Village Green/Town²

Addiction took the national stage last night. It’s an important issue and needs to be addressed. But that was not what happened. Instead it arrived as a mocking barb from one candidate about the other’s child. In response, Joe Biden had this to say: My son, like a lot of people, like a lot of people you know at home, had a drug problem. He's overtaken it. He's fixed it. He's worked on it, and I'm proud of him. We don’t always like to talk about things we perceive to be personal weaknesses in Howard County. We like to be “world class”. Parents whose children struggle with addiction often feel shame as they live through the ongoing pain of trying to get help. There’s so much stigma. We all think we should be above average. We see so many preconceived notions of “what kind of people” have drug and alcohol problems. That can’t be us, we think. What would people say if they knew? And so, that moment of outright ridicule by a nation's president must have hurt a lot of hea...

News from the Howard County schools files: there continues to be a vocal chunk of residents who believe that mask wearing and public health decisions to combat coronavirus are a threat to the community unto themselves. I’m serious. They are pinning all ills to mask-wearing and school closures. Everything would be fine if we’d just open up everything.  Interestingly enough, there does seem to be significant cross-over in this group to people who believe that addressing issues of race makes you a racist. My head hurts. Why do we care so much about our school system and want so much for our kids to learn and succeed if we are completely opposed to using the expertise and good sense that comes from a good education to deal with the challenges in our lives? Ignoring COVID-19 neither prevents the spread nor finds treatment or cure. Ignoring racism: same. Not talking about things because they trouble us has never been a recipe for success. The first thing that comes to mind for me is how ...

  Goal for the day: getting dressed and going for a walk, even if a short one. Does anyone know if Dunkin’ still has apple cider doughnuts? I have a question for you today: how much are you driving today, as compared to pre-pandemic times? The same? More? Less? If you have other drivers in your household, how have they been affected? Do you notice you are buying gas any less frequently? Do have have teens in your household who drive? Do you have teens in the process of learning to drive? I have driven so little since March that the concept of getting one’s driver’s license seems like some kind of odd leap of faith. Sure, you can do it, but where will you need to go, exactly? Would you say traffic is any better around Howard County? Is there such a thing as “Pandemic Driving” and, if so, how would you describe it? I realize I lead a sheltered life. Not everyone can self isolate and plenty of folks are out there on the road because they must be. And some of you are out there using y...

  I saw an advert for a greeting card the other day. And it brought to mind how I’ve been trying to reorganize that old mish mosh drawer. You know, I got started, had good intentions, got sidetracked. I never really did finish. So, what’s in there right now? I know, it should really be in my wallet. Not quite sure how that happened. Seeing it there, all by its lonesome, made me smile. Right now it’s pretty gray outside and I’m still on the mend so what better reminder of all the things my Howard County Library Card can do? I get fresh information in my inbox every weekend letting me know about opportunities and events coming up at the Library in the HiLights Newsletter. There are interesting topics to follow on library podcasts HiJinx and Chapter Chats. Just right for today might be lying around and enjoying content like music, movies, and tv through the HCLS Now! Streaming service.  On a quiet Sunday when you know you’re not going to be getting out much, finding that old fam...

Rain makes for great oversleeping.  Today’s post is some food for thought from the Rev’d Lura Groen, the pastor of my church, Abiding Savior Lutheran.  True confessions: white liberals want people of color in the room, at the table. We really do. I don't know a single white liberal for whom this isn't true. We like diversity.  But we also like our ways of running meetings, our communication styles, our assumptions of how things are done, our models of leadership.  Sometimes we like these things better than we like "diversity." And then, at our worst, we get angry and upset when people won't come play by our rules. This feels applicable to so many things going on in our community right now, whether it is at the Board of Education or in how people react to Black leaders in Howard County Government positions. We say we want people to be visible, but maybe we just want them to show up in the photo ops, not actually be fully present in the policy making. Not if it mean...

I’ve been awake since seven am trying to come into focus. It’s not happening. So this will be stream of consciousness or not at all. I have been watching Discovery network home programming pretty much non stop since Tuesday and my brain is awash with white people with disposable income and I feel generally anesthetized and sad at the full weight of that.  Moving on. Tomorrow are the Columbia Orchestra Carnival of the Animals concerts at the Chrysalis. Get your tickets . Tonight local podcast Elevate Maryland will interview author Matthew Iglesias at 8:30 pm on his recent book, One Billion Americans: the Case for Thinking Bigger. Here’s the link .  Clark’s Elioak Farm will have a pumpkin season and you all better behave yourselves and not mess this up, health-wise.  Those pumpkin patch trips are often the bailiwick of grandparents and right now grandparents are at high risk so wear your masks, wash your hands, and leave lots of space between groups. Make an appointment in ...

  You probably saw it. Columbia has been named number 5 in Money Magazine's Best Places to Live in the United States in 2020. And, just like that, people showed up on the County Executive’s Facebook page to complain about it. Good grief. Are there no other leisure activities during a pandemic? No one is forcing you to live in Columbia and, if you don’t like it, apparently there are four spaces above us on the list. Take your pick: *Evans, Georgia *Parker, Colorado  *Meridian, Idaho *Rockwell, Texas Maybe we could all chip in and send the most outrageous complainer to an entirely new city.  Yes, every community has challenges and we are not immune. I’ve written about plenty of them right here. But the vitriol with which some people turn out on the occasion of Columbia receiving what is pretty much a feel-good honor is pretty darned pathetic. It smacks of racism towards the kind of city Columbia is by definition, and towards the Black Democratic County Executive who leads i...

  Many thanks for all the good words yesterday. All went well and hopefully the recuperation will be the stuff of dreams.  Alas, one of the first bits of news that entered my consciousness post-surgery was that our local in Oakland Mills, the Second Chance Saloon, will be closing after twelve years.  Well, dang. The Second Chance came to Oakland Mills at a time when I was getting active in neighborhood things. For their opening night I created my first ever Facebook event page and invited everyone I knew to come. I felt extremely invested in their success. At the time Oakland Mills was living through one of those cyclical waves of negative public opinion: we were the bad part of town, the “hood”, no one in their right mind would want to come here. I was bound and determined that we would give the Second Chance a good chance to make it, because a lively neighborhood place gave us a good chance to make it, too. I don’t think any of us who rallied around the Second Chance at...

  I’m putting my heart on the line today. While you are getting up and beginning your day tomorrow I will be getting ready to have surgery, getting checked in, receiving anesthesia. Those who know me in real life know that I have been ill for the past seven months, not enough to kill me, obviously, but enough to prevent me from doing many things I love, what with the pandemic. So I’m just going to lay this post out there for you to read while I’m unconscious. I’m trying not to be maudlin, but in case anything should happen, I’d like to have taken leave of this space with some forethought. Later I may look back on this with some embarrassment, but I know I won’t regret it. This post is for my moderate friends and acquaintances. Your careful weighing of issues of race these days has been breaking my heart. You are so knowledgable, you bring so much life experience to your decisions and you mean well. But even with all of your years of good works and nuanced thinking you cannot see wh...

Last night my daughter, marooned on the couch from her college studies by the pandemic, allowed as how, though she missed being on campus and missed her friends, that the food at home was probably better. She is not given to high praise. I will take this as a win.      After a weekend of grief and political turmoil small wins may be all I’ve got.       I see that at long last there is a concert coming up at the Chrysalis this Saturday, September 26th. It’s another winning collaboration between Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods and the Columbia Orchestra: a presentation of Saint-Saëns’ Carnival of the Animals. From the Columbia Orchestra website: Join us for two live performances of Carnival of the Animals at the Chrysalis, presented in partnership with the Inner Arbor Trust! A small group of musicians and dancers from Dance Connections will perform Saint-Saën’s Carnival of the Animals and Aesop’s Fables by Richard Maltz at the Chrysalis for a small s...

  So, starting on September 8, the Columbia Association has reopened locker rooms at its health club facilities. There’s a link to the new rules on their Facebook page. I know I saw some adverts about their fancy new sanitizing capabilities, but, since they are adverts, I can’t nail down their exact location. So, I headed to the website. The Columbia Association website at the moment is primarily a launchpad to get people back to the gym. You wouldn’t know from the look of it that CA has any other function. You can learn about how they are striving to bring people back through their Reopening Playbook.  They’re touting: More  alcohol-based hand sanitizer units  throughout our facilities. More  gym wipe canisters  (anti-bacterial/virus wipes), available everywhere. New Air Purifying Fans  with UV light filters designed to kill over 99% of surface bacteria and viruses and 97% of airborne viruses. HVAC systems  have been adjusted in all locations to...

It was a long night.  I opened my eyes so many times and it was still dark.  Ruth Bader Ginsburg is gone. The justice she worked for all her life hangs in the balance. The world feels palpably less safe.  I wish I had something valuable to say. I’m an adult. I feel like I should know what to do. There’s a particular kind of of fear and grief when the world is going up in flames around you and none of your years of life experience is remotely helpful. I’ve always thought that generations before us who faced similar horrors knew how to step up: Brave, resolute, ready. But maybe they felt small and unprepared. As I do today. I’ve made my contributions in life in the small things. The small things will not be big enough now. I am so, so grateful for people like Justice Ginsburg who were willing to make contributions in the big things. Her life is an illustration of how crucial it is for women to take up space, push forward, open up worlds. I pray that more such women will gro...

  It’s finally happening. Tomorrow is the Grand Opening of DoodleHATCH  in the Long Reach Village Center. You may remember that DoodleHATCH is newest brainchild of Lee Andersen, founder of Manneqart. You’ve also seen her whimsical creations at the Fantasywood Festival at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. What is DoodleHATCH? It’s described as a “Department Store for Mythological Creatures, Time Travelers, Gallactic Tourists.” It sounds like a hotbed of immersive creativity. If you are feeling playful, come in costume. Looking for a place to get out of the house with your kids? This looks good. Lamenting the canceled RenFests and Fantasy Cons? This might provide a longed-for taste of what you are missing.  From their website: A Unique, Fun, and Affordable Experience!  Created by artists, students, fashion designers, craftspeople and an army of volunteers, The DoodleHATCH Department Store has transformed an empty supermarket space into an immersive experience...

  Yesterday County Executive Calvin Ball, Superintendent of Schools Michael Martirano, and Chair of the Board of Education Mavis Ellis release a joint statement addressing the issue of SRO’s in the Howard County Schools. You can find it in a number of places. I read it on the County Exective’s Facebook page.  This morning Ilana Bittner of HoCoMoJo posted a narrative account of events beginning with SMOB’s proposal in last week’s BOE meeting to remove SRO’s from the schools.  I’m still going over the joint statement, so I won’t speak to it today. What I do want to address is how difficult it appears to be for many in Howard County to place themselves in someone else’s shoes, specifically, when it comes to issues of race. And, to be clear, I mean white people.  A parable: once there was a young mother who was struggling with her four year old daughter and she saw in herself the evolution of toxic behaviors of her mother in her own childhood. And so she sought out a th...

True confession: this blog post began with a conversation with my daughter Alice, aka HoCo House Hon .  Know any good cupcake stories?      Not really. I sort of backed myself into writing about cupcakes.      Oh goodness. Did you not have a plan??? It was a joke to begin with...      Oh my gosh this whole time I’ve been thinking you had a cupcake post all sketched out. Well by tomorrow I will, by golly.      “Do we need our news to be bite sized in order to process it?” With filling?      Do we depend on the fallacy of choice when most outcomes are arranged by the machine of capitalism?  Alright, that’s a doctoral thesis.      Hahaha but cupcakes come in lots of flavors but they are all cake! “What kind of cupcake are you? Take this quiz to find out!”      Maybe it should be: what your favorite cupcake reveals about you & where you live in HoCo. Oh my word.   ...

  I used to be concerned that my blog posts did not receive many comments from men. A high percentage of the responses on the blog’s Facebook page come from women. I’ve written about this before. I suppose my underlying concern was that, for some reason, men didn’t take my blog seriously. It was’t worth the trouble of engaging.  Why this would bother me is probably something I should give some thought to at some future date. While I am grateful for all the people who read the blog and interact in the comments, it seemed odd to me that it was somehow viewed as a “women’s blog”. My topics are not stereotypically “women’s topics.” Yesterday was, perhaps, a reminder of why I should be happy with what I’ve got. I had several visits from angry white men who were there to set me straight. One was aggressive and accusatory and went after other commenters. One took the approach that my comments section was a place for him to post multiple arguments, links, etc, to prove me wrong. I be...

  If you were surprised this week that Student Member of the Board Zach Koung made a motion to remove School Resource Officers from the Howard County Public Schools, you have not been paying attention.  There has been steady and increasingly frequent feedback against having police in schools, from: Current Students Former students Teachers Community Members Board of Education candidates and elected members  There are locally generated reports and state studies on discipline disparities in our schools by race.  Koung himself raised these issues as a candidate for Student Member of the Board. The students who voted for him knew where he stood.  Let me be blunt here. Having police presence in our schools is wrong. Putting police into schools was never sound practice from the start, because the history of policing in the United States is profoundly anti-Black.  White parents may think of a police officer as a protector or role model. They may have warm and fuzz...

Good morning, Columbia/HoCo. I’m currently working on a long-ish piece about this week’s BOE meeting and it is making my brain hurt. With any luck it will be ready to post tomorrow.  In the meantime, I highly recommend this piece by Colin Campbell on what Hogan’s cancelling of the Red Line did to the communities it was meant to serve: Five years later, many across Baltimore bitterly lament Gov. Hogan’s decision to kill the Red Line Light Rail  - - Colin Campbell, Baltimore Sun This is excellent, thorough local journalism. The evidence presented shows that Hogan’s priorities have never been aligned with the people who the Red Line would have benefited. After the cancellation of the Red Line, Hogan: ...returned $900 million in federal funding and shifted $736 million of state money to roads in the surrounding, predominantly white counties. This piece is particularly relevant in light of candidate Kimberly Klacik’s claim that Republicans have plans to get Black Baltimoreans to wo...