Skip to main content

A Win in Wilde Lake

I was driving home from dropping my daughter off at a choral rehearsal and I decided to pop in to David’s Natural Market to pick up some dinner. I was hoping for some of their delicious curried chicken salad. I can’t remember the last time I went to the Wilde Lake Village Center. Maybe a year ago.

The first thing I noticed is that the long-awaited Starbucks (formerly KFC) is really and truly open. Must go back another time to check that out. Then I realized how different the visual elements are as you turn off the main road. One’s view used to go straight back across the parking lot to the tennis courts. Now Alta Wilde Lake rises up, at a bit of an angle, to fill the sky. Out of the corner of my eye it almost looked like a hospital with a centrally located Emergency Room drop off.

A second look makes it clear that it is nothing of the sort. There’s a deliberate variety in the facade, giving the impression of more of a block of related rowhouses, giving it a sort of urban neighborhood effect. Altogether, an entirely different vibe as you come in the Wilde Lake Village Center.

It turned out that there was no curried chicken salad to be had. However, I was able to find am amazingly good Greek Salad instead. As I waited in the check-out line I heard a voice behind me.

“Mrs. McCready?”

I turned around. It was my (older) daughter, picking up something to drink before her art class at Wilde Lake High School. Quite the coincidence. Not quite sure why she called me Mrs. McCready. Perhaps she wasn’t altogether sure it was me (guessing from the back) and didn’t want to look foolish calling “Mom!”if she turned out to be wrong.

At any rate, I always feel that whenever I run into someone I know when I’m out and about around town that it’s a win.


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

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...

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...

Columbia Chance Connection

  Last night, as my husband and I were about to sit down to dinner, our front door swung open and a cheery voice announced, “I’m ba—ack!”  We weren’t expecting anyone. Clearly the only people who’d walk right in to our house would be one of our offspring. I had my reading glasses on so I wasn’t seeing too clearly. It seemed too tall for our youngest, but we knew our eldest was at work. I took off my glasses to see a friendly but confused face scanning our living room. When her gaze landed on us we all had a sudden realization. We didn’t know eachother. “Oh I’m so sorry! I’m in the wrong house! My daughter just moved in and she needed hooks for the kitchen so I ran out to get them.” She waved the package. “All these houses look the same and I don’t know the neighborhood yet. I thought this was my daughter’s house.” We were all getting a bit giggly. “That’s okay. For a quick second we thought you were our daughter,” said my husband. I told her our names and said she should defin...