43. Last House Standing 95
44. Poe Love 97
45. Land of Pleasant Living 99
46. Pet Friendly? 101
47. Ring Tone 103
48. Home Front 105
49. Animal Lovers 107
50. G-d of Baseball 109
51. Bullets and Old Battles 111
52. Natural-Born Artists 113
53. For Whom It Stands 115
54. Metal Age 117
55. Going to Pot 119
56. Wind and a Prayer 121
57. Up Hill Climb 123
58. Boyz to Men 126
59. Bunny Tales 128
60. Cinema Al Fresco 130
61. For Love of Country 132
62. Hello in There 134
63. Rain or Shine 136
64. Syndicated Fame 138
65. Heaven’s Gate 140
66. Time of the Season 142
67. Role Models 144
68. Brass in Pocket 146
69. Christmas Cargo 148
70. King for a Day 150
71. Baby New Year 152
72. Historical Notes 154
73. Dancing Days 156
74. Past as Prologue 157
75. Tale of Two Cities 161
76. Only Way 163
77. No Small Deaths 165
78. Working Girls 167
79. Bike Messengers 169
80. Rare Bird 171
81. No Silent Spring 174
82. Rainbow Warriors 176
83. Homeward Bound 178
84. Hon Speak 180
85. Signs of Life 182
86. Business as Usual 184
87. Tiny Love Songs 186
88. Beastly Art 188
89. London Calling 190
90. Swimming Lesson 191
91. Blind Love 193
92. Bowling for Dollars 195
93. Going to Graceland 197
94. The Flock 199
95. Female Form 201
96. History Type 203
97. Sister of Hoop 205
98. Field of Dreams 207
99. Repository 208
100. Root Shock 210
101. Water Works 212
102. Sweet Memories 214
103. Not Sitting Still 216
104. Old New Age 218
105. Amphibious Art 220
106. Blast From the Past 222
107. For Love of Country 224
108. Senator Barb 226
109. Vaulting Ambition 230
110. Love Shack 232
111. Star Struck 234
112. Death in Diorama 236
113. Laugh Out Loud 238
114. Past Lives 240
115. Leap of Faith 242
116. Cross to Bear 245
117. A Tall Tale 247
118. Sisters in Arms 249
119. Godspeed 251
120. Time Out of Mind 253
121. Homeward Bound 255
122. Visiting Hours 257
123. Mourning After 259
124. Star Fighters 261
125. Paper Dreams 263
126. Mangiamo! 265
127. Who Wants to be a Cop Now? 267
128. Day Shift 271
129. Winds of Change 273
130. Portraits in Courage 275
131. Last Meal 277
132. Almost Famous 279
133. The Two Dominics 281
134. Statue of Liberty 283
135. Cake and a Snake 285
136. Back to the Future 287
137. Pulp Nonfiction 289
138. Irish Eyes 291
139. Kill Joy 293
140. Lot of Music 295
141. Spinning Wheel 297
142. Tomorrowland 299
143. Found Art 302
144. Homeland 304
145. Spontaneous Beauty 306
146. City by the Bay 309
147. Well Suited 311
148. Sing It Now 313
149. Water, Water Everywhere 316
150. Rolling With It 319
151. Learning to Fly 322
152. Outside Help 324
153. Survival Skills 326
154. Moving Images 329
155. Ramblin’ Man 332
156. Lost and Found 335
157. Corner Petaler 338
158. Bootleg Bunch 341
159. World Café 344
160. Palace Intrigue 347
161. Pop Goes the . . . 350
162. Brush With Life 353
163. The Bid and The Kid 356
164. Eyes of the Law 359
165. Coming Clean 362
166. Writing on the Wall 365
167. Time Machine 368
168. Heavy Metal 371
169. The Last Autoworker in Baltimore 374
170. The Life of Reilly 380
171. Picture This 383
Acknowledgements 386
About the Author 387
Introduction
A few weeks after reading that the former Bethlehem Steel mill at Sparrows Point would be scrapped for parts, I learned Hilco Trading, the liquidator who had purchased the massive ghost town in a bankruptcy sale, was offering bus tours for prospective buyers. Diligent, curious reporter that I am, I signed up and went on the first available date, which turned out to be a frigid, January Monday morning.
I didn’t intend to buy anything. Generally, I have little need for cranes, industrial machinery, and 200-ton transport trucks. I didn’t tell Hilco or anyone