Scene This Week In...

A year ago I experienced a little health episode that resulted in a thirteen week stint at the cardiac rehabilitation unit at Howard County General Hospital. It was there that I first met Joel. At that time he was still on medical leave from his main job which involved a daily commute from Columbia to Suitland and back. His Nordstrom gig was much more manageable and he had no intention of giving that one up. I wrote about Joel back in January in a post on my other (and recently neglected) blog, the heart attack guy.

This past week I ran into Joel again at Nordstrom. He was happily tickling the ivories for the passing shoppers. He told me that he retired from that awful commute. He obviously still works at Nordstrom, mostly on Friday evenings, but he is also doing some work with his church.

Count me as one of those who enjoys hearing a live person play the piano in a public space which is why Joel is this weeks Scene in Columbia.



Every week my daughter moves between days and evenings at her mother’s house in Catonsville and mine in Ellicott City. We have a developed a sort of rhythm to this and for the most part the transition is seamless. At times, however, we need to improvise on logistics.

The fate of a large stuffed horse provided one of these logistical challenges. It was too big to send to school with her so the horse was placed in a shopping bag and hung on the front door for mom to retrieve before the after school pick up. After I placed the bag on the door I wondered about how other families in similar circumstances handled these things. I also thought it made a great picture and so “horse in a Ralph Lauren bag” is this weeks Scene in Ellicott City.