A new definition for Annapolis?

Maybe you are checking back on the "Looking for Annapolis' blog to see if my concept of the place has changed any since we became a world-center-stage city for a day with the Peace Conference.

Or, as one of my co-workers asks, "Have you found Annapolis yet?"

The short answer is: "Yep, my concept of Annapolis did change some yesterday."

And it did so in a surprising way. I discovered something I had not realized about this city. I guess some pieces came together for me.

I also discovered something about myself in the process. Good things, on both sides.

Made me proud of my new home.

No time to write it all right now - more when I have time for a real post.

I'll even show some video I shot.

Yes, I was downtown some during some of the happenings.

More later.

Phil Merrill and my introduction to Annapolis

A big part of the reason I took this job (Internet Director at The Capital) in March of 2006 was Phil Merrill. He was the owner and publisher of the paper until his death in June of that same year. I was drawn to Annapolis and this job in a large part because I was intrigued.

Let me go back a bit. At the time, I lived in Tennessee. Had you mentioned the word "Annapolis" to me, I would have had little idea what this town was about. I certainly had ideas of the Naval Academy from my youth, a hazy idea that people had sailboats here, and, if you reminded me, would have recollected from my 7th grade civics class that it was also the capital of Maryland.

That was about it.

When I was first contacted about the job, I went straight to the Internet to look up Capital Gazette. I saw the site, read some of the paper online, and eventually found information about the publisher, Philip Merrill. He looked like a pretty interesting guy so I Googled him, Yahooed him, and ran his name through several other online search funnels.

That is when I got hooked. Who could pass up a chance to work around someone who fit that description?

I mean, here is a guy who bought a small paper, turned it into a very successful medium-sized paper, and bought a magazine and turned it into the most successful city magazine in the country (The Washingtonian).

All the while in a parallel life he was serving a number of positions at the State Department, Department of Defense, as Assistant secretary general of NATO, President of U.S. Export-Import Bank, and so forth. On top of that he was an avid sailor and philanthropist.

What kind of place would have a newspaper publisher like that?

Maybe that is when I started looking for Annapolis. What kind of town is home to this type of person?

It really intrigued me.

Now about the meeting -

I had been forewarned that meetings with Mr. Merrill could get really loud very fast. So I was ready for that - sort of. I had only been on the job a few weeks when I chanced upon him in his office (he was usually in at hours I was not walking around) so I decided to introduce myself.

After a very brief hello, he shot at me "What are you going to do with us on the Internet?" It came suddenly, with the force of a naval salvo.

It was not the question, it was the intensity.

Startled, I shot back about three things that were of top importance to me at the time. I don't even remember what they were. I am sure they were good.

What I do remember was Phil Merrill's response to my explanation.

"What does that mean to those people who live on that street in that city?"

His finger was jabbing the air in the direction of West Street. His eyes were a wall of fire. I was struck, not dumb, but enough to start wheeling my guns around as fast as I could.

Mr. Merrill did not say anything about 'his paper' as many publishers would have.

He did not talk much about revenue, procedures, technology, or trends. We discussed those things very little. But what overarched everything he said was how whatever we did would affect 'those people on that street.'

That was what really mattered. It was more than a passion. It was a fiery obsession with the people on the other end of The Capital's and HometownAnnapolis' product.

It was all about you.
The reader.
The site user.
The Annapolitan.

That was my first real introduction to Annapolis through the eyes and actions of someone who cared deeply about you.

For me, that short meeting of about 20 minutes was a life-changing event. I had always believed the feedback loop was the most important part of communication (what people get out of what we say). But I had never seen the idea take flight like it did that day. With a roar.

Phil Merrill not only believed it, he breathed it. With all his public honors, his wealth and his fame, it was really all about the common person down 'that street.'

It was the only meeting like that I would ever have with Phillip Merrill.

A month and a half later he was gone, slipping beneath the waters of his beloved Chesapeake Bay.

(If you would like to read more about Philip Merrill - we still have the tribute 'blog' on our site with some of the hundreds of comments people sent in upon his death. We also have a short biography of his life).

Where are you from?

A quick post on a note I heard today. I was talking with a friend who stated "I have lived here 35 years and I still am not sure I am an Annapolitan."

Interesting.

We talk a lot in the online office at HometownAnnapolis.com about identifying with communities, feeling a sense of place, and the unique mix that is Anne Arundel county (and then we throw in Kent Island and Bowie to make it interesting).

This is especially important since we have branded the main website of The Capital hometownannapolis.com. Since we have an audience in all these areas, this question is a professional one, not just philosophical.

What kind of identity is there living here? Is there a sense of place? Does there need to be one? Deep questions for sure. For any community.

But assuming that most people feel a need to be 'from' somewhere, what would you answer if someone asked you "where are you from?"

Are you an Annapolitan? What does it take to be one of those? Are you an Anne Arundelian? Would your answer be: "...from Kent Island" or "South county" or "Gambrills" or "near Baltimore" or what?

I guess names for places and people who live there don't mean much unless people need them. But for people like me who do identify with a place and like to express that succinctly to those who ask - it is a bit of a riddle figuring it out. I live in Piney Orchard in Odenton. I work in Annapolis. We travel all over the area on weekends. When people from back home ask me where I am now, I say "Annapolis, Maryland."

Maybe it is because I am a southerner. I have heard that if the first question you hear upon meeting someone new is "what do you do?" they could be from most parts of the country; but if that question is "where are you from" they might well be from the south. That statement is probably over-generalized, but it is true that roots do mean a lot to most of us southerners.

So this might be a question you are not interested in.

But I am still intrigued by my friend's statement.

And I wonder: what does it take to be an 'Annapolitan?'

That too is now a part of my search for Annapolis.

Next post I'll talk about my introduction to Phil Merrill.

Looking ahead to 'What is Annapolis?'

In the last post I mentioned we would wait a little while to get into the subject of "What is Annapolis?" And we will - it will be a lot to discuss.

But to prime the pump of your thinking, I'll link here to something I read recently on The Washingtonian website:

Long known as a world sailing capital, Annapolis is no longer a sleepy town full of boats and midshipmen. Now home to hundreds of new condos, high-class shopping, and three restaurants on the 2007 100 Very Best Restaurants list, this suburb is rapidly becoming a hot spot for Washingtonians to live and play....

The reference is found here: http://www.washingtonian.com/articles/visitorsguide/2961.html

Annapolis is a suburb????

I have not been here that long, but I would not call it a suburb. Maybe if you worked in DC with people who drive home to Annapolis to sleep at night, you might think it is like a suburb - if you had never been here. But having been here, that should never enter your mind again. At least that is my opinion - and I am the new kid on the block.

But do other people in neighboring (larger) cities view Annapolis as a suburb?

Interesting fodder for discussion - and a starting point for "What is Annapolis?"

I just wanted to tease that a bit. We will get to it. Feel free to write in your views. I will post them when we get back to the subject.

'Til later.

(Note: I was told by one person that the quoted travel interest article was not written by a regular Washingtonian staffer).

Also - in all fairness - the rest of the mentioned article speaks much about the distinctive traits of Annapolis. I just wonder why the word "suburb" might have come into the writer's mind.

Lots of Posts coming up

The wait in between posts here is not because I have not had ideas but maybe because I have had too many. I plead for patience. Working on several posts at the same time and you will see some of them roll out in the next few days.

I know blog posts are supposed to be fairly extemporaneous, but these need to be developed more than most.

A preview:

• Discovering Annapolis - the Naval Academy - a special experience to a newcomer.
• Philip Merrill's impact on me (Though I only met him a few times and only had one long - and loud - conversation with him). What an introduction to Annapolis! What he told me about his view of the newspaper in Annapolis.
• My impressions on the new mall opening, talking with some business leaders, and other community people. If I get the time to edit it, a video I shot at the mall opening - it was fun.
• A letter from another newcomer -
• A discussion I would like to have about citizen journalism - more about the direction we are going with the web sites - more about getting readers - users - YOU - onto the stage and hearing you speak to us and to the rest of the community.
• What IS Annapolis anyway? How does the rest of the county fit in? What about the smaller communities? Are we city, suburbs, hometowns, developments, sprawl, all the above or what? This one is going to be a good discussion. Might save this for last of this bunch.

(If you have thoughts on these subjects - email me - I would like to make it more than a monologue).

These are all on the stove - different burners. Not sure which one will come out first. Check back soon.