Old and New

Friday night at the theatre. The setting: Slayton House Camp of the Arts, located in Wilde Lake.

No, this is not a theatre review. It’s a tiny sliver of life in Columbia, Maryland that you won’t read in the newspaper or see on the evening news.

First off, Slayton House has stood through all the changes in the Wilde Lake Village Center rather like The Little House in the old picture book. They even have the original brick from its construction  in 1967.

I stood outside after the show, enjoying this familiar view. This space has seen many summers of children from the arts camp (and the Karate camp) running about and playing on their lunch breaks.

The choices for an apres-theatre repast are bountiful these days in The New American City. My lovely companion had a hankering for Bon Chon. I don’t know if you can envision this in your mind’s eye, but Bon Chon is a straight shot from the Wilde Lake Village Center. We got in the car, and “poof!” we were there.

Now, parking at the Mall on a Friday night can be a challenge. We did make one pass without spying a place. But, on the second time around we were stunned to note a spot open up directly in front of the restaurant. (Thank goodness I still have those parallel parking skills from my years of living in Baltimore!)

We were seated by the front window and enjoyed some first class people-watching for a few minutes when something we saw made us laugh. It was my husband, finished with a rehearsal, headed to his new favorite place: Halal Guys, which is right down the street.

We waved. He waved. He came in to chat for a bit, then headed on down to indulge in his love of Spicy Lamb and all things Kabob.

This entire evening had a magical quality to me. Returning to the site of my daughter’s childhood and enjoying a newer generation of campers, savoring the old, familiar vistas by Slayton House. Zipping over to the newest parts of the Mall and serendipitously bumping into someone we knew. All small things. But they combined to make a perfect summer evening that felt like we were immersed in the very sorts of things that make us love Columbia.