Skip to main content

A Change of Heart

I'd like to recommend this post to you:

"A Healthy Harvest AND a Healthy Dose of Inspiration" by Susan Garber.

Yes, that Susan Garber. After her moment in the HoCo political spotlight was over, she started a blog, How Come? I haven't said anything about it here up until today because I have found it to be more of the same anger and negativity for which its author is locally famous.

But this post is different. Read it and you will see why. The piece is ostensibly about Howard County start-up Hungry Harvest, which recently won investment funds on Shark Tank. As you you read you'll see that it begins with one of Ms. Garber's notable actions, a letter to the editor. But then it takes a turn.

She sends an email to Hungry Harvest and they call her right back.

I don't want to spoil it for you. You must read it for yourself.

This piece is honest, informative, and most of all, humble. Ms. Garber concludes:

"Moral of the story: Reaching Out rather than Mouthing Off is a more effective strategy for bringing about needed change. Sounds like an especially good moral for writers and bloggers…….."

While I haven't often agreed with Ms. Garber in the past, she has earned my respect by being willing to take a clear-eyed look at herself and admit she was wrong about something. It takes a big person to be able to do that.

*****

Now I am going to take a bit of a leap. If you believe in the proposed legislation aimed at improving the Howard County Schools, now is the time to do more than "Mouthing Off" about it. It's time for "Reaching Out". Write and call your representatives and tell them why you support these two measures.

warren.miller@house.state.md.us

trent.kittleman@house.state.md.us

robert.flanagan@house.state.md.us

eric.ebersole@house.state.md.us

terri.hill@house.state.md.us

clarence.lam@house.state.md.us

vanessa.atterbeary@house.state.md.us

shane.pendergrass@house.state.md.us

frank.turner@house.state.md.us

gail.bates@senate.state.md.us

edward.kasemeyer@senate.state.md.us

guy.guzzone@senate.state.md.us

hoc1@mlis.state.md.us


 

 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...

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...

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...