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The itinerary was the M-3 to the M-2 up to Pikesville to the post office, then back on the M-2 to the Metro at Old Court Road down to Rogers to catch the 27 bus to Hampden to go to Service Photo then hop on the Light Rail back up to Mt Washington to catch the M-10 back to Clark’s (sic) Lane. What one can do on a day pass from the MTA.

What one cannot do on the same day pass. I waited 15 minutes for an M-3 so decided to walk up to Reisterstown Road to Catch the M-2. I wasn’t going to wait I would simply walk and hop on if one came. To my surprise one did. It was only a couple of blocks from my first destination but who cares.

Leaving the post office I see this scene fitting a Paris Boulevard outside the pizza takeaway below street level by Cimino’s Barber shop. A few chairs and a table in case one wanted to eat their pizza en plein aire.

Stopped, pulled out Joãozão and while I was making a few snaps, Joe Cimino came out to have a chat – Joãozão is to men what puppies are to women, commented me on the camera asked what I was photographing – mentioned the resemblance to Paris in the seating next door he chuckled, I made two snaps of him and bid farewell.

-If you need a haircut stop back
-If you can find them they’re yours.

Walked up to the bus stop – passing another chair outside a dry cleaners in Reisterstown Road - and seeing a person nearly passing out from waiting in Old Court Road, I walked again jumping on the bus when it/if came.

Friends used to live around here, wondered how much of their property was butchered by all the growth, streets had changed thought I should have a look but I had errands.

Found bamboo growing along the road.

This time I guess wrongly and a bus came when I was only half way along on my walk. Seeing it pass I chalked it up to a bad guess and get walking, made some snaps but not many.

Of course a second bus passed.

One of the many things I like about the Metro is that even though you are in the station there is a good football field’s length between the entrance and the tracks. You’d think that with all this exercise the people would be extremely fit.

Note to self bring a book when waiting for public transport.

10 minute wait for the train and a 30 minute wait for the bus at Rogers Avenue. Even the driver seemed impatient. I wonder how one can tell a vagrant in Baltimore as all one would have to say is that they are awaiting a bus, no cop in the world would stay long enough to see if it were true.

I like balamer buses – however – as they tend to meander with the exception of most of the “M”’s the system route looks like it was designed by flâneurs. The 27 crossed Northern Parkway three times – it doubles back on itself around Pimlico, to go south it heads almost as far north as its starting point. I was on it for the ride and decided not to take anything that hints at being efficient like the light rail or Metro for the rest of the day.

Outside of Joãozão, along for the ride was a leiquinha, don’t know if I brought it so that I wouldn’t expose – hahahahaha – to the less picturesque areas of North-West Balamer or because it was loaded with colour.

I realise no matter how much I try to convince myself that it cannot be all that bad all one has to do is talk to a resident and one yearns for the safety of Baghdad. I feel that I should take Joãozão as I am guessing that no one thinks it expensive – I think that the duct tape leaves some doubt – but it does expose – hahahahahahaha – me as I am blatantly more obvious.

Someone asked in my photographic agony auntie roll what would I do if I were to go to South America and I gave the answer of what I wouldn’t do but what would be safe for the questioner. Take a cheap digital.

I am in a place that makes the South American stereotype look like Mayberry RFD and I don’t follow my advice. I know that I am nervous but I need the snaps so I carefully take the camera and make sure I can take it out and put it back quickly, as I did when in Rio de Janeiro. I know that I am cautious as while I take my cameras I leave my dyddlyfr as I can replace the camera – barely – but not the notes and souvenirs which are piling up as I don’t make as many entries as I used to before he internet.

I also feel that I am falling into stereotyping everyone in the area, am saying that they are not as trustworthy and worthy of my better work because of where they live.

Summer’s coming. The signs were out. People along Falls Road were out on their porches. The tavern doors in Hampden were open to the street. Made a snap of a back garden in 41st and Falls Road awaiting the 22.

The itinerary had changed as I needed to get back and I wasn’t sure when the M-10 would come. I knew that at Park Heights and Druid Park Drive I had the choice of the M-2 and M-3 so I took one of the many bus routes I used to take heading home from Friends.

Thoughts on safety came back not as I was waiting on the bus but heading up Park Heights. It seemed strange that in such a violent neglected area there were so many churches, that people were walking and on the porches of houses that weren’t boarded up people were out just like Hampden. On one block the only functioning house had one old woman sitting out taking in the summer.

At Park Heights and Woodland there was a street light festooned with giant stuffed animals. Needed to make a snap but had to get back. Kept on the bus but strategise how to make the snap and not draw attention to myself. It was only a few blocks from a busy intersection I could simply keep moving.