June 16, 2020 Waiting for the World to Change The evening after I had to board up the windows of my printing company on North Charles Street in downtown Baltimore City because of the potential for some protesters to chuck bricks through my twelve plate glass windows, I watched Martin Scorsese’s seminal movie, Raging Bull. While most viewers in its 40-year history apparently found the picture plaudit-worthy, I was in the minority, not enjoying it at all (other than seeing DeNiro pack on 65 pounds!). It was disturbing and sad and infuriating. Why didn’t LaMotta’s two put-upon wives leave him, or leave him earlier, once they discovered he was…
April 30, 2019 The Love Letter Does anyone under the age of 30 even know what a “love letter” is? Back in the day…before smart phones, computers, the internet, instantaneous communication, there were letters. Real letters. Handwritten. Thought-out. Emotional. Confidential. Meaningful. Heartfelt. Back in the day, people spoke on telephones, in person, and managed to engage with one another without the use of any electronic devices whatsoever. And they wrote to each other. Love letters. Letters home from camp. Postcards from faraway places, like Ocean City, Maryland. Slips of paper passed in school. Grocery lists. Letters to friends. Letters to distant relatives. Thank you notes. RSVP…
April 16, 2019 Shatter the Illusion of Integrity (part 2) Not to pile on, but doesn’t it seem like we just can’t seem to get this integrity thing right here in Baltimore? I guess this must happen in other municipalities, no? But jeez Louise, really, more tawdry scandal again? And we can’t even claim a scandal of the salacious variety (think Anthony Weiner); ours is embarrassingly petty: not particularly large sums of money acquired in dishonest and/or questionable ways by Baltimoreans whom we are supposed to trust. Dixon with her gift cards. DeSousa avoiding income taxes. And now Healthy Holly. As longtime Baltimore chronicler and conscience Dan Rodricks reminds us,…
