Justice Isn’t Free

This week the Berlin Chamber of Commerce hosts the 19th Annual Berlin Fiddlers Convention and we thought it would be a treat to have guests on to help promote the event. The difference between Todd and I and the rest of the people involved is that, by Tuesday’s Todcast, we were done with preparation. My stories were written and his weekend itinerary was complete so it never occurred to us that the people responsible for playing host to several thousand visitors might be a little busy with just two days left to prepare.
As a result we were nearly guestless but once again the audience pulled through in an almost nostalgic way.
Freelance photographer and former host of one of my former podcasts, Thomas Melville stopped by to be disappointed that there were no growlers — more on that later — and popped over to the Todcast corner for a chat.
The main thrust of that part of the conversation was whether or not the Maryland State Police really keep their helicopter in a secret lair beneath the Atlantic Hotel. The reason we wondered that was because, as you’ll notice in this week’s Police Beat in the Bayside Gazette that they are making excellent use of the quick response aspect of their expensive, high end equipment.
Some may argue that calling out the helicopter to patrol the skies looking for a burglar who has already made his escape a questionable use of police resources. Those people understand nothing of security. As we discuss, it isn’t about whether it is needed it is about sending a message to all other would-be burglars that here in Worcester County we pull out all the stops to hunt down criminals. Cost is something for politicians to worry about.
Todd reported on a possible crime of passion and proposal alleging that both a local jewelry and adult novelty store were hit in close succession after the hurricane, er, tornado. We decided that it couldn’t be true because there were no airstrikes involved and if a burglar warrants a helicopter search there’s no telling what force would be brought on a crime spree of this magnitude. The state of the beer, according to Bryan Brushmiller, is that he is on the verge of losing the challenge he made last week that said he could produce beer faster than locals could consume it. He introduced a bunch of new brews this week and their popularity continued to keep him from being able to sell them more than one glass at a time.
He brought in local restaurateur Tom Knorr, most famously of Evolution Craft Brewing. It’s a rare business that people in the same market work so closely with one another but competition between legitimate craft brewers is almost unheard of. Feel free to join us 6 p.m. each Tuesday for the Happy Hour Todcast at Burley Oak Brewery. If something tragic keeps you from coming out you can always check out the resulting recording Thursday afternoon by subscribing on iTunes. It’s free, fun and only requires a half-hour listening investment. Fair warning before you listen: Put on your irony hats, kids. It’s all in good clean fun.