Village Green/Town²

I have a confession to make. Every day, Monday-Friday, when my daughter walks out of the house to go to school, I close the door, but I don't lock it.  I don't lock it because a little voice in my head says she might run back and say, "I can't do it, mom. Please don't make me go." She never has. But I persist in this habit because of what happened to her older sister in middle school. She was miserable. I didn't really understand the extent of it for quite a while. I look back with the guilt that I should have helped sooner; I should have known. She was bullied. She was bullied for being different, for not being rich enough, thin enough, cool enough. For not wearing the right clothes or thinking the right thoughts. For being too smart. Day after day I drove her to school and as we got closer, she'd be overcome by stomach aches and nausea. I had no choice--I had to go to work and she had to go to school. She didn't tell me what was h...

In the aftermath of the Columbia Elections, nothing has meant so much to me as this post , by Bill Santos at Columbia Compass: "For those not elected, they need you most of all.  In the past few weeks, they have been subjected to accusations that no one would ever think of prior to their declared candidacy.  I have been there.  The feeling of loss is expected, but what is really jarring is trying to integrate back into the community. There is a pariah effect.  Do people in the neighborhood really believe those things that were said?" That is exactly how I feel.  My opponent won, in large part by tapping into a long-nurtured well of fear in a specific group of residents who were willing to believe lies about me. Here is a list of the ones I know about; I'm sure there are more. I was taking money from Howard County elected officials. I was a front for big developers. The vote for the Inner Arbor Trust was only a first step to turning CA into a big 501(c)...

Young children are full of energy and enthusiasm. They love to sing, move to music, tap out a rhythm on the arm of a sofa or your pots and pans. They eagerly sign up for Band, Chorus and Orchestra in elementary school. But, by the time they get to high school, only twenty per cent of students are still involved in traditional school music programs.  What happens to the other eighty percent? Have they simply ceased to be musical? Last night the Howard County Board of Education took a moment to recognize someone who cares deeply about the other eighty percent.  This guy: Yes, that's my husband, Richard McCready. He teaches Music Technology at River Hill High School. He's also the Music Technology Facilitator for the county, so he has been working to get music tech labs up and running in all of the high schools. He writes curriculum, evaluates software, troubleshoots glitches, and travels from school to school supporting other teachers. But most of ...

Yesterday felt like the Spring day of my dreams.  Say what you will about our on- again, off-again Spring this year. It has produced a few stellar days for us, and yesterday was one of them. Time to look at my yard, sadly neglected over the last month. Dandelions have started having a wild party in my neighborhood.  I've had a great time going out and pulling their heads off. Yes, I know you have to dig them up by the roots to make any real progress, but sometimes violent decapitation is more rewarding.  I saw a recipe online yesterday for an all-natural dandelion spray; that will be next. In the meantime, working out my aggression weed by weed will do just fine. I have a tiny yard, and the grass is cut by our HOA. I have a small front flower bed which contains a hodgepodge of plants that my daughter and I have picked at the Farmer's Market from summer to summer. They're annuals, but they keep coming back.  There's one large bush that the deer chew on...

We don't have a television station. We don't have hard-hitting investigative journalism. We don't have a newspaper that wants to go beyond the surface. And the people in power like it that way. There are approximately 9,900 residents in the Village of Oakland Mills. 511 households were represented by votes in Saturday's election. Of those, 382 were for my opponent. You're not going to read this in the newspaper, so I am just going to have to say it bluntly. The story here is not who voted, but who didn't vote. Just look at the numbers. In order to retain power one must make the business of Columbia look incomprehensible, unpleasant, and irrelevant. In so doing one can prevent greater participation. And, my friends, it's working. Retaining power is the name of the game, and it doesn't matter if you have to lie, intimidate, and manipulate to do it. But none of us are immortal. The time will come when those in power are gone. Thanks to ...

The following is reprinted with permission from the Oakland Mills Village Grist Newsletter. It Begins With A Conversation – March 2013 Sandy Cederbaum, Oakland Mills Village Manager This past year we have had many important community conversations.   Some conversations start by one neighbor talking to another or by a resident attending a board meeting and giving remarks.   Other conversations are take place over a cup of coffee or in the produce aisle at Food Lion.   It is great to start the conversation and awesome to have that conversation spark action.   Conversations that led to community discussions and ultimately became issues we are actively involved with include but are not limited to:   Blandair Park and the impact of park activities on the resident of Oakland Mills; traffic and pedestrian safety; CA aquatics initiatives; CA Open Space management, mowing and reforestation; community safety; environmental issues; Bridge Columbia and Co...

Today's post is dedicated to the people who believe: Margaret, 69 Phil, 67 Bill, 61 Karen, 59 Rick, 59 Kevin, 55 Marcia, 54 Greg, 51 John, 50 Peter, 50 Christie, 47 Mary Kate, 46                                                                           Bill, 45 Richard, 45 Abby, 42 Miranda, 38 Lena, 37 Kristin, 37 Ian, 35 George, 28 Alice, 26 Margo, 12 Anna, 6 Chris, 5 Penelope, 4 Lily, 3 Chrys, 2 Daphne, 1 Daisy, 6 months "This is my goal: to participate fully in the process with an open mind,and to represent all of the residents of Oakland Mills: children, teens, young adults, young p...