Baltimore from the Outside

I had the privilege of dining with a friend from out of town on Friday night. She was up from South Carolina to attend a convention catering to guidance counselors and recruiters. It's always fun catching up with college friends.

I do not go into Baltimore much anymore. I enjoy the peaceful, nearly crime-free bucolic Carroll County versus the crime infested, traffic-snarled streets of Maryland's largest city. And upon every visit I am reminded of why I never returned to live in the city of my birth. The city that resulted in one of my neighbors being murdered, my bicycle and dirt bike being stolen. The city where someone broke into our house in the night while we slept.

I made plans with my friend to meet her at 7pm in front of the ugly Hilton Convention Center Hotel that Peter Angelos built that blocks most of the scenic view of the city from the seats of Camden Yards. I got off on Russell Street at 6:35 - plenty of time to meet her at 7pm. Or so I thought.

About half way up Russell Street we can to an abrupt halt. And I sat. And I sat. Every few minutes we were granted the pleasure of moving up a couple of car lengths. Before long it was 6:55. I wasn't sure if I was going to make it. I called her and told her to come meet me on Russell Street. I was a couple of car lengths behind the great big green container truck.

Once she got in the car we crept to the next light. We sat through several, being blocked each time by cross-traffic that went through the red light and sat there obstructing the intersection. Finally we turned onto Pratt Street for another 15 minute trek to Light Street. At each light we saw AT LEAST 4 cars fly through red lights, which reminds me of a joke:

I was riding with my friend from Baltimore and we came upon a red light and we drove right through it. I yelled, "We just ran through a red light!" "Sure", said my friend. "My brother who lives in Federal Hill does it all the time. We then got to another light near Little Italy and as it turned red we drove right through it. I yelled that we drove through another red light. Again my friend said that his brother from Federal Hill does it all the time. Finally, we came upon a green light and my friend stopped. I turned and asked him, "What are you doing? It's green?" "Well, my brother might be coming the other way."

As we drove to our destination (Hull Street Blues Cafe), we talked. I asked her about the convention and she said that the mood of this convention just wasn't the same as the one last year in Seattle. Seattle, she explained, was fun. Everyone was excited. Here in Baltimore, everyone was kind of down and out, not wanting to go out and do anything. Unfortunately, Charm City brought the conventioneers down.

Additionally, my friend mentioned that she heard that our mayor was under investigation. How fantastic. Isn't it wonderful that the visitors to our city get to hear about how our mayor (Sheila Dixon) is basically a crook?

I had a great time seeing my friend and having dinner with her. But I sure am not boasting about Baltimore. What a mess.