Charm Citizen

This is an excerpt from an old essay I wrote in 2013 about moving to my new neighborhood, Locust Point, in Baltimore City….

The McHenry Point neighborhood was bordered by brush, weeds and wildflowers of the same genus and species that I used to play with as a child. Loren would be able to pick Queen Annes’ Lace, Goldenrod, buttercups, wild violets and clovers and others I didn’t have a name for, just as I had. I felt that I had done something so right for my daughter. I was amazing how much my upbringing in Fallston would differ from Loren’s as far as a physical environment yet I strove to make it as similar as possible. Perhaps what attracted us the most about the McHenry Pointe house was the narrow green strip behind the house, which was located in the last row of houses  in the community, referred to by the community association as “the acre” and the thicket that abutted the railroad tracks and neighboring industrial property. People used this area as a place to walk their dogs and let their children run around. The brush that grew up against the train tracks, many of them long abandoned while others were quite active lines, gave a natural feel to the community not found in other parts of South Baltimore. For someone who had lived in Baltimors City for a long time, the green space and wild brush at the community’s edge provided quite a lure for a person accustomed to looking at brick buildings and obstructed views from their small windows. We could see the tree tops peeking from atop the brick fence bordering Fort McHenry and Orpheous, the large statue of the naked mythological god that sits on the grounds at the Fort. 

The new house was flooded with light from the large ample windows and unobstructed sky. Our cat, Moo Shu loved to roll around in the dusty beams that streamed in. Plumes of smoke from nearby smoke stacks could be seen bellowing from the tall cylinders. At night time, these smoke stacks from the power plant would blink red lights in the distance forming a skeleton shape of industry. 

The first week or so that we lived in the new house, all I could say was “I am so happy here, I am so happy here” over and over again. The green space out the back window and the quiet surroundings were a stark contrast to busy, noisy, dirty Randall Street. 

Once we started to settle in, I began to explore the neighborhood and its odd mix of old and new construction, and industrial uses and residential uses. It seemed that almost everywhere industry collided with residential homes. The local park contained a slice of urban splendor. The park contained old decaying outbuildings and fountains from the early 20th century that were slowly crumbling with neglect but instead of looking blighted, they almost gave off a feeling of abandoned temples or ruins in Italy or ancient Greece.