Skip to main content

Night and Day


 

Last night the United States Coast Guard Band performed at the Chrysalis. They’re out on the road celebrating the 231st birthday of the Coast Guard. I saw some video clips from the folks at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods and, I must say, that band is pretty darned good. I’m sorry I missed that. 

But for some reason I was under the weather yesterday. I stayed home and we watched the first half of Questlove’s “Summer of Soul”. But that’s an entire blog post unto itself. Really.

Also last night, the Columbia Democratic Club held an Ice Cream Social at the Locust Park Neighborhood  Center. From the looks of the photos they appear to have had a great turn out. Of course, photographs don’t tell everything but it does look as though the CDC has moved past controversies of the last year and emerged on the other side rejuvenated and focused. What better way to celebrate that than with a little ice cream?

I know that last night was also the official National Night Out and there were numerous celebrations throughout Columbia/HoCo. I used to be a big fan of NNO but I found myself this year with a profound case of ambivalence. If you read this blog regularly you probably know why.  I’m increasingly having the same feelings about National Night Out that I have come to have about stories we were told about the First Thanksgiving and Christopher Columbus. 

Nonetheless there are many good citizens of who participate in National Night Out with the goal of making Columbia/HoCo a safer place by being more friendly and interconnected. I’m all for that and I’m grateful for people who live, day-to-day, working to make their community a place where there are familiar faces and helpful neighbors. 

So, it’s complicated. 

In the middle of the night, well, in the morning, really, there was an earthquake. I slept right through it. This is understandable because it was in Clarksville. From HoCoMoJo :

A 2.1 magnitude earthquake in Clarksville was detected as far away as Jessup and Olney Wednesday morning. A loud, rolling rumble was heard while household items shook for 10-15 seconds, and small waves rippled across Lake Elkhorn in Columbia.

Wow. Last night was a busy night, all around.

Today? Well today the Columbia Association invites you to think up names for our helpful aqua mowers. It looks like somebody has a serious crush on Mr. Trash Wheel.


(Photo credit: Columbia Association)


Sounds fun. You can learn more here. Can Aquamower merch and swag be far behind? I wonder what Colonel Gateway would think.

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

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

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