Pause

The Tweet:

the reason Koreans don't need 3rd spaces is because there is already a coffee shop optimized around beauty & slowness on every other block. this is prevalent across all of Asia. 

i'm concluding that it's the culture that creates this, not the other way around. it we want more of this in America, it starts at culture. and culture starts with grassroots efforts. it starts with us.

The Quote Tweet:

The reason the US lacks this isn’t “culture” (everyone likes nice coffee shops)…it’s just zoning.

I responded to the QT: 

But where does the impetus for certain types of zoning come from?

No response.

Mr. QT probably didn’t see my question.

There’s something else he didn’t see. Look at the original Tweet.

the reason Koreans don't need 3rd spaces is because there is already a coffee shop optimized around beauty & slowness on every other block. this is prevalent across all of Asia. (Italics mine)

I must admit I missed that the first time around, as well. The response “everyone likes nice like coffee shops” completely misses the essence of the original Tweet. The US may have plenty of coffee shops - - although zoning probably does limit where they are located - -  but what about coffee shops optimized around beauty and slowness? 

As Americans, do we even know what that means?

I think a lot of our coffee shops are focused on productivity. Get caffeine to fuel “getting the work done.” Bring your laptop and get the work done. Have a meeting and get the work done. Reward yourself for getting the work done. Choose your coffee shop based on its proximity to the place where you get the work done.

A coffee shop that optimizes beauty and slowness. 

Have you ever been to one? Do you see those kinds of places as natural expressions of the typical American ethos?

I was pondering this question as I sat at a stoplight on Dobbin Road yesterday. Something caught my eye. A sign. It said, “Pause.” 

Well, not exactly.

I took a deep breath. Exhaled.

I thought of how I’d soon be rewarding myself for running an errand I didn’t feel like doing by grabbing an iced coffee on the way to ticking off other chores on my list. 

• grabbing 
• ticking off
• chores
• list

What is this place that optimizes beauty and slowness? Is it merely zoning that prevents it?

Village Green/Town² Comments

Earth Day in HoCo: Green and Growing

Seven years ago I was honored to play a small part in a Very Big Thing. Happy Earth Day/Birthday to the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods! 

I’m also thinking this morning of the late Michael McCall, who wasn’t afraid to dream big and who shepherded this project to its completion. 

The imagination and joy that Michael McCall shared with us will always be present in the park. For me it will be a reminder of how important it is to share your gifts. Share them, believe in them; your community needs you more than you know.  Imagination and Joy, Village Green/Town², 8/3/21

On this Earth Day, seven years later, I want to pause to celebrate the hocolocal individuals and groups who believe in their gifts and are sharing them as they work to care for our planet. We are blessed to have so many:

Columbia Association 

Community Ecology Institute

Harper’s Choice CARES 

Howard County EcoWorks

Howard County Conservancy 

Inner Arbor Trust

Jon Merryman and Sharkey d’Shark

KC CARES (Kings Contrivance)

Live Green Howard County

OMI Green Team

Owen Brown CARES

Planet Aid

Robinson Nature Center

Upcycled 

Wilde Lake CARES

Yards Alive!

 

In general, local Earth Day activities are centered around neighborhood cleanups, removal of invasive species/ planting native ones, and cultivating and celebrating a love of nature. Something I’m not sure that I’ve ever written about is the importance of truly studying both the aspirations and known records of candidates running for public office. All the neighborhood stream cleanups in the world cannot overcome uninformed elected officials and bad environmental policy.

Make sure you take a little time to compare what candidates say to what they have actually done. We can make the mission of Earth Day that much stronger by electing leaders who make it a priority every day, not just on April 22nd. 

If you know of an environmentally-focused group working in Howard County that I haven’t included in my list, let me know. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

Laser Loons and Loose Ends

 

CA has a new president: Shawn MacInnes, who will begin in the position on June 17th. I’d love to know more information about the search purely because I’m a naturally curious* person. For instance: how many people applied, how did they winnow them down, how did the finalists differ from one another, and so on. Let’s face it: I want to know if Columbia is still able to draw qualified applicants when our track record with CEOs is…rocky.

CA/Village Elections were yesterday. Bill Santos was re-elected in Wilde Lake, Harper’s Choice did not achieve quorum, and I don’t know what happened in Owen Brown. So, fill me in.

I can tell you that this is not a good day for lil ol’ provincial “New American City” me to be searching “Columbia” on Twitter. If you don’t know why, try it yourself.

Tomorrow:

 MTA offering free rides by bus, light rail, MARC and subway for Earth Day, Tony Roberts, Baltimore Sun

Would you take a free ride? Do buses in Howard County go where you need/want to go? Do you know how to find that information?

A reminder that this Thursday is the League of Women Voters Annual Meeting at the Miller Branch Library in Ellicott City. Also, I need never have worried. These folks are never, ever going to run out of stock photos. 

Speaking of images, a reminder that HCLS is holding a contest to select images for new library cards. I saw this yesterday and now I’m jazzed up about possibilities for a laser library card. A question I never thought I’d see: what animals with lasers should go on your hometown library card?   

Laser Loon Library Card, Saint Paul Minnesota 

Hip Hop Fish and Chicken will soon be coming to the Oakland Mills Village Center so my husband thought it might be fun to pick up dinner from one of their nearby locations on Route 40. 

Clearly I’m not a professional food photographer. Also, we were too hungry to create a food styling moment. The food was fresh, tasty, plentiful, and reasonably priced. Best of all, the cole slaw was actually edible. 

Speaking of food, we tried out El Gran Sabor in the OM Village Center this week. It’s located in the old Vennari’s** space. It’s a small space where you can eat in or take out. We were happy with the food and the service. (I had chicken tostadas and my husband had beef fajitas.) It’s a great addition to the village center.

On the service counter at El Gran Sabor were promotional postcards for this free event at The Meeting House/Oakland Mills Interfaith Center. It looks like fun.

If you noticed that this post leans heavily OM, take that as a reminder that my invitation is open for Guest Posts from other locations in Howard County. Your part of town could be the focus of the next Traveling Tuesday. But you have to write about it first. 

What’s the buzz where you are? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

*This kind of information is usually protected and it’s unlikely that my curiosity with be satisfied. I’m aware of this, please don’t lecture me! 

**Amazingly enough, Oakland Mills now has only one food establishment selling pizza. Imagine that.

Feast or Famine? Local Events Positively Pop on Saturdays in April

First order of business. If you live in Harper’s Choice, Owen Brown, Wilde Lake: vote! It’s true that I allowed myself some feelings of apathy/hopelessness about this year’s CA Election. Nevertheless, it does matters who gets elected. I received the following response to my recent blog post:        

Despite the fact that there is widespread apathy towards CA governance, despite pervasive feelings of futility in the community, despite the fact that volunteers for these positions often get personally attacked and have nasty things made up about them… Despite all those things that contribute to this feeling of cynicism, there are still a few people willing to volunteer a big chunk of their time on behalf of the community and deal with the hassle of contested elections. And if they weren’t willing to do that, then people with unethical track records or questionable values would be able to step into these community leadership positions unopposed.

Food for thought. 

*****

Looking for Saturday plans? The weather looks hopeful.

WeatherBug App predictions for Saturday, April 20th, 2024

Yards Alive! Spring Plant Share is part of the Earth Day Celebration in Oakland Mills, 11 am - 2 pm

Patuxent Jazz Band performs at River Hill High School, 3 pm

Earth Day Celebration at Clarksville Commons, 1 - 4 pm

Earthapalooza, Freetown Farm 9 am - 1 pm

Earthday Festival 2024 Wilde Lake including Plant Exchange, 10 am to 1 pm (Includes Unity Reggae Band)

Earth Day Celebration and Service at the Howard County Conservancy, 9 am to noon 

Springfest 2024 Main Street Ellicott City, 12 - 8 pm Check out the dedicated website for more info.

Clarksville Elementary School is having a Spring Fling , 3 - 7 pm

Oakland Mills Middle School is having a Yardsale, 8 am to noon 

The Charm City Chess Club is meeting up at Whole Foods, 11 am - 2 m

There’s a Mommy & Me Meetup at the Miller Branch Library Enchanted Garden, 1 - 3 pm

The Dancel Y in Ellicott City is having a Heathy Kids Day, 10 am - 1 pm

Is this everything? Probably not, but it’s a good start. I don’t imagine you plan to hit all of these (unless you are running for public office.) Recommendations? Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

F ³: The customer is always… hmm…

Over the past several days, I have done the following:

• picked up a prescription at a drive-through window

• ordered an iced coffee at a drive-through window

• purchased a scone at a bakery

• taken my car for her 180,000-mile checkup

• had a dentist appointment

• completed an online registration for a hardware store app

• ordered a concert ticket online

What do all these experiences have in common? Each action on my part generated an online “customer satisfaction” survey about the process, goods, or services that I experienced with their company. I’m sure I should be happy that they all want to assure the ultimate: a satisfied customer. This may, of course, mean paying attention to feedback and making needed changes, but I am kind of tired of the “how did we do?” query.

As an educator, I am quite familiar with evaluation as a standard practice that is part of assuring the quality of the product. Sometimes, though, what is asked on a scale survey (ex., Likert Scale) should instead be yes or no: “Were you greeted promptly upon your arrival?” does not really fit with “meets expectations” vs. “exceeds expectations” as answer choices. 

The scale survey can be tricky in other ways as well; for example, the place where I purchased the scone wanted to know how I rated “the warmth of our people.” If the person behind the counter said “What can I get you today?” and then gave me the scone and rang up the purchase, is that “meets expectations” or “exceeds expectations”? I chose “meets” and immediately got a question about what the employees could do better in order to earn my highest score: be more friendly, take more pride in their work, and so on. 

I was kind of appalled that my honest rating might bring censure on that store, but what would “exceeds expectations while customer is purchasing a scone” look like?

What I didn’t get a survey for was using the above-mentioned app in the big-box hardware store while checking out with a plumbing item. There were no “manned” checkout stations; all were self-checkout. Three people were waiting for someone to come and assist them with their order (“Amelia to checkout for three customers, please”), but as I had only one item, I was pretty confident. 

The first screen said “Scan your ID number (found in the Wallet in your account).” I opened the app on my phone and went through every page of the contents, but nothing was labeled “Wallet” and there was no ID number showing. Now feeling a little anxious, I looked behind me to see about five people waiting in line to use the self-checkouts. An employee had come to help the customer ahead of me, and I asked her, “Are there any checkouts with employees?” as it didn’t look as though I was going to find my elusive ID number on my own. 

She snapped, “I am an employee.”

I said, “Of course you are, but you are tied up responding to situations of individual need here at the self-checkouts.” She turned her back on me. Another employee had come to help the person across from me, and she said, “Access the screen by putting in your phone number,” and that did work to bring up my account and the discount that I was looking for.

My take: what may have seemed like a savings to the company (hire fewer workers??) ended up frustrating the four customers who were at the four self-checkouts that day; all of us seemed to share some kind of issue with the app and the application of discounts. 

Ease of use? Not so much. The customer always being right? Hmm…

 *****

Donna Swope, author of today’s post, moved to Columbia in 1974. She is an Associate Professor of Nursing at Stevenson University, an avid reader, enjoys singing in her church choir, and cheering for the Baltimore Ravens. Nothing tops her pride in her five grandchildren - - if there were an award for sports games watched by grandmothers, she’d win first place.

Many thanks to Ms. Swope, who responded to my invitation for guest posts last week. Have thoughts about customer service? You know where to send them.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Sounding Off About Education

 

Many stories or even jokes begin like this.:

“There are two kinds of people.” 

I’m tempted to provide a few humorous examples here but I don’t want the message of this post to be diluted.

There are two kinds of people in Howard County, for example: 

*Those who see the deep value of elementary school programs like GT CEUs and 3rd grade strings, most especially in Title I schools, and advocate to keep them there even if budget constraints dictate they be eliminated elsewhere, including their own schools.

*Those who are enraged by the thought that “the poors” will get something they won’t. 

Remember that story about King Solomon and the baby? While it’s hard for me to believe that any mother would say “cut the baby in half!”, it is not hard for me to believe that there are people who will go to extreme lengths, even if it causes harm, just to guarantee that they get their bit.

I raise this today because there’s been some pretty vocal pushback that those* who have advocated for the elementary GT courses and 3rd grade strings are way off base and that class size is where the focus should be. This pushback is coming from very smart people and people whom I admire. 

They are absolutely right that increasing class size will damage the learning environment, relationships between teachers and students, and diminish outcomes. 

There’s also this post from Jenny Solpietro on Howard County Progress Report suggesting we shouldn’t need to have these battles. She’s right, but that’s another story altogether.

So what am I sounding off about? 

The deep divide in Howard County between: 

*those who are willing to share, accommodate, accept new challenges, and grapple with change if it means that those who are more vulnerable have opportunities they might not have otherwise, and 

*those who will flood social media (in outrage!) and public meetings (in matching colored t-shirts!) to make sure that doesn’t happen.

Sally Brown is with us, still, with her clip board and neatly sharpened pencil and her list of demands. 

All I want is what I have coming to me. All I want is my fair share.

The people who made preserving these elementary programs all about themselves are the kind of folks who are always going to make things all about themselves: in our schools, local government, even your HOA. 

Do I regret advocating that these programs should be preserved in Title I schools? Absolutely not. Am I kicking myself that this gave these folks an opportunity to put themselves in the spotlight again? 

Kinda. 

Pro tip: if you really care about healthy and successful community building, don’t vote to put people like this in positions of power. Please.

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Yes, that would include me.

Columbia Votes! But not where I live

 

Let’s start with quick look back from Priorities, April, 2017:

First things first. If you live in Columbia and your village is having an election, vote.

VOTE.

If you live in Oakland Mills you can also buy Spring plants, see an art show, and get a homemade cookie.

And of course, there's that whole concept of civic duty. The People Tree can't be passive, folks. Those people are all actively reaching for better things, right? I hate to think what a passive People Tree would look like. Seriously droopy. Wilted, even. An embodiment of community failure.

And that's not who we are. Show me that's not who we are.

I tell myself every year that I'm not going to get worked up over Village elections. And yet I do, because I feel strongly that we could be doing a much better job at getting residents involved in Columbia community building. Year after year the winners are more than happy to claim victory without acknowledging the ludicrously low turnout. We move through the cycle again and again without improving it.

From HoCo Rising, April 28, 2014:

Wouldn't it be amazing if one of these candidates humbly said "My village has nearly 10,000 residents and we only heard from about 300 of them.  I see it as my job over the next year to broaden our outreach and increase engagement." 

I take a dim view of residents raising the spectre of Rouse whenever it suits them. But really, when I look at what CA elections have become, I do have to wonder what he would think.

*****

Columbia elections are this Saturday. If you live in Oakland Mills you can come to the OMCA Earth Day Celebration, 11 am to 2:00 pm, in the Courtyard at the Other Barn.

But you can’t vote. Why? Because the OM election is uncontested. That means no one is running against current CA Rep Karen Emery, and none of the Village Board seats are in contention, either. I haven’t heard much buzz about this year’s elections until this week when the Columbia Association started running promotional material on social media. 

Image from Columbia Association social media accounts

Thank goodness for The Merriweather Post blog for putting together this piece:

Columbia Association Board Elections - - A Rundown of the Three Contested Races, Jeremy Dommu, The Merriweather Post 

It is thorough, and - - I think - - very helpful. If you live in Harper’s Choice, Owen Brown, or Wilde Lake you should definitely take a look. Even if you don’t, it’s a good jumping-off point as to how these things work.

I find it disheartening to see people running on old, outdated, and unhelpful issues. And this is not always limited to incumbents. In particular, running to 1) reduce the annual charge and or to 2) return the control of Symphony Woods to CA. 

As to item number one, everything around us has become significantly more expensive over the last four years. How can we see that it is more expensive to purchase goods and services but claim that the Columbia Association can run successfully with less money? Does your personal budget work like that?

Item number two: while the Symphony Woods property (now known as Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods) was controlled by CA, it did nothing but languish. Since its establishment in 2014 the Inner Arbor Trust has done more to care for the land and make it enjoyable and accessible to Columbia residents than CA ever did while it was under their control. 

“We did a terrible job, now give it back to us” is not a campaign slogan I am willing to take seriously.

I was reminded by a reader of this blog that these elections are worth caring about because the newly elected board will be selecting the new CA President. That’s certainly something to think about. UPDATE: Have since heard rumblings that this is not the case.  

UPDATE OF THE UPDATE: CA Names new CEO., Friday, April 19th, 2024.

If Oakland Mills had a contested election I would definitely be learning about the candidates and would not miss the opportunity to vote. 

But…

I don’t know. My gut feeling at the moment is that we’re just going to keep celebrating our old futility rites because we don’t know what else to do or how to create something better.

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments