Skip to main content

A Big Deal?



It has been a while since I have linked to Columbia Patch. But, here goes:

 Wilde Lake Mansion Listed for $1,150, 000

Why?

Why, why why?

Why is this house in Columbia? I’m not going to go on a rant and say it’s an outrage but it is kind of ridiculous. Maybe it’s actually in an outparcel?

It’s not my position that all houses in Wilde Lake (or in Columbia, for that matter) should be exactly the same. But it would be nice if they were mildly harmonious. One wonders what Kate Wagner of McMansion Hell would think of this particular example.

The article says that this house was built in 2005, so that would be before the recession. It would be interesting to know (but none of my business) who has actually lived in this house and how active they have been in the Wilde Lake community. Does one buy a house like this and send one’s children to the public schools? Leave the light on for trick or treaters? Go to the Wilde Lake Old Fashioned Picnic?

It isn’t a requirement to live in Columbia that one must “get involved” in one’s neighborhood or Village. There are plenty of folks who wish to lead quiet lives that focus more on family, work, or hobbies. But, on the other hand, a house like this hardly screams shy and retiring. More like “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous”.  How does that play out over the long term?

This structure had to go through the complete approval process to be able to move forward. I wonder if anyone felt uneasy about it. Perhaps not. Perhaps I don’t understand how these things work. But I wonder what happens when you add a building to a neighborhood that is so clearly not of the neighborhood. (See a more typical house here.) Is there a long term impact? Does it essentially create a “hole” in the neighborhood?

Yes, friends, I may have backed myself into a corner here wondering if this house has ripped a hole in the space time continuum. I feel certain that I will hear from some of you that this is not that big a deal.

Comments

Post a Comment

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...
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

Separate and Unequal

  Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in  broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not.  It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...
1 comment
Read more