Skip to main content

Worth Celebrating

It's been about a year, I think, since the Facebook page was founded. "Celebrating Columbia, MD, and its Future" has done just that. It has seen a few heated discussions, but overall has been true to its goal:

It is not meant to replace the popular "You Know you Grew up in Columbia" FB page, but to instead provide a better forum for more in depth, civil discussions about the future of Columbia, with an eye on the past and inclusive of all views. The posts here will be monitored by admins only to keep the peace, with minimal intervention or attendee changes. Let's help impact Columbia's future!

Over the last year, two main themes have emerged. 1) Beauty in nature. I continue to be amazed at the variety of nature and wildlife photos taken here in Columbia. They have given me an appreciation of our dedicated Open Space in a way that no written description ever could. 2) Progress. But not the progress you might think.

Once of the posters highlights historic photos of Columbia as it was being built. Since I was not here from the beginning, this has been fascinating for me. It's also interesting to learn from all the comments providing feedback. It's an ongoing oral history, in a way.

"Progress: 1972" is, of course, not the same as "Progress: 2015". Everyone can get behind the progress in the old photos. It's the progress that they came here to be a part of. The progress that created their homes. The progress that is their shared history. "Progress: 1972" is a shared comfort zone for many.

I often wonder if the poster's intent is also to quietly suggest that if it was progress to create the new and exciting in 1972, that it can be progress to create the new and exciting in 2015. I don't know. It may be merely to highlight their shared experience and reminisce. Who knows?

But, as the goal of the page is to "celebrate Columbia and its future", I am hoping his pictures have a deeper meaning for us. James Rouse once said that he hoped Columbia would never be finished.

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 Village elections are this Saturday, April 25th. Does your village have a contested election? Do they need you to vote to establish a quorum in order to validate election results? Don't let this election pass you by. Even if you have never voted before, use this as your chance to be "actively involved in the process." Learn what that means. Call your Village Assoctaion to find out what you need to do.

If you vote, if you encourage your friends and neighbors to vote, if you learn more about how it all works than you have known before--then that will be progress.

And that's worth celebrating.

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more