Growing bald

I live in a condo in downtown Bethesda, one of the most urban areas in Maryland. The building I live in is relatively new, with all the cushy amenities we’ve come to view as standard (and a swimming pool, to boot). Theoretically, I’m pro-development.

Or at least I was.

Earlier this week, during a drive through my hometown of Ellicott City, I was heading south on Old Annapolis Road about to turn right onto Columbia Road when I lost track of where I was.

The intersection once boasted shaded trees on all four sides, a church and a few modest homes. Sure, the Dorsey Search Village Center was nestled behind the trees on the far left, but you had to squint through the brush to glimpse a light or parked car.

The area now looks like the bald patch on a once-thick head of hair.

In retrospect, I’d noticed the preceding advertisement for new “luxury” townhouses perched on the corner. It didn’t click that in order to add, they had to subtract.

I guess it couldn't be one of the best places to live without people wanting to move there.

The view’ll never be the same.

-JACKIE SAUTER, Daily Record Multimedia Editor