Village Green/Town²

  Tonight is the big Sobar New Year’s Eve event “Mask”uerade Virtual New Year’s Eve Party. I’m actually “going”, as much as any of us go anywhere these days. I was happy to learn that sponsorships for the event have covered the cost so that ALL halfway houses and sober living facilities will attend the event at no charge. It’s good to know that Sobar’s commitment to creating exciting alcohol-free events is strongly inclusive of those who may not have the ability to pay.  Tickets are still available and musical performers include local favorite Damon Foreman. It looks like good news for environmentalists and fans of open space: the County has purchased a parcel of land which is known as the Savage Remainder to be added to open space preserved for use by the public. As for me, I am convinced that “Savage Remainder” is the perfect name for a rock band. I hope somebody out there agrees with me. Looking forward to future concerts at Savage Park... Hyperlocal news story: I opene...

Yesterday my Instacart* grocery shopping experience took on a rather surreal tone when, for some reason, a good deal of what I had ordered was apparently unavailable. It started from the moment the shopper began working on my order. I began to feel that I had been paired with the Instacart equivalent of Bartleby the Scrivener. Instead of the repeated mantra, “I would prefer not to,” I was inundated with “Unfortunately...” Unfortunately, I was unable to find: The chicken The ground beef The rice The refried beans The organic low-fat milk The lactose free whole milk The dinner rolls And on and on. The text messages were coming thick and fast, like snow-day cancellations. I started waving my arms and objecting to no one in particular. But, as alarming as each “unfortunately” was, the photographs were worse. I don’t know if you are aware of how this works, but, in theory, it’s a helpful strategy. Your shopper snaps a photo of similar items on the shelf and asks if you see a suitable replac...

And just think playing music will finally be your real career!  -Libba, from Disney*Pixar Soul We watched the new Disney*Pixar film Soul last night. All three of us are musicians. Two of us are teachers. And all three of us are students as well. That’s the way it is with music: you’re always a student. The film is full of insight  about music and life, and vividly depicts the excitement of a pianist who at long last is tasting a certain kind of joy that comes with live performance.  During the pandemic those moments for performers have had to be curtailed or transformed. One such event was this one: The performers:   Alex Brown, 2005 graduate of Wilde Lake High School, Visiting Artist in Jazz Studies at the Peabody Institute, 2018-2019 Sean Jones, trumpet, Richard and Elizabeth Case Chair in Jazz Studies, Peabody Conservatory since 2018  The event: A holiday live-stream concert from An Die Musik in Baltimore. One of the sweetest and most intense joys experienc...

  Let’s talk today about how we treat people we disagree with and don’t particularly like. Not an immediate relative, or the man across the street, but someone active in the community or local politics. To what standard of behavior do we hold ourselves in expressing our opinions?  It has become apparent that Columbia/HoCo does not hold a shared vision of what is acceptable behavior after a crowd of disgruntled parents turned out at the home of a Board of Education member in a show of targeted harassment which, before this, I would have thought was clearly beyond the pale. That we don’t share opinions is to be expected. That we don’t have shared boundaries is putting us in some pretty dangerous territory right now. Claiming on the one hand to understand civil behavior while justifying the violation of same because one was some how driven to it “by the other side” is fundamentally dishonest. So let’s have some fun with that, shall we? Last week I condemned the online bullying of...

  The other evening a familiar local logo caught my eye on Twitter: Howard County Progress Report. What prompted this? I wondered. Aha. There it was. I had to think for a minute because this year has been so long that I thought perhaps that Howard Progress Report had been going for a whole year now and I’d gone and missed its first anniversary in the blogosphere.  I felt a twinge of something. It took me a moment to realize what it was. I thought of how I recently took the time to mark the blogging anniversary of The Merriweather Pos t in this space.  I don’t regret that, but the truth is that men get a lot of free publicity and incidental promotion on social media and women don't. Somehow people extend a little extra this and that, uncritical mentions, or make helpful connections which set men up to get the win. It happens all the time. And they don’t do it for women. Women don’t get the mention, or it comes with qualifications or skepticism or backhand praise that drai...

Towards the end of the day I was having a touch of blogger’s remorse when I tweeted: Just realizing that I wrote possibly the weirdest Christmas Day post I have ever written but that it made complete sense at the time. I gotta sleep more. And yes, I actually had re-read every single Christmas Day post I’d ever written since 2011 before I wrote yesterday’s. Looking for something? Maybe. Hoping to learn something? Always. The universe didn’t keep me long. At 4:01 pm I was questioning my choice to look at luxury hoarding and how that causes the persistence of poverty in Columbia/HoCo and at 5:57 pm this tweet from Erika Chavarria of Columbia Community Care : @mutualaidCCC Family, We are so excited to share our new Columbia Community Care Peace & Justice Center (CCCPJC) FB page!! Check it out!! Please also sign our petition of support for the creation of CCCPJC! actionnetwork.org/petitions/colu… facebook.com/Columbia-Commu… Happy Holidays!!! And there it was. A very public call. A chal...

  My younger daughter, without whom I would be hopelessly ignorant of many things, including TikTok, shared this video clip with me yesterday. For her the payoff is the punchline. For me it’s the poignant realization that Larry King is unable to do anything but mock someone else’s sweet and genuine appreciation for coffee and socks. The question King asks his guest is about luxury. From Merriam-Webster: His question brought to mind one of my favorite quotes on the topic, from singer Barbra Streisand. Luxury exists in the place of more than enough . It only happens where there is choice. But I would also suggest it requires an ability to recognize and appreciate that, as I contemplated when I wrote Mrs. Gottrocks  in 2013. Right now in Columbia/Howard County I truly believe we have a crisis, which predates the pandemic, rooted in the inability of some to recognize their total dependence on requiring that sense of luxury in order for their worlds to feel safe. A world where th...

  The folks over at Hatred United, and, others like them who percolate around the Internet, are playing a little game with words that needs to be stopped right now.  When called on their treatment of Student Member of the Board they suggest that public response and scrutiny goes with the territory. But of course, it isn’t public response and scrutiny, it’s bullying, targeted harassment, continual boundary violation, and the spreading of harmful falsehoods when the the truth is readily available. Here’s their game: if you object, you must be doing so because you believe the SMOB should be protected because he is a minor. And that must mean that you somehow, deep down, acknowledge that he is not qualified to represent students on the Board with a vote, because: minor, age protected, deserving of a special kind of deference or respect.  Oh my, I have seen these people play out this little game with themselves just for the delight of saying “See? See? D’you get it?” If you d...

By the end of the day yesterday I was very, very angry about how a certain group of parents are behaving in response to our schools. Yesterday was the day when it became horrifyingly clear that they have formed a highly functioning coalition of Hatred United. It’s not just an angry mob. It’s going for a well-oiled machine. And it is doing palpable damage daily in our community. And here is where they are aiming their hate:  teachers the teachers union leadership members of the board of education the student member of the board his campaign manager and his mother (!)  even a high school principal who has shown the SMOB public support Yesterday was for many of our students “the day before break”, for others, that will be today. Does anyone even remember what that day is supposed to be like? I wrote this last night for the Facebook page HoCoSchool Interest. It’s a private page so I wouldn’t share others’ posts I read there. But this one is mine, and it is from the heart: The last...

  Every so often I lament the loss of our local blogging expert in commercial real estate. This is a story he would have had all the background knowledge of, plus likely ideas for its future.  The Inn at Peralynna , which has always seemed to me to be a sort of mysterious luxury location tucked away on Route 108 across from the rural-feeling fields of Clarks Elioak Farm, is to be put at auction. It has definitely been on my list of places I “wanted to go but it looked too expensive.”  I guess I need to take more risks in life or, at least, start to make a little more money, because I am sad I will never have had this unique local experience. I went looking in the news for more background information on the history of this place, and I could only find one article by Lindsey McPherson involving Councilwoman Mary K. Sigaty and neighborhood objections from 2012. Council moves to resolve Peralynna Inn zoning dispute   I feel as though issues between the owners and the su...

  How often were you admonished as a child not to speak of something because it “wasn’t nice”? There’s a kind of whispery shame embedded in such rebukes. As such it often seems to be attached to many things with a vaguely personal hygiene/bodily function basis. Don’t talk about how someone smells, her weight, his complexion. Does she color her hair? Is it a toupée? Is she pregnant?  Is she wearing a slip? A bra? Has he had “work done”? Don’t talk about that. It isn’t nice. In Howard County we have a group of parents who would like you to know it “isn’t nice” to talk about race. Even raising the topic in polite conversation casts negative aspersions on the speaker. In many cases they are not going so far even as to object that naming issues of race is unfair, inaccurate, or unwarranted. They’re just “not nice”. If you are one of them I daresay you think that all the right people know this. I don’t know. Maybe that’s true. I am not one of the right people. How can they bring up ...

  In what I deem to be a huge win, sometimes the stories I let slip away come back written better and by somebody else. Case in point: Meet Professor Tim Banks in this Q & A  , Howard Community College I met Mr. Banks in February of 2019 when I happened upon a seat at his table at the Clarksville Commons Great Chili Cookoff, held at Food Plenty. (Now the home of Bushel and a Peck.) You can read more about that day here .  My tasting experience was enhanced by the fact that I just happened to be sitting at a table alongside celebrity chili judges Tonya Kennon of the Howard County Library System, and Timothy Banks, Chair of the Culinary and Hospitality Department at Howard Community College. I did not get to meet Ms. Kennon’s lovely dining companion but I can tell you she was rocking an impressive hair bow.  It’s possible that I was influenced by that Duckpin Ale from the Union Brewing Company because I came away feeling like I should do way more networking and I h...

  First things first: today is the birthday of friend of the blog Candace Dodson Reed, who has taken on one more notable accomplishment this week by signing on as Treasurer for Delegate Brooke Lierman ’s 2022 campaign for State Comptroller. Candace, now better known locally as cohost of local podcast  Elevate Maryland , once wrote a pointed but short-lived blog entitled “Is This Thing On?” known for its annual round-up of fascinating local people. You either wanted to be on it or suggest someone who should be. If I were writing such a round-up this year she would definitely be on it, both for her leadership at UMBC, involvement in local causes, partnership in Elevate Maryland, and commitment to women in politics. Happy Birthday Candace! You are going to want to bundle up, dress in layers, and head out to Clarksville Commons today for their Holiday Market at the Commons. The event, which runs from 10 am - 2 pm, will feature 30-plus vendors for your shopping pleasure. ...

  Last night I attended a Zoom event for preschool students and their families. Before the pandemic they were my world. Now I view them at a distance, looking forward to a time when it is safe for for me to return to work. Early childhood education is a career marked by being sick most of the time and working anyway as long as you are able and not contagious, punctuated occasionally by becoming so ill you can’t move or end up in the hospital. It is not for the weak. Fun times.  I love what I do and if you are a regular reader you know I am a champion for early childhood education and believe it to be the most important thing we do for our children and for our future. I’m not lazy. I’m not selfish. I’m not afraid of hard work, long hours, crying children, anxious and demanding parents, rainy days, lost teddy bears or indoor recess.  I’ve gotten to a point where I rarely discuss my work life online anywhere anymore because there is a loosely organized cohort of local folks...

  It seems that any chance for Howard County Student Member of the Board Zach Koung to seek out the “ witness protection program ” is now past and in fact he may soon find himself a star witness in a case that hopes to destroy the SMOB role, not only in Howard County, but throughout the state of Maryland.  Yesterday news broke that some disgruntled school parents have filed suit to take away his right to vote. Howard County parents file lawsuit challenging student board member’s voting rights , Liz Bowie, Howard County Times See also: Student school board member faces Md. constitutional challenge , Steve Lash, Maryland Daily Record  Mind you, Mr. Koung’s right to vote on certain, well-defined aspects of board business is a part of his job description as outlined in  Maryland State Law.  He is elected by middle- and high-school students in the Howard County Schools as a part of an organized and transparent annual process. The policy for the HCPSS Student Memb...

Important announcement: I have ascertained that I can do no particular harm by writing the following:  I am not convinced by the gubernatorial candidacy of State Comptroller Peter Franchot. The news from the Baltimore Sun yesterday was unsurprising: Maryland comptroller Franchot ramps up 2022 campaign for governor with video, consulting firm  , Emily Opilo  Mr. Franchot has been laying the groundwork for this run for eons and this is undoubtedly part of a long, smooth roll-out. As I am not even remotely any kind of expert or even a local “thought leader” on Maryland State politics my opinion on this will have no negative impact on this campaign whatsoever. But, oh my word, I am not convinced by this man. I first met Mr. Franchot at a local political fundraiser where he was circulating and broke into our little conversational group to shake our hands. He did not identify himself nor did he stop to ask who we were. I got the impression that it was understood that his level ...

  Since I seem to have been going all out in the holiday shopping advice this season, I’d like to chime in today with another sort of pitch: As you know, local responses to supporting food service businesses during the pandemic have prompted some  Complicated  feelings on my part. I’ve watched a lot of my friends taking advantage of expanded liquor delivery and augmenting/blunting/varying their isolation experiences with premade cocktail options. That’s not what we are doing at our house, and, in fact, I recently got a big charge out of finding a new home for two bottles of wine we had lying around here.  Don’t get me wrong. My post-pandemic plans involve a feisty IPA from Cured while enjoying an Elevate podcast downtown, and a cold Gin and Tonic at the Chrysalis, preferably while listening to a Columbia Orchestra Pops Concert or some of the perfection that is straight-ahead jazz from Lavenia Nesmith. Everyone’s choices are different. No lectures here. But, you will ...

  As the days run into months in the pandemic and we tick past birthdays, holidays, and political events it’s somehow easy to let more personal milestones fall by the wayside, so I was happy to see Columbia/HoCo blogger Jeremy Dommu take the time yesterday to mark the one-year anniversary of his blog The Merriweather Post. The Merriweather Post Turns One ! It’s a comprehensive look at how he started and his take on how things have changed along the way, rather like a narrative version of that 2020 meme: How it started.        How it’s going. It’s both honest and tactful on a variety of fronts. It has especial meaning to me as a local blogger because it’s clear that Dommu is wrestling with the issues we are all wrestling with: lack of local journalism, choices on factual writing versus commentary, how we “fit in” in relation to other local voices and how we interact with the public and with local institutions through our writing. This piece shows the author openi...

  Today, in things that absolutely make no sense: the people who demand that their children return to school buildings because distance learning is destroying their mental health also declare that social-emotional lessons in the school curriculum are a complete waste of time and encourage their children to turn them off and refuse to participate. Are you @#$&-ing kidding me??? The integration of social emotional learning into our overall learning plan is a vital part of supporting children's mental health needs right now. And it isn’t simply the content itself. It’s the process. The connection. The community building. It’s caring teachers being open to a variety of ideas and responses. If you say you are intensely interested in supporting your child’s mental health needs during the pandemic and you laugh this off as a load of crap let me tell you something.  You don’t care about our kids’ mental health. You’re just mad you are not getting your own way. I cannot begin to a...