I was sent there in the 1975-76 "wave". We have quite a large WOW branch that year, if memory serves me correctly.
Interesting about your living in the "ghetto"; the only place our "family" of five guys could find was an apartment complex near the intersections of Greenspring Avenue and Coldspring Lane. This, coincidentally, is not too far from the Zoo. We would go on our morning run around Druid Hill Park (god, I still hate running!) and then go off to our 20-hour-a week (yeah, right) jobs. Sometimes we would walk through the park at night, which, if you know the area, was pretty insane.
We actually lived fairly well, with only the occasional smashed window or car broken into, and the ever-cheerful "Go home, honky". The guys I lived with were easy to get along with, not hard-asses at all. In fact, I can't remember anyone in our WOW branch that I didn't like - but then, it was a different time, and different attitudes were more prevalent then, I guess.
Baltimore has changed much since I first came here. They're still trying to revitalize the downtown area, but any meaningful development pretty much stops at Harborplace. Still, there's lots of interesting places to go in the city.
I still love going to the Zoo. They've expanded it to have more open spaces for the animals, instead of keeping them cooped up in small cages.
I guess if I had to be sent somewhere, Baltimore was as good a place as any...and maybe better than some. And just remember, it was our stand as WOW Ambassadors that helped move the Word over the World!
Kevlar - Not thick, just impenetrable.
