Thursday, August 22,2002
Weather: PC
Temperature: 98°, 105° with oppressively high humidity factored in!
Wind: 5-8

Lodging: Marriott Inner Harbor, 110 S. Eutaw St. at Lombard 410-962-0202, (it really is at least 5 blocks from the harbor, but is only 1 block from Camden Yards baseball yard)

In oppressive heat and humidity I walked over to the Inner harbor and over to the Visionary Art Museum on the other side of the harbor. Since it was extremely hot & humid, this was most unpleasant. Most current exhibits were about war and highly personal interpretative descriptions:
They did allow photos of the artwork on exhibit, but I did sneak a shot of a strong sculpture by John McManus (1944-), "The Mother & Child," (1983-84) of alabaster & bronze. He was born in Everett, MA and was a journeyman cabinet maker, had 2 tours of Nam in '66 & '68 that obviously had a strong impact on him. He has a book: "Vietnam Reflexes & Reflections," ed Eve. Sinailo pub. Abrams, 1998.

On the way over I walked around the sw side of the harbor and across Rashiu athletic field. No one was there, but on my return there were two groups of black men and little kids. There were also some yuppies set up for volley ball! There were also two groups of black kids of different ages shooting basket ball in this heat!

On my way back I decided to step into a two block long mall of mostly restaurants and a few shops. I did this because it was air-conditioned. As I stood admiring some jewelry in a stall, I felt something on my wrist down my watch. I looked down and noticed one of Baltimore's finest "Giant" 2" roaches! Yikes!! I shook it off. Unfortunately I flung it onto the woman who owned the stall who was wearing a long skirt. She went ballistic! It was uncertain if it had landed on her skirt. Finally it dropped to the floor and I stomped on it . The roach apparently had dropped from the exposed water pipes above onto my shoulder and crept down my arm. That is what a woman next to me reported after I killed the monster. The funniest part of this storey is that immediately after dispatching the roach a man appeared inquiring as to if anyone had seen his pet roach Albert. He was just a tourist with a demented sense of humor.