A Love Letter
Maryland
My great-grandfather grew up in Fells Point. My grandmother was born in Baltimore. My parents graduated from Old Mill High School. So did I. Six generations. One place. Home.
The Maryland State House, Annapolis. Photo by Terry Granger on Unsplash
I left once. Thirteen months in Los Angeles, 2012–2013. Loved the energy, the weather, the sense that anything was possible. Came back anyway.
I always come back.
My great-grandfather grew up in Fells Point when it was still a working waterfront, before it became a place people went for drinks. My grandmother was born in Baltimore, graduated from Glen Burnie High School. My parents both graduated from Old Mill High School and raised me in the same area. I went to Old Mill too, Class of 2004. My kids are growing up here now.
Six generations now, with my kids. The records get fuzzy the further back you go, but the pull is clear. This place is in my blood in a way I can't fully explain and don't try to.
The Geography of Home
Annapolis
The state capital, but it doesn't feel like one. Brick sidewalks, sailboats, the Naval Academy midshipmen in their whites. The oldest state house in continuous use in the country.
Photo by Ian Hines
Anne Arundel County
Strip malls and cul-de-sacs, sure. But also the Severn River, the woods behind our house, the kind of safe boredom that lets a kid disappear into a computer and build things.
Photo by Ian Hines
Baltimore
The city. Charm City. Mob Town. Hon. It's complicated and beautiful and broken and resilient. The smell of the harbor, the rowhouses, the murals, the accent you can't fake. Fells Point. Federal Hill. Camden Yards. My great-grandfather's neighborhood.
Photo by Vlad Tchompalov on Unsplash
Washington, D.C.
Thirty minutes down the road—and yes, technically carved out of Maryland in 1790. Growing up this close to the capital shaped my entire career. Politics isn't abstract here; it's the family business of half the people you know.
Maryland Things
Blue Crabs
Steamed with Old Bay, dumped on newspaper, eaten with a mallet. The official state crustacean and the centerpiece of every summer gathering.
The Flag
Objectively the best state flag in the union. The black and gold of the Calvert family, the red and white of the Crosslands. We put it on everything and we're not sorry.
Old Bay
The seasoning. On crabs, yes. Also on fries, popcorn, bloody marys, and things that have no business being seasoned. Baltimore-made since 1939.
The Orioles
Camden Yards changed baseball forever. The O's break your heart most years. But when they're good—when the yard is packed and the sun sets over the warehouse—that's when you remember why you never leave.
The Chesapeake
The largest estuary in North America. 11,684 miles of shoreline. It shapes everything here—the economy, the culture, the way we think about water and land.
The Naval Academy
In Annapolis since 1845. Midshipmen everywhere, Commissioning Week in May, the Blue Angels overhead. The Yard is one of the most beautiful campuses in America.
"You just can't beat the person who never gives up."
— Babe Ruth, Baltimore native, 1940
The Line
The earliest records I have. Somewhere in Baltimore, before the turn of the century.
Fells Point, Baltimore. A working waterfront neighborhood. Parishioner at St. Patrick's.
Born in Baltimore. Graduate of Glen Burnie High School.
Old Mill High School, Classes of '85 & '86. I still live within 15 minutes of where they grew up.
Old Mill High School, Class of 2004. Left once for LA. Came back. Always come back.
The sixth generation. Still here.
The Family Sport
Lacrosse is Maryland's game. The Haudenosaunee created it as a sacred practice; Maryland adopted it as an obsession. In our family, it's been passed down for three generations.
My uncle played at Glen Burnie High School, then at West Point.
My dad played at Old Mill High School.
My sister won a national title at Anne Arundel Community College.
I played at Old Mill from 4th through 11th grade. Same fields my dad played on. Different grass, same ground.
All three of my children play at the elite club level. The tradition continues.
Fifty years of sticks and cleats. Three generations. One sport. That's Maryland.
Photo by Ian Hines
Maryland Facts
Fatti maschii, parole femine
"Strong deeds, gentle words"
I've traveled a lot. Worked in a dozen countries. Seen beautiful places I'd happily visit again. But when people ask where I'm from, there's only one answer.
Maryland.