Ex-school teacher and present mayor Sheila Dixon must have printed this sign.

Kind of says all that needs to be said.

Last Little Tavern Closes Its Doors

Excuse me while I go and cry.

I know I promised I would try to be lighter in my writing when I reopened this blog but, as it turns out, it doesn’t always work that way.

I was reading Summer’s post about her tree being destroyed and found myself getting more and more angry. We planted a tree in front of our house two years ago. In that time, al of the branches on the right side have been destroyed by the evil little twins that live a few doors up from us. Luckily, they are leaving in May. God help Northwest Baltimore when they arrive. My SO’s dad welded a beautiful steel tree cage for it to protect it but that lasted all of two months as my neighbors unattended kids, as if they are ever attended, ripped the fenials right off of the welded posts. It must have taken some effort to rip them off but, you know, the stupid are super strong.

Today, two teenage boys that I had a run-in with the other day attempted to rip the tree out of the ground. I happened to have the day off and had some of Baltimore’s finest remove them from the block for the second time in a week after I threatened to lay them out. The officer that responded stated that if they “were to have a bad fall” causing trouble on the block that “the Baltimore City Police would understand”. The first time they threatened me and a neighbor for parking near where they were throwing a football absentmindedly into every car they could. We aren’t talking about an errant pass. I am talking about just throwing the ball into the side panel of cars parked in front of the school. They are both dating the same girl up the street. Classy.

Now, within the last twenty minutes I had to go and fetch my neighbor who was passed out in her house to explain her two children, 5 and 2 were digging up my tree bed and throwing fertilizer-infused mulch all over one another.

At least the drug dealers aren’t here anymore.

Luckily, no one was around when I had the open house Sunday. Hopefully, someone will buy the place and I can get the hell out. That forty acres in Kansas looks better everyday.

Saturday a bunch of neighbors took part in a cleaning of the block. Eight 90 gallon bags of trash were collected. The block is clean. the last of the problem neighbors are leaving in May. All is well but I am still way ticked off.

I was on the way to the park with my lovely travelling companion tyring to enjoy today’s beautiful weather when we encountered two young girls walking in front of us. One girl was walking in the middle of the street. The other was quite obese and was laughing as cars had to move from the first girls path. They were yelling loudly each other and being just plain stupid and rude. As we began to pass them, the first girl drops a bag of chips and the bag itself all over the sidewalk as if it was her personal trash can.

I was offended and had to say something.

“Miss, I think you dropped something,” I called.

She didn’t even turn her head.

“Miss, you dropped something,” I said a little more forcefully.

Still no response.

“Hey, we take care of our neighborhood. We keep it clean. You’re as much trash as the bag you just threw down.”

That got her attention.

I was shocked waiting. She looked at me and went to say something and then…nothing. I think I struck a nerve. She looked as if to say “you are right”. Frankly, I was happy to see it stunned her. On another level, it hurt.

I get mad because I see what my fiancee goes through trying to help a bunch of Canton Middle kids. I see how much the kids lack. I see their anger and I see they are without hope. They are like the discarded bag, empty and blowing in the wind. These are exactly the kind of things I will purge from me when we leave Baltimore.

That said, seeing the park so alive and green and full of soccer players, dog walkers, kids on bikes and people holding hands put it all in perspective. We may have a lost and violent city but there are some truely beautiful and happy people here of all colors and creeds that give me hope that there is hope for Charm City.

Box Cat, originally uploaded by extraheavymarcellus.

I can haz pakin’ peenutz!