In Troubled Times: Dan and Claudia Zanes Step Up

 

I’ve meaning to tell you about this. The weekend’s events jogged my memory.

Dan and Claudia Zanes performing at the Chrysalis, June 18, 2022, IAT

Musicians Dan and Claudia Zanes, seen above performing at the Chrysalis in Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods, have released a new album. It’s called Pieces of Home.

Image from Dan & Claudia Zanes social media

The duo, who moved from Brooklyn to Baltimore in 2019, describe themselves as:

Haitian-American music therapist / jazz vocalist Claudia Zanes and Grammy award winning performer Dan Zanes. We play electric folk music for all-ages.

One of the deciding factors in moving to Charm City was an invitation to become a part of a Baltimore nonprofit called “Our Joyful Noise.”

Our Joyful Noise Offers Happiness and Healing Through Music, Max Weiss, Baltimore Magazine

Our Joyful Noise is a network of area musicians who bring their talents to traditionally underserved audiences, such as women facing incarceration, autistic children and their families, cancer patients, veterans experiencing homelessness, seniors with disabilities, patients with Alzheimer’s and other memory issues, and youth and adults in the Franklin Square neighborhood in West Baltimore. Their goals is to “perform in spaces where they can do the most good.”

As (Dan) Zanes explained on their Instagram page, 

OJN has made it easy for us and for many other musicians to connect with different communities around the city who don't always get the good stuff. The OJN model is simple, soulful, and strong - coming from the heart with an understanding that active participation in the well being of our neighbors is essential to our own well being. These days we're all asking ourselves "what's my purpose, how can I be of service in these troubled times?"

That’s an excellent question. How can I be of service in these troubled times?

Dan and Claudia stepped up over the weekend with a heartfelt post on social media. 

Damn, not again!

This current wave of negativity towards Haitian people here in the U.S. is totally out of control.

Here's something we can do to push back: Let's crank up the support for our local Haitian restaurants (and other businesses) and dig into the music.

Like the people, the cuisine and sounds are beautiful.

Our post today is for the folks who want to learn more but may need some encouragement.

What follows is a primer on Haitian food and music, including a playlist. Go to their Instagram to read the whole thing. 

Pieces of Home, on the Smithsonian Folkways label, is available in a variety of formats . If you need a little something to get you going this morning, you just might want to Fly Like a Raven. 

Village Green/Town² Comments

Back at the Basketball Court…

I want to tie up some loose ends from yesterday’s post because I seem to have unwittingly given some folks the impression that the County took away the basketball court permanently. Not so. It was moved to a different location nearby.

In this image you can see where the old one was (in orange) and where it was moved (blue).

Image from hocogov 

You see below that the basketball court was moved away from the residences on Early Spring Way and rather closer to the apartment complex. (Though not right on top of it.)

Images taken from a Google search

This has apparently been a solution that everyone is happy with and when you add in the new bicycle park it looks like the county has done everything in its power to meet the needs of the community. That’s great.

It still doesn’t change the fact that there’s a very real trend to remove basketball courts and not just in Howard County. While the usual reason given is that they are “too noisy,” the underlying attitudes often lean more towards the old “attracts a bad element” tropes. 

In short: we make a big deal out of standing up against racism and championing diversity here but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any racism to stand up against. It can be quiet. Subtle. It can wear reasonable clothing and fit in where you’d least expect it. 

While talking with a friend yesterday we realized that the ongoing reframing of basketball courts as undesirable is yet another blow against places where teenagers can hang out without spending a lot of money.

“Unruly” at the Mall, “too noisy” on the basketball courts. What’s a teenager to do?

A shout out to Safa Hira, Director of Communications for Howard County Government, who answered my questions about the Huntington Park project and provided the image above which shows the before and after of the basketball court. 

A tip of the hat to reader and (well-known blogger in his own right) Jeremy Dommu who added this information to the bigger picture:

The other really nice thing that the County has done recently is add an ADA path up from Vollmerhausen to Huntington Park.  There used to be a "desire path" up this small hill (another recent subject of yours!) but now the County has formalized it with a nice curving gradual incline paved pathway.

In looking at a plan for improvements to the park I’m guessing that he is talking to what we see proposed toward the bottom of this photo slightly to the left of center. Correct me if I’m wrong.

Huntington Park Renovation Plan, 2017

Did you know there’s a place you can go to find out what events are happening in Howard County Parks? Here you go. (Take note: some are run by HoCoRec & Parks, some are rentals by private individuals/groups.)

The weather predictions look fairly reasonable for today. Perhaps a trip to one of our HoCoLocal parks is in order. Which one is your favorite? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Obsolete?

 

Creative reuse. I’m all for it. That’s why I clicked the link on this article from Biz Monthly. 

Generous donation establishes Howard County’s first bicycle traffic garden,  George Berkheimer, Biz Monthly

Or maybe it was the pull quote in the tweet from Making Change that piqued my curiosity: 

"A new Bicycle Traffic Garden for children at Huntington Park in Columbia provides an innovative model for the sustainable reuse of obsolete basketball and tennis courts."

Why would basketball courts and tennis courts ever become obsolete?  They might age and require refurbishing, maybe. But - - in Howard County? Outdoor recreation facilities becoming obsolete? That puzzled me.

The new park itself is lovely. You can see for yourself in the photos posted by Howard County Recreation and Parks on Flicker.

Here’s one of them.

Image from HoCoGov website

Here’s a description from From HoCo Rec and Parks:

Built for young and inexperienced riders, the colorful and interactive traffic garden teaches new riders to follow directional signs, learn safe street skills, and encourage proper etiquette when riding. A first-of-its-kind in Howard County parks, the Department hopes to find additional locations in the future for similar bike-riding experiences and wants to remind visitors that a bicycle helmet is required.

Okay, I like it. But explain to me why this basketball court at Huntington Park was obsolete.

Nick Mooneyhan, Director of Recreation & Parks is quoted about the transformation on the County website:

Transforming an old basketball court that was no longer in use into Howard County’s first Bicycle Traffic Garden not only promotes sustainability, but also creates a dynamic and inclusive space for everyone. It’s a testament to the positive impact that can be achieved when we reimagine existing resources through collaborations. 

Interesting. In the Biz Monthly article, George Berkheimer writes:

The idea presented itself after Howard County relocated Huntington Park’s basketball court to minimize noise for a nearby residential community. District 3 Councilwoman Christiana Rigby and her chief of staff, Colette Gelwicks, worked with Fionnuala Quinn, director of Virginia-based Discover Traffic Gardens, to design the concept.

…after Howard County relocated Huntington Park’s basketball court to minimize noise for a nearby residential community.

This space wasn’t obsolete. It was apparently in use enough that it was deemed a nuisance by nearby residents so it was…decommissioned?

I don’t know the particulars of this location. But I do know that there’s been a steady removal of basketball courts around the nation and even in Canada. 

They say removing playground basketball nets is about noise—I say it’s about race, Kearie Daniel, Today’s Parent

Is recreational basketball so noisy all by itself that it can’t successfully coexist adjacent to residential neighborhoods? Or is something else at play here? 

Hmm.

Anyway, creative reuse. I like it. Here’s an event today that’s a win win for everyone:

Sustainability Clothing Swap hosted by the Community Ecology Institute’s Green Seeds Interns.

Harriet Tubman Cultural Center (8045 Harriet Tubman Ln, Columbia) 

Saturday, September 14th from 10:30am - 1:30pm.

Bring clothing you're ready to part with and a bag to bring home your clothing swap finds!

New and gently used clothing only. No undergarments, please.

This clothing swap is part of the interns' Climate Action Plan Project

Have a great Saturday!

Village Green/Town² Comments

F ³: Can We Fix It?

As we begin to see some rather well-known Republican figures endorse the Democratic presidential ticket  there has been some back and forth amongst Democrats about how we should feel about this. On the one hand, some of these folks have been lauded for putting country above party. On the other hand, some have a track record of being so reprehensible that it is hard to feel good about their support.

I can’t begin to claim I know the motivation of any of these people and it would be silly to do so. 

One thing that’s been on my mind is the notion that for Republicans, the only viable option to irrevocably separate their party from Trump and begin the process of loosening the stranglehold of MAGA politics is for Harris/Walz to win resoundingly in November. Perhaps some of these folks do have a noble intent but maybe for some it’s more akin to chewing one’s leg off when caught in a trap. 

Imagine. The best way for these Republicans to “get their party back” is to smash it with the Democratic Party.

Obviously I believe that the Democratic candidates offer the better ideas and have a better overall track record in governing. But it’s likely that for some Republicans a choice to vote Democratic this November may be based on expedience alone. We do not necessarily need to make role models out of them - - and it would be stupid to mock them - - but honestly we are all better off when any voter can look at Donald Trump and his ideology and reject what they offer.

There’s just one thing…(enter Detective Columbo.)

Much has been made of the recurring role of Democratic leadership in straightening out the economy following Republican administrations. The pattern is well documented over the course of many years. As much as Republicans rail against tax and spend Democrats, the evidence shows that economy consistently does better with Democrats at the helm and much worse under Republicans.

It has become rather predictable and frankly exhausting to keep seeing this play out (not to mention the burden on each newly elected Democratic administration needing to wade in to the mess left to them by their Republican predecessors.) And now we are seeing Republicans essentially use Democrats to beat off the poisonous part of their own party that they have been unable to overcome on their own.

Well, it’s a service we’re happy to provide. I guess?

If there are good Republicans, principled Republicans, truly believing in democracy Republicans - - why weren’t they able to thoroughly reject Trump and his ilk? Where are their better ideas and better candidates? And why weren’t they strong enough to prevail over MAGA ideologues?

That’s for historians to sort out, I suppose. In the meantime, if the Republican Party has anything valuable to contribute to American democracy their best chance is to overwhelmingly defeat Donald Trump in November.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Banner Headlines

 

It’s another one of those crazy car mornings over here. There are two articles worth taking a look at today, both in the Baltimore Banner. 

Hispanic, Asian, multiracial population growth boosted Howard County in 2023, Ramsey Archibald, Baltimore Banner 

And:

Columbia is good for families. But can it draw more young professionals?, Jess Nocera and Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner 

Both seem to me to be pieces of a larger puzzle which might be called, “Who comes, who stays, who leaves. And: why?” 

One thing I noticed in the article about young professionals was that the only visually identifiable Black resident in any of the photos was the County Executive. I can’t automatically tell you what that means but it definitely means something.

I’m not saying that it was the Banner’s job to seek out a suitable number of young professional Black people to round out their photographs. But I am wondering if Columbia has Third Spaces where young Black professionals feel comfortable and are thriving. I wonder if the reporters who wrote the article saw the attitudes and inclusion of Black Columbians as something that matters. 

It matters. 

Attracting young professionals is a big goal of the Howard Hughes Corporation and a lot of their recent work seems to be geared at attracting young folks with buying power. Still, largely because of the long gap in Downtown Columbia’s development, much of what they have done feels like pockets of urban living “dropped into suburbia without the means to be successfully interconnected and functional.”

It doesn’t feel organic. Granted, someday it may. Right now it feels rather like that small expensive piece of decor that the tv home designers claim will “bring a moment of luxury to the room.”

Also of note: the Columbia Association’s brief foray into caring about what the young people think with the advent of the (ill-fated) Millennial Advisory Committee. By the time they got around to reaching out to Millennials I wonder if they were aware that Gen Z was coming and would matter, too. 

I don’t know. This is not a critique. Think of it as morning musings on a Columbia theme.

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Uglification

I had an unexpected opportunity to take a slow start to this day and I seized it. It can be truly delicious to take one’s time in the morning when that isn’t the usual plan of action. On the other hand, luxuriating in the extra time caused all of my blog ideas to get loose and float out into the universe. If you see any, send them back my way. 

Much of the online discourse this morning is either about last night’s Presidential debate or remembrances of 9-11. Not truly inside of my focus for the blog, although I have written about 9-11 in the past. 

So I’m going off on a tangent. (Big surprise.) Do you know what this is?

Join @MissionFirstHG, @autismsocietymd and Howard County Housing Commission for the Groundbreaking of Patuxent Commons – 76-unit housing community for adults with disabilities, seniors and families in Columbia, MD - on 10/1.

Or this?

Photo credit Enterprise Community Partners

What about this?

Image property of Dorsey Overlook 

All three represent new housing in Columbia/Howard County. And I’ve been thinking a lot (again) about how we are conditioned to look at housing construction as alarming, ugly, or wrong. I know I’ve written about this before but it’s an ongoing concern of mine.

Why is it exciting and promising in 1972 to see new housing cropping up everywhere but in 2024 it’s a harbinger of doom? When did Howard County become “full”? Was there a cut off date? Did we all wake up one morning and discover that new housing was ugly and a blight on the natural environment?

I know that among my readers I have folks who are extremely well-versed on issues of housing and zoning and local infrastructure. I am not asking for a treatise on the pros and cons of each individual project and/or the strength/weaknesses of local zoning ordinances.

I’m talking about perception.

If there is this pervasive sense that new housing is, on its face, unattractive and detrimental- - that’s something that’s learned. Because there was a time in this same area where new housing represented hope and opportunity and joy. 

It reminds me of the end of that well known Twilight Zone episode where a post-surgery patient is horrified to discover what she looks like.  To the ordinary television viewer she is perfectly lovely. But when you look at the faces of those around her…she’s not like them. And that alone is what makes her ugly. 

In order for places like Patuxent Commons, Legacy at Twin Rivers, and Dorsey Overlook to be ugly to us, we have to make an intellectual decision that they represent something not like us. Something that threatens what we have. 

Why do we do that? Do we have to do that? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

Irrational

On Sunday I mentioned “the intractable nature of the ‘cell phones in school’ conversation.” Let’s talk about that. 

Cell phones and the dominance of social media in teens’ lives is another factor in their difficulty to connect and make friends- - and a big one, I suspect. There was a time when I was hopeful that this “new technology” could be used as a springboard for research and all kinds of learning experiences in the classroom. I am less optimistic today. I can’t say unequivocally that they are a work of the Devil and should be banned but I do think kids are harmed and we could be doing a better job supporting them.

As an aside, I find it interesting how attitudes have changed in the years since cell phones were allowed in schools. At the beginning I saw more teachers trying to maintain an open mind and explore ways to use technology in the classroom, whereas parents were flat-out objecting. Now I see teachers practically begging to get the devices out of the classroom and it is parents demanding that they remain. “An Alarming Deficit”, Village Green/Town², March 22, 2023

What if I need to communicate with them? What if there’s a school shooting?

Yes, it’s true. I was very open minded about students having access to technology in school. I saw possibilities for new kinds of learning and I thought that it was important that we guide young people in how to safely and responsibly interact with the Internet and social media. What I didn’t understand was how social media thrives on manipulating dopamine and that our kids were now guinea pigs in a long term investment in making money from their clicks. 

If you talk to teachers they are keenly aware of how this has degraded both classroom learning and relationship building between students. It is not a question of upgrading their lessons to be more engaging than a game on a smart phone as one HCPSS Board member opined. It is the complete impossibility of competing with the influence of social media that demands continual interaction and response all through the day and often into the night. 

In a way, it’s a kind of a drug. Young people don’t have any kind of healthy immunity and, let’s be honest: many adults don’t, either. I’d love to say “let’s help them use this technology responsibly” but what we are seeing in schools is how smart phones contribute to bullying, instigating fights, sharing revenge porn, difficulty in paying attention and a disconnect from the joy of learning. 

And yet. 

What if I need to communicate with them? What if there’s a school shooting?

There you have it. As long as we as a nation allow school children to be at risk of mass murder in the classroom, many parents will be unwilling to let go of the one tangible lifeline they have to those children. 

I’ve heard some pretty convincing reasoning that suggests that students having access to cell phones during a mass shooting makes them and everyone around them less safe. What I haven’t heard is any acknowledgment that trying to get distraught parents to accept these rational arguments is completely unrealistic.

Every day we are asking parents to send the most precious part of themselves into a place where they may be slaughtered. We ask them to accept that our nation won’t pass the most basic of common sense gun laws to protect them. Adding insult to injury, we are quicker to offer “Stop the Bleed “ classes in school settings than we are to stop the access to the AR-15s that cause the bleeding.

And then we ask parents to be rational about student cellphones?

This is not rational.

It is not rational that we ask children to go to school, day after day, not knowing if today is The Day, while we ignore the negative impact that trauma will have on their potential for learning.

You can’t demand that people make rational choices when you are not giving them even one rational thing to hang on to. 

I do think we need to get smartphones out of classrooms. I completely support teachers who are asking for this change. But I cannot judge parents who look at each year’s death count rise and know it could be their child and there’s nothing they can do about it.

Village Green/Town² Comments

The Four Restaurants of the Apocalypse

 

Cali Burger, Corner Bakery, Halal Guys, Po Boy Jim. What do they have in common?

They’re restaurants. They’re in the first floor of the apartment buildings that face the Mall in Columbia property. They’re closed. 

I’ve seen some interesting online conversations about why they all closed. Probably the most balanced is happening on the ColumbiaMD Reddit. I say “balanced” because there seems to be more of an understanding that it probably isn’t just one simple thing at play here but rather a combination of factors. In so many online discussions people join in to further their particular pet theory and then linger to defend it. 

Not a lot of learning goes on.

As for me, my pet theory is that parking has a lot to do with it. Back in 2015 I wrote a tongue in cheek piece about how the introduction of parallel parking in that particular area would be the end of Columbia as we know it. 

Dangerous Precedent, November 9, 2015

And again when I encountered some rather creative parking in that same area:

I Told You So, June 29, 2022

There seems to me to be some kind of cognitive disconnect between the planners’ intent: free parking is available in garages in the buildings themselves, and consumers: I want to park directly in front of the business or right across the way in the fringes of Mall parking. Maybe we’d all be smarter if we chose the free parking in the garage but for some reason that feels counterintuitive and we don’t.

And then we get frustrated trying to nab one of the few spaces out front or in taking our lives in our hands trying to cross whatever that ring road is between the Mall parking and the restaurants. It’s just easier to go somewhere else. Yes, yes - - no doubt we’re doing it all wrong. But we are doing it. 

Now what?

It reminds me of the concept of “desire paths” that appear in parks and other public places which show quite clearly where people want to go as opposed to where the preordained pathways tell them they should go. “Stupid Columbians,” you may say. “Don’t know how to use a free parking lot.”

People vote with their feet. Or, in this case, cars.

But that is only one of many components at work here. 1) Each individual restaurant has its own unique struggles. 2) Keeping a restaurant afloat through the pandemic years is unusually challenging. 3) Rents in that area may be very high. 4) That small island of apartment buildings may not generate enough foot traffic to keep multiple restaurants in business. 

I saw another suggestion which intrigued me. The poster said that those businesses are not ones that people who actually live in those buildings were going to use every day or at least several times a week. I think that’s a good point. Overall most of those first floor retail establishments are too expensive for daily living. Another suggestion made: how about a convenience store/bodega?*

So who are they supposed to serve?

To be fair, it’s also true that this area is part of a larger plan which isn’t yet complete. Right now it’s more like an urban island which has been dropped into suburbia without the means to be successfully interconnected and functional. Perhaps one day it will all make sense.

In the meantime, someone suggested putting in a Cava and I’m all for that. 

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments

*Don’t tell anyone, but so far no one has suggested a Really Nice Cheese Shop.

Yeah - - No

Here they are, folks! All the things I won’t be writing about this morning:

• Casual racism in everyday life and where you least expect it
• The intractable nature of the “cell phones in school” conversation 
• What people on Twitter are saying about concert venues in the suburbs
• Have they gotten to the Long Reach side of Blandair Park yet?
• HCC has gone through a rebranding process and has new logos. Why?

All worthy topics and perhaps someone else will write about them today because, at my house, all signs point to no. Some days the old brain refuses to budge. What can I say?

It looks like it’s going to be a gorgeous fall day. Perhaps I need to get outside. Maybe the cool weather and sunshine will help reset my brain. It could happen.

Have a wonderful Sunday. Got any good local ideas? 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

That’s Not Columbia!

 

Do you have a particular way you like to be photographed? We’re all familiar with those old familiar Hollywood lines like “I’m ready for my closeup” or “Shoot me from my best side.” The advent of the selfie has revealed a whole new kind of artistry when it comes to revealing one’s best side. 

Have you ever seen a photograph of someone you know and yet somehow it doesn’t even look like them? Perhaps it’s the lighting or the angle. Maybe it’s makeup or what they are wearing. I had an experience like that but it wasn’t with a person. It was with Columbia.

Fox 5 DC did a story about a recent Wallet Hub survey but that’s not what caught my eye. It was this:

Photo property of Fox 5 DC

My first thought was: that’s not Columbia! 

I clicked on the article and there was that photo again, along with this one:

Photo property of Fox 5 DC

Oh, okay. I know where that is. 

But, honestly, I felt a bit indignant. Of all the Columbia views that we know and love, why did Fox 5 choose ones that were so ordinary and unappealing? (This is not a swipe at Town Center, by the way, which has plenty of photo-worthy vistas.) One wonders if the station just sent someone to drive through town and they took a picture from their car at a stop light. 

There’s nothing false about the photos. They were indeed taken in Columbia. But I realized that I do have a rather proprietary feeling about what kind of views I want my town to be presenting to the world. That’s probably been reinforced over the years by the consistent usage of the old familiar locations such as the Lakefront and the People Tree, Open Space with all its pathways, pools and tot lots. You know what I mean: Columbia green and beautifully landscaped. Modern in a retro-Columbia sort of way. Dare I say “iconic”?

Columbia has always had mundane and unexceptional views. Every place does. We just don’t publicize them. 

So this is probably more a blog post about me and my preconceived ideas about what Columbia looks like and less of a critique of the Fox 5 photographer. It activated that same sort of feeling I had when Julia Louis-Dreyfus bemoaned the unpleasantness of her Columbia experience while filming Veep. I didn’t like how it made us look. Or maybe how it made me feel.

Of course, to us, Columbia is a place unlike any other. We have our own wacky brand of exceptionalism. - - #morethangateway, Village Green/Town², December 12, 2013

We can’t control how people see us. Perhaps in the early years we could. The older Columbia gets, the less that will be so. Still - - it was such a disorienting feeling to look at that photograph and, for just a moment, have absolutely no idea where it was.

What do you think?

Village Green/Town² Comments 

F ³: Perspective

 

Most of my teaching career was spent teaching preschool and kindergarten children. By the time my students were grown they had long since forgotten the teachers from their earliest years. That’s fine. I don’t think most teachers are in it to be remembered. I mean, it’s nice when it happens, but it’s not the point.

When you teach you are absolutely in the moment with that group of students. It’s hard to be anything other than on, on, on when young children live in the world of now, now, now. But when you experience moments of rest and reflection you do think about things like overall goals. What are your long term aspirations for these kids? What are you hoping to bring out in them? What do you want them to carry with them after your time together?

I used to talk to parents at conference time about three things:

• Capacity for enjoyment
• Curiousity
• Willingness to take risks

Most of those parents came in overly concerned with these things:

• ABCs
• 123s
• Pre writing fine motor skills

Yes, I’d assure them, we are working on all those things but I don’t want to overlook those first things because they will be essential for as long as they live. 

I was playing the long game. These kids will have a life far beyond me. What kind of a life do I wish for them? What magic beans will I carefully place into the metaphorical drawstring pouch that they will carry on their way?

An interesting twist of fate for me is that social media has made it possible for me to find out how some of those long-ago students are doing. It’s fascinating and sometimes humbling. A kid whose behavior just about broke me has become a filmmaker for National Geographic. Another who had no interest in listening or following directions has become a nurse. She cared for COVID patients in those early pre-vaccine days and has now transitioned to working in oncology. In both cases I look back and think I probably didn’t fully understand those little people and could have been a better teacher for them.

I think it’s important to realize that. It’s true that in the moment you do the best you can. But perspective shows you glimpses of where you might have been better. Without perspective you lack the opportunity to grow and improve. 

Of course these realizations have come pretty late for me, but, they’re still worth having in the here and now. In those moments of struggles with other people there exists the possibility that I’m not seeing something or that I’m just too sure that I know what’s right. Can I learn from all this? I hope so.

So today I’m thinking of all of those kids whether I know where they are or not. I don’t care what kind of a career they have or whether they are making a lot of money: I’m proud of them for being who they are. Filmaker, nurse, ballet dancer, French pastry baker, up-and-coming DJ, social worker, rocket scientist and Air Force pilot and so many, many more.

Wherever you go, don’t forget to carry those Magic Beans with you: capacity for enjoyment, curiousity, willingness to take risks. And if you get the chance to gain some perspective, don’t pass it by. 

Village Green/Town² Comments 

And Again

I wish I had something new to say this morning. I don’t.

*****

Final Thoughts, Village Green/Town² August, 2019

They say your whole life passes before your eyes. In my case, it was a little different. It was my daughter’s life. I lay on the floor of a preschool classroom. I heard screams and the sounds of people running and furniture being pushed aside. Then, for a moment, I was briefly alone.

I lay there, my face against the cool linoleum floor and thought of my daughter. How she was at home, packing the last of her things for college. How I would have to drive her somewhere and leave her and our lives and relationship would never be the same.

She was the child of my old age, I used to joke. The child I had longed for all those years when I was divorced and dreaming of a stable, loving relationship and a new family. She burst onto the scene with jet black hair and star-sapphire eyes and, in so many ways, was a bundle of mysteries.

They say that childhood lasts such a brief time. When you are getting no sleep and losing your mind with the exhausting labor of it all, you wish someone would speed it up. You roll your eyes when someone waxes sentimental about those “precious moments”. You reach for another cup of coffee and wonder if you will ever sleep in again.

But I am probably dead or dying now, I think, as I lie on the floor of the school for young children where I now work. The shooter burst out of the bathroom and I was the first one hit. From the silence around me I’m guessing everyone else made it out alive. But I don’t know, and I’m afraid to look.

This is the world I’m giving my daughter. A world of mass shooters and death unprepared, where school and church, mall and workplace are all potential pits of blood and bodies. What kind of a parent am I? How can I simply pack her into a car and drop her off when I know I can do nothing to protect her?

The man with the bullhorn and the safety vest announces the simulation is over. I hear laughing and joking. Someone comes in to help me off the floor and asks if I am alright.

I’m not.
 

*****

Photo property of CBS News, quote by Marisa Pyle

Regency Redemption

At long last, a chance for me to make amends for my appalling display of ignorance back in April when I did not recognize this event at Savage Mill as a reference to the wildly popular Bridgerton television show. 

Who is Lady Savage and why is she inviting local women to a Night Out in May? Why does this mood of this artwork look a little creepy to me? Is this a mystery night? Will the ancients be raised from their slumber? Does Lady Savage have any skeletons in her closet? And where’s Lord Savage? Does she keep him locked in the tower? 

Many thanks to the kind folks who gently clued me in. What can I say? I try to know a lot about HocoLocal things but I don’t always know a lot about television.

Thank goodness the folks at the Homewood Center have provided me with an opportunity for redemption.

Tea is Served!!

You are invited to join us for a Regency Tea Fundraiser on September 8th from 2:00 - 4:00 PM at the Carriage House in Columbia. Tickets are now available for purchase. Regency attire is preferred, but not required. Tea, cucumber sandwiches, and cakes/cookies will be provided. There will also be a silent auction. Money raised through ticket sales and the auction will go towards the purchase of free books for kids, the Tea Event, and future literacy activities.

For more information, contact Ms. MacLaughlin at kathleen_maclaughlin@hcpss.org. To register , visit: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSdOfljztODRSvxZgECcmXLK48Gh-sM1_YgIVNxjw9anasagHA/viewform 

Buoyed by my prior (awkward) experience, I can safely say that this upcoming event is inspired by Bridgeton. On the other hand, if you’re a Jane Austen devotee I think you’d be equally welcome. 

More than 60% of Homewood's alternative education students qualify for Free and Reduced Meals and the school does not have its own PTA as they draw students from all over the county. That is exactly why they are hosting a fundraiser to enable their students to have an enjoyable Scholastic Book Fair experience. 

If you aren’t available to attend the fundraising event itself, or if unmasked social events aren’t your cup of tea these days, I’m sure that you can make a direct donation to the Book Fair fund.  I will find out how and update this post.

UPDATE: Thanks to Ms. MacLaughlin for responding to my query so promptly!

Tickets are: 

1=$20

2= $35

3= $50

4= $65

5= $80

Volunteers and students get free admission. 

If you don't plan to attend, you can donate at the PayPal link: https://www.paypal.com/pools/c/979QmA6NGW

Are you a Bridgerton fan? Or, do you have sentimental Book fair memories? Let me know.

Village Green/Town² Comments

 

Ease Into Your Week with a Feathered Friend

 

It’s going to be another one of those crazy car switcheroo mornings over here so this will need to be brief. I’m sending you over to the Baltimore Banner for a piece about the Howard County Conservancy.

Well, really…it’s about Monty.

Meet Monty, the Howard County Conservancy’s newest owl. He can’t hoot but doesn’t seem to mind.,Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner 

Photo credit Abby Zimmardi, Baltimore Banner

This is such a lovely piece from start to finish: well-constructed and informative, it flows with a sort of guileless charm. Or maybe I’m just in love with a rescued Eastern Screech Owl who “weighs about as much as a stick of butter.” 

Monty got his name as the result of a naming contest at the Conservancy’s summer camp. It’s amusing to note that, without a bit of election guidance, he might have ended up being called Hot Dog. Reading this piece made me realize that I tend to think of the Conservancy more in terms of flora than fauna. But Susan Hobby, Communications Coordinator, points out that their “…232 acres of land [is] home to native bees, plants and trees, along with butterflies, birds, deer, the occasional otter, many other animals and so much history.”

If you’d like to meet Monty and support the programs at the Conservancy you can purchase tickets for the upcoming Wine in the Garden, Beer in the Barn event to be held on September 19th from 5 to 8 pm.

Join community members and leaders at the 17th annual Wine in the Garden, Beer in the Barn to celebrate and support the environmental and preservation programs of the Howard County Conservancy. Stroll through the garden enjoying fine wine, craft beer and nonalcoholic refreshments. Sample delicious food from local restaurants and caterers and explore our native plant garden. Enjoy live bluegrass music while perusing our silent auction and raffle items featuring artwork, getaways, and more! - - Howard County Conservancy website

Easing into Monday can be a struggle, even when it’s on a Tuesday. Perhaps a few moments with Monty can help.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Every Single Job

 Some thoughts about labor in honor of the day from Jorts the Cat.

The quote comes from a thread in 2023 about what constitutes a fair wage for Waffle House workers. It begins:

If I weigh in much on the waffle house discourse I may start screaming and never stop. We NEED to want more for each other, instead of acting like dumbass crabs pulling each other back into a corporate greed bucket.

I see a lot of "I make $25 doing [insert profession] so there's no way waffle house workers should make this much"

Why? What makes you need their wage to be specifically less than yours? Need someone to look down on? Are you better off if their kids are hungrier than yours?

The more I live life, the more I am convinced that there is no such thing as unskilled labor. If a job needs to be done, and it is possible to do that job well or poorly, then that job requires skill. Insisting that there are certain distinctions which make some labor more valuable than other kinds is, in the end, validating a system where one feel justified in looking down on others and not caring if their children are hungrier than yours.

As Jorts says - - rather bluntly - - 

We NEED to want more for each other, instead of acting like dumbass crabs pulling each other back into a corporate greed bucket.

With that in mind, here are some of the kinds of work my family members have done, going back about one hundred years:

Blacksmith

Proprietor of a livery stable

Proprietress of a boarding house

Disaster relief

Ballroom dancing instructor 

Special Agent, IRS

Marriage counselor and family planning counselor

Amphitheater construction, WPA

Staff Sergeant, Army of the Occupation 

Teacher in private girls’ school

Naval officer

Paid companion/nanny

Production planner, aircraft plant

Doctor’s secretary

Computer programmer, sales, computer product design

Waitress

Hospital orderly 

Cook and housekeeper 

Clerical temporary worker

Camp counselor

Library circulation coordinator 

College professor

Special education teacher and advocate

Early childhood educator 

All of these jobs were doing something that needed to be done and it made a difference whether they were done well or poorly. I don’t look at the list and feel the need to sort it into categories according to respectable/less respectable or manual vs skilled. 

What does matter to me is whether people were able to make enough money to get by, if they had safe working conditions and were treated fairly. Did they have opportunities to make choices, to learn more, to increase their skills? Were they then able to pursue jobs that meant more to them and/or worked better for them and their families?

Isn’t that what we all want?

We need to honor all labor and see the desire to be fairly compensated as reasonable for everyone. We need to want more for each other. 

White Grievance HoCo Style

There’s a feel-good story on the County Executive’s Facebook page.

We visited our YEP! Track and Field Youth Clinic and recognized some truly outstanding scholar-athletes. These remarkable individuals have shown incredible dedication, perseverance, and sportsmanship throughout their training and competitions this summer. Congratulations to Warren Conley, Matthieu Smith, and Harper Schafer, who represented Howard County and YEP! at the AAU Junior Olympics, achieving significant milestones in their athletic journeys.

Images from HoCoGov social media

The images recount Ball’s visit to HCC to honor participants in the County’s Youth Engagement Program in the area of Track and Field.

It's rewarding to see the impact that programs like YEP! have on our youth, providing them with the skills and opportunities to excel both on and off the field. A big thank you to Howard Community College and YEP! Track and Field Program Coordinator Philippe DeRowsier and the entire team for their leadership and commitment to fostering the next generation of champions. Our community is stronger because of the hard work of these young athletes and the supportive programs that nurture their growth.

It may have been intended to be a feel-good story, but it clearly didn’t go down well with one social media respondent who asked:

Only Blacks need apply?

Really.

I won’t single this fellow out by name but it is telling that one of the first things I found on his feed was this post shared from Conservative website The Daily Wire:

Dear me. It is so terribly hard to be white. Imagine spending one’s days looking for opportunities to complain that Black people may possibly be getting something that you didn’t get. 

When the Mall instituted restrictions on teens due to “unruly behavior” I remember writing about how we as a community needed to address the bigger picture of what our young people need in order to grow and function in a positive way:

As for me, I keep thinking about this quote from the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu:

There comes a point where we need to stop just pulling people out of the river. We need to go upstream and find out why they’re falling in. - - Desmond Tutu

If teens are getting into trouble at the Mall, or any place locally, for that matter, simply reacting to a crisis is not enough. I’m thrilled with the summer programs for young people announced by country government. I’m not thrilled with the new policy at the Mall. But both are reactions. 

I am inclined to agree with those who are advocating for more local teen centers where kids can gather and hang out and be who they are. There has to be a careful balance between safe places and fun activities with the need for kids of this age to exercise independence and make their own choices. And it has to be easy for kids to get there, and affordable. - - “Falling In,” March, 2023

That was in March of 2023. In July:

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball Announces Engaging and Transformational Youth Engagement Programs

Howard County Executive Calvin Ball today announced more than 30 youth programming opportunities for young people in Howard County of all ages. Available in every part of the county, these transformational and free programs are supported by Howard County’s Youth Engagement Programming grant, also known as the YEP! program.

The recent establishment of a Boys and Girls Club at HCC is yet another extension of providing young people opportunities for connection, recreation, and growth in our community.

When I look at these photographs and think about the programs which seek to nourish potential I see something very different than our Facebook commenter sees. I see investment in the future and also a sense of validation that we believe that all our teens should be accepted for who they are no matter what they look like or what part of town they live in. 

Mr. Troll sees too many Black faces having a good time - - not so different from the attitude behind an investigation of a library event because all those well-dressed Black women must surely be up to no good. 

This expression of white grievance culture flows through all too many local threads on social media, I’m sad to say. It’s why the concept of equity just enrages some people. They are far too used to the invisible (to them) but continually enforced boundaries that put white people ahead at the expense of others. That is their “normal.” And anything else must surely be “reverse racism”, corruption, or downright injustice. 

The truth is that the reason these folks are so uncomfortable seeing so many happy and successful Black residents on the County Executive’s Facebook page is because there have never, ever been enough there before he was elected. Where were they before? They certainly belonged there. 

If previous local leaders tended to include only as many nonwhites as would not make white folks uncomfortable, that’s not representation. It’s tokenism. 

We can do better than that. Can’t we?

Village Green/Town² Comments