Skip to main content

For Whom the Bell Tolls


CA rep from River Hill, Dr. Chao Wu, reports that the Bell Tower is coming back to the Lakefront in time for the Columbia 50th Birthday celebration. I've lived here since 1999 and I have no memory of seeing it in real life, but I have read many laments from residents who miss it. I am guessing that this news should be cause for celebration.

Although I read somewhere that the location will be different and some folks are not happy about that. This is Columbia, after all. If there is to be change there will be people lining up to protest. See also: Dr. Wu's meeting write-up for complaints about the noise at Merriweather.

 CA is selling commemorative bricks again and I am very tempted to purchase one for the blog. On the other hand, I am a bit superstitious. What if the act of purchasing the brick killed my desire to write? That would be awkward.

A bit of fun: the River Hill Choral concert concluded with the debut of its newest ensemble: the River Hill Chorale. Chorale rehearses once a week after school, and is open to RHHS students, faculty, staff, and parents. Kudos to director Ms. Katie Geiger and the RHHS community for filling those risers with sound. Here's a sample.

What a wonderful idea to create a multi-generational school-based group that allows participants to have the experience of hearing and being a part of a large ensemble. We compartmentalize so much of our lives these days. We live separated from each other. Perhaps sometimes we all need to get together and sing.


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

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...
Post a Comment
Read more