It is illegal to deface property with graffiti in Baltimore. Except in one alley that is now called Graffiti Alley. We paid a visit yesterday. It’s in the Black Arts District. It’s constantly being re-worked. Here’s part of its June 17, 2026 iteration:
As outdoor urban art goes, it’s not as big a kick as the Heidelberg Project or the Bead Museum in Detroit, both of which are incredible. But it’s neat and we’re glad we went to see it.
Following that, we shared a “Wreck” at Potbelly’s Sandwich Shop which has quickly become our favorite sandwich chain, easily outclassing Subway and Jersey Mike’s IMO. We still had an hour before the movie at the historic Charles Theater so we visited Baby’s On Fire, a neighborhood coffee shop.
What a great place! A big sign on the front door said that trans folks are welcome. How sad that it needs to be said. Inside the scene was terrific. Good music was playing and a whole rack of LPs lined one wall, so customers could make requests. I found a “gratitude journal” on a table in which customers were invited to make notes on what makes them happy. I contributed a small drawing of our owl Welly with a note that he has been my “bestie” for 62 years.
In one note a young man discussed how happy he was with his wonderful girlfriend before adding that he was looking forward to a good cup of coffee too. Right below, a young woman drew an arrow pointing up to the previous entry and wrote how much she loved her boyfriend, that guy right above, clearly a sweetie. Aww.
A homeless man wrote it felt good to be welcome somewhere.
I read a bunch of the other entries and wish I had read more. There were maybe a hundred starting back in Feb. But we’ll be back.
On the way out, I told the fellow behind the counter that we were visiting from the NY region and thought they had a real nice place.
“Appreciate it, man. Thanks.”
The movie was Power Ballad, starring Paul Rudd. Very good!! From the filmmaker who made Once. Remember that one? This also takes place in Dublin and is about music. It’s a feel-good movie and it made us feel good. Rotten Tomatoes score: 87%. Hey, Havana Rose Liu is in it — remember her from Tuner?
What? Hey, don’t look at me in that tone of voice!
After the show, we made our way home to Jersey via York, PA, so we could enjoy the half-price tacos and happy hour drafts (burp!) at the Holy Hound Taproom (and save over $20 in tolls). Didn’t disappoint!
But as nice a day as yesterday was, Tuesday was even better! We arrived at our dump, I mean motel, in Catonsville a little before 2 but our room was ready so we settled in for a bit and then shot down to DC. First stop: McGruders, where I like to shop for local beer. Picked up a 12-pack of Vienna Lager by Devil’s Backbone. Yum. Then we dumped the car in a good spot north of the Zoo (scouted out during our last visit), and took the Metro to the Gnats game.
And what a game it was! The plan was to get dogs and a beer as dinner– it was “$5 Tuesday” — but we couldn’t leave our seats for the tension! (And we were a bit full from a late lunch.) Foster Griffin was on the mound for the Homies and was brilliant: six innings, one run. But we only managed to leave him with a 3-1 lead and that was squandered by our shaky pen the moment Griff stepped down. Arggggh! It was 3-3 as we rose for the 7th-inning kvetch.
Nunez started off the bottom of the seventh with a walk. Perfect! Wood then grounded into what looked like an easy double play. However, after he was called out at first, for some reason the speedy Nunez stayed at second. What’s going on? Turns out he beat the second-baseman to the bag and was called safe!! Amazing. Then he stole third and Chaparro walked. Good little things were happening and hope blossomed. (There was only one out.) Then all those little things stopped mattering: Aussie Curtis Mead popped a dinger to deep left center — we were up 6-3! Two innings to go. Schultz got through the 8th and Varland took the mound to finish up. Cardiologists have decided where to set up their practices based on what team he’s on. First batter: home run. Next batter: walk. Oy. Tying run at the plate in, like, two seconds with nobody out.
Then it all fell into place.
A sharp grounder to Nunez (that pesky little guy again) that he played brilliantly into a double play!! Last batter flailed at a high heater for strike three and the game. Whew!
Since Nu-Nu also made a brilliant grab of a soft liner earlier and hit two triples (!), he was Alexa’s post-game guest. Good to see the little guy getting some credit.
The ticket deal included $44 toward merch, so we picked up this gorgeous cap for Linda and headed back to the Metro along with 25,003 mostly happy fans. (Some KC folks were in the crowd.)
I was pretty proud of my wordplay on the puzzle today. I worked with COINCIDE (Occur at the same time); ARNIE (Former governor Schwarzenegger, informally); DISCLAIMERS (“Use at your own risk” and “Not professional advice,” for two); HOYT (Big name in archery equipment); RARED (Rose (up), in dialect); and ETCHANT (Chemical agent used to make frosted glass).
Here’s what I came up with:
In declaring an end to the penny, has our government committed COINCIDE?
A fight broke out in Brooklyn between the DISCLAIMERS and the datclaimers. Nobody got HOYT.
ETCHANT: Phone home! Phone home! Phone home! . . .
The Alphabet Society was all abuzz at the discovery of a RARED.
That archery clue made me quiver at first. But I got it using the crosses, so I’m taking a bow.
Orthopedist: And why are we here today?
Patient: ARNIE is broken.
A few days ago, I took a different tack to make a fool of myself with the gang. I “converted” the puzzle to Judaism. That is, I tweaked some of the answers, as follows:
The OLD MAN AND THE SEA — The old man and the soup.
PAPAL CROSS — Papal mezuzah
POP THE CORK — Pop the Maalox
SENOR — Senior
BRO — Bubbeleh
HURDLE — You’re kidding, right? Just go around.
Linda and me in bed last night after our drive back from York.
Me: I can’t sleep. I’m overtired.
Linda: What are you going to do?
Me: I already took fifteen Benadryls. They’re not helping.
Linda: Hmmmm.
Me: I think it’s time for Plan B.
Linda: What’s that?
Me: You hit me over the head with a giant mallet.
Linda: I’m your man!
Owl Chatter’s Peace In Our Time Department
Now that the Iran deal has been finalized, we can reveal that our own Georgie Santos was a secret “weapon” on our negotiating team. He tells us his main goal was to keep Trump from giving away Greenland. You know, after all the trouble we went through to get it. Nice job GS!
See you tomorrow, Chatterheads!
The Wellington Files 