Qatar tribune There are moments when Baltimore is unified and times when it is not. An appreciation and respect for the Orioles and Ravens, for steamed crabs and cold beer, for Maryland history makers from Frederick Douglass to Thurgood Marshall enrich our sense of community. Yet partisan politics, class division, violent crime and systemic racism undermine that sense of pride, of belonging, of shared purpose and unity.
Given all that, it was still somewhat surprising to look out across a certain stretch of the Patapsco River and find oneself truly moved — and dare we say emotionally lifted — not by what was there but by what was not. Seven weeks after the terrible collision between the Dali and the Francis Scott Key Bridge, the massive container ship was no longer stuck amid the wreckage. Early Monday, with much of the fallen steel girders blasted and set aside, a small fleet of five tug boats pushed and pulled the refloated, significantly damaged vessel to Seagirt Marine Terminal.
As Gov. Wes Moore observed from the river bank this morning, this absence proved a “beautiful sight.” It marked a critical point of progress.
And it was achieved ahead of schedule and without serious injury to rescue and salvage workers, divers or U.S. Coast Guard crews.
This is not a cause for celebration, exactly — not given the six road workers who died or the enormous economic cost incurred and the uncertainties that still remain. But we cannot dismiss the feeling of hope it inspired.
