REFLECTIONS ON HOME IN COLUMBIA
On
the many deciduous trees surrounding three sides of our end-unit townhome, the
yellow green leaves of April have developed fully and transformed into the dark
green ones of late May, creating a virtually solid visual barrier between us,
the sky, and other homes surrounding our little community of 60
townhouses. These homes are spread out
at varying angles in groups of four throughout the fifteen grassy acres, now
also bright green, comprising our homeowners’ association property. Hawks which are attracted to the banks of the
ponds in search of prey could clearly be seen last month swooping down and
closing in then swooping up again, small prey in claw. Now they are well camouflaged, and we can barely
if at all see them through the lush green until they are near the ground.
In
the mornings, Lloyd and I like to lie in bed tracking the early plane flights
taking off from BWI over our home until they become tiny specks in the distance
and disappear. We actually enjoy this for about half an hour and then often
fall back to sleep. In the months when
the trees are leafless or small leafed, we can on clear days watch the planes
from the large window above our headboard and then seconds later spot them
again from the other large window to the left side (my side) of our bed. These days we cannot see these silver birds
in the sky until they reach a spot beyond the side window where there is a
substantial opening in the tree leaves.
Lloyd loves trying to determine the make and model of each plane, and is
so well practiced that he can often discern that from the sound of the engines
alone. I find this apparently incongruous melding of the mechanical and the
natural truly beautiful.
We
observed our ponds’ seven goslings for only two more days after I sent my April
message. So for only five days, after
weeks patiently waiting for the eggs to hatch, the parents devoted every minute
to tending their offspring. They would
walk around the two ponds in a huddle, stopping to sit in the sun in various
spots. Though neither Lloyd nor I saw
them lead the goslings into the pond for swimming training as we had in
previous years, we hear from other neighbors that they did. Though no one
observed it, we all assume that as in most years past, the very large snapping
turtles that live in the pond consumed them.
The goose and gander stayed around listlessly for a couple days and then
flew off. Three times during the past
few weeks I have heard the distinct loud honking of geese approaching. Two swoop down quickly and oh so gracefully,
one right behind the other, and land in the larger of our two ponds. They
remain there very still for ten minutes or so and then take flight again. In my
heart and soul I am certain that these are the parents of the seven goslings
who lived on this planet for such a brief time, and that they have returned to
the location of their offsprings’ birth for a brief time as an act of pure
love. It has now been more than a week
since I have seen them, and yet they and all seven goslings are very much with
me when I am outside by the ponds.
Another
species continues to thrive in these same ponds, as it has for the nearly
thirty years I have lived here. Bullfrogs. Though their “music” may not be the
most melodic, the deep choral sound seems to reflect the spirit of the ponds’
water itself. The responsive chorus from their neighbors living in the
surrounding tall grasses wafts through the screens right into our bedroom. Seemingly at times their groans play a part
in my dreams. Perhaps if I focus on that
chorus while drifting into sleep, I will have a visit from the goslings in my
dreams…along with Zach.
Believe
it or not, just as I was composing the last paragraph, I heard a squabble in
the pond outside the window. I turned my
head and observed two male mallards really “mixing it up” with a lone female
nearby observing quietly and apparently patiently. I truly love our pond
creatures.
Lloyd
planted a small boxed-in vegetable patch in our garden, and we are now enjoying
lettuce and small radishes with oh such a delicate texture and flavor. It will
be another month before the tomatoes will begin to ripen. My dad, Bernie, always said that Maryland
The
fourth of our eight grandkids, Katerina, graduated from Wilde Lake High School New York
City with her mom about ten years ago from Omsk
in Russia Columbia
Just
a couple of weeks ago, I attended a talk at Slayton House by novelist Laura
Lippman, herself a graduate of Wilde
Lake Wilde Lake Baltimore
Lloyd
and I have been out of the country for the past few annual Columbia Foundation
Spring parties. We have found it to be
the best party of the year in our community. This year we were in town and
thoroughly enjoyed seeing so many longtime Columbians with whom we don’t cross
paths as often now that I am no longer in office. What a fun and joyful time.
The
past several months constitute the longest stretch of time since my
“retirement” that we have not traveled out of the country. Early in May, I participated in a weekend
retreat with Pema Chodron in upstate Rhinebeck , New York along the Hudson Nova
Scotia Hudson
to Stockbridge, Massachusetts New England town just down the road from Kripalu where I
recently participated in my weeklong retreat with Jack Kornfield. I am filled with gratitude for having the
opportunity to have Jack and Pema as my teachers in life. It is my intention to spread their wisdom
around.
This
past weekend we took another drive to Virginia Blue Ridge Mountains were magnificent. On the way home we stopped in Harpers Ferry
where the Potomac and Shenandoah Rivers converge at the meeting point of West Virginia,
Virginia , and Maryland Frederick Columbia
Regarding
the arts in our community, we look forward to the upcoming next portion of the
Columbia Festival of the Arts beginning this month – so diverse and well
presented and right in our back yard. In
contrast, we are saddened to learn of the closing of the Artists’ Gallery,
which has been in the American Cities building by the Lakefront for so many
years. The member artists held out for
several years after exhibit attendance decreased more and more due to
concurrent less and less conducive surroundings in downtown Columbia. Though we will miss the closeness of these
local artists and their beautiful creations, (more than a few of the many
pieces of art created by our artist friends and displayed in our home were
purchased here) we understand that they held out as long as they could for a
better artful environment. We look
forward to visiting their new gallery in downtown Ellicott
City and know they will thrive there, as they deserve.
Though
I don’t like ending this section of my message on a negative note, the Sun
article below covers what is in my mind a very negative tax plan for public
financing of a private development in Baltimore
I
completely agree with the article below and am sorry to say that our own
Columbia has become a prime example of failing to provide affordable housing to
middle, much less lower income individuals and families.
OK,
so I won’t end this portion of my newsletter on a negative note. The article below in last Sunday’s Post
Outlook section, “I mourned my sister through the books she left behind,”
simply captivated me. Some of you have
seen or heard me speak of my book collection in our home. It includes some favorites of my mom, her
father “Pop”, her sister “Aunt Doris” and my sister, Martha, along with many of
my own and Lloyd’s.
One
of my earliest memories as a child of about five is of my mom reading by
lamplight, laughing and clearly enjoying herself. I later learned the book was Dickens’ “Pickwick
Papers,” one of her favorites among many.
When my mom died at 94 my two older sisters and I divided up her books
among our own kids and ourselves. My
most treasured volume is John Galsworthy’s “Caravan” copyright 1908 and
inscribed “From Mother and Father to Helen M. Monnett”, October 10, 1926 (my
Mom’s 22nd birthday). “Caravan”
is a collection of Galsworthy’s essays and short stories. By the title of one of the short stories,
“The Apple-Tree” my grandfather, Pop, had penciled, “Please everyone read this
chapter – one of the sweetest and saddest love stories.” The subtitle of the story appears as “The
Apple-tree, the singing, and the gold” Murray’s Hippolytus and Euripides. This book is one of my most treasured
possessions.
I
can only hope that when I have taken leave of this planet, others will get to
know me through the books I leave behind.
REFLECTIONS ON ZACH
May
is clearly the month of Zach. His
birthday is on May 1, his Mom’s on May 4th. Then there is Mother’s Day and the annual
national brain cancer Walk for the Cure which is held on the first Sunday of
May in D.C. and in which Zach played a major part for a few years. Zach is so clearly and truly THERE at each of
these annual happenings with his family.
The
local Zaching Against Cancer Foundation presented several scholarship awards
this month to graduating seniors attending various high schools throughout the
state. I have heard that in several
instances following the presentation the entire student body rose to its feet
striking a Zaching pose, arms curled and raised in a posture of strength. Zach
himself struck that pose within minutes of learning that his brain surgery at
the age of 18 disclosed the return of cancer cells. He asked his dad to post it on Facebook and
it instantly went viral. On random
occasions his family gets word of their son’s pose being replicated in
situations requiring great courage and stamina. It is quite evident that Zach’s
intention and strong determination to serve as a model of courage for others
living with brain cancer, particularly young kids, is blooming in full force.
This
month, I had the joy of sharing a long talk over coffee with a guy Zach had
told me about. They had a chance meeting
at the annual environmental
exhibit
at Howard Community College
I
am typing this message at our dining room table with the bright morning
sunlight coming in through a big window overlooking the smaller of our two
ponds. Looking straight ahead, I see the
two white couches arranged at right angles in our living room, where Zach and I
sat knee to knee as he told me about the first semester he had just completed
at the University
of Maryland
One
more month of my life has passed, and I am aware of no greater joy during these
72 years than the continuing presence of Zach in my life.
REFLECTIONS ON BALTIMORE
David Simon and his gifted writers (including Bill Zorzi a
former Sun reporter who covered the Howard County Council, including Lloyd and
me, in the 70’s and sometimes enjoyed a beer with us after session), actors and
producers could not have imagined that more than 30 colleges in the United
States would someday offer courses on “The Wire” in fields such as sociology,
literature, law, criminal justice, public health and business.
Simon received more than a little strong criticism for
portraying Baltimore
realistically in that HBO series. Yet he
hung in there with truth and courage. I can’t help but wonder where we would be
today if we had listened more closely and heeded his words.
See mention of Simon in the section of this newsletter on
Columbia and the words about his wife, author Laura Lippman, who attended Wilde
Lake High and spoke there recently about her latest book, “Wilde Lake.”
From drug dealer to writer and college teacher. Here is another inspiring example of a young
man, D. Watkins, who grew up in my hometown.
…and yet another connection between Baltimore and the world of film.
Hats off to Johns
Hopkins University University of Maryland
The two Sun editorials below stand in sharp contrast in
their respective impact on the economic aspect of Baltimore ’s challenges.
First, regarding CSX’s plans to renovate the Howard Street
Tunnel thereby creating thousands of Jobs – great news!
Secondly, regarding, Baltimore City Councilmember, Mary Pat
Clarke’s proposal to raise the minimum wage significantly - just as the tunnel
renovation, this would give those in the lower income bracket the opportunity to
spend more money pumping up the city’s economy, to say nothing of economic
justice. Thank you for your courage,
Mary Pat, my friend.
Although as I have often noted in these messages, I grew up
in Baltimore City ,
as a teenager I also spent a lot of time with my friends in Catonsville in
adjacent Baltimore
County
Having also been raised as a Catholic, the news of the
Catonsville Nine in the late 60’s made quite an impression on me. Looking back now, it may have been the first
spark lit within me to flame a passion for economic and social justice as well
as anti-war activism. Could it be a
coincidence that both Rev. Berrigan and Pope Francis were members of the same
order of priests – the Jesuits? Reading
of Daniel Berrigan’s death this month, I am aware that the flame is still very
much alive, as I hope it remains for the rest of my life on this earth.
REFLECTIONS ON PUBLIC
POLICY IN OUR COUNTY, STATE AND NATION
I found it reassuring to read that the Howard County
Spending Affordable Committee recommended a greater reduction in the amount of
bonds issued than last year. That is
wise fiscal planning in order to avoid exorbitant debt service payments. I would have found it even more assuring if
the committee also raised a warning sign regarding the wisdom of the use of
TIF’s (tax increment financing).
An immediate issue in our county is the serious
consideration being given by the administration
to propose a $70 to 150 million TIF to build the
infrastructure, e.g., roads, sewers and parking structures to complete the
Downtown plan. In the 70’s and 80’s the
Rouse Company paid for the required infrastructure as one of the costs of doing
business. TIFs have an appropriate use
in situations where run down areas are in need of reclamation and would not be
redeveloped otherwise due to financial infeasibility. A case could possibly be made for the
Baltimore TIF project, but certainly not for the downtown of one of the most
prosperous communities in our country.
Please read more about TIF’s and the effects on future tax revenue on
Wikipedia.
This very sobering Washington Post editorial describes the
overuse of antibiotics as “a tragedy of the commons – as a society we
understand that overuse of antibiotics is wrong, but as individuals we still
demand them. The failure is a global
phenomenon too; other nations overuse antibiotics on an even larger scale than the
U.S.
A White House action
plan on antibiotic resistance calls for slicing in half inappropriate
outpatient use by 2020. To meet that
goal, everyone will have to pay heed to the higher calling of the commons.”
And so we will.
REFLECTIONS ON OUR PLANET
BEYOND THE UNITED STATES
The election of a Muslim in London has the potential to be a great source
of healing on our planet. May it be so.
Five German state universities are developing Islamic
theology faculties amid political uproar.
This, too, has the potential to be a great source of healing on our
planet. May it be so.
REFLECTIONS ON OUR UNIVERSE
Several
weeks ago Lloyd and I attended a presentation at the Johns Hopkins Applied
Physics Lab where he worked for more than 30 years. The Kossiakoff Center
A
good test of the agility of the human mind.
Pools
of sorrow, waves of joy
Are
drifting through my open mind
Possessing
and caressing me
Across the
Universe
- Lennon and McCartney
~Liz
Moments before pushing the Send
button, we had a loud knock on the front door and went out to see a fire on our
next door neighbor's porch climbing up the wall. In the next few minutes, eight
vehicles arrived including a hook and ladder and approximately 20 fire
fighters, several of whom I knew from my days as