So, what is a "hon" anyway

Well, I told my mom about the blog, which is surely the first sign of the apocalypse. Her only reaction is "what does 'hon' mean?" And it was then that I realized truly how long I'd been in Baltimore (even if the calendar only says two years) and how much it has infected my soul. In a good way.

Trying to pin down a definition of a "hon" is like trying to catch a moonbeam in your hand.

According to that less than savory HonFest: The term “Hon” is actually a friendly Baltimore greeting and comes from the word “honey.” But let us not use that mock-what-you-don't-know celebration as our definitive source, k?

I guess, technically, a "hon" is a female denizen of Baltimore City. Someone separated from the manicured lawns of the County, where the grocery shopping is easy and chain restaurants populate the landscape like buffalo. But more fundamentally, a hon is someone who truly embraces Baltimore and all of its hidden funk. Who knows that there's more to Baltimore than the Inner Harbor. Like, say, the American Visionary Arts museum or the Creative Alliance or John Waters. Someone who loves her non-air-conditioned, run-down rowhouse on a noisy block full of street urchins and non-working cars way more than she could ever have loved that brand new apartment up in Towson.

But, "hon" is more than a noun, really. On its most basic level, hon is a term of endearment. A fond address to a good friend or neighbor or relative or even just an acquaintance. As my friend Lula put it, Hon:Baltimoreanism::Bubbie:Judaism.

Another friend, She of the Messy Hair, has a different take:

Hon is big hair and best friends. Hon is helping up the girl who fell on her ass and telling off the girl who laughed at her for it. Hon is always being handy with a natty boh and a heap of kind words. Hon is knowing that second hand clothes are always hotter because you had money left over to pay your bar tab. Hon is jumping up and saying "wait, you think you're an asshole -- listen to what I did!" Hon is understanding that there's a big world out there but knowing that the best thing you can do is to take care of your little corner of it.

And of course she's right. More than that, though, "hon" is really a state of mind that defies explanation. And much like porn, it is what it is and I know it when I see it.