Village Green/Town²

First there was Ignite Columbia . Then there was Inspire Columbia . Now there is Excite Columbia . Excite Columbia, which is being launched by CA, is a self-described Citizens Academy. I think that's great. I am curious to learn more. I asked the following questions and received a prompt response from Celeste Olinger, director of communications and community engagement. Who do you envision is the target audience for this? Excite Columbia's target audience is any resident that lives on Columbia Association-assessed property, including new homeowners as well as anyone interested in being involved with Columbia Association. We want people to have a greater understanding of the way CA operates and how CA serves the community. Once someone completes this, what's next? Does it qualify one for anything? Do you imagine it might become recommended for those seeking office? High school or college students? New homeowners? People will emerge more informed about CA and its ...

From the movie, "A Thousand Clowns" -- Murray Burns : [ shouting at rows of houses ] Campers! The entertainment committee was quite disappointed in the really poor turnout at this morning's community sing. I mean, where's all that old Camp Chickawattamee spirit? I'm sure I speak for all of us here when I say that I... [ pause ] Murray Burns : Now, I'd like to say right now that... that... [ softly ] Murray Burns : Campers, I can't think of anything to say. *** Good morning campers! Today is my first day back teaching for the year, I have a middle schooler with insomnia who is waking me up every hour to share her woes, and my brain is running on empty. Here's hoping that tomorrow is a better day. hocoblogs@@@ Posted with Blogsy

What's going on over at Inspire Columbia? Well, I'm glad you asked. Here's a question: How can Columbia grow and expand, while protecting the character of each of our neighborhoods? And here is one of the answers: I suggest that we NOT grow and expand. (AUG 13, 2013 Diana B6) Why do we need to grow and expand? Instead let us maintain, improve and enrich. Growth is not always better. There will always be someone who wants another store or another restaurant. Let's appreciate what we have. There must be an end to this growth or we will become an urbanized, crowded region like Towson, Silver Spring or Bethesda. These are not places I'd want to live. I came to Columbia because it was attractive, convenient, diverse and suburban. I don't want to fight traffic or walk in the snow from a satellite parking lot to run errands. We can always visit more "vibrant" places when we have the urge to -- and then go home to the peacefulness of Columbia. The ...

  When I was on the OM Village Board, I remember having a thorough discussion about where to place bike racks in the Oakland Mills Village Center. But my feeling was that we didn't come to a final decision. Months later I remember asking Sandy Cederbaum, "Whatever happened with the bike racks?" And she said, "Oh, in the end we decided on such and such." And we did get the bike racks, and everything was fine. One of my few frustrations with being on the Board was that we had so many issues to address that we rarely had time for follow up. Not that the follow-up didn't get done, it did. Any loose ends were taken care of by the Village Manager and any other appropriate Village staff. But the Board doesn't always have time to revisit that. You'd be amazed at how much your Village Board is doing, folks. I'm bringing the issue of follow-up to the forefront today because of something my daughter said yesterday after her first day of school. ...

Today is the first day of school. I watched my daughter carefully choose her outfit, style her hair, apply make up, pack her book bag, make sure she had her house key and her lunch. She paused impatiently outside for a picture. She was ready to get the day started, to get seventh grade started. Exactly one hour earlier I watched my husband do the very same thing--well, minus the makeup--carefully choosing the right bowtie to go with his first day of school outfit. He took coffee and an instant breakfast. His bag was packed with class rosters, music, and lesson plans. (He probably won't have time to eat lunch.) He is a teacher. He chooses to go back to school, year after year. For many people, school is just one time in their lives, and when they're done: they're done. For teachers life is measured out in coffee cups and Diet Cokes and the rise and fall of the academic calendar. Richard spends the school year teaching music and his summers playing music, writing music...

  Hot off the presses! Here's what is happening in Cinnamon Tree at Talbott Springs and the surrounding environs: One of my more recent neighbors has a band called Ventura Highway that plays The Second Chance and other local venues. She also sings the occasional tune with the Dave Phenecie Band. She. is. good. My neighbors across the street completed a significant addition to their house and now my husband wants one. Probably everyone wants one. Catacorner to us are the young couple who take their beautiful cat out for walks. On a leash. Who knew? Works for them, and makes for a happy cat! Our handsome young neighbor has returned safely from his most recent deployment. I almost didn't recognize him because of the massive beard he grew while away. Alas, he had to shave it off so I guess it didn't meet the requirements stateside. Upon his return he bought a grill and patio furniture. Hope he's enjoyed some serious summer fun. He deserves it. Our most immediate...

Online news outlets and blogs don't exist in a vacuum. We write, and we make a space for comments. We encourage conversation. As I have written before, some blogs seem to get more comments than others. Sometimes following the discussion is as good as the original post. Local news outlets have struggled with how to deal with folks who just love to be mean. The Patuxent site used to be dominated by a few choice individuals who loved to come in and shoot up the joint, making actual discourse impossible. The newer Explore Howard site seems to have more moderation. And so the gun-slinging has moved over to Patch. Professional news sites set a policy for comments. But we, as individual bloggers, have to set our own boundaries. And that is completely appropriate. If you comment on my blog, you are a guest in my house, so you have to obey house rules. I raise this issue because it came to mind when I was asked to speak about Dennis Lane at the recent HoCoBlogs Party at The Second ...

Valentine's Day Top Ten--A Woman Strikes Back! (Written in response to this brilliant rant by Mike Morucci.) February 9, 2010 Really tired of hearing men dish about how dumb Valentine's Day is, blah, blah, blah. Have they any idea how torturous a day it can be for women? Ready to fill you in, guys: 1. Valentine's Day for many single women is yet another day advertising that you are alone, you don't have anyone, and you are thus excluded for the world of love and couple-dom. 2. However, if you do have someone and he does nothing or something careless or thoughtless, the whole Valentine world is laughing at you. You may have thought you were lovable but in fact you were barely worth a last-minute trip to the Safeway for the last card left on the rack. 3. Although men think women demand they be mind readers, no man was ever killed for asking, "What would you like to do for Valentine's Day, honey?" and then doing it. 4. No...

Came out of Clyde's to the full moon over the water. I thought I caught a glimpse of Dennis on the way in. Like a scene from a hokey movie, I stopped and closed my eyes and looked again.  Goodnight, Columbia. Oh, oh, oh my what a day Making my way Around this town. Oh, oh, oh walking the lakefront with                                                                                   Eager feet. Who will I meet? The light of the dream is shining its beam It's like a phone call from yesterday Oh, oh, oh pulling me closer to plans for a  Brighter New Day  Good night Columbia  Every day sees me lovin' ya  Every night near the People Tree  (All the trees sing a symphony.) Columbia: Goodnight And some day when the time is right The world's gonna see what I see C...

Do you remember the old Dewar's Profiles ?  I must have taken myself a little too seriously from an early age, because I always wanted to see myself in one. By the time I was actually old enough to drink, I realized that I hated Scotch. But that wasn't the point. I wanted to find myself gracing the pages of some upscale magazine, having attained the cultural status of a Dewar's Profile. Sometimes you have to make your own fifteen minutes of fame. So, in honor of tomorrow night's Blog Party at The Second Chance Saloon, I am instituting the HoCoBlogs Profile. Here's mine: Home: Oakland Mills, Columbia Age: 54 Profession: Teacher--Music and Movement for Preschoolers with Special Needs Hobbies: Crafting, Singing, Reading, Blogging Last Book Read: Build Your Routine, Find Your Focus, & Sharpen Your Creative Mind  (ed. J. Glei) Last Accomplishment: Ran for CA Board from Oakland Mills      (Yes, I lost, but running was definitely an accomp...

With one tap of a stubby, clumsy finger, I just deleted today's blog post. It was about how we get our local news.  I am going to have more coffee, and try again tomorrow.  Sorry, folks. If you have suggestions and comments on the Columbia/Howard County news scene, please add them in the comments.  I'll just go back to pounding my head against the wall. hocoblogs@@@

I spent some time Saturday night hanging out on memory lane. I feel a little funny about it, because I went there looking for someone else's memories. So I was eavesdropping. Or maybe trespassing. I don't know for sure. I have written in the past about a certain kind of Pioneer mindset in Columbia. By and large I have been referring to people who came to Columbia as adults. Another group I have been increasingly curious about is the kids of Columbia--those who grew up here while Columbia itself was growing up around them. So I went to this page to do some primary research. http://ow.ly/nQfUC Here you will find countless memories of places that no longer exist: a petting zoo near Merriweather, a bookstore/cafe in Owen Brown, a radio station at the Mall, a produce stand in Sewell's Orchard. Scanning through the threads gave me a clearer picture of what the Village Centers truly were in their heyday. I understand much better now what people are missing.  Another recurring them...

Columbia Patch on Facebook, Thursday, August 7th: If this guy did what police say, it's obviously horrible for the kids. But think about this: How many well-meaning adults are reluctant to have anything to do with mentoring kids because of charges like these? http://goo.gl/E4yhzT /todd And the comments: Julia Jackson McCready:  I am not sure that I would have added any editorial comment to this one. MMS:  What kind of comment is this? MMS:  Not you Julia... Todd... The thinking here is "off". LLP:  I agree with the above comments! Distasteful, cavalier words. ML:  Also, does every story have to be about northern Virginia here? I feel like this has become nova patch. KGP:  I made similar comments to the EC Patch link. KGP:  I find your presentation of this story, and editorial questioning, in poor taste at best, and offensive at worst. This young lady is not responsible for the reluctance of adults to mentor young people, the al...

Last week I had a blast reading this post on The 53.   The only thing I didn't like about it was that I hadn't thought of the idea first. So, with my debt to Marshmallow Man clearly stated, here are my random thoughts of the day. Why is Oakland Mills the only Village to have their Annual Summer Pool party in an undisclosed location?  What's up with that? (Actually, this year they did break down and reveal the location on FB, and I don't blame them, because the upgrades to the Stevens Forest Pool are just Columbia Awesome.) Why am I unable to type the words Oakland Mills without typing it as "Oakland Milks"? Is this some unresolved dairy farm karma going on here? Is Columbia ready for their own not-ready-for-prime-time players?  This post from Bill on Inspire Columbia has some serious (and by serious, I mean, not at all serious) potential. This should absolutely be filmed at The Mall Starbucks on Sunday mornings. And, in that vein, admit...

What makes a blog a Community Blog? Should it be a place to post upcoming events in the community? Should it highlight local community news or happenings in local schools? Should a community blogger write about what makes the community unique? Is a community blog a place for musing and pondering about the meaning of community happenings? Or a place to call out bad actors for bad behavior on the local scene? Can a community blogger relate personal experiences pertaining to local life? Or look ahead and editorialize about what the future holds? Here in Howard County we have HoCoBlogs , a website and, by extension, a collegial association of local bloggers. (We even have parties !) The web page divides blogs into categories: Community, Personal, Politics, Faith, Topics, and so on. Scanning the page each day you might choose to look through it as you used to leaf through the newspaper: certain sections or writers draw you in. You might dip into new topics or blogs if the title intrigues, o...

The weather is glorious. It could be Spring or Fall. The humidity is low, temperature mild, and the sky clear and blue. It's confusing because this is August in Maryland and normally it would be oppressively hot and humid.  I'll take it. This is my kind of weather. Maybe I'll actually get to the Howard County Fair this year. My excuse is that it is always far too hot to even think of leaving the house. Excuses. I think everyone makes them, to some degree. Excuses can be helpful when setting necessary boundaries, but sometimes they can take on a life of their own and reproduce like coat hangers in a closet. You turn around and discover you have hemmed yourself in with a sticky web of excuses. And then where do you begin to find your way out?  And how? "What makes us push ourselves to overcome our fears? There has to be something bigger prompting us.... Cutting through the fear...requires a radical change of mental state. Without that, we may struggle, or try, or attempt...

I was thinking about the Dookies. I was making my daughter's breakfast, and I thought, "It must be the time to start thinking about the Dookie Awards. Will someone keep them going? Should *I* keep them going?" Then I had to rush around getting ready for Margo's big orthodontic appointment, and the thought went right out of my head. When I finally had a minute to myself in the waiting room, I looked it up on my phone. December. December? It's not until December? How could I have been so "off" in my timing?  Time, time, time. We get so used to the way things always go. We are comforted by the rhythms and patterns of our lives. Annierie measures time in planting and growing seasons, Marshmallow Man lives for tailgating season, HocoHouseHon observes life from her precious porch, or yearns for the change of season which will mean it is warm enough to go back out and celebrate with an iced coffee and her journal. I know a young gentleman in Howard County whose...