Celebrate spring with Bob Chance’s newly published “Earthline: A 30-Year Anthology”
Three decades of notes and observations from a teacher, town commissioner, cancer survivor and friend to the people, plants and animals of Harford County, Maryland.
Bob Chance, the region’s recognized authority on ecology, natural history and, yes, even Bigfoot, presents an entertaining and informative look at his local experiences and international journeys in his newly published “Earthline: A 30-Year Anthology.” Chance has been penning his local nature column in Harford County since 1972 and, for the first time, nearly 100 of those columns spanning more than 30 years have been reprinted and reorganized into this 180-page book.
“Earthline: A 30-Year Anthology” is a captivating journey through the collected field experiences of naturalist-author Chance, a man who has dedicated his life to preservation and appreciation of the natural world. Whether he’s studying the outdoor terrain of Harford County, Maryland, marveling over creatures great and small, or exploring distant exotic lands, Chance presents his thoughts and observations with an informed, passionate voice that calls for ecological conservation through awareness, education, and understanding.
“Bob Chance’s writing is just like taking a ride or a hike with him through the byways of northern Maryland … trust me on this, I’ve done that a few times too. He has a gift for making you see things you’ve never seen before. He introduces you to eccentric folk you’d never get to meet otherwise. And he can make you see something new about a place you’ve seen a thousand times before. Do yourself a big favor and take a Chance or two every day. It’ll change the way you see things, and you’ll never look back,” said Matt Lake, author of “Weird Maryland” and “Weird Pennsylvania.”
With an underlying theme stressing the importance of man’s relationship to his surrounding environment, “Earthline: A 30-Year Anthology” is the natural way to get back into the spring of things this season.
Chance is available for environmentally-themed appearances, nature talks and book signings accompanied by an assortment of snakes, turtles, fossils and Native American tools.
For more information call (410) 457-4766, email chancetreefarm@aol.com or visit www.greenbychance.com.
Bob Chance is like a bad head cold - he painfully reappears every now and then just when you think you are rid of him. I’d have to say his class was by far the biggest waste of time I had in my four years at Bel Air High. The title of “teacher” was a gross exaggeration. His lack of respect for students who did not worship him and his beliefs was appalling. His knowledge of nature and ecology do not outweigh his personal shortcomings (I would offer details but they would probably be deleted by the moderator).
Caustic or not, Bob is personally responsible for a generation of environmentalists, myself included. He doesn’t ask to be loved, but he teaches with a passion for finding harmony with the earth. Bob challenges you, and doesn’t ask that you agree with him.
Harford County would be a far less wonderful place without his influence. Bob Chance wasn’t my favorite teacher either, but it is his teaching that drives me today.
BOB WAS A GREAT TEACHER AND A BIG HELP TO ME IN MY STUDY OF PLANTS. HE IS A TRUTHFUL MAN WITH A BACKGROUND TO SHOW IT.
THE LOVE FOR THE EARTH AND THE PEOPLE AROUND HIM SHOWS TIME AND TIME AGIAN. IF SOMEONE OUT THEIR HAS ONE BAD THING TO SAY ABOUT THIS LEDGEN, THEY HAVE TO HAD LOST THIER MIND. HE HAS
DONE NOTHING BUT GOOD FOR THIS COUNTY (HARFORD) AND THE YOUNG ADULTS GROWING UP.
IF I HAD ONE PERSON THAT MADE A DIFFERENCE IN MY LIFE IT WOULD BE BOB CHANCE.
I LOST BOTH OF MY PARENTS AND A YOUNG AGE AND BOB HAS BEEN A
GREAT PERSON TO GET ME THROUGH SOME BAD TIMES.
I WOULD LIKE TO SAY THANK YOU BOB FOR YOUR HELP AND SUPPORT.
CHRIS GREIG