Ducks splashed in the water. Two larger ducks, adults obviously, sat on outcroppings just beyond the shoreline, while four ducklings paddled in the water. Sometimes, the adults would move from one outcropping to another. Sometimes they would see me, twenty yards distant or more, and take flight, either jump-flying to the opposite shore or, more … Continue reading Scenes of Terrible Beauty
Tag: Baltimore
Last weekend, after the Mid-Maryland Celtic Festival, I drove home by way of Eldersburg, mainly because it was easier to head north to Liberty Road instead of south to I-70. As I approached Eldersburg, I decided, entirely on a whim, to visit the church graveyard where my great-uncle and great-aunt are buried, coincidentally quite close … Continue reading Exploring Cemeteries
I mentioned in yesterday’s post about the Women’s March in Baltimore that I stopped along the way and took pictures of churches. It’s something of a hobby of mine. Sacred architecture speaks to the better angels of our nature, a monument to the human need for community that spans decades and centuries. Most of the … Continue reading Photographing a Baltimore Church
Today I attended the Women’s March sister march in Baltimore. There isn’t much of a narrative here, and I’d struggle to stitch one together. I’ll give some brief background, an account of what I did and witnessed, pictures of what I saw, and some final remarks. This is going behind a link, as there are … Continue reading Scenes from the Women’s March in Baltimore
Ten years ago today, an adventure (of sorts) began. My grandmother and I took a trip from Baltimore to Raleigh. I’ve never really spoken about that trip as I’ve found it an uncomfortable — and somewhat painful — subject. My grandmother, as some know, suffered from dementia in her final years. At the time of … Continue reading Looking Back Ten Years
In the last week, when considering the riots and protests in Baltimore, a recurring thought came to me. “This is what we all have to look forward to. This is a sign of the future.” What prompted this thinking was an interview with libertartian economist Tyler Cowen on an NPR program a few years ago. … Continue reading Paul Krugman, Baltimore, and Portents of the Future
Today I took a nap. That was not in the day’s plan. The day’s plan included going to work. Unfortunately, the weather and MTA Maryland had different ideas in mind. In the mornings, when I drive to work, I reach an intersection where I have a choice to make. Go left, and I get on … Continue reading On Heavy Rain and Transit Nightmares
On my lunch break, I walked to Borders. As most people know, Borders is in dire financial straits, and while the Borders near the office is one of the stores that survived the closing axe a few months ago, the company is still on the brink of oblivion and stores may shutter within a week … Continue reading On a Parking Lot Encounter
I thought I would never get home. I sat on the bench on the platform at the State Center subway stop. The train arrived. I boarded and took a seat. An earlier passenger had left a paranormal romance on the seat. I ignored it. The doors chimed then closed. The doors reopened with a crash. … Continue reading On Traveling Travails
Three years ago, I began taking the Baltimore mass transit system to work. There’s a subway station near my house, there’s a light rail stop two blocks away that I can see from my sixth floor office. Why drive the Baltimore Beltway, when I can use public transportation? Not only is it the socially responsible … Continue reading On Eulogizing a Man I Didn’t Know
I flattened a penny on the train track. Today was grey and gloomy. The alarm, when it trilled, ripped me from a dream about Taco Bell and the fall of governments to the pattering sound of rainfall on the roof and outside the window. I thought briefly of driving to work. The rainy dampness was … Continue reading On Flattening Pennies on Train Tracks
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 together … Continue reading On Awkward Subway Encounters