Our Own Emergency

Some aspects of the housing emergency Hurricane Harvey has and will cause are, sadly, just another day for many residents right here in Baltimore - mold, mildew, filth, collapsing roofs and ceilings, no running water, etc. Citizens get stuck, for all kinds of reasons, in sub-standard housing. I've been lucky to witness many find their way out, but it's obviously not ripe for last week's type of telethons.

Imagine, after putting a comprehensive plan in place, we declared our own emergency. Imagine if our neighbors responded just as generously as they are to Hurricane Harvey.

As we approach next year's 50th anniversary of the riots that permanently left many neighborhoods in ruins, I dream of the same all-hands-on-deck approach forced upon Texas. It should not be Utopian to visualize and laser-focus on the goal of decent housing for our own brothers and sisters right here in Baltimore City. Let's dream bigger than our piggy bank allows and try harder to get there. With such a huge need, maybe a telethon isn't such a crazy idea

Rock Me On The Water

I was sort of dreading today, as it is exactly eight years since the Great Recession ate my dream job (www.ebdi.blogspot.com) and destroyed my career eleven days before my 50th birthday. But as eight is a Mobius - an endless ribbon - I decided that today would also be the perfect day to finally finally finally break the cycle of mourning for that job - heck, probably any job (criminal, but also reality for anyone my age forcefully idled eight years ago) and embrace the upside of unemployment and of living here where the Inner Harbor and Harbor East converge. So after five years of staring out my windows at the water taxis darting about, Fred and I hopped on one - and didn't want to get off. Other than sailing on the Pride of Baltimore II, it's the most fun I've had since moving here. Good thing we sprang for the $35 monthly passes (a bargain, really, as a daily pass is $14 and a one-way ride is $8), as somehow Canton and Fort McHenry eluded us on our two hour tour. So, yes, we'll ride again tomorrow, and many other beautiful sunny warm days. And, yes, I feel pretty stupid for denying myself years of this fun, but all that sack cloth and ashes were quite heavy.