Village Green/Town²

The simple statement which began the Facebook thread was this: " Nothing like the Quarterly for making you feel useless." Of course, I thought. The Mount Holyoke Alumnae Quarterly. My own copy had recently arrived. And I knew that my friend's comment was a reference to the Class Notes portion of the publication. I've written about Mount Holyoke before . I received an amazing education there, but it came with a burden: Can women "have it all"? And by all I mean career, family, and saving the world. Mount Holyoke Types, or MoHos, as they are now called, are instilled with founder Mary Lyon's earnest charge: go where no one else will go, do what no one else will do. The response to this falls rather heavily onto the Class Notes. My friend went on. "I don't have a problem with the Quarterly in theory. There are things in it that I like reading, like the history bits (there's a funny story in this one about making beer in a science lab in the 70...

When Margo was in preschool I decided to face my unhealthy eating habits and, as I have many times in my life, went on a diet. This time it was the South Beach Diet. As with all diets, the beginning was painful. However, in a way that was different from other diets, over time my body really adjusted and I found myself craving junk food less and healthier foods more. I lost a substantial amount of weight and felt wonderful. And then my mother died. My mother died, and we went to Indiana to stay with my sister and her family. My brother-in-law is a Methodist minister, and we were inundated with the good cooking of kind Methodists. Months of healthy eating habits melted away as homemade oatmeal cookies, chicken and noodles, scalloped potatoes, glazed ham and more marched into the house. No matter how hard I tried, I was never able to "get back on the wagon" after all that funeral food. Something in me snapped. I remembered a section in the South Beach Diet book that touched ...

This year marks Margo's seventh year at Slayton House Camp of the Arts. It is truly the high point of her year. She thrives in a total immersion environment of music, drama, art, and dance. Of all the worlds she must function in, this is the most meaningful. It is in the summer that I see the highest level academic thinking from her. That is where she does her best GT work. By this I mean she wants to stretch herself. She strives to improve from one day to the next. When embedded in the world of musical theatre Margo wants to be better than just passing. She gives it the extra effort: practicing lines at home, researching the musicals online, sitting down at the piano to go over music and even figuring out her own keyboard parts. She talks with us about what she is learning. She gets ideas. Creative ideas. She writes about them on the ipad. She gets ideas for other musicals, ideas for short stories based on musicals. The other evening she was excited about what you would need to do...

With apologies to Peter Sagal and NPR, this is: "Spit it Out!!" the VG/TS Columbia/Howard County current events quiz . Questions are taken from the week's hyperlocal happenings. Winners of today's quiz will receive a selfie with Dylan Goldberg, locally grown zucchini from AnnieRie, and Dave Bittner's voice on their home answering machine.* 1. This week, Howard County locals were encouraged to show their hocolove by supporting what local event: a) The opening of restaurant Mission Barbecue b) Monday evening's County Council Meeting c) Howard County Restaurant Week 2. At the groundbreaking event for CA's new Haven on the Lake wellness spa, guest were given swag bags which included the following: a) Salt b) Autographed pictures of Milton Matthews c) Brochures on self-hypnosis 3. Local Blogger Marshmallow Man responded to conflict on the County Council by expressing a wish to see Council Members enact what classic Saturday morning cartoon ...

Several years ago, when I was supposed to be at Beer Club at The Second Chance Saloon, I was actually in the emergency room at Howard County General. Several friends, whom I had encouraged to attend Beer Club, were puzzled at my absence. When my daughter arrived at the Second Chance she explained what was going on: chest pains, just precautionary, no indication of anything major. (And it wasn't.) "But how can that be? I didn't see anything on Facebook!" someone said. Alice joked, "I know, right? She's famous on the internet." It has become a family joke. You know, "You have to take my word on this because I'm famous on the internet..." It is true that I probably spend too much time on social media. You wouldn't know it, but I do have other hobbies. But something about how social media functions has appealed to me as a shy person who hangs back from picking up the telephone. It very well may have laid the groundwork for me to spen...

Today's post is dedicated to Dennis Lane, who should have been there.     We arrived shortly before ten am on a hot and humid Wednesday morning. Real Columbia summer. As we approached the steps we were stopped by a friendly woman who welcomed us. "Are you here for the groundbreaking?" she asked. We said we were. She introduced herself and we chatted as she showed us to the starting point for the morning's festivities. Eva (I think that was her name) and a number of other women, dressed in white with shirts bearing the Haven on the Lake logo, were stationed at the ready to greet new arrivals. This next area was beautifully set up with a variety of little tents where one could sign in, get a name tag and a program, and pick up a refreshing drink provided by Whole Foods: your choice of lemonade, unsweetened iced green tea, or water. A display of gift bags bearing the Downtown Partnership logo had been prepared as parting gifts. The building (still sometimes referred to a...

Yesterday I saw this. I don't know if the translation is true, but if it is, it really speaks to me. My book is really empty right now.         Posted with Blogsy

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. (from the conclusion of "A Thousand Clowns".)   Rough day yesterday. I feel like an extinguished candle under a drinking glass: I can see the outside world but my oxygen has been cut off. Have a great day--I'll be back tomorrow. Posted with Blogsy

My bedroom closet is filled with boxes of things I haven't looked at in years. Sure, I 've tried to go in there from time to time and set things to rights but it doesn't take much to derail my good intentions. This summer I am headed once more unto the breach, as it were. My early adult years were marked by turmoil: a failed marriage, single parenting, jobs that didn't quite pay enough, mounting debt. Each time I moved I'd try to pare down but there'd always be a box or two of things that I threw together and then just couldn't face once I got settled. So far I have been through three boxes. I've had to go out and get a mask and gloves because of allergies to dust. I'm stocked up with allergy meds and my inhaler. I've filled almost two lawn & leaf sized garbage bags. I've brought out the foam gardening cushion because I just can't work on the floor on my knees like I used to. The health indications are clear: get rid of the stuff ...

When I talked about finding local news through Twitter searches this week, reader Harry Schwarz suggested I take a look at The Chestertown Spy . I did. You should, too. The Spy is an e-newspaper published Monday through Thursday in Chestertown to serve the six towns of Betterton, Church Hill, Chestertown, Galena, Millington, Rock Hall and the Chester River community on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. I found this paragraph a wonderful description of the need for news in smaller communities today: It must be said that we collectively mourn the possible loss of the traditional physical newspaper, but there is a real need for new alternatives to supplement or even replace its role in community life. While Internet "blogs" have shown some promise in filling this need, they remain all too often the voice of one person rather than the product of journalism. In addition, these community sites rarely take advantage of the full power of the Internet (streaming video, graphics and hype...

I talked with twenty five people last night. 25. I'm still stunned by the number. I attended Tom Coale's Victory Celebration last night at the Little French Market in Ellicott City. And there were several more I wanted to to speak with, but it just didn't happen. All told, there were around sixty-five people there, and I talked with more than a third of them. I'm not even running for anything! I'm making a big deal of the number because I am, at my core, an intensely shy person. Yeah, I know . Some people don't believe that, but it's true. My early attempts at going to blog parties were just that. I'd get ready, drive to the event, drive around the location, and drive home. It has taken a long time to get to an evening where I voluntarily went to a large public function and enjoyed talking to twenty-five people. Little by little I've been moving out of my comfort zone. I'm lucky to have friends whose passion for and dedication to our community ...

Just one tweet at the top of the page caught my eye:   "Remember how lucky you are."   And then, suddenly, I do. Lucky. So lucky. To have a husband who goes away for work and comes back, safe. To have daughters who are healthy, high-spirited, and kind. To have a little front garden where the flowers run riot and make me smile. To have friends who care about me, and about our community. To have a home to return to, and food to eat. To have music. To have the capacity to enjoy it all.   Posted with Blogsy

There's a move afoot to pit parents against parents within the Howard County School System. I first got a taste of this when members of the African Americans in Howard County Coalition spoke during the Public Forum portion of a Board of Education meeting in June. Words such as "selfish", "niche groups", and "narrow minded" were used, also "a vocal minority" who are doing everything they can to undermine the success of the Model Initiative. The speakers went on to describe the Model Schools Initiative in glowing terms, while dismissing the notion that cuts to music instruction would have negative effects. Here we go again. Parents who support arts education have so far this Spring been called rumor mongers, sneered at as "those music moms" and now they are accused of having a "me and mine attitude", apparently afraid of giving additional resources to needy children for fear of making their own slice smaller. This has ...

Good morning, Columbia! Looking for local news? A search this morning on Twitter of the term "Columbia, Maryland" yielded the following:   @rtwalton: This Thursday, Free all-ages concert (8-10PM) Richard Walton Group @ Columbia Lakefront Concert Series http://t.co/GlHqO7W6CX @NightmareGraph: Mark your calendars...Our annual Oops Sale is 7/26!#sale #columbia #maryland #nightmaregraphics #adidas #ravens #screenprinting http://nightmaregraphicscom.ipage.com/NightmareGraphics/ @HoCoTimes: One World Coffeehouse is an outreach for Unitarian-Universalist Congregation: http://t.co/8jZLpXFqvj @HCDFRS: Fire closes Lucky's in Columbia http://t.co/T86HXtAfvG @LukeHoCoTimes: Update: 13yo #ColumbiaMD girl on bicycle injured after struck on crosswalk by pickup truck - in stable condition http://t.co/zbcc9ZRDos @suncolumbia: .@MissionBBQ opens doors at #ColumbiaMD location - co-owners are #HoCoMd residents, say location is special http://t.co/JTpOFh5w3V @NatPancFdn: Join us thi...

Okay, class. Get your pencils out. Open your notebooks. Let's talk about inflammatory statements. "Inflammatory statements and personal attacks are two of the most common causes of conflict escalation. When people attack other people verbally, those attacked are likely to get especially defensive or angry-much more than they would have had their opponents kept their statements impersonal and focused on the problem." Inflammatory Statements I was seriously considering taking a day off until this piece was shared by Maureen Evans Arthurs (candidate account) on Facebook. You may recall Ms. Arthurs as one of the Board of Education candidates who did not make it through the primary. I'm curious as to why her campaign account is still active, although that's not the focus of today's blog post. I had never heard of Mr. Armstrong before today, so I don't have any background information to go on. I can tell you that the piece is full of inflammatory language,...

Here are a few things to consider on Saturday. Blogger Bill Santos of Columbia Compass invited friends to join him for last night's Lakefront showing of "Frozen". It is clear that he has more friends than I had imagined. The Lakefront was packed. The MC/Projectionist said it was the largest crowd in forty years. It's good to have friends. I might add that all his friends are enthusiastic singers. Thursday's CA Board meeting revealed some interesting changes. The new president of CA is sitting at the table--smack dab in the middle of the table, next to the Chair. The first time I saw Phil Nelson at a Board meeting he was relegated to a little table to the side, rather like a child in a time-out chair. He eventually made it to the actual table, but somewhere in the periphery. I am intrigued to see how this central location for Mr. Matthews plays out. Another interesting change: reporter Amanda Yeager gave us an article with facts, quotes, and numbers . Awesome. Thi...

Here is my testimony from the Columbia Association Board Meeting last night. ***** I'm here tonight because on May 28, 2014 I stood in this very spot and said, "I have attended multiple CA Board meetings to speak in support of this park. I will keep coming back as often as necessary, and I am not alone." And so I must begin with these words. I'm back. I'm back because I support the Inner Arbor Plan for Symphony Woods. I support it, my family supports it, my friends support it, and the majority of Columbia supports it. We can't wait to see it get started. But I can't let this moment pass by without sharing two more words: Thank You. I'm here to thank a small but largely overlooked group without whom we would not have the Inner Arbor Plan. That's right: I want to thank the people who objected to the first plan. Now, I'll admit that when Mr. Paumier's plan was released I was not a fan. It was not the park I had been hoping for. But I ...

  When Wilde Lake was dedicated in 1967 James Rouse remarked that he hoped Columbia would never be finished, that the community would continue to develop and that the residents who would come to call Columbia home would be actively engaged in the process. That has proven to be true and the history of Columbia is an ongoing story. ( Columbia Archives ) (Photo from Columbia Archives: History of Columbia)   There's a meeting tonight. I believe I've told you that already. There's another meeting in the town that was supposed to transform our notion of towns and bring new ideas to community living. There's yet one more meeting on top of all the other meetings, and I hate meetings. And I will be there. I will be there because I believe Columbia should live. I will be there because I believe our community deserves an exciting and inspiring park that invites us to come together. I will be there because I believe it is time to include more than one generation i...

Are you ready? It's time to play our game. So, you're thirsty. You get something to drink. Simple. It's a basic human need, and no one should come between you and your choice of beverage, right? If only that were true. Beverage companies spend millions of dollars influencing what you will choose when you want to quench that thirst. They have focus groups, advertising professionals, marketing campaigns, street teams, and food scientists tweaking flavors. All their efforts are aimed at you and how you spend your money. In many ways, the game is rigged before you even start. The amount of money that groups like the Horizon Foundation are able to spend is a drop in the bucket. They have to work twice as hard to even get your attention. In my opinion, the HoCo Unsweetend campaign has been doing a great job going directly to thirsty people and showing them that there are better choices. But when it comes to playing our game, the odds are against them. So, let's think on t...

Throughout our nation's history there have been times when vocal and persistent people had to make the case for paying attention to public health issues. Patent Medicines (leading to the Pure Food and Drug Act) Child Labor Conditions (leading to Child Labor Laws) Manipulation of the public by tobacco companies (leading to regulation of tobacco advertising, also lawsuits awarding communities funds to remediate effects of smoking) I imagine that even back then there were naysayers and detractors who saw this as mere government interference. Especially those standing to lose profits as a result. Or those who didn't want to let truth get in the way of their ingrained habits. My own father clung for years to the argument that there was no scientific proof that smoking was bad for your health. He died of COPD/emphysema at 57, and I was sick on and off all through my childhood with bronchitis as a result of his smoking. I had an impressive smoker's cough. Secret docume...

"Students often come to school with a tactile deficit." This article from NPR about the Maker movement and mainstream education was introduced with that sentence. It grabbed my attention immediately. I talk a lot on this blog about hands-on education. There's a reason. Multi-sensory education is the most memorable. It's often the most joyful. And empowering. So what does a tactile deficit look like? As a preschool and kindergarten teacher I frequently encountered children who had never used scissors at home, nor glue, glitter, play dough, or paints. "I don't want that mess in my house!" And then there were the anxious parents who made sure to spend extra time every day on workbooks and skill/drill activites with their young child, to help them get ahead. These children were often lacking in the most basic skills of childhood. Some were reluctant to cut or glue because they didn't know how. Some were afraid to get dirty and risk parental disapprova...

A bit of a postscript on yesterday's post. Howard County Department of Recreation and Parks posted this on Facebook yesterday morning: Thanks to all who came out for the July 4th Festival and Fireworks on the Lake last night and we hope you enjoyed the show. We do apologize for the delay in the start of the fireworks, which were scheduled for dusk but were pushed back due to a technical issue. We will work to ensure this is corrected for future years. This was followed by ten relatively civil responses, none of which Rec and Parks bothered to respond to. I have to admit when I read this, I did the forehead slap--"Oh, Rec & Parks, that explains it!" Yes, what Rec and Parks does for Howard County is wonderful, I don't deny that. But their record on communication with the public isn't stellar. Consider the difficulties with the Emerson neighborhood concerning Blandair Park: not solely their fault, but would've been an entirely different scenario if they had p...

After my migraine abated yesterday I ended up having a wonderful day. Some relaxation time with the family, a great party with some friends, and, at the end, a quick walk over to Talbott Springs for our neighborhood fireworks-watching. I understand that there are a variety of locations besides the Lakefront where people gather to watch the fireworks. We discovered Talbott Springs last year and love it. People set up their chairs and blankets on one end of the field, and children run, play ball, toss frisbees and so on in the rest of the space. And of course there's the school playground right there as well. As the darkness falls, people break out sparklers and glow toys. It's pretty magical. At around nine-thirty, I checked Twitter for any indication of when the fireworks would begin: @courtneywatson1: About to lead the countdown to start the fireworks w. @calvinballteam Are you ready # hocoMD? #Columbia And then, nothing. So we all know by now that the fireworks didn...

When the alarm went off at seven am I was awake only to the extent that I realized I had a migraine and that my husband's back was feeling painful enough that it hurt to reach over to silence the alarm. It didn't feel to me as though the greatest day ever had arrived. Far from it. We were supposed to go, the three of us, to march in the 4th of July Parade in River Hill to support candidate Courtney Watson. That is not how things turned out. From the looks of this picture, they certainly had enough people. But that's not what really matters to me at this moment. What matters is that I let down Dylan Goldberg, Field Director for Courtney Watson's campaign. To give you an idea of the kind of person Dylan is, let's begin with this tweet, posted at 12:00 am this morning. @DylanGoldberg: YES GREATEST DAY EVER HAS ARRIVED #fourthofjuly If you don't know Dylan, you are truly missing something. He is an inexplicable force of nature, someone who believes American democrac...

  It appears that some of the CA Board Members continue to plug away, by any means they can, to stop the Inner Arbor plan for Symphony Woods. They tried doing it on the sly and got caught. Now they're putting it on the agenda. Here's their plan: to claim that the Inner Arbor Trust has made a material change to the concept design plan and therefore needs approval from the Board for design change. Why? Because, according to the rules in place, if the change is deemed to be material and not approved, the trust could be found in breach of the easement agreements. What does that mean to us? It could very well lead to a halt of the project, a court battle, loss of potential funding by the county or private donors. The truth is that the plans for the park are not inconsistent with the concept plan. To give you some examples, a material change would be something like the addition of a petting zoo or a soccer stadium. It is disheartening that we have to keep going back, ov...

For some reason I am unbelievably exhausted and have been since we got back from the Midwest. You wouldn't think that an adjustment of only one hour would do that to you.   Instead of a fully-formed blog post, here are some topics that are waiting around for their turn at bat...in the near future, I hope.   This year's CA elections versus the race for Democratic Central Committee in Howard County. "Clicking contests" vs. voting with your feet. Paying Le Comptoir at Petit Louis a second visit. Why does Oakland Mills needs to be "re-invented for the 21st century?" The strange case of HoCo Times and Baltimore Sun making separate endorsements. If any of these are of particular interest to you, or you have other topics you'd like to suggest, let me know.   And now: back to bed... Posted with Blogsy

So, who designed this beautiful amphitheater? Wait. Frank Gehry? Our Frank Gehry? This Frank Gehry? Yup. When the city first determined that a new pavilion should be built, the commission was supposed to go to Skidmore, Owings and Merrill. The original pavilion design was much more modest than the structure that was eventually built, with a smaller shell structure and speakers affixed to poles interspersed throughout the seating area. However, two factors led to the cancellation of the original plans. First, the project's scope changed as a result of additional funds raised by John H. Bryan, former CEO of the Sara Lee Corporation. The second factor was the intervention of the Pritzker family as potential donors. Unimpressed with the pavilion's original design, Cindy Pritzker "mandated that Frank Gehry be involved in its re-design ". Jay Pritzker, a prominent Chicago businessman, had died in January 1999; his family own several businesses, i...