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.