Skip to main content

Here and There



After the difficulty I had online thisn weekend with devotees of Jim Rouse, I was a bit startled to read this random Tweet:
2022 James Rouse emerges from his cryochamber to declare his lordship over “the former line state”

That’s what you get for eavesdropping on other people’s Twitter conversations. It was a completely lighthearted thread, by the way. But it certainly leapt off the page to me.

A few dribs and drabs around Rouse-world:

1. Lap Corp, located in the old Columbia Medical Plan campus, has instituted a new check-in system where you can handle everything in advance on your smart phone and then scan a QR code when you show up. Judging by the number of people sitting there, waiting, on a Saturday morning while I got seen promptly, I think there are many people in our community who don’t have access to smart phones. So the system doesn’t work so well for them.

2. As exciting as Clarksville Commons is in the River Hill community, it was good to see the Bagel Bin buzzing with activity yesterday at lunchtime. There’s certainly room for the old along with the new. 

3. Steve Charing has written a new blog post about LGBTQ equality and I highly recommend it. 


No, it’s not strictly “Columbian” and I have no idea what Rouse would have thought of it. But it’s timely, touches on specific local issues, and it’s well-organized and well-written.

A shout out to the reader who responded to yesterday’s blog as follows:

Intriguing Blog this morning.  While extremely far removed, I find it akin to discussions people have around the Constitution and what the Framers must have meant/wanted.

You really got me thinking!

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