Village Green/Town²

  I did not know about Swimmy until my daughter came home from preschool and told me his story. I don’t know why I didn’t know. The book Swimmy, by Leo Leonni, was published during my childhood so it may very well have been in libraries in my community. Somehow I missed it.  Maybe the picture on the cover didn’t catch my eye. Cover of Swimmy by Leo Leonni, Random House Children’s Books   That tiny little black fish - - that’s Swimmy. Possibly not leading man material. You won’t find his face plastered on lunchboxes. No Happy Meals, no Disney movie. Still, the illustrations won the Caldecott Honor Award.  A good thing that the committee didn’t judge the book by its cover.  For many years the most important thing about this book is that it marked the first time my child recounted a story book to me from memory. It had made enough of an impression on her that she brought it home, in her mind, to share with her mom. Her retelling was so convincing that I was motiva...

  Here’s the article that started it all: Two minutes of testimony can change the world. Here’s how to do it. Rick Hutzell, Baltimore Banner However, if you click this link you will notice that it now has a different title. “Hutzell: Testifying at the State House? You’ve got 2 minutes to change the world.” Have you noticed that newspaper articles that are printed and distributed online have this odd habit of changing their titles? What’s up with that? Anyway, that’s not the point of my piece.  Hutzell writes about Marylanders who come to Annapolis to give testimony related to legislation being considered during the current session. “You know, it takes a lot to come to Annapolis,” said House Speaker Joseline Peña-Melnyk, a longtime committee chair before her election last month as speaker. “And then they have to wait for hours, right?” There’s limited public transportation, no free parking and lots of obstacles. Two minutes might not seem like enough. I enjoyed this article. I...

  Drumroll, please. There were six whole entrants to my contest and they were all wonderful. Creative reuse for the win: everyone gets a prize!  Many thanks to the following readers who were willing to be creative in the face of such a frivolous challenge. Here they are, in no particular order, with their great ideas: Donna Swope Turn turn it into a car bag for cold-weather things that we often forget, like chapstick, hand lotion, Kleenex, and crack-and-shake hand warmers, to be kept handy "just in case." Debra Flanigan  I think the best thing to do with this bag is to reuse it the next time a friend is having a bad day. Go buy them a donut or 2 and put them in the bag and give it to them with a note enclosed to pay it forward to a friend of theirs in need of cheer. It can be the traveling donut bag of cheer. Linda Lamppert  We all know how much kiddos love sprinkles. I think the best thing to do with this amazing bag is to donate it and a very large supply of sprin...

  The contest has closed! Winners have been selected!  And I can’t tell you because I forgot to ask any of the entrants for their consent to share their names on the blog. Oh, bother. Look for all that - - and more! - - in tomorrow’s post. You would not believe what I have learned about creative reuse. ***** In the meantime, take a look at the latest on The Merriweather Pos t about CA’s proposal to remove a few pools and replace them with splash pads. I feel like he does a good job looking at the pros and cons. I have been gathering my thoughts on this since I heard about the proposal and I will be writing about it soon.  It’s a difficult issue for me because one of the pools likely to be removed is my neighborhood pool. As you might imagine, I have feelings .  ***** Hats off to the local man who offered to give free shoveling lessons to all and sundry in the convenient location of his own driveway, all supplies provided. No, he wasn’t serious. It was delightful to...

In hyperlocal news, the tree I brought home from Frank’s in December… ….that graced our home through the holidays… …and stared wistfully out the window afterwards… …has gone to a new home in the country, thanks to a good friend who came to the rescue. I hope the transition to wintry weather hasn’t been too much of a shock to its system. I already miss the little guy. Speaking of weather, I’ve enjoyed seeing people’s snow days pics on social media. Here’s mine. It’s a lovely peaceful view until you realize one thing. The art project I had intended to do while snowed in? It’s in that cute little red car. On the far side of the parking lot.  Oh well. Finally, I’ve noticed a new visual approach from local meteorologists lately. From the Capital Weather Service: Sleet vs Freezing Rain courtesy of Capital Weather Service And this from Justin Berk: Freezing rain, sleet, plus winter precipitation from Justin Berk You may recall that local weather folks have been on a kick of using various ...

Somewhere people grow the food, harvest it, process it, package it. Other people raise animals to be eaten, chickens for their eggs, cows in a dairy barn… Truckers bring the food and supplies to our community. Then employees at the store unpack it and put it out for sale. Clerks check us out, one transaction after another in long, long lines before the forecasted snow. At the hospital staffing plans are made to cover the coming days. Workers are needed in many positions from surgery and patient care to food service and cleaning. Folks with four wheel drive are signed up to get the workers to and from the hospital. Those whose job it is to keep the roads safe will be out from early until late. They will work in almost every stage of the snowstorm. A truly good night’s sleep is something they will have when it’s all over. Over at the county government they plan for things like this. Now they are set up to work the plan and to deal with any unexpected challenge or emergency as they arise....