Checking the Weather

I had lunch with a friend in Old Ellicott City recently. As we waited for our food we looked out the front window of the restaurant at Main Street.

“I did check the weather before I came,” she said.

We were silent for a moment, acknowledging just exactly what that meant.

“Because I don’t know anything about how to respond in a flash flooding situation. And I don’t run fast.”

My friend shared her concern that, despite all the post-flood talks and plans and controversies, there hadn’t been hadn’t been a County-wide drive to educate citizens on how to respond when you find yourself in an emergency flooding situation.

I hadn’t really thought about that. It’s definitely a missing piece. We are living in a time where climate change produces extreme weather patterns which have led to catastrophic flooding. We talk about how to recover after the flood. We talk about how to make changes that can reduce damage produced by future floods.

But where is the public safety campaign for all citizens: “What to do when you are in an emergency flooding situation”?

“Turn around, don’t drown” is not a one-size-fits-all public safety protocol when you are having dinner on Main Street and the water is rising inside the building.

We have to acknowledge that many folks, like my friend, are going to check the weather report before they will commit to a trip to Old Ellicott City. The alternative is (more like me, I’d have to admit) pushing it to the back of  one’s mind while thinking, “Yes, that might happen, but it probably won’t happen today.” But is that like deciding not to wear a seatbelt because a traffic accident seems unlikely on any given day?

It doesn’t matter who you think has the best plan. It doesn’t matter if you were Team Kittleman or Team Ball or whether you sided with the Preservationists. This is not about buildings. And it’s definitely not about blame. This is about public education. Our environment has changed and that, in turn,  is changing how we live our daily lives. We need some education here.

Yesterday several high school choral groups were scheduled to go caroling in Main Street. My daughter’s school was one of them. As the rain poured down I began to feel uneasy. By noon the message came that the caroling would be canceled. Years ago such a decision might have been made simply because of the unpleasantness of trudging about and singing in wet conditions.

Today it could be a life-changing judgement call, and everyone knows it.

I think it’s well past time to get educated about public safety and flooding. It should be an issue that all sides can agree on.









Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Treasure Hunt

In case you ever wondered how I find my stories...

I do a lot of local searches on Twitter. I’m generally looking for the off-beat stories, not news headlines. Here’s a sampling from this morning’s foraging.

You know I love to cheer for Oakland Mills but here is a lovely moment for Wilde Lake brought to you via Twitter:

https://twitter.com/markyymarc/status/1073790780509220864?s=21

Nice.

Twitter also brought me word that there’s a catering business in Oakland Mills serving up authentic Jamaican food.

https://twitter.com/authenticjamai1/status/1073545650623651840?s=21

They also post on Instagram and have a Facebook page, in case you’re hungry.

Are you a fan of musician Sabrina Carpenter? She’s asking where to tour in 2019 and a local young woman has suggested Columbia. If you concur, add your affirmative tweets to the conversation.

https://twitter.com/kcthe_girl/status/1073349588675936259?s=21

Here’s an interesting question about Howard County:

Is Howard county greater Baltimore or greater Washington? 

https://twitter.com/spicxer/status/1073248746287316993?s=21

I continue to be amazed at the local phenomenon that is The Warped Tour. It doesn’t matter what day I search “Columbia”, somewhere in the search there will be a Warped Tour at Merriweather reference. Don’t believe me? Try it yourself.

https://twitter.com/markfrenkel/status/1073368549790572544?s=21


It’s a busy day over here. My daughter’s choir is caroling in Old EC and my husband’s guitar students will be playing at the Common Kitchen in Clarksville. Tomorrow we’ve blocked out family time for the five of us and perhaps a trip to the Symphony of Lights.

Please note: Celebration is cancelled on 12/15 is cancelled due to weather.

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Anatomy

I am tired of testicles.

Yes, you read that right.

I am tired of reading that what it takes to show strength, be a leader, or stand up for one’s beliefs is credited to one piece of anatomy that generally belongs to men. (Or assigned male at birth.)

Let’s just be blunt. To some people, it’s all about “balls”.

Can we just stop with this please?

Other figurative expressions are inclusive. We all know what it means if someone is described as having brains, or heart, or what my mother called intestinal fortitude: guts. Anyone alive can have those qualities.

But when you attach strength, leadership, even bravery to testcles you are saying they are specifically male qualities. One has to access or appropriate maleness to have them.

No, no, no.

It’s 2018 people; let’s lay the “balls” defense down and move on. Every time you say it you perpetuate the falsehood that some of the most essential and admirable traits a human being can possess are the birthright of one sex alone. And that just ain’t so.

So stop propping up the Patriarchy with this old saw.

This tweet from @ohnoshetwitnt challenges the prevailing stereotype:

Nancy Pelosi proves that you don’t need balls to stand up to a tyrant, you need a spine.

Ooh. A spine. I left that off my list. Anyone can have one of those, too.

Speaking of spines, I noted this announcement from County Executive Calvin Ball in his call for nominees for the Howard County Commission for Women’s Hall Of Fame, 2019:

Howard County women are the backbone of our community. It is time to nominate a Howard County woman who has made a difference in the lives of others through their leadership, professional achievements, and/or community service. 

Do me a favor. Don’t nominate someone because you think she’s got—

Well, you know.

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Holding My Tongue

As I have gotten older, and possibly wiser, I have tried not to wield this blog as a pointed object against individuals. I have made very few exceptions to this rule.

My patience is being sorely tested by a member of the Oakland Mills Village Board who has violated every imaginable boundary when it comes to local politics and self-promotion. I’ve tried taking a breath and counting to ten but it just keeps on happening.

I have great faith in the OMCA Board Chair and in the overall positive tone of the work the Board has been doing under his leadership. I can’t imagine how difficult it must be to have a rogue member who consistently disrespects every boundary and operates outside any collegial, collaborative sense of partnership.

Serving on a Village Board is seen to be a deadend, thankless task. Well, that’s only if people even know what serving on a Village Board is. You’ve heard my annual sermons about getting involved in Village Electons but the truth is that a large portion of Columbia residents these days no idea about any of this. Getting people to serve on Village Boards can be almost impossible.

Most folks who step up to serve are good and hardworking people who just want to help their communities. But then, every so often, you get someone who believes that this will be their springboard to The Big Time. They think that this will be Politics with a capital P and they are all about wheeling and dealing, private meetings and secret deals, and a whole lot of self-promotion.

These people are toxic and they can singlehandedly wreck any good work a Board is trying to accomplish. It would be far better to have no boards at all than to have to dig out from the damage caused by people who want to be the big frog in the small pond and don’t mind stepping on everyone else to do it.

Someone suggested to me recently that I was splitting hairs by saying that Columbia wasn’t a city, saying that population alone made it so. I don’t agree. If Columbia incorporated as a city new forms of governance would need to be established and the public scrutiny for holding office would be a good deal more intense. People like my as-yet-unnamed Board Member would be sifted out pretty quickly.

Public service, no matter how small, should not be the playground of bullies, abusers, manipulators, and self-promoters. But around a Village Board table, folks like that see an opportunity to reign unchecked. Who’s going to stop them? It isn’t like there are tons of replacements waiting to take their places.

At this point I have enough material to lay out a comprehensive piece on this person’s escapades. I have quotes, I have photographs, I have screenshots. Or, as they say these days, I have receipts. But I’m not an investigative reporter. I’m essentially a private citizen who has strong opinions. I’m really, really trying hard to stay in my lane here.

If you live in Columbia and you’re a good-hearted individual, please consider running for your Village Board this year. Believe me, you are needed.

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Who Cares

By the end of the day I had an ache in my chest and a nasty cough. I was not surprised. I work with preschoolers and many of them have been coming to school with runny noses and that very same cough.  I wash my hands frequently and we disinfect surfaces multiple times per day to no avail. If you are a teacher, you are a sitting duck for every germ that comes along.

Kids come to school sick. There are a variety of reasons for this. Sometimes the runny nose doesn’t make them miserable, they don’t have a fever, and the parent reasons they are better off being with their friends. Sometimes the parent can’t miss work and gives them some medicine and hopes for the best. They hope against hope they won’t get that dreaded call from the office or the nurse.

The ability to stay home with a child comes from financial stability and a kind of autonomy in your place of employment. If you don’t have that, you take any time off at your peril. We can’t roll our eyes and complain about parents who send their children to school sick without understanding the underlying issues that cause that to happen.

It all comes down to an issue which remains unresolved in our culture: who cares for children? Who cares for them when parents have no choice but to be at work? Who cares for them on snow days, or one-day holidays, or school vacations, or when they are sick? Assuming that the norm is a mother who is always on call is woefully ignorant to the realities of life in 2018.  It is hardly a standard against which all families can be judged.

The Howard County Schools have addressed some student health issues though a program called Telehealth, but this does not reach the issue of how we care for sick children when they need to be away from school. Is this an area that needs community intervention? Do we need better supports in place for parents in the workplace?

For some years Harbor Hospital offered a sick child day care program in Baltimore. I don’t know if that is still in operation. But that still means you need to have the money to pay for such a service. A higher paying worker might be able to access that. A minimum wage worker probably could not.

As an early childhood educator, I believe that caring for children is everyone’s responsibility. I think you can tell a lot about a community by the value it places on care for the most vulnerable. So I want to know who will care for our sick children? How will we make that possible?

And I want to know how to get this painful cough out of my chest. Stat.

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Wish List Redux

Yesterday I shared a wish for Columbia from a local friend. That got me thinking about a wish list I made, long ago, back when Columbia Patch was still a happening thing and Marge Neal was the editor.

From December 20, 2011:


A Letter to Santa — Of Sorts — On Behalf of Columbia
To me, Christmas in Columbia means going to the Symphony of Lights with my whole family. That's when the holiday season officially begins. So, this year, like Barbara Kellner of the Columbia Archives, I started thinking about my HocoLocal wish list.

5. For me: I would like a tour of Elkridge from someone who loves it and knows it well. (I'll pay for gas and snacks.) This is definitely an area where I need to learn more and think more. Any takers?

4. For my village, Oakland Mills: a very special Bridge to connect us to downtown, and span the separation between east and west over Route 29.

3. For the Howard County Public Schools: a variety of truly viable school board candidates and a simple, functional way to have an election. Oh, and a new superintendent who can find new ways to let meaningful learning win over standardized testing.

2. For Howard County: that we may all get better at appreciating and respecting people who are different. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many: One. And, yes, the 'many' are homeowners, renters and, sadly, the homeless. Let Howard County become known foremost for acceptance and a spirit of community.

1. And lastly, for Columbia, I have saved a special gift. I want to have a "Mayor's Office of Adventures in Fun." We need one. Read this article to see what Virginia S. Baker did in Baltimore City. Then take note of who she was engaging, and why. (The 'why' part you may have to work out on your own.)

Of course, to have a Mayor's Office of Adventures and Fun, we would need — oh, I see I've used up my five wishes. That wish would be another story altogether.

Have a joyous holiday season with the people you love!

*****

It’s interesting to look back. So much has happened since then. Some of my wishes have been partially fulfilled. We got a Bridge Columbia but without the transit piece. We got a better Superintendent and BOE but we’re still ironing out the election process. I think we may even have our own “Mayor’s Office of Adventures in Fun”.

I am a bit disappointed that no one has ever offered to take me on a guided tour of Elkridge. Santa is too busy. I even offered to pay for gas and snacks! This item remains on my local wish list.

I was startled to see how clearly I was yearning for item 2 on this list. Clearly my feelings on this go way back.
2. For Howard County: that we may all get better at appreciating and respecting people who are different. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many: One. And, yes, the 'many' are homeowners, renters and, sadly, the homeless. Let Howard County become known foremost for acceptance and a spirit of community.

This year, for the first time, I feel hopeful that this particular Christmas wish may have a chance of coming true.

How about you? What’s your HoCoLocal Christmas/Holiday list?

Yesterday I shared a wish for Columbia from a local friend. That got me thinking about a wish list I made, long ago, back when Columbia Patch was still a happening thing and Marge Neal was the editor.

From December 20, 2011:


A Letter to Santa — Of Sorts — On Behalf of Columbia

To me, Christmas in Columbia means going to the Symphony of Lights with my whole family. That's when the holiday season officially begins. So, this year, like Barbara Kellner of the Columbia Archives, I started thinking about my HocoLocal wish list.

5. For me: I would like a tour of Elkridge from someone who loves it and knows it well. (I'll pay for gas and snacks.) This is definitely an area where I need to learn more and think more. Any takers?

4. For my village, Oakland Mills: a very special Bridge to connect us to downtown, and span the separation between east and west over Route 29.

3. For the Howard County Public Schools: a variety of truly viable school board candidates and a simple, functional way to have an election. Oh, and a new superintendent who can find new ways to let meaningful learning win over standardized testing.

2. For Howard County: that we may all get better at appreciating and respecting people who are different. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many: One. And, yes, the 'many' are homeowners, renters and, sadly, the homeless. Let Howard County become known foremost for acceptance and a spirit of community.

1. And lastly, for Columbia, I have saved a special gift. I want to have a "Mayor's Office of Adventures in Fun." We need one. Read this article to see what Virginia S. Baker did in Baltimore City. Then take note of who she was engaging, and why. (The 'why' part you may have to work out on your own.)

Of course, to have a Mayor's Office of Adventures and Fun, we would need — oh, I see I've used up my five wishes. That wish would be another story altogether.

Have a joyous holiday season with the people you love!

*****

It’s interesteting to look back. So much has happened since then. Some of my wishes have been partially fulfilled. We got a Bridge Columbia but without the transit piece. We got a better Superintendent and BOE but we’re still ironing out the election process. I think we may even have our own “Mayor’s Office of Adventures in Fun”.

I am a bit disappointed that no one has ever offered to take me on a guided tour of Elkridge. Santa is too busy. I even offered to pay for gas and snacks! This item remains on my local wish list.

I was startled to see how clearly I was yearning for item 2 on this list. Clearly my feelings on this go way back.

2. For Howard County: that we may all get better at appreciating and respecting people who are different. E Pluribus Unum: Out of Many: One. And, yes, the 'many' are homeowners, renters and, sadly, the homeless. Let Howard County become known foremost for acceptance and a spirit of community.

This year, for the first time, I feel hopeful that this particular Christmas wish may have a chance of coming true.

How about you? What’s your HoCoLocal Christmas/Holiday list?

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441

Stocking Stuffers

I’ve been pondering a post on what constitutes a suitable Christmas stocking present when Twitter did it for me. It begins here :

why do bloggers think that a diptyque candle is a stocking filler? you’ll get a tube of minstrels if you’re lucky babe

A word of explanation: this thread originates in the U.K. This is a Diptyque candle. These are Minstrels. Despite the differing cultural references, this thread hits on exactly what I had in mind. Just because something is small enough to fit in a Christmas stocking doesn’t mean it is a “stocking present”.

For example, at our house Christmas stockings could be expected to hold:

Toothbrush
Scotch tape
Panty hose or cute socks
Chocolate orange
Inexpensive toys
Post it notes
Hair ties
Guitar picks
Squishy toys

They are not going to contain:

Pearl earrings
Keys to a new car
Diamond tennis bracelet
Expensive perfume
A small gaming device
iPhones
Copic or Prismacolor markers
100 dollar gift cards

You get the picture. Stocking presents aren’t supposed to be the Main Present. Moneywise, that is. Of course, there are always exceptions to this rule and no one is going to come to your house to ensure compliance. Don’t forget that, in the U.K., the old school tradition is a pillowcase hung over the bedpost, so I would think you’d need to be even more frugal. Pillowcases are a lot bigger than most American Christmas stockings!

Lest you think there’s no local connection to this post, I give you a Christmas wish with a very local flavor. I saw it online this weekend.* It won’t fit in a stocking or a pillowcase, but I hope Santa is listening to this one:

 My Christmas wish list as a Columbia resident: 

1) A dedicated pathway from Little Patuxent Parkway to the Chrysalis, and signage to accompany said pathway.

2) A playground in Symphony Woods (which I know is in the works...just voicing my support of this much-needed amenity).

3) Better crosswalks and speed control measures on Little Patuxent in front of Merriweather and the Chrysalis.  

Pretty please and thank you, Santa.



*No, I didn’t write it. But I do like it.

Celebration in the Woods Advent Calendar: 

https://calendar.myadvent.net/?id=11dfaa56f70578e204b73fee207a6441