America goes green on St. Patrick’s Day. From beer to dress to hair (and once upon a time, the Chicago River), green is the color of choice.      In putting on the green, we’re not alone. St. Patrick’s stomping grounds is doing its own greening, returning to its roots to recapture a way of life and an economy rising from the Old Sod.

I ran away in February 1785 …         Thus begins the story of Nace Butler, a young man born to a bold Irish indentured servant and an African male slave.     Nace’s mother Eleanor Butler, known as Irish Nell, arrived on one of the ships of Charles Calvert, the fourth Lord Baltimore.

In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.      –Abraham Lincoln

From COVERGIRL cosmetics to Noxzema, Maryland has a legacy of good skin. For those two boons to ­beauty, we owe thanks to turn-of-the-20th-century Baltimore pharmacist George Bunting. Bunting invented Noxzema to relieve sunburn. Perhaps he was beseeched by clients who failed to factor in the sun’s strength as they sought relief from summer heat on rivers, Bay or oceans.     Who hasn’t used Noxzema? The skin care line with the bracing aroma has become a staple of adolescent medicine cabinets and beauty regimens around the world.

Once you’d paid the meter, you might as well have gone to D.C. as to Annapolis. Both capitals charge $2 per hour for meter parking. That’s 25 cents for seven and a half minutes, or 16 quarters to fill a meter. No wonder we who park in both cities carry rolls of quarters.     For Annapolis, the burden is lifted. Until March 31, rates fall to a mere $1 per hour at the city’s 384 meters.     So come to town, park and spend. Economic stimulus is the reason for the bargain rates.

In New England where I grew up, everyone knew everyone else and you always got a friendly nod or a smile, especially if you were out walking the family pooch or trekking to school in inclement weather. I loved running down country roads, knowing I’d likely see someone I knew at some point along my route.     We’re lucky that way in Annapolis, too. An abundance of trails and sidewalks make Maryland’s capital city a walking- and running-friendly town.

Now’s the time to pack up family and holiday visitors for a trip to Calvert Marine Museum in Solomons. Come January 1, the family-friendly, 43-year-old museum closes for three months for renovation. When it opens again, it won’t be the old familiar place.

Dominion Cove Point LNG moved a big step closer to an historic transformation last week. The big energy mover on little Calvert County’s southern Bay shore won the U.S. Department of Energy’s approval to export American natural gas, in liquefied form, to any nation that wants to buy.         The date was September 11, a portentous anniversary both for the nation and for the LNG terminal’s history.

Scarce as candidates are, Annapolis’ chambers won’t be empty come November. Thirteen Annapolitans have stepped up, enough to fill all eight council seats and offer Primary voters a choice in the mayoral race and in two of the eight wards.     The nine in competition answered questions and stated their views in an 11th-hour forum sponsored by local chapters of the Sierra Club and League of Conservation Voters. Enough likely voters showed up that the Heritage Baptist Church parking lot looked like a revival was on the calendar.

What do we want our capital city to do for us?     Smooth our commuter visit by land and sea?     Give us places to go and things to do, by day and night?     Provide a walkable historic core?     Give us model environmental integrity in lighting, noise control, stormwater and waste management?     Maybe just stay green?     Without doubt, we want a good place to live and do business where we’re proud to bring visiting family and friends.