Village Green/Town²

  What can you do in two minutes? It’s not a new game show nor is it an idle question.  Howard High Schools to start 2 minutes earlier, beginning in May , Kiersten Hacker, Baltimore Sun A two-hour delay on March 3 and a three-hour early dismissal on March 16, when the state experienced tornado threats, caused a four-hour deficit for the Howard County Public School System. To make up the hours, June 8 will be a full school day for all students, and high school students will start their days at 7:48 a.m. instead of 7:50 a.m., beginning May 4. The conflict between the spirit and the letter of the law is right out in front here. It says a lot about state requirements that this kind of a solution is considered to be reasonable. Who will be responsible for those extra two minutes of high school instruction? Teachers, of course. I sure hope they are ready to make those minutes meaningful. A Google search didn’t turn up many classroom-oriented suggestions. But maybe some of these wil...

It’s a classic cartoon set-up. “I like your _________.” “Thanks, it _________.” Part of a four-panel comic by @lumpyquinn What makes these so fun is an unexpected response. For example: Comic by @jimshoenbill We may somehow be willing to accept dogs standing upright, in suits, holding wine glasses. Still, the second dog’s comeback makes us giggle. Why? Could it be because it transgresses polite cocktail party conversation? Maybe. What do you think? I once heard a story about the very young child of college professors who occasionally made the rounds of department wine and cheese events with her parents. She observed the way that adults talked at these gatherings. Maybe they talked about things they liked, the weather, health, or issues of mutual concern. Drawing on her personal knowledge, she approached a small group of academics and asked, “Are you ever bothered by diaper rash?” I can’t tell you how many times I have wished I could use that opener at an awkward cocktail party or polit...

  It isn’t. A view from the train, I mean. But take a look. Doesn’t it feel like it could be? This was my view at the doctor’s office yesterday afternoon. I was not moving, but the world around me was. Walkers and joggers on the pathway. Folks strolling with their dogs. People chatting on benches. Behind them, cars zipping along on Route 29.  It’s a view I probably never would have focused on without the ability to sit in a treatment room, waiting for my doctor to come in.  While I also enjoyed all the burgeoning signs of spring outside I also recognized the irony of being in that building to treat allergies and asthma. Spring: yay! Pollen: boo! I was curious about the tall building in the background. Columbia doesn’t have many. I was having trouble visualizing exactly what I was looking at in relationship to Lake Kittamaqundi. Luckily Columbia-savvy people on Facebook filled me in. It’s an apartment complex called Aspen at Lake Trail. It used to be called High Tor. What ...

The Merriweather Post has done one of those comprehensive write-ups for which it is rightly known - - this one is about the groundbreaking for the new senior housing project Oxford Hills.  What Erickson Senior Living’s New Oxford Hills Retirement Community Actually Means for Howard County , Jeremy Dommu, The Merriweather Post It is thorough. It is long. I’ve skimmed it twice and gotten bogged down both times but I’m still recommending it because your attention span may be longer than mine.  To me the most important part occurs in this paragraph: Seniors on fixed Social Security income, who may rent rather than own, or who own modest homes and have spent years of savings on medical costs, or who simply don't have $300,000 to $500,000 in home equity - these seniors have no real options either. Oxford Hills does nothing for them. What they need is actual, dedicated, affordable senior housing — purpose-built communities with services, stability, and dignity — at prices they can a...

  In a strange twist of fate, the very moment I was contemplating the prohibitive cost of high school ice hockey, Howard County Executive Calvin Ball was announcing plans to build a county ice skating complex.  Boom. Just like that. (I’m going to need to be careful how I use these newfound powers of mine.) From the County Executive’s Facebook page: We have historic news for Howard County. At the Meadowbrook Athletic Complex, we shared plans to bring two new indoor ice rinks to our community! This project represents years of progress, shaped by resident feedback, feasibility studies, and continued engagement since 2022. What we heard was clear: our community needs more access to indoor athletic space, particularly, ice facilities.   Image from HoCoGov social media  Conversations about improving/expanding ice skating facilities go back for a while now. I remember having a conversation with Dr. Ball on this topic way back when I was on the Oakland Mills Villge Board.* A...

I’ve been sifting through old blog posts this morning. It’s dark, and it’s raining, and I’m sitting in an empty house contemplating my birthday. I’m not feeling sorry for myself, mind you, but I am looking for some perspective on the day. (I just deleted three paragraphs so I’m not sure I’ve found it yet.) The last five weeks have upended my life . There’s no visible plan for returning to normal as yet. I don’t want sympathy or a prize.  I’m pausing to reflect on this because it has taught me something I needed to know. I had the absolutely perfect life. Just the way it was. And I didn’t know it. I didn’t think I was doing enough, achieving enough,  being enough,  growing and improving enough. I continually wrestled with seeing myself in one long arc of unfulfilled potential. Oddly, it took a sudden and radical change to make me realize that that life was enough. I was enough. And that my life, family, friendships, and community were just what I wanted. The perfect gif...