Challenging the Expected

Bumped into an old friend in an unexpected place on Monday.

You may recognize her as one of Ginger Bread Girl's many friends and relations from Clark's Elioak Farm -- originally from the Enchanted Forest. I was quite surprised to see her at the Inn at Norwood in Sykesville, but I guess everyone needs a little getaway now and then.

Speaking of things I wasn't expecting, the terrible news of Governor Hogan's cancer diagnosis comes to mind. I was both gratified and confused to see Democrats stepping forward on social media with good wishes for recovery. Yes, wishing someone who is gravely ill the very best in care and healing is the right thing to do. But it also feels weird to see some of the Governor's most outspoken opponents in such a hurry to say something nice.

Tom Coale's post on HoCoRising addresses this well, I think. In "The First Human Governor" he states:

In an instant, Governor Hogan went from a man of policy, slogans, budgets, and vetoes, to a husband, father, grandfather, and man. And I believe that is true for both his supporters and detractors alike. I can say from personal experience that candidates are often treated as something other than human. Tired? Frustrated? Elated? Hurt? Keep it to yourself and stay on message. Larry Hogan was as much a symbol as he was a man. Until yesterday.

So does it take a diagnosis of cancer for us to allow a person of differing political views to be human? In the same way, does it take the murder of nine people in a church for us to allow an honest conversation of the legacy of slavery, racism, and all that the Confederate flag symbolizes? Why?

I realize that I am stepping way out of "where Columbia and Howard County intersect." Even a hometown blog can have questions bigger than its boundaries. Today, these are mine.

Comments

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...

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...

Columbia Chance Connection

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog