Baltimore's Block - Midway Bar

Baltimore’s “Block” was much larger in 1987 when this painting was completed. In those days I could walk and sketch up and down Baltimore Street at night for about 30 minutes before I knew it was time to leave. While the first floor of each building was brimming with activity I always wondered what the upstairs rooms were like. For example what would that pizza taste like if one had climbed the steps next to Charlie’s Tattoo parlor and asked for a slice? In all my visits to the Block I never entered any of the bars or clubs. I preferred to imagine the activities from the street.

D-Day June 6, 1944

Utah beach at sunset, November 2009. Many of the booby traps set by the German army remain on display.

It is humbling at the very least to visit the Norman coast of France and stand on the beaches where the allies landed on June 6, 1944. The beaches are more often than not referred to by their wartime code names that include Omaha, Utah, Juno, Gold and Sword. We call it the invasion, the French call it La Libération...you see they had already been invaded by Germany and now the allies from the United States, England, Canada and many countries arrived to stop the enemy. They were successful but at a great price. Over 100,000 soldiers and many innocent citizens lost their lives as this allied foothold in Europe was established. I doubt anyone has stood on these gorgeous, peaceful beaches and not imagined the horror that occurred in our parents' and grandparents' lifetime. The sacrifice was immense and is recognized daily by the towns such as St. Lo, Caen, Bayeux, Arromanches and many more. It is moving to see how many businesses and private french homes display not only the French bleu, blanc, rouge flag but they also fly the American red white and blue Flag. Visiting Normandie has forever changed the way I see life and death. When you tour the landmarks and museums you wonder over and over and over why make a war? No one wins it. Peace is the answer.

The Cemetery and Museum are on American soil within Normandy.

We were fortunate enough to be in Bayeux on Veterans's Day where the cardinal said a mass in honor of le Débarquement et Bataille de Normandie. Many countries were represented by the veterans holding flags in the ceremony.

9th Street Hangout - O.C., MD

So the car radio reports that the Chesapeake Bay Bridge traffic is backed-up today. This is normal for the start of the Memorial Holiday weekend. After all, our families in the greater Baltimore area have been going there for almost one-hundred years. I imagine this scene of 9th Street at the boardwalk in Ocean City, MD taking place around 1964. We were coming of age and it was our first summer to act cool playing the pinball machines. The Beach Club had its live “jam sessions” every weekend afternoon and that was the only time that summer when we did not hear “House of the Rising Sun” drifting into the salty air from the jukebox. Hess Apparel was on the corner though we were not yet appreciative of their tasteful fashions. However we did love the Alaska stand with its milk shakes and hot dogs for lunch when we were allowed that special treat. The big old George Washington Hotel was always a welcome sight because it marked our 9th Street hang-out at least for a few more summers.

CHARLES CHIPS

Our relationship with the Charles Chips man began one day when he spontaneously pulled into our drive-way in his cheerful yellow truck and offered our family some samples of his wares. Who could resist those large yellow tins with the potato chips and pretzels painted on the labels? And these snacks were so exotic as to have been made in Pennsylvania! So we paid the deposit on the tins and about every two weeks our Charles Chip man kept us well stocked in chips and pretzels. We would trade him the old tin back for a new one with fresh chips and pretzels. What a tasty way to recycle.

Saying Good-bye to Vince

Our biggest contributor to this modest blog is no longer behind his keyboard. We lost Baltimore native Vince Spence, 61, in early May. He was a very generous and thoughtful man. And if you have read his posts you know he was naturally funny. A friend recently referred to him as a spark plug and I agree. I am going to miss him and his entertaining posts very much. Many knew Vince as the One-Eyed Golfer from his blog which he maintained with great professionalism and attention to detail. Not being a golfer myself I knew Vince as a Baltimorean with whom I shared memories of our bygone city. He loved to reminisce from a slightly quirky angle. He could usually add a "bad boy" observation to most of the roadside paintings presented. Beyond everything, the man knew how to use his precious gift for bringing comedy into peoples' lives. He usually made me laugh into my computer screen with his clever posts and e mails. The previous entry here about the Hilton Dairy Cottage was in direct response to a request from Vince. I hope he was able to read it. I know he remains with all of us in spirit. My sincere condolences to his loving family for whom he cared very, very deeply. Rest in Peace, dear man. You did it right.

HILTON DAIRY COTTAGE

The Hilton Dairy Cottage located on South Rolling Road in Catonsville, MD is one of the roadside stands that served the varying needs of locals in every age group. As a very young child I recall our family stopping by this wonderful stone cottage on our way home from Sunday drives in the city. They sold Delvale ice cream which in my father’s estimation was the best ice cream in Baltimore. Rocky Fudge was his favorite flavor and so it became my favorite, too. Later on as eleven-year-old youngsters out on our own, my best friend and I took badminton lessons on Sunday afternoons at the local public high school. We hurried through our lessons so we could visit the cottage to get ice cream cones as our reward. Ice cream seemed to be the major draw for us up to that point.


However, older students from the neighboring Catonsville Senior High used this place as their beloved hangout. Recently some former students bragged to me that they dined on coke, cigarettes and donuts for breakfast until 1969 when it closed. Others reported to me that the truant officer Mr. T would hide in the driver’s education car by lying down in the back seat and force the student and driver's ed teacher to turn into the cottage driveway while school was in session. When the driver's ed car pulled up to the “cottage” door, class cutting teenagers ran outside to give a cheery hello but Mr. T the truant officer popped up from the back seat and took names. It was a clever trick for him but the students had quite a different name for it.

THE EDMONDSON DRIVE-IN MOVIE

Chubby elves obsessively ate popcorn and licked ice-cream cones on the big screen during intermission at the Edmondson Drive-In on Route 40 West, Catonsville, MD. Watching the cartoon characters gorge themselves between films in the open-air prompted patrons to get in line for all kinds of fun snacks at the concession stand. Hot dogs, hamburgers, french-fries and big soft-drinks were purchased cafeteria style and carried back to the cars for consumption. After a night of fabulous food and flicks sometimes drivers would forget to detach the theatre’s speaker from their car window. It was always a big embarrassment when your date yanked the speaker from its post.
Another source of embarrassment for this blogger occurred when I was paged in the middle of the Steve McQueen thriller, "Bullitt." There was no proper way for the theatre manager to find someone other than to interrupt the film on the sound system and announce your name for all the movie watchers to hear. It never occurred to me that some trouble had happened at home. After all, who tells their parents they are going to the drive in on a date? I had a hunch that my girl friend was on the other end of the line. This friend would often track me down in public places. This time she was bored at home and wanted to know how my date was going. The pay off for this embarrassment was that I was instructed by the concession stand clerk to go into the projection booth to accept the call on the wall mounted telephone. The room itself was spare and modest. I think the floor was concrete but I am not sure. It was manned only by one projectionist. The experience was thrilling--seeing the huge flickering projectors and hearing the clicking of the gigantic 70mm reels. So I have to say thank you to my old friend for obsessing over my Saturday night date at the Edmondson Drive-In Movie.

Here's Steve performing his own stunt driving in "Bullitt."
vrroooommm vrrroooommmmm