Fond memories of Baltimore’s arabbers

Can you imagine living in a neighborhood without a food market within distance? As a senior, I look back on those days, remembering that most of our vegetables came in cans. But there was one exception — when we heard the call, the musical song and the clip clop of a horse’s hoofs entering our alleyway: “Mom! The man’s here with the pretty wagon and the fancy horse” (“Fitting horseshoes at arabbers’ stable in Baltimore,” March 16).

All of the children in the neighborhood would run into the alley and surround the horse while our moms would start their strange habit of thumping on the watermelons. What on earth was that all about? But I knew we’d be having watermelon for dessert that night.

I want to thank The Baltimore Sun for keeping those memories alive with several articles recently highlighting the unique group of our Baltimore arabbers, who for years have brightened our days as well as our dinner tables. Thanks also to farrier Sean Losee for kindly volunteering his time to shoe the horses. When the first Atlantic and Pacific (A&P) market finally opened near our home, a new kind of food shopping gained popularity. But the magical song and the jingle of the horse’s bells will forever be welcome in our city.

Debby Hyson, Essex

Make polluter pay, not state taxpayers

The report of a $13 million grant of public funds to Valley Proteins by the Bay Restoration Fund is truly mind-boggling (“$13M in Maryland taxpayer money headed to Eastern Shore factory with water pollution woes, outraging some lawmakers,” March 11).

The company says that without the grant it can’t afford to install the required anti-pollution systems and still make a profit. This is after years of discharging enormous quantities of biological pollutants into a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay with virtually no meaningful enforcement of applicable regulations by state authorities.

Public agencies should not be disbursing scarce public resources to insure that polluters remain profitable.

Benjamin Rosenberg, Baltimore

Telemedicine should be here to stay

Telemedicine is a very important if unexpected benefit of adjustments made necessary to serve the needs of patients during the pandemic. Dr. Michelle Gourdine and Dr. Joseph L. Wright draw what should be the obvious conclusion that this advancement should be sustained and expanded (“Telemedicine flourished amid the pandemic, here’s how to keep it going - and why,” March 11).

I can drive and push my walker for half a mile to most medical appointments when necessary — such as for a physical or to have blood taken for lab work. But otherwise, telemedicine is a great relief.

Richard E. Ralston, Newport Beach, California

The writer is executive director of Americans for Free Choice in Medicine.

Thanks to those feeding Maryland’s hungry kids

One year ago this month, the COVID-19 pandemic hit hard, and schools across Maryland had to instantly pivot from in-person to virtual learning. Hundreds of thousands of children were in danger of losing access to the nutrition they rely on from school meals. But school nutrition teams and community organizations across Maryland immediately stepped up, working day and night to figure out new ways to get meals to students — finding innovative solutions like grab-n-go pickups, meal drop-offs, and more (“For Laurel Elementary School’s ‘Food Box’ program, ‘everybody comes out,’ ” Feb. 25).

Over the past 12 months, the crisis has worsened, and even more families in our community are facing financial strain. Today, an alarming one in four kids in Maryland could face hunger. Yet throughout, school nutrition staff have been there, working tirelessly through the summer, weekends and holidays, to make sure kids get the food they need.

To our school nutrition heroes, thank you. You help keep our kids healthy and ready to learn and provide a constant in these difficult times. Your love and dedication for what you do and those you serve does not go unnoticed and our gratitude cannot be overstated!

Kara Panowitz, Baltimore