Skip to main content

Public Service

Here's a little thank-you note for all those acts of public service that mean a lot to me. Perhaps they won't seem like public service to you. But it takes many, many things, both big and small, to hold a community together.

  • To all the folks who put up Christmas/holiday lights so the rest of us can enjoy them. You make a dark season brighter.
  • To all the people who pick up that extra piece of trash, grab the empty recycling bin that's fallen in the street--you make your whole neighborhood a better place to live.
  • To friendly and helpful check-out clerks at the Food Lion. You may not know it, but you make not just the store, but the entire Village Center a more welcoming place for both residents and visitors.
  • To the teachers and staff who come to work every day in our communities. Your work is an investment in the thing we care about most: our children.
  • To the businesses who purchase those annoying pop-up ads on the Baltimore Sun website: thanks for supporting local journalism. We'd be lost without it. (That's my mantra every time one pops up...)
  • To the reporters who cover that news, with a special shout-out to the team in Baltimore which has done an amazing job during one of the most challenging years in Baltimore's history.
  • To bloggers and Facebook pages/groups in Howard County who bring stories and issues to us that we might otherwise miss. Most especially to "Mold in Howard County--Information for Parents".
  • To all the crazy Twitter inanimate accounts that spread local flavor, most notably @Mr.TrashWheel , @manwomanstatue , @McKldnFntn , and the dear, departed @aberdeenblimp . That list wouldn't be complete without Columbia's own @eye_on_kq, who looks at local life from the persona of the People Tree.
  • To all the people who continue to send Christmas and holiday cards. Those of us who can't get it together absolutely love getting your cards. Maybe you could teach us how to get our act together for next year. (Please?) Also, an extra word of gratitude to those who write sweet, funny, humble holiday letters rather than the braggy kind with a competitive edge. It can be a fine line, I know. Thanks for filling us in without simultaneously smacking us down.
  • To the two members of the Howard County Board of Education who have made it their mission to be open, forthright, and respectful to members of the community: Cindy Vaillancourt and Bess Altwerger. It must be lonely being the sole voices of dissent right now. Thanks for fighting the good fight.
  • To Village Managers and staff in Columbia who keep on "keepin' on" despite low participation and a steady flow of complaints and challenging issues of aging facilities. I see you making Columbia better place. Thanks for not giving up on us.
  • To neighborhoods and good neighbors. To friends who welcome new friends into the mix. To churches who reach outside their comfort zone to help others and stand for justice. In short, to community-builders: we need you.
Happy New Year to all. I'm beginning this year in thanks. Just like the famous Fred Rogers quote, I want to consciously "look for the helpers". It's good to remember they are all around us.

 

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

Teacher Gifts

Today is the last day of school before the Winter Break. It’s a good time to remember the far-reaching nature of our public school system. You may not have children. You may have sent your children to independent schools. It matters not. You will be impacted one way or another. Yesterday I read a long thread on Facebook about several waves of illness in the schools right now. There’s influenza A and norovirus, I believe. And of course there’s COVID. Apparently in some individual schools the rate of illness is high enough for school admin to notify parents.  When I was little the acceptable holiday gift for a teacher was one of those lovely floral handkerchief squares. (I don’t know what it was for male teachers. They were rare in my elementary years.) These days the range of teacher gifts is wider and I have fond memories of Target gift cards which I have written about before. I think it’s safe to say that giving one’s teacher Influenza, norovirus, or COVID is not the ideal holiday...
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