HoCo Stuff. And Nonsense

Once upon a time I saw a cartoon that showed a kid at someone’s door promoting the school fundraiser. The gist of it was, no one wanted to buy the product du jour. But when the kid offered to take away stuff the homeowner was trying to get rid of - - for a fee, of course - - it suddenly became the best fundraiser ever. I wish I had saved that cartoon. It was meant to be humorous but I still think it’s a brilliant concept.

I hate throwing things away knowing they’ll just go in a landfill. I find great satisfaction matchmaking my no longer needed items in my Buy Nothing Group. But there’s a sort of let down or sense of failure when nobody wants Your Thing. Case in point: two well-loved plastic cutting boards. 

I can’t convince anyone to give them a new life with some kind of creative reuse and if I throw them away they will sit in a landfill forever. So they are sitting in my house instead. My house: the secondary landfill. 

Bah, humbug.

The topic is on my mind this morning because of something I saw on Facebook about an ecologically friendly way to pass along unwanted stuff. Somehow I got the impression that it was a County initiative. So this morning I looked in all the places one might find announcements of County initiatives.

Zip.

I finally located a screenshot - - in my collection of eight million screenshots - -  and it’s not County related whatsoever. What I saw was an advert. Here it is:

GreenDrop® is a for-profit company and registered professional fundraiser where required. We accept donations on behalf of and pay our nonprofit and charity partners for your stuff, helping them to fund programs in your community.

Why did I come away with the impression that this is a County initiative? Probably because I saw that the drop off was located at the Library and because the text is full of green, eco-friendly language. To be honest, it’s also because I was skimming and didn’t take the time to truly process what I was seeing.

If I had blithely shared something I had only a vague impression of…Well, that would be a lot like what happens on the Internet every day. Oof. 

So, here’s the deal. The GreenDrop drop-off location is in Ellicott City. It looks like this:

GreenDrop is operated by Savers Value Village. That’s a link to the Wikipedia entry, which is…interesting. I’d be interested in your thoughts. 

The charity that will benefit from the Howard County drop-offs is the American Red Cross. 

GreenDrop certainly isn’t the only company soliciting drop-offs of your cast-offs in Howard County. It’s just the newest kid on the block. They want things that are potentially re-sale able (is that a word?) in their Value Village stores. Think new or lightly-used. They are not in any way a recycling operation.

I didn’t get any clear idea of what happens to the donated items that can’t be sold. What do you think?

If there’s a lesson here, it’s this:  I was so invested in wanting to believe I was seeing some sort of Cinderella experience for unwanted stuff that I read into it positive attributes that weren’t even there. That bothers me. I think of myself as a savvy consumer. I let myself down here.

I still want to believe there’s a magic wand on that end when the magic is probably needed more on the other end: don’t bring more stuff into your house in the first place. 

If you want those two cutting boards or have ideas for their creative reuse, let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Unfiltered

My morning schedule is off due to what might be labeled “moderate oversleeping.” I’m usually up between four and five and, believe it or not, it takes all of that preparation time for my brain to be ready to form words I’m comfortable putting out into the world.

I don’t usually do this, but I’m just going to rant a bit. You have been warned.

“One Size Fits All!”

Have you ever seen this claim for a product? Has it ever, ever been true?

I am frustrated this morning with the practice of blaming everything on one particular cause or claiming that your one solution will solve all problems. The proponents of this approach are zealous. 

My opinion: this does not help. 

We cannot have one balanced discussion about classroom overcrowding (or many other local topics) without someone uttering the word “developer” and derailing it. It’s no longer a discussion. It’s the equivalent of what happens when someone yells “Fire!” in a crowded theater.

Then we have those who are sure that the only solution to problems on their side of town is to snatch away opportunity on the other side of town.  The only solution.

I don’t believe it. I don’t believe that there’s just one cause for blame or just one solution for what you want.

One size does not fit all. 

After awhile these claims begin to feel like the ubiquitous ads on YouTube for that “viral, miracle pink salt treatment that works just like Ozempic!” Loud, relentless, and almost impossible to believe.

I’m not suggesting that there’s anything disingenuous about this. I think that these folks are sincere in their beliefs. I, too, am sincere. And I would like to respectfully disagree with them. 

It’s never just one thing. I wonder if we could learn more and do more good if we took a step back and tried to learn how all the pieces fit together.

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Spirit of Columbia: Aglow

Some years back, during that window of time when I really, really cared about being involved in Columbia Association happenings and goings on, I found myself singing the same song over and over again on my blog and in meetings of the CA Board of Directors.

Why are we making decisions when young people and families with young children aren’t in the room? Why don’t we make it easy for them to be in the room? It looks like the powers that be don’t want them to be in the room. 

I was pretty passionate about it. 

My reasoning was that, if we want Columbia to live on into the future, we need to be including people of younger generations every step of the way. And not just including them, but empowering them. The exhilaration felt by participating in the creation of Columbia ought to be shared by newer generations as they participate in having significant roles in its continuation. 

This was not exactly a welcome message. I decided that I was done fighting those battles with those people.

All of those memories came rushing back when a friend shared a recent news article, complete with video, from The Banner. 

The Glow: An underground circus thrives in a Columbia backyard, Lillian Reed, Baltimore Banner

This is the accompanying video piece.

What’s this? An underground circus? In Columbia?

For the past five years, “The Glow,” an underground variety show that runs just two days a year, has hidden in plain sight in the Columbia village of Kings Contrivance, its cult following so word-of-mouth that many in Howard County don’t know it exists.

Even if you can’t access the article, watch the video.

My immediate thought: honestly, I didn’t know that Columbia was so cool. There’s life in the old gal yet.

My second thought: here they are. This is the younger generation that was consistently not invited to the table when decisions were being made. Young folks. Families with young children. Even if they seemed invisible during those long and ponderous meetings of the select few. 

Here they are. Building their own Columbia. Celebrating their own community experiences. Making their own creative worlds. I must say, it doesn’t look at all the way I imagined it and that’s probably why I love it so much. Here is the zany, collaborative spirit that lit an earlier generation on fire circa 1967. 

Cardboard boat races? Inflatable college buildings? Meet underground backyard circus.

Silly me. I should have known. When you don’t invite the younger generation to your party, they make their own party. 

Do I have any concerns as I view the video footage of a cheering crowd and brightly-arrayed circus performers? Sadly, yes. I’m waiting for the inevitable “neighbors complain to city council” piece on Fox 45. 

I sure hope that doesn’t happen. We have enough killjoys right here in River City. They don’t need any out-of-town assistance. 

“The world is full of uncertainty, especially right now,” said Caitlin Weiger, an aerialist who performs in a duo with Cooper. “It’s so nice to have a base of people that love you, support you no matter what, let you be your most authentic, weirdest self.”

Well, what do you know? Cities are fun. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

Colorful, Fresh! And…Prohibited?

 

At six-fifteen am the temperature is 56 degrees, it’s foggy and the humidity is 100 per cent: ugh. Projections are for sun, though, and pollen will be middling. 

What? Don’t you check the weather before you make plans?

There are plenty of things to do around town and you know where to look for them by now, I guess. And you know I’m always going to put in a plug for the Farmers’ Markets: Clarksville Commons and Old Ellicott City.

I’m personally intrigued by this event:

Your new favorite outdoor art hangout!

SCRIBBLE! A DRAWING HANGOUT FOR MARYLAND CREATIVES PRESENTS:

SCRIBBLIN IN THE PARK SEPTEMBER 13 11-1 PM CENTENNIAL PARK

Your favorite outdoor art hangout! Pack your supplies, projects, something comfy to sit on, and enjoy an afternoon of sketching, painting, and creating in good company.

Please watch posted video on our Facebook and Instagram pages for walking guide to find our spot!

ALL ART STYLES, SKILL LEVELS, & MEDIUMS WELCOME!

CENTENNIAL LAKE BOAT RAMP LOT 10000 CLARKSVILLE PIKE ELLICOTT CITY, MD 21042

 @WEBESCRIBBLIN - RSVP LINK IN BIO

They’re also doing regular meetups at Busboys and Poets, so check their Facebook and Instagram. Since they recommend bring something comfy to sit on, this suggests that you’ll be working on your lap as opposed to a flat surface like a table - - but, I could be wrong.

It’s free but they do ask you to RSVP.

*****

The local story that is, frankly, blowing my mind is the one about fruits and vegetables.

'They fit in with the town': Eggplant, giant peach sprout controversy in Ellicott City, Tommie Clark, WBAL 11 TV

You know about the eggplant. It started as an ArtSites exhibit in front of the Howard County Tourist Center. Through the efforts (and probably funds) of a local group it stayed on as a fixture at The Wine Bin. Then in June The Wine Bin posted a welcome to a new sculpture on Main Street: a peach at Georgia Grace Café. I’m pretty sure it is the work of the same artist, Jan Kirsch.

 

My opinion? They’re fun. They make people smile. I bet folks enjoy taking their pictures with them, too.

I was flabbergasted to learn in the WBAL 11 TV story above that the Historic Preservation Commission wants none of this and seems prepared to run them (roll them?) out of town. Their objections: you didn’t get permission, they’re not historic enough, they might be offensive…(yes, I know about the emojis. I have seen no evidence that these sculptures have anything to do with that.)

Oh, brother.

This makes about as much sense as Victorians putting skirts on piano legs. (Although that story is, apparently, a myth.)

Sure, Main Street in Old Ellicott City is historic. It is also primarily a retail/dining district. It could be the most perfectly preserved historical promenade and yet still die without active commerce. Main Street is not Colonial Williamsburg. The Commission has neither the money nor muscle to operate it as a museum.

Historic preservation is important. But are the actions being taken in Ellicott City an appropriate use of the Commission's role? 

This part of the article puzzled me:

Don Reuwer, who manages numerous Main Street properties as president of the Waverly Real Estate Group, helped gather hundreds of signatures to keep the sculptures.

"Unfortunately, the chairperson told me that they weren't interested in the petitions that actually said that the merchants are only temporary, so they don't matter. And frankly, that was just the straw that broke the camel's back for me," Reuwer told 11 News.

I’m aware that news articles don’t always contain every piece of information and that quotes are sometimes partial or inaccurate. Or I may be misunderstanding entirely what Reuwer said. But…

This appears to suggest that the Preservation Commission views business owners as itinerant vendors, the sort who set up to hawk their wares at a carnival. They, the Historic Preservation Commission, are eternal. Others will come and go.

If I were a business owner in Main Street that I would find that deeply offensive. Think floods. Think recovery. Think coming back from pandemic losses.

I posted the news article on the Howard County, Maryland Facebook page. There were a few people trying to explain the emoji reference to me, bless them, but most thought the objections were misplaced. Will the opinions of the community have any sway here? I don’t know. But I wish they’d ponder at least one of those comments which sums up everything to me:

They're quirky and smart and so is Main Street. They need to stay.

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

F ³: Good Intentions

 

The road to hell is paved with good intentions. It’s an old saying. We don’t exactly know how old. Considering how vividly we are experiencing the road to hell these days, without any good intentions whatsoever, it can be hard to believe that good intentions could go amiss.

Case in point: in pondering the murder of conservative media personality Charlie Kirk this week I found myself mulling over something which has been upsetting me for a long time: laughing at/celebrating the suffering of others. In light of that, I posted the following on social media:

You always lose something when you laugh at the suffering of others. It isn’t simply demoralizing to people you don’t like. You damage yourself. You chip away at the most precious part of what makes you human.

My words received positive feedback. I felt I had done the best I could with the feelings I had. Then I came across a post on Bluesky, unrelated to mine, that gave me pause.

Whiteness only demands civility and grace in response to calls for accountability and responsibility for whiteness and white supremacism.

The poster was someone I have come to trust and respect. The words made me uncomfortable. Is that what I was doing? I didn’t mean to do that. It troubled me. I know from past experience that “not meaning to” is not the same as not actually doing the thing. 

Later in the day, someone I know in real life called me on my words. Again, this was someone I have come to trust and respect. 

It doesn’t feel great when that happens. But, perhaps because of what I had read earlier, I was ready to address it. 

I agree with you completely. I have not one redemptive thing to say about the deceased. No one should be forced to say kind things that aren’t true nor should anyone be forced to silence truthful dissent in the name of “civil behavior.”

But I do believe that outright laughing and enjoying the suffering of others is deeply…damaging. 

I could be wrong. This is an opinion I have arrived at and not the result of scientific study. It could simply be a touchy feely tender hearted notion. 

When I see how unashamedly the British are still laughing at the demise of Hitler, well - - it makes me wonder.

The response was pretty blunt: you’re wrong. You’re wrong, and this is why. The reasoning was solid. I felt a little naked.  “But I didn’t think…”

Hello, road to hell. I meant well. But I didn’t think. And now I really needed to. I responded:

Then I need to examine how I got here, and understand how to do better, and make that change. Thank you for taking the time to call me out.

So how did I get here? I thought about how much is upset me when people on the Right laughed at and celebrated human suffering. So it was only fair that I should be equally opposed to people on the Left doing it. Sure, it’s easy to pass judgement on the other guys. How easy is it to keep your high standards when the shoe is on the other foot?

Makes sense, yes?

But what kind of suffering has been breaking my heart over the last year? Genocide in Gaza, masked enforcers disappearing people off the street, horrific conditions in what can only be called concentration camps…

I do think that the growing ability of people to laugh at that is scary. But I guess this is where my good intentions went off the rails.

The murder of Charlie Kirk was the murder of someone who actively promoted harm to people he didn’t like or didn’t agree with. Who is to say if he laughed but we do know that he said that God gives us rights which must be protected by accepting regular gun deaths.

1. This actively promotes harm while wrapping it in some kind of religious mandate.
2. It’s heresy. But that’s another story altogether.

At the very least, I was comparing apples and oranges. Or establishing a false equivalency, if you will. So, that’s how I got here.

My friend pointed out that grief is personal. And that’s true. I had been so absorbed in setting up a perfect and fair balance in my own mind that this is the part I completely missed. People respond in different ways. How was I to know what it would feel like to be someone who had been explicitly and repeated targeted by Kirk as they reacted to the news that he was no more?

What if someone killed your abuser? How would you feel? Or if it were someone who invaded your country or stole your good name?  Honestly you might laugh because of the sheer unexpectedness of it. Or you might laugh in relief that the bad things would cease. Humans are weird/wired that way. 

I wasn’t even thinking about that. And here’s the part that makes me squirm and why I am making myself put this out in public: I was probably thinking about “folks like me.” The people I can see my reflection in so well that I forget there are other people. 

God help me. I do not mean to do the things I do. But I placed myself at the center of the world here.  

We have a choice. I have a choice - - to stop and think. To examine the experiences of others. To be open to those moments when people call us out. I haven’t always been. Am I learning?

Not as fast as I’d like.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

A Single Ray of Light

“If you want to do something in honor of 9/11, acknowledge a stranger, a fellow human, instead of ignoring or (worse) fearing them.”

- - Mike Morucci, Howard County writer (and friend)

I have shared these words so often that one of these days Mr. Morucci may send me a bill.

I am placing them here again because of a single ray of light that came into a dark day yesterday.  Light that comes from a garden. 

All images from Howard County Government social media

From the Facebook page of County Executive Calvin Ball:

It was a thrill to join The Community Ecology Institute to celebrate the publication of a new peer reviewed article, titled "Community Gardens and the Cultivation of Social Capital", in Current Opinion in Psychology.

The research backing this article, built on 50 studies, shows how community gardens build resilience, foster belonging, and strengthen civic life. It highlights what we see every day through CEI’s programs—gardens bringing neighbors together, bridging differences, and linking communities to critical resources.

Congratulations to Dr. D’Amore and the CEI team on this milestone. Their work continues to make Howard County a national leader in connecting people, place, and planet.

The full article will be featured in the February 2026 issue of Current Opinion in Psychology.

Building community can build empathy. Building empathy can promote better mental health and wellbeing and even prevent crime. Building and maintaining community gardens can help feed the hungry and empower those who feel disempowered. Can we just stop for a minute and see how meaningful this is?

From the Community Ecology Institute:

The article highlights how community gardens build strong connections between neighbors, boost well-being and strengthen civic engagement. In other words, shared green spaces grow more than food—they cultivate trust, connection, and resilience in our communities! 

We all have memories of how we experienced 9/11/01 - - if we were alive then or old enough to remember. I feel fortunate that, over time, my friend Mike’s words have become woven into those memories. 

If you want to do something in honor of 9/11, acknowledge a stranger, a fellow human, instead of ignoring or (worse) fearing them.

That is why I can recognize the news from the Community Ecology Institute for what it is. Those who come to the community garden at Freetown Farm are acknowledged as fellow humans. It is not a place where they will be ignored or feared as strangers. 

Shared work, shared learning, shared growth.

At first people refuse to believe a strange new thing can be done, then they see it be done - then it is done and all the world wonders why it was not done centuries ago.

- - Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

Village Green/Town² Comments

A Lasting Gift: The Barber, the Barbershop, the Community

 

Less than a year ago I was was inspired by an article in the Banner to write this piece:

One Hundred Years and Other Good News, Village Green/Town² October 21, 2024

The Banner article:

Columbia barbershop marks 100 years of haircuts and mentoring Black barbers, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner  

It’s because of Ms. Nocera that I learned about the history of Warren’s Barbershop, now in Owen Brown, and of its long-time Howard County owner, Julius Warren, Jr.

His son, Mr. Julius, joined the family [barbershop] business when he was 13. That’s when his father handed him his first pair of clippers. 

“Being a barber was one of the best businesses to have back then,” said Mr. Julius, who took over the shop from his father in 1981…

Yesterday Nocera was back with more about Warren and his life’s work as she penned his final story.

Julius Warren Jr., Black-owned barbershop owner, was an institution in Howard County, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

Also noteworthy: Warren was a 1955 graduate of Harriet Tubman School.  You may remember how I learned about the value and power of a good haircut to students at Harriet Tubman from a talk by fellow-graduate Bessie Bordenave in 2017.

Helping to keep members of the community looking good and feeling good - - I’m paraphrasing County Executive Calvin Ball here - - was and is a far bigger deal than many of us who are white can imagine. In a culture that has long insisted that white skin and white hair are The Norm, the creation of spaces where Black Americans were welcomed and valued has been hugely important. (Still worth watching: Henry Louis Gates, Jr’s “Making Black America: Through the Grapevine” on PBS.)

Days after Warren died the barbershop that had been his life’s work held their sixth annual back-to-school event. That must have been hard to do. Think of how you would feel under those circumstances.

Here’s a flyer from last years’s event to give you an idea. 

A few days after Mr. Warren died, the barbershop held its annual back-to-school festival, complete with free haircuts and a live band.

When Clark spoke about Warren at the community day last month, he looked out to the crowd and was filled with joy.

“I looked around at the whole bunch of people and knew this all started because of Mr. Julius,” Clark said in an interview Friday. Clark and Julius Warren III now co-own the barbershop.

It’s impossible to ignore the common thread in both of these articles: hard work, mentoring, teaching, learning, fostering relationships, engaging in community service. As much as these themes are imparted to the reader, it’s even clearer to see just how deeply they have been imprinted on Warren’s children.

Brittany Warren and her brother, Julius Warren III, want to start a foundation to honor their father’s legacy by helping young Black entrepreneurs start their own businesses.

The Instagram account for Warren’s Barber Shop announced the passing of Mr. Julius and shared funeral arrangements, along with a song. I’m listening to it now and giving thanks for his life and legacy.

Village Green/Town² Comments

HumanEyes

 

What makes us care? Better yet, what makes us stop long enough to really see?

We live in the firehose blast of constant information trying to sell us something or shape our opinions. Much of it is loud. Or aggressive. We mute the sound on television adverts, scroll quickly through exhausting online solicitations and diatribes. 

Sometimes it is the quiet things that speak to us. Something gently humorous, perhaps, that appeals to our humanity. 

Eyes, for instance. 

We are hardwired to see faces even when faces aren’t particularly there. So when a normally inanimate object appears to take on a personality…

Case in point: Mr. Trash Wheel.  This adorable front man for the Waterfront Partnership/Healthy Harbor initiative appeared in 2015 and stole my heart. He also captured the imagination of many in Baltimore and beyond. Mr. Trash Wheel has his own website, Instagram account, and his popularity has spawned a veritable family of other trash wheels. He's even a movie star.

What’s the big deal? It’s a thing/vehicle/machine, invented by Baltimore entrepreneur John Kellett, that collects trash in the Baltimore harbor. That doesn’t sound very exciting. Well, it’s the eyes. Look at them. 

Mr. Trash Wheel doesn’t yell or leap out at you from the screen in animated frenzy. He does his job, he loves his work, and he invites the public to come along for the ride, as it were. Because of a clear commitment to an ongoing social media presence, Mr. Trash Wheel has a personality and a sense of humor.

After a while you find yourself rooting for him. Maybe you don’t toss that soda can in the ground. Perhaps you join in a neighborhood stream cleanup. 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Image from Live Green Howard social media 

Name The Food Scrap Bins

Did you know? You can drop off your food scraps in collection bins at the Residents' Conveniece Center at Alpha Ridge Landfill! These hungry fellas need a name, so Howard County's Bureau of Environmental Services is hosting a naming contest. Submit your entries by Friday, September 19!

 - - Live Green Howard 

While some folks are able to Feed the Green Bin at home to keep food scraps out of the landfill, some areas don’t have that service yet or some may not want to take on the care and feeding of yet another bin. But we know that food decomposing in a landfill gives off harmful greenhouse gases which are bad for the environment. Hence,  Live Green Howard is offering a new choice to participate in turning that garbage into something ‘green’ - - compost. 

And they have eyes. Hmm…do you think he looks like Oobi?

Now they need names. And they need friends. Well, you know. They need the community to care about what they do and what they’re all about. 

So maybe you can enter the contest. Perhaps you can share this post, or the contest information from Live Green Howard, amongst your neighbors and friends. I already have a few name ideas…

We don’t always respond well to loud and aggressive promotional campaigns. There’s something refreshing about this approach which aims to humanize an environmental message with, well, human eyes.

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Secret Ingredient is Not a Secret

Three things. 

1. Yesterday County Executive Ball highlighted National Arts in Education Week on his Facebook page. 

The arts connect us, inspire us, and bring our community to life. During National Arts in Education Week, we celebrate how creativity enriches everyone, not just in classrooms and community centers, but across our entire county.

In Howard County, we advocate for the arts. From featuring local artwork at bus stops, to revitalizing community poetry through our Poet Laureate program, to building a new Performing Arts Center in Downtown Columbia to serve as a hub for our local artists and productions.

The arts are thriving here—and with continued investment and support, they will only grow stronger, creating spaces for expression, connection, and joy for all.

2. It caught my eye because I had just finished listening to an episode of IMO, where co-hosts Michelle Obama and Craig Robinson interview Barack Obama on the topic, “Focus on What’s Right About Young Men.” The conversation centers around a listener question about positive ways to raise boys in our culture. 

There’s a lot in there, and I’ll leave it to you to delve in if you wish. Something that struck me was the suggestion that it’s not healthy to do just one thing or have just one interest to the exclusion of everything else. As an example, sports or video games can be all-consuming but they won’t necessarily open you up to larger worlds. The hosts specifically mention involvement in the arts as a gateway to different ways of seeing, feeling, and interacting.

3. I don’t think they name it specifically, but a big part of the “why” here is how arts education helps to foster perspective-taking and empathy. Everyone needs these to be fully human and engaged with the world around them in a healthy way. But we have traditionally raised boys by a standard that is especially lacking in developing these qualities.

You are much less likely to laugh at the suffering of others if you have had experiences connecting with the humanity of others through the arts. You are much more likely to consider other points of view instead of merely shutting them out. Imagine how that would impact the nation we are living in today.

I suspect this is why totalitarian regimes come for the humanities in general and arts in particular. It’s extremely important for them to have significant numbers of people who will laugh at the suffering of others and who will shut down new ideas without considering them. 

And another thing. I keep reading about something called “the crisis of male loneliness.” How can they possibly escape loneliness if we raise them without the crucial tools to be connected with the people around them? It is as cruel as ancient practices like foot binding which insisted on crippling pain to produce a “feminine” ideal. 

Arts education is not the only way, but it is both a broad and appealing way to deepen hearts and expand minds. Valuing these opportunities in our community tells our young people that we value their innate humanity and encourage them to grow into thoughtful, capable, and caring adults.

*****

Bonus content: Dan and Claudia Zanes Make Beautiful Music Together, Max Weiss, Baltimore Magazine (See how many examples of empathy and perspective-taking come up in this piece!)

Unseasonable Saturday

 

So far the topic of today’s blog is “You can’t make me.”  It’s partly cloudy, the humidity is high, it might rain. Go out there and have fun.

Blah. It’s too hot and damp to feel any inkling of an energetic Fall vibe. Drink all the pumpkin spice you want. You can’t convince me that this is anything more than sad, leftover summer.

With apologies for my bad attitude, I must acknowledge that there are plenty of things to do around town today and I encourage you to get out there and enjoy them. If you are called to do so, that is.

As always, don’t forget the markets at Clarksville Commons and Old Ellicott City. Bonus: check out the TARDIS.

Check out what’s available at Facebook events, Visit Howard County, and The Columbia Mom will apparently send you this information upon request. (Check her Instagram.)

A few things:

1. Does anyone know why Howard County Public Schools host churches? That feels weird to me but I don’t know the history. I wonder if it has anything to do with Rouse’s vision of not including freestanding, single-denomination houses of worship in Columbia. 

2. Despite my creative interpretation, Offshore is having a buffet lunch with a DJ, not a Jimmy Buffet lunch. I mean, “DJ Buffet Lunch” - - it’s open to multiple possibilities, right? 

Well…no. The singer’s name ends in two t’s and I need more coffee. Please don’t go to Offshore in search of a Cheeseburger in Paradise.

There’s a ton of stuff going on today at Freetown Farm and at the Harriet Tubman Center today. Just think: ten years ago there were no community programs happening in either location. What a transformation.

Over at Second Edition Books they’re hosting a book signing with Derrick Credito. In doing a basic Google search I discovered that Credito is:

• a Baltimore-area college English professor.
• a suburban dad in Columbia, Maryland writing folk-rock songs with progressive themes. 

College professor by day, suburban musician dad by night…see what happens when his two worlds  collide! 

That might be a good idea for his next novel.

Do you have a particular event today that you’d like to boost? Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

F ³: Instacart Goes Spotify, Oh My!

 

Why, why, why did Instacart send me a Year in Review report à la Spotify at the end of the summer? Am I not meeting my personal order quotas according to their projections? Did they think that I would think it was cool?

Au contraire. This is painful. Among other things, it reveals me to be the most Boring Person in the World.

(Forgive the string of screenshots. I couldn’t make it fit into one unified image without compromising something.)

Oh, my. I lead such an exciting life that my notable purchases include lactose-free whole milk, bananas, and the Lean Cuisine Meatloaf meal. Instacart thought I needed reminding? Am I supposed to use this information like some kind of bragging rights amongst members of my friend group?

Not likely. Those of you who are ordering fresh basil, burrata, and wagyu steaks are rolling your eyes about now. Oh, the shame of it.

I was surprised to see that I like to order Beauty, Health, and Home Goods products when in fact I order food, food, food, and the occasional laundry soap and ibuprofen. What’s going on there?

The pièce de resistance is their recommendation of two categories I should check out more:

• Alcohol 
• Pets

Friends, if customers do not order from these particular categories it is not because they are simply absentminded or it has never occurred to them. If they don’t order anything for Pets it is because they don’t have pets.

Why aren’t they ordering alcohol? Well, it could be for a variety of reasons and some of them are none of your @#$& business, Instacart. Furthermore, the idea that it’s good business to “suggestive-sell” alcohol is asinine. (Original words redacted.)

Ahem.

I can see encouraging customers to try items from the Florist section or Fresh Prepared Foods. But, holy cow, this was a report put together by a computer and not by a human with any common sense. While we are at it, whoever thought I needed a year in review of my grocery shopping at the beginning of September does not have the sense that God gave a grasshopper.

But maybe they read this report.*

To be honest, nothing about this has harmed me in any way. Instacart provides a useful service and I’m grateful to have that option when I need it. Besides, I guess I should be grateful that there’s no category entitled “Things We Think You Order Too Much”. 

You’ve been eating a lot of those sourdough hard pretzels. May we suggest a raw vegetable tray for your snacking pleasure?

It could happen. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Tips For Creating a Year-End Review Like Spotify, Vev Design Blog, Words by Jeff Cardello 11/1/22

Mystery on Main

I have a list of over a dozen things I could write about today but none of them intrigue me as much as a report that there’s a TARDIS on Main Street. 

This is a TARDIS, a time travel vehicle/device on the long running sci-fi television show Dr. Who.

Image from Wikipedia entry

The TARDIS (/ˈtɑːrdɪs/; acronym for "Time And Relative Dimension(s) In Space") is a fictional hybrid of a time machine and spacecraft. - - Wikipedia

This is Main Street in Old Ellicott City.

Screenshot from Visit Howard County website 

How on earth did the two get together? Better yet, have you seen this? Do you know the backstory?

I read an eyewitness account on the Ellicott City Reddit. There’s even a photo.

TARDIS on Main Street.

I drove past, sitting where the farmers market is on Saturdays. Anyone know… who? Or why? I’m down for the world to be saved regardless.

Although it’s far from likely, the idea of Old Ellicott City as the setting for an upcoming Dr. Who episode is delightfully intriguing. It would be hard to hide from the public, however. Do you remember all the brouhaha associated with the filming of the Gordon Ramsey show? Sneaking in a production team for Dr. Who? Yeah…no.

I have heard that the current County Executive is a fan of Dr. Who. I wonder if he knows what’s going on here?

Even less likely is the possibility that it’s a real TARDIS. Still, hope springs eternal. As the original poster says, I’m down for the world being saved regardless. So keep your eye out for The Doctor (which incarnation?) and, if you can, check out the internal dimensions of that mysterious thing on Main Street. 

I’ll get back to my list tomorrow. This is just too much fun to ignore. 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Columbia Chance Connection

 

Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!” 

We weren’t expecting anyone.

Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work.

I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother.

“Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package.

“All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.”

We were all getting a bit giggly.

“That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband.

I told her our names and said she should definitely tell her daughter to drop in anytime. We all laughed some more and she departed.

We sat down to dinner, rather giddy. For a brief moment we had been in some quintessential sitcom episode.

“I’m ba-ack!” We giggled, remembering her dramatic entry. 

I don’t know if it was adrenaline or the mere silliness of it all but it was rather…thrilling. 

*****

If you’re up for some positive interaction I don’t necessarily recommend walking into the wrong house but you absolutely will be welcome at your local library. They’re inviting you to stop by as a part of their “Learn Grow Connect” campaign.

Screenshot from HCLS social media

Show us how you connect! Starting in September, you can stop by your branch's Social Engagement Station and join our fall photo challenge! Snap a pic, share your story, and you could win our best prizes yet. Here's a sneak peek at Elkridge's but each station is different!

Share photos in front of them all to have the best chance of winning big.

Here's how to enter:

• Visit any HCLS branch

Take a photo with the Social Engagement Station. Post to your feed.

• Tag @hocolibrary + use #ConnectHCLS

Make sure your profile is public so we can see vour entrv! We can't wait to see how you Learn, Grow, and Connect with us!

And don’t forget that library hours are now nine am to eight pm. (Fridays and Sundays differ.)

While I have you here, what’s the silliest thing that ever happened in your neighborhood?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Still Photo in Action

Stop me if you’ve heard this one.  No, don’t stop me. I’m going to tell it anyway.

This photo was taken at an event at the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods. 

I remember clearly what we were discussing. I had been hearing that my council representative was considering a run for County Executive. I didn’t doubt that he had the skills and innate ability to do the job well. My concern was something else entirely, and I told him so.

“People are going to be horrible to you. Hurtful, racist, demeaning.”

He already knew that. His response was, “If not now, when?” 

If he felt called to the job and was determined to make a difference, it made no sense to wait until the haters weren’t so hateful or the waters could be assured to be smooth. That might never happen.

And the opportunity to do good for his community would be lost.

We all know what happened. My county council representative Calvin Ball ran for Counry Executive and won. Twice. 

The waters have been anything but smooth. It is challenging enough to be County Executive. Add to that a global pandemic and a presidential election that led to significant job losses in the County. 

The haters have been every bit as hateful as I feared. No: worse. 

Every job has challenges, difficult coworkers, and situations that test you and make you feel you could done better. This is different. This is people responding to every decision, every policy announcement, every social media post with arrogance, ignorance, and a deep-seated desire to wound. Their racism isn’t even thinly-veiled anymore. They’ve employed every racist trope in the book. 

Some of these folks have just about made it their job to ‘cut that Black man down to size.’ 

If you knew you’d be taking on that kind of unceasing hatred - - would you want the job? 

He knew. He did it anyway. 

You do not have to agree with someone’s political views to understand that they are human and deserve to be treated with basic human dignity. They are not required to be perfect in every respect. You do not get to define what “perfect in every respect” means, either.

But you know that. I wish more people knew that.

“Lives change worlds. People can save planets or wreck them. That’s the choice. Be the best of humanity.”- - The 13th Doctor, Orphan 55

Happy Birthday, Dr. Ball.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

The People We Forget

 

And the year rolls on. Summer begins with Memorial Day Weekend and ends with Labor Day Weekend. In each case many folks, though not all, are able to have a day off from work. But the framing is quite different.

Memorial Day honors those who lost their lives in battle. It is right to honor their service and sacrifice. But along with that comes a sort of guilt-tripping to the nation. “When you enjoy your Memorial Day picnic, will you remember the deaths that made your freedom possible?”

I am uncomfortable with how easy it is for politicians to shape and even twist the loss of life into an enormous billboard for their own political views. The dead cannot come back to argue the point. We make cartoon superheroes out of very real human beings and we do them a disservice. They have become easy props for bad speeches about militarism, jingoism, and questionable patriotism. 

It’s interesting that we do not honor those whose work brought the rights of American laborers into being. They also sacrificed and believed in working for a free and just society. Some lost their lives in the fight for better conditions and better pay. 

We ought to lift up and celebrate their lives and work with the same reverence we are taught to feel on Memorial Day. Often, we do not. I suspect this is because politicians don’t find it as easy to mold and manipulate the message of worker’s rights in a way that suits their personal agendas.

The message of the American Labor movement is uncomfortably blunt and specific to those (not just politicians) who seek to mute or erase it. Fair wages, reasonable hours of work, safe working conditions, workers’ rights and their autonomy as valuable parts of our nation’s economy and culture. This is not something you can drape a flag over with pretty words and call it a day.

This year it's painfully obvious that the people in power are actively trying to strip away and erase the hard-won rights that Labor Day remembers and celebrates. 

If we are to mark Memorial Day with an almost religious devotion then we should understand why Labor Day is equally holy. Labor Day is every bit as rooted in work, and risk, and sacrifice, and in fighting for the rights of others and not just yourself. 

They, too, fought for freedom and the American Way. They, too were patriots. Are still patriots. Are still working for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. 

We forget them at our peril.

*****

There’s a concert today at the Chrysalis. Come out and enjoy music, community, and the opportunity to support the things that make the country a better place for all. 

The Accord Symphony Orchestra returns to the Chrysalis stage for the 5th time on Labor Day for a free evening of pops, film scores, and more! Enjoy a beautiful evening outside in Columbia's Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods.

This free, family-friendly event is the perfect for both newcomers and longtime lovers of orchestral music! The evening will be complete with food trucks on site as well as concessions sold by the park.

Register for your free tickets to the Labor Day Concert with Accord Symphony Orchestra.

Sugar and Spice Lives On

 

One of the items that was lost in the great summer ceiling debacle was an old book from my childhood entitled Sugar and Spice: The ABC’s of Being a Girl, by Phyllis McGinley.  It was my sister’s book, but it made a deep impression on me. Some years back I bought my own copy from an online purveyor of used books, largely to see if it was as awful as I remembered.

It was. 

When I am eighteen or a little bit older

I’m going to wear earrings that hang to my shoulder.

I’ll feel like an empress 

I’ll walk like a queen

In high heels and earrings, when l am eighteen.

Something about this book left me with a feeling that there was some secret mystery about being a girl and that I was never, ever going to be on the inside of that secret. Over the years I realized that the worldview championed in this book wasn’t the be-all and end-all of who I could be. I didn’t have to fit this mold to be acceptable as a girl/teen/woman.

I had a choice. (Thank you, Women’s Lib/Feminist Movement.)

I had a flashback to those words this morning as I read:

A Columbia Firm is Saving Tween Darling Claire’s Jewelry from Extinction, Bria Overs, Baltimore Banner

A brief explanation of what’s happening here:

Ames Watson, headquartered in Columbia, is purchasing the intellectual property and “a significant number of stores” in North America for $104 million, according to a press release this month. It could be up to 950 retail locations, Fast Company reported Tuesday.

Writer Bria Overs pairs the nuts and bolts information of why Claire’s has been in financial trouble - -  along with the particulars of what Ames Watson hopes to do - - with some personal insight from a Claire’s shopper.

Courtney Fisher, a 22-year-old Morgan State University student, got her ears pierced at a Claire’s at age 13. It was “one of the most memorable experiences” of her life, she said.

Fisher, who grew up going to teen-focused stores like, Claire’s, Justice and Club Libby Lu, said losing the chain would be “disappointing.”

“I feel like it’s kind of unfortunate for young girls,” Fisher said. “They don’t really get to experience that as I did as a girl growing up. I feel like it’s a part of girlhood and developing into a young woman.”

There it was again. It may sound silly, but I was a bit startled. 

Sure, I’ve taken my daughters to Claire’s over the years. Im not suggesting that there’s anything inherently evil about it. In my personal opinion the worst part about it is all the mass produced junk that we keep putting out into the universe. That can’t be good for the long term health of the planet. 

But to hear a young woman say in 2025 that shopping at Claire’s was a valuable part of girlhood and developing into a young woman surprised me. Do people still think like that? I guess they do. And the people at Ames Watson thinks that Claire’s has a future, so they must be betting on consumers like Ms. Fisher.

And, to be honest, she has a choice to feel that way. It’s not a requirement.

Claire’s is a place to play dress up and try on different ways of appearing without any long term commitment. You can put on and take off a variety of looks with all the seriousness of considering Halloween costumes. It doesn’t need to define you if you don’t want it to.

As a place to experiment and just have fun I can see its attraction. As a component in developing womanhood…

I’m sorry. That still kind of gives me the creeps. 

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Chill

 

Labor Day Weeknd around here is not jam-packed with activities and that makes sense to me. Some folks take a last trip to the beach. Some host or attend cookouts. Somehow it doesn’t feel like a weekend where your free time should be driven by a ton of commitments. 

But maybe that’s just me. 

Still, don’t forget the markets today: Clarksville Commons and Old Ellicott City.

The movie tonight at the Win Bin is Pirate Radio. 

Down at the Lakefront, Guys in Thin Ties bring the 80’s to Columbia! will be presented tonight courtesy of the Columbia Association.

There’s a ticketed event at the Jim Rouse Theatre in Wilde Lake called Horror Circus. Possibly not for young children, yikes. I’m not recommending it necessarily - - but seeing the information made me wonder if there’s a central listing of all the (non-school) performances at the Rouse Theatre. Will check.

A group called Misspent Youth will be performing at Glory Days Grill this evening. What intrigues me about this are the words, “On our new Outdoor Stage!” I’m trying to envision the lay of the land over there. Where would they fit an outdoor stage - - on the roof?

Hmm…I’m also wondering whose misspent youth influences their musical stylings. So many decades. So many questionable choices.

Have a wonderful Saturday whether it is full of plans or blissfully plan-free.

Village Green/Town² Comments

F ³: The Weirdest Summer

 

Yesterday afternoon I sat at a picnic table in the shade as my youngest and I enjoyed snowballs with ice cream on top at Opie’s in Catonsville. The weather was perfect. The moment was perfect.

“You know…” I began - - more for myself, I think - - “This has been the most normal summer afternoon after what has been the weirdest summer of my life.”

We had started with a visit to Scrap B’more, the creative reuse store for art and craft supplies. (I first wrote about them in 2018.)  Yes, they are still going strong but they’ve moved to a new location in Pigtown. They were doing a brisk business while we were there and I suspect many of the young women we saw were teachers. I found a decent used watercolor set and M. walked out with a collections of beads, buttons, bangles, and stencils. 

I made a mental note as we walked back to the car that I should make an appointment to donate some of my craft stash that I don’t need. It’s such a great way to keep these materials out of a landfill.

From there we headed to Opie’s for snowballs. I have a soft spot in my heart for this place because it was our kid’s discovery, introduced to us. There’s something particularly sweet about having one’s offspring declare, “We need to go to this cool place I found.” It’s a passing of the torch moment, in a way. 

In an ordinary summer this would have been just a nice day. But this has not been an ordinary summer.

I guess having your ceiling collapse puts your life in perspective. 

This summer has been a rollercoaster of emotional, physical, and logistical challenges. I’ve learned a lot about what’s important. It is hard to lose an entire room’s worth of material possessions. It’s a lot easier to accept when you realize that someone you love was seconds away from bearing the weight of all this destruction. 

I’m still processing.

So yesterday was more than a nice day in an ordinary summer. It was a celebration that I still have moments and experiences and people who bring me joy. 

And good folks like you to share it all with. 

Village Green/Town² Comments