The Adventures on Lexington Street

Today, I found myself working in downtown Baltimore near the "world famous" Lexington Market. As I parked my car on the open-air lot next to the market, I gathered my laptop and made my way to the office building across the street.

Along the way, I encounter a wide variety of people. None of them seem to have any particular place to be. In the distance, I see a woman with multi-colored dreadlocks which glisten brightly in the morning sun. Her hair reminded me of one of the colorful sun-catchers that you hang in your kitchen window. I was really glad that I wore my sunglasses.

As I move along the busy sidewalk, I catch pieces of several different conversations. Most of the people are very loud and animated. They have no filter.  They let the profanity fly like nobody's business. F-bombs permeate the morning air like a pack of angry butterflies. Approaching the entrance to one of the subway stations, I see a guy in a hoodie leaning against the wall talking to himself. I'm not sure what he was saying, but he seemed very amused. Oddly, he seemed harmless and scary at the same time.

I see an older man dressed in what looks like a Zoot suit. With his wide pants legs, I half-expected him to launch into a MC Hammer-style break dance. I fight the urge to shout, "Can't touch this!" The guy also sports a bad-ass looking fedora. And instead of walking, he strutted. This guy really had it going on.

My nostrils are soon ambushed by the pungent smell of marijuana. I glance around to see if I can catch the source but I find nothing. Judging from what I've seen so far, everyone must be smoking something. This includes a very pregnant woman who has a cigarette dangling from her mouth. I'm not sure who the woman was talking to, but she lets out an enthusiastic, "I ain't give a f*ck!" Somehow, I don't see her excelling at the whole motherhood thing.

After my brief adventure, I finally enter the office building. I complete my work and after a few hours, I exit the building and re-enter the Twilight Zone. What I see next is quite disturbing...

As I stand in line to pay for parking, I see a woman who is totally wasted. Big surprise, I know. But the thing about this woman is that she's pushing a toddler in a baby stroller! I couldn't believe it. She bends over to retrieve something from the back of the stroller. But after a couple of minutes, she's still bent over. It appears like she's passed out! (I was later informed that this is known as the "heroin pose") Eventually, she comes to and pushes the stroller a couple of feet. But when she releases her grip and the stroller starts rolling towards the parking lot. I move to catch it. Fortunately, the stroller ran into a nearby wall before it picked up too much momentum. I impulsively blurt out, "Are you out of your mind?!" But I instantly realize that this was a stupid question. The woman probably didn't know which planet she was on. It really made me sick to witness this. I quickly retrieve a group of security guards and tell them that they need to do something or call someone before she kills the poor kid. The guards come over and quickly intervene. I had to leave but I sure hope they didn't send the kid home with this idiot.

It's always an adventure when I'm down in that part of the city. But this one takes the cake....

kw