Busy Busy

Looking ahead to the weekend:

Oakland Mills High School is having their annual Craft Fair on Saturday from 10-3.

This is always a great event with a wide variety of vendors, items in many price ranges, and refreshments available for purchase as well. And while I’m not ready to think of the holidays yet, I’d highly recommend you snap up some tickets to the WBAL Concert for Kids, hosted every year by OMHS. 

After all the crafty goodness make sure to head over the the Columbia Association’s Party in the Park.

What’s a “Party in the Park”?

Enjoy good food, drinks, and live music alongside your friends and neighbors, warmed by fire pits and surrounded by scenic Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. 

Columbia Association’s Party in the Park will take place at the Chrysalis on Saturday, November 2 from 3-7pm. Join us for some of our region’s favorite food trucks, plus both alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages available for purchase, fire pits, lawn games, and music from Jah Works and DJ TreStylz.

It’s a free event but you’ll need to register here for parking.

One more thing before I go: Happy Halloween! I’m looking forward to handing out candy tonight.

On the Road Again

One of the earliest posts, from way back in 2011, was about a challenge I set for myself. In
Walking the Walk I revealed that, although I had advocated for the building of the Oakland Mills Walgreen’s by touting its easy availability on foot, I hadn’t actually ever walked there.

So, I did.

On a crisp, clear morning on the 31st of October I laced up my shoes, zipped up my jacket, and put down my fear.

(Starting Time)
Home:  9:36
Sohap: 9:43
Walgreen's:  9:49
(Returning)
Walgreen's 10:04
Sohap:  10:10
Home:  10:16

I realized yesterday that I have another challenge looming. During the time that the Oakland Mills Dunkin’ Donuts business was in the works (and that was a really long time) I told people that I had decided that I would only get a donut there if I walked both ways. You know, as a way to “justify” the extra calories. Well, I’ve been to the new Dunkin’ about four times so far. The number of times I have walked?

Zero.

It’s time for a little public accountability, methinks. 

Are there some walks you’ve been vowing to take that you just keep putting off? Do you find it easier to hop in the car when a little voice in your head is telling you it wouldn’t be that far on foot? Or are you good at that “leave the car at home” thing? Share your tips.

I know I have friends who have hiked the Appalachian Trail and climbed mountains. That’s cool, admirable even, but I’m not talking about that here. I’m coming at this from someone who has to be persuaded not to move their car when shopping at retail center with a large parking lot. Everyone has to start somewhere.

If you can walk to work in Columbia/HoCo that would be a blog post unto itself.

A Very Small Venture

My life took a little detour recently when I unaccountably got into the T-shirt business.

This shirt:

It’s a message I believe in. And it’s timeless. Long after this season of acrimony is over in Columba/HoCo, this shirt and its sentiment will still be relevant. I will never be embarrassed to wear this shirt. I will never look at it, languishing in a dresser drawer, and feel embarrassed.

After I broke the news that I was going to have the shirts made, I was approached by two locals with offers to assist with the financial outlay. In both cases I refused. I was lucky I was able to front the money myself. (Well, it was only 27 shirts.) It was very important to me that I not be beholden to anyone for putting these shirts out into the world.

And with all the crazy controversies out there, I didn’t want this to turn into one of them. This was a simple transaction. I ordered the shirts. People paid me back, no profit was made.

Twenty-seven t-shirts in a sea of hundreds will not make a dent when photos are being taken or when news outlets are sizing up the state of things. And perhaps the battle is won by the group with the most matching t-shirts. But it’s my opinion that none of us will truly “win” until we get behind the sentiment on this shirt.

All school are “our schools”. All children are “our children”.

And now, I think I’ll go back to the blog business.

Will the Real Ellicott City Please Stand Up

When I think of Ellicott City, two competing images come to mind. One is of Main Street, Old Ellicott City. The other is of Route 40, a thoroughfare of a gazillion shopping centers. It seems an odd composition to me. How did Ellicott City come to have such a split personality?

If you live in Ellicott City, what do you see as the “center of town”? Is it Main Street, or is it a spot on Route 40 where you frequently shop or eat out? Or is it someplace else entirely?

Since much of Columbia was built in a particular time period, it’s pretty easy to see what the Center of Town was meant to be. We’re a very young place. We’re only now experiencing a significant second wave of growth, of the sort that may shift how we see ourselves.

In comparison, Ellicott City has years and years of history behind it. Sifting through the layers of growth, of generational changes and suburban sprawl is a task worthy of county planners, I guess. Or the historical society.

Here’s my question: does it all make sense to you? Is Ellicott City a cohesive community/city/town/suburb? Does it all hang together, somehow, despite its many contrasts? I realize that this question reveals plenty about my lack of knowledge, but, hey: isn’t that what questions are for?

Clue me in.

Light and Dark

It’s raining and raining and the sky is dark. I try to keep my eyes open but sleep is far more enticing. It doesn’t feel like the day has begun. I keep waiting for more light.

A few light-filled moments this week:

Lunch with a dear friend at Indigo.
A chance meeting at Röggenart that produced some great conversation.
A neighborhood Halloween party that was welcoming and fun for kids and adults.
Cupcakes and champagne and a bit of splurge shopping at a friend’s house.
Folks who were quick to offer kind words when I was at a low ebb.

It hasn’t exactly been a light-filled week here in Columbia/HoCo. I won’t spell it out but you probably know what I mean. And today marks the one year anniversary of the massacre at the Tree of Life Synagogue in Pittsburgh. That’s a lot of darkness for one day to bear.

Light a candle today. Either a real one or by shedding some light for someone else. I wouldn’t have gotten through the week without people who did that for me.

On the Road

For sale in Columbia, Maryland, a 1982 Airstream.

From the advert:

Truly a joy to drive. It turns lots of heads and is definitely an attention getter. People everywhere, from gas stations to campgrounds, stop and want to learn about it.

My parents had a fascination with what they called “mobile homes” and what are now called RVs. Many a Sunday afternoon drive ended at some lot, touring Winnebagos. It was a dream of theirs that was never fulfilled, like my father’s goal to own a home with a sunken bathtub, or their joint desire to retire to one of those little red popcorn wagons.

Airstreams are known as having a sleek and stylish presence in the world of RVs. This particular one looks to have been around the block quite a bit. Is there a Fixer Upper show for RVs? What kind of mileage does a 1982 vehicle get? What kind of mileage can any RV get? Not too great, I would think.

An aside: did you know that Columbia has a designated RV storage facility? They do. It’s located near Lifetime Fitness.

True confession: I adore watching those extreme RV shows on tv and I do harbor a wish to take at least one trip to enjoy the RV experience. I’d also like a luxury treehouse, so it’s hard to say if and when these dreams will come true.

How about you? Are you interested in a 1982 Airsteam, to life on the road, free from hotels or pitching tents? Can you imagine yourself bringing new life to a 35 year old classic?

Mailbox Musings

In our family it is generally my husband who gets the mail. It’s an activity he is highly motivated to do. When my daughter was younger she enjoyed going through the mail and sorting it: this is for Mom, this is for Dad, this goes in the recycling, and so on. Every so often she would get something herself. But usually she just kept the fun catalogues to browse through.

We live in Columbia, so we have those shared mailboxes. I’ve read that they were done this way to encourage interactions between neighbors. Alternatively, I’ve read that’s just a coverup, that it was just easier/cheaper to do it that way. Here’s the thing: I’ve now lived here twenty years and I’m not sure I’ve ever even bumped into a neighbor while getting the mail. Have you?

Of course, as I have already said, it’s my husband who does most of the mail getting, so perhaps I should really ask him. I just wonder how useful the shared mailbox concept is in fostering conversation. Probably the most interaction between neighbors I have ever seen was after a big snow when folks were digging their cars out.

And then there’s this: how much mail do you actually get these days? I imagine a sample “haul” from the 1970’s would look very different than one from today. Birthday cards, personal letters, business letter, bills, postcards, the Sears Christmas catalogue “Wish Book”...(sorry, couldn’t resist.) Rouse foresaw quite a bit and was clearly a forward thinker but was the possibility of the Internet on his mind? I’m guessing no.

In a hundred years will they remain, like monuments to forgotten wars, largely ignored and completely unused?

I would love to hear your stories of the Columbia shared mailbox experience. Love them? Hate them? Meet someone special while picking up your mail? Forge valuable friendships?

Consider this an official call for submissions. If I get enough I’ll share them in a follow-up post.

A Rip in the Fabric

I stop on the way to work every day to pick up a large iced coffee. Just cream. No sugar. The gentlemen at the Dunkin Donuts often see me coming before I’m completely in the door and start making it for me. Early morning Dunkin is a mix of adults getting breakfast sandwiches and high school students getting beverages enhanced by caramel.

On Fridays there appears to be some kind of student meeting in the back; maybe it is a study group. Occasionally you will see a few people sitting in the booths up front. But mostly it is a quick in-and-out trade at that hour.

About the booths. I remember when they were installed and how nice they looked. Then I watched over time how they were vandalized by customers. It made me sad to see slits in the vinyl, stuffing pulled out.  Those things don’t happen by themselves. Why do that? Would you go in someone’s home and rip up their furniture?

So I was excited when they were replaced recently. All is shiny and new again. But how long will it last?

You see, these booths aren’t top of the line, heavy-duty, expensive pieces of furniture. They are, I suspect, what these particular business owners can afford. And they will stand up to normal wear and tear but they are no match for deliberate vandalism.

For Heaven’s sake, Columbia/HoCo, don’t patronize a business, accept their service and kind hospitality, and then rip up their furniture. And don’t make excuses for kids who do it, either. It matters.

Just think. We are walking around every day in this town and among us are people who think nothing of destroying What someone else has worked for and walking away. Making a space that is meant to be shared by all less welcoming.  No apologies, no acceptance of responsibility, no restitution. “It just happened.”

When you hurt people and the things the work for it doesn’t “just happen”. When you can slink away without your identity being known you are at best a coward. At worst you are showing a profound disrespect for members of your community who are nothing more to you than purveyors of a product. Not people. Not fellow human beings. Invisible save for an exchange of cash.

We’ve got a second chance now. New booths, new vinyl. I wonder how long it will last?

Utopia

I stumbled upon this tweet the other day. I’m always excited when I find anyone on Twitter talking about Columbia. There not a lot of that kind of conversation. We may think we’re a really big deal but searches on Twitter say otherwise. Of course there are daily job postings and real estate listings but - - actual conversations about Columbia? - - not so much.

So, here goes:

I’m fine with the upgrade to merriweather, expanding the mall over time. Maybe some more stuff by the lake. But all the high density housing is insane. They want to create a utopia where ppl live work and play in downtown Columbia.  Nobody does that.

Hmm.

Wasn’t Columbia always supposed to be some kind of utopia where you could live, work, and play? Is the difference now that the focus is on a “downtown”? Or is the objection to the concept that anyone would live, work, and play in the same location? Not sure.

I’m pretty sure that upgrades to Merriweather, expanding the Mall, more stuff by the lake can only supported by increasing the density housing-wise. I don’t see how the one can be successful without the other. Of course, if you liked everything the way it was before, then none of this is worth discussing. You just wish they had had the sense to leave well enough alone.

My recollection from school days is that utopias never quite work out the way their creators intended. Certainly Columbia didn’t, although I’d argue that Rouse foresaw that. He knew it would keep growing beyond his original concepts. Would he like what is going on now?

Feel free to go over his writing with a fine-tooth comb, or get a Ouija Board. I don’t think we will ever know for sure. 

Do you believe in a utopia where you can live, work, and play? Do people “do that”? 

Fired Up

I showed up a bit after 5:30. I hadn’t been expecting the traffic situation on Route 32. The main room at Jailbreak Brewery was already well more than half-filled and abuzz with conversation. I was there for Ignite HoCo 5, an event sponsored by the local Chapter of Conscious Capitalism.

Conscious Capitalism of Central Maryland describes itself: 

C3MD is a purpose-driven business community that promotes the power of capitalism to create positive change, do good, and elevate humanity.

We inspire and equip individuals and organizations to embrace and implement conscious business principles through educational programs, practical tools, and strategic partnerships.

Ignite is a particular sort of public speaking concept. Each speaker is allotted five minutes and must use twenty slides to convey a topic about which they are passionate. They seem to be quite successful locally, since this is the fifth one and they already have a date for next year’s event on the books.

Jailbreak is a great venue for these events. For a ten dollar ticket price, those in a attendance get two drink tickets and access to an ample buffet which sampled from Jailbreak’s regular menu. An interesting aside: the last time I was  at Jailbreak they didn't have in house food service and relied on visiting food trucks. Clearly I haven’t been there for quite awhile.

In addition to providing a venue, food, and drinks, included in the ticket price was a drawing at the conclusion of the event to present a donation of 500.00 to the winner’s non-profit organization of choice. Pretty cool, I’d say. I had to duck out before the end so I don’t know who won. I’ll update 

when I find out.

As to the speeches themselves, they weren’t quite what I was expecting. I guess I was thinking something more like performance art or a poetry slam. What I saw was personal, confessional, even intimate. It doesn’t seem likely that speaking to a room full of people with a clock ticking could be intimate, but, it was. These were not political speeches, or sales speeches. The speakers each found their way to hold up one thing to the light and focus on it.

Standouts in the first half for me were Matt Gresick who spoke on standardized assessments vs hands-on experiences in education, and Lisa Schlossnagle who told the story of her daughter’s alopecia areata diagnosis and why she, as a mother, was choosing baldness. While these two in particular spoke to me, all of the speakers I heard provided valuable insights and perspectives.

It was the first event I had been to in quite a while that was neither a concert nor a political function. While I saw a few people I knew, it was good to be in a room of largely unknown faces who were drawn together by this organization. 

Wendy Baird of Insight180 did an excellent job as MC, and C3MD President Wendy Moomaw kicked off the evening with a brief speech about practicing Capitalism with a goal of doing good and bringing good through one’s interactions. It really made me think.

IgniteHoCo5 was fun and informative. I can’t imagine having the courage to stand up and be heard in the way. A tip of the hat to all the participants who took that risk last night. 

Aftermath

I’ve been listening to Council member Opel Jones on the most recent episode of Elevate Maryland, and his discussion of certain council bills raised a question in my mind.

What happens when a meeting is over?

Do they all go out to a nearby all night restaurant to debrief? (I doubt it.) Do they each go off separately to their own individual homes and speak no more until their next meeting? (I doubt that, too.)  So how do they communicate with one another about what went right and went wrong?

If you are amongst the cognoscenti, bear with me here. Not all of us understand the inner workings of the County Council. And I often see people making uncharitable remarks about how the Council operates that make me suspect they don’t really understand, either.

What happens after all the testimony is heard, the agenda is followed, and the votes are taken? I would imagine that it’s just as important as what we see in the meetings. And I guess I’ll have to do some research and get back to you.

Doc

This one is not so local but it’s definitely personal. I just spied a familiar face peering out from the Baltimore Sun. And then I winced, because I realized it was an obituary.

Joseph Libercci: Longtime owner of Park Avenue Pharmacy known as ‘Dr. Joe’ and for kindnesses to Bolton Hill Community

I lived in Bolton Hill when I first came to Baltimore in the mid-80’s, first as a young married person and then as a newly divorced mother of a very young child. The Park Avenue Pharmacy was the center of Bolton Hill, and Joe was the brain and the heart that kept it going. He knew everyone. He would sometimes allow you to put much needed medications “on account” when you were waiting for payday to roll around. The tiny store had everything from medicine to snacks, greeting cards, school supplies, art supplies, beer and wine, magazines, even a bit of hardware supplies.

I never had a cross word from anyone who worked in that store. And I got plenty of good advice from Joe over the years when it came to medicines for my daughter and me. It was a time in my life that I struggled both emotionally and financially. Joe treated me (and everyone) with kindness and respect.

Baltimore Sun writer Fred Rasmussen does an excellent job at portraying Mr. Libercci. Even if you have a limited number of free articles, this one is worth the read. It’s a reminder of how just one person can do great work, can make their world a far better place.

So let’s make this one local. Share someone in Columbia/HoCo who has been this kind of heart and soul of a community. It doesn’t have to be someone in the spotlight, just someone who has brightened  their corner of the world.

I bet there’s more of their light out there than we realize.

Saturday Stories

The past few nights have been skimpy in the sleep department. It caught up with me this morning. My apologies. I used to set my clock by HoCoRising so I try to maintain a general consistency in posting times.

The sky is a beautiful fall blue, it is sunny, and, however low the temperature got last night, it did not kill our late-planted wildflowers. I’m in my favorite chair eating left over Indian food from the House of India for a late breakfast/early lunch.

A few things on my mind:

This article by Jess Nocera for the Columbia Flier:


Columbia political cartoonist’s book ‘JUST US!’ Showcases a black perspective on current events.

It is a wonderful look at a fascinating local resident, Walt Carr, and his life's work as a political cartoonist focused on the American black experience. St. John Baptist Church, on 9055 Tamar Drive in Columbia, is hosting a book signing at 10 am on October 23rd if you are interested in purchasing a copy and meeting the man himself.

The other evening I went down to Oakland Mills’ PizzaMan Restaurant for dinner to support the Oakland Mills Middle School fundraiser. PizzaMan is a relatively new local spot in our Village. They had a setback when a fire caused them to close for a while for repairs, but now they are up and running not only their popular takeout service but also dine in as well. 

It’s a sweet little place with excellent service and I enjoyed my meal of chicken Parmesan. I took home a slice of chocolate cake for my husband. Yes, they have pizza, which Oakland Mills has plenty of already but their menu encompasses plenty of additional fast casual favorites to try. And they have a liquor license in case you want a glass of wine with your dinner.

I was seated next to a table of moms from the PTA who were greeting folks as they came in. As I entered a group of their children were getting up to go. Later I overheard one of the women explaining that, since they were done eating, they walked over to the (new) Dunkin Donuts to get dessert. Something about this gave me a little thrill.

Yes, you and your family can eat dinner in a mom and pop restaurant in Oakland Mills and your kids can walk over to the Dunkin Donuts to get dessert and return, safe and sound. Unaccompanied. I hasten to add that this would be equally possible with any of the other fining establishments in the Oakland Mills Village Center. Call me crazy, but I’ll take these little slices of neighborhood walkability wherever I can find them.

One last thing: Conscious Capitalism of  Central Maryland is holding “Ignite Howard 5” Monday evening at Jailbreak Brewery at 5:30 pm. You can learn more here. Tickets are just ten dollars. A friend of mine is one of the speakers and I hope to be there. If you want some background on the Conscious Capitalism philosophy you can visit their website.

Enjoy this beautiful Fall day!

Parenting 2.0

I belong to an online parents group for the college my daughter attends. It has been very helpful as we lived through the beginning of the year jitters. It’s been a godsend for sharing information and getting advice. And yet.

Yesterday a parent bemoaned: I don’t understand the grading system!

The school maintains a system whereby parents may have access to the students’
academic work if the student allows them to. I can’t even remember if we asked our daughter to do this, and we certainly haven’t felt the desire to follow along from home. We hope she does well, and sometimes I worry how she will handle academics along with all the other enormous changes in her life.

But check up on her work? No.

Isn’t this the part where they fly the nest? Isn’t this the time when we let them?

Parenting in 2019 is clearly different than back when I went to college. I don’t know whether to feel confident in our choice to allow our daughter to be independent or feel guilty that I’m an irresponsible slacker. It’s a challenge I was not expecting.

Heart and Soul

Elijah Cummings has died and the world will bend a little less towards justice without him.

He was a warrior for justice. He didn’t merely push back against what was wrong, he proclaimed the truth boldly. There aren’t a lot of people who can do that with such authority. Representative Cummings walked the walk. He was more than entitled to talk the talk.

I’m too stunned to say much this morning. Even though I knew he had not been well, I still feel such a sense of loss.

Elijah Cummings spoke at the kickoff to the Columbia 50th Birthday celebration at the Mall. His speech about Rouse’s revolutionary vision was a keen contrast to the prepared remarks of other local dignitaries. I soon found out why.

I contacted his office to get a copy of his speech. After some back and forth, a staff member admitted that, although his office prepared speeches for him, he never followed them. He spoke from his heart, from his own life experiences, and he spoke to the issues he knew people needed to hear.

Rest easy, Mr. Cummings. Thank you for all the battles that you fought to make our country better and stronger in the face of injustice.

New Noms

It wasn’t that long ago that my husband refused to go out to dinner on Friday nights in Columbia. It didn’t matter where you went, there would be a wait. And no one took reservations. In recent years the number of restaurants entering the local scene has exploded. My husband has stopped begging off Friday night meals out.

And the restaurants keep coming. Howard Hughes recently announced a future Busboys and Poets, followed by word of GrillMarx and three other new establishments. I have moved from celebrating a decent choice on a Friday night to worrying whether Columbia can support this many restaurants. Columbia had one French restaurant, Petit Louis opened and basically put it out of business. And then even Petit Louis didn’t make it. Margin of profit in the restaurant industry is very thin.

One addition to the local food scene I’m not worried about is HoCoNomNom, a blog about local restaurants.

... this is not a review site. What I mean by that is that my goal is to provide information, announcements, impressions, and rumors of restaurants but I am not here to criticize or complain about a certain experience. There are plenty of sites that you can go to if you would like to hear about that. So I ask that if you are commenting, please stay positive and if you don’t have anything good to say, take it somewhere else.

The writer gives a tip of the hat to the much missed HowChow blog in his introduction, and his identification of his child as Little Nom is reminiscent of the “Little Chow” of his predecessor in food blogging. He is to be commended for his efforts in protecting the gender of said child. Take a look and you’ll see what I mean.

I’ve been pretty blunt recently about writers who aren’t willing to put their own names on their work. Traditionally an exception has been made for those in food writing, who wish to visit restaurants and give candid opinions. I can understand a desire to fly under the radar under the circumstances. It’s particularly understandable since it is clear that the writer has a young child whose identity he wishes to protect.

I also get the feeling from what I have read so far that HoCoNomNom is going to use his platform responsibly. Take a look for yourself. I think it’s a welcome addition to the blogging scene.

What newly announced restaurant are you looking forward to the most?

Howzat!

About a month ago a lowly cricket made news at the George Howard building for making its presence known in a very vocal way during a legislative hearing. Coincidentally, I had cricket on my mind at the very same time, having recently heard a piece on WAMU about the opening of a new cricket ground in Montgomery County.

Not the same kind of cricket, I know. But bear with me.

Cricket Is Growing In Popularity In Montgomery County. Now, There’s A New Field For People To Play - - Dominique Maria Bonessi, WAMU

Ms. Bonessi interviews Bijal Shah, the co-founder of the Maryland Premier Cricket League.

Shah says he remembers going to a Rockville permit office and asking to file a permit for a field to play cricket. He says the woman at the office thought he was talking about an insect.

Cricket - - the sport - - is not very high on the radar of most Americans. It’s generally assumed to be something “very British” and impossibly esoteric, You might be surprised to learn that it actually comes in third in international popularity.

Montgomery Parks Director Mike Riley says as the county’s population mix changes, so does the demand for different types of sports.

“The sport of cricket has been around a long time,” Riley said. “We have residents increasingly coming from countries who play the sport of cricket and have played it for decades.”

The sport began in the late 16th century in Great Britain and spread to other parts of the British Empire. It’s especially popular in India, Pakistan, Australia and many other countries.

“[The] British left obviously, but the game stayed,” Shah said. “There are about 30 to 40 countries playing international cricket on a regular basis.”

Today, it’s estimated that millions of people watch the World Cup of Cricket every year. 

As I did more research on the new cricket pitch in Montgomery County, I suddenly had a vague recollection of Howard County doing something similar. That’s when the fun began.

We have Ken Ulman and cricket:

                      

       

Allan Kittleman and cricket:

 

And Calvin Ball and cricket:

 

 It looks like Howard County was ahead of the game on this.

Cricket in  Howard County goes back to at least 2010 when Guy Guzzone and Jen Terrasa worked with the beginnings of the local cricket community to set up a cricket pitch at Murray Hill Middle School.  In 2012  a partnership with Howard County Rec and Parks  eventually led to the construction of the county’s first cricket pitch at Schooley Mill Park.  Today Rec and Parks even offers cricket instruction .

My husband, who grew up and went to college in the U.K., says that cricket is best learned from an early age, over time. It’s pretty hard to take up as an adult. So starting them off young is probably a good idea. Just because we didn’t grow up with cricket doesn’t mean our kids can’t have a go at it.

I’ll never forget seeing my husband’s face light up when we walked into Flavors of India in Gateway and discovered they were showing “the cricket” on their big screen tv. Cricket and “the footy” both give him that feeling of home. I imagine the reason that cricket is growing in popularity in Maryland is that our region has welcomed many new residents who have enjoyed watching and playing so much in their countries of origin.

Love of sport, full of team loyalty and rivalry, is a recognizable facet of the human condition, no matter where you are from. The joy of talking about the sport that you love reaches across national boundaries. And, just as we enjoy and learn about new cuisines as new residents come to our area, so can we enjoy and learn about sports that are new to us. Like cricket.

Our worlds expand. Our experiences ares broadened. Our communities are enriched. 

The building of a cricket pitch is more than adding an ordinary municipal amenity. It is a response to new residents and an affirmation that they and their cultures are seen and valued within the larger community.

A cricket pitch may have no personal value to me but I can value it as something we as a County do for the common good. I don’t have to get a direct benefit to know that it makes for a better community. 

The lesson for me here is more than the game itself. Communities that welcome and value differences, people who are willing to adjust to change and to try new things - - that’s the kind of community I want to be a part of. It’s what I believe Howard County can be. 

Some days we get it right. 

Untapped Resource

I have reached the time in my life when some of my women friends are becoming grandmothers. I find it odd that our culture seems to look on this as a life achievement when, in fact, there is absolutely no personal effort involved. Other people do all the work. It is not a goal one can work toward, now, is it?

Yesterday I heard a piece on the TED Radio Hour on WAMU which gave me a completely new take on the status of being a grandmother. Entitled “How Can a Team of Grandmothers Make Therapy Accessible to All?” it tells the story of a mental health initiative in Zimbabwe. Mental health professionals are in extremely short supply. Dr. Dixon Chibanda, one of only fifteen psychiatrists in the country, created a new and rather unexpected model for bringing mental health care right to where people needed it most.

So in very simple terms, the Friendship Bench is really - literally a bench which is used to create space for healing. So I work with grandmothers - community grandmothers, who are trained in basics of cognitive behavioral therapy. That's just a form of therapy which is often delivered by highly-skilled professionals such as clinical psychologists and psychiatrists.

So what I did in 2005 was I trained a whole lot of grandmothers to deliver this intervention. And when you looked to this part of the world, grandmothers are considered to be the custodians of local culture and wisdom. And they are rooted in their communities. And they have this amazing ability to listen in a very empathic way. They have this amazing ability to be attentive. And I think they are such an amazing resource.

This initiative has been so successful that they are beginning trials in other countries. 

As I listened I suddenly remembered something I had seen from the Horizon Foundation.

Emotional Support Humans Wanted

The top five reasons why you should be an Emotional Support Human for the people in your life are…

1. You care, but you may not know how to show support. Don’t let that stop you from 
2. reaching out. The only way to learn what they need is to ask.
3. Telling someone to “get help” isn’t always enough – sometimes they need help getting help.
4. The only guaranteed way to let them know you care is to tell them.
5. They might need to talk – And they could be waiting for you to show that you’re willing to listen. Don’t be afraid of bothering them; they don’t have to talk to you if they don’t want to.
6. Doing nothing can make things worse – when we don’t talk about mental health, we allow the stigma around it to continue.

You can learn more about the Emotional Support Human concept by going to their website. Unlike Dr. Chidaya’s program, there’s no formal training involved. And you don’t need to be a grandmother. (Although I suspect it wouldn’t hurt.)

While the two programs have very different purposes, they do share a vision of enlisting ordinary people in a community to be valuable resources for those in crisis. Think about it. We are an untapped resource. We could be the one person that helps someone in a hard time.

Interested?  Take the pledge.

Often Overlooked

My apologies. For some reason my body is craving sleep more than blogging this morning.

One local story that interests me is this one by Baltimore Sun’s Christina Tkacic:

The Rathskeller to bring German food and drinks to Elkridge’s historic Main Street

We’re used to seeing articles almost daily about Ellicott City’s Historic Main Street. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen one referencing Elkridge in this way. Is this just another way that Elkridge generally “don’t get no respect” in Howard County?

Is the goal to make Main Street Elkridge a destination in the way that Ellicott City is? Is there a well-defined “Old Elkridge”?

Years ago I wrote a piece in which I expressed the desire to be given a tour of Elkridge by a knowledgeable local. It still hasn’t happened, but maybe someday.

Perfection

Sometimes you just have a hankering for a turkey club sandwich. Not just any old turkey sandwich, mind you, but the real deal: an old school, impossibly tall edifice of goodness. Frilled toothpicks required. It’s probably one of those nostalgic cravings from the days of my youth.

Last night was that night, and I was on a quest for the best. I remembered that they had a decent turkey club at the Cheesecake Factory, but I wasn’t particularly in a mood to deal with the Mall on a Friday night. My other thought? The Double T Dinner on Route 40 in Ellicott City. So off we went.

I was not disappointed.

It was the best of its kind: the bread perfectly toasted with just enough mayo. Real roasted turkey, not deli meat. Generous amounts of bacon, perfectly crispy. The right balance of lettuce and tomato. Even the frilled toothpicks were on point.

Oh, my friends, it is a blessing to find joy on a Friday night after a long and weary week in something as humble as a sandwich. We all need this kind of joy.

A Better Place

I  saw this sentence in an inspirational meme this morning:

In six months time you can either be in the same place or a better place.

Where are we going to be in six months, Columbia/HoCo?

A friend of mine shared with me that she is trying to imagine a time on the other side of the redistricting decision. I admitted I had a hard time doing that. I would imagine that many folks are so consumed by what’s happening right now that they would find it hard to envision something beyond  it.

We are not going to be in this place forever. This issue isn’t going to be the only issue forever. What are we doing to make sure that in six months we are in a better place, and not the same place?

I’m going to spend some time this weekend trying to picture what March, 2020 could look like if we were in a better place.

Show and Tell

The Sunday at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, the return of Mini Maker Faire promises to be even more amazing than last year’s event.

What’s a Maker Faire? Here are a few glimpses I caught of last year. (Taken with permission.)

 From the event page :

Maker Faire is a gathering of fascinating, curious people who enjoy learning and who love sharing what they can do. From engineers to artists to scientists to crafters, Maker Faire is a venue for these "makers" to show hobbies, experiments, and projects.  It is called it the Greatest Show (& Tell) on Earth - a family-friendly showcase of invention, creativity, and resourcefulness. Glimpse the future and get inspired!

Its important to register for tickets so that the nice folks at IAT can assign you a place to park and make sure they will be adequately prepared for the number of people who want to come. It’s free to the public, just let them know you’re coming.

I really wish there had been Maker Faires when I was growing up. I’m looking forward to Sunday.

Life and Death

I can’t get this Tweet out of my mind.

@katstaley Be especially kind to your LGBT students this week.  School can seem pretty pointless when your humanity is up for debate in your nation's highest court

This didn’t originate in Howard County but the sentiment is just as applicable here. Our students are watching. Our LGBT students are getting up, going to school, doing their homework, and wondering what kind of future they will be allowed to have.

An older article from Smithsonian has been making the rounds again on social media, reminding us that “Simply Having a Gay Straight Alliance Reduces Suicide Risk for All Students”. When the difference between having a space for acceptance and support or not can truly be a matter of life and death, you can imagine what watching this Supreme Court Case unfold is doing to our young people.

Howard County has come a long way in recent years in acknowledging and responding to LGBTQ citizens. So has the Howard County School System. Last Summer we had our first Pride Celebration. This Spring HCPSS will host its first Rainbow Conference.  It has taken the effort of many community members, students, teachers, and local leaders to bring us to this point. It’s a bit of hope  to contemplate during our current local controversies which are showing our County in a dark and unwelcoming light.

But the story at the Supreme Court right now is a test of that hope.

Take a moment to touch base with your LGBTQ friends and colleagues. These are truly gut-wrenching days for them. And, especially, be kind to the students who feel the weight of this so heavily. They need us.

Looking Up

A bit of good news for your Tuesday morning. You may know Wendy Binder as a former owner of a much-loved Columbia business, but you may not know that she is a Program Director of STEM Professional Learning in the NSTA Integrated Programs division. The National Science Teaching Association recently released this video.


Ms. Binder shared it on Facebook, saying:

I have been so proud to work with STEM educators across the world in my work at NSTA. Today we launched this video and I am so happy to share it.

Here we have a local connection, support for teachers and learning, respect for science - - I’d say that’s a pretty good way to start your day.