Village Green/Town²

  This tweet from Fox Baltimore brings up a topic I know nothing about: being single in Columbia. I was single in Columbia for about five months. During that time I was mostly planning my wedding, so, that doesn’t count.  With Columbia being named the 'safest city' for the 5th year in a row, it comes as no surprise that the city ranks third to last in nightlife options per capita. Despite my lack of experience in this area, I found something odd about the assertion here. Basically, you can either be “safe” or have a thriving nightlife.  Really? Even better is the title of the article itself. “ Sucks to be single in these U.S. cities, study finds ” Nia Fitzhugh, Fox Baltimore   Oh, brother.  BALTIMORE (WBFF) — With nearly 50% of all U.S. adults being single and the average date costing over $90, WalletHub released its report on 2022’s Best & Worst Cities for Singles, Monday. The study compared 182 cities across the country, utilizing 36 key indicators of dati...

  Once upon a time I wrote these words and made an internal commitment to get back to them. One thing that came up in our conversation was that we were in complete agreement that all the people who are doing outstanding, transformative community work right now in Columbia/HoCo are women. I’d go into more detail but I think that’s a blog post unto itself. - - “ Reunions ” 7/14/2021 I was reminded of that internal commitment when I saw this article from The Business Monthly.  “ The Future of Downtown Columbi a”, Mark R. Smith, November 2021 When I saw the title - - The Future of Downtown Columbia - - topped by a photograph of three white men, it was hard not to see an unspoken message: “What’s the future of Columbia? We asked three white men to find out.” I thought about that conversation with my friend.  … all   the people who are doing outstanding, transformative community work right now in Columbia/HoCo are women. ( And not just white women, I might add.)  Here...

  A few post-election dribs and drabs surfaced over the weekend. This piece in the Maryland Reporter by Len Lazarick caught my eye. ANALYSIS: HOWARD COUNTY TURNS BLUE; ANNE ARUNDEL SWINGS SLIGHTLY PURPLE, BUT TRENDING BLUE , Len Lazarick, Maryland Reporter This paragraph got me thinking. Del. Trent Kittleman, widow of Bob Kittleman, the first Republican ever elected to the legislature from Howard 40 years ago, narrowly lost in her reelection to a third four-term. “I’ve been in politics 55 years, and this is a sad thing we’re going through in this country,” Trent Kittleman told me 10 days after the election as her election night victory slipped away. “…and this is a sad thing we’re going through in this country.” I wish I knew what Ms. Kittleman meant by that. It’s certainly a safe thing to say. It conveys disappointment and doesn’t place blame in any particular place. Maybe that’s all it was meant to do. After 55 years in politics it’s probably not too difficult to give that kind o...

Welp, they got me to click. I honestly thought it was going to be a local story about Christmas lights. Silly me. It’s just an amalgamation of opinions aggregated from all of Patchland. Blah.   Ellicott City Patch: One reader detests inflatables "with every fiber of my being. Another wonders what Mickey Mouse, tin soldiers have to do with Christmas. Outdoor Christmas Displays: What's Tacky, What's Not? [Block Talk] Yes, I would be interested in knowing what people from different areas of Columbia/HoCo think of Christmas lights. It might be…illuminating. What’s popular in the New American City? Pet peeves in Clarksville? Ideas from Maple Lawn, Elkridge, Lisbon? It’s a big county, you know. I am so darned tired of political divisions. I’d be thrilled to see if anything unites us here in Howard County. To be honest, I enjoy all kinds of Christmas lights. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a display that doesn’t make me smile. Some of the critiques in the Patch article feel...

  The Community Foundation of Howard County will be hosting a celebratory dinner this Thursday, December 1st, at the Ten Oaks Ballroom in Clarksville. Tickets for the event are one hundred dollars and can be purchased here. It has been several years since the Foundation was able to hold this event, due to the pandemic. I smiled when I saw this alliterative phrase in the event’s promotional materials: For the first time in years, we will gather in person for a joyous evening of food, fellowship and philanthropy. Columbia/HoCo promotional alliteration lives on. Have you ever wondered what folks actually do at fancy 100 dollar a plate events like these? I certainly have. Let’s take a look. They’ll be awarding Philanthropist of the Year awards to Dr. Lillian Bauder (individual) and M&T Bank (corporate). Also on the agenda: The Leadership Council Award , which recognizes an up and coming nonprofit leader and the Casey & Pebble Willis “ Making a Difference ” Award, which is awar...

Since yesterday’s post was more “free form” than usual, let’s go local today. This Saturday is Small Business Saturday. The event was created in 2010 by American Express to encourage people to do more of their holiday shopping at small businesses. Often when people in Columbia/HoCo think of Small Business Saturday they think of Main Street in Old Ellicott City. And there is certainly some great shopping to be done there. Today I’d like to turn your attention to an event at The 3rd at the Lakefront. From the event page: Small Business Saturday is a national event that kicks off the holiday shopping season, showcases the power of small businesses, and supports the “buy local” movement! We will open our doors to the community for a day of fun and shopping! All vendors are members of The 3rd and women of color-owned product and service-based businesses. There will be a variety of unique, handcrafted items on sale, as well as delicious food items in our café. Attendee's can also sign ...

  I am of two minds about Thanksgiving. On the one hand, I find more reasons to be thankful every year. I am more conscious of my blessings now than I ever have been. On the other hand, my feelings about the origin story of the Thanksgiving holiday become more conflicted the more I learn. It’s an internal battle which has been raging over the last several days.  Last night a tweet from a Baltimore photojournalist gave me an unexpectedly new perspective. But first it made me laugh. inside you there are two cats, and every few hours they'll pretend like they've literally never eaten before It’s a joking reference, of course, to the Two Wolves legend , where a wise elder imparts wisdom through storytelling. An example of this story from the film Pathfinder : Starfire: "There are two wolves fighting in each man’s heart. One is love, the other is hate." Ghost: "Which one wins?" Starfire: "The one you feed the most." In the case of my Thanksgiving dilemm...

The Poinsettia Tree is back at the Mall. The Merriweather District has already hosted the ceremonial lighting of their Christmas Tree. Political signs have been replaced by ones that say, “We hang Christmas lights.” But that’s not all. The holidays have exploded into my social media feeds. Navigating actual content while avoiding distraction from carefully targeted adverts is beginning to feel like an epic quest. It’s mentally exhausting. Lucy Van Pelt: Look, Charlie, let's face it. We all know that Christmas is a big commercial racket. It's run by a big eastern syndicate, you know. - - A Charlie Brown Christmas  So why did I get so excited by this*? Probably because it was so unexpected. From The Snowball Stand in Woodstock: Wreaths and trees are here! Come to us for your Christmas decorations needs… get a hot beverage, snowball, or ice cream while you are looking! I had a bit of a chuckle when I realized that the usual fluctuations of Maryland weather make it perfectly accep...

  Odd things I have posted on Facebook, episode 2,472: I am going on the record now that there will be a hot blog post very soon about the word “thwarted”. You have been warned. That was October 27. I guess the “very soon” part was not so accurate. Here’s what was burning me up: Former Clarksville resident’s efforts to bring first public charter school to Howard thwarted for third time by school board , Ethan Ehrenhaft, Baltimore Sun Thwarted? Are you serious?  Let me explain. Thwart is a word that carries emotional baggage and value judgement. As such it might belong in an editorial piece, but not in a straight news piece. Take a look at the definition: thwart, verb past tense: thwarted; past participle: thwarted prevent (someone) from accomplishing something. "he never did anything to thwart his father" oppose (a plan, attempt, or ambition) successfully. "the government had been able to thwart all attempts by opposition leaders to form new parties"  Similar: foil,...

  For those of you who’ve been wondering why it takes so long to count the votes, here’s the news you’ve been waiting for: Image courtesy of Howard County Library It's been a busy two weeks with vote counting at HCLS, but the results are in and we have a clear winner: DOGS. A spokesperson for the cats said they are "staying paw-sitive" and "will make sure next time our campaign is purr-fect". Special thanks to the @leagueofwomenvoters of Howard County for sending us the materials to hold this fun election at our branches! I was more than happy to cast my vote for dogs on one of my recent trips to the East Columbia Branch. That’s mostly because I am violently allergic to cats. I’m allergic to dogs, too, but hanging out with one won’t send me to the hospital. Nonetheless, if cats had won the election I’d have no trouble accepting the results, as long as I wasn’t obligated to have one in my home. I love that this was a collaborative project between the Library and...

  “ At least five people were killed and 18 injured late Saturday in a shooting at an L.G.B.T.Q. nightclub in Colorado Springs, the police said early Sunday morning. ” Emily Bubola, New York Times Young people in our community will wake up to this news. What will it mean to them? Will it be another example that the world is not safe for them or someone they care about? Or will it confirm what adults around them have been saying, that LGBTQ people are dangerous and need to be controlled or suppressed?  It depends on who those young people are, what their friends say, what their parents say, what they see in the news and on social media. My heart aches for LGBTQ kids in Columbia/HoCo who will see this today and feel a deep sense of fear. Of dread. Of overwhelming rejection.  I also worry for the straight, cisgender kids who are surrounded by negative and judgmental attitudes. Every time something like this happens, they are gradually acculturated to see some fellow human be...

  If I thought we’d have at least a brief respite from political brouhaha after the election, I was wrong. Almost as soon as the votes were tallied, there was a new topic for local conversation and controversy.  Howard County lawmakers Clarence Lam and Courtney Watson propose appointing, instead of electing, two school board members , Ethan Ehrenhaft, Baltimore Sun And it’s not just two members that would be involved.  The proposed legislation would allow the county executive to appoint two members, based on recommendations from the state delegation, beginning in 2024. Three members elected by senatorial districts in 2024 and two at-large members elected in 2026 would make up the remainder of the reconfigured board. I found myself having a rather odd reaction to this announcement. Despite not being one hundred percent happy with the present system for electing board members, seeing state legislators propose such sweeping changes got my back up. It’s human nature, I suppos...

Whether you marked the beginning of the holiday season by the arrival of Santa at the end of the Macy’s Thanksgiving parade or simply by the onslaught of adverts on television, you knew you had something to look forward to. Toys. The arrival of the Sears Wish Book  was a big day at my house. The weather might be getting colder and it was getting darker earlier each afternoon, but you could turn the pages of that toy catalogue and dream. Make a list. These days the arrival of the Amazon toy catalogue may provide similar excitement. Plus, it has activities and stickers. What will they think of next? Last night I came across this question on Twitter, posed by Mental Floss: What is one toy from your childhood you'd pay a fortune for now?  My response was immediate: Vac-u-form and Creepy Crawlers. I didn’t actually own the Vacuform. It belonged to my big sisters. I could watch them use it, though, and I did. I suspect my fascination with it was the reason behind my mother eventual...

  November seems to be the official month for online posts about gratitude, undoubtedly because of Thanksgiving. Some folks do a daily gratitude post, tagging others to join in. I have a friend who is posting simple pleasures for which she is grateful. (I’ve always wondered why no one posts their daily, “ I am sorry for” confessions during Lent.) While I’m not the sort to do the daily Facebook posts, I certainly do have things to be grateful for. Local things. Community things. Neighborhood things.  Recently I noticed some surprising activity at the Oakland Mills Village Center. There was a man up on a ladder painting some of the white wood trim that adorns the brick buildings. There he was, as plain as day, performing what real estate shows call “deferred maintenance.” I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that happening at our village center. I also spied a sign for a new restaurant opening soon: El Gran Sabor, Salvadoran and Mexican Food.  The Village Center has a new owner: Kle...