Village Green/Town²

  There is an odd point in the summer where you arrive at The Last Weekend Before School Starts. It is especially odd since, weather-wise, it doesn’t feel like summer is over at all. I tend to feel as though we could go along doing our favorite summer things for at least several more weeks.  But, here we are. The date is circled on the calendar, supplies are piling up around the house. What did you do on that last weekend of freedom before the annual plunge into the school year? Friday night I requested a trip to Pepperjacks (Scaggsville.)  It was just the right kind of weather for eating dinner outside and enjoying a root beer float - - a summer-specific beverage from my childhood that I’ve never outgrown. I have sentimental feelings about this place. When the weather gets warm enough to eat outside I always think of them. And, when I need to say farewell to those precious summer days, Pepperjacks calls my name.  Saturday morning I wasn’t at all sure about the weat...

  And tomorrow is the first day of school. I know this because I keep track of current events and, closer to home, I live with a teacher. The other day when I wrote about safety issues in school zones a commenter raised an issue about school buses, specifically: concern that school buses are not equipped with seat belts. Now, there are ongoing arguments as to whether seatbelts are needed or whether they would be logistically practical. I’m not going to wade into that now. I am going to predict that, in less that two weeks, local online communities will see more than one complaint about students having to stand on school buses due to lack of seats. If I am wrong I will be thrilled.  Whether or not students are sufficiently protected in school buses without seatbelts becomes rather beside the point when those buses are routinely carrying standing passengers. And, unlike subways, school buses are not equipped with those handy-dandy overhead straps.  Over the years one of t...

  Tut, tut. It looks like rain. - - A. A. Milne Yes, Saturday has rolled around again and you may have been hoping to enjoy some outdoor activities. Good news! The pollen is low. Bad news! It looks like rain.  The theme for tonight’s Lakefront Live was intended to be Y2K Night but I swear to you that I saw a cancellation notice due to rain somewhere. Since I can’t confirm that, here’s the Eventbrite link to register  and get more information. Lakefront Live August 22 Another event which may or may not be impacted by the weather is the Patuxent Jazz Band concert at Carroll Baldwin Hall this evening:   Late summer lingers into dusk as Patuxent Jazz Band joins Carroll Baldwin Hall and Gottaswing! to present an evening of swing. Bring a chair for the lawn or your dancing shoes to hit the Hall's historic floor - either way, your toes will be tapping! Still need to learn to swing dance? Join Gottaswing inside the Hall at 5:30pm for a FREE beginner's lesson! Live music fol...

  In recent years we’ve subscribed to a food delivery service called Hungryroot. Like many companies these  days, they have what is called an online community on Facebook. Normally this is a place where people share recipe ideas, their favorite menu items, and/or ask questions. The other day we had what felt like an anonymous troll visit. Like it or don’t, just FYI…all Thomas Farms meats are Halal.  There were a variety of responses. Most were of the, “Why did you think this post was necessary?” variety. I decided to go the innocently cheery route. Good to know! Now I can feel comfortable recommending Hungry Root to my Muslim friends. I was much disturbed by the person who responded with the 🤮 emoji.  I wondered what that commenter was thinking. I wondered if they even knew what halal meant. Our old friend Google told me what people are asking when it comes to “halal.” Here’s the top ten for two searches. Two thoughts: 1) good for people who made the effort to try t...

  The continuing saga of invisible villages… You probably know that Columbia has ten villages.   Nine of them have central shopping/activity areas called Village Centers. Town Center does not - - I’m guessing that is because they have the Mall. As a newbie back in the early oughts, I was so proud of myself for familiarizing myself with information and lore about my new home in Columbia.This is why I was especially puzzled by ads claiming to represent Columbia’s Village Centers - - that didn’t include all of them.  That irked me. Here’s a recent one. The answer I got was that these particular Village Centers are owned and managed by one company: Kimco. The others aren’t. It wasn’t going to be as straightforward as I wanted it to be.  I still think you shouldn’t bill yourself as “Columbia’s Village Centers” if you don’t include all of them. It’s misleading if not downright factually incorrect. Oh, well. I delved into a recent article about Columbia’s Village Cent...

  A while back I posted this image from Marketa because it looked homemade to me.  I reached out to Marketa on Facebook and they told me it was legit. This week I saw this image promoting a local yoga session: Do you see it? The eerie similarities? Now I’m not sure either one was made by a human and I hate living like this. What do you think? ***** August brings one of my favorite anniversaries. You know the one. Apparently August is the month for this sort of thing. It looks like DC has joined the club. I still think an accordion is better. Also, there’s a difference between “electric” and “electronic” and I suspect this writer doesn’t know the difference.  *****  True confession: I can’t make myself read this article. “We’re All Over the Flood”: A Decade Later, Ellicott City Thrives Again , Julekha Dash, Baltimore Magazine It’s not because I think there’s anything wrong with the piece. It’s the title. “We’re All Over the Flood.” I don’t think of myself as superstit...