Village Green/Town²

I arrived at Tarragon Park a tad early, and sat in my car listening to NPR so as to avoid seeming over-eager. I brushed my hair, and checked that my ipad was charged. The door was answered by @Wordbones, gracious co-host of our event. "Come on in. We're just choosing the wines for the meal." Pondering the perfect choices with him were the wine enthusiasts of @vinotrip. I knew right away that the selections for our gathering were sure to be first-rate. I heard some banging from out back. "Don't worry about that," WB explained. "That's just @53Beers getting his tailgate operation on. He's determined to deep-fry a turkey out there." Delicious aromas wafted through the house. I headed to the kitchen, where @hocohousehon and @howchow were discussing the finer points of roasting vs. sauteing the Brussels sprouts. Heavy cream and toasted pine nuts sat nearby. My offer of help was promptly refused. @jessiex had arrived with her hoops, and...

Just in time for Thanksgiving I have a brand new reason to be thankful:  those chest pains and shortness of breath I felt on Sunday were not symptoms of a cardiac event. I'm not sure I really wanted this particular scare in order to feel thankful, in fact I know I didn't.  But I'm going to take it as a gift:  a chance to be alive and be healthier. I insisted that my husband take me to the ER because I knew that I was a bundle of risk factors:  middle aged, overweight, high blood pressure, high cholesterol. I knew that  a woman's heart attack doesn't always present with the same symptoms as a man's.  So, even though I wanted to stay home and not trouble anyone, I went.  I am thankful to my whole family for supporting me and taking care of each other.  I am thankful, goodness knows, for free wifi at Howard County General Hospital. I am thankful to my friends on Facebook and Twitter who kept me company with online messages of good c...

There are evenings when the words "Resident Speakout" can produce a certain anxiety in the hearts of local board members.  If you have had this experience, I don't have to explain. If you haven't, I'll try to make myself clear. Both CA Village and Board meetings have a time set aside for residents to sign in and speak about a topic that is important to them.  As you might imagine, most people are motivated to do this by something that concerns them.  They may be upset, offended, indignant, outraged, or just generally cranky. I'm pretty sure that it's rare for a resident to come down to a meeting to thank the board members for something they have done right. It may happen, but I don't think it is a regular occurence. It has been my experience that volunteer board members are not sitting around waiting for people to come and sing their praises.  Our board's most pressing goal is often simply to get through all the items we need to c...

I got an email recently from a friend I have known twenty-five years.  We met through church and music connections, and have spent most of the intervening years as members of a congenial group I call The Birthday Club.  We all get together and have dinner when one of us has a birthday, bring funny birthday cards, and catch up on the goings-on in each others lives. This fellow did me a special honor by giving me away at my wedding in 1999, as my own father was no longer living. "Pay attention," he said to me rather sternly, as we were about to walk down the aisle. "You need to pay attention. You're going to want to remember this." Those words came back to me as I read the following: Some time, when you are in Baltimore again and have the time, I would love to have lunch with you. You made a couple of comments at dinner the other night about politics and I'd like to pursue that subject a little with you. I give you my absolute promise to not make ...

In  a time that seems quite long ago, I joined neighbors and friends in support of  filling the empty commercial space at Thunder Hill and 175 with a Walgreen's store. I had, for 12 years, kept all of my prescriptions at the Bolton Hill Pharmacy in Baltimore because Oakland Mills had no neighborhood drugstore.  I was happy to champion the cause of a much-needed business located "within walking distance of my home." It's true that I even threw a party at my home when they broke ground, with many of the refreshments purchased at (the River Hill) Walgreen's, just for fun.  I normally get my groceries at the Food Lion, and that certainly hasn't changed. Friends of mine from nearby villages pointed out that it would be more convenient, and a savings of gas, to come to the Oakland Mills store when it opened.  And of course, I crowed, it would be"within walking distance of my home."  Walgreen's opened on a Friday in mid-June.  It has been a wonder...

I have been considering this week what makes me a loyal follower of some local blogs, while with others I remain a casual visitor.  We have quite the choice in Howard County: some are witty, some informative,some challenging, some acerbic, some downright depressing.  Some appear to be thinly disguised commercial ventures. The blogs that draw me, again and again, are ones whose writers appear to be following this simple process:  learn more, think more.  And then , they write. Perhaps this is the blogger's equivalent of "measure twice, cut once."  Willingness to learn more, and to really think about what is learned gives the blogger the ability to grow and change over time.  This doesn't guarantee that the blogger will necessarily always reach the correct conclusions, or that the blogger is then a "better person" than other bloggers, or even that I will agree with the resulting posts.  It means that Jane/John Q. Blogger acknowledges that she/he is n...

Yesterday was a big day for my daughter's school, Talbott Springs Elementary. Principal Nancy Thompson set the tone for a positive experience for her students. Howard County Executive Ken Ulman paid a visit to TSES, along with Howard County Health Officer Peter Beilenson, to support the "30 Day Soda Free" Pledge. Also there to show support was Superintendent Dr. Sidney Cousin of the Howard County Public Schools. . When reporters and cameras from local media outlets show up, it's an exciting occasion. This post is NOTabout the initiative, local dignitaries, Talbott Springs, or media coverage. It is about one child:  my child. And about how my involvement in local affairs has affected her. When asked about the event, she said, "I wasn't sure I wanted to raise my hand (to take the pledge) but it was Ken Ulman , and WBAL was there..." (emphasis hers) Yes, that's right. She was keenly aware of the presence of local politicos and the press. And...