More Like a Letter

Dear Columbia/HoCo,

You would not believe how much is going on around town today and somehow I don’t want to do any of it. Maybe I just need more coffee. Check out Visit Howard County for the bountiful offerings.

There are a number of craft fairs/vendor fairs happening today, including one at Historic Oakland and a Craft Show/Yard Sale at Wilde Lake High School. It’s called Wilde Cat Market.

The Columbia Association is hosting a Trunk or Treat and Clark’s Elioak Farm is holding Costume Parades all weekend. And there’s a Halloween Costume Giveaway at The Market at Caplan’s

Columbia Pro Cantare is kicking off their season with a concert in Ellicott City this evening. If you want to support the performing arts at Oakland Mills High School they’re holding a Mattress Sale Fundraiser.

Make your home safer (and clear out those cupboards!) by bagging up no longer needed medications and dropping them off today: National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day at Johns Hopkins Howard County Medical Center. And it’s always a great day to get out and VOTE.

If creepy reading is your thing there’s a festival just for that out at the Fairgrounds called Frightreads. <<shudder>> If the scary stuff is not for you - - did you know that Visit Howard County has put together a HoCoLocal Book Lover’s Guide ?

We’ve explored Howard County from top to bottom and have gathered the perfect book nooks and story shops to fill your adventure. Whether you’re planning a quiet reading escape, a writing retreat, or a book club getaway, Howard County is the perfect place for you to read, relax, and recharge in peace.

Sounds good to me.

Have a great Saturday and don’t forget to support your local markets!

Village Green/Town² Comments

P.S. Tomorrow is the Maker Faire at Merriweather Park at Symphony Woods!

Comments

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...

Separate and Unequal

Remember “Separate but equal”? Remember how that really meant that Black schools languished in broken-down buildings without adequate heat or toilet facilities, with cast-off, ragged learning materials, underfunded and largely ignored? The Supreme Court struck that down in 1954. The evidence was clear that separate was not equal. Plessy v Ferguson had led to - - no, endorsed - - deeply unequal schooling and opportunities. We tend to think of Brown v Board as being purely about racial integration. It was not. It was about the logical consequences of segregation. And they were not, not, not equal. The ruling in 1954 didn’t transform public education for non-whites into a land of milk and honey by any means. But it articulated some essential truths in a way that made including everyone a legal precedent which could be relied upon and built upon. It was better than what came before it but it rested upon unsteady ground. It did not necessarily change the hearts or minds ...

Village Green/Town²

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