I would like you to know the following: Since my first day of work in a newspaper’s city room — June 1973, The Patriot Ledger, Quincy, Massachusetts — I’ve been intrigued, entertained, impressed, inspired, mentored, awed and enlightened by the people who worked there. I can’t think of one reporter, critic or editor who, in … Continue reading Great and good journalists I have known
Epilogue: Carol Channing’s Baltimore fire helmet up for auction
Note: This item went for $750 at auction on June 17, 2021. Among the items that will be on the auction block later this month is an honorary fire chief's helmet given to the late Carol Channing in 1978 when the Tony Award-winning actress was in Baltimore (and I was but a cub reporter for … Continue reading Epilogue: Carol Channing’s Baltimore fire helmet up for auction
Father’s Day Creek: A book for outdoors lovers, anglers, and anyone who had a father.
A narrative memoir about fly fishing, fatherhood and finding your last best place on Earth. Published by Apprentice House Books at Loyola University Maryland. Available now in softcover and hardcover. Publication date: May 2019. Foreword by Lefty Kreh. . . . . . "Where would you want to be if you knew the world would … Continue reading Father’s Day Creek: A book for outdoors lovers, anglers, and anyone who had a father.
BGE’s ramp-up on EV fast charging continues
Reaction to last month's column on the progress on electric vehicles confirmed what we already knew: Some people look right past the positive to the negative. The column was essentially an update on the technological and commercial aspects of electric cars and trucks and it was mostly an upbeat report because there's a lot to … Continue reading BGE’s ramp-up on EV fast charging continues
Benign neglect gets a clover lawn, bees and bunnies
It was nothing I did. It just happened. I never used an herbicide on the lawn in my Baltimore backyard, and never used fertilizer. And so we have plenty of clover (photo above, and yeah that's my paint-smeared shoe on the left), and it pleases the bees and the city rabbits. This is how the … Continue reading Benign neglect gets a clover lawn, bees and bunnies
Memorial: A French homage to the Private John Kreiner who did not come home to Baltimore
As a columnist, I have interviewed many American combat veterans. That includes veterans of World War II, several of them when my editors in Baltimore sent me to Normandy to cover the 40th anniversary observances of the D-Day invasion and the beginning of the liberation of France. But, of all the stories I wrote -- … Continue reading Memorial: A French homage to the Private John Kreiner who did not come home to Baltimore
Republicans dishonor long-gone Americans who died to save the Union
Given the events of the last five years — and, in particular, the January attack on the U.S. Capitol fueled by Trump’s Big Lie about the November election — I was drawn this Memorial Day weekend to the one monument in the city of Baltimore that honors the more than 65,000 Marylanders who fought for … Continue reading Republicans dishonor long-gone Americans who died to save the Union
The laughing river
Some rivers speak to us. It’s the sound of time. It’s the same sound the Native Americans heard way back when “the green dark forest was too silent to be real.” (Gordon Lightfoot). There are days when I’m fishing and I think the riffles are laughing at me. There are moments when, oddly, the pleasant … Continue reading The laughing river
Why would any rational American want to remain a Republican?
Last week in my Sun column I suggested that Michael Steele, the former Maryland lieutenant governor and Republican national chairman, leave the Republican Party and become a Democrat. You can read my reasoning in the column — here’s the link — but anyone who has listened to Steele talk on MSNBC about the party knows … Continue reading Why would any rational American want to remain a Republican?
Bananas on Fire: Never judge a horse by a wacky name
You look at the list of Preakness winners over the years and, for the most part, they have names that range from serious to charming to the mildly whimsical: Citation, Secretariat, American Pharoah, Affirmed, Silver Charm, Spectacular Bid, Red Bullet, Lookin at Lucky. But some horses on the daily racing charts have truly wacky names. … Continue reading Bananas on Fire: Never judge a horse by a wacky name
Dan Rodricks 