Bayville Beat, Boothbay Register, June 21, 2007
By Peter Jordan
Columnist

Karen Roberts tottered gracefully into her 51st year Sunday, accompanied by black balloons and kvetching from Phil (who would rather set moorings than enjoy his wife's birthday or David and Rachel's Father's Day congratulations).

Becky and Al Roberts left town for the occasion, but not because of Karen's 50th. They left the country as soon as their uphill neighbors pulled into town, heading for Bermuda to put a few hundred miles of ocean between them and the gray house up the hill.

Linekin Bay isn't cold enough for Alina Blakesley. Instead, she's makes regular trips to Grimes Cove for the nautical leg of her triathlon workouts. "It it it's g-g-g-g-reat t-t-to see y-y-you," her teeth chattered one morning this week. "B-b-but g-g-get the h-h-ell out of my way. I've g-g-got to g-g-g-get warm!"

With only six residents, Lawn Cottage was at about a fourth of its usual occupancy rate earlier this week. Greg Merrill Senior and his wife Jeanie were enjoying the relative calm, as were Greg Junior, Annette, and their grandson Luke. Hunter Merrill was keeping everyone in line, while much of the rest of Hunter's family was in Maryland visiting Goucher, where Hillary will be a freshman this fall.

Celebration was to be launched Tuesday, while the world's biggest lawn ornament ( NOT to be named " Sea Slug ," the Merrills insist!) was due to return this week for the Merrill boys to discover whether their mail-order Florida deck fits the Southport hull.

Greg and Annette are basking in their grandparenting productivity over the winter. Haven Merrill arrived six months ago (and is due to arrive in Bayville today), while Katheryn Sloboda has been in this world (but not Bayville) since May 31.

That new construction on Bayville Road is a barn Barbara and Mark Spenser are building to house Spense's boat, car, aunt, and undisclosed numbers of livestock. Spense is putting in twelve hours a day with the work crew, helping with jobs like sanding that don't require much technical expertise. No word from the crew on how much time the extra "help" is adding to the job… Mary Elizabeth has signed up for music theater camp at the Y, while Anna is waiting impatiently for Lucy Nielsen and the rest of the Capture the Flag crew to return.

John Jordan and Stephanie Warburton are due to be married August 25 at Wilson Chapel, Ocean Point, if Stephanie can still stand her in-laws after an inspection visit to Bayville this weekend.

The "Beat" has also heard rumors of an August wedding in the Scannon family - details to follow next week.

Erstwhile Bayville renter John Cooper returned for a visit with Smokey and Kit Stover last weekend, but no one could get a straight story from Coop about where he'd been the last few years. "The fall (bababadalgharaghtakamminarronnkonnbronntonnerronntuonnthunntrovarrhounawn skawntoohoohoordenenthurnuk!) of a once wallstrait oldparr is retaled early in bed and later on life down through all christian minstrelsy," he mumbled.

Got dirt? Shovel it in this direction -- peterjordan@mindspring. com.