The poem "Desiderata" has been celebrated -- and mocked -- for years because of its Woodstock-era sentiment: "Go placidly amid the noise and haste ... " Its origins have also been misunderstood, with some calling it a 17th Century work attributed it to Baltimore's Old St Paul's Church.
Actually the poem was written by Max Ehrmann of Terra Haute, Ind., in the 20th Century, and yesterday the good folks of his hometown memorialized him with a sculpture. The Terra Haute Tribune-Star noted the occasion with a story as well as a column by Mark Bennett that explains the beginnings of the Baltimore myth. Interesting reading.