Tony) Luo is a work I could easily imagine hanging in a museum. Luo is a master of chiarascuro, or the treatment of light and shading. (Think Rembrandt or Caravaggio.) The nuance this technique enabled him to achieve in his portrait of a Tibetan woman is truly impressive. 

Luo grew up in the Henan Province of China where his father taught traditional Chinese ink and brush painting. While Luo's style is wholly different, I wasn't surprised to learn he was introduced to art at an early age. Although Luo now lives in New York, his subject matter harkens back to his home. He spends at least two months each year in Tibet to rejuvenate his artistic spirit. 

To see more of Luo's work, click here. In addition to more paintings of almost regal Tibetan women. there are some works that are a bit titillating. I'd love to know more about this dichotomy.  

"Got Your Back" by Robin Cheers (Austin, Texas)

I'll leave you with "Got Your Back" by Robin Cheers. It's one of several works in the show that had a red dot on it indicating that it had been sold. Congrats, Robin! 

"Got Your Back" was one of the more impressionistic paintings in the exhibit. The work captures the feeling of controlled chaos in a commerical kitchen. So much movement! 

Cheers paints in alla prima style, meaning that she creates each painting in a single session. This style of painting requires the artist to paint "wet-on-wet," a special skill. It's a technique championed by Monet, whose work was ridiculed as creating a mere impression of a scene. This sense of immediacy is exactly what Cheers is going for in her work. Color me impressed. For Cheers' website, click here.

The Oil Painters of America 34th National Exhibition runs through June 27th, so time is short to see the show in person. It's well worth the trek to Bradenton. If you can't make it, you can click here to see the exhibit. Congrats to the Herrig Center for introducing people to the new space with such a special show. 

"My Friends" by Fredrik Backman

Fredrik Backman's "My Friends" is the best book I've read in ages. It's a story that's simultaneously heartbreaking and life affirming, devastating and beautiful. Sometimes it's even funny. It's Backman at the top of his craft. 

I made it to page three before marking a passage I particularly enjoyed. The scene is an old church turned art gallery where a painting is being auctioned off. A teenage girl stands in the midst of the potential bidders. She looks around, contemplating the crowd and listening in on their conversations. A coiffed woman comes back from the bathroom, horrified that there is graffiti on the walls. "But," someone ventures, "Do you think the graffiti is part of the exhibition? Do you think it's....art?" The women rush to their husbands to get their opinions. "Is there a price tag?" one asks. The women breathe a sigh of relief. Without a price tag, it's clearly not art. Crisis of taste averted.  

The collectors are there to bid on "The One of the Sea." It's blue and expensive. Louisa, our young art lover, is the only one who's noticed that in the midst of all that blue there's a pier on which three kids are sitting and dangling their feet over the water. In fact, it's that detail that captivated her when she saw a postcard of the painting years earlier. With just a few brushstrokes, the artist somehow managed to capture the deep friendship those teenagers shared. Louisa has carried that postcard around with her ever since, looking at it when she needs to have faith in the world (which is quite often). As the tale progresses, we learn the stories of those young friends (including the now dying artist) and of Louisa and her own best friend who died way too young. I was torn between speeding through the book and savoring every page. 

The story behind "The One of The Sea" was a throughline in the novel. It would take way too much space to explain how the artist (who's almost always called that) came into possession of his own painting after the auction and bequeathed it to Louisa. While the two had just met, the artist could immediately tell that she was one of them. She resisted accepting the gift. Its value was one consideration, but the more important reason was that she didn't feel worthy of owning it. Ted, one of the four friends, wanted to explain to her that the artist "didn't give her the painting because it was his inheritance; he gave it to her because he realized she was the inheritance. Art is what we leave of ourselves in other people. But he doesn't quite know how to say that." 

Fredrik Backman

And now it's time for a quick foray into the characters' backstories. Ted, the artist and their two friends came from families with little means and, except for Ted, families for whom raising children was not what I'd call their strong point. Louisa and her friend met in a foster care home where they laid awake at night in their makeshift beds with knives to protect themselves. It was the marks these similar upbringings left on the artist and Louisa that he immediately recognized in her. They weren't broken, exactly, but the world had done its best to do so. 

What moved me most about the story was the way the friends always supported one another. When Ted or the artist or their buddies Ali or Joar faced a difficult situation, one of them always said, "I love you and I believe in you." It sounds like a strange thing for one teenager to say to another. But when you've found your people and one of them needs you, what words could better express that you're there for them and have faith in them no matter what? Friends, as they say, are the family you choose. Fast forward to the present, when Louisa and Ted have been thrown together to figure out what to do with the painting. Suffice it to say that a road trip for the ages ensues. While they kind of drive each other crazy, it doesn't take them long to choose each other to be part of their own families. 

I loved "My Friends" from the first to the last sentence. Read it. And if you haven't read Backman's "Beartown" trilogy, I recommend that as well. Don't be put off by the fact that it might be characterized as "hockey literature." It's a life story. And if you want to cheat a little bit, the first book in the trilogy is streaming on HBO Max. 

Happy reading! 

"Vice & Virtue" at Art Center Sarasota

"The Flying Pig" by Marcos Caraval 

The theme of this year's Annual Juried Regional Show at Art Center Sarasota is "Vice & Virtue." The program states: "By definition, vice represents behaviors deemed morally wrong by society, while virtue embodies excellence and integrity. But in today's world, where do we draw the line?...Artists were challenged to explore the shifting boundaries of morality, shaped by cultural norms, religious beliefs and political landscapes. What defines good and evil? And perhaps more intriguingly, does a gray area exist between them?" It was interesting to see how the participating artists interpreted this theme. 

Marcos Caraval's "The Flying Pig" of course made me think of the expression "when pigs fly." Of course, Caraval's intention is much deeper. The genesis of the work is the fact that different cultures treat the lowly pig in dissimilar ways. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were forbidden to eat pigs because they were deemed unclean and, therefore, were associated with vices like greed and dirtiness. In other cultures, pigs are highly regarded. If you are Chinese and born in a Year of the Pig, you are considered likely to have luck and good fortune. Koreans associate pigs with happiness and hope. And the reflecting pool? To me, it's a symbol of the fact that the way we look at things is a reflection of our culture, history and traditions. I like it.  

"Strait Jacket/Evening Gown" by Bellamy Sorba

I was quite taken with Bellamy Sorba's "Strait Jacket/Evening Gown." Most obviously, Bellamy's work provides a commentary on the extent to which a woman will wear a dress that cannot possibly be comfortable or easy to move in in order to be seen as desirable. When I spoke with Bellamy, she noted that women can build their own cages by dressing in the way society dictates. But that's just the tip of the iceberg of the intention behind her work. 

The medium -- which is difficult to appreciate in the picture -- is shopping bags, most of which came from Target. What??!!! In yet another example of the way artists' brains work differently than mine, Bellamy realized that if she tears the bags into strips, she could make them into the equivalent of yarn. Not surprisingly, it's a time-consuming process. It takes approximately three hours to convert 50 plastic bags into a ball of yarn. At this rate, she would have spent 20+ hours just turning the 1200 bags that comprise this work into usable material. That's commitment. Then she knitted the yarn into small panels and wove them together to create the final piece. It's a bit of alchemy for sure. 

You might expect Bellamy's message behind the use of this unusual material to be highlighting environmental issues. And while that's one of her points, it's not her primary concern. Instead, the former retail worker's focus is on consumption. How much do we need? How frequently do we use the things we've purchased and for how long? Do consumers, like the woman who would wear a dress like this, end up being consumed by their desires? Lots to think about. For more of Bellamy's work (including purses available for purchase), click here. 

"Peels So Good (Circa 1944)" by Alexia Benavent-Rivera

I'll leave you with "Peels So Good (Circa 1944), one of three banana-related works by Alexia Benavent-Rivera in the show. What can I say? Ever since Marizio's Cattelan's "Comedian" made its debut at Art Basel, bananas in art catch my eye. The works were created as part of Benavent-Rivera's MFA thesis project at FSU. Happily, I don't have to guess what she was thinking about when working on this series. Instead, I'll quote to you from her description. 

"Identity and cultural background are huge driving forces in my art practice. I am Puerto Rican, Panamanian and Ukrainian, and the diasporas endured by these groups have strong histories that I refer to in my work. Recently I have been focusing on the Banana Wars in Central and South America, a time of brutal greed and American imperialism that too often gets brushed under the rug. The effects of these times are still felt today by millions of people in Central and South America, so I work to create awareness of the issue and hold a space for those affected.

The rotten banana exterior lampoons how this bright and sweet fruit forged the backbone of a dozen corrupt regimes propped up by imperialist corporations. The animating force comes not from the long since sold off banana flesh but from an inner layer of frogs, representing the people of these nations. The poses are emblematic of Chiquita Banana company ads, which played up the exoticism of Latin American women to sell their products." 

Benavent-Rivera's other works -- one a photograph and the other a sculpture -- are of partially peeled bananas. They are quite provocative, especially the ceramic piece that includes a garter belt. I get the message behind that one and will never look at a banana quite the same way again. For more on Benavent-Rivera and her work, click here. 

"Vice & Virtue" continues at Art Center Sarasota through August 2nd. It's an interesting and thought-provoking show. 

Visiting McLeod Plantation: A Lesson on Slavery

The Big House at McLeod Plantation

Charleston is a beautiful place with great food and great art. But there's no doubt that the city will first and foremost be associated in my mind with our country's history of slavery. Our tour of the McLeod Plantation, led by the former director of the Old Slave Mart Museum, was beyond sobering. We later learned that tours at McLeod are told more from the slaves' perspective than at other plantations in the area. This makes particular sense because McLeod is an International Site of Conscience, a coalition of organizations committed to "Preserving Memory, Promoting Truth, Pursuing Justice." 

The McLeod Big House has an interesting history, having been occupied by Confederate forces during much of the Civil War and by Union forces after the War ended. The Union forces included two regiments of African American soldiers who served in the U.S. Colored Troops. Somewhat ironically, following the War's conclusion, the Big House served as the home of the Freedmen's Bureau for the James Island District of Charleston. The former slave quarters were used as homes for freedmen and their families.  

Each 300 square foot structure was home to between 8-20 people.  

The house was much more modest at the time. It wasn't until the 1920s that the Greek Revival style entrance with its inviting porch and stately columns was built. The modification was made in part so the house would look more like the romanticized image of a plantation home, making it easier for the McLeods to capitalize on plantation tourism. 

The changes also relate to the family's adherence to the Lost Cause narrative; i.e., that the Civil War was about states' rights rather than slavery. Conveniently, if you entered through this new and improved side of the home, you could avoid seeing those unsightly reminders of slavery like the slave quarters and the former cotton gin house. The family also planted trees on the grounds behind the house to further shield their view. For more on this aspect of the McLeod Plantation, click here. 

Interior of a "dependency," as many still call the slave quarters

We learned some details about the lives of two of the dozens of slaves who lived and worked at McLeod Plantation. The first was Isabelle Pinckney. Isabelle was given by the Pinckneys to the McLeods to serve first as a wet nurse and then a nanny to their daughter Annie. The fact that she was mulatto was a factor in her selection for this role. The lighter the skin, the more acceptable it was for you to interact with the family and guests. 

You might have noticed that Isabelle's last name was the same as that of her enslavers. This was common practice by plantation owners as both a means of noting their ownership of the individual and erasing his or her past identity and origin.

Isabelle lived in the attic of the Big House so she could be close to her ward. It is believed that she was sexually assaulted there by one of the McLeods. None of her people would have been around to help or even hear her if she cried out. Her son Daniel was born at McLeod and was able to "pass" for Caucasian. 

Brick in outbuilding with fingerprint of child estimated to be 6-10
 years old. Charleston was also home to brickmaking plantations. 

Then there's the story of Leah, the youngest of the enslaved people at McLeod. Leah was marched with her parents more than 50 miles to Charleston from their former home. For the journey, her father's wrist or leg would have been shackled with chains to another man's appendage while Leah and her mom would have been similarly manacled to another female with a rope. Once in Charleston, they were sold to separate purchasers at Ryan's Slavemart. (Note: It is believed that her family was reunited after the end of the war.)

Leah was bought by the McLeods to serve as a companion for their children. She would have slept on the floor of their bedroom or in the attic with Isabelle. Without Isabelle, her isolation would have been complete. 

Ginning mill in Charleston

We also learned about the daily lives of the slaves at McLeod who didn't serve the family directly. The McLeods made their money growing Sea Island cotton. Planting, tending to and harvesting the crop was grueling work. Then the cotton had to be "ginned" before it could be sold. (This is when you separate the cotton fibers from the seeds, stems, etc.) The ginning process for converting raw cotton into Sea Island cotton was more labor intensive than ginning it into upland cotton. The end result was cotton with a silkier feel that could be sold for four times the price of upland cotton. With a ready source of labor, the choice was an easy one for the McLeods.

The men, women and children enslaved by the McLeods would have worked from "can't see until can't see" in the fields; i.e., from before dawn until after dusk. Every worker was expected to pick 100 pounds of cotton each day. The crop required tending almost year-round. Even during rainy season the slaves would be out in the fields making sure the cotton didn't wash away. As our guide told us, they "ate, drank, gave birth and died in the fields." 

It is estimated that there were close to 4 million enslaved people in the United States in 1860, almost ten percent of the population. I left the McLeod Plantation with a clearer picture of the lives of those poor souls. Hearing these stories where they took place was much more impactful than reading about them in a book or watching them on a screen. It wasn't a happy outing, but I'm glad we made learning more about this part of our country's history a part of our trip. 

Touring Charleston by Carriage

I know, I know -- it sounds very touristy to do a tour of Charleston on a horsedrawn carriage. And it was. But there's a reason these tours have become a tradition for people visiting the city. It's a fun (if a bit malodorous) way to learn a bit about the city's history. And so Andrea and I started our girlfriend getaway with a tour given by the Old South Carriage Company. Here are some tidbits I learned along the way.

--While the horses aren't "unionized" (as our guide told us), they are treated well. They are fed 40,000 calories of hay and whatever else horses eat (carrots?) a day. They are given plenty of water and -- here's a surprise -- two pints of Guinness. (The Guinness helps the animals sweat, which cools their bodies down.) They get at least 180 days/year off and spend their free time on a 65 acre farm where they have regularly scheduled dental appointments and massages. Sure, the horses are still working, but it's an easier life than their daily routines were on the Amish farms where they previously lived. 

--Given the number of carriage companies in Charleston, you might think pedestrians crossing the street would have to watch carefully where they step. But the City has thought about that issue; hence, the Equine Sanitation Department. Carriage drivers send a text with a GPS marker of each spot where the horse has done its business. Then Doody Calls, the city's contractor, comes out and collects the waste and/or hoses down the area. This was a great technological advancement over the previous system of dropping half a rubber ball with a little flag poking out and calling in the location to the lucky folks responsible for clean-up. 

Old Slave Mart Museum 

--Remnants of slavery are ever present in Charleston. Take, for instance, the Old Slave Mart Museum. The building was formerly the home of a slave auction site. It was part of a complex that included a barracoon (an enclosure in which slaves could be held), a slave jail proper, a kitchen and a "dead house" where bodies were stored. It is estimated that more than 10,000 slaves were auctioned off as chattel at this site. While this is a mindboggling number, it's no surprise given that 40% of all enslaved Africans arrived through the port on Charleston Harbor. The International African American Museum is located at the site of the former arrival point. 

Slave badge

--Slavery in Charleston was task-based. Under this "progressive" form of slavery, slaves were given a list of tasks each day that they were required to complete. Once those jobs were done, slaves not deemed a flight risk were allowed to spend time with friends and family or to go to the market to purchase goods or sell items they had made. It appears that the enslaved were typically allowed to keep the money they earned in this manner. 

--Many slaveowners hired out their slaves to other plantation and business owners. Each worker was required by the City of Charleston to wear a badge specifying that the individual lived in Charleston, his or her occupation, the badge number and the year issued (with annual renewals required). This practice was not only an identifier; it was also a revenue source for the city. And if a slave fled, the information on the badge was included in ads seeking his or her return. For more information on this practice, click here. 

Church and Union 

--The term "hushpuppy" has several possible origin stories, but they all refer to cornbread circles carried in pockets to be fed to dogs as a means of distraction. In our guide's version, slaves fed the food to dogs so they wouldn't jump on them and muddy their clothing. Other stories refer to runaway slaves feeding the treat to dogs so they wouldn't bark and give away their location. Ditto for Confederate soldiers hiding from nearby Union soldiers. "Hush, puppies," you can imagine them saying. 

--Charleston is known as the Holy City because it boasts 187 churches of various denominations. (This number includes one synogogue and a Hindu temple.) It seems a bit ironic for the city to have been known as a beacon of religious tolerance while simultaneously enslaving people, but the world was and continues to be a complicated place. Surprisingly (not), Andrea and I didn't grace the interior of any churches in use as such, but we did dine at Church and Union. It was delicious if a bit rushed. (Seriously, our food was out approximately three minutes after we ordered it.) 

The interior of the restaurant is very cool, with all 12,035 words of "The Art of War" written across its vaulted ceiling by artist Jon Norris. Much of the text is difficult to read due to its placement, but the phrase "There Is Only We" is fairly prominent. I take it as a message of hope. 

Our carriage tour was a great way to get an overview of Charleston's history. As a bonus, you pick up the carriages right by Charleston City Market, a four block long covered market with all kinds of goodies to take home as souvenirs. For the record, neither of us brought home a basket, but we did our bit to help the local economy.  

Next up: Our visit to McLeod Plantation