Village Green/Town²

  Today’s weather hardly feels inspirational. The look on my husband’s face when I reminded him it was trash day is pretty much the look I’ve had for the last little while as the promise of Spring turned into something more like a mean spirited hoax. I don’t have much faith at the moment about a real, honest to goodness Spring where the temperatures warm steadily and flowers and trees open up and display their beauty. This year’s preview of Spring has left me wanting to cancel my subscription and get my deposit back.  Even if I don’t have faith at the moment, it’s probably a good thing that the folks at Clarksville Commons do. This Saturday, April 2nd, they are holding a Spring Preview Farmers Market. SPRING FARMERS MARKET THIS SATURDAY! Don't let today's weather scare you away from a great weekend of food,  homemade goods, and LIVE music by Mike Walls.  Now the Market itself is on Saturday from 10 am to 2 pm, but presumably you’ll be happy all weekend if you start o...

  Have you been house-hunting lately? Or, like me, do you enjoy clicking on listings online and taking a virtual tour? You may have noticed how many of the houses have been updated to resemble the last five minutes of any HGTV show. Oh, the lovely finishes! The rustic sign in the dining room painted to say “home” or “peace” or “family”. The relentless devotion to “open plan” living. If you have grown tired of the sparkling sameness of these local “reveals”, let me present you with a bit of real estate time travel, brought to my attention on Twitter. This reminds me of house hunting in Columbia, MD. All the actually affordable homes were never updated and had these kind of finishes and appliances. The commentary is on point! Ooh. Must check this out, I thought. As your friendly 1970s real-estate agent, I am proud to announce that my retro neighborhood is now in VRChat Community Labs! Come see and explore homes from yesteryear as they would have looked when they were brand new! May I...

  I cannot begin to describe my gratitude this morning that the Academy Awards are not a local story.  Also: I’m not particularly fond of Mondays. ***** Straight from the pages of this morning’s Baltimore Sun, two pieces that made me think. Sometimes I see connections where others might not necessarily see them. Today may be one of those days. The first piece is: ‘Lynching is local, and that’s why reconciliation has to be local, too’  Three Hartford County Lynching victims remembered with soil collection ceremony , Jason Fontelieu And the second: Velma B. Evans - City public schools educator, associate professor at Delaware State University was an inspiration to students, teachers alike , Frederick N. Rassmussen This is what stood out to me in the first article:  Dr. Charles Chavis, vice chairman of the [Maryland Lynching Truth and Reconciliation] commission, also noted the importance of continuing to have these conversations and acknowledging the state’s past indisc...

  I really wish more people leaned toward curiosity before they chose judgment. I’ve been hanging on to this quote because it really made me think. I haven’t used it because I can’t remember where I found it and can’t accurately credit the author. I’ve decided I’m going to risk it. Please let me know if it is yours and you would like to be credited.  The main reason I saved this is that it put me in mind of one of the stories shared with the Howard County Library’s Brave Voices Brave Choices initiative.  Less of a story and more general observations over the past few months of how parents/community members respond to the call to remove SROs from schools. Not surprising, but still disappointing, how many white parents are intent on keeping SROs instead of listening and seeking out the voices of  students/ families, many who are Black and brown, who are impacted negatively by police presence in school all the time. This would be the time to amplify the voice of someon...

  The great big thing that will not go away in Howard County is the issue of housing. Over the years I have tried investigating it from any number of angles, to no avail. It’s complicated.  If it’s not complicated to you I envy you, although I’m not entirely sure I want to be you. Frankly I think we’d be better off if more people acknowledged that housing/land use is complicated rather than huddling together in separate teams that have it all figured out. But differently. One thing I wish we could separate out and do away with forever is the practice of ascribing motive to the people we don’t agree with. We can truthfully say, “I don’t agree with you.” Is it accurate to negatively label anyone with a differing point of view as being motivated by something terrible? Is it helpful? Developers are motivated solely by greed. People who support increased density are in the pockets of wealthy developers.  Or useful idiots for corrupt politicians who are in the pockets of wealt...

  My first pandemic birthday featured eating Indian takeaway with my family via Zoom and playing games with Jackbox. It was weird. I may have cried.  My second pandemic birthday…wait. What did we do last year?  I am drawing a blank.  Oh, yes! We waited until April when my younger daughter would be vaccinated and then we did the family get together face to face. Accompanied by dinner from Flavors of India . On my actual birthday we celebrated with those adorable little cakes that have taken the town by storm. It was a good deal more hopeful than the celebration the year before. My third pandemic birthday…yes, it’s still a pandemic for me, because of lung issues. We would have been eating at a restaurant outside last night had the weather cooperated. (Boo, rain.) Instead we had takeaway from Aida Bistro in Gateway, which was wonderful. We still love Indian food but I was feeling adventurous. And Aida Bistro had the best gluten free choices for my older daughter, whi...

  The world is feeling big and bad and horrible at the moment. I’m struggling with that. It’s possible that the time change makes it worse. I don’t know. I went to my page of notes where I keep snippets of things I might want to write about and found this: Thanks to Malcom at Warrens Barber Shop in Owen Brown and Cutz By Tre for supporting our Young Men of Power today! Couldn’t have done it without the help of @HCPSS Logistics Center! Sharp cuts for our scholars! #HomewoodFamily Photo from Homewood Center Twitter account These images brought back memories of a March evening in 2017 when I attended a Columbia storytellers event at the Owen Brown Interfaith Center. Bessie Bordenave spoke of her experiences as a student at the Harriet Tubman school. She stressed how teachers and administrators went above and beyond to care for and lift up their students. One of the things she mentioned: haircuts for the young men. I hadn’t known until that evening of storytelling that those dedicated ...

  Well, will you look at that! March 21st is apparently “Common Courtesy Day.”  National Common Courtesy Day There’s a day for everything, I guess. This one seems easy enough to get behind, as one tweeter suggested: Today is Common Courtesy Day and I think we need more of that. Be nice. I do try to be nice when I am out and about: friendly, pleasant and respectful to store clerks and people I come in contact with. From my years in food service I remember quite clearly what a difference it made when customers treated me like a real human being. It can brighten an otherwise dreary day.  And I suspect that’s the sort of interaction that a “Common Courtsey Day” is focusing on. Letting someone in front of you in traffic is easy. Hold open a door for someone or give a person a hand with his groceries. Give up your seat on the bus to someone who might need it. Introduce yourself to the new employee or kid at school and take the time to introduce them to the rest of the crew....

  Today’s blog is a question.  I was over on Waterloo Road yesterday picking up something from my Buy Nothing group. I’m talking about the portion of Waterloo between Snowden River Parkway and the turnoff to Old Annapolis Road/Route 108. That particular stretch is quite the hodge podge of different kinds of uses.  How did that evolve? It feels to me to be unlike anything else I’ve seen in Howard County. It’s almost as though outparcels ate some kind of magical food and took over the universe. In just a quick turnoff from the main road you feel as though you’re in a whole other town. But only for one cul de sac. By contrast there’s Shipley’s Grant with its well-organized residential sections and accompanying commercial center. Near, tidy, cohesive in design and layout. I want to be clear. This is not a rant. This is not innately a kind of criticism of how it all turned out. It’s curiosity, pure and simple. How did this stretch of road get to be so idiosyncratic? Surely the...

  I am not feeling eloquent this morning but there is a topic I care a lot about. Local blogger Jeremy Dommu writes about it thus week at The Merriweather Post . Patuxent Commons: Innovative Housing Solution seeks PILOT Agreement and APFO Waiver Dommu outlines the Patuxent Commons project as follows: Patuxent Commons is an innovative housing solution proposed for Hickory Ridge to help address the housing needs of adults with autism and other disabilities. The intergenerational, mixed-income 76-unit apartment building is envisioned as a supportive community for people of all ages, abilities, and incomes to live alongside one another and commit to being supportive neighbors.   Take a moment to read his post and get a better sense of what Patuxent Commons will be like. If you are so moved, write a letter to the County Council in support of this project:  councilmail@howardcountymd.gov Most readers of the blog know that I used to teach preschoolers with special needs in ...

  Every once in a while those videos of baby pandas will make the rounds and folks will declare that being a “panda cuddler” is their dream job. Who wouldn’t? They’re downright adorable and the responsibility of cuddling these playful creatures would be an ongoing delight of sensory pleasure. Warm fuzzies, if you will. The other day I chanced upon my dream job quite by accident. This is Igor, he was very loved in his previous home but is now looking for new adventure. Igor used to love to act out the tiger in 'The Tiger Who Came To Tea' at bedtime and is hoping he can be the main character in someone else's life soon! What’s this? Someone is rehoming previously-loved stuffed plush animals and sharing their stories? I had to know more. It turns out that Loved Before   is a company located in London whose motto is “Saving the World, One Teddy at a Time.” Oh my heart. Our Story " A lifetime of stories, memories and love, just thrown away " "A few years ago, whil...

  One of these people you probably know. The other you definitely should know, and that’s why I’m writing today. On the left is journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones speaking at this year’s Books in Bloom event. On the right is Roy Peart, the late father of Althea Hanson of Althea’s Almost Famous  . This may be the only place where you see these two photos side by side but there’s a reason. Both Hannah-Jones and Peart are being honored by becoming the namesakes of scholarships at Howard Community College. You may have already seen the local announcements from the Howard Hughes Corporation about the Nikole Hannah-Jones Scholarship. The Howard Hughes Corporation Announces Nikole Hannah-Jones Scholarship in Honor of Pulitzer Prize-Winning Journalist Who Created the “1619 Project”.   The Howard Hughes Corporation, the developer of Downtown Columbia, has established a scholarship in honor of Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nikole Hannah-Jones, creator of the “1619 Project” for The ...

  I had a bit of a laugh when this morning when I realized that, due to the opening of a new business, my home is now conveniently located between two Dunkin Donuts. There’s: 5880 Robert Oliver Pl, Columbia, MD 21045, at the Oakland Mills Village Center And: 9200 Old Annapolis Rd, Columbia, MD 21045, on Route 108 at the other end of Thunder Hill Road And me, I’m somewhere between the two. Almost in a straight line. Each is not equidistant to my house - - that would be too perfect - - but it’s still pretty hilarious. If Walgreen’s bills itself as being “at the corner of happy and healthy” then maybe we should bill our house as “the connector between two Dunkin Donuts.” Oh, my. Despite my life-long love of donuts and my unalloyed enjoyment of those large iced coffees even I know I should probably strive to be more like Walgreen’s and less like Dunkin. Last night I was looking at a real estate listing for a house in Clary’s Forest which was quite lovely. The interior finishes were com...

  About a year ago I was looking for a photo online and I discovered it had disappeared. Erased by Whiteness , March 16, 2021 It disappeared. I went to the Facebook page to find the photograph of the racist vandalism at Glenwood Middle School and, as I was looking at it, a message popped up: This photo is no longer available. And, just like that, the photo disappeared. Boom.  That was weird. Howard County police investigating racist vandalism at Glenwood Middle School , Jacob  Calvin Meyer, Baltimore Sun This is the photo. Someone sent it to me in response to my post. Someone (as far as I know, the perpetrator was never found) defaced the school signage honoring Black Lives Matter. They just made that word “Black” disappear. With white paint. I had the same sort of feeling when I saw the results* of the most recent Goucher Poll. A question to respondents about top priorities for state government yielded these results: public safety 25% education 17% economy/jobs 14% heal...

‘Tis the season. Kicking off cultural (rather than religious) celebrations of the well-known Irish Saint, here’s the Howard County Department of Tourism: 💚 May the luck be with you! Bars, breweries, and restaurants across Howard County are getting into the St. Patty's spirit with special events, menus, and craft brews. CELEBRATING ST. PATRICK'S DAY IN HOWARD COUNTY! Oh, boy. “May the luck be with you!” When Star Wars (or the words of the liturgy) collide with American Irish sentiment, who knows what could happen? If you’ve been reading the blog for quite a while now, you know I’m not too keen about the commercialization of Irish culture in American St. Patrick’s Day celebrations. Don’t pinch me , March 17, 2015 Luck, when associated with the Irish, is particularly problematic for me.  The expression, "The Luck of the Irish" comes from the widely-held belief that the Irish were incapable of great accomplishments, so if they achieved anything out of the ordinary, it wa...

  And, don’t forget: you heard it here, folks: a Howard County hedgehog is a finalist for the next Cadbury Bunny. Truth in advertising: this story pulled from a Twitter link. Howard County hedgehog is a finalist for the next Cadbury Bunny  Bryna Zumer for WMAR2 Baltimore Are you familiar with the annual Cadbury chocolates adverts where a variety of animals are depicted auditioning to be the Cadbury Bunny? Here’s the original from 1994. Cadbury Easter Bunny Tryouts In 2019 Cadbury used the framework of the original ad campaign to launch a nationwide contest. Cadbury hosting new Cadbury Bunny contest for Easter  Wesley Coburn for dogoday.com This year there are ten finalists and adorable Maple, a two year old African Pygmy Hedgehog, is one of them. You can learn more about Maple in Ms. Zumer’s article (linked above) and on Maple’s very own  Instagram account. She has over 10,600 followers. Unbelievably, there are at least ten Instagram accounts with variations on that ...

  It looks like high school proms are returning, bringing back memories of the time my daughter was searching for a prom dress. New fun game. The Kid and I are sending photos of prom dresses to eachother. I found the perfect one, it’s 600.00. Next she started sending me pictures of the most atrocious ones.  Daughter, looking at prom dresses, “That looks like a watermelon. You’re wearing a watermelon!” Followed by: “What are you going to do with your boobs in this dress? Put them in your pocket?” “This one doesn’t have pockets.” The pièce de resistance: What. Were. They. Thinking?  My response at the time: I think it looks like someone’s arm is up her dress here, and they’re responsible for knocking her off balance. Also, it’s really sad she had a run in with a jar of exploding baby powder. When you add up all the expenses associated with going to the Prom, the total cost can be enormous. In 2015 the folks at HC Drug Free made up their own list, which you may notice is pre...

Sunny Day Sweepin' the clouds away On my way to where the air is sweet Can you tell me how to get? How to get to Sesame Street Come and play Everything's A-OK Friendly neighbors there That's where we meet Can you tell me how to get How to get to Sesame Street It's a magic carpet ride Every door will open wide To happy people like you Happy people like What a beautiful Sunny Day Sweepin' the clouds away On my way to where the air is sweet Can you tell me how to get, How to get to Sesame Street... How to get to Sesame Street How to get to... (Songwriters: Joseph G. Raposo, Jon Stone, Bruce Hart) Emilio Delgado, the actor who played the character of Luis on Sesame Street for more than forty years, has died at the age of eighty-one. Notifications of his passing took me on a long and winding path of memories of the venerable educational children’s show, which premiered in 1969. I remember being huddled around our black and white tv in the living room as my mother tried t...

The quotable quote from Tuesday’s 20th Anniversary Celebration of the Women’s Giving Circle of Howard County is this: When we lift up women and girls, we lift up entire communities. I immediately thought of this story shared by Yale professor Zoe Chance, in an NPR interview about her book, Influence is your Superpower. CHANCE: The magic question is, what would it take? To illustrate, here's a story to show how it works. In Zambia, there's been a sex trafficking conference where Gloria Steinem was there as an expert talking on this issue and giving advice. She goes to a village that's facing that issue. And three young women have been lost to sex traffickers the previous year. Instead of giving them advice, she asks the magic question. She says, what would it take for that to never happen again? They told her an electric fence. An electric fence? They said, when the corn reaches a certain height, the elephants come, and they eat it, and they trample it. We have no food. We ...

  I caught a glimpse yesterday of some local men (fellas? guys? bros?) casting aspersions on the League of Women Voters and International Women’s Day because…you guessed it: it wasn’t for them. They felt left out. And solely for that reason, they deemed both of these entities worthless and unfair. Oh my . It isn’t always about you, guys. On the national scene announcements that hygiene products for those who menstruate will be provided without cost by local governments are often followed by remarks like, “What are we gonna get?” Well… That brings me to the ongoing discussion on Twitter about greater transparency around wages and what that would mean for women and other marginalized groups. As long as everyone is convinced that they must keep silent on salary issues, disparities persist in the attendant darkness. I highly recommend this thread from Erin Overbey. Ms. Overbey is the Archive Editor of the New Yorker Magazine, and the New Yorker Classics newsletter editor. It begins l...

  Here’s a news article that left me scratching my head: Howard County parents react to mask mandate lifting in public schools , Alana Haynes, Baltimore Sun I don’t know the actual number of parents in the Howard County Schools. Ms. Haynes has interviewed three of them. All are women. A quick look at FB suggests they are all white. Two out of the three are in agreement with lifting the mask mandate. One of those two has been actively involved in a lawsuit against the school system. One lives in Frederick County. This is beginning to sound like one of those math problems I was never very good at. I am puzzled as to why a good half of the article is given over to the parent who is involved in litigation against the board*, and yet that fact is never mentioned. Maybe, just maybe, this is information that readers need to be able to form an educated opinion? Hmm. Friends, I have no earthly idea how journalists select people to participate in articles like this. I know that one could nev...