Baltimore City, MD, USA

Federal Hill, Baltimore, MD.

January 28, 2017

There are some days where you go places, do activities, and are active throughout the entire day. Today was not one of those days.

It began with a late start: me forgetting to do laundry the night before and having to scramble in the morning to have something to wear.

This was 9:36. We were leaving at 12 o’clock. I hadn’t even started the wash.

Blanche and I planned to visit today with friends of ours: Josh and Lauren. They’re a great pair and a blast to be around. We’d been planning a double date for some time and the opportunity finally arose.

When I came around to willing myself out of bed, I got a call from my good friend Julian requesting to visit and bring me a ‘gift’. While a thousand fears flooded my mind on what this gift might be, I obliged and told him to stop by. Julian and his friend Jonathan greeted me at my front door bearing a pound of Starbucks coffee. I must say that any time coffee is given to me I am truly ecstatic. I begged them to stay, offering them a cup of the new beans.

Every time I’m around Julian, particularly a caffeinated Julian, I enjoy myself immensely. It’s as if there’s everything in the world to laugh at. And everything, somehow, someway is extremely hilarious. He’s the only person I’ve ever known to be simultaneously smoking a pipe, discussing theology, and singing along to the Lumineers. Oh, and all while laughing a contagious and hysterical laugh.

After me thanking them (Jonathan was actually the one who hooked me up with the sick roast. Thanks mate, you’re rad.) for such great coffee and conversation, the pair left the house and Blanche came through the door smiling warmly. I didn’t even notice my appearance of fluorescent yellow shorts and a dingy, large T-shirt.

Blanche and I talked over taking pictures of her art work for her Towson University portfolio. She is going places. There’s a uniqueness about Blanche that I feel isn’t realized as much as it should be. Like seriously, she takes something in nature, throws it through her canvas-like mind, and shoots it out through her delicate fingers in the form of something absolutely incredible.

Lauren was going to pick us up and take us to her house in Federal Hill. Mind you, my clothes were still more than damp in the dryer.

To put it briefly, when Lauren showed up at my house, I wasn’t ready.

I still sported the fluorescent-hobo look.

I threw everything in my bag (wet clothes and all, Lauren offered her dryer at her house), threw on an outfit that made me look like a New Age yoga instructor and off we went.

I’ve never really thought about it until recently, but Baltimore is one of the most dangerous cities in the world. And I live here. That makes me feel like I live on the edge, which makes me feel cool, which gives me bragging rights, but really doesn’t because why would I brag about that?

But really, Baltimore is a cool city. I’ve been to the Inner Harbor and around the hipster parts so many times that I forget that it really is a city that hosts tourists every year. Sure, it’s not New York or Los Angeles. But people don’t realize that Baltimore has two professional sports teams, Fort McHenry (a stronghold that played a major part in The War of 1812 and the construction of Francis Scott Key’s poem “The Star-Spangled Banner”), and one of the greatest Gothic writers of all time: Edgar Allen Poe. We have crabs, sure, and Old Bay Seasoning that is apparently quite popular, but the amount of history alone possessed within the city limits makes Baltimore unique.  

All in all, I like the city. Don’t be stupid by going to places that just look dangerous (Baltimore is 19^th on the murder per capita list, worldwide) and you’ll have a swell time. That goes for any city, but Baltimore especially.

We arrived at Lauren’s house, a big European-looking place that was decorated with a heightened level of class. I wouldn’t mind living in a city home like that one bit. In fact, I asked Blanche if we could incorporate the décor into our own home when we get married.

Mrs. Prince cooked us a great dinner. It was a vegetable soup put into hand-cut bread bowls. For once, I couldn’t finish. But my goodness was it delicious.

I was told prior to our time together that I would need to bring my camera. I almost never forget my camera. Seriously. Last fall, someone asked me if I would be quicker to forget my camera or my phone and I could firmly say my phone. Cameras capture moments and preserve them in a little digital file, to be printed out later, preserved on your phone, or shared on social media. Photographs and videos are little snippets of some of your best memories. Even though I say this, do not try to capture “Kodak Perfect Moments”. What I mean is, KPMs are pictures that aren’t really real; you’re forcing it. It’s like trying to stage a scene to absolute perfection so that you can put it in your scrapbook, or say that you’ve really been there.

I had the privilege of taking some pictures for Josh and Lauren’s 1 year anniversary on the Prince’s roof deck that overlooks the city. Even though Lauren told us that a building had been erected in front of their house so as to obstruct their view, the sight of each rooftop bathed in the evening light and the sounds of the city playing the parts of chirping crickets in the woods was peaceful. Downside: it was freezing. Blanche and I were wearing large coats, but our friends were “man-ing up and roughing it”. They danced around on the roof a little, warmly embracing each other and not only because there was a heightened risk of hypothermia.

Everything from that point on was seen through a sleepy, food-induced haze. We played Clue, watched two episodes of Lie to Me (interesting show, note to self: a more serious version of Psych and Monk), and finished by watching Leap Year. Great movie.

The night ended with Lauren giving us gifts that she had bought in Guatemala on her mission’s trip. I do hope that she and Josh will get married. A little double date like that gets me excited for the times where we can take road trips with friends.

You have lots of adventures with us yet, Josh and Lauren.