Many Happy Returns

Eeyore: It's my birthday, the happiest day of the year.

Pooh: Your birthday?

Eeyore: Of course. Can't you see all the presents?

Pooh: Nnno.

Eeyore: Can't you see the cake, the candles, the pink sugar?

Pooh: No.

Eeyore: Neither can I.

Pooh: Oh. Well, many happy returns of the day, Eeyore.

Eeyore: Thank you, Pooh. But we can't all, and some of us don't.

Pooh: Can't all what?

Eeyore: No gaiety, no song and dance, no "Here We Go 'Round the Mulberry Bush". But don't worry about me, Pooh. Go and enjoy yourself. I'll stay here and be miserable, with no presents, no cake, no candles.

--A.A. Milne

What does that even mean, "many happy returns of the day"? I've never really thought about it. A quick search reveals that it is intended to wish the recipient many such happy days in the future, many happy birthdays, not just this one. Makes sense.

Local luminary Mickey Gomez has a birthday today. I have a suggestion: celebrate her birthday by paying a visit to her blog, Life and How to Live It. Her latest post is about Spring and spiders. You should check it out, although it may change your feelings about venturing into your own back yard.

Happy Birthday, Mickey!

*****

A few questions for your Thursday, drawn from current events:

1. Is it or is it not legal to record candidates at an open political forum during an election season? (From Mount Hebron Community Association BOE forum)

2. What response did BOE member Ellen Giles get from the ethics panel about Ann DeLacy's use of hcpss emails to solicit campaign donations?

3. Where does Ellen Giles actually live? (From Southern Howard County BOE forum)

4. Why did two of the three incumbents refuse to be interviewed for a story which highlighted the public's frustration over lack of openness and transparency? Doesn't that kind of...prove the point?

5. What on earth does it mean to be "reliably black"?

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