Village Green/Town²

Here we are. The last day of the year. One of my favorite accounts on Bluesky, @heymrsbond, put this request out into the universe: Brag about something you did in 2024. (Surviving counts!!) Skipping over the personal stuff…I am still blogging. I guess that’s my way of surviving. The numbers tell me that the most popular posts of 2024 were: A Special Man, A Special Place about the founder of Pete’s Snowballs   Banner Takes Swing at Book Issue, Misses about the issue of book banning in the BOE race The Day School Was Closed about the ongoing and crippling impact of deferred maintenance at Oakland Mills High School The numbers don’t tell me which posts elicited the most interesting conversations in the comments section. I’m reasonably sure they are not the same posts. I should find a way to check that out. Sometimes the responses are more rewarding the the post itself. Obviously I love writing or I wouldn’t do this. But the comments section is where I get an opportunity to learn ...

  Dear readers, I hope I never stop finding things about this place that surprise me. You may remember how stunned I was to learn about The Bubble created by students and faculty at the local outpost of Antioch College in Columbia. I mean, what could be weirder than that? Imagine my surprise when I learned that there was a time when Columbia was a hotbed of…clowns. Christian clowns. Ministering clowns. Clowns who were gently, playfully pushing at the established boundaries of traditional church worship. The rich and controversial history of Maryland’s clown ministers , Lillian Reed, Baltimore Banner Don’t believe me? There’s photographic proof, and the Columbia Maryland Archives has it. Of course.  Created by Floyd Shaffer/Courtesy of Columbia Maryland Archives Here you see the Rev’d Floyd Shaffer, who founded a clown ministry here in 1974. He’s accompanied by his granddaughter and a clown marionette. According to the Banner article,  Earlier this year, the Columbia Mary...

I once worked at a small Episcopal school where invidual student birthday celebrations were not encouraged. Each month the priest in charge would announce Birthday Blessings for the month in chapel and later that day all students would enjoy ice cream sandwiches for dessert at lunch. It was the custom. As I recall things were more loosey-goosey when it came to birthday celebrations in the preschool. The young ones couldn’t be expected to understand the unified birthday concept. Their parents couldn’t, either.  That little school is no more but her students are out there in the world, hopefully not scarred by celebrating joint birthdays in the lunchroom. One of those students is celebrating her birthday today. My oldest child (far from a child) took her Grace and Saint Peter’s School education to the Baltimore School for the Arts and then to Johns Hopkins University. She took a degree in writing and turned it into a published romance novel and a career in restaurant management....

It looks like it is going to rain all day. Blah. In my opinion, snow would be a whole lot more fun - - not to mention seasonally appropriate - - but it’s Saturday during the holidays and I bet we’ll all manage to find something to do. I’m thinking of trying out the new grocery store in Wilde Lake. The Columbia Grocery Outlet is located in the space where David’s Natural Market used to be. They opened in late November but I just haven’t made it over there yet. More often than not I shop at Wegmans but I find the store to be enormous and daunting at times. I’m thinking that the Grocery Outlet may be a more manageable size for me.  Have you been? Any recommendations? Another new place that my husband and I have been meaning to try is a second hand bookstore called  The Novel Refuge.  Noodling around a good bookstore sounds like a great idea on a rainy Saturday. From their website: The Novel Refuge, Inc. is a 501(c)3 public charity. We are a 100% volunteer-run used bookstore...

  If today goes the way I hope it will, a brand new water heater will come into our lives and we will once again have hot water. This was the Christmas adventure none of us were counting on this year. We managed to enjoy The Big Day without it but cravings for a hot bath are beginning to overtake all my conscious and unconscious thoughts. Of course, it’s a good reminder that plenty of folks spend this time of year without adequate food, shelter, and numerous other resources. We will most likely soon be back to our usual creature comforts so these days pose not a whole lot more than temporary inconvenience.  Some days I am not so great at coping with temporary inconvenience.  But, overall, we are getting by. A casual Christmas dinner can be served on paper plates and hand sanitizer is a great backup for handwashing if cold water and soap doesn’t inspire confidence. One can boil water to wash small quantities of items if absolutely necessary.  When we look back on the ...

  Today’s post comes from the former HoCoHouseHon, who took time on a busy Christmas Eve to pen these words: If you’re going out to dinner tonight - or any night - take a moment to consider that your whole experience depends upon the hard work of immigrants, from the line cooks to the bussers, from the servers to the managers, from agricultural workers to the contractors who built the restaurant. Immigrants are fundamental to our entire way of life.  Tonight is when Christmas is celebrated in some Latin cultures, and the majority of my staff is missing Christmas to serve everyone who celebrates tomorrow. So be kind. Say thank you. Every time you go out to eat, remember that there would be no hospitality in this country without immigrants. So be grateful, and pray with me that the amazing people who truly make our country great can always call America their home. ***** Way back in 2018 when the County Executive race was getting ugly with sneers like,  “He loves those illeg...

  Columbia Community Care organized another toy drive and family giveaway event this year.  Toys for Tots Howard County has completed yet another year of providing toys to children in the community who might otherwise go without.  Free Bikes 4 Kidz has finished another season of bike restoration and giving. Image from Free Bikes 4 Kidz social media  There’s a whole lot of good going in in Howard County year-round but it does seem as though the time around the December holidays is awash in charitable ventures, doesn’t it? And then there’s this: Ellicott City woman embezzled $1M, used funds for Taylor Swift tickets, luxury items , JT Moodee Lockman, WJZ/Baltimore Banner  According to her guilty plea, Jennifer Tinker, 41, defrauded the real estate agency that she worked for by transferring over $1 million of company funds to her personal bank accounts between January 2020 and November 2023, officials said. I just don’t get it. Many of us wish for more money from ti...

I subscribe to a number of local newsletters. On a good week I read them all, or, I try to. This week, in the Downtown Columbia Partnership newsletter, I was sad to learn of the passing of two women whose involvement in the local scene was both long-term and significant. In Memoriam Two long serving community leaders associated with Downtown Columbia – Lin C. Eagan and Linda S. Wengel – passed away recently. Lin Eagan, a popular real estate agent who died Nov. 26, served on the Town Center Village Board, the Columbia Association Board of Directors, and as board member and chair of the Inner Arbor Trust. She was also a former board member and chair of the Community Foundation of Howard County. A service is planned for Lin Eagan in January.  More information will be forthcoming. Linda Wengel also was a former member and chair of the Town Center Board of Directors and was active in the League of Women Voters. She was a regular attendee and speaker at public meetings, particularly thos...

Food, glorious food… It’s a big part of our seasonal celebrations, isn’t it? While we may not be sitting down to a feast featuring a boar’s head processional nor concluding with a flaming figgy pudding, we love to gather with those we love and share celebratory meals. I’m not referring solely to Christmas, because every religion and culture have ways of celebrating that include food. And often families and groups of friends create their own “holidays” with special food that have nothing to do with a red letter day on the calendar. At my house, for instance, June 1st is  Tiger Birthday . We celebrate with chocolate pie.  Now, here’s the thing. It seems as though many people have dietary restrictions these days. I think that’s fine. In the past people just got sick and felt miserable and nobody knew why. Knowing what foods you need to avoid is an improvement. In the case of severe allergies it’s a life or death situation.  Others have made ideological decisions to avoid mea...

  I happen to know a lot of church musicians. This is probably what comes of spending my junior year at Westminster Choir College, which offers majors in church music, music education, and performance. So I wasn’t surprised to see a Facebook post from a old acquaintance promoting his church’s Christmas Eve services. That must be a big church, I thought. Five services! And then: hmm…look at all the choices.  Modern Kids Traditional Clearly traditional is the favored option here. Perhaps many folks like to celebrate their major holidays with a traditional flavor. And this is where my brain did that inexplicable thing and wondered what it would be like if everything in life was divided into these three categories. Perhaps many of them already are. Restaurants, for instance. I don’t think it’s too big a stretch to imagine one’s dining choices as falling into: Modern, Kids, and Traditional. And what about education? While there are undoubtedly schools using modern methods or deeply...

“Teachers are tired.” I came across these words this morning in a social media discussion about a school lockdown. (Not local) I knew immediately what they meant. Not tired like, “I need a nap” or “Winter vacation can’t come soon enough.” No, it’s more like “Drained to the bone.” “No longer believe there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.”  My thoughts jumped to this statement responding to the school shooting in Madison, Wisconsin: The days immediately following school shootings are the very worst to be a teacher in this country. Not just in theory, either. The tension, the anxiety, and the fear are palpable. Thick. Everybody’s nervous systems go into overdrive as we mentally (and sometimes physically) prepare for the worst thing. Living like this does damage. I know it does.   - - Chanea Bond Teachers are tired.  How tired? I’m so heartbroken and so furious and way too underpaid to be dealing with this all the damn time. And to think so many of us CHOOSE this. We could...

There’s an article in the Sun (which I couldn’t read) about a gentleman named Craig Casterella. His company, American Christmas, makes the Merriweather Disctrict look merry and bright for the season. Screenshot of article from Baltimore Sun, article by Kiersten Hacker Yes, I tried to find this article through the Howard County Library website. I failed. I guess I wasn’t looking under the right rock. Seeing an article about a company that will do one’s holiday decorating put me in mind of the variety of businesses available to provide seasonal services. You can hire someone to: Hang your Christmas lights Clean your house in preparation for holiday guests Cater your holiday meals and/or parties Decorate the interior of your house. You probably can hire someone to do your gift shopping, too. It seems as if there is a service for almost anything one might be willing to pay for. Or, if there isn’t, there soon will be once a savvy entrepreneur figures out how to monetize it successfully. It...

Flash Number One: If you were at Savage Mill on Sunday you may have enjoyed a pop-up community parranda by Cultura Plenera.  Photo from Cultura Plenera social media  A parranda is a Puerto Rican holiday musical tradition that involves visiting the homes of friends and family and singing traditional holiday music. It's the Puerto Rican version of caroling, but parrandas are generally considered secular events enjoyed by all Puerto Rican regardless of their religious beliefs. They are an opportunity to visit and celebrate the end of the year with friends and family. Visitors can participate in this Puerto Rican version of caroling right here at Savage Mill! - - event page Although they billed it as a Flash Mob of sorts, the good folks of Cultura Plenera acknowledged the ways in which their parrranda would differ from the typical Flash Mob.   A flash mob is a group of people who suddenly perform an unexpected act in a public space for a short time, and then quickly disperse....

Have you heard of Winter Growth? The mission of this regional nonprofit is to offer “Assisted Living, Memory Care, and Adult Day Programs that empower older adults to live their best lives.” Winter Growth, whose Howard County location is in Harpers Choice, will soon be offering a new program that connects young people with their elders. It’s called the Grandkid Investigator Series.   The creator of the Grandkid Investigator Series, Isabel Tom, is from Rockville. You can learn more about her at her website, The Value of Wrinkles . My name is Isabel Tom. I offer easy-to- understand insight to equip and encourage grandchildren and adult children to care for their older loved ones. The “mission” for grandkid investigators is for kids to gather as much “evidence" as they can about their grandparent/older friend. The kit contains individual missions on various topics such as fashion, holidays, travel, and favorite foods. Children don’t always know how to begin conversations with grandp...

Remember this moment from “A Charlie Brown Christmas”? Lucy Van Pelt: I know how you feel about all this Christmas business, getting depressed and all that. It happens to me every year. I never get what I really want. I always get a lot of stupid toys or a bicycle or clothes or something like that. Charlie Brown: What is it you want? Lucy Van Pelt: Real estate. So, let’s talk real estate. I recently came across a rather odd video on YouTube posted by Eddie Brady of Showcase Real Estate. It’s called “ Six Reasons to Avoid Columbia. ” The video runs 9 minutes, 37 seconds and it’s the first real estate video I have ever seen telling the viewer why they don’t want to move somewhere.  I understand that Columbia can be rather an acquired taste and that it’s important to understand what it’s all about before making the leap of home ownership here. To be honest, many of the issues raised seem reasonable. We know we’re not perfect or at the very least we know we’re not exactly like other p...

  A quick recipe for overwhelm: go to the Events page for today on Facebook. Check out Local and This Week to see what’s happening today. Shopping, Santa, and various photo ops figure prominently. Here’s an unexpected one: Holiday photos with Smooth Little Moos. Come out and get the cutest Holiday photos and cuddles with our fluffy Mini Highland Cow Luna. I wonder if anyone has asked Luna what she thinks about all this. At least Santa knows why he’s there.  Of course I’m going to put in a plug for the good folks at Clarksville Commons. Today is the last market of the season, and they’re going all out for the holidays. I’m even hearing rumors of a visit from the man in red.Check out the event page for more information. A reminder that this is a great way to shop local and support local farmers, artisans, and entrepreneurs. You are invited to enjoy holiday activities at the Central Branch of the Howard County Library today beginning at 11 AM. Celebrate the season with a festive ...

I came very close to sharing my collection of ceiling photos with you this morning. Thank goodness you have escaped that fate. Then I read this: Mass Deportations Could Lead to Severe Scapegoat Shortage, Experts Warn - - Andy Borowitz, writer, satirist  He refers, of course, to a likely policy of the next president of the United States. But his words reach beyond just that one topic, I think. What happens when people invest everything in one scapegoat, one target of  blame? It could be ginned-up rage about undocumented residents, high prices, people whose sexuality is different from our own, history lessons that include uncomfortable truths…you name it. If you put all your eggs in one ideological basket and loudly blast all within earshot I think you also make yourself more vulnerable to those who would seek to manipulate you for their own purposes. If they know you have a negative hot button issue they can make promises accordingly. They can pretty much rely on you to respon...

How do we light the world? Can we? Each year we enter into this season where everything is darker and colder and each year we look for ways to bring light into the darkness. Back in early November I spied this post from the Howard County 50-Plus Centers: Don’t let the loss of daylight hold you back!  It’s meant to encourage residents to sign up for a fitness class to bring some energy to the cold, dark months. But, because I am not exactly like other people, I read these words and thought,  Don’t let the loss of daylight hold you back!  Rage, rage against the dying of the light.* So, what do we do? Do we reach for ways to light the world or do we rage against the dying of the light? The late cartoonist Charles Schulz illuminates this struggle in a Peanuts strip in which Linus says, “I have heard that it is better to light a single candle than to curse the darkness.” Artist Charles Schulz, United Features Syndicate/ Peanuts Worldwide LLC Big sister Lucy comes along and yel...