Thanks for more good food for thought, readers. A diverse array of writing brought a diverse cluster of smart comments this past week.
On Friday, Michael Yockel’s post, “NYTimes Stamps O’Malley 2016 Presidential Contender,”
saw thumbs point up and down, with Morris 701 posting on the site, “Is this an example of the Peter Principle? Really…President? I don’t think he could survive that close up…what are his accomplishments?” Courtney Gilbert Middleton put it more simply on our Facebook page, “Barf.” But Barbara Wilgus and Alisha George gave the notion a “like.”
Marion Winik’s latest, “I Believe, Hon: An Ode to Exit 9A,” which describes her thorny journey from Pennsylvania until she finally crowned Baltimore the hometown of her heart, tugged at local and out-of-state readers’ emotions and invited vicarious I-Love-Baltimore praise.
“Hi Marion,” wrote Laura Hirschfield, “Thanks for the memories! I grew up in Roland Park, double parked at Eddie’s, scraped up our old Buick station wagon in the post office parking garage, walked to that library and worked at Morgan and Millard’s (now Petit Louis). Now I live in Austin and get off at the Bee Caves Rd exit! LOL! I totally agree about the exit sign. Even now, 26 years after I moved away, that Cold Spring Lane sign still gives me a happy jolt of ‘home’!”
Meanwhile, Jen cooed, “Great and insightful, as always. Thanks for making me want to stay! I’ve been in some phase of ‘leaving’ Baltimore for more than five years. But sometimes, like you said, what you need is right under your nose.”
Betsy Boyd’s short report, “Police Presence Persists in Roland Park,” said thanks to the local officer who stood watch over the Petit Louis intersection several chilly nights in a row. (Susan Dunn had first shared the holdup crime scoop.)
“MMW” wrote, in reference to both stories, “I know it isn’t the best tactic when faced with a gun threat, but I’m lovin’ that one of the gals refused to give up her purse. Not to be too glib about it, but when faced with the concept of having to rebuild a stolen purse and (worse still) dealing with getting a new license at the DMV, it is arguably worth the risk.”
Added “ACS,” “Hoping the Petit Louis kitchen is keeping the officers fed with a steady supply of their famous frites! Merci, Baltimore P.D.!”
“[Here],” a short story by Michael Kimball, sees through the eyes of a boy who suffers abuse at school until he learns to stand up for himself in a most inventive manner — the piece was widely read, with Julie Gengo noting “What a brilliant story. I love this! You have such a great sense of life. Thank you for putting it out there.”
“The Boys and Girls We’ll Always Be,” a Lit Cafe entry featuring two of Leslie Miller’s saucy soon-to-be-published poems, garnered this compliment from “Stoop”: “That Jimmy’s naughty. Easy to like these two poems. Great rhythms.”
And Charm City Cook Amy Langrehr’s post, “The Source,” a celebration of the expert support she receives with “adult-beverage” selection at the Wine Source in Hampden, brought additional applause for the wise wine and spirits staff.
“He has rarely missed with us, that’s for sure! I believe that the Wine Source in general and Ian in particular has been one of the foundations of my happy marriage. Nicely written, but I was sorta hoping you’d share the name of the box wine you like, cause I’m ready for a change,” wrote MMW.
Not missing a beat, Charm City Cook typed back, “MMW, I’ve enjoyed Yellow+Blue Malbec and Le Petite Frog Picpoul de Pinet is also great (especially with shellfish!).”
Now we know!
