« March 2007 | Main | May 2007 »
For those interested in the fine art of shot putting, here are some choice videos available on the Internet. Obviously, others have the same fascination and respect that I have for this sport and the he-men, like Parry O'Brien, who advanced and refined the form and sent the 16-pound ball further and further into space.
Classic film of O'Brien's Glide
Brian Oldfield, accompanied by Lynyrd Skynyrd
The Top Ten, accompanied by AC/DC
The gun-obssessed hate it when we throw the lack of gun control -- and the massive amount of unnecessary guns -- in their faces after another mass shooting, this time the one in Virginia. The gun-obssessed are lashing back at anyone, including this columnist, who dares raise the issue of the number of handguns in the country and the uneven regulation of them. Make sure you read the news reports from the Virginia medical examiner. While there was probably no way to stop the VT gunman, or anyone that deranged, from stepping into a building with concealed Glocks and starting a killing spree, there's no way (sort of a suicide bombing) for him to kill that many people that quickly without the firepower he possessed.
One e-mailer believes I have a duty to point this out in a future column:
According to the most recent annual statistics from the Centers for Disease Control, there were 11,500 homicides committed by perpetrators using guns. There were 17,000 deaths committed by perpetrators using vehicles after consuming alcohol. Your chances of being killed by a drunk driver are much higher than being killed by a perp with a gun.
I get a lot of requests for this information from ex-offenders, guys recently out of jail -- or their moms or girlsfriends -- so here's a bit more of it. This includes a list of agencies that work with ex-cons, to help them find jobs and stay off the street and out of trouble. The second part is a list of "hot jobs" for April from the Mayor's Office of Employment Development:
The Re-Entry Center @ Northwest One-Stop Career Center 2401 Liberty Heights Ave. Mondawmin Mall - Suite 302 Baltimore, MD 21215 Contact: Felix Mata, Project Director at 410-523-1060
Goodwill Industries of the Chesapeake SEETTS Program, or Project Bridge 222 E. Redwood Street Baltimore, MD, 21202 Contact: Chip Reis at 410-837-1800, ext. 130 http://www.goodwillches.org
STRIVE Baltimore Job readiness and placement – 3 week program Contact: Glynnis Gladden or Joe Jones at 410-367-5691 http://www.strivebaltimore.com/program.htm
Positive Directions (for men and women) /Alternative Directions (for women) Housing, Employment, Education and other needs Positive Directions provides Power/Excel training 2505 N. Charles Street Baltimore, MD 21218 Maryland New Directions – Help for Women Job placement and housing needs for ex-offender women 611 Park Avenue Baltimore, MD 21201 Contact: 410-230-0630 http://www.mdnewdirections.org/mnd/
The Caroline Center - For women in recovery or transition 900 Somerset Street Baltimore, MD 21202 Contact: Sister Patricia at 410-563-1303 http://www.caroline-center.org/cchome.html Moveable Feast Culinary Training Program St. Bernadette's Catholic parish Wilkens Avenue and Cathereen Street Southwest Baltimore Contact: Vince Williams or Vic Basile, 410-327-3420 Ext. 26
For a more detailed description of each job listed, or for additional job listings, visit: www.mwejobs.com. Contact one of the Career Centers listed at the end of the Hot Jobs to apply. All applicants must be enrolled in the Maryland Workforce Exchange.
· Asbestos Workers/ Job Order Number MD0524895
Working on a demolition site with lead abatement and asbestos removal.
Qualifications:
Prefer individuals with experience in asbestos, lead, or mold removal or OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 certification.
Contact Information: Fax resume to D. Holland at 410-396-4063
_________________________________
· Baker/ 3 positions/ Job order Number MD0456886
Responsible to make various cakes, cookies, and breads.
Qualifications:
You must have at least two years of experience minimum as a baker.
Contact Information: Fax resume to: D. Holland at 410-396-4063
________________________________
· Baltimore City Urban Park Rangers (Seasonal) /MD0328500/ 20 Positions / Job order number MD
Work in large and small Urban Parks in Baltimore City to include Carroll, Druid Hill, Gwynns Falls, Leakin, Herring Run, Clifton and Patterson Park. Will patrol trails and parks; educate the public about enforcing park rules, provide orientation to ,parks provide basic visitor services, educate the public about the parks system’s historical and ecological value, community outreach activities, and perform supervisory duties. Salary range: $10.00 to $17.00 per hour. Uniforms are provided.
Qualifications:
18 years of age with reliable transportation, valid noncommercial Class C license is preferred but not required; Some college preferred but will consider experience, special skills and abilities. Must be able to work evenings and weekends and must be willing to work during normal seasonal weather conditions; Candidates should have some experience working in an outdoor environment and be comfortable working with and around plants and animals; must be in excellent physical condition and comfortable with mountain bike and walking Baltimore City Parks. Must be able to lift 75 pounds; must possess excellent oral and written communication skills to deal with the public in a courteous manner. Uniforms provided and you must be willing to wear and maintain the uniform in a professional manner. Drug and alcohol testing, criminal background check and ability to pass a physical is required.
Contact Information: Please call Tiera Dorsey at 410-767-2169 for a prescreening appointment.
________________________________________
· Bartenders, Banquet Servers/ 6 positions/ Job Order Number MD7904583
Must be very customer friendly and have proper attire.
Qualifications:
1-2 years experience required - ability to work evenings and weekends preferably.
Contact Information:
Fax resume to Bill Carnes@410-523-0970.
______________________________________________
· CDL Drivers/10 positions/Job Order Number MD0635559, Full-time/part time positions available
Qualifications: Must possess a CDL Drivers license for State of Maryland for 3 years, High School diploma or GED required. Must be physically able to perform job duties and able to lift 60 pounds. You must be able to pass a criminal investigation. You can have no more than 3 moving violations in the last 3 years. Salary $14.00/hourly
Contact Information: Please fax resume to Deborah Holland at (410) 396-4063
___________________
· Caregiver/CMA, CNA with Medical Certification/Job Order Number MD 0717761
Qualifications: Must have current nursing assistant license, MD drivers license and able to pass physical exam.
Contact Information: Please fax resume to Deborah Holland at (410) 396-4063
___________________
· Client Service Representatives / multiple positions/ Job Order Number MD0225466
Responsible for providing top quality service to internal and external customers. Will handle client and attorney requests/inquiries/problems via telephone, e-mail, fax, postal mail, and in-person by providing accurate, consistent, and responsive service meeting specific needs of each client.
Qualifications:
High school diploma or GED, some college preferred; health care or legal background preferred. Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills required to communicate with all levels of staff including co-workers and management. Must be computer literate in Microsoft Office Applications. Must be able to prioritize and organize work to meet strict time frames. Must possess the ability to manage a high volume of incoming calls and to return calls in a timely and professional manner. Must be able to lift 20 pounds. Salary: $28-$33K based upon experience.
Contact Information:
Fax resume to Bill Carnes@410-523-0970.
________________________________________________
· Collector / multiple positions/ Job Order Number MD0279174
To negotiate payment arrangements with debtors on third party accounts.
Qualifications:
High school diploma or GED with previous collection experience preferred. Willing to train the right candidates. Excellent interpersonal, written and oral communication skills. Must be computer literate, able to prioritize and organize work in a multi-tasked environment. Must be able to work 3 days and 2 evenings, Monday through Friday, and a minimum of 2 Saturdays per month. Motivated, driven and goal-oriented personality a MUST! Must be able to lift 20 pounds. Salary: $10-$15 per hour + commissions. Base salary is commensurate with experience.
Contact Information:
Fax resume to Bill Carnes@410-523-0970.
________________________________
· Collision Repair Technician/ 1 Position/ Job Order Number MD0504828
Frame and unibody repairs on customers’ vehicles including welding, metal finishing.
Qualifications:
Prefer candidates having their own tools. 4-5 years automotive experience and a high school diploma required. ASE (Automotive Service Excellence Certification) preferred.
Contact Information: E-mail resumes to lmcneil@oedworks.com
________________________________
· Construction Jobs
If you have at least one year of experience in the construction trades, local companies want you. Many construction companies seek general laborers, carpenters, bricklayers, pipe fitters, electricians, operating engineers, construction equipment operators, painters, welders, roofers, drywall/ceiling installers, brick masons, & other skilled workers. Send resumes only. If you need a resume, visit one of the One Stop Career Centers.
Contact Information:
E-mail your resume to bmore@oedworks.com or fax your resume to Construction jobs at 410-361-9648
· Demolition Worker/ 15 positions/ Job Order Number MD0061021
You will be working on a demolition site with asbestos and lead abatement removal.
Qualifications:
Prefer experience working with lead, asbestos and mold, also experience possessing OSHA 10 and OSHA 30 certifications.
Contact Information: Fax resume to D. Holland at 410-396-4063
___________________________________
· Development Director / 1 position / MD0409593
A community-based AIDS organization seeks a seasoned Development Director to provide leadership and oversight to the acquisition, administration and reporting of private financial contributions. Candidate must be able to implement agency-wide fundraising component to include individual, corporate and foundation funders. Director will develop proposals, match programs to opportunities and shape language and structure of program initiatives to fit funding.
Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree in public administration, business or related field; 5 – 7 years experience in senior development position with proven success record. Experience in annual giving, major gifts, donor relations, corporate and foundation relations, gifts in kind, gift planning and on-line fund raising programs required. Experience in government funding/reporting desirable. Must possess excellent oral and written communication skills.
Contact Information:
E-mail letter of interest, resume with salary history, writing sample and 3 professional references to rworen@oedworks.com
· Dump Truck Driver/ 4 positions/ Job Order Number MD4099991
Drive tri-axle dump trucks. Haul dirt, sand, and rocks. Flexible shifts including nights. Because of different locations and shifts you must have your own transportation. Salary range: $12.00 - $13.00 per hr.
Qualifications:
CDL or A License and a clean driving record required. You must have your own transportation.
Contact Information:
Please call Tiera Dorsey at 410-767-2169 for a prescreening appointment
__________________________
· Foreman - Painting / 2 Positions / Job Order Number: MD-0294399
Must be an experienced painter to manage a crew. Will run projects, manage the team, prepare daily reports, time sheets and ensure jobs are completed on time and within budget.
Qualifications:
At least 5 years painting experience – brush, roller and spraying and 2 years supervisory experience. Must possess current driver’s license and own reliable transportation to get to and from jobs. Salary will be $21 to $24 /hour based upon experience.
Contact Information:
Send resume with two references to rworen@oedworks.com
____________________________________
· Integrated Pest Management Supervisor/ 1 Position/ Job Order Number MD9086376
Prepare estimates for work and submit proposals for review. Prepare and sell personalized spray programs for clients. For complete description, please see the job order in MWE.
Qualifications:
A minimum of 5-7 years field-related work at the supervisory level. A Maryland Drivers License with less than 3 points is required. Ability to effectively communicate with Clients, Management and the workforce. Excellent written, verbal and computer skills and a working knowledge of OSHA Operating Safety standards. Complete qualifications listed in the MWE.
Contact Information:
Call Tiera Dorsey at 410-767-2169 for a prescreening appointment
_______________________________.
· Janitorial Workers / 75 positions / MD0341694
Full and part-time positions to clean Camden Yards and Ravens’ Stadium, sweep, mop and pick up trash
Qualifications:
Prior janitorial experience is preferred. Good communication and interpersonal skills are a must; must be able to follow oral and written instructions, prioritize multiple tasks and work individually as well as in a team.
Contact Information:
Fax resume to Deborah Holland 410-396-4063
__________________________________________________
· Marketing Coordinator / 1 position / MD0297118
Marketing coordinator will prospect for new clients in Baltimore, set appointments, manage accounts and work on special projects for Tailored Marketing, Inc. a boutique hybrid advertising/marketing firm located in Pittsburgh, PA. Position may lead to an account executive position.
Qualifications:
Candidate must be a team player but able to work independently and will report to the Pittsburgh, PA office. Must be a creative, proactive problem-solver to develop creative marketing solutions and be able to interact with all levels of management. Candidates must have demonstrated achievements in developing new accounts and have relationships and contacts in the Baltimore area. Prior project and account management experience required.
Contact Information:
E-mail resumes to rworen@oedworks.com detailing previous two-year sales achievements
________________
· Painters – Experienced / 3 Positions / Job Order Number: MD0268301
To work on projects to include large office and commercial contracts including public and government buildings.
Qualifications:
Must have prior experience in rolling, back-rolling, cutting in and trim of walls and ceilings. Spraying experience preferred. Salary up to $15 per hour with spraying experience. Must possess current driver’s license and own reliable transportation to get to and from jobs.
Contact Information:
Send resume with two references to rworen@oedworks.com
____________________________________
· Plumber/ 5 positions/ Job Order Number MD0677594
Install various miscellaneous mixed valves, drain shoes and other fixtures.
Qualifications:
You must have plumbing experience and license. Your own transportation is needed.
Contact Information
Fax resume to D.Holland 410-396-4063
· Therapeutic Behavioral Aides / 10 Positions / Job Order Number MD0259577
Provide one-on-one home/in school and in community supervision of developmentally delayed, emotionally disturbed or those demonstrating serious behavioral issues; coordinate behavior plans with therapists/behavioral specialists; prepare daily contact notes and will attend team meetings if required.
Qualifications:
High school graduate with 1- 3 years experience in mental health, human services or education with particular emphasis on child development. Must possess excellent verbal and written communications skills and be customer-service oriented. Must be a self-started capable of working alone and as part of a diverse team serving a diverse population in a fast-paced environment. POSITIONS ARE CONTRACTUAL, individual is responsible for paying all taxes; $10 to $14 per hour depending upon experience. Full background screen and drug screen required.
Contact Information: E-mail resume to: rworen@oedworks.com
Jobs guaranteed after successful completion of the training. Apply at any of the One Stop Career Centers today! Must meet eligibility requirements to participate ( WIA, YO, ReC)
· NURSE EXTENDER - Prepare for a great career in healthcare! $ 11.52/hr.
· DECONSTRUCTION WORKER – Earn while you learn $10.00 - $12.00/hr.
REGISTER AT ANY OF THE CENTERS BELOW:
Northwest One- Stop Eastside One-Stop Baltimore Works One-Stop
Career Center Career Center Career Center
2401 Liberty Heights Ave. 3001 E. Madison Street 1100 N. Eutaw Street
Mondawmin Mall Ste. 302 Baltimore, MD 21205 Baltimore, MD 21202
410-523-1060 410-396-9030 410-767-2148
Youth Opportunity Youth Opportunity Community Center
Community Center HEBAC
1510 W. Lafayette St. 1212 N. Wolfe Street
(Gilmor St. Entrance) Baltimore, MD 21205
410-545-6950 410-732-2661
Looking for a career, money and training?
If you like working with your hands, building and tinkering, how about four weeks of paid training at a community college + a guaranteed job at one of Baltimore’s oldest companies earning $10.00 per hour just to start? As an assembler/mechanic trainee, you will learn to read and understand blueprints and assemble parts for dredging equipment. Sound good…
If you are a Baltimore City resident with a high school diploma and did well in math, we have a great opportunity for you at Baltimore Dredges. Located southwest of the Inner Harbor, Baltimore Dredges has designed and manufactured over 1,300 dredges since 1885, and has served customers in over 70 countries. Dredging equipment is used to restore beaches, make irrigation trenches for agriculture, excavate water reservoirs and prepare navigational lanes for our harbors and ports.
For more information, contact Ms. Diggs
immediately at 410-767-2148.
In his Saturday radio address, Bush says he's directing three cabinet secretaries to get with educators, mental health experts and government officials across the nation to recommend ways to avoid a repeat of the shootings at Virginia Tech. "I have directed these officials to travel to communities across our Nation, to meet with educators, mental health experts, and state and local officials. I have asked the Secretary of Health and Human Services, Mike Leavitt, to summarize what they learn and report back to me with recommendations about how we can help to avoid such tragedies."
The President never utters the word "guns."
Fun and good conversation with Kirk, Mark and Shamrock last night at Della Rose's Avenue Tavern in White Marsh, and on the air this morning (105.7 FM). Great guys -- funny, clever, witty, topical, and they speak in complete sentences. I wish them the best at their new station.
Interesting perspective from someone who deals daily with people who have emotional/mental health problems:
I share your opinion about the nature of violence in our society today and the denial by most people of the impact of the number of sources we are exposed to on a daily basis,as well as the extreme nature of the violence in that exposure, that we take for granted. We are in some ways a blessed society for these things like the " VT Massacre" to stand out as so unusual, while much of the rest of the world experiences these life ending events on a somewhat regular basis. It is also hard for us to understand that the rest of the world cries with the same tears that we do.
I would like to share with you another side of the awareness.I am a psychologist in private practice. Since Monday morning I have seen about 40 patients in therapy. As tragic as Monday morning was, not one of my patients mentioned the incident or the deaths or the families of the dead until I did at the end of the session. Not one! In spite of the media coverage and all of its perversities, my clients were concerned about their jobs, relationships, anxieties, what others thought of them, etc. I sometimes feel that after having been a psychotherapist for as many years as I have, that I can find no more surprises. Clinically I know why there was no addressing of the tragedy, personally I am disappointed and surprised. What did we learn?
I continue to read an almost constant stream of e-mails following yesterday's column on the massacre at Virginia Tech, including several that offer as a reason for the killer's rampage -- and the violence in our culture generally -- the lack of religious faith among Americans. After reading the following letter, I found myself almost agreeing with Bill Maher that more people should give up religion and start taking drugs:
Your column was quite telling. Regrettably, I find myself "not shocked" but saddened. The news did not even make me pause for more than a few minutes. Yes, it is horrible, but sadly, too common.
What makes me even sadder is to read some opinion that just washes away all Biblical precept and proudly procalims that all victims of crime like this are now resting in peace with God. Well, the Bible does not say that at all. While I can and will not be judge and jury of any soul, it is very possible that some or many of those killed were not following Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. The Bible is clear as to what we need to do to share eternity with our Lord Jesus Christ, and the fact that some of those suddenly taken from us may not have been followers of Him is the real and most horribly sad part.
Lots of e-mail on today's column. Here's a sampling:
The article on the mass killings really spoke to me. It is so unfortunate that it is so easy for us to accept what is happening to our country, our environment, our food supply, our lives and do nothing. I feel like there should be hundreds of thousands of Americans demonstrating daily in Washington....but where are we? Even so, I think there is a change coming. I don't know how and I can't promise it will be easy, but it is inevitable. We must never give up...or give in to the apathy that surrounds us.
Amen. That is the best way I can thank you for putting into words the feelings that have been roiling around in me since Monday. Thank you for giving me the words for my sadness. I don’t usually buy the Sun, I live on the Eastern Shore. I bought it for the story about the Harriet Tubman funding, I got an extra gift. I too think of myself as an idealist, yet the crass second guessing and access to guns just boggles my mind. As if anyone with a gun, as the gun lobby promotes, could have stopped him. I just hosted young professionals from Ireland sponsored by Rotary including a policeman and an attorney. They cannot comprehend our gun culture. I don’t have a problem with goose/deer/etc. hunting, I’ve seen what happens to the environment when they are protected, yet, why is it so easy to buy a gun to hurt our brothers and sisters? As you noted, it’s almost too late. There is no more shock, it will happen again and again – bigger than the last. And why are we shocked at the loss of 32 Americans, but don’t care about the hundreds of Iraqis who die each day. Today it was reported that yesterday was the deadliest day since we sent more troops into Baghdad as part of the surge. It got less than a minute of airtime on most stations. And all we get for the soldiers who gave their lives is a body count. Those families hurt at least as much.
You've hit the nail on the head. In every sense. I'm not shocked either. And on top of being saddened by the tragedy, I'm saddened that there aren't enough brave politicians in our midst to do something about it. Like you, I have to wonder if things will ever change. Maybe when 100 people die in the next massacre. Maybe not.
I just finished reading your article in the Baltimore Sun regarding the Virginia Tech killings. My co-worker brought the article over to my desk and said read it, then tell me what you think. I told her it was as if you were in on our conversations. We have said exactly the same thing we need to get rid of the guns. We are not just coming to this conclusion, but it seems like it’s not an issue unless it is election time or until a mass group of people are shot from a quiet area. Please don’t misunderstand me, I was devastated to hear the news on Monday. The victims and families are in my prayers, but so are the children that were shot a week or two ago in Baltimore. Again, I wanted to let you know that I read your article and you are not alone in these grim feelings. What can we do to get the guns off the streets?
You truly put to words my feelings. I was ashamed of not being "shocked" anymore. I am disgusted with the media coverage. They give the killer(s) so much air time these days,it is horrible. It will never get better until we as a country stand up and say enough is enough!! But big money and polictics will always reign, and things will be patched up, but never fixed. Anyway.. thanks for article, I still feel bad, but know I am not alone.
You really hit a nerve. Especially with those old enough to have seen better, saner and happier days. Too bad for the person responsible for so many thousands of killings in Iraq to address the bereaved at Virginia Tech.
Unfortunately, for America, your evaluation in today's (4/19) Sun paper is accurate. How can we express true optimism about the future to our children / grand children when this national plague of violence - fostered, primarily by HAND GUNS - is allowed to go unabated?!?! Use your "power of the pen" to engender and spread real outrage and reaction. One legislative "reaction" which might be considered and enacted to stem this virulent river, is an out-right all hand-guns abolishment in the public sector. This wouldn't necessarily negatively impact the "American Sportsman / Hunter" as he could still ply his hobby, with a RIFLE. Criminals and / or the criminally insane obviously cannot easily conceal a rifle in public among us, yet a hand gun, they can. The kids at Virginia Tech may have been alerted beforehand upon seeing a rifle and would have gotten out of harms way long before Cho cornered them. Legislation of this sort could have the potential to: 1. make our streets / society safer by not allowing perpetrators of crime the advantage of surprise, and with strong enough - real teeth legislation - anyone possessing a hand gun, outside their home might receive immediate / no questions asked incarceration thereby aiding law enforcement officials; 2. help to remove the stigma of the United States' being one of the most violent "civilized" countries in the world; 3. keep in-place the general intent of the 2nd Amendment for "hunters"; and, 4. most importantly, give our children / grand-children hope and renewed optimism while living in less fear. For everyone's sake, challenge Maryland's elected officials about this matter with your pen and see what their reaction to this crisis is. It would certainly seem to be "for the greater good" to ALL concerned!
The fact is there IS no way to legislate against this kind of atrocity. This miscreant, along with all of the others intent on criminal activity, will get their weaponry. This culture has regressed. Blacksburg was just another chapter. The real problem runs to the heart of the family structure (lack thereof)---a latch-key adolescent population demographic, left to their own designs by parents who are more interested in keeping up with the Joneses than keeping up with their parental responsibilities. Enter the liberal media (Hollywood is its capital), abusive of free speech under the guise of preserving it, exposing (and desensitizing) all to all manner of violence. Are we really surprised at what happened at Va. Tech? I believe it was Franklin who said: "We give you a republic, if you can keep it."
I too feel the same way. I wish I could have been more shocked and completely effected by the shooting. I am saddened by this even but regretfully not shocked. I just wanted to thank you for writing the article and allowed me to not feel alone in my views.
Reminder to set your clocks: Opening Day at Pimlico: Thursday, April 19. Free admission. Free racing program. Free at last! Free at last! The opening Saturday of the spring stand will include six added money races, a Pimlico T-shirt to the first 4,000 fans, and the headline event on the card will be the $125,000 Federico Tesio Stakes for 3-year-olds, which will be televised on ESPN. But don't let that stop you. Don't stay home and watch on TV. Get out and enjoy the races.
This is a shame -- the Martin Mars seaplane won't be coming back to Middle River, after all. I wrote a column about this a few months ago.
The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum has apparently lost the bidding over the historic Martin Mars to Coulson Aircrane, Inc., a helicopter logging firm in British Columbia. The Museum had hoped to bring the aircraft back home to Middle River, Maryland, where the planes were manufactured between 1941 and 1945 at the Glenn L. Martin Company. Public statements from TimberWest, Coulson, the City of Port Alberni, and the local Canadian newspapers, indicate Coulson acquired the entire Flying Tankers operation – both aircraft, support equipment, employees, and the lease on the Sproat Lake site. The Mars flying boats will continue to provide fire suppression as water-bombers from their traditional base at Sproat Lake. Unless a snag develops, the deal should be signed within one month.
The Museum has not yet received information from the seller. The Museum is still interested in acquiring a Mars, and will continue to pursue acquisition of one of the aircraft for preservation and exhibit at Middle River. Once the sale formally closes, the Museum, working with its bid partner the British Columbia Aviation Council, will transition to planning and hopefully be able to begin discussions with Coulson about their plans for the eventual retirement of the airplanes. The purchase by Coulson, an experienced local firm, includes acquisition of the experienced and capable Flying Tanker crews, increasing the potential for a future opportunity for Maryland to acquire a Mars. The tremendously supportive response from the Baltimore County and Maryland communities enabled the Museum to submit a credible bid. The Museum’s directors sincerely appreciate the assistance of those involved and the contributions from all donors, large and small. The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum received superb publicity, acquired many new supporters and contacts, learned much from the effort, and apart from the disappointing outcome, came out of the project stronger than it went in. Once final confirmation and details of the sale are known, the museum will provide an update and details of future plans. For more information visit the Museum web site at: http://www.marylandaviationmuseum.org
Below are some good links that provide more info -- and some video -- on the subject. By the way, in one test run, this plane stayed airborne 36 hours carrying no payload. It had gobs of endurance power. On an early operation in 1943, a Mars, in the hands of a commander and crew of 16, took off from Patuxent River with 13,000 pounds of cargo and delivered it to Natal, Brazil, in a nonstop flight covering 4,375 miles in 28 hours 25 minutes. Historian Jack Breihan finds its regular runs from San Francisco to Hawaii during the war years most impressive. Yes, Mars Estates and the Mars supermarkets are named for this baby. I hope the Martin museum succeeds in eventually bringing one home. The flight from Vancouver to Middle River ought to be exciting. They'll have to take a "lake route" because, should the Mars need to make a landing on its way back to Baltimore, it can only land on wet stuff. Bring the Mighty Mars Back Home Martin Maryland Aviation Museum Martin Mars as 'Water Bombers'
The late Jerry Wachter, to the far left, was the Orioles photographer for 36 years, and, as you might imagine, he took a lot of shots of Cal Ripken Jr. during that time. It was his dream to publish the best of them in a book as Cal entered the Hall of Fame. Jerry, an accomplished sports photographer with 32 SI covers to his credit, died in November 2005 of a form of cancer called Merkel cell carcinoma. His photographer-son, Scott (pictured with his dad in the Jim Burger photograph to the left), took up the book project, and the result is a nice, 80-page hardcover collection of candid and action photos from Cal's long Baltimore career, a few months ahead of Cal's induction. 
The book is simply entitled Cal Ripken Jr., the photos, and benefits from the sale go to the JW Fund, which supports Merkel cell awareness. You can order it on-line through www.ripkenbook.com
One of 32 Jerry Wachter SI covers. The rest can be found at www.jwfund.org
I can easily predict what the gun fanatics will be saying today: If the professors and teachers had guns, this wouldn't have happened. If America's universities were not so heavily influenced by liberal intellectuals, this would never happen; students would have been armed and able to defend themselves. It's all so predictable -- the killings, the rhetoric, the gun idolatry -- all so tragically predictable. Get used to it, if you're not already. This stuff is never going to stop. The gun lobby has won. There is a monsoon of anger and violent behavior raging through the ever-growing populace, too many guns to put back in the bottle, and no sign of any effort to do anything about it. This isn't even worth debating anymore. The gun-mad have won. Now, we just live (or die) with the consequences.
Wow. The e-mail and blog comments are off the charts on the Sanjaya phenomenon. Check out my earlier post and what readers (and American Idol viewers) have to say. I've never seen one, but this has all the marks of a pop-culture rebellion, or maybe it proves that people are SIS: Sick of Simon!
I indulge the guilty pleasure of listening to the Don & Mike show on 105.7 FM in Baltimore. I have done this for years, in five- or maybe 10-minute clips. Don & Mike are often very amusing, but Don, in particular, is often so crass I have to move down the dial or shut the radio off when my kids get in the van. It's a shame, really. Listen to them long enough and you get the sense of two bright guys who feel a need to keep hip by keeping crude. These guys can be so funny without all of Don's profrane shorthand and scatological observations; I wish they'd just grow up and clean up. I know it's not meant to be "family radio," but Don and Mike walk close enough to it most of the time that you get sucked into listening and, then, bam, it's back to the toilet again. Too bad. I think Don & Mike underestimate their potential to influence people with their wit and cultural/social insights.
I tuned in last week to hear what they had to say about the Imus controversy and was impressed with their call for more public discussion about race and racism. Mike was pessimistic that the Imus flap would ever be anything more than that -- a week-long burp of news, and then forgotten about. Don had the great idea of doing a simulcast with a sister radio station on the subject of race and racism. The simulcast would be with a radio station geared toward an African-American audience. I thought this idea had a lot of promise, and I hope they pursue it. I hope an urban station takes them up on the offer.
I had the same idea several years ago, after Larry Young, an African-American state senator from Baltimore (now a radio host), had been ousted from the General Assembly because of ethical trangressions. The Young controvery sparked a lot of radio talk about race and racism in Baltimore, and so here's what I proposed in the midst of all that. This is an excerpt from a column of Jan. 19, 1998:
Before we move on to other business, I'd like to propose something that might give the Larry Young episode some socially redeeming value - so that it doesn't go on the books as another racially divisive controversy, a squall of news and debate that just left everyone feeling bad.
The idea comes out of radio flipping. I've been, more than usual, flipping between talk radio stations over the past few weeks, hearing what hosts and callers have to say about the Young drama on WBAL-AM, WEAA-FM, WOLB-AM, WCBM-AM and, at times, WJHU-FM.
The contrast in rhetoric on WBAL and WOLB was at its most stark - like two rivers flowing parallel and never meeting. Two rivers right through Baltimore.
To pander to their mostly urban African-American listeners and to satisfy political allegiances - is there a Baltimore Mitchell who doesn't get air time on WOLB? - the hosts at 1010 AM continued the defense of LY and in the bitterest terms. Their callers, too, felt LY's expulsion from the Senate was too harsh, the result of a mainstream, white media political crusade. If a caller who disagreed managed to get on the air and condemn Young, I didn't hear it.
Over at WBAL, eight clicks up the AM dial, the mostly white suburban callers expressed approval of the Senate's vote to expel Young, and some seemed to gloat about it. Most said they were angry that race had been injected into this matter right from the moment in December when Young first responded to The Sun stories about the mingling of his private and public business. I didn't hear every minute of the discussions - as I said, I was flipping - but no one seemed interested in exploring why those who rallied to the support of Larry Young did so in racial terms.
And granted, that was a hard thing for whites to understand in this case - why many African-Americans saw racism where the rest of us only saw a politician trying to get over. We shake our heads and sigh - it does get exhausting, doesn't it? - but how many of us ever take the next step and ask the question: Why?
I'll make a hunch: Not many.
Either we're not interested, or think we know the answers, or find the whole thing awkward. We're comfortable with our assumptions and resist ideas that make us uncomfortable.
But, as an African-American caller to Ron Smith's show on WBAL pointed out late Friday afternoon, if we don't do something about race relations in this nation, we're headed for full Balkanization, if we aren't there already. No way around it - race is the most divisive issue in our culture.
So I had this idea that people on WBAL should listen and talk to callers on WOLB, and callers to WOLB should listen and talk to callers on WBAL. And the hosts of those respective stations should listen and talk to each other, too. The two rivers should have a confluence, a linkup and simulcast on both stations over several hours.
Of course, I know there are problems with such a concept.
First of all, Smith isn't going to like this because it probably sounds to him like Bill Clinton's call for a dialogue on race. Some will say that commercial talk radio is not the place for such a thing because each station has its own marketing-programming agenda, and there's no way to get around that. When Cathy Hughes went on her rants last week, she was just doing it for better ratings; she's not going to entertain the white perspective on anything.
Others will say that Ron Smith's listeners don't want to hear the black perspective on things; that's why they listen to Ron Smith each weekday.
But, we can come up with some rules - no name-calling, no shouting, for starters. If the hosts don't want to take part, maybe someone like Kweisi Mfume would agree to be host for the simulcasts, taking calls through each station's switchboard, linking people from White Hall to Mosher Street.
I think the gulf between WOLB and WBAL is the place to build this electronic bridge. The biggest audience and the most important audience would get to hear this discussion. Produced smartly and executed with some class, it could become a popular program - blacks and whites talking to each other, listening to each other, maybe even understanding each other.
Of course, this never happened. But I hope Don and Mike get it done. It would be a great public service, and a way for the Don & Mike to distinguish themselves, maybe even set a new tone for their future broadcasts: We're those very funny guys who still make you laugh, but we also make you think; and now your kids can listen, too.
The Time cover essay on Imus doesn't quite get at the issue of the level of quality in daily public discourse. It focuses too much on celebrated celebrity outbursts -- Mel Gibson, Michael Richards, et. al -- and not enough on the et. al most relevant to Imus's demise: Daily talk radio. The words that brought Imus down, and the tenor of the conversation in which they were uttered, were not so different from what is heard every day across the fruited plain. Sneering ridicule, the ad hominem attack, veiled bigotry, anti-intellectualism, homophobia, hyperbole, hurtful innuendo, misogyny, inappropriate sexual references -- you can find examples of this daily somewhere among the local and syndicated AM radio talkers, or among the morning zoo-style shock jocks who work for syndicates or local FM stations. Howard Stern is now out in the ionosphere of satellite radio, but for years his crude humor could be heard each weekday morning on AM and FM stations across the country. Michael Savage, one of the most hateful and disturbing voices on talk radio, was recently given TALKERS Magazine's Freedom of Speech Award.
As I travel across the country, this is what I hear from modern broadcasters, most of whom are not journalists and have no appreciation for informed opinion: Shut up! You're full of crap! Immigrants are destroying America! Handguns prevent more crime than they cause! Global warming is a hoax! The government is evil, and not even a necessary one. Women in the Army have diminished our might! Blacks complain too much. School teachers are on the whole slackers, and the public schools are a waste of tax dollars. Cities are awful places. Mental illness is a myth. The free market is the answer to everything, and if anyone's poor in America these days it's their own fault.
These ideas, or some version of them, can be heard at some point during the talk show week anywhere in America. There are a few notable exceptions, but for the most part there is no effort at dialog or enriching debate. You are more likely to hear a harangue than a true meeting of minds. It's such a shame, really, a grand opportunity squandered daily by radio stations across the land. Radio could be such a powerful force in building consensus, but instead the managers prefer the divisive and the sensational to the civil and informed.
I'll reiterate something from an earlier post: The actual amount of news and public-interest programming has been reduced to make room for more talk, more opinion and more antics. This is how radio talk has been structured since the early 1990s -- desperately trying to remain hip and relevant, narrow-casting to the white male demographic and serving up mostly conservative, caustic, anti-everything-but-guns discourse that inflames instead of informs, and makes its listeners comfortable with their prejudices. There's little interest in the female listener/viewer, nor in minorities. No wonder Imus thought he could get away with yet another sneering, bigoted wisecrack.
Big Eddie: Build that new arena in Canton, and give us professional hockey in the process. Please. We are starving for at least an ECHL team here. Currently, if we wanna see hockey, our choices are the Caps -- yikes! $40 for the nose-bleed seats! -- the Bears (in Hershey, Pa.), the Phantoms (in Philly), or Towson Tigers at Mount Pleasant (UMBC, Loyola, USNA and Hopkins also have college teams), or high school and local youth games. Please, if you build it, we will come.
Check out an earlier blog post on this and reader comments.
More later.
Regarding Sanjaya, the central figure in this season's American Idol: I see where two of the three judges declared that he has "It." (Can you guess which judge did not agree?) "It" is a layer of charm and sex appeal over and above talent. An "It" eats the TV camera alive and comes crashing into your home. An "It" leaps off the news pages. An "It" creates a sensation with a sudden breakthrough into white-hot celebrity, either lasting or ephemeral. Sanjaya has "It," at least while "It" lasts.
But he doesn't have duende.
I can't go there with this kid. There is a distinction between "It" and "duende." In fact, I would said "It" is the kitsch version of "duende."
Duende is one of my favorite words and concepts.
About the word, please allow me to pull from some earlier columns so that you might better understand. Duende is not a word to be used casually and, from what I have seen in the American press over the years, it is not - and probably because it takes too much explaining each time.
Let me try again.
Duende is a potent elixir of charisma, passion, panache, flair, chemistry, soul, style, grace under pressure and star quality. Duende, wrote the late jazz critic George Frazier, "is heightened panache, or overpowering presence ... that certain something."
We look for it in the arts and in sports because duende is a living thing, a spirit that dances in the imagination and ignites the soul.
Duende is what separates talent from genius. It is probably what lived in Mozart. Frazier heard duende in the horn of Miles Davis. A sports fan, Frazier once put it this way: "[Duende] was what Ted Williams had even when striking out, but Stan Musial lacked when hitting a home run."
It is what Muhammad Ali had even in defeat.
We are in the realm of the metaphysical, friends.
While the literal Spanish definition of duende is "hobgoblin" or "ghost," the Spanish expression tener duende means "to have what it takes." Federico Garcia Lorca, the Spanish poet and author of Lament for the Death of a Bullfighter, called duende the "energetic instinct" that no flamenco dancer or matador could be without.
"To help us seek the duende there are neither maps nor discipline," Garcia Lorca wrote. "All one knows is that it burns the blood like powdered glass, that it exhausts, that it rejects all the sweet geometry one has learned, that it breaks with all styles."
As I said, duende ain't "It."
Baltimore -- you have an indoor football team. And they have a game tomorrow night at the Firmarena (First Mariner Arena.) I just got off the phone with Marques Ogden, Jonathan's brother; he's a line coach with the B-Birds now. They're playing the Montgomery (Alabama) Bears Saturday at 7:05 p.m., the Birds still looking for their first win. I'm going. This we got to see. The Blackbirds have been outscored 303-67 in their five defeats. It's all up from here! (And if the main event isn't so hot, there's always the halftime show: "The Blackbirds will be hosting a mini-indoor youth football game at halftime, as the Pasadena Chargers take to the turf.")
See you there!
Excuse me. I just parachuted into American Idol. I haven't been paying attention for, like, forever. And now I'm catching up. I checked out this Sanjaya kid. (And not because Howard Stern said so.)
Help me out: People think Sanjaya is awful? He's still in the hunt to win, but he shouldn't be? He's going to bring down Idol? People are appalled? I don't get that. This country made Barry Manilow a multimillionaire. Justin Timberlake is a huge star here, and apparently a lot of people think pink has a great voice. Michael Bolton still has a music career, doesn't he? A lot of us like great singers and musicians, but an even larger segment of America is quite content with great entertainers.
So give me a break. This kid has a lot of sex appeal and a Hollywood smile. He's fresh, he's naive, and, as Simon said the other night, he's not horrible. (Before I go on, I have to say this: I reviewed some of his past performances on YouTube, and I think American Popular Song may not be Sanjaya's best genre. I mean, anyone who doesn't think Irving Berlin isn't better off dead could not have heard Sanjaya sing, "Dancing Cheek to Cheek.")
But, over all . . . . this kid's got some certain something. (Tony Bennett seems to think so.)
Hey, if I'm a producer, I'm looking at this Sanjaya thing and I'm saying: The young teens and preteens must love this kid. He'll sell 10 million singles and 20 million posters. Howard Stern and other radio hosts across the land, including some here in Baltimore, have been pushing Sanjaya as a joke, to skew the vote and sabotage Idol. But the more they do this, the better Sanjaya seems to perform. He's a happening. He's made Idol interesting again. I may even start watching.
Congratulations to the Duke lacrosse players on having not raped a
stripper. Incidentally, this whole situation can be avoided in the
future by not hiring a stripper.
He was the greatest, really. I was a big fan for a long time. I met him way back in college, when he visited our creative writing seminar. He lived nearby at the time, and his daughter, Edie, was married to Geraldo Rivera, who also lectured at the university. Geraldo arrived by motorcycle with Vonnegut's daughter clinging to him. I believe Geraldo got a ticket for riding the wrong way down a one-way university boulevard. He and Edie were divorced in 1975. She is an accomplished artist.
Kurt Vonnegut wrote 14 novels, three short story collections, five plays and five works of non-fiction. His last book, A Man Without a Country, was a collection of short essays published in 2005, and has proved to be a wonderful book to open now and then for a little jolt of Vonnegut. I did so this morning, and landed on the page in which he quotes the wisest man he ever knew, a Romanian-born graphics artist named Saul Steinberg.
"Saul," Vonnegut asks Steinberg, "I am a novelist, and many of my friends are novelists and good ones, but when we talk I keep feeling we are in two very different businesses. What makes me feel that way?"
Six seconds -- the precise amount of time that Steinberg needed to form each of his many trenchant thoughts -- went by, then he gave his answer: "It's very simple. There are two sorts of artists, one not being in the least superior to the other. But one responds to the history of his or her art so far, and the other responds to life itself."
I am sure Vonnegut was in this latter category, and in my opinion a superior being. Now he's gone after a long life, and so it goes.
In 1996, Don Imus appeared at the annual Radio & Television Correspondents Dinner in Washington. With President and Hillary Clinton seated to his right, Imus joked about investigations of the first lady and the president's womanizing. ("The president was at Camden Yards doing play-by-play on the radio. Bobby Bonilla hit a double; we all heard the president in his obvious excitement holler, 'Go, baby!' I bet that's not the first time he's said that.") He suggested that Dan Rather had thoughts of shooting Connie Chung and that ABC's Peter Jennings got oral sex while anchoring the news. Imus got more groans than laughs. Many dinner guests were appalled, as if they'd never heard his shock shtick before, which was amazing in light of the fact that the I-man, whose New York-based morning show was simulcast on MSNBC -- so TV viewers could watch him chew gum -- had been debasing public discourse in America for a long time. Since his days on WNBC-AM, when he asked female callers to undress and sit on their radios, Imus has entertained millions with crude and sophomoric comedy.
I've never understood the appeal. The man mumbles, and he's seldom funny. Crude, yes. Outrageous, I suppose. But funny not much.
What ultimately brought the act down was what apparently made it successful: bringing shock-jock sensibilities to supposedly serious radio/TV talk. Imus wanted to be old Imus, forever trying to stay hip by staying crude and juvenile, and he wanted to be new Imus, posing as a serious interviewer asking questions of important newsmakers and respected journalists. Instead of interviewing strippers and transvestites, Imus interviewed reporters, politicians, authors, even the president. Many guests put up with the discomfort of being associated with the show -- and its insulting host -- in order to sell books and sell themselves.
I listened. I wasn't interested. I found the morning papers much more edifying and useful. And I didn't understand why any credible journalist felt a need to go on this show. (OK, maybe you put up with it for a while, just to say you did, but ultimately, a guy has to ask himself: 'Why am I associating myself with this delinquent?")
When NBC News division gave Imus this gig, many thought it daring and cutting-egde. I thought it was a shame. I'm all for entertainment, and even some infotainment. I appreciate informed, quick-witted interviewers. But a shock-jock in morning drive, on a news-oriented public affairs cable channel?
Imus represented the nervousness of the modern broadcast industry -- filled with fears that it has been losing important audience, specifically the white male with disposal personal income and professional standing (in a large company or small business) to make the major purchases advertisers desire. The actual amount of news and public-interest programming has been reduced to make room for more talk, more opinion and more antics. This is how radio/TV talk has been structured since the early 1990s -- desperately trying to remain hip and relevant, narrow-casting to the white male demographic and serving up mostly conservative, caustic, anti-everything-but-guns discourse that inflames instead of informs, and makes its listeners comfortable with their prejudices. There's little interest in the female listener/viewer, nor in minorities. Nothing new here. It's why Rush Limbaugh's divisive comments have been heard all across the fruited plain.
Speaking of Rush: I remember something he said about Magic Johnson years ago that was at least as bad -- if not worse -- than what Imus said about the Rutgers women. The year was 1993, and it was spring, in the time of the NBA playoffs. Magic Johnson was a commentator for the network carrying the playoffs. Limbaugh broke into an imitation, minstrel-show style, of Johnson. A kind of amazing Amos-n-Andy moment on AM radio. It was ugly, racist and mean -- but, as far as I know, none of Limbaugh's millions of listeners raised a stink about it. I assume they had a good laugh. In the years since, Limbaugh and all the Limbaugh imitators out there in radio land have been lowering the standards and effectiveness of discourse, with the full complicity of news and programming managers who long ago gave up their journalistic sensibilities and notions of public service.
Hey, you don't have to be a Hockey Head to appreciate this bit: Clark The Canadian Goalie
At the very least, you'll discover what the term, "You ole hoser" means.
Dear Readers: I love you madly, and need you, all of you -- even the ones who write the nasty e-mails and who claim they hate the Sun (even though they read it free, on-line every day). The reporters and editors of The Sun need you. Baltimore and Maryland and these United States of America need you. We need you to keep reading what you find here, either in print or on-line, and stay on top of things. Democracy dies if you do not stay informed.
Of course, there are many ways to stay informed today -- magazines, urban and suburban weeklies, TV, radio and the Internet. But you need to have some faith in what you read. You need to trust it. I have worked at The Sun since 1976, and in the newspaper business since 1973, and I need to say this: The vast majority of the people I have worked with over those years (reporters, editors and photographers) have been diligent, professional, conscientious, intelligent, well-read, well-informed, thoughtful people blessed with the energetic instinct to know more, to uncover problems. They are good citizens; they care about their community, the state of affairs, and the world of ideas.
We're not perfect. We make mistakes. But the people I know, and have known, in the collegial atmosphere of The Sun newsroom all try very damn hard to get it right and get it fast.
The Sun still produces most of the news for our region of the country. What you see on local TV, what you hear on local radio -- 80 or maybe 90 percent of it starts with the enterprising work of Sun reporters.
When I got into the newspaper business, veterans of the city desk told me to get out of it. Television promised to be an ever-expanding universe of news and programming, and the broadcasting industry, they warned, would kill newspapers. That still hasn't happened. In fact, it's likely that, because of the dogged enterprise of newspaper reporters and the investment of newspaper companies in journalistic manpower, the TV industry, especially the local affiliates, have been able to pull back on their own commitment to news coverage. Radio news would almost certainly not exist without the Sun providing the lion's share of daily reporting in this region.
You have heard the news of the Tribune sale to Mr. Zell. I hope the sale of the Trib papers, including the Sun, into private ownership takes us back to a day when the owners of newspapers believed in two things -- turning a reasonable profit and serving the public good -- and understood that the two are not mutually exclusive.
"The danger in this environment is that newspaper owners will 'eat their seed corn,' that is, cut back so deeply in order to maintain profitability that they destroy their chances of long-term survival, because they eventually produce a paper that has so little value that readers drop it," Mike Hoyt, executive editor of the Columbia Journalism Review, says in today's Sun.
We need you, readers. We need you to keep reading.
And we need you to either subscribe to the paper again or, if that doesn't work, we probably need you to buy our product on-line.
I am no expert on the communications industry today; changing as it does at warp speed, I mostly keep my head down and do my work. But I don't understand why we continue to give away for free what we work so hard to create, and what is so costly to produce -- that is, the bulk of the daily news, sports and arts coverage for this region, original and exclusive.
You might be asked one day to buy the Sun on-line. I don't understand why you haven't been. (Maybe the Sirius/XM thing has the experts worried.) It would seem to me that those of us who want to stay informed -- and save the trees that produce the newsprint -- ought to be willing to pay, say, 25 cents a day for a reliable on-line regional news service. And advertisers ought to be willing to pay for the impressive exposure they're getting on these pages.
I don't usually comment on my own industry, and no publisher of vice-president has ever asked my opinion. I am sure they've been "looking at" the Internet as a source of revenue to keep quality journalism alive in our region. It seems to me the most obvious and logical answer, and we need to get up to speed. We love you. We love to serve you. But I don't think the product of our labors should be free.
There's a rumor going around that the shad are starting to run in the Bay and tributaries. "We're about a week away from shad mania," says Theaux Le Gardeur, top guide at Backwater Angler in Baltimore County. "This weekend we started hearing rumblings about 'the founding fish,' and they are due in Deer Creek and other tribs any day now."
WHEN I moved to Maryland in 1976, I met a lot of crusty old guys who spoke of a certain silvery fish the way other men spoke of great baseball players. "You should have seen Ted Williams' swing" had the same nostalgic ring as, "You should have seen the shad run in the Susquehanna." The message: You missed both, kid, and neither ain't never comin' back.
Once upon a time, the sleek shad - "the founding fish . . . the poor man's salmon" - had appeared in breathtaking abundance. Capt. John Smith touted their thick numbers in his accounts of the Virginia colony and Chesapeake Bay. By the early 1800s, shad constituted the most important commercial catch on the Susquehanna River; millions of the long-distance swimmers ended up in nets there every spring.
Farmers used them for fertilizer. Watermen caught them by the ton. Trains took them to markets in Philadelphia, New York and Boston.
But something happened to shad. Men harvested too many of them. Men built dams on their spawning rivers.
By the 1970s, the shad was a ghost fish around here. The old crusty guys longed for the great runs that had occurred each April when they were boys.
"Maryland's commercial catch of the fish slid from a peak of 7 million pounds in 1890 to just 24,000 pounds in 1980, when the state banned the harvest of shad," The Sun reported in 1993. "No substantial recovery is expected before the turn of the century - if ever."
Well, the century has turned.
And the shad have returned.
I've lived long enough to see them - throngs of them in freshwater rivers at the edges of the Baltimore metropolitan area. Last spring, I looked down from atop a boulder at a turn in a river and I'm sure I saw at least 200 hickory shad (smaller cousin to the American shad) in a 5-square-yard eddy to the left of a slew of white water. The shad appeared to be holding in the eddy, each awaiting a turn at a run through the faster current. They were stacked six deep, casting a cross-hatch of shadows on the sand below them.
Occasionally one of the egg-laden females - about 18 or 20 inches long - turned and flashed her silver side. In another eddy on the far side of the river there were dozens more, all appearing to be at rest after a fight through the white water.
Pardon my use of the overused word "awesome" here, but I can't think of a better way to describe the experience of seeing such a mass of fish that had traveled hundreds of miles from the ocean and up the bay and into a stream in a woods near a noisy highway.
The old-timers told me I'd never see it.
This fish had been harvested almost out of existence before wise men - scientists, in particular - predicted the collapse of the shad fishery and argued for a halt in the harvest. (The moratorium on catching and killing shad stays in effect until the same wise men tell us otherwise.)
Simple (and admittedly simplistic) lesson: Leave them alone, and they'll come home.
It's a public policy that appears to be working for the shad. It worked for the rockfish.
It could probably bring the blue crab back in big numbers.
I recall a quote from William J. Goldsborough, a fisheries scientist for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation: "We don't know how to deal with abundance. We see fish out there, we want to catch 'em. That's human nature. But we're trying to resist that way of thinking now."
As a culinary treat, the shad is a far cry from salmon. So there are no big market forces behind its comeback. There's just science and the passion in humans to fix what an earlier generation almost destroyed. I don't need to eat shad. I could be quite content just watching them every spring from a big rock in a river.
Check out, in my Blackbirds posting below, a comment from a reader about the East Coast Hockey League being a loser proposition in Baltimore because minor-league hockey failed here before. If you go way back and look at the record, the Clippers and Skipjacks had pretty good runs in Baltimore, and while the attendance was never cracker-jack for the 'Jacks, they had some respectable (though not always respectful) crowds at the Arena many times. As for the Baltimore Bandits -- give me a break. They had Wednesday nights and Sunday afternoons at the Arena. Sunday afternoons in an NFL town was crazy! The Blast always had better dates at the Arena. You can look it up.
I think Ed Hale is the man who needs to be convinced to open up some dates to make another sports franchise work here. He wouldn't have to own a hockey team, just support it with a decent chance of success.
Maybe I'm among the few who is hockey-starved around here, but look at the towns that support the ECHL. Don't tell me Baltimore can't do the same. And don't tell me people are afraid to go to the Arena. Thousands go there all the time; you can look that up, too. If they didn't, the place would have closed long ago.
