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!