Postcards and Bagels

Postcards. When you go on vacation, do you send them? Do you enjoy receiving them? Has their meaning changed over the years? Now that anyone can go online and enjoy vistas from far away places, does the shiny image of the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel towel have the same impact?

I’m inclined to believe that the relationship you have with the person who sent you the card has become far more important.

Last week this postcard image popped up on BlueSky. I did not know there were Columbia postcards.

Image from BlueSky account postcardbot, this card sent by Ann from Southern, Maryland, U.S.A. on December 20, 1994.

Text on the reverse:

Columbia, Maryland

Completed in 1967, Columbia was one of the the first of the modern planned cities. Designed by the Rouse Co., the city was termed a "garden for the growing of people." In the foreground is Lake Kittamaqundi; the background, office buildings and Columbia Mall.

Does any word there leap out at you? Read the blurb again.

“Completed.”

I’m not sure what word would have been exactly right, but “completed” is not it. I think of 1967 as much more of a birth year than a completion. We could safely say that Columbia was “something-something” in 1967 and people have pretty much been arguing about it every since.

No, that’s not right either. I’ve only been here since 1999 and I can’t possibly speak accurately about life here before that. Research, yes. Learn, yes. Speak authoritatively - - no.

I think we can safely say that 1) the New American City drew unto itself people with plenty of opinions and 2) it was not completed in 1967. This may be a question for the Columbia Maryland Archives.

What do you think?

*****

People are buzzing online about the new bagel place on Broken Land. Have you heard? It’s called

Über Bagels and it looks to me as though they originated in Ocean City. On Friday my husband drove me to a doctor’s appointment in Glen Burnie and I asked him if we could get some breakfast on the way home.

“How about a bagel?” he asked me. He grabbed his phone and started looking for something.

And that’s how I ended up at Uber Bagels on their opening day, no less. I was worried that it might be too crowded. My husband talked me into it with these words:

“You might get a blog post out of it…”

It was not too crowded. The bagel was tasty. We will be back.

Have a great Monday.

Village Green/Town² Comments

Comments

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...

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...

What Kids Are Thinking

It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed. Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings. And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...

Village Green/Town²

Search This Blog