Stewart is the Nick Markakis of Baltimore’s water leak busters – the class of the crews now braving wind and single-digits to get porous pipes repaired. Right fielder Markakis left the Orioles, but we remember what a great professional he was, rain or shine.
Like Royal Stewart and his team. They’ve been working 12-hour shifts to deal with breaks all over the city. If you’re driving around, you see the crews and scope of the problem. The work comes along predictably in winter. Cold weather breaks pipes – particularly older pipes. Baltimore pipes. If we didn’t know it already, the work we see now makes it clear the city needs an infrastructure overhaul.
Almost makes you wonder if the city is sustainable. The water mains and the water pipes are getting fixed slowly. It’s repair on the installment plan. But even as we wonder how all this work can be paid for, we learn that city schools are $60 million short. We learn of this shortage even as city legislators work to restore millions in state aid cut by Gov. Larry Hogan.
Baltimore, like many other cities, faces big budget problems all the time. It’s not a seasonal thing. What we need is money, of course. But we also have to have spirit and positive thinking. Royal Stewart told The Sun that hot Lipton tea and a positive attitude keep him going. “Crying makes you colder,” he said, “but laughter warms you up.”
Yes, Markakis is gone, but Royal Stewart is still on the job, still smiling.