Above photo: Photos provided by the author.
“Pay up or we sell your house.”
Baltimore, MD – No, it’s not a line from a B-series Italian mafia movie from the 80’s. It’s straight from the entrails of the city of Baltimore.
Most people living along the North East corridor don’t really ponder on the necessity of water…until it suddenly stops flowing. Then everything changes.
Today started well with an early short trip to the gym. At home, we refilled all 8 five-gallon water bottles at the store in the morning, poured water in the four buckets spread around the house for periodic necessities and various cleaning tasks, installed a cut-out, slow dripped, refillable 3 gallon container above the kitchen sink for our dishes, and finally hung our 5 gallon portable camping shower bag in the bathroom.
We were then ready to attack the daily events everyone takes for granted. Drinking, cleaning dishes, going to the bathroom… Showering had now entered the line of a luxury items.
That was our sixth day after the city shut off our water supply.
We will skip the banalities of the whys and hows; as I, like every normal and sane individual, owe money to the city. It is just the amount I disagree with. However, regardless of the countless software glitches in their system and the fact that city workers caused our pipes to burst in the winter, I now accept my defeat, bow to my master, and before the city could sell the house, we offered $1,500, but it wasn’t enough.
At first it was $175, then $4,000 – or half of the bill, and finally $10,500. Anyway, it is never enough. The curious part of the story is the fact that the city bought the lien on my house accumulated by the water and housing tax debt, only to turn around and threaten to sell the house for tax infringement…that is ludicrous, but it is today’s reality.
Such obsessive focus to demand an arbitrary amount proves that what was once a service to the people was replaced by a service for profit; or from Social Services to Financial Services, interested only in money instead of community.
Not being able to take showers, wipe dirt, nor wash dishes from one day to another is a new way of life for us, which requires much adjustment to adversity. Since my begging for emergency water for my mother’s health fell upon deaf ears, my 81-year-old mother had to relocate quickly before getting ill. Yet, I must thank the Mayor of Baltimore for compelling us into a new survival mode; opening our eyes to other fascinating issues that have escaped the masses.
At the first signs of rainfall, I spread a tarp in the backyard to collect rainwater to provide drinking water to the dozen homeless cats we’ve adopted, as well as preserving our organic vegetable garden.
Rain instantly became a commodity; and in our case, the fruits from heaven.
Unfortunately, I learned that Maryland might reserve prison time for those caught harvesting rainwater at home. Some exceptions apply, though. The State of Maryland is exempt. That’s right – the state can and does harvest rainwater for free, distributes it through its cities to sell to residents, to ultimately shut off the water supply to those who do not pay their raindrop bill.
Our Boy Scout experience drew us to making a map of local water fountains in the area, as a back up plan. We did find a few children’s city ‘water park’ with dozens of oozing water showers and thick water pipes running from 6 am to 9 pm. An oasis with a volume of water easily reaching 1000 gallons per day! Yet, we were instructed not to fill our bottles as the city chooses to fill up the city sewer instead of the people’s bottles. I was even told not to take photos by the local “fountain keeper” but did anyway. I do not believe it is illegal yet.
So while on the verge of losing my house to a greedy anonymous buyer in an unfair tax sale, likely to catch and propagate illnesses from lack of sanitation, I have now joined the water-down gang of outlaws risking prison if caught harvesting rain drops for survival.
Oh well, at least in prison, one may flush…multiple times a day, I hear. It is interesting to also point that unlike modest residents, criminals do receive unlimited free water. I’ll take my chances and will accept my responsibilities if facing a sentence to such unlawful actions. While awaiting judgment day, our Twitter page will serve as platform to alert the people of the disturbing information flow splashed by the city. Follow us at #SurviveBWI.
Whether or not we can perpetuate this -barbaric for some, innovative for others- way of life for long while unemployed, I do not know. What I know is that the city of Baltimore is ready to destroy one of many families because of a water bill.
Welcome to Charm City; “The Greatest Mafia in America”.