She sat hunched over on the subway car’s bench. It wasn’t the coat she wore that I noticed first — brown, long, heavy, wintry, a fur-lined hood, wholly inappropriate to the day’s weather. Rather, it was the savage odor that permeated the subway car — sweat and grime and soiled clothes. The smells mixed togetherContinue reading “On Awkward Subway Encounters”
Tag Archives: Baltimore
On Curiosity About Parking Garages
I decided this morning to park the Beetle on the sixth level of the parking garage at the subway station. I had parked on the fourth level. Recently I changed to the fifth — I could park closer to the stairwell on the fifth, thus cutting down on walking time, even though it was anotherContinue reading “On Curiosity About Parking Garages”
On Conversations on the Train
On the train tonight, I talked to a homeless man. To my luck, I caught the slightly earlier train, despite leaving the office at my usual time. (In a span of about fifteen minutes, there are southbound trains terminating at Cromwell, BWI, and North Avenue, in that order. I normally catch the BWI train atContinue reading “On Conversations on the Train”
On Light Rail Congestion and Construction
Attention: If you’re attending Shore Leave this weekend and were planning upon using local transit in and around Baltimore, this blog post may be important to you. Baltimore’s Light Rail system is under construction this week. The Howard Street corridor through downtown is having work done — an old switch removed, overhead wiring replaced, aContinue reading “On Light Rail Congestion and Construction”
On Strange Encounters
In general, on my commute, I try to keep to myself. My commute is in two legs — a subway trip into the heart of Baltimore, and then a light rail trip out to Timonium. The subway trip is generally quiet; in the morning it’s professionals on their way into the city, and in theContinue reading “On Strange Encounters”
On Maryland Transit Suckitude
The four feet of snow that fell during Blizzardammerung and its kissing cousin Blizzardammerung II linger on the Maryland landscape like a festering malignancy. I look out at the frozen wastes from my sixth floor office, and I think I should elk and moose wandering the glacier that now lays across the hills and dalesContinue reading “On Maryland Transit Suckitude”
On Life Lessons
Last night, on the train home, I saw someone who had not learned one of life’s most valuable lessons. When you’re breaking the law, don’t argue with the cop. Riding Baltimore’s Light Rail is, for the most part, a honor system sort of affair. There are ticket machines where you buy your pass, and thenContinue reading “On Life Lessons”
On Things I’ve Been Reading
Let’s talk comics and other assorted readings… Poe #1 BOOM! Studios Written by J. Barton Mitchell Art by Dean Kotz A few days ago at work a PDF landed in my e-mail inbox. It was from BOOM! Studios, an up-and-coming comics publisher, of a book they have coming out in July — Poe. A completeContinue reading “On Things I’ve Been Reading”
On Things I Did On Friday
I was in a Scottish mood yesterday. My RSS feed reader told me that the latest episode of Scotland Introducing, a podcast devoted to unsigned Scottish indie bands, was available. I followed that, throughout the day, by listening to Idlewild, Camera Obscura, Y’All Is Fantasy Island, and I’m probably forgetting one or two other ScottishContinue reading “On Things I Did On Friday”
On the Things That Last
I was writing on the subway train this morning. I missed my stop. It wasn’t that I was writing anything important, just some notes for an article for work. But so engrossed was I in the words, so lost in the thoughts was I, that only as the train pulled out of the State CenterContinue reading “On the Things That Last”