Morning-After Regret

 

One beer, in the heat of the early evening, and I am just about fit for nothing this morning. For this I repent and am truly sorry. 

This was the beer.

This was the evening.

Inner Arbor Trust CEO and President Nina Basu welcomes concert-goers to the  park.

Vocalist Deborah Moore and the Columbia Jazz Band

It was a lovely evening for music at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, and you don’t have to take my word for it. You may very likely know someone who was there. Quite the crowd turned out to enjoy the Columbia Jazz Band and vocalists Deborah Moore and Matt Williams. Many folks, including me, brought along a picnic supper. I splurged at Whole Foods on a fancy sandwich and dessert and enjoyed every bite - - it was a rare treat.

My rating for the entire evening would be practically perfect in every way with the possible exception of my stupidity for drinking in the heat. Next time around I’ll be smarter. The next time will be June 10th, for the Navy Commodores, who are the Navy Jazz Band. Don’t forget to reserve your tickets here for this free community concert.

Navy Commodores at the Chrysalis 

*****

A post script: we appear to be getting deep into political sign season. Do you have any opinions you’d like to share? Likes and dislikes? Pet peeves? Let me know. - - jam

More than Remembering

  Photo from the Historical Marker Database

This marker is in Elkridge. It’s on Old Washington Road in front of the former Norbel School building. The building was originally a public school. 

If I were an historian I could tell you when it was placed, and how many Elkridge residents went to fight in wars but never came home. I chose Elkridge because I imagined that its long history would likely mean more memorials to beloved local sons. I had the naïveté to believe the information I was seeking would be right at my fingertips.

So what I did today was more of a beginning. It was a reminder that some local stories will not just be a click away. I need to do more and study more if I want to know more. How many times did war come knocking and ask Elkridge families to sacrifice those they loved?

Or Ellicott City? Or Woodbine? Or Simpsonville?

At the Howard County Courthouse, photo: American Legion

I find holidays honoring military service and sacrifice deeply troubling because I find war deeply troubling. I’m grateful to all who are serving and who have served to protect our country. I mourn those who gave their lives. But I shrink from the type of glorification of military service which is expressed in jingoistic celebrations. 

While we should never forget those who gave their lives their sacrifice should make us ever more committed to finding better solutions to our conflicts than to ask for more of the same. It should never be an easy response. It should be the last resort.

One last thing:

In my internet travels this morning I found this carefully assembled database of Howard County Marylanders who died in service during World War II. Its creator, Russ Pickett, has a message for all readers.

Today we as a nation remember what they did for us all. Today I will be thinking about what we must do to make a better world worthy of the memory of their gift.

Al Fresco

 

It was just too beautiful to eat dinner inside last night. We don’t eat out much these days, on account of COVID, but clearly the glorious temperatures yesterday were calling for some much-deserved outdoor dining. 

We chose the Common Kitchen in Clarksville, because it offered the most choice for the three of us, plus the added benefits of outdoor seating in the courtyard of Clarksville Commons. 

Dinner time entertainment was provided two rather serious-looking skateboarders practicing their moves on the open space of the courtyard. I say serious mostly because they were actually wearing knee pads, etc, for bodily protection and they had fancy cases for transporting their boards when not in use. To be clear, they were not there in any official capacity. We enjoyed them nonetheless.

Since this sort of thing is often noted in posts centered around mealtime: I had a lemongrass noodle bowl with chicken from Anh-Mazing Banh Mi and my husband and daughter choose items from the Taco Joint: quesadillas for one, and some sort of burrito bowl thing for the other. Oh, and strawberry bubble tea for my daughter. She’s a fan. If there’s a bubble tea place, she’ll find it.

After I finished eating I got up to wander around the courtyard. I love the public art on display there. I also took a look in the Little Free Library. There was nothing that appealed to me but I did tidy up the children’s books. Old habits die hard. 

If you happen to be stopping by: the library could use a few more children’s books if you have any to spare. On the other hand, if you are a sucker for mass market romances, now’s your chance. They are well stocked.

If, for some reason, you’ve never been to Clarksville Commons, their website is a good place to start. I’m particularlu fond of the Common Kitchen, which bills itself as an International Food Hall. You can check out their website here. One of the many benefits of picking out your food at the Common Kitchen and taking it outside is that you can actually eat dinner (or lunch) outdoors without looking at your car, which is a rarity in Columbia/HoCo. (If you situate yourself just right, you can ignore the cars on Route 108, too.)

Clarksville Commons host a variety of events throughout the year, especially during the summer months. To keep current with all the goings-on, check out their Facebook page. I was hoping to find a gallery of photos dedicated to their public art pieces. No such luck. You’ll just have to go out and see them for yourself. In my opinion they are eminently Instagram-able,  but, I’m probably too old to judge. Has anyone ever attempted to photograph themselves from inside the silo? Is that even possible?

I’m sure that’s a really bad idea and I’m sorry I mentioned it. If we are really lucky no one will think of go-go dancing, either.

Fangirling

 

Maybe it’s raining. Maybe it’s just too darn hot. Maybe you’re under a big umbrella at the beach or the pool. The one thing you’re sure to need under those conditions is a good book. Several, probably.

The promotional video for the HCLS Summmer Reading Program is out and it’s a moment of pure delight. 

I love this video. Yes, it’s a well-crafted production, but it wouldn’t have worked without the delightful people featured in each vignette. I’d watch a television show about these characters and the libraries they love. Yes, I’m gushing, but watch it and see if you catch my enthusiasm.

Do you see what I mean? This could be the beginning of a library-based show like Abbott Elementary, or maybe a detective series where the library crew are sleuths, using all available resources to work out head-scratching mysteries. Yes, it could be an educational kid show (à la Ghost Writer) but it wouldn’t need to be. A musical? Well, that last fellow who’s trying to read might object.

 

“Tune in next time, for the continuing adventures of the Library Gang!”

Ahem. Summer Reading.

I’m tempted to hop in on this because I need some reading inspiration. I’ve spent the last year reading my way through a number of book series and I have reached the end of some, or, I’m on a very long waiting list for the next one. A few haven’t even been published yet. I wish these authors would hurry up, already.

I’ve been languishing in the reading department. This couldn’t have come along at a better time.

Watch the video, then read all about this summer’s program in the Chapter Chats blog:

Welcome, Summer Readers! , Kristen B.

It starts on June 1st and there are programs from children on up through adults. Prizes, too.

It’s time to find some new books! Who knows, maybe while I’m browsing I’ll spot one of the stars of my new favorite videos. I wonder if they give autographs?

Fortune

 

Friday. Flood watch. Tornado watch. The COVID-19 Community Level is High.  The Supreme Courts intends to destroy Roe v Wade. Hateful trolls are spewing lies and disgusting smears at the school system for supporting HCPSS Pride. The nation is reeling from two mass shootings.

I always wondered what this fortune meant.

Now I know.

The only thing I have wanted to do was scribble my feelings in black crayon. Alas, I have lost the innate ability to do that the way that a child would: unselfconscious and unfiltered. I had to look up “angry black crayon scribble” on Pinterest for guidance.

It doesn’t look emotional or angry. It looks like I am pretending to be something I am not. It’s too orderly, tidy, all the uncontrollable emotions carefully organized. I have become an adult: civilized, muted, compartmentalized, powerless to express my rage.

Everything will come your way. 

You may survive. You may be destroyed or you may attempt to absorb it all and assimilate it. That may be the same thing.

It wasn’t a fortune, it was a curse. 

Any advice on how to combat this curse is welcome in the comments. How are you doing? What is helping you get through?

A word of thanks to the good folks who post nature photos on social media. The beauty of their images is one of the few things I am clinging to right now. Video clips from last night’s event at the Lakefront had that same soul-nourishing quality. I am grateful for anything that can hold its own against the darkness right now.

Tonight. Tonight. Tonight.

 

You may have noticed that the Downtown Columbia Partnership is very excited.

Tomorrow. Tomorrow. Tomorrow. #lakefrontlive lakefrontlive.org

If you’ve been hoping to see more life down at the lakefront, you’re probably getting excited, too. Here are some photos courtesy of DTC:

So here’s my friendly reminder that Tonight! Tonight! Tonight! is the kickoff event for a summer of Lakefront Live brought to you by Columbia Association in collaboration with Columbia Festival of the Arts. Yes, that’s right, you’ll want to be down at the Lakefront tonight to hear Mambo Combo and enjoy some tasty food from Cured. They’re asking you to RSVP here, probably to get an idea of how many people to expect. The event itself is free, the food will be available for purchase.

DTC is so excited about tonight’s event that they expressed regret that the CA Board won’t be able to attend and join in all the fun. 

But... but... but... they are going to miss Mambo Combo at the first #LakefrontLive headline event concert of the summer. #DTCRocks 

It’s okay to get excited. It’s the first lakefront concert of the summer. The folks at The 3rd will be out and about, too. Check this out:

I checked the weather forecast and, as of now, there’s no prediction of rain. So bring your blanket or folding chairs and have some fun.  Bug spray might be a wise choice, too.

If you can’t make it tonight, check out the other events planned for this summer. The lineup reflects a positive reponse to the community’s request for more diverse performers. There will be movies, too, and Dancing Under the People Tree. If you’re a traditionalist, be forewarned: they’re moving around the Dancing component to different days of the week. Don’t just go on automatic pilot. Check the schedule.

On the other hand, if you’re the kind of person who lives life with abandon, I’m sure it’s legal to dance under the People Tree any day of the year. 

Too Big

 

I am full of rage this morning. Maybe the rage is protecting me from experiencing the horror and grief which is surely there, waiting to fill my consciousness. 

What I am feeling today is too big for the page. 

I’m offering this piece from 2019 instead. It was born on the floor of a classroom. 

Final Thoughts (August 24, 2019)

They say your whole life passes before your eyes. In my case, it was a little different. It was my daughter’s life. I lay on the floor of a preschool classroom. I heard screams and the sounds of people running and furniture being pushed aside. Then, for a moment, I was briefly alone.

I lay there, my face against the cool linoleum floor and thought of my daughter. How she was at home, packing the last of her things for college. How I would have to drive her somewhere and leave her and our lives and relationship would never be the same.

She was the child of my old age, I used to joke. The child I had longed for all those years when I was divorced and dreaming of a stable, loving relationship and a new family. She burst onto the scene with jet black hair and star-sapphire eyes and, in so many ways, was a bundle of mysteries.

They say that childhood lasts such a brief time. When you are getting no sleep and losing your mind with the exhausting labor of it all, you wish someone would speed it up. You roll your eyes when someone waxes sentimental about those “precious moments”. You reach for another cup of coffee and wonder if you will ever sleep in again.

But I am probably dead or dying now, I think, as I lie on the floor of the school for young children where I now work. The shooter burst out of the bathroom and I was the first one hit. From the silence around me I’m guessing everyone else made it out alive. But I don’t know, and I’m afraid to look.

This is the world I’m giving my daughter. A world of mass shooters and death unprepared, where school and church, mall and workplace are all potential pits of blood and bodies. What kind of a parent am I? How can I simply pack her into a car and drop her off when I know I can do nothing to protect her?

The man with the bullhorn and the safety vest announces the simulation is over. I hear laughing and joking. Someone comes in to help me off the floor and asks if I am alright.

I’m not.

*****

Today teachers will return to classrooms - - here in Howard County and all over this country - - burdened with the impossible task of teaching, comforting, guiding, supporting, and protecting the students in their care. All while struggling to manage their own grief and fear. 

Oh, and rage. Rage that they must do this again and again while politicians refuse to put an end to it. Rage that there are people who consider this regular carnage to be sad but unavoidable collateral damage. Rage that the right to own a gun reigns supreme over children and teachers, shoppers at the grocery, commuters on the subway, those who pray and worship…

Rage that for some the gun is God and they choose to serve no other master.

As I said, some things are too big for the page today.

A Visual Vacation

I owe today’s post to a tweet from the Downtown Columbia Partnership, featuring a painting by artist Mary Jo Tydlaka:

Recognizing the #DowntownColumbiaMd Lakefront and what looks like a @ColumbiaAssn concert with some Dancing Under the #PeopleTree in this Mary Jo Tydlacka artwork.

Mary Jo Tydlaka (Howard County)

Uppity Blues Women ll. Acrylic. 2017

From the artist:

My artwork is my response to the world around me and it is also my participation in the world. Over the years my subjects have been homes, neighborhoods, families and cities. During the last several years I have focused on the outdoor Shakespeare plays at the Patapsco Female Institute Ruins and other locales. I attend the plays , multiple times if possible, and sketch. The plays are a combination of my interests in landscape, weather, classic architecture, groups of people and Shakespeare.

I love this work. There’s so much going on here, and the colors are exceptionally notable for their warmth. I think of the Lakefront as a sea of blues and greens and pale cement. This is fiery. 

I would like to know about those buildings across the lake from the bandstand, though. 

I was curious about the title of the painting and did a little digging around. It’s amazing what you can find in Wikipedia. Although this was painted in 2017, I’m thinking the concert took place long before that.

I took a look into the virtual art show and was soon drawn to this piece by Howard County mosaic artist Lisa Scarbath.

Lisa Scarbath

Body of Water, 2021

Mosaic

Ms. Scarbath is also the creator of “Pieces of History: EC250 Mosaic” which is currently on display at the Howard Count Arts Council Center. It will soon take up residence in a store front on Main Street. In addition to enjoying Ms. Scarbath’s work in this exhibit, you can follow her on Instagram at piecefuldesignsmosaics.

About the exhibit:

The Maryland State Arts Council presents Maryland Regional virtual exhibition series to showcase multidisciplinary artists from all five different regions of Maryland. This is a year-long series and starts with Series #3 Central Maryland. We hope you enjoy 45 different artworks from Anne Arundel, Baltimore, Carroll, Harford, Howard County, and Baltimore City.  (March 18 - May 13, 2022)*

If you are interested in the entire show: Maryland Arts Council Regional Virtual Exhibit, Series 3

You can noodle around to your heart’s content from the comfort of your own home. No worries about COVID or masks. Just take a bit of an art vacation, courtesy of the Maryland Arts Council. And if you are interested in creating some art of your own, check out this invitation from Columbia Festival of the Arts/Columbia Art Center:

Umbrella Theme Show

Entries wanted - All ages!

Using a golf umbrella as your canvas, express your creativity about the theme: Healing Hearts Through Music, Dance, Words. Can be done as a group, duo or individually!

Umbrellas will be displayed outdoors at Lake Kittamaqundi as part of the 2022 Lakefest, June 10-12, 2022. Open to all everyone and all ages. For an entry form and umbrella, call Columbia Art Center 410-730-0075 or email art.staff@columbiaassociation.org. Umbrellas are due June 9, 2022.

*I was still able to access the exhibit this morning,

Thriving

 

One of the few things that can get me out of my house in the heat is the Oakland Mills Farmers’ Market. Held each Sunday from 9 am to 1 pm from May to November, the market lures me out of my air conditioned home for the best foods of the season. 

And may I just say that yesterday was far too hot for this point in the year and I object.

There’s something so beautiful to me to see the Oakland Mills Village Center alive with people. Yesterday was one of those days. A crowd was gathering for an event happening at the ice rink, regular Sunday shoppers at the LAMart, and, of course, the many folks there for the Farmers’ Market.

I’m going to refrain from using the word ‘vibrant’ because, well, some folks in the commercial world have wrestled it to the ground and broken its arm, so to speak. As I consulted the synonym factory, I found the words ‘dynamic’ and ‘thriving’ to have just the right essence for what I was feeling.

It has taken a lot of work to get and keep the market here in Oakland Mills. I don’t know all the history but I do know that Village Manager Sandy Cederbaum has been a huge advocate for the market. I think of her often when I’m filling my bag with fresh strawberries, fragrant basil, or a round loaf of sourdough bread. She believed in the market and its potential to serve both the members of the immediate community and also to draw people from other parts of Columbia. 

The Howard County Farmers Market association has played a big role in continuing to choose the Oakland Mills location year after year. And, of course, the farmers and other local vendors who commit to coming to the market are what makes it sing: the excitement of finding the perfect peach or the most exquisite muffin for Sunday brunch is provided to us by all the people who work to bring them to us.

A wonderful addition to the market is the food truck from Althea’s Almost Famous. Althea Hanson brings delicious Jamaican food and drink as well as adding a bit of music to the mix. If you can’t make it to the market, check out her Facebook page to see where she’ll be next. Wherever it is, it will be worth the trip.

You don’t have to live in Oakland Mills to enjoy our market. It’s quite easy to access from Downtown Columbia via that nifty looking pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Route 29. Or, if you’re bringing the kids, plan for a trip to Laura’s Place playground in Blandair Park as well.

I went home yesterday with strawberries, bacon, and local honey from TLV Tree Farm, a loaf of sourdough from Harvest Rise Bread, and a sack full of Jamaican patties from Althea’s Almost Famous. It was a very good day at the market.

It’s Alive!

 

When I wrote about considering alternatives to the typical suburban lawn recently, I received probably the most enthusiastic response I have ever received to a blog topic. There’s a good bit of support out there in Columbia/HoCo for creating more environmentally friendly yard spaces.

Some reader submissions:

I have been attempting over the years to replace many of the grass areas with stuff that isn’t grass. Well, the muddy areas too. First I planted liriope in the muddy area, then put some black eyed Susan’s next to the garage. Then came the rain garden, and somewhere in there I added hydrangea and a small corner fern garden. Oh, and the vinca around the front trees where grass never grew anyway. 

My next door neighbor has zero grass in his backyard, and only a small patch in the front. The rest is robust, lovely ground cover.

*

I also have been composting with worms for the last several years. They make a great soil amendment. Plant red clover instead of grass! I’ve been doing this for a few years. The bees love it! It does get high enough to mow, but infrequently. It also fixes nitrogen in the soil.

*

I’m currently reading Natures Best Hope by Doug Tallamy and he refers to turf lawns as ecological dead space.  Does not provide much for our local ecosystem.

*

I think of it as "working on" because I'm working on establishing the heal-all and creeping thyme. I started planting that last year, we'll see how it does this year. The clover I've planted for years and it's well established.

One reader reminded* me that there’s a group in Oakland Mills called Yards Alive, which is dedicated to this very concept.

You should check out Oakland Mills environmental group Yards Alive! Lots of education on importance of natives, managing stormwater runoff, erosion, etc. I got into native landscaping during the pandemic and my yard is no where near there but I can’t wait for what it will be in the future! 

From their website:

Yards Alive is a pilot program started through the Columbia Association’s Climate Change and Sustainability Advisory Committee to help local homeowners and HOA members in Oakland Mills make more sustainable landscaping choices.

If you are interested in learning more about the concept of sustainability, McGill University has a good basic introduction to the term itself and its origins.

What is Sustainability?

Are you curious enough to want to see this in action?

Today, from 2 - 5, Yards Alive! is offering a “garden tour” of sorts to allow community members to observe first-hand the ways that residents are converting traditional lawn space into something better. Click on the link to get the map of participating locations.

Yards Alive! Yard Tour

Join us for an in person yard tour on May 22nd!  Homeowners will be present to give tours of their properties. All the yards listed are in various stages of converting their lawn into sustainable gardens.  Get inspired by the spaces your neighbors are creating to support wildlife, manage stormwater, grow food and fight climate change.  These gardens all show several unique ways that you can make a difference in your yard.  

This event is free and open to the public. If I were an enterprising young person who lived near one of this tour sites, I might be giving serious thought to setting up a lemonade stand…

*Head smack. I knew this, but I had never delved any further. 

Call it by its Name

 

Sometimes good people do bad things

Sometimes kind people do unkind things.

Sometimes smart people do…things that defy explanation.

I am referring to the decision to use a property which is being called “Historic Oakdale” as the site of this year’s Decorator Show House.You may recall I wrote about this house when it came on the market. 

It’s a prison. A private jail. A forced labor camp. Here is where generations of human beings were held against their will. It doesn’t matter how carefully it is preserved or how beautifully it’s decorated. It’s a living monument that our country was founded on the worst kind of injustice. See how pretty it is…the house of horrors. “Honoring History”, Village Green/Town² 12/11/21

I honestly don’t know what should be done with places like this but I do know they should not be celebrated nor used to generate funds. I am stunned that the horrific foundation of all this wealth and grandeur was not a dealbreaker for those who chose to make Oakdale a showcase home.

Let that sink in. It is 2022 and slavery was not a dealbreaker. Having a decorator’s showcase at Oakdale is asking the community to look right at slavery, and then…look away.

On May 12th County Executive Calvin Ball signed an executive order creating a Public Facilities and Spaces Report Evaluation and Action Commission.

With the Public Spaces Commission report, we now can contextualize the many namesakes of our buildings, parks, and other county-owned spaces. We need to face our history, learn from it, and move forward by ensuring the namesakes of our facilities and spaces reflect today’s values. I’m grateful to the many Commission members who are tackling this difficult issue and look forward to its recommendations.  Calvin Ball, Howard County Executive

Oakdale is not a county-owned space. Nonetheless I think its name should reflect what it really is. I suggest “Oakdale Prison Camp”, “Oakdale Plantation of the Enslaved”, or “Oakdale Labor and Death Camp”. Put the ugliness right on its face where it belongs rather than hiding it behind exquisitely decorated rooms and fancy events.

Maybe, if the name put its true story right out there for everyone to see, those good, kind, smart people would have thought twice about putting it in the local spotlight.

Here’s a suggestion. Tickets to this year’s show house are 30 dollars. Take that money and donate it to Howard County Lynching Truth and Reconciliation, a local initiative that is researching and sharing historical truth about our county.

Here’s where to donate: https://secure.givelively.org/donate/howard-county-lynching-truth-reconciliation-inc

Misogyny: Illustrated

 

I was up early this morning looking for an answer to this question:

What is the point of the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue?

Why? 

Jordan Peterson quits Twitter after calling plus-size model Yumi Nu’s SI Swimsuit cover 'not beautiful'

Here is Yumi Nu photograph on the cover of Sports Illustrated:

Here is what Peterson wrote on Twitter:

Sorry. Not beautiful. And no amount of authoritarian tolerance is going to change that.

Apparently he decided to leave Twitter because he didn’t like the pushback he got from his remarks.

Frankly, I don’t care who Peterson is or whether he left Twitter. I care about the continual, toxic judgement of women’s bodies. 

We are bombarded by unsolicited advice and comments about our weight and overall appearance from childhood onwards. Whether on television, from people we know, men on the street, comments on social media, women’s bodies are considered to be fair game. We spend far too much time struggling with these destructive messages. Often, by the time we have reached adulthood, we have internalized them.

Hateful comments like Jordan Peterson’s are almost superfluous because now, almost without thinking, we do it to ourselves. It damages us, it weakens us, and it saps precious energy we could be using to live happy and confident lives. 

What an incredibly successful way to drain women of their power and stymie their pursuit of larger goals. For every woman who has dreams to change the world there is an advert selling her a diet program and a man telling her she is fat and ugly.

Do you know why there is a Sports Illustrated Swimwear Issue?

The swimsuit issue was invented by Sports Illustrated editor Andre Laguerre to fill the winter months, a typically slow point in the sporting calendar.  Wikipedia 

They didn’t have much to talk about during the wintertime so they decided to sell womens’ bodies instead. 

There are certainly other, more sports-centric choices they could have made that would have been more in keeping with the Sports Illustrated brand. Selling scantily-clad women was an easy, lazy choice. And it’s all a part of a culture that objectifies women: sells them, molds them, diminishes them, controls them.

Yumi Nu is on the cover of Sports Illustrated and many people - - notably men - - feel the right to smack that image down, and, not just the image, but also the woman who dared to challenge their notion of female attractiveness. This tweet from a young woman resonated with me:

I felt like maybe I could be acceptable as I am.

There it is, the ugliest of truths. Women are raised to believe that someone else will decide whether they are acceptable and that their worth is dependent on other's judgement. 

A friend once asked one of those start-a-conversation questions on Facebook that went something like this:

What is the most positive life-changing thing that could happened to you?

And I responded:

That I could look in the mirror and be completely happy with what I saw.

If women could lay down the burden of chasing impossible attractiveness, just think of how much we could accomplish. We would be unstoppable.

It’s almost as though somebody out there knows that.

The Local

 

How about some links? I have a few local stories lined up that caught my eye.

First off, alliteration runs wild in this tweet about a new local business:

“Columbia couple” to open “Dill Dinkers”. Good grief! If you’re interested in pickle ball, you’ll definitely want to take a look at this story in the Baltimore Business Journal.

Columbia couple to open new indoor pickle ball court in Howard County, Melody Simmons, BBJ

In a different kind of entrepreneurship:

Sisters Create Clothing Line Honoring South Asian Heritage, Aimee Cho, NBC4

The sisters, now in college, are from Howard County. They’ve created a clothing line called Urban Desi. In the past year they’ve sold about one thousand items. Want to learn more? This article from UMD’s Diamondback is much more comprehensive. And here is their website:

Urban Desi

Howard County blog Howard County Progress Report zooms in on a crucial issue in the upcoming Board of Education Race:

Kids’ Lives are at Stake in the Board of Education Race, Jenny Solpietro, Howard County Progress Report

Readers of Village Green/Town² know that this topic is an important one to me. Issues that impact LGBTQ+ students are life and death issues. Pay close attention to what the candidates stand for.

My final link of the day is the one I like the best.

'Slow and steady wins the race'  82-year-old earns bachelor's degree from UMGC, 7News Staff, ABC7 WJLA

My first thoughts were, “Where did she find the time?” and “How does she make being 82 look so good?” Ms. Beale is active in so many community activities and lends her support to so many good works that I  honestly cannot imagine where she found the time to complete a college degree. And yet, she did. 

Wow. 

This past year Ms. Beale spoke to the Columbia Association board in support of the Inner Arbor Trust. Her words describing the importance of Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods to our community and the arts programs presented at the Chrysalis were eloquent. 

When Mae Beale is committed to a cause, you know it. Her contributions to Columbia/HoCo are extraordinary. I hope she takes a little time off to celebrate her latest achievement.

Have a wonderful Thursday. I’ll see you tomorrow for F ³.