Where were you April 1, 2012?

History is defined in Webster's Dictionary as narrative, story or tale.

Maryland Day, Sunday March 25, celebrates the story of those who set sail from the Isle of Wight, crossed the Atlantic Ocean on the Ark and Dove and formed a colony for Catholics in 1634 in what became Maryland across the Potomac River from Virginia where others from England and Europe had formed Jamestown in 1607.

Those stories are, as well, about the Native Americans that these foreigners found here and how various peoples dealt with conflicts amongst themselves and in a challenging natural environment.

The tales continued and continue - unfinished - even today.

The official Maryland song offends many; last year Baltimore City Historical Society sponsored a contest to rewrite the words and music. Winning entries can be found here.  

To watch what life was like for early settlers, see "The New World" film of Terrence Malick which is much more than simply a story of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas and includes the buzzing sounds of millions of mosquitoes that were among the most aggravating parts of living on the river marshland banks along tributaries of the Chesapeake Bay. 

For a great irreverent read on colonial characters inhabiting Maryland & Virginia, try trudging through "The Sod-Weed Factor" by John Barth. 

Click here for Maryland Public Television's fascinating tidbits about those who were here before us, including the first woman to demand that the general assembly give her a vote.

A wonderful account of the first lady furiously rounding up things to save and escape before the British burned down the White House with her in it is "Dolly: A Novel of Dolly Madison in Love and War" by Rita Mae Brown. She lived to tell the tale in retirement at Montpelier, for which a street is named in Better Waverly.

On the old York turnpike sat an army barracks during the American Revolutionary War of 1776. Generations after settlers had come ashore, colonialists risked fortunes and lives, signed a Declaration of Independence and went to war against the British Empire. 

Again in 1812 troops marched past the spot, where today stands St Johns in the Village, demanding the right to freely roam the seas.

On April 1, 2012 those assembling to remember these events will have the good fortune to hear Midway Fair performing in front of old Waverly Town Hall. The musical group's member Jon Patton told me one of his first performance pieces at the age of seven involved constructing a miniature Fort McHenry on a skateboard and recording explosives sounds like the ones heard by Francis Scott Key during the bombardment when he wrote "The Star Spangled Banner."

I look forward to whatever Midway Fair and Poetry in the Community dream up for the free, public Waverly Main Street event starting at 12 noon on the sidewalk where Greenmount Avenue meets Old York Road.

Then join urban villagers to hear Baltimore City Police Commissioner Frederick H. Bealefeld, III  talk about the heroic General Sam Smith of Montebello; President, War of 1812 Society in MD Christos Christou, Jr. describe his forefathers' fight;  Command Sergeant Major Retired and National Association of Black Veterans representative Franklin Wright remind us of the sacrifices men and women of the U.S. Armed Forces make for freedom today; Captain John Parker show us inside Waverly Fire House #31 which has protected us for over 100 years; and other speakers engaged in modern day epic struggles along a walk through history followed by a feast prepared by Trinidad Gourmet. 

Details of the event are posted at Waverly Main Street.