Skip to main content

Gossip Girls

Okay, they're not girls, they're women. And the names have been changed to protect the innocent. But I present this as evidence of the enormous success of the Howard County Library System in our community.


Setting: Facebook Characters: Scarlet, Maura, Lisa, Anna, Theresa, Barb, Leigh, Hailey.

 

Scarlet: Going to the library feels like winning the lottery.

Maura: So true!

Scarlet: I mean, woah!!!

Lisa: Free knowledge!

Lisa: Paid by our tax dollars. ;-)

Anna: Oh. I thought you meant that half the books were lost to taxes and distant relatives began coming out of the woodwork to hit you up for favors.

Theresa: No way man! I always return books late. I vow never to step foot back in that place.

Scarlet: Those librarians will break your kneecaps.

Barb: I love the library. I've given my out-of-town family members tours of the Miller Branch

Scarlet: I feel like wearing a cocktail dress when I go in the Miller Branch...with the floor lighting and marble and fountains.

Scarlet: Actually, mostly I want other people to wear cocktail dresses there with me. I'll bring a flask!

Barb: It's a date! I like Jäger or Black Velvet Toasted Caramel.

Scarlet: We can pretend like we're taking prom pictures.

Leigh: I have always wanted to have a party at the library. And any excuse to wear a cocktail dress really

Scarlet: I may need to create an event.

Leigh: Why not, it's public domain. Bring the party to the library.

Hailey: They do have that fancy event in February I think-- Evening at the Sax or something like that. Dress up gala event at Miller. Sounds right up your alley!!

Scarlet: Let's show up in January and mess with them!

Barb: I'm in!

*****

This conversation is almost a mini focus group unto itself. What I love about it is the genuine enthusiasm for the library which all these women share. Unsolicited, unexpected praise is a wonderful thing. How fortunate we are to live in a community that invests in its libraries.

Sometimes I wonder what people are saying about me, behind my back. I can only hope it's as wonderful as this.

 

 

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more