Things I Learned From Friends

...There are no fireflies out West. Kids who come East in the summer are amazed to see little phosphorescent critters flying about. (In Baltimore, kids catch 'em by the jarful all summer and punch holes in the jar lid to walk around with a rudimentary jartorch.)


...In Houston, they don't really have neighborhoods; your area is designated by the exit number off whatever they call their Beltway. (In Baltimore, if you drive ten feet sometimes you are in a whole 'nother neighborhood, and you better not say you're in Cockeysville when you're still up in Butler.)


...The official state drink of Rhode Island is coffee milk, and I've loved it since a bottle of the elixir of life - the syrup one mixes with milk - was smuggled out to me. Now I have set up a connection with the syrup kingpin up there. (Add a drop of vanilla extract and it's heaven!)


...People are always telling dental hygienists that they know at least as much as they do about oral hygiene because they read up on it on WebMD. (Reading is always valuable, but I want my teeth cared for by a trained professional. If I ever need brain surgery, I would hope that the person working the trepan had stopped by a couple of brain surgery courses.)


...In Foley, Alabama (birthplace of Ken "The Snake" Stabler) there is a restaurant where the waiters toss rolls to you as you sit and dine (and dodge rolls.)


...In the midwest, the leaves don't change quite as dramatically as they do around here, and it's a shame. Lisa, this is for you, until you can come back and visit! Baltimore misses you!