Sometimes I confuse things I’ve seen on “The Wire” with my real life cases. Watching that show has been a real learning tool for me. Clients ask me why I moved to Baltimore and frequently I’ll laugh and say “Because of The Wire and Homicide” and they giggle and say “oh yeah, the Wire man, that show be for real.” Cops hassling kids and old people alike, drug crimes and bodies piling up on all ends of the city. I tell my clients that I love this city and they look at me like I’m crazy. “You must live in Federal Hill, or Canton. You don’t live in the hood like we do.” I tell them where I live and they say “Yeah, its not the ghetto. You sit on your front steps, do cops come up and tell you to move? Do you avoid sitting on your front steps so that drug dealers won’t come by and get you in trouble” No, the cops don’t hassle me, and no, I don’t tend to avoid my steps because of drug dealers. I don’t live in the hood. I only drive through the hood, very quickly at that. These people have lived here their whole lives, not because they love it, or they don’t dream of a different life. They stay because its all they know. And probably because its home.
So, next time you watch the Wire, think of me. This city is exactly like T.V., but better.
