Real Girls DvD

[constantine]

i was born on herring court in the projects on pratt. the old brick ones.

[stilltrucking]

A world without trees and grass,

Do remember the old library on Central Ave near Pratt St?
I went to PS #2 at the corner of Pratt and Central Ave.

Located next to a junk yard. Our playground seperated from the junkyard by a chain link fence. Mountain high piles of shredded metal. And once in a while a jagged piece of metal would slither down one of the metal mounains and slide under the chain link fence. It made a very nice weapon. Some vague memory of me and another kid in the principal's office, me feeling guilty about something and him with blood dripping from the slash on his arm. I never thought about carrying a weapon, there were so many just laying around.

From there we moved to Orleans St and Forest Ave at the foot of the Orleans St Viaduct. Across from the old firehouse on Gay St. One of the few buildings to survive the great Baltimore Fire.

They eventualy tore the house down and built those high rise ghettos full of black people. A horrible horrible place. I thin they finally tore those down too.

Lookhomeward angels.

[constantine]

i remember the library though i was never in it. the viaduct was ancient. forest and orleans - that's old town. primeval baltimore - like a strata.

[stilltrucking]

primeval Baltimore

Yes.

Do you remember the Roosevelt Hotel, where the Camden Yard stadium is now?

In the basement was a bar, with a sign on the wall saying "Have a nice trip" That was in the sixties, I had no idea what it meant.

I am so long getting hip. It is a wonder my buns don't fall off.

[constantine]

can't say that i do. all i can see in my mind is the train station. i liked old baltimore - better than the new, but i guess that's a personal opinion. the harbor is nice, but i preferred the working harbor with banana and watermelon boats, those stairways that led to the water - i guess they were landings, but you would always see some poor lost soul passed out on them. waiting for the tide to wash their troubles away.

[stilltrucking]

I went back about twenty years ago.

"BUT MY CITY WAS GONE
THERE WAS NO TRAIN STATION
THERE WAS NO DOWNTOWN
SOUTH HOWARD HAD DISAPPEARED
ALL MY FAVORITE PLACES
MY CITY HAD BEEN PULLED DOWN
REDUCED TO PARKING SPACES"

I miss the black and white nitty gritty beat city of my childhood too.

But from wireman's jams tt sounds like there are still some good things still happening there.

[constantine]

it's still baltimore, jack. it's always had a discernible character throughout its history. there's a book i'm sure you would find fascinating. baltimore: the making (or maybe building?) of an american city. well-researched. the author goes into the creation of the infrastructure, the relationships between locale and industry, the evolution of the city - all of which gives insight and explanation for the city's peculiar character. she sort of explains baltimore from the ground up.

[stilltrucking]

In 1980 I was working on the waterfront hauling ship containers from the marine terminals to the rail yards. I had to get clearance from the US Customs service so I could enter the ports. They asked me to list my addresses for the last ten years. After an hour and three extra sheets of paper they told me to just list the highlights.

How many homes have I had, how many times have I thought my roots were planted and I had made a stand on the promised land?

So many homes, but I will never forget my first kiss.

1954
The row houses on Lynwood Avenue,
the immaculate white marble steps
girls sitting out on friday nights
waiting for the boys to come cruising by

Our lips barely touched, then I went home and fell asleep hugging my pillow. Fifty five years later I am still a pillow hugger.


talk at you later homeboy
thanks for the reply