REFLECTIONS
ON HOME IN COLUMBIA
I open with a literary event coming up in Columbia
Please join me Sunday, June 11 from 2 to 4 PM
The launch of the next edition of The Little Patuxent Review
(LPR)
I have written in past months of my breaking my vow to avoid
serving on any boards of commissions after leaving public office. I made an exception here due to the high
quality of this local publication and the opportunity to both contribute to its
success and learn from the writers on the Board. This edition focuses on Columbia
I would love to see you there.
I feel sure you will be glad you attended. Refreshments after the reading. No charge.
Latest edition of LPR for sale.
Although the days continue to get longer, the rate of change
from the prior day has been slowly decreasing since mid-March. Come mid-June, the days will begin very
slowly to get shorter. It is so easy to
simply take the amazing cycle of the seasons on planet earth for granted. One of the beautiful impacts of my having
left public elected office more than two years ago is my deepening awareness of
this phenomenon and many others. I am
blessed with a much deeper respect and reverence for each moment in each day.
Another species has joined the animal family outside the windows
of our home - bullfrogs. Unlike some of
our neighbors, Lloyd and I love the seemingly pre-historic deep groaning of
these creatures, although he did mention, if not complain, that they kept him
awake for some time one recent night with their incessant croaking. I slept right through. When I’m awake, their sound conjures up
memories of Lloyd’s dancing with a great deal of zest to “Joy to the World” and
its lyrics “Jeremiah was a Bullfrog” more than a few years ago. Google tells us that only adult males make
this sound, and then only when they’re interested in mating.
A new batch of yet another species, the grey squirrel, became
abundant this month. The gestation
period for these creatures is only about 45 days. The litter usually numbers from two to four,
each about one inch long and weighing about one ounce. After mating, the male
plays no role in the lives of his offspring that wean from their mother at
about seven to ten weeks of age. They
first showed up outside our bedroom windows at the beginning of the month,
scurrying along our maple branches at about six inches long minus the
tail. At first sight I did a double
take. What’s wrong with this image? Then
I realized that these were very young squirrels, smaller than any I had ever
truly noticed before. They stayed within a range of the central branches not
yet leaping from one to another. It would be quite difficult not to take joy in
observing them. Now they are full grown
and venturing all over with leaps from one tree to another.
This is the 30th spring I have lived in our
home. I moved in on tax day of 1987, my
first spring as county executive. This is also the first year we have had
neither ducklings nor goslings by the ponds. Several weeks ago there were a
pair of ducks and also of geese. The
geese even appeared to have a birthing nest.
Then about two weeks ago, they all flew off, not to return. We miss them
dearly and are grateful that the increased activity of the squirrels and frogs
has helped fill the void.
Although I have read about the current early emergence of
cicadas four years ahead of the completion of their normal 17-year cycle, we
have seen no sign of them in our yard or around the ponds. We have noticed a sizeable amount of their
paper thin discarded carapaces, however, when taking our Little Patuxent
Parkway walk at the beginning of the loop in the Hickory Ridge
neighborhood. In previous Reflections, I
have written of how I used to love making mud pies as a little girl. Not surprisingly, I also loved to collect
these discarded carapaces of the locusts.
My mom was fine with that. She
was not fine with my hiding one of them under the table napkin of my
sixteen-year-old sister at dinnertime.
Truly surrounded by the miraculous on our planet, all we humans
need do is open our eyes, and hearts, and observe with deep reverence.
______
The celebration of the 50th anniversary of our new town of Columbia
Numerous other arts, music, and theater groups are participating
in this 50th birthday of our new town created by Jim Rouse as “a
garden for growing people.
Reading through the lengthy listing of programs for this 50th
anniversary, I am aware of how grateful I am to my husband for having the
foresight to be the lead sponsor of the legislation creating the Howard County
Arts Council 35 years ago. Thank you,
Lloyd
Happy 50th Birthday, Columbia
Thank you, Jim Rouse, for creating this new town where the CEO
and the janitor can live in the same community.
Let’s be very protective of that quality. We are already becoming more exclusive. There is still time to turn that around “if
we have the will to make it so.”
REFLECTIONS
ON ZACH
May 1 was Zach’s 24th birthday. With each passing
year there are more and more celebrations of the life of this loving, brave
young man and the way in which he reached out to help others, particularly kids
with brain cancer, rather than spend his life pitying himself or raging against
his own experience. He continues to show up in my life virtually every day
helping me to learn from his conquering anger, self-pity and fear. I can hear his voice as clear as a bell
saying, “Grandma, love is the most important word.”
UCLA Basketball Coach John Wooden and his iconic player, Kareem
Abdul-Jabbar (formerly Lew Alcindor) were two of Zach’s biggest teachers and
heroes. Reading the Sunday Post recently
I came upon a new publication about these two me: “Coach Wooden and Me: Our 50-Year Friendship
On and Off the Court” written by Kareem himself. I plan to read this book soon, knowing Zach
will be right there with me. Lloyd says
that no one other than Zach, including himself, could stir an interest in
sports in me.
REFLECTIONS
ON BALTIMORE
More than two years have passed since the arrest of Freddie Gray
in Baltimore
The Baltimore
“In the future, lawmakers need to consider the breadth of the
exemptions for personnel records under state law. We appreciate the value of protecting the
privacy of government workers, but such protections need to be balanced against
the broader public interest. In this
case, that balance is badly skewed.”
Sad to say, I agree. This
prolonged delay contributes deeply to the continuation and growth of lack of
trust by many citizens. Deep in our
hearts, we all know that we can do better.
“Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do
that.
Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that”. Martin Luther King Jr.
As I write this MLK quote, I am preparing to drive to Broken Land Parkway Bowie College student who last week and within days of
graduation was murdered by a student of the University
of Maryland on its College Park
Roughly an hour and half later, I am back home. About 50 people gathered in the rain to honor
this young man whose life was cut short in an instant. I have participated in many such public
observances in Columbia
Keep hope alive.
REFLECTIONS
ON PUBLIC POLICY IN OUR STATE AND NATION
President John F. Kennedy’s 100th Birthday
Today, May 29, 2017
“Too often we…enjoy the comfort of opinion without the
discomfort of thought.”
The Washington
May 16, 2017, “Activists lament dearth
of affordable housing in affluent communities – official sees a “moral
imperative” for government and developers”
Can anyone think of a community in our nation where the words in
these two Washington Post articles are more pertinent than right
here in Howard County Columbia Columbia
The Baltimore
by Elijah Cummings, Leana S. Wen,
and Kevin Lindamood
“A bill to fundamentally change
the way Americans purchase and receive health care passed the House of
Representatives and is now waiting consideration in the Senate. The bill, which was opposed by nearly every
major medical organization, threatens the health and well-being of millions of
Americans with public and private insurance.”
I am simply brimming with gratitude and pride for Elijah , U.S.
Congressman for me and all of you who live in his district that includes about
half of Columbia
Co-author of the above editorial, Kevin Lindamood, is the head
of Healthcare for All, a Maryland non-profit with which I worked closely in the
legislature and as did my sister, Martha, when she supervised a soup kitchen in
downtown Baltimore and also bravely served as a personal representative for
dozens of city residents who for various reasons were unable to handle their
own financial affairs. She was truly a
woman who practiced what she preached.
When I drove her to the hospital in Baltimore
May 11, 2017, “Survey details
hardships of white working class:
The survey mentioned in this Post article was done by the
non-partisan Public Religion Research Institute and the Atlantic magazine one
of my news stalwarts.
“Many folks, they can’t wait for a white paper or a 12-point
plan. They need help immediately.”
The study shows that many white working class people are more
pessimistic than Latinos or Blacks because they thought the outcome of the
election was going to benefit them.
Surprise! Wake up call!
The recent unexpected resignation of the Census Bureau Director,
John H, Thompson, left behind a growing concern about the essential role this
bureau plays in a functional democracy.
It determines whether various communities not only get the right number
of representatives in government, but also whether schools and roads are built
in the places where they are needed. One
more matter that requires immediate and thorough attention.
May 24, 2017 Theater Review
“Strong arguments for single-player health care”
“Americans don’t mind the gulag,” the doctor grouses darkly, “as
long as it’s privately run.”
“We all know that politics is more important than theater,
right? But the talk is frequently deeper
and better in the theater where you have to sit, listen and think for an hour
or two. Check it out, and reckon with
these haggard men before deciding what we ought to do next.”
Makes sense to me.
REFLECTIONS
ON OUR PLANET BEYOND THE UNITED STATES
Lead headline in the Washington Post, today, Memorial Day:
“Merkel: ‘Europe must
go it alone’
Days of Relying on Allies ‘Over’
German leader’s remarks follow
Trump’s trip”
Any additional comment by me on this headline would be a case of
“more is less.”
…
Last month, I wrote considerably about the precarious state of
democracy in more than a few European nations.
Since then, Macron won in France Germany United States
Our President has been making noises about pulling out of the Paris
Accord
Agreement. During this
past month he has appeared to be heading away from that possibility. Let’s certainly hope so and keep an eye on
this.
An excellent succinct explanation of the potential dire
consequences.
REFLECTIONS
ON OUR UNIVERSE
Ever consider moving to another neighborhood, town, state,
nation, planet?
Famed physicist, Stephen Hawking,
says in an upcoming BBC documentary, “Expedition New Earth”, that humanity
needs to colonize another planet. On
first reading, I thought he meant in another millennium. Not so.
He was referring to the next century approximately. “With climate change, overdue asteroid
strikes, epidemics, and population growth, our own planet is increasingly
precarious. Remaining on Earth any
longer places humanity at great risk of encountering another mass extinction.”
Hawking also warns about the potential threat posed by
artificial intelligence. “Once humans
develop artificial intelligence, it will take off of its own and redesign
itself at an ever-increasing rate.
Humans who are limited by slow biological evolution couldn’t compete and
would be superseded.”
As I am typing, my literature major’s head is spinning faster
than the speed with which earth is travelling through space. As an antidote, I
am taking a tip from a good teacher friend and listening to Moody Blues “Days
of Future Passed.”
“Pools of sorrow,
waves of joy
Are
drifting through my open mind
Possessing
and caressing me
Across the
Universe
~Lennon and
McCartney
Be
well and love life.
~
Liz
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