Do You See It?

Posted on January 9, 2021January 9, 2021 by Jenny

There's been some wild stuff going on lately, amirite? We've seen lawsuits filed to suppress legally cast votes. We've seen accusations of voter fraud. We've seen vandalism and property damage. We've seen people using intimidation tactics against policymakers. We've seen people throwing around words like "enemy" to label people with political differences. No, I'm not talking about the insurrection by Trump supporters at the Capitol on Wednesday. I'm talking about Howard County. Tw...

The Long Night

Posted on January 3, 2021January 3, 2021 by Jenny

Winter is the time of year I hate the most. The months of January, February, and March feel like an eternity to me every year. The world is dark, the landscape barren, the air so cold it seeps into my bones. It feels like a long, sleepless night where all I can do is count the hours until dawn. I was born in the summer, when cookouts, water sports, and crab picking are in full swing, and when the world is warm and blossoming. I suppose that's why winter, with its itchy wool sweaters, b...

2020 Year in Review

Posted on December 29, 2020February 13, 2021 by Jenny

Suffice it to say that 2020 has been a hell of a year. I could write for hours about the COVID-19 pandemic, the racial justice protests, the presidential election, and many other significant things that have defined 2020 in good ways and bad. But I'll leave that to Time Magazine. Instead, I'm going to talk about 2020 from the perspective of the Howard County Progress Report. After being recognized recently by legendary blogger Julia McCready of Village Green/Town² as well as Jason Booms...

Hall of Shame – Bama of the Year Award

Posted on December 23, 2020December 23, 2020 by Jenny

My friend the late Jonathan England, being a native of Prince George's County, was famous for his "bama of the day" declarations on social media. For those unfamiliar with the term "bama," this Washington Post article describes the D.C. slang word best: "... it's an insult... if someone calls you a bama, whatever you’re doing, you’re doing it wrong." Yesterday, a group of Howard County parents earned the dubious honor of being named the 2020 Bama of the Year. A small group of Howard Coun...

The Kids Are Alright

Posted on December 20, 2020December 20, 2020 by Jenny

When I turned eighteen years old, the first thing I did was go out and buy a pack of cigarettes before going to get my bellybutton pierced. Was this a momentous occasion, a long-awaited, celebratory exercise of new freedom granted to me simply by virtue of having lived eighteen years on this earth? Actually, no, it wasn't. I had bought cigarettes and gotten pierced before. The only difference is that this time I didn't need to worry about being carded at the gas station, and I didn't ne...