post preakness pimlico

the morning was perfect for what my purposes. mauzy, pissing rain meant that even less people would be on the street down at pimlico. i knew that i wasn’t really going to find any remnants of the preakness on the streets - while baltimore can make pimlico clean up their mess, the city cannot live up to its end of the bargain and clean up the housing mess around the racetrack. i was there for the shop fronts but kept me going were the churches

missed the bus and the way busses run here, thought it best to walk for who knew when another one would arrive. i was almost right as i was at menlo drive when the bus caught up with me. got on as i was going to get a day pass anyway.

automated sign on the bus

NORTHERN PARKWAY
TRASNFER POINT

park heights had that emptiness that made me feel fine as long as i didn’t see anyone. but became hesitant when that lone person was in the distance. the feeling dissipated a bit when i saw an elderly lady obviously off to church. pity i cannot say the same for her as after seeing me hop back and forth across park heights avenue to documenting both sides of the street before i had a plan - determinedly walked back to her senior living home.

as i had feared many of the shops had steel barriers covering the entire façade. the only thing i could do there was to play with what was dealt me formally. i tended also to divert off of park heights when i saw a church that was once any building that was ecclesiastical. the area seemed to abound in them. stop a bit when i saw a woman crossing a vacant lot but she turned back when she saw my camera. the block opposite the race track has become a west indian street, with shops and restaurants. most were closed but sometimes i wasn’t sure. i would walk slowly looking in before i would make a snap.

now and then a distant flash from someone running the red light camera activated signal. it must have been the winogrand of cameras as it would go off when machines were perfectly stopped at the line.

another church goer passes and throws me off guard by greeting me. i tend to start to do that with the next dozen people i pass, not the subtle nod but actually speaking, even to those people who are watching me from parked machines.

oddly i feel safer when i see more people as they are workers at the racetrack leaving to catch the number 27. again they seem more wary of me but then this could simply be the characteristic paranoia that runs rampant in charm city.

crossing belvedere - could there be a name more mismatched for a street - the population grew. it seems that liquor stores can and do open early on sunday and there were people in front of most of them. all looked down at my now retracted joãzão trying to determine what it was i am guessing either that or determining whether they should duck or was it a bible. everyone was watching and i missed a perfectly mediocre photograph due to this. one of the few leftovers from yesterday. outside a laundromat someone had set up a food table complete with brolly and fake cloth. i walked by twice hoping buddy having a ciggie would finally go inside. furher down a nice window display but again buddy keeping his eyes on me.

was to stop at belvedere but there was church - then two, then three - around garrison. once out of that one block i was alone until i turned up spaulding. there were a few gents in the carpark behind an old bank that was a church and while i was photographing the store front that was a now a church three machines came stopped and people sat watching.

it seems that they arrived a bit early and were awaiting the church to open but all those eyes... i nodded as i passed.