Our Big Day in Annapolis for the Clean Water Rally
[Note: This post was written by T.J. Mullen, President of BMP Inc. and Chairman of the Blue Water Baltimore Board of Directors.]
My son Jack and I accompanied a lively group from Blue Water Baltimore to Annapolis on Wednesday, March 28th 2012, for the Rally for Clean Water, organized by the Clean Water, Healthy Families coalition.
Clean Water, Healthy Families is a group of like-minded water advocacy folks and organizations, striving together to help Maryland meet its clean water goals within the next decade.
A few hundred folks attended the Rally for Clean Water from the looks of it. We were there because there is a lot of pending legislation in the Maryland House and Senate this session, being debated and voted on right now, which could help us move toward a clean water future for generations of Marylanders to come.
Protecting our waters for future generations is why I thought it was so important to bring my son Jack along to this “meeting,” as he called it. My wife Jennifer and I are not “native” Marylanders. We moved here from Pennsylvania to be close to the water and the Chesapeake Bay we have always loved. We have been very fortunate to be able to do so.
Jack, however, is a native Marylander, a fact which we are discovering in many ways. He looks at a kayak like most kids look at a wagon. And if I could write for Jeopardy’s Maryland edition, the clue would be: “Joe Flacco, crabs, and Berger Cookies.” One answer would be, “What are a few of my favorite things?” That would be Jack’s answer, anyhow.
So today, when Governor Martin O’Malley walked by us at the rally, Jack showed him a picture holding a big crab.
The governor stopped and we had the opportunity and privilege to chat with him. He told Jack that he also had a son named Jack. To which Jack said, “hmm.” He asked Jack about his crab, and if he liked crabs? Jack, of course, said “yes.” The governor was gracious and we enjoyed a few minutes with him. Thank you for the time Governor O’Malley, and even more so for caring about clean water!
Crabs are absolutely one of Jack’s favorite things. In fact, that big soft crab, right out of Baltimore County, was his dinner that day in July of 2011. I didn’t eat a soft crab until I was 30, and still think they look like a giant fried tarantula on my plate—although a true delicacy—I just close my eyes. But this three-year old kid, who won’t even eat “yellow cheese,” devoured that soft crab like it was a purple platter of Berger Cookies served by Joe Flacco himself! That, my friends, is a native Marylander.
So, as those in Annapolis, here in the Baltimore region, and all throughout the state choose to fight for and legislate for clean water for us today and for future generations tomorrow, we say THANK YOU!
I encourage you to tell your elected officials at every level, but especially in the state legislature, that you want them to CHOOSE CLEAN WATER, and vote for:
- SB 240 / HB 446; to finish upgrading sewage treatment plants we are already committed to
- SB 614 / HB 987; to help protect our waterways from polluted stormwater runoff
- SB 236 / HB 445 to reduce pollution from septic systems in poorly planned communities
And if you read this after the vote, find out how they voted. If they voted for the legislation, thank them! If they voted against it, ask them why. And, if you don’t like their answer, remember that at election time, because obviously, “they don’t know Jack…”
