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