F ³ : A Hiding Place

 

You know what day it is - - the day when absolutely anything might be on the menu at Village Green/Town².

So, let’s talk about where I’ve been hiding lately: YouTube. I’ve discovered a lovely little protective nest amongst videos about history, home renovation and decor, panel shows from the UK, and Jane Austen content creators. What it is: content that teaches me something I hadn’t known before, or expands on something I was already interested in. What it isn’t: the firehose of current events on social media.

Some current favorites:

George Clarke “Amazing Spaces” and “Old House, New Home”

Time Team

QI

J. Draper

RobWords

Nate the Hoof Guy

Ellie Dashwood

Not Your Momma’s History 

Not everyone is going to retreat into YouTube when the state of the world has become so chaotic and toxic that they can’t keep functioning. Some folks escape into a good book or immerse themselves in nature. Some throw themselves into helping others. Essentially, what I’m saying is that not everyone will do what I do but everyone needs a way to escape, a place of respite. 

Human beings are not wired to live in crisis on a permanent basis. It makes us sick. We begin to malfunction. Sometimes entire systems shut down.

We must make concrete choices to separate ourselves from the chaos on a regular basis, no matter how brief it may be. We can’t make the world better if we can’t make ourselves better. Sometimes that just means seeking out the things that help us spiritually and emotionally catch our breath.

Do you find yourself needing to take breaks from the current reality? Have you found a hiding place? 

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Birthday Girl

Did you save the date?

 

Did you RSVP and put it on your calendar?

Did you mail a card?

Did you buy a gift?

Did you pick a party outfit and ask a date to come along?

This Saturday Columbia’s Indie bookstore, Queen Takes Book, is celebrating Birthday Number One. You don’t need to send a card or bring a gift but your presence for the festivities is most cordially requested by owners Katie McNally and Tim Pinel. Here they are at their opening event a year ago.

Can’t make it Saturday? 

Check out what they have planned for the rest of the month.

Although their name is Queen Takes Book, I’d say that they’ve been doing a whole lot more making than taking over the last year: making a warm and welcoming space for book lovers, making friends in the community, making connections with other businesses and supporting local initiatives and events. Best of all: making room for diverse ideas and opinions. 

I invite my readers to make a difference for Queen Takes Book by keeping them in mind not just on their birthday but in the days, weeks, and months to follow. Keeping a small mom and pop business going is a challenge. I have a feeling that they need just as much devotion from the community as they have shown to the community since April of 2024.

Are you curious about the special announcement they’ll be making at noon on Saturday? Me, too. Any guesses? Feel free to send them my way.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Making Dad Famous

 

Today on the Howard Community College campus, the 4th Annual Roy Peart Memorial Scholarship Fundraiser.

From the Roy Peart Foundation Facebook page:

Support a Legacy and Our Kids!

I’m excited to share an upcoming event dedicated to honoring my father's legacy while supporting our youth. If you can’t make it to the event, please consider making a donation to help us continue this important work. Every contribution makes a difference!

Donate here: http://howardcc.edu/roypeart

Thank you for your support!

If the name Roy Peart doesn’t immediately ring a bell, I’m pretty sure that his daughter’s name will. Althea Hanson is the force behind both the Foundation and the chef/entrepreneur at the helm of Althea’s Almost Famous food truck and catering business in Howard County. Consider yourself invited to stop by HCC today to sample some of her mouthwatering cuisine and support her annual scholarship fundraiser.

Enjoy authentic Jamaican cuisine on the #HowardCC Quad (in front of HVPA) to support Althea's Almost Famous 4th Annual Roy Peart Memorial Fundraiser! The beloved Mr. Roy Peart worked at the college for 18 years, supporting students and staff. - - HCC social media 

Longtime readers of this blog know that I’ve written about Althea’s Almost Famous (possibly as many as ten times) frequently over the years. I’m a sucker for her Jamaican beef pies and I always perk up when I see that she’s going to be at the Oakland Mills Farmers’ Market or a local festival. Even better, she’s raising funds to support a scholarship for young people studying theatre, music, or dance. 

Could this be any more perfect? Of course it could: she’s honoring her father, who worked at HCC for eighteen years.

“My dad would never pass up an opportunity to sing or dance at the arts events that Howard Community College (HCC) used to put on. When he passed away, we thought about giving back to students in the arts. We knew that would have made him happy," said Althea Hanson, founder and CEO of Althea's Almost Famous, a food truck and catering business with Caribbean-inspired food. - - HCC Pathways, Fall 2022

So, stop by HCC today to pick up some delicious food to support her cause. Or, if you can’t, consider sending a donation here:

Roy Peart Memorial Scholarship

Question of the day: if you could create a scholarship to honor one of your parents, what would it be for? Or - - if someday your kids wanted to honor you with a scholarship, what do you think it might support? 

Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Dream On

 

No April fooling this year. Only dreams and fantasies. 

Imagine you have woken up to the following:

1. There are multiple HoCoLocal venues for hosting high school proms and a state of the art indoor performance venue 
2. All wrongs against Elkridge have been retroactively righted 
3. People who comment on the County Executive’s social media are kind and thoughtful 
4. Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods is completed and everyone loves it
5. All of the stores at the Mall are exactly the stores that you would pick
6. Public transportation can take you anywhere you want to go and it’s convenient and fun
7. Schools have no more capital improvement needs 
8. There’s a good supply and variety of places to live
9. People love their libraries and support them actively 
10. Ellicott City is no longer in danger of flooding

I don’t have it in me to be witty or engage in any suitable pranking today. I wonder why?

If you’d like to contribute to the list, feel free to add your suggestions in the comments. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

I had a dream last night

What a lovely dream it was

I dreamed we all were alright

Happy in a land of Oz

Why did everybody laugh

When I told them my dream

I guess they all were so far

From that kind of scene

Feeling mean

- - John Sebastian, “I Had a Dream”

Celebrations and Negations

Today Muslims all over the world will be celebrating Eid.

Eid al-Fitr is one of the two official holidays in Islam. It is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal and marks the end of the month-long fast observed during the month of Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr (Feast of Breaking the Fast) is an extremely important religious festival observed by Muslims worldwide. It the former of the two Eid holidays in Islam, the latter being Eid al-Adha, therefore is is also referred to as the Lesser Eid.  - - Anyday Guide

Did you know that Monday, March 31st was originally scheduled as a day off for students in the Howard County Schools?  But, when the Board of Education looked at how they could make up school days lost to snow, they choose this day to be reinstated as a school day. 

Things I cannot tell you: if they understood how this would impact Muslim students, or if they knew and did not care. I can’t pass judgment on that because I do not know. I do know that this decision was extremely disheartening to Muslim families. 

Surely this is a decision that has made them feel invisible and unheard. Christian holidays are protected in our school calendars. We will never have school on Christmas or Easter. Apparently respecting Muslim holidays is just something nice you do if it’s not logistically inconvenient. 

I understand that making up school days is complicated. I don’t understand this.

*****

Today is International Trans Day of Visibility.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual observance that occurs on March 31. It was created to celebrate transgender people around the world and raise awareness of discrimination they have to face.

International Transgender Day of Visibility was first observed in 2009. It was founded by Rachel Crandall, a transgender activist from Michigan, United States who felt that the LGBT community lacked holidays dedicated to transgender people. The only existing transgender-related observance at the time was the Transgender Day of Remembrance which mourned transgender victims of hate crimes but didn't acknowledge living members of the transgender community or address their issues. - - Anyday Guide

Last Friday the Howard County LGBTQIA Commission and the Howard County of of Human Rights & Equity hosted a community celebration of  Trans Day of Visibility at the Elkridge 50+ Center. 

Good for them. 

Forces outside of Howard County are demanding the persecution and erasure of trans Americans. Inside of Howard County we are continuing the work of acceptance and celebration. And thank goodness for that.

*****

I am not trying to create any kind of equivalence by posting these two things side by side. They happen to fall on the same day this year by chance. Both are a part of who we are in Howard County whether they impact us personally or not. 

Perhaps you are not a Muslim. You may not even know anyone who is a Muslim. Perhaps you are not transgender. You may not know anyone who is transgender. 

Are you human? Do you care about treating those around you with humanity?

Today is a very good day to do that. Tomorrow, too.

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Seen and the Unseen: Columbia in the News

 

Meanwhile, back at the ranch…

Residents to Columbia Association: Leave our facilities alone, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

I found this article to be helpful in shedding some light onto the current CA controversy. Big news: even if you don’t subscribe to the Banner, you can read it, too. The Howard County Library System has added the Baltimore Banner to its collection of free online resources.

Heads up: you will need your Library Card barcode and PIN to do this.  

1. Go to HCLS website
2. Click on Online Resources
3. Under “Download”, click on enewspapers
4. Under Current Enewspaper Issues, click on Baltimore Banner 
5. You will neeed the barcode and PIN for  your library card account to gain access.
6. Next, you will need to enter the designated code to gain free access.

Whew! You’re in!

Now you just need to find the article. You can search using the handy-dandy magnifying glass icon, or you can simply scroll down until you find it.

Even if you don’t want to read the article, you should still go through these steps for two reasons. Firstly, it’s good to have the ability to access news through the library. Secondly, I’d like you to look at the photographs that accompany the article. (Photo credit: Ulysses Muñoz)

I sighed when I saw the photos of the CA meeting. Can you tell why? Yet again news from the Columbia Association shows us predominantly white people of a certain age. 

We are doomed. Doomed, I tell you.

Deep breath. 

This is not to negate the issue at hand nor to cast aspersions on the people who showed up. But it’s never a bad time to remind ourselves that the New American City was not meant to turn out like this. At least, I don’t think it was. 

“But that’s not the point!” you might say, especially if this particular issue is important to you. And I guess you’d be right. But the longer I live here, the more I’m convinced that it’s always the point.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

 

Spring into Saturday

 It’s Saturday! Got plans? Here’s a small sampling of what’s available. 

It’s the annual CAMOM Children’s Consignment Sale from 8:30 am to 12 pm. (See stipulations above.) Please note: it’s in a new location this year: Trinity Episcopal Church on Route 1 in Elkridge. 

The Community Ecology Institute is hosting a Volunteer Day at Freetown Farm from 10 am - 3 pm. They’ll be doing tree planting for stormwater management.

The Movement in Music Ensemble is presenting a free concert this evening at Hammond High School beginning at 7:30. The program features Fuchs Serenade memorized and choreographed, plus a selection of works honoring Black and Indigenous composers. Here is the link to register for your free tickets. 

If you’re just getting your day started you might want to take a look at the March issue episode edition of The Merriweather Post.

The Merriweather Post, March 2025

I’m in complete agreement with the advice that the best thing we can do for the local restaurant scene is to patronize the places we love.

So, while it’s certainly fun to anticipate and try new places (new restaurants are exciting!), I’d encourage readers to keep frequenting and supporting your long-time favorites as well with your limited dining dollars.

Another reminder that I should have picked the Common Kitchen over 7 Eleven for Thursday night’s dinner. Sigh.

If you have any exciting local plans for the weekend, I’m all ears.

Village Green/Town² Comments

F ³: Joy and Convenience

 

I was headed out to a concert last night in River Hill and thought I’d add to the fun of it by picking up dinner at Clarksville Commons. I went to their website and looked over the list of current food vendors. I pondered steamed momo, the novelty of a glizzy hot dog, or some Indian street food. Mmm…

But first, I had to get gas and I headed to our shiny new 7-eleven because I have the app and I get a discount. Plus, it’s convenient. 

Something happened to me as I stood there pumping gas. A little voice inside me said, “You could just run in and get a sandwich here and be done with it.” I wouldn’t have to park at the Common Kitchen, walk inside, wander around, make a decision…It would just be easier, wouldn’t it?

And that is how I ended up eating a chicken salad sandwich on squishy white bread which came wrapped in a plastic exoskeleton and some strawberry wafer cookies packaged in cellophane. Because it was convenient. 

I drove away pondering the concept of convenience. So that’s why they call it a convenience store, I thought. 

I could have had a wonderful food adventure. Something delicious, out of the ordinary and without question better than dinner from 7 Eleven. But in that moment the lure of the convenient far outweighed the potential variables of something across town. This realization weighed heavily on me.

The concert was a balm to my wounded spirits. Howard County Shredfest is a gathering of guitar students and performers who are involved in the new Modern Band course. It is similar to the assessments that other performing ensembles participate in - - kids from different schools perform for one another, there is an adjudicator to give feedback. There the similarities end. 

When I arrived students were wandering about onstage, checking instruments and amps, playing a riff or two, testing out keyboards. My husband’s students wore matching T shirts but the rest of the outfit was up to them. That is why one was sporting plaid pajama pants and two others were wearing shorts. 

Shredfest is an event where it doesn’t matter what the performers are wearing and where self expression is as big a part of the experience as meeting musical proficiency benchmarks. You’re not there to judge their physical appearance. You are there to enjoy what happens when they work together and share what they have learned. 

The first piece of the evening started out a bit rough. (It’s hard to be the opening act.) The song was “One Hand in my Pocket” by Alanis Morissette. As they got to the third verse something changed. The vocalist hit her groove and you felt her confidence as she sang. The guitarists responded. Everyone’s focus increased. The ensemble jelled. The singing was beautifully resonant and in tune. The audience felt the excitement.

At that moment the airplane had made it off the runway and had taken flight. And everyone felt it.

Joy broke out in the auditorium. It was the joy of doing what you love and taking the risk of sharing that thing with others. It was the joy of entering the zone, experiencing that state of flow and taking an audience along with you.  

Joy and curiosity are the same thing. Joy is always a surprise and often a decision. Joy is portable. Joy is a habit, and these days, it can be a radical act. Keep your nose to the joy trail.

- - Anne Lamott 

There is wonder in joy. There may be perfectly good reasons why you experience joy and yet it is still a surprise. It is in the “wow” that you feel at that moment. It may come in silence at the sight of a flower or with a surge in a room full of guitars. 

Curiosity, wonder, surprise, joy. All palpably different from convenience.

I did make the easy choice on dinner. There’s no denying that. If I had made the easy choice on my evening I would have stayed home in my easy chair and done the things I always do. It would have been convenient.

Last night I chose convenience but then I chose joy. I didn’t know I was choosing joy until it happened. It was a surprise.

And what it all boils down to

Is that no one's really got it figured out just yet

Well, I've got one hand in my pocket

And the other one is playin' a piano

And what it all comes down to, my friends, yeah

Is that everything is just fine, fine, fine

- - Alanis Morissette

Shh. Don’t Tell Anyone

I admit it. I’ve never understood the rah-rah enthusiasm for the University of Maryland. I’m not from these parts originally. I started out life in Cleveland, Ohio and I can’t remember anyone we knew being enthusiastic about Ohio State. When we lived in Connecticut UCONN was considered by many to be a “safety school” rather than a first choice. 

I’m not talking about the actual quality of those academic institutions. I’m talking about local attitudes. So I guess I arrived in Maryland with those engrained prejudices - - that one didn’t go to the state school by choice but because one had to for one reason or another.

Maryland is different. The outright enthusiasm and loyalty that people have for UMD is impressive. I couldn’t begin to list all the bright, capable, interesting and accomplished folks I know who spent their college years in College Park. And they’re over the moon if their kids are accepted there, too. It’s almost a religion.

Color me perplexed. 

I appear before you this morning to announce my complete admiration for the University of Maryland. I have been won over not by tradition, nor academics, nor the fierce terrapin mascot, but by a frog. 

There it is. I’m a sucker for Kermit. And, as far as I’m concerned, it’s a brilliant move to bring Kermit the Frog, a creation of the late Jim Henson UMD ‘60, to speak at this year’s commencement ceremony.

Institutions of higher learning are under attack these days. Intellectual inquiry and diversity of thought are now considered to be problematic at best. Imagine how difficult it might be to select a commencement speaker in this environment. The eyes of MAGA are upon you. 

Choosing a puppet might seem like a cop-out, a safe choice. But this puppet is no puppet, if you’ll forgive my choice of words. And that’s because Jim Henson was a true creative: visionary, playful, entrepreneurial, and not afraid to play around with the status quo. There’s intelligence in Kermit, and thoughtfulness, too. Whether one is drawn to that famous green frog because of his humor or awkward charm, those qualities can’t be separated from his innate yearning for goodness and his earnest understanding of his own imperfections.

Time after time we root for Kermit as he tries to bring his friends together to make something wonderful happen.

• Intelligence
• Thoughtfulness 
• Humor 
• Innate charm
• Yearning for goodness
• Understanding of once’s imperfections 
• Bringing people together 

Friends, this looks a whole lot like genuine leadership. Doesn’t it? Choosing Kermit the Frog isn’t a silly or academically unserious choice. It’s almost a subversive choice. If there is a path for genuine democracy in this country it most certainly will require more Kermits.

Shh. Don’t tell anyone.

And so today I salute you, UMD. Leading fearlessly forward with a frog to meet the moment. Well done. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

No Invisible People

 

One year ago today I could not write. The news from Baltimore about the Key Bridge loomed over the day like an enormous cloud. 

Six construction workers perished:

Miguel Ángel Luna González, Alejandro Hernández Fuentes, Dorlian Ronial Castillo Cabrera, José Mynor López, Maynor Yasir Suazo-Sandoval, and Carlos Daniel Hernández. 

Today I want to send you over to Baltimore Beat to read a piece about the workers who lost their lives that night and how the Baltimore Museum of Industry is working to honor them.

No invisible jobs: Baltimore Museum of Industry exhibit will highlight immigrant workers who died in the Key Bridge collapse, Grace Hebron, Baltimore Beat 

“They were living and working what is, in many ways, a typical experience for immigrants who come in and do that middle-of-the night work that nobody else wants to do. We wanted to honor that,” BMI’s executive director Anita Kassof told Hebron. 

There’s no paywall. There’s never any paywall at Baltimore Beat.  

It’s a free paper. Subscribe and it will come to your inbox. At the same time, it is distributed in print from specially made Beat Boxes within Baltimore. And since it is a free publication, they rely on donations. The seed money - - a $1 million gift from Baltimore-based Lillian Holofcener Charitable Foundation - - got them started. Continued financial support, both big and small, keeps them going. 

You really can’t find the kind of work that they do anywhere else in Baltimore. It matters that they tell those stories. We can’t know what we don’t see and we can’t care about what we don’t know.  

Right now the powers that be are systematically scanning government databases and removing every story that is not white. Struggles, accomplishments, bravery, contributions: if they were Black or brown or LGBTQIA or women or…(it goes on and on) their stories and honors are being purged. 

Who will push back against this suppression of America’s story? Independent news organizations who make it their mission to speak the truth about their communities are in the best position to do that, because they are doing it already.

Just as many folks these days don’t seem to understand that the value of vaccination comes not merely in protecting oneself from illness but also in protecting those around us, I think we sometimes forget that supporting this kind of journalism isn’t solely about its value to us personally. When we invest in independent local journalism we are also making that information available to others, as well. Think of it as herd immunity against sensationalism and disinformation. 

Rather like libraries. But that’s another story altogether. 

If my blog post today had a subtitle it would have to be: 

No invisible people: Baltimore Beat highlights the stories of Baltimore that other media outlets neglect.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Learn more:

Baltimore Beat

Baltimore Museum of Industry 

Getting Around Town

 

You may have noticed that I just can’t seem to let go of certain things. Over the years certain themes resurface with some regularity. 

Here’s one: public transit. Way back in 2013 I had a zany idea for a transit-oriented summer camp option. 

Just had a brilliant, brilliant idea. CA and hocogov need to partner on a camp/recreational course for kids where all activities involve learning how to use Howard County Transit to get to the activity site. You want to change attitudes about public Transit? Kid + fun + knowledgeable, adequate supervision. 

I returned to this concept in a post entitled “The People on the Bus” in June of 2023 when I learned that the RTA was making presentations in HoCo high schools to help students learn how to ride public transit. 

My parents used public transit a lot, I used it some, my children very little, if at all. Yet there are compelling environmental reasons to use public transit instead of individual automobiles. What would we need to do to turn the use of public transit in the other direction?

A recent Facebook post from Glenwood Academy caught my eye.

Image from Glenwood Academy social media 

Practicing a mock "Uber drive" - learning how to access various modes of transportation- our scholars practiced scheduling the ride and meeting the "driver"

Glenwood Academy is a nonpublic special education facility that works with students who have language-based learning differences. (I wrote about them last Spring.) Learning how to independently navigate the multiple steps involved in using a ride-sharing service is a valuable life skill. No, it’s not taking public transit but it is a hands-on educational experience that will give students more autonomy. I like that.

Truth in advertising: Glenwood Academy is no longer in Glenwood. They moved to Eldersburg during the summer of 2024 because they needed a facility with more space. Do students from Howard County still attend Glenwood? Yes, they do. Which means that, as far as I am concerned, Glenwood Academy is still a local story for the purposes of this blog.

I still think that public transit is important and that it’s a good investment to teach kids how to use it. They should feel confident that they can get around town safely and successfully.  It can (and should) become a part of how they experience our community.

It’s also true that ride-sharing services have become an accepted mode of travel and it’s good to know how to use them, too. Embedded in a simulation like the one at Glenwood Academy are numerous skills that these students are working on daily in an “academic” sense. Truthfully, something like this could be equally valuable in a public school setting, if it were possible to dedicate the time to make it happen. 

Autonomy. Independence. Success. Safety. There’s a lot to be gained in learning how to get around.

Village Green/Town² Comments

 

The Never-ending Story

Wandering into weird territory this morning, I present two completely unrelated stories which have been hanging around in my consciousness for quite a while now. 

1. The stream restoration projects being carried out by CA (the Columbia Association.) 

2. The continued digging up of Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park.

What do they have in common? Both involve digging. Both have been going on for several years. Both have provoked a good deal of local pushback and distress.

And yet they just keep marching forward. In both cases it appears to me that nothing is getting any better. Every so often one reads a disturbing account describing what has transpired, and then - - nothing happens.

Possibly a good deal of life is like this and I just haven’t been paying attention. 

A quick Google search of Columbia Association stream restoration yields the following:

Here’s one for Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park:

What brought this to mind today? Two things.

1. A post by the Howard Courier account on Facebook asks  “What exactly changed with the Wilde Lake stream restoration project?”

Strangely, there’s no story attached. It’s simply a photo and a question. It yielded a stern and thorough response from HoCoLocal environmentalist and historian Wayne Davis. Seeing this exchange reminded me how often I have seen similar concerns - - that these projects cause destruction to the natural environment and have poor short-term and long-term outcomes. 

2. This article in the Baltimore Banner.

Pet cemetery’s mystery owner may swap graves for gas pumps, Tim Prudente, Baltimore Banner 

Image from Baltimore Banner, Caption reads: Rosa Bonheur Memorial Park, a pet cemetery in Elkridge established in 1935, occupies a little over 11 acres along Route 1. (Jerry Jackson/The Baltimore Banner)

I am not an expert on either of these topics but I am mightily perplexed by how long both of  these stories have been dragging on with no discernible resolution to community members’ concerns. 

Today I’m putting this out there to my readers. Do you have some information to add that would help explain what is going on in either case? I’d be grateful if anyone could help make some sense of this for the rest of us.

Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

A Birthday Gift

Since today is my birthday I suppose I can pretty much do what I want. So I’m going to tell you about a moment in a news story that made me smile this week. 

Yes, there’s the Banner article about the Howard County flag design. Did you notice the words below?

Esen Paradiso doesn't think Howard County has straight lines. Rather, the farmland showcases the county's curves, while the aqueducts and the Chrysalis amphitheater at Merriweather Park both boast arches. She incorporated these characteristics into her design entry for a new county flag. - - Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

The Chrysalis.

Image courtesy of the Inner Arbor Trust 

The Chrysalis amphitheater was dedicated in April of 2017 and this week it was referenced as one of the inspirations for a new Howard County flag. That’s breathtaking. 

We live in a place where it’s almost impossible to get up at a public meeting to speak without being asked “How long have you been here?” The Chrysalis, whose dedication kicked off the opening of Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, has become one of the definitive images in our community in less than ten years.

That makes me smile not simply because the Chrysalis is both a fun and beautiful thing to look at. It’s because of what it represents:

We often get asked “why free?” Free performances are the most fundamental way in which we can meaningfully bring arts and culture to the entire community we serve. Our mission is “to promote and nurture a park in a unique natural setting for a variety of arts and culture experiences that enrich the entire community.” To embrace the entire community we need to make sure there are high quality, inviting performances for no charge. Both to make sure that we embrace everyone across the economic spectrum, but also so we can reduce the barrier to experiencing art, especially something new. Free is far more than an obligation created in our founding documents - free is a conscious choice we make to fulfill our mission. - - Inner Arbor Trust website for Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods

The arts are for everyone. That’s not just something that’s nice to say. If you mean it, then you ought to live it. Remove obstacles. Open doors. Expand horizons. The Park combines arts experiences with the opportunity to be immersed in nature in a space that is welcoming to everyone. The Inner Arbor Trust has  created a place that is both healing and empowering. 

And you, my friends, are welcome there.

The 2025 Chrysalis season kicks off this month on April 12th. Sign up for the newsletter now so you won’t miss anything.

It has become the fashion in recent years to ask folks for birthday donations* to a beloved cause. I’d rather ask you to come to the Chrysalis this season. Bring a lawn chair or rent one. Bring a picnic or buy food onsite. Come on your own, bring your family, bring a friend. Hum along, clap your hands. 

Dance on the lawn. 

Just think. A place that was created purely to welcome everyone, to bring people together and bring them joy is embedded in what may very well be the new Howard County flag. I know that it has absolutely nothing to do with my birthday, but: it’s still a very welcome gift.

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Should you be moved to make a donation, rest assured that the Park welcomes both small change and major funding. 

Old Fashioned HoCo

 

I had no earthly idea that Howard County had a fox hunting organization. This is clearly because I live in the wrong part of town. If I lived in Mount Airy I would know.

Image from HoCoHounds Social Media

Wait. I stand corrected. It’s a “fox chasing” club. So apparently they are just chasing the foxes and not killing them. One wonders what the foxes think. 

This weekend the Mount Airy club, called Howard County-Iron Bridge Hounds, is holding a three day event called “Old Fashion Weekend”. I stumbled upon this bit of news while scanning the weekend events at the Visit Howard County website.  You can see details of the itinerary below.

Image from HoCoHounds social media 

Friday March 21, 2025

5:30P-...

Party in the Clubhouse

Open Bar, Oysters, Dinner, Sllent Auction & Dancing The Night Away - $50.00 Each

Saturday March 22, 2025

10:30A-2P

Old Fashion Point to Point/Poker Run

Ride your horse or watch the action!

Open Bar & Brunch -$35 Mounted/$25 Unmounted

If you like hunter paces - you'll love this!

CLICK HERE

For More Details &

To Purchase Tickets:

https://oldfashionweekend

2025.eventbrite.com

Sunday March 23, 2025

11A - 3P

Closing Meet with HCIBH Hounds Non- Members Welcome & Encouraged!

Full Hunt Breakfast, Open Bar Featuring Bloody Marys + Mimosas, Tally Ho Wagon For Unmounted Guests $100 Mounted/$25 Unmounted

All Weekend Discount Package:

$150.00 Per Mounted Guest

$85.00 Unmounted Guest

$75.00 Per HCIBH Member

*Individual Event Tickets Available

I’m imagining that, if this kind of event interests you, you have already registered. Just in case you have a last minute yearning to go and watch, here’s the Eventbrite link.

Something about this painting bugs me. I’m sure it’s meant to evoke something romantic about the long history of fox hunting but…

To clarify: I’m not suprised that people ride and even keep their own horses in Howard County. It’s the local fox hunting culture that I was completely ignorant of. That’s what comes of staying too much in my own neck of the woods, I suppose. 

There’s also an Iron Bridge Hounds Pony Club. I’m assuming there’s some kind of affiliation? If you are better informed, please clue me in.

It’s the first Saturday in Spring. The weather forecast looks to be partly cloudy with mild temperatures. What are your plans? Anything exciting? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

F ³: About Face

 Look familiar?

If you use Facebook you see them frequently. They are the emoji choices provided as a way of reacting to other people’s posts. They do not encompass every single reaction one might have but, then again, there are always gifs. And, if all else fails, there are…words. Strung together in phrases, or even complete sentences, they make useful replacements for emojis. 

In a time of almost complete emotional and intellectual exhaustion, I sometimes have to remind myself of that. Me. A lifelong preschool teacher. “Use your words, Julia.”

So here are some words about a particular image you see above. This one:

New Reactions for COVID-19 

In March 2020, Facebook added a Care emoji reaction as an additional option in response to COVID-19. This is displayed similarly to a hugging face holding a red love heart. - - emojipedia

Do you remember when it was introduced? I do. I wasn’t sure at the time if I would use it. It seemed a rather facile response to an overwhelming world tragedy. People are sick and dying. You are isolated in your home. Here, have an emoji. 

I do use it now, though. It can mean: sending hugs, I feel for you, I’m with you in a hard time, I know that’s rough, I care about how you feel, I know - - I understand.

As I write those words today it’s clear that this little emoji is an endangered form of expression. Think about it: it’s the empathy emoji.

Empathy has been under attack lately. Have you noticed?

We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on. … The fundamental weakness of Western civilization is empathy, … a bug in Western civilization which is the empathy response. - - Elon Musk

You can find a basic analysis here: Elon Musk wants to save Western Civilization from Empathy, Zachary B. Wolf, CNN

Just for fun, Google “empathy under attack.” Okay, maybe it’s not so fun.

As attacks on empathy have been ramping up from one side of the political spectrum, a chilling reminder has surfaced from the annals of twentieth century history.  G.M. Gilbert, the chief psychologist who interviewed the Nazis on trial at Nuremberg, wrote:

I told you once that I was searching for the nature of evil. I think I’ve come close to defining it: a lack of empathy. It’s the one characteristic that connects all the defendants. A genuine incapacity to feel with their fellow man. Evil, I think, is the absence of empathy.

As the new political administration makes its mark by removing facts from history, eviscerating public service, and even disappearing real human beings as they attempt to travel and go about their daily lives, it does look like empathy is a stumbling block for them. The path of destruction would be so much smoother if people didn’t care about other people. 

Think of how easy it would be for them if we all just lost our ability to care. To be…human. 

Would Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg make a point of eradicating something as small as a care emoji? Wouldn’t that just be a ridiculous gesture? Well, yes. But I also thought it was ridiculous when he stripped Facebook of everything that the new President didn’t like and followed it up by placing the blame for Meta’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives on a woman. 

Is Zuckerberg capable of bending even lower? What do you think?

Apparently there was once a “Yay!” Emoji on Facebook. I confess that I don’t remember it. So there is a precedent for removal, as silly as that sounds. I can just imagine a lame excuse like, “The Care Emoji was created as a response to the COVID pandemic and, now that the pandemic is over, it’s no longer necessary…” blah, blah blah…

Am I serious about the plight of a semi-animated image on a social media platform? Not entirely. I am serious about how desperately important it is for us to maintain our ability to care for others. Empathy is precious. We must feed it, nurture it, practice it. 

Sending hugs

I feel for you

I’m with you in a hard time

I know that’s rough 

I care about how you feel

I know - - I understand 

We don’t need an emoji to have empathy. We do need to keep on giving each other the strength to be human.

Village Green/Town² Comments

First Green

 

And today is the first day of Spring. Seasonal allergies, anyone? I heard recently on a television quiz show that there are no recorded mentions of “hay fever” until the 1800’s, which may very well mean that it didn’t exist before then. I’d love to know more about how that happened. 

Today’s weather report calls for some sun, some clouds, some rain, and pollen. In other words: Spring.

But, let’s get local. What are the usual HoCoLocal signs of Spring? I’ll start us off:

• Columbia elections 
• Blossoms of Hope
• The daily watch for high school graduation dates and times 
• Event season begins at the Chrysalis 
• Clark’s Elioak Farm opens
• Spring/ Earth Day clean up events
• SpringFest in Old Ellicott City
• A rush of inquiries about which restaurants have outdoor dining spaces so you can eat dinner while looking at your car

Now it’s your turn. Help me add to the list. What are your favorite HoCo signs of Spring? Are there any particular local events you look forward to each year? Or perhaps the best ones are small things near where you live: flowers coming up, trees in bloom, signs of the season in parks and along pathways.

Let me know.

By the day, does Rita’s still do free Italian ice on the first day of Spring? 

 

Village Green/Town² Comments

A New Look

 

Howard County has a new flag. Yesterday County Executive Calvin Ball announced the final choice, designed by local artist Esen Paradiso.

Howard County selects sunny, colorful design by longtime resident for new flag, Jess Nocera, Baltimore Banner

Esen Paradiso doesn’t think Howard County has straight lines. Rather, the farmland showcases the county’s curves, while the aqueducts and the Chrysalis amphitheater at Merriweather Park both boast arches. She incorporated these characteristics into her design entry for a new county flag.

True confession: this wasn’t my favorite of the designs submitted. Still, after reading Nocera’s article, I liked it a whole lot better. It’s growing on me. 

You probably know what comes next:

Let the carping and mockery commence. And, believe me, it has. People don’t like change. Some people especially don’t like change if it comes during a Democratic administration. And some people just enjoy making fun of things. This is not a crime. I am not inclined to make fun of it but still I found this comment somewhat amusing:

It’s not unattractive necessarily just seems like it belongs on a midwestern credit union’s Visa debit card, odd as a flag.

If I were to be uncharitable I might suggest that the new flag is a perfect embodiment of a popular sentiment: Howard County: No New Housing. 

Choosing a new flag is complicated and the Howard County Flag Commission has worked extremely hard to make this an open, engaging, and thorough process. 

Despite their diligent efforts we still have plaintive cries of: “What was wrong with the old flag?”

This is the old flag. In case you did not know, it features the Crossland banner which was flown by Maryland confederate regiments during the Civil War. Once you know that, I don’t see how it can be acceptable. 

Do we want to perpetuate a flag which honors the the Confederacy? Is that what we stand for? Is that what Howard County is all about?

I think most residents would say they don’t honor the Confederacy yet, at the same time, they wouldn’t find this symbolism objectionable. It’s not a dealbreaker for them. It’s rather like watching an entire television show and not noticing that everyone is white.

Howard County: the Confederacy is not a dealbreaker. Just don’t bring it up. 

Before I go, I want to share the following description of the old flag from a poster on Bluesky:

This flag commemorates two important events in the history of Howard county, Maryland: The Purchasing of the Dress with Fuzzy Shoulders, and the Forcing of the Christmas Tree Through the Golden Triangle. 

Changing it erases our shared history and is the act of a tyrant.

I love, love, love this tongue-in-cheek observation. I will never be able to look at the old flag without seeing the Dress with the Fuzzy Shoulders and Forcing the Christmas Tree through the Golden Triangle.

Of course, the new flag isn’t truly official until approved by the County Council. If they don’t approve it, I think they should be required to design a better one. And then listen to all the armchair critics. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Perfect Place

 

Did you watch “If You Lived Here?” last night? What did you think?

It was fun to see what they chose to highlight. Let’s face it, it’s exciting to see one’s own community on television when the show is meant to showcase its good qualities.

Did you see the new Horizon Foundation ad campaign last night? It struck me as rather ironic since I’d just seen the exuberant WETA real estate program. 

Image from the Horizon Foundation social media 

They are right. It isn’t the full story.

As a top-ranked place to live, HoCo is the perfect place for racism to hide.

Here, Black residents are 3x more likely to get rejected for home loans.

Hispanic women are 5x more likely to receive late or no prenatal care. 

Howard County is the perfect place for racism.

It's easy for us to miss. And possible for us to change.

It’s easy for white people to miss. For example: in last night’s episode of “If You Lived Here” how many people who were not white were featured? Korean Way on Route 40 is mentioned in passing. Benjamin Banneker, same. (Also: Banneker was not from Howard County.) I’ll have to go back and rewatch the entire episode but I’m pretty sure that there are no Black or Hispanic residents of Ellicott City in the entire thing.

Is this because the local people who worked with WETA are mean and horrible people? No, probably not. Racism is more than rock throwing or cross burning. Sometimes it is very nice people focusing on what they have always thought was important and not realizing what they are leaving out. 

As pleasant and inviting as WETA’s visit to Ellicott City was, if I were a Black or Hispanic house hunter in this area I don’t think I’d feel invited. I’d expand that to include any potential resident who isn’t white. 

It’s easy for us to miss. And possible for us to change.

The Horizon Foundation is kicking off a campaign to connect with members of the community.

Join the conversation.

We want to hear from you.

If you live in Howard County, we're inviting you to be a part of a conversation about how we can make our great county, great for all.

Even here, people of color face barriers to pursuing their best health. We're working together to change that and we're inviting you to join in.

I can’t help but feel that embarking on this initiative in the current political climate is bold if not downright frightening. It seems that one of the new administration’s highest priorities is to suppress conversations like these and disempower organizations whose goals are like those of the Horizon Foundation.

The Horizon Foundation works side-by-side with community to build power, advocate for policy change and dismantle structural racism to achieve better health for everyone in Howard County and greater Maryland. - - from the Horizon Foundation website

If you lived here you’d know that some folks find this topic uninteresting or even inappropriate. A vocal minority would like to make addressing these issues illegal. That’s what makes Howard County a perfect place for racism. 

Still, I do believe it’s possible to change. Interested?

Sign up to join a conversation on how we can update laws and policies to make this great place, great for all.

Each of these ads contains a form to enter your contact information if you’d like to learn more and possibly participate in the conversation. If I can find a direct link, I will add it in here. 

About the Ellicott City episode: I promise I will go back and rewatch it and, if my second viewing does not confirm my initial impression, I will come back to this space and clarify. I do think it’s important to realize that even the most (seemingly) benign actions can speak volumes about who we include and who we exclude. 

 It’s fun to be on television. Sometimes, though, it reveals more than we were expecting to see.

Village Green/Town² Comments