Skip to main content

Quintessential Saturday Post


 

First things first: today is the birthday of friend of the blog Candace Dodson Reed, who has taken on one more notable accomplishment this week by signing on as Treasurer for Delegate Brooke Lierman’s 2022 campaign for State Comptroller. Candace, now better known locally as cohost of local podcast Elevate Maryland, once wrote a pointed but short-lived blog entitled “Is This Thing On?” known for its annual round-up of fascinating local people. You either wanted to be on it or suggest someone who should be.

If I were writing such a round-up this year she would definitely be on it, both for her leadership at UMBC, involvement in local causes, partnership in Elevate Maryland, and commitment to women in politics. Happy Birthday Candace!

You are going to want to bundle up, dress in layers, and head out to Clarksville Commons today for their Holiday Market at the Commons. The event, which runs from 10 am - 2 pm, will feature 30-plus vendors for your shopping pleasure. 


To keep everyone safe, masks are required when you're at the market. While the plaza is an open, airy setting, please be mindful of keeping a safe distance from other folks. Please practice choosing with your eyes rather than handling products to make a selection. 

You can take a look at the businesses that will be participating here on the Clarksville Commons Facebook   page. Happy shopping!

Tonight at 7:30 pm: the Columbia Orchestra’s Holiday Concert, YouTube Premiere. 


Here’s  some information about the concert from the Columbia Orchestra’s Online Education Corner:

Holiday Music: Christmas, Hanukkah, and Kwanzaa

I may have my tech-savvy daughter do that thing where you hook up the computer to the tv so I can have a bigger screen experience, maybe turn down the house lights, put the color wheel on the aluminum tree, eat a few Christmas cookies. I’m looking forward to it.

In closing, if you were over on the County Executive’s Facebook page last night catching up on the guidelines for safer holiday celebrations during the pandemic, you’ll have seen that COVID denial is scarily on display locally and that concern for the common good is perceived by some to be a sign of either corrupt political belief or intellectual inferiority. Holy mackerel. These people live among us. Many thanks to those who were willing to push back in the name of science, community care, and good sense, but - - sheesh - - how does one run a government page meant to get the facts out while contending with a constant firehose blast of actively hostile disinformation?

Spread the truth amongst your own circles, folks. 

And have a great weekend.




Comments

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...

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...