From my mouth…
As a child, I was often told my mouth would get me in trouble.
A few weeks ago, after Michael Phelps won his eighth gold medal, I was speaking with a county spokeswoman about the inevitable county tribute.
Being the smart aleck that I am, I suggested recycling the orange 8s that were painted on streets around the county in July 2007 in honor of Cal Ripken Jr.’s induction into the baseball Hall of Fame.
Those 8s were painted with orange paint bought at Home Depot. The expectation was that, in a year or so, wear and weather would erase them. But they’re still there, including the two painted near the Old Courthouse - one on Washington Avenue, the other in the intersection of Pennsylvania and Baltimore avenues.
“You could paint them gold,” I said, believing my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek. Apparently, Ed Adams, the director of the county Department of Public Works also made the suggestion about the same time.
This morning, County Executive Jim Smith and Debbie Phelps, the swimming star’s ever-present mother/stand-in, officiated over repainting of the 8 in the intersection of Pennsylvania and Baltimore Avenue gold (technically, it’s goldenrod, I’m told).