David G. Cookson's Blog, page 12
September 9, 2019
The Family
The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by Jeff SharletMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
Jeff Sharlet performs a deep dive into a fundamentalist movement that has operated in plain sight since the 50’s, yet remained hidden from the mainstream. He calls it The Family, and its founders Abram Verein and his long-serving successor Doug Coe have done more to shape public policy from behind the scenes than any of the more visible and well-known religious leaders. They are the group behind the National Prayer Breakfast, an event that has been a mainstay of American politics since 1953 and probably the Family’s most overtly public event.
It is a dense history that is unique and largely unknown and unexplored. At the heart of the movement is a nebulous theology that boils down to a simple expression of “Jesus plus nothing.” The movement is not particularly scholarly or specific, but it is real and it is powerful. As the book shows, it has a squishy association with some of the worst players of the last 80 years--small time dictators and strongmen who fall under the goals of the movement. Morality is not important, only obedience. And no matter how poorly one has behaved, it gets washed away under the guise of being “chosen.”
There are several passages throughout the book where that point is established but towards the end there is a good one. After a religious rally and then a meal at a restaurant, “Flip”, the pastor who had lit up the stage and electrified the crowd with their “Amens” and their “Hallelujahs” makes a clumsy and awkward pass at the server, who brushes it off in turn. The author says he could make an easy point about the hypocrisy of the fundamentalist movement, but instead he illustrates the point that fuels the very idea of The Family:
“Flip doesn’t command whatever small following he has in the movement because he’s a good man but because he’s God’s chosen man. ‘God uses who he chooses’ a North Carolina preacher once told me, the essence of John Calvin’s dense theology of election boiled down to an advertising slogan. Flip obeyed orders, and that made him a key man.” (Page 365).
And though this book came out in 2008, it shows a lot about the current administration and how it is possible for a thrice married philandering Nihilistic playboy could ever be considered “chosen” by this or any other God. Because according the Family, your past doesn’t matter, what kind of person you are doesn’t matter, and in fact they will turn a blind eye to your faults and just accept you as long as you offer obedience and play ball.
I tried not to make this political, but the topic is inherently political. When a secret group that operates in plain sight is calling the shots for people that don’t subscribe to that point of view, people should take issue.
It may have been over ten years since this came out, but along with the Netflix series, Sharlet has finally succeeded in calling attention to the Family and its long standing influence over public policy.
View all my reviews
September 6, 2019
Gravity is the Thing
Gravity Is the Thing by Jaclyn MoriartyMy rating: 5 of 5 stars
Everything is Connected.
Abigail Sorenson lost her brother under mysterious circumstances 20 years ago. He disappeared, and in spite of everyone’s best efforts, he never turned up.
Meanwhile, right about this time, Abigail began receiving letters in the mail offering random unrelated advice. A chapter a week from something called “The Guidebook,” a self-help manual from an unknown source. Chapters, out of order and nonsensical, nonetheless, Abigail finds herself following the advice. The Guidebook becomes a stabilizing force in a chaotic life.
Cut to: many years later, when she is offered an invitation to a retreat to discover the secret of the mysterious Guidebook. If Everything is Connected, maybe this is just what she needs to solve a twenty year old mystery of the disappearance of her brother.
This book is delightful. That is the word that kept running through my head as I read this 1st adult novel from young adult Australian author Jaclyn Moriarty. “Gravity” jumps around in Abby’s life and tells the tale of her exes and her family and her Happiness Café, a business that she runs in the here and now in the novel. And all throughout the phases of her life, the Guidebook has offered its unrelated take on everything.
I won’t spoil anything. I will say there is a make or break moment about a third of the way in, which you can choose to accept (I urge you to accept) or it may cause you to put the book down in a sense of absurdity. For it is an absurd book that is all the better for its absurdity. It is also a heartfelt guidebook of its own, peeling back Abby’s life and showing how we look for cause and effect and ascribe meaning to things as a way to keep ourselves going. That sometimes following a program…any kind of program…is how people cope.
It is bendy and twisty and fairly unpredictable with a satisfying resolution and it was a total joy to read. I loved it all. Easily the best book I’ve read this year.
View all my reviews
August 30, 2019
Where am I?
I used to live in southwest Baltimore, in a neighborhood that was just north of the world famous B&O railroad museum…I didn’t know what the neighborhood was called (Hollins Hills is one candidate, though I never heard anyone call it that.).
But some people called it “PIGTOWN.” A neighborhood so named because of its role in the pork trade like 100 years ago. Every year there is a pig race. I know. I could hear it from my window: the notes of Chariots of Fire, a movie most kids wouldn’t know but for some reason I saw in the theater.
I can’t tell you how many times I argued that I didn’t live in Pigtown.
It’s not like I’m vain. I don’t care what the name of the place I live is. I’m not a New Yorker or something, lying about where I live because I actually live in New Jersey. No. I just don’t live in Pigtown.
Then years later, do you know what the city did?
They put up banners on the side of the road that represented Pigtown’s northern border, welcoming people to Pigtown.
Sigh.
Where am I?
Before all that, I lived in Catonsville. Which isn’t really all that different from Arbutus. But for whatever reason, I was happy for that small distinction. Catonsville is not Arbutus. Fight me.
Then I lived in Charles Village. But people told me that wasn’t Charles Village…Yes it is…
No….it can’t be….
Yes. It is the lower part of Charles Village. It’s on the same block as the Ottobar.
Where is the Ottobar?
Oh…that’s in Remington…
Sigh.
Then there was that corner store that set up in Remington, displaying a sign that said Hampden Corner Market.
Oh boy. Don’t get me started about Hampden. It’s the hottest quirkiest little place in town, and I love it. In fact, everybody who moves to Baltimore now says they live in Hampden. Which is actually kind of annoying. But hey, it keeps the masses out of my neighborhood, which is most definitely not Hampden.
Well…maybe it is.
August 23, 2019
Bootstraps. A rambling Essay.
Work hard, and you too can be rich!
I am one of those throwbacks from a generation that still has an underlying sense of responsibility and dedication to the task at hand. We Gen-Xers have always taken a bad rap for being overeducated slackers, with no ambition and working jobs that are beneath us.
I say, all work is beneath us.
Selling the concept of getting people to work hard for no reason was one of the more devious ideas the proletariat has ever been sold. Like this sort of neo Calvinism or the fiction that hard work was somehow interrelated with gaining entry into Heaven. (Man, Believers are so easy to manipulate.)
Morality is a construct and means nothing to those in power. I would argue that one cannot be moral and powerful at the same time.
Getting back to the “hard work” idea…There are many good reasons to work hard. But none of them should have anything to do with the glory or the betterment of the organization.
Work hard for your family. Work hard because the job requires you to work hard. Work hard because you love or believe in what you do. Work hard because you own the business and want to see it succeed. Work hard if working hard will earn you more money (i.e., selling things on commission.) But don’t work hard because you somehow believe you owe anybody anything. You are not being lazy if you are doing no more than what your job requires. You are being smart.
Allowing people to let us believe that we are lazy is the way that we are manipulated and led to believe that the idle man is not deserving of anything. Well, sure, when you put it like that. I just happen to believe that nothing that I’ve ever done has put me closer to the Promised Land. Trust me. I’ve lived my life and I’ve worked more than 80 percent of it. I’m comfortable (finally) but I’ll never be rich. I think I’m done thinking that I want to kill myself to make a buck.
A fiction sold to us working people is one where we are told to work hard and we too can be rich! I have been working hard for 30 years. I am not rich. I never will be. I didn’t start off rich. I don’t have any rich relatives. I probably won’t start a business or learn a sport that enriches me. My best shot might be to break into the entertainment business. I can hope. But let’s be realistic: I’m not that good at anything. I oppose those who subscribe to the bootstrap fantasy, that pulling yourself up and “making it” is all you, and not “making it” is your fault, and has nothing to do with poor circumstance, bad luck, or a game that is stacked against you.
I oppose this whole fallacy and anyone who subscribes to it.
Subscribe to my fallacy, instead!
I am one of those throwbacks from a generation that still has an underlying sense of responsibility and dedication to the task at hand. We Gen-Xers have always taken a bad rap for being overeducated slackers, with no ambition and working jobs that are beneath us.
I say, all work is beneath us.
Selling the concept of getting people to work hard for no reason was one of the more devious ideas the proletariat has ever been sold. Like this sort of neo Calvinism or the fiction that hard work was somehow interrelated with gaining entry into Heaven. (Man, Believers are so easy to manipulate.)
Morality is a construct and means nothing to those in power. I would argue that one cannot be moral and powerful at the same time.
Getting back to the “hard work” idea…There are many good reasons to work hard. But none of them should have anything to do with the glory or the betterment of the organization.
Work hard for your family. Work hard because the job requires you to work hard. Work hard because you love or believe in what you do. Work hard because you own the business and want to see it succeed. Work hard if working hard will earn you more money (i.e., selling things on commission.) But don’t work hard because you somehow believe you owe anybody anything. You are not being lazy if you are doing no more than what your job requires. You are being smart.
Allowing people to let us believe that we are lazy is the way that we are manipulated and led to believe that the idle man is not deserving of anything. Well, sure, when you put it like that. I just happen to believe that nothing that I’ve ever done has put me closer to the Promised Land. Trust me. I’ve lived my life and I’ve worked more than 80 percent of it. I’m comfortable (finally) but I’ll never be rich. I think I’m done thinking that I want to kill myself to make a buck.
A fiction sold to us working people is one where we are told to work hard and we too can be rich! I have been working hard for 30 years. I am not rich. I never will be. I didn’t start off rich. I don’t have any rich relatives. I probably won’t start a business or learn a sport that enriches me. My best shot might be to break into the entertainment business. I can hope. But let’s be realistic: I’m not that good at anything. I oppose those who subscribe to the bootstrap fantasy, that pulling yourself up and “making it” is all you, and not “making it” is your fault, and has nothing to do with poor circumstance, bad luck, or a game that is stacked against you.
I oppose this whole fallacy and anyone who subscribes to it.
Subscribe to my fallacy, instead!
August 19, 2019
The AlphaSmart NEO2: a low cost “Distraction Free Writing Device.”
Over the summer I had a schedule that conflicted with my usual afternoon writing time. It actually interfered with nap, snack, shower and any other time I enjoyed during the afternoon.
But I looked into solving at least one of those problems when I saw something advertised on my Facebook feed. It was a 349 dollar FreeWrite device, something that didn’t print or connect to the internet and was meant to be a lightweight and portable distraction free writing device. But…spending that much money on something I might break seemed like a non-starter.
Then my wife began helping me search for a low cost alternative. Her search led us to the NEO2, the very device upon which I wrote the bulk of this post.
The NEO2 doesn’t look like much, and I feel like that’s the point. The screen is tiny, the keyboard is small (but still full-sized), and it doesn’t do anything online or connect to any cloud anywhere. In other words, it’s perfect. It does what it’s supposed to do. And it costs way less than the other lightweight distraction free devices advertised.
Mine came in a blue bag with the NEO logo, along with a chord to connect to my laptop. You will need a small Phillips head screwdriver to change the batteries at some point, though I believe mine just came with them. It runs on Double As.
How I use the NEO2:
During what I refer to as my…"awful late off time" months, I fell into a rhythm of typing in idle moments and then putting the machine away, then taking it home at the end of the week to transfer all the files to computer. Then I would clear the device of all files and pack it back into my bag for next week. It was from these files that a number of my recent blog posts have come.
As for a distraction free device…well, it is just that. I can’t do anything but write on the NEO2. That doesn’t mean I can’t be distracted by my phone or by other people or by my own daydreaming. But I can’t claim that the NEO2 is responsible for any lapse in production. The NEO2 is a no-bullshit writing tool that satisfies my personal need to make the most of whatever time I have. It boots up quick, it shuts down quick, and it is easy to move everything over when I’m done.
Among other things, I am really looking forward to using the NEO2 for The National Novel Writing Month (NanoWrimo) this year. This lightweight, easy on, easy off device is perfect for slipping into my bag and taking with me. And the fact that it didn’t cost much and would not be psychologically crushing to lose or break doesn’t hurt, either. Certainly one of the things that has made me hesitant to write at the coffee shop or in any other public place was the fact that my life is in that laptop. One spill or poorly placed drop and it would devastate me. Not so with a device that outside of the 40 bucks it cost me (and the joy I experience in having it) is only as valuable as the material still committed to the device and not yet transferred to the laptop. But considering that I have been good about making those weekly transfers, that doesn’t bother me so much.
And another thing: I can only see the last 4 lines I’ve written. I can’t obsess over anything I wrote before that. In that way, it is the ultimate Zen writing machine. I can misspell freely (we’ll figure it out in Word later) and write with reckless abandon.
This is why I can’t wait for Nanowrimo. Because I want to write with reckless abandon. The NEO2 is perfect for just that.
August 14, 2019
Federation
Federation by Judith Reeves-StevensMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
This 1994 Star Trek offering is a strong entry into the series, with a story that spans TOS and TNG, and refers to events that take place in The Generations movie.
The story bounces between the two crews of the two Enterprises but is linked by an old episode of TOS which introduced the viewers to Zephram Cochrane and the Companion.
It starts with a break-in at Starfleet Memory Alpha where the sealed logs of Kirk’s old mission are compromised, and a figure from the days before World War 3 who becomes fixated on getting his revenge on Cochrane. Meanwhile, in the future, Captain Picard and crew come across a valuable artifact that may provide a clue to a weapon they can use against a 24th century foe.
Pretty sure the authors took turns every other chapter. I might have enjoyed the TOS bits a little more, maybe in part because the TNG was not as established at that point. But it all comes together, perhaps not as satisfyingly as it could have. But it gets there.
You know what? It’s a Star Trek book. It’s fun. I enjoyed the hell out of it anyway.
View all my reviews
August 13, 2019
bookshelves: retro-reviews
David Cookson's review
Aug 13, 2019 · edit
it was amazing
I was sick and got bored and found an old notebook with reviews of books I read in the year 2000. I reprinted what I wrote, gave everything 4 stars, and just assumed I read them sometime between June 1 and October 1 of that year. Enjoy.
Millennium by Ben Bova
Good 70's view of the "future" 1999. The Russians and Americans build 2 space stations on the moon, unite to form an independent country called Selene. Very entertaining read.
We Can Build You by Phillip K. Dick
Automatons Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Stanton; a society that focuses and over-diagnoses mental illness. Entertaining, good book.
The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet
Great espionage story about "Die Nadel," a German spy who is trying to get back to Germany to report important and fateful knowledge to his superiors. (One of my best reads of 2000, when I wrote these words in my notebook= "retro reviews")
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
J.K. Rowling
This has always been my favorite of the Harry Potter series because it has such a dark, Empire Strikes Back kind of vibe. At an expansive 734 pages (these books just got longer and longer) this book features the TriWizard Tournament which leads to a dark revelation at the end. It all ties together and sets up the rest of the series nicely. This fourth book is the linchpin of the series, IMO. At the time I read this (I'm working off of 20 year old notes= "retro reviews") I was actually sad when it was over because I was enjoying it so much.
Venus (The Grand Tour, #18)
by
Ben Bova
Playboy takes his father's bait of a 10 billion dollar reward to claim his bother's ashes from the hellish surface of Venus. Very entertaining. I wanted to read more Ben Bova (I read this 20 years ago="retro reviews") and I think I will.
A Gathering of Spies
by
John Altman
Similar to Eye of the Needle by Follett, A Gathering of Spies features bad-ass female anti-hero Katarina Heinrich who messes up everybody in her path.
Planet of the Apes
by Pierre Boulle,
Xan Fielding (Translator)
This is an excellent quick read but it is very different from any of the movies.
Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street
by
Lee Stringer,
Kurt Vonnegut (Foreword by)
Excellent non-fiction memoir of Lee's struggles on the streets of New York, addicted to crack. Very readable, extremely recommendable.
Aug 13, 2019 · edit
it was amazing
I was sick and got bored and found an old notebook with reviews of books I read in the year 2000. I reprinted what I wrote, gave everything 4 stars, and just assumed I read them sometime between June 1 and October 1 of that year. Enjoy.
Millennium by Ben Bova
Good 70's view of the "future" 1999. The Russians and Americans build 2 space stations on the moon, unite to form an independent country called Selene. Very entertaining read.
We Can Build You by Phillip K. Dick
Automatons Abraham Lincoln and Edwin Stanton; a society that focuses and over-diagnoses mental illness. Entertaining, good book.
The Eye of the Needle by Ken Follet
Great espionage story about "Die Nadel," a German spy who is trying to get back to Germany to report important and fateful knowledge to his superiors. (One of my best reads of 2000, when I wrote these words in my notebook= "retro reviews")
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (Harry Potter, #4)
J.K. Rowling
This has always been my favorite of the Harry Potter series because it has such a dark, Empire Strikes Back kind of vibe. At an expansive 734 pages (these books just got longer and longer) this book features the TriWizard Tournament which leads to a dark revelation at the end. It all ties together and sets up the rest of the series nicely. This fourth book is the linchpin of the series, IMO. At the time I read this (I'm working off of 20 year old notes= "retro reviews") I was actually sad when it was over because I was enjoying it so much.
Venus (The Grand Tour, #18)
by
Ben Bova
Playboy takes his father's bait of a 10 billion dollar reward to claim his bother's ashes from the hellish surface of Venus. Very entertaining. I wanted to read more Ben Bova (I read this 20 years ago="retro reviews") and I think I will.
A Gathering of Spies
by
John Altman
Similar to Eye of the Needle by Follett, A Gathering of Spies features bad-ass female anti-hero Katarina Heinrich who messes up everybody in her path.
Planet of the Apes
by Pierre Boulle,
Xan Fielding (Translator)
This is an excellent quick read but it is very different from any of the movies.
Grand Central Winter: Stories from the Street
by
Lee Stringer,
Kurt Vonnegut (Foreword by)
Excellent non-fiction memoir of Lee's struggles on the streets of New York, addicted to crack. Very readable, extremely recommendable.
August 10, 2019
Thoughts on Spending part of Summer Reading Star Trek Books to Compensate for (what I feel) is a lousy Schedule…
A few months ago I wrote a blog about time Management and the next few posts are tangentially related to that. https://www.goodreads.com/author_blog...
As my long-winded title suggests, I found a way to make lemonade out of whatever and turn a negative into a positive.
Star Trek.
Been a fan since I was a kid, in fact it was the reason I first started drinking coffee, so I could stay up late and catch the reruns at midnight as it ran back when I was 12 and living in my childhood home in Pittsfield Massachusetts…
I am currently knee deep in “Federation” by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens having completed 3 prior.
Some thoughts…
One…despite impressions to the contrary, I’m not a particularly fast reader. That is, I probably read much more than the average individual, but in a class of readers for whom reading is life, I am merely a plodder, a dilettante, an interloper into a world of smartness and literary appreciation that others dwell in and live in full time. I read when I can, I read during breaks, I read between innings of the Orioles games, I read maybe a little at home. But as for the focused effort it would have taken to plough through 10 books in 8 weeks…I just don’t have it. I may clear 5 if I hurry through the next two.
Two…there is definitely a type of ST book I enjoy. I seem to gravitate to the more expansive efforts based on multiple episodes of the series. For example, the Rise of Khan reintroduced us to the Gary Seven and the Space Seed episodes and ran with these characters and interspersed it with real earth history. I find that so much more enjoyable than some of the more straightforward Trek adventures, ones from the 80’s or ones written before Next Generation was a thing. I put down two of these books because I couldn’t get into them, then I devoured the Captain Kirk “autobiography” and the Federation book.
Three. William Shatner is an International Treasure and I will fight you if you say otherwise.
Four…Genre fiction has its’ own rewards. It’s great to see episodes called back and whole stories based around small but important lines of dialogue…it is a reward for having been a fan for the last 30 years…
Five…Star Trek is at its best when it is just slightly tongue in cheek. Star Trek 4 was about whales, for chrissake…and now it stands as the Third highest grossing trek Movie of all time…that’s my best example, I’ll leave it at that…
For the record: I read The Autobiography of Captain Kirk (David A. Goodman) the Eugenics Wars (Greg Cox) and The Ashes of Eden (William Shatner) and I am about to finish the terrific Federation (Judith Reeves-Stevens, Garfield Reeves-Stevens).
Anyway, I’m off that bad schedule now so the only question is: should I finish the rest of these books? Or save it for the next downturn in scheduled time?
Next: the NEO 2 and how it has helped with my loss of time.
As my long-winded title suggests, I found a way to make lemonade out of whatever and turn a negative into a positive.
Star Trek.
Been a fan since I was a kid, in fact it was the reason I first started drinking coffee, so I could stay up late and catch the reruns at midnight as it ran back when I was 12 and living in my childhood home in Pittsfield Massachusetts…
I am currently knee deep in “Federation” by Judith and Garfield Reeves-Stevens having completed 3 prior.
Some thoughts…
One…despite impressions to the contrary, I’m not a particularly fast reader. That is, I probably read much more than the average individual, but in a class of readers for whom reading is life, I am merely a plodder, a dilettante, an interloper into a world of smartness and literary appreciation that others dwell in and live in full time. I read when I can, I read during breaks, I read between innings of the Orioles games, I read maybe a little at home. But as for the focused effort it would have taken to plough through 10 books in 8 weeks…I just don’t have it. I may clear 5 if I hurry through the next two.
Two…there is definitely a type of ST book I enjoy. I seem to gravitate to the more expansive efforts based on multiple episodes of the series. For example, the Rise of Khan reintroduced us to the Gary Seven and the Space Seed episodes and ran with these characters and interspersed it with real earth history. I find that so much more enjoyable than some of the more straightforward Trek adventures, ones from the 80’s or ones written before Next Generation was a thing. I put down two of these books because I couldn’t get into them, then I devoured the Captain Kirk “autobiography” and the Federation book.
Three. William Shatner is an International Treasure and I will fight you if you say otherwise.
Four…Genre fiction has its’ own rewards. It’s great to see episodes called back and whole stories based around small but important lines of dialogue…it is a reward for having been a fan for the last 30 years…
Five…Star Trek is at its best when it is just slightly tongue in cheek. Star Trek 4 was about whales, for chrissake…and now it stands as the Third highest grossing trek Movie of all time…that’s my best example, I’ll leave it at that…
For the record: I read The Autobiography of Captain Kirk (David A. Goodman) the Eugenics Wars (Greg Cox) and The Ashes of Eden (William Shatner) and I am about to finish the terrific Federation (Judith Reeves-Stevens, Garfield Reeves-Stevens).
Anyway, I’m off that bad schedule now so the only question is: should I finish the rest of these books? Or save it for the next downturn in scheduled time?
Next: the NEO 2 and how it has helped with my loss of time.
August 8, 2019
Girl Next Door
Girl Next Door: 'don't Judge a Book by It's Cover' by Lia LattaMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
When Sonia and Ray were kids in Baltimore, they lived next door and were the best of friends. Then one day Ray’s father dies unexpectedly and his world is turned over. He is uprooted to live with relatives in Atlanta, while life for Sonia goes on.
Cut to twenty years later when Sonia (aka Love) relocates to Atlanta to make a new life for herself. But to get to this new life, she first must take a job as an exotic dancer in a nightclub, making money doing dances for men who pay her well for her services.
But it is here where she reconnects with Ray, who is now a lawyer.
Sonia has dreams that go beyond the dark interior of the club, which is run with benign severity by Nikki. But Grant, her boyfriend of five years, may never believe in her the way that Ray does…and the choices she makes now will determine if her dreams will come true.
Lia Latta’s first novel is “based on true events” and is written in a dialogue heavy/ exposition-as-stage directions format. It moves quickly and while admittedly is not the sort of thing I usually pick up, I still enjoyed it. There are rough patches and a few spots where I might have had to read over to get, but there is a helpful character key to refer back to if you forget something.
The story feels real, slice of life, baring of soul, with an honesty to it all that comes through. It’s about pursuing your dreams even when it takes you to dark places.
If Love has her way, you will be seeing more of Girl Next Door…
View all my reviews
August 1, 2019
Keep calling it a hellhole, Motherfucker: My Baltimore Rant, Part 3 of 3.
Thanks for coming this far with me.
I can’t do a three part blog post without ending it with telling you about the things I love about Baltimore.
What we have here is a big wonderful city with lots of flaws. But the good things are what keep us here and keep us happy. I see it from a slightly different perspective from true blue locals because I am not native to this area. I grew up in a small city in Massachusetts where there wasn’t a lot to do and not a lot of opportunity (at the time) and when I was 18 I could have gone literally anywhere. I almost moved to Portland, Oregon (I did eventually move there for a few short months in 2003. I didn’t like it.) I could have moved to Florida. North Carolina. Boston. Northampton. Anywhere. Or at least, those places where I knew people who wanted me to live with them.
But for various reasons of circumstance and happenstance Baltimore drew my attention.
And while it was a rough place back in the ‘90s, I toughed it out. I rode public transportation at all hours of the night (not an option back home.) I walked everywhere at all hours. I explored. I took it in. I was excited. This was my new city, and I was enjoying being here.
It’s changed, as all places do. But within that change, there are those things that make living in this city which some label a hellhole worthwhile.
Great and abundant city parkland. My house borders one of the largest and in my opinion greatest park in the city, Druid Hill Park, where the third oldest zoo in the country is located, along with a mile and half reservoir loop (under construction at the moment), baseball fields, basketball courts, a pool, and it is one of my favorite places in all of Baltimore. There are a great many parks, many of which are connected by trails, but this one is my favorite.
I love the old buildings and the local history. The Bromo Selzer Tower, the B & O Railroad museum, with its distinctive dome that can be seen from miles away (clear view from the west side of Camden Yards. Beautiful.)
For that matter…Camden Yards is a national treasure, a retro ballpark in the heart of downtown. Hopefully one day we’ll have a good team again and the place will be rocking once more (the Billy Joel concert, the 1st of its kind to ever be held at the Yard was a great example of what it can be like when people show up.).
I love the people here. It was once described to me as “The Beginning of the south.” Ain’t that the truth, y’all?
Sure, sometimes people here can be dicks. Your town probably has some dicks. But most people are not dicks.
The neighborhoods, with their (sorry) quirky charm, the little moments that scream “That is soooo Baltimore”—guy coming out of his house to sing “I am everyday people!” or the ease with which people break out into unplanned dance moves, the guy who runs all over town at all hours every single day, the guy who dressed like Michael Jackson…and cheered people in some dark days.
I could go on. You don’t want me to.
This “quirky charm,” makes this a great city to develop your creative talent. If you have a skill or something to say, chances are there is a scene for you somewhere, or a stage to play on.
…point being, it’s not all hellhole…
But…keep calling it that. I’ll take a stranger’s word on the internet over my own observation any day.
Finally, it’s not about whether Baltimore is horrible or not (the answer: it can be. But not always and not everywhere.) Point being that once again, the president started something to distract everyone and now we are talking about the thing that he wants us to talk about. Hell, I’m doing it, too. It’s all very exhausting.
Get me out of this hellhole.
Thanks for reading.
I can’t do a three part blog post without ending it with telling you about the things I love about Baltimore.
What we have here is a big wonderful city with lots of flaws. But the good things are what keep us here and keep us happy. I see it from a slightly different perspective from true blue locals because I am not native to this area. I grew up in a small city in Massachusetts where there wasn’t a lot to do and not a lot of opportunity (at the time) and when I was 18 I could have gone literally anywhere. I almost moved to Portland, Oregon (I did eventually move there for a few short months in 2003. I didn’t like it.) I could have moved to Florida. North Carolina. Boston. Northampton. Anywhere. Or at least, those places where I knew people who wanted me to live with them.
But for various reasons of circumstance and happenstance Baltimore drew my attention.
And while it was a rough place back in the ‘90s, I toughed it out. I rode public transportation at all hours of the night (not an option back home.) I walked everywhere at all hours. I explored. I took it in. I was excited. This was my new city, and I was enjoying being here.
It’s changed, as all places do. But within that change, there are those things that make living in this city which some label a hellhole worthwhile.
Great and abundant city parkland. My house borders one of the largest and in my opinion greatest park in the city, Druid Hill Park, where the third oldest zoo in the country is located, along with a mile and half reservoir loop (under construction at the moment), baseball fields, basketball courts, a pool, and it is one of my favorite places in all of Baltimore. There are a great many parks, many of which are connected by trails, but this one is my favorite.
I love the old buildings and the local history. The Bromo Selzer Tower, the B & O Railroad museum, with its distinctive dome that can be seen from miles away (clear view from the west side of Camden Yards. Beautiful.)
For that matter…Camden Yards is a national treasure, a retro ballpark in the heart of downtown. Hopefully one day we’ll have a good team again and the place will be rocking once more (the Billy Joel concert, the 1st of its kind to ever be held at the Yard was a great example of what it can be like when people show up.).
I love the people here. It was once described to me as “The Beginning of the south.” Ain’t that the truth, y’all?
Sure, sometimes people here can be dicks. Your town probably has some dicks. But most people are not dicks.
The neighborhoods, with their (sorry) quirky charm, the little moments that scream “That is soooo Baltimore”—guy coming out of his house to sing “I am everyday people!” or the ease with which people break out into unplanned dance moves, the guy who runs all over town at all hours every single day, the guy who dressed like Michael Jackson…and cheered people in some dark days.
I could go on. You don’t want me to.
This “quirky charm,” makes this a great city to develop your creative talent. If you have a skill or something to say, chances are there is a scene for you somewhere, or a stage to play on.
…point being, it’s not all hellhole…
But…keep calling it that. I’ll take a stranger’s word on the internet over my own observation any day.
Finally, it’s not about whether Baltimore is horrible or not (the answer: it can be. But not always and not everywhere.) Point being that once again, the president started something to distract everyone and now we are talking about the thing that he wants us to talk about. Hell, I’m doing it, too. It’s all very exhausting.
Get me out of this hellhole.
Thanks for reading.
