Village Green/Town²

"Go where no one else will go, do what no one else will do."           --Mary Lyon, Founder, Mount Holyoke College: the nation's           oldest continuing institution of higher education for women. This is more than a statement, it is a charge. It is a benediction and a challenge to go forth and do better than those before you.  I've been thinking a lot about this lately, but with a twist. Go where Dennis would go, do what Dennis would do. I don't mean to be maudlin. I'm simply stating my feeling that, in missing someone who mattered to us so much, we take up something of his to pass on in some way. There are so many big and small ways to miss someone once they are gone. In the case of Dennis, his blog was a familiar voice in the community. I still want to click over to see what he's thinking. This was clear on Wednesday when word "leaked" about Anthony Brown's future running mate. Something about they way ev...

Last weekend I was pulling up some ivy which was growing along our fence. As I reached for the final handful, a large marmalade cat jumped up through my hands and ran away. Yikes! How did I manage to produce at a cat, ex nihilo? As I got down to look more closely, I discovered a manhole placed into the grassy hill. The ground around one side had eroded, leaving just enough space for a cat to get in and out. A nice little shelter, a hidy-hole: a cat-portal. The something-from-nothing analogy brings to mind the amazing annual Flea Market at Abiding Savior Lutheran Church. I have written about it before . Although a relatively small congregation, ASLC continues, year after year, to make significant donations to both charities and families in need because of this flea market. How is this possible? Every year we all clean out our closets, garages, and attics to be sorted out at the Great Unpacking. Then it is priced, sold, or donated once the Flea Market is over. Nothing...

I'm all about making connections. When I can put two things together and make people think, that's a good blog post. I'm excited to see two things coming up this weekend that take the concept of making connections out of the abstract and into tangible, multi-sensory experiences. If I can connect you to these cool happenings, then we'll all benefit. Saturday, June 1st , at Monarch Mills on Oakland Mills Road past Snowden:  the food trucks are coming for HoCo Chow Down !  You can sample a variety of delicacies from area food trucks from 11:30 to 2:30 pm. A portion of the proceeds benefit the Animal Welfare Society of Howard County. You may make your own donation as well. So, you can get wonderful food, support Animal Welfare, possibly adopt a pet (yes, there will be some on hand to meet and greet) and who knows? You might want to take a look at the Monarch Mills apartments while you're there. I love this idea. Monarch Mills is new to our community. ...

Pool season has officially started. Did you visit one of Columbia's many outdoor pools this weekend? The weather wasn't exactly encouraging, but we managed a visit to the Stevens Forest pool, which is rumored to be heated. That must be a relative term, because it was rather chilly yesterday. We admired the updates--shade structures, hot tub/spa in progress, and a shaded exercise area with a special surface, more forgiving than concrete. Nice work, CA. I usually go to the Talbott Springs pool first, as it is my "home" pool, so to speak, but I was curious about the added amenities at Stevens Forest. I hear that Talbott Springs is getting a water slide. I wonder if that will increase daily attendance this season.  The past several summer Oakland Mills Community Association has worked hard in collaboration with CA Aquatics to make the pool more user friendly to neighbors. It's no secret in Columbia that the Talbott Springs Pool is one of the ...

It's a rather dreary, rainy morning and I find myself in a blue funk. Yesterday was more than a long day for me as a teacher, wife, and mother. I'm just worn out, I guess. But at the heart of this sadness is the combination of changes that make my world feel unstable. More than anything, Dennis is gone. His take on the world is gone, his energy is gone. Some days it feels as though all the good that was Dennis has been usurped by a lurid news story that won't go away. Yes, there are ways to breathe good into the loss and pain. But it is a horrible change that shifts the ground underneath those who knew him and felt connected to his work. Columbia Council Representative Tom Coale appears to be considering a run for office in another capacity. Good for him! And yet his presence on the CA board has given many of us our first real glimpse into how things work around here. I fear what will happen without his energy, advocacy, and openness. Is anyone else  out t...

Is it just me?  Whenever I consciously attempt to name all of the Villages in Columbia, I invariably come up one or two short. Today I forgot Hickory Ridge and Kings Contrivance, but it isn't always the same ones. Every once in a while you see people online trying to remember all of the names of the Seven Dwarves from the Disney movie "Snow White". It's a similar experience. The first few rattle off the tongue easily, and then memory slows... I decided to challenge myself to see if I actually know people in all ten villages. I do, but just barely. Of course I know many people in my own Village. After that, it dwindles to two or three families apiece. Interestingly enough, the Villages I forgot were the ones where I know the fewest people. I probably know more than I think I do, because many folks in Columbia these days don't self-identify by Village. When newer residents move to Columbia, they may be looking for the right house at the right price, ...

It is eight o four. By now I have usually finished my blog post and am posting it.  I have ideas for future blog posts in my head, one that takes more research, one that needs photographs.  I have looked on Facebook, Twitter, through Explore Howard and Columbia Patch. The blog post for today?  Missing in action. I have said before that I am a miniaturist--I look for the one small thing to focus my light on. I use it as a jumping-off point to talk about something bigger. Some days those small things don't leap out demanding to be seen. Today I find myself scanning, scanning, engaged in a frustrating game of I Spy while my morning minutes slip away. "The unexamined life is not worth living." Yes, but there a days when we feel as though we have our faces mashed up against it, looking for something meaningful, and yet seeing nothing.  The panic of a fifty-word word search puzzle stirs within us: I can't see it! And that is when I realized what was missin...