MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – JANUARY 2, 2008

NOW THAT IT’S January, let me be the first to wish you a Happy Epiphany. And while this is largely a religious observance, our family sees it as a holiday grace period.

For instance, we take down the tree on the Epiphany, providing it hasn’t already fallen down. It’s much lighter this way, because the needles have dropped into little brown piles on the floor. So have some of the ornaments.

We’ve also made Jan. 6 our new deadline for getting out greeting cards. That gives us 12 extra days of Christmas in which to chronicle our family’s many achievements in a card with a photo of the kids and the cat.

Finally, it’s an opportunity to have one last holiday party before tax time comes and spoils all the fun. I’ll be going to an Epiphany party and I hope you will too. After all, isn’t that New Year’s diet getting a little old already?

Secret Santa: Delroy Lindo is a big man with an even bigger heart. The well-known actor and Montclair dad spent Christmas Eve passing out 50 holiday dinner boxes in the poorest parts of Oakland. His wife, Nasha, says Delroy has a sixth sense about who should get the boxes and how to hand them out safely. He just drives the streets looking for people he thinks could use a warm meal on a cold winter’s night. And his young son learns a lesson in social responsibility.

Pennies from Heaven: Speaking of big hearts, more than 300 students at Lakeview Elementary School collected pennies recently to help the St. Vincent de Paul Society feed hungry children in Oakland. With the help of shoppers and merchants on Lakeshore Avenue, the students’ penny roundup came to more than $1,100. The inspiration came from the group Good Cents for Oakland, and shows just how lucky the penny can be.New Chapter: Everyone needs love, even the library. That’s why Montclair librarian Leon Cho was beaming the other day when he told me the little storybook library has a new friends group. Friends of the Montclair Library has already raised $800 from the sale of used books and has big plans for a bargain book boutique at the library. Lida Broadhurst is the coordinator, joined by treasurer Dean Banks, secretary Ruth Vaughn and longtime library volunteer Pam Brougham, who, with the aid of Sharon Banks, will help with the ongoing book sale. There’s much more to do so if you’d like to help. Call Lida at 510-482-4107.