Middletown Life Spring/Summer 2024

Letter from the Editor:

Middletown resident Jackson Hayes is well on his way to achieving his goal of becoming a star.

In this edition of Middletown Life, writer Ken Mammarella shines a spotlight on Hayes, a a sixth grader at the Cab Calloway School of the Arts, who went from playing Young Simba across America to playing Little Michael in ‘MJ.’ The talented, young performer has big aspirations, and we’re pleased to share his story on the pages of Middletown Life.

We’re equally pleased that we get to share the story of Norton Nearly, who describes himself as a “man of the trees.” One of his four books is “The Tree Mend Us Path,” an essay collection that covers “a lot of time with trees” and meditation that helped him heal from a brain tumor.

In his story, “Tapping away at the ‘stuffing,’” writer Richard L. Gaw introduces readers to Lauren Fonvielle. Inspired by her own journey of healing, this Townsend resident now helps other women explore methods to heal themselves.

For the last eight years, from her direction of fully staged productions to her work as a teacher, Mary Leigh Filippone has introduced thousands of Appoquinimink High School students to the magic of live theatre. This past January, she took time to speak with Middletown Life about her life in the theatre, her work at the high school and one glorious dinner party she would love to host.

In this edition, we also highlight a number of capstone projects as Middletown area high school seniors prepare for careers.

We also feature a story about Birdie’s Links and Drinks, the new, cool place for fun in the area. Birdie’s is a new indoor entertainment center with eight simulator bays to practice golf techniques. There are also two 18-hole miniature golf courses, a play area with ten games, including cornhole, foosball, Subsoccer, ping pong, shuffleboard, darts, giant Jenga, giant Connect Four, Jet Pong and – for those who want ever more golf – PutterBall. This is all in addition to a full restaurant and bar.

The photo essay in this issue highlights the birds of the Appoquinimink River.

We hope you enjoy these stories as much as we enjoyed preparing them for you. We always welcome comments and suggestions for stories to highlight in the future. We’re already hard at work on planning for the next issue of Middletown Life, which will arrive in the summer of 2024.

Sincerely,

Avery Lieberman Eaton

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Stone Lieberman

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Steve Hoffman, Editor

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