Monday, March 18, 2024

Survey Says…

 



The Howard County Board of Education is running a survey to learn what the public wants in a new Superintendent of Schools. 

Howard County Government is running a survey about the new Downtown Library.

The theatre group in residence at DoodleHATCH, Stand Up for Theatre, would like to know what shows you’re interested in seeing. Here’s their survey

Howard County Government has formed the West Friendship Park Agricultural Programming Focus Group to generate ideas for, well, just what the title says. Can a survey be far behind? Won’t they want to know what the public thinks about the ideas they come up with?

It feels as though we are awash in surveys at the moment. (Almost as much as we used to be awash in Task Forces back in the day.) I have mixed feelings. I think it’s great to solicit input. I do believe that the information gathered will be looked at and considered. That doesn’t mean the decisions made will reflect my point of view one hundred per cent.

Some folks think that, if things don’t go their particular way, that it’s an indication that the survey wasn’t put forward and/or analyzed in good faith. This is especially so when politics are involved. That feels somewhat self-defeating to me.

My problem with surveys is length. If they are too long I experience a sort of panic and my brain shuts down. I now know that this is due to ADHD. Too many choices. Too many questions. That leads to too much overthinking on my part. Under those circumstances I throw my hands in the air. And then I quit.

That happened to me with the library survey. I will need to go back and try again. I really care about the library project and I’d be disappointed in myself if I bailed on that one.

How do you feel about HoCoLocal surveys? Do you take them? Do you have an internal limit on how long is too long?

That’s only three questions and I’m not going to call it a survey.


Village Green/Town² Comments


Sunday, March 17, 2024

The Micromini



Three micromini local stories for your Sunday:


Is it legal to own goats in Columbia, Maryland? I do not know. I know there are rules about chickens, but - - goats? It seems to me that goats are more likely to turn up in a Columbia street name than in Columbia neighborhoods. How about “Serene Goat Way” or “Green Goat Garth”?

Be that as it may, this advert from Clark’s Ace Hardware in Columbia made me smile.

Spring into the season with a fresh and clean pup...or goat!  We love supporting our amazing customers- including all your furry friends! Why not treat them to our deluxe self-serve dog wash, iClean? Celebrity narrations walk you through the brief, yet thorough, wash cycle making a somewhat uninspired chore an event to remember (for both you and your canine...or any furry companion)!







I don’t know if they are truly serious about washing your goat or just seizing an opportunity to recommend their convenient dog washing station. Certainly you wouldn’t have to live in Columbia proper to avail yourself of this service. But the thought of pockets of backyard goat owners in the New American City made me chuckle.

*****

In other micromini news, if you lost your library card at the  Maryland Zoo yesterday, a kind soul picked it up and has mailed it back to the Elkridge Branch. And people say there’s nothing good happening on TwitterX. You just never know what you might find.



*****


I often say that three things make a blog post. Well, the third one today is a micromini sermon. If you are celebrating St. Patrick’s Day today and your celebrations include alcohol: bring a designated driver. Or, be the reliable friend who chooses to be the designated driver. If you are on your own, do not hesitate for one minute to call a taxi or ride service if you are not safe to drive yourself home. 

Have a plan. Love yourself - - and everyone who may be out on the roads tonight - - enough to get behind the wheel only if you are reliably sober. 

In the meantime, there are many ways to enjoy Irish culture that don’t include alcohol: music, dance, food, art, literature, history, folk arts and craft…Make sure you are around to enjoy them all next year.



Saturday, March 16, 2024

Stylish Saturday


Happy Saturday! My weather app tells me it’s going to be a sunny and clear Spring day (but watch out for the pollen.) Here are three indoor activities that might entice you away from nature walks or yard work:


Check out the Sustainability Clothing Swap at Freetown Farm/Community Ecology Institute from 11 am to 1pm. 

CEl's Green SEEDS interns invite you to a Sustainability Clothing Swap at Freetown Farm (8000 Harriet Tubman Ln) on Saturday, March 16th from 11am - 1pm. Bring clothing you're ready to part with and a bag to bring home your clothing swap finds!

New and gently used clothing only. No undergarments, please.

This clothing swap is part of the interns' Climate Action Plan Project -

Strategy: Expand the Use of Sustainable Materials and Reduce Waste Generation and Disposal

Action: Reduce the use of single-use items, particularly plastics and promote waste reduction and reuse throughout Howard County.



Columbia Moms of Multiples is back for another year of their Children’s Consignment Sale at Cradlerock Elementary School. 

If you have purchased a VIP pass you can enter at 7:30am. Free public admission starts at 8am. Half-price shopping is from 12-1pm. 






Atholton High School’s Becca’s Closet student group, in collaboration with Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, are holding their annual free promwear event today from 9-2.  

We have over 2,000 dresses, shoes, jewelry, and purses all for FREE. This is truly an amazing event that we work so hard for all year and we would love to see a great turnout, spread the word! 

The event organizers have posted photos of the items on offer in a variety of places on social media: this is quite a haul! 

I just realized that all of these items are clothing oriented. Let me know of other events this weekend that my readers might be interested in and I will share them.


Village Green/Town² Comments 

Friday, March 15, 2024

F ³: A Letter from Far Away


 

The President of the United States released a statement yesterday on the death of nonbinary highschool student Nex Benedict.


 

I’m glad that he did. Nex Benedict’s loss should be mourned, their memory honored. Their brutal beating in a high school bathroom should be faced and reviled. It should be both a reminder and a call to action for anyone who thinks that we don’t have to worry anymore about violence towards LGBTQIA+ people in our country.

But it is a message from afar. President Biden has not been, nor will he ever be, in that bathroom, slammed against the floor, verbally and physically crushed and wounded. His words are from a commander-in-chief to victims in a war he will never know or truly understand. This doesn’t mean that he shouldn’t have said them. 

It’s just important that we see them in context.

The story of Nex Benedict makes me sick with rage and grief and fear. I’m a little bit closer to this war than the President, having had an adolescent child not that long ago and a spouse who teaches high school. I see very clearly that every adult who speaks words of hate and rejection and mockery based on gender identity and/or sexual orientation has a hand in this death.

They have spoken it into existence: around dinner tables, in online rants, at school board meetings. 

Last night American screenwriter and director Ron Nyswaner made this appeal during his speech at this year’s GLAAD Awards. 

It’s 20 seconds long. Watch it. 

These are words from someone who has been right in there in the battle. They move me in a way that the President’s words do not. Because he has been there. He knows. And his experiences have turned him into a warrior for acceptance. Nyswaner is an encourager in the face of all of the rejection. He is offering hope to young people who feel they have none. 

“We will not stop fighting to be here. And we will win… Love always wins.”

But love will only win if we live it, and we must live it fiercely. Kind words from far away do not have the power to protect the young and vulnerable as they lie bruised and broken on a bathroom floor. 

When you speak, when you act, and when you vote - - be the shield that protects them, the encourager when hope seems lost. Most of all, be a warrior for acceptance. 


Village Green/Town² Comments

Thursday, March 14, 2024

Whine in the Woods?



If you live in Columbia/HoCo long enough you will come to understand that there are certain annual events that locals believe are theirs by right.  I’m not saying that they are merely liked or beloved or generally accepted traditions. I’m saying that many local believe that these things are owed them. 

Woe be unto you if you try to tinker with them or somehow get in the way.

These things? You could probably name them yourself.

  • Fireworks at the Lakefront
  • The Poinsettia Tree at the Mall
  • Symphony of Lights
  • Wine in the Woods
At the risk of sounding sacrilegious, you would think from seeing the way some folks talk- - and behave - - that these things were ordained by God. I used to think it was a bit silly. Now there are days when I find it almost alarming. 

Perhaps it is because Columbia is a relatively new place. We don’t have hundreds of years of history anchoring our community. On the one hand, Rouse wanted to do something entirely new when he created Columbia. On the other hand his longings for that new place grew out of memories of a small-town childhood.  Small towns need traditions, and celebrations, and things to look forward to year after year.

Back in Easton, Maryland, the place of Rouse’s boyhood, they may have had ladies’ sewing circles and gentleman who sat outside the country store chatting about local happenings. We have social media and boy, is it ever ugly. 
 
So: here we are in 2024 and something is going to be different about Wine in the Woods and people are MAD.  Everyone’s an armchair analyst. 

I’m not. 

I’ve read as many news articles as I could find and they tell the basics. If there’s an “inside story” I don’t have it. Sure, it would be fun - - from a curiosity standpoint - - but, I don’t truly have a need to know. 

My deeper need would be to understand why we are so gol-dang inflexible here in the New American City. Wasn’t Columbia created in a spirit of trying new things? Change was good, right? Now we act like we are old and cranky and one small fracture will fell us. 

If a change to Wine in the Woods is the end if the world then boy, are we ever in trouble. It might be a good thing, it might not. But the annual reenactment of a festival created expressly for the purpose of drinking alcohol in the heat is not owed to us. It is not a public good like schools and libraries. 

It’s not a need. It’s a want, a “nice to have.” If you have wonderful memories of it I am glad for you. I’d love to hear them. If you have rants - - well, there’s other places on the internet to share them. 







Wednesday, March 13, 2024

Blaming the Victim


 

Why do women still insist on jogging alone?

That was a poor choice of time to be jogging in dark park with long winding trails. Tree and brush thick along those trails. If dark, never jog in any park anywhere. Wait till other people around and light still present.

Can you guess what local story these two men were responding to? 

Howard County Police are increasing patrols in Centennial Park after a woman reported she was struck by an unknown man on a jogging trail. The 24-year-old victim reported that on March 11 a male suspect grabbed her from behind and struck her around 6:30 a.m. She was able to flee to her vehicle with a minor injury and did not require medical treatment. She described the man as White or Hispanic, 5’7”-5’9” tall, with dark eyes, wearing a black cloth medical mask and a black plain baseball hat. People in the area should be alert for anything suspicious. Anyone with information should contact police at 410-313-STOP or HCPDcrimetips@howardcountymd.gov. - - Howard County Police Department 

Yes, victim blaming is alive and well in Howard County.”Why do women insist on jogging alone?” The question I’d like to see people asking: why do men insist on attacking women? I don’t see anyone asking that. Instead I see admonishments and dire warnings, and lists of rules that women must follow in order to be safe. 

Surely a woman can be safe if she:

  • Chooses approved times of day to be out and about
  • Chooses approved locations in which to travel
  • Brings an extra person
  • Brings a large dog
  • Brings a gun

This is not a recipe for safety. This is a societally approved system of restrictions for being a woman. 

Step outside the line? You brought it on yourself.

Hey there, men. What are you going to do to prevent yourself from attacking a woman today? What measures will you take to make sure you’re not an attacker? Perhaps you should limit the times you are out and about or only choose to travel to places where you won’t come in contact with women alone. Even better - - maybe you need to bring along an extra person with a big dog and a gun to keep you from being an attacker. 

That might do it.

The men who feel so confident in passing judgement in these situations seem to have one thing in common: blame. Bad things are never their fault. The finger of accusation is always pointed at someone else:

  • It’s her own fault
  • It’s Those People
  • It’s Illegals
  • It’s the County Executive 

I wonder if this is a character trait that they share with attackers. Do they, too, go through life pointing the finger at others? Claiming that their own bad actions are someone else’s fault? 

She made me do it.

Nobody treats me right.

One thing I don’t see in all those comments: empathy. And that scares me almost as much as the current of blame, if not moreso.

Dear woman who was jogging at Centennial, I really feel for you. That must have been such a frightening experience. I hope you are surrounded by the kind of love and support that will help you feel more like yourself as you heal from this experience.

It’s not your fault.



Village Green/Town² Comments


Tuesday, March 12, 2024

Do You Know Who I Am?



I’m a long-time fan of the radio news quiz “Wait Wait Don’t Tell Me” on NPR. I’ve discovered how listening in each week makes following the news more fun. If I pay attention during the week, I might know an answer on “Wait Wait”!  I was excited when one of the call-in contestants this past week identified themselves as Dave from Columbia, Maryland. Suddenly my favorite radio show became a local story.

I felt sure that someone I knew must know who this caller was. So I posted on social media:

Need to know: who was “Dave from Columbia” on last week’s Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me?

The two particular local people I know named Dave were not the caller in question, alas. Although a friend pointed out that there must be many Daves in Columbia,  I was optimistic I’d be able to locate him. I know it seems ridiculous. And yet…

Not too long after my post someone I knew confirmed that they, indeed, knew “Dave from Columbia.”And that’s really all I needed to know. The story of his winning turn on a national radio show was his to tell, not mine. I was just tickled to be able to locate him. 

If you’re reading this, Dave: congratulations!

Speaking of names, 

Help us choose a “boring” name! 

The North Tunnel is a transformative project that will serve as a model for flood mitigation across our nation and world. As we prepare to break ground on this once in a generation project this summer, I invite our residents to help name the Tunnel Boring Machine that will be used to construct the North Tunnel. Options include: Ellicott Drills, Ellicott Excavator, Granite, Granite Grinder, Hudson, and Rocky. 

Choose your favorite name at https://communityfeedback.opengov.com/portals/howardcomd/Issue_13631


Image from HoCoGov social media 


No, you do not get to submit your own personal suggestions. You may choose from the above options. People who want “Drilly McDrillface” may be disappointed, but those are the rules. I’m sure you may call it whatever you want around the house. I have already voted. The most difficult part was proving I was not a robot. 

Why go through the public process to pick a name for an inanimate object? Possibly to make it less scary? To remind local folks that this is the next step in the Ellicott City Safe and Sound plan? To have a little non-controversial fun?

That last one seems to be difficult for some people, if you take a look at the County Executive’s Facebook page.

A few years ago the Columbia Association held a naming contest for their Aqua Mower. The winning name was Chompers, submitted by nine year old Quintin. This is Chompers:


Image from Columbia Association social media 


We don’t have an actual photo of the soon-to-be named Boring Machine. Perhaps we will catch a glimpse once the contest is over. I wonder if local dignitaries will christen it with a bottle of champagne. (From Tersiguels, perhaps? The Wine Bin?)

What do you think? Are the name choices too boring, or not boring enough?


Village Green/Town² comments