Village Green/Town²

Inspired by a local blogger, I got to work today making my own "Favorite Places in HoCo and Columbia" Pinterest Board. I'm not quite finished, and some of the links need tweaking, but I just couldn't wait to share . And, if you get inspired, make a board of your own. Send me the link if you want to share it here. Some wonderful things are in the works for us locally,and some wonderful people have been putting forward exciting ideas for Columbia and Ellicott City. Like my Pinterest Board, we're a work in progress, too. Take a moment to consider your happy place. The weather is weird and dreary right now. Thinking about favorite places might bring a bit of sunlight into your afternoon. Enjoy! hocoblogs@@@

Last week HoCoRising author Tom Coale wrote about what it means to have " Kittamaqundi Fever ." I think most of us who know Tom are grateful that he has caught the bug and continues to be willing to serve Columbia on the CA Board of Directors. That got me thinking about a debilitating condition which has infected our citizens for many years. It is long past time for us to address the negative impact it has had on our community. It may start as Kittamaqundi Fever, but just when does it turn into Pioneer Paralysis? Or, as Tom so deftly described it, "We're not against progress. We're just against THIS progress." Paul Verchinski, a member of the Senior Citizen Task Force, gave an impassioned speech Thursday evening in favor of putting a line item in CA's Budget for funds specifically earmarked for seniors. He spent a good deal of time outlining the percentage of seniors living in Columbia--village by village. All in all, according to his repor...

Trevor Greene, River Hill resident and former blogger (HoCoPolitico) has graciously allowed me to share his letter to the CA Board. *** Dear members of the CA Board of Directors, I am writing to offer my family's support of the new plan to improve Symphony Woods. Both my wife and I are lifelong Columbians. I grew up in Long Reach and Kings Contrivance, while my wife grew up in Hickory Ridge. My wife and I got married right after grad-school. Whe n we were deciding where to live it wasn't a matter of where in the USA we wanted to live, rather we had a serious discussion about where in Columbia we wanted to live. It was a given that we would come back to what we affectionately call "The Columbubble" to start our family. We lived for some time in Owen Brown before we settled in River Hill. Seven weeks ago, we were blessed to welcome our son, Elijah, into the world. He was born at Howard County General Hospital. Being new parents has been an i...

Preservation.  The first rule of preservation is that you must have something valuable to preserve.  In the case of buildings, they should have value to the community through their use, and/or their historical nature.  In the case of land, preservation means protecting an important natural habitat. Symphony Woods, as it stands today, is none of these.  Let me reiterate-- 1. No buildings valuable to the community through meaningful public use 2. No buildings whose historical significance make them worthy of protection/restoration 3. No thriving natural habitat which merits careful conservation Oh, and something else.  Aside from two times yearly, Symphony Woods has no people. It has no people using the space, no people enjoying the space, no people actively involved through community initiatives to contribute to the space. And so--leaving Symphony Woods exactly as it is?  This is not preservation. It is neglect.  Like the ...

My daughter Alice was not the first, but quite possibly only the second female ever permitted to carry the processional cross at the Anglo-Catholic Grace & Saint Peter's Church in Baltimore. What I mean by Anglo-Catholic is extremely "high church" within the Episcopal Church. And by high church I mean extremely formal, ornate ritual, clouds of incense. Don't say it if it can be chanted or sung. And by Anglo Catholic I also mean male-dominated. In the fifth grade, surrounded by Grandfather as a deacon, mother and stepmother in the choir, father as organist, grandmother in the congregation, she took up the cross as Crucifer. I stood in the Vestry hallway before the service and looked at her, beautifully vested, ready to break down a wall of prejudice that had held girl-children and women back in this church for generations. My heart was full. I sidled over to her and whispered, "For this was I born--for this I have come into the world...". She smiled...

We all have our own quirky attitudes about money. Although, I am sure that many folks have healthier ones than mine. I have been wrestling with a particular problem for awhile now. It has to do with charity. This is my story. "The Case of the Mysterious Twenty Dollar Bill." I don't think my parents gave money to any charitable causes until very late in their married lives. It wasn't until I, the youngest child, had left home that I noticed my mother donating to public broadcasting and a few nature charities. The lesson I learned was, once you are financially secure, then you can think about charitable giving. I spent many, many years being financially insecure. Those ten years between marriages, as a single parent, took quite a toll on my sense of financial stability. A dollar for the collection plate in church, yes, but charitable giving? That was for rich people. Well, I have been married for thirteen years now, and the magic "click" of finan...