Not quite a small town, but close!
Anyone who’s met me knows that I only moved here about a year ago. I’m a “come-here.” From the Eastern Shore, no less — so the Baltimore suburbs are a whole new world for me. (Let’s set aside for a minute what H.L. Mencken or even Willie Don Schaefer have said about the Shore.)
There are plenty of things that I miss about the other side of the big ditch (the bay, not the ocean), but then again, I’ve managed to find a lot of similarities. No, really.
Here’s my list:
Recognizing people at the store, the park, events, etc.
It’s already happening! I spent some time at the Rommel’s Ace Hardware store in Perry Hall during their grand opening weekend (Everything was 20% off - perfect incentive to get those projects started!), and I saw Tony Zingarelli, one of my first sources for a story about the train garden at the B&O Railroad Museum in Ellicott City, and Melissa Redmer Mullahey, an active Perry Haller who was pictured in the paper a few weeks ago modeling a gown at the Woman’s Club fashion show.
Green and flowering things. You know, like trees. And crops. And front yard gardens.
While my neighborhood is mostly devoid of street trees or even front yard trees, there are a few houses that go beyond the seemingly requisite shrubs and perfectly circular gardens. (The house at the Lillian Holt/Trumps Mill Rd/Kenwood intersection behind the old Triangle store comes to mind!) Not to mention the hidden gems like Holt Park and Kenwood Presbyterian’s lush and shaded playground area. Plus I’m going to do my part by participating in the county’s greening initiative and buy a couple more trees for my yard (There’s a $10 off coupon ) and planting up the place.
Little curvy country roads with no shoulder. Getting stuck behind tractors on “main” roads. And driving slow. And walking slow for that matter. Or being able to walk to the post office, the drug store, and the corner bar.
Well, I felt right at home when I got lost trying to find a PHIA meeting on Forge Road! And when I ventured out to the landfill and explored the Loreley Beach area. And someday I’ll get to Marshy Point and think that’s cool too. As for being able to walk places. Well, we could. We just don’t. Everything’s very car-oriented over here. And with the way people fly through my neighborhood — the buses! Goodness! — I don’t know if that’ll change or not. As for the tractor thing, I think that’s just nostalgia.
Limited choices of restaurants to eat out at.
Lots of people think that a limited selection must be bad. But it was great. You were a regular at every eatery — because there were only five. (Not counting the Mexican restaurant IN the Italian restaurant.) Then again, there were only five. Over here - how to choose?!? Sometimes we go with a place that advertises in the T-H (or one of the coupon books) and sometimes we drive around. Either way, we could eat at a new place a couple days a week and still never run out of places to try. This boggles my mind and makes me want to stay home and have a peanut butter sandwich. Seriously. But I bet if we look hard enough, we’ll find a place with a good pb&j!
Everyone knowing everyone. And being related.
Elaborating on this one will only get me in trouble! But I managed to trace my family roots from Delaware (where I grew up) to Kent County, Md. and I’m sure I could find ‘em over here if I tried! I mean, if a self-proclaimed bumpkin like me landed over here - who knows?!