THE BIG BLUE BOX has finally arrived. Like the birth of a baby, this bundle of joy was a long time coming. Ten years, to be exact, and the proud papa is hills dweller Chuck Harrision.

All right, enough metaphors, we’re talking about a mailbox, here — not the Second Coming.

But when you consider the effort put into getting this drive-by drop box at Colton and Mountain, it’s worth more than a casual mention.

Chuck started his crusade to help curb the crush of traffic outside the Montclair Post Office. “This small Post Office processes daily the greatest volume of mail of any post office of its size in Oakland,” he says, noting that drivers would often double park to mail their letters.

That got him started lobbying the city and Postal Service for a drive-by box — and Mountain at Colton seemed the perfect location.

But a group of parents and teachers at neighboring Montclair Elementary School thought school kids and other pedestrians would encounter too much traffic if the box went in on or near the facility.

Years went by and Harrison got a little older and a little wiser. He started working with other neighbors who were organizing to fight mail theft. He started e-mailing Richard Cowan, City Councilwoman Jean Quan’s “right-hand man.” And at some point, I jumped into the online exchange.

Then last week, I got an e-mail from Cowan that read “Now I don’t want to promise anything, but I am supposed to meet the PO today at 12:30 to look at the new mailbox!”

Quan, Cowan and the USPS’s David Green had come through. Still, it was a senior resident named Chuck who deserves most of the credit. “It is nice to know that each of us can make a difference,” he said, acknowledging that sometimes it takes a little patience and persistence.

So, Chuck. What’s next? “If this were the Superbowl, I suppose you’d say, “I’m going to Disneyland.” But your latest e-mail to Quan and Cowan tells me you’re not ready to rest. It reads: “Once available, an education/publicity program (on the drive-by mailbox) will be essential. Please let me know of plans you have already in place.”

Mailbag

I got a touching card from the late Annie Perfetto’s husband. Annie was one of my favorite checkers at the Montclair Safeway. John thanked me for my column on Annie in November, and said “I loved her so very much and to see how you felt about her made it even better.”

Annie was someone who came into this world and touched a lot of lives. We all get the chance to make a difference. Annie did.

More mailbag

Paula Li, the hip “hot mama” who teaches snow-boarding at Bear Valley reminds me she has some clinics coming up. At 54, this Oakland woman is on a mission to get more gals on boards.

Her two-day clinics are geared for women in their 40s who can’t stand to see kids having all the fun. Not only does Paula snowboard, she has a female friend who rides at the age of 61. And her friend’s brother snow-boards at the age of 70. For details or a pep talk, call Paula at 209-753-2301, ext. 181.

Family value

If basketball is a national pastime, then the Harlem Globetrotters are “America’s team.” No group of hoopers can entertain like these guys, with their hilarious hijinks on and off the court. Even the time-outs are ticklers, with dogs catching Frisbees and players stealing cotton candy from vendors and throwing it into the crowd. To steal a phrase from the Warriors: “It’s a great time out.” For information on the group’s next Oakland date, log on to http://www.harlemglobetrotters.com.

In the wilds

In the wake of all the stories on mountain lions these days, here’s one from former KSFO traffic reporter Hap Harper, who lives near Jackson. He says a mountain lion killed one of his pet pygmy goats and was ready to devour the second one, when his girlfriend, Jan Long, spotted the attack.

“She ran out of the house waving her hands wildly and the cat ran away,” he says. The goat survived and is now under the witness protection program, as Hap and Jan have purchased two Llamas to guard the livestock.

I’VE BEEN UP for hours thinking about this column. It’s about sleep — and how little we seem to get these days.

Did you know that there’s a hotbed (so to speak) of research on sleep disorders right here in Oakland? Dr. Jerrold Kram runs the California Center for Sleep Disorders on Summit Street in Oakland. He’s not Mister Sandman, but he’s the next best thing.

As one of the top sleep researchers in the country, Kram has been conducting sleep studies in Oakland since 1981. He says it’s amazing how many people ignore the symptoms of sleep deprivation and just live with them.

“Sleep is vital to our health and well-being,” he says, adding that one of the biggest problems is snoring. Not only is snoring an irritating condition, it could be an indication of a more serious problem — obstructive sleep apnea.

“In the last few years, we have very strong evidence that this leads to high blood pressure, heart failure, heart attacks and strokes,” Kram warns. “So it isn’t just an annoying sound.”

The Center for Sleep Disorders is like a motel, where you check in for the night and check out in the morning. But while you’re sleeping, tiny electrodes on your body are measuring your brain waves, your heartbeat, your eye and jaw movements and more. The data go into a computer and are analyzed by Kram’s research team.

The whole process is so fascinating that study coordinator Angie Escovedo is being interviewed for an article in the March issue of Oxygen magazine. If you’d like more information on sleep disorders, visit the center’s Web site at http://www.sleepsmart.com. To be part of an upcoming study, call the center at 510-877-38SL(EEP).

Get in line

It seems everybody is reading “The Da Vinci Code” by Dan Brown. But you’ll have to get in line if you want to borrow it from the Oakland Public Library. At last count, 249 people were on the waiting list for 53 copies. Do the math, and you’ll come up with a 10-week wait for your turn to read this page-turner.

(Saint Cuthbert’s Episcopal Church, 7932 Mountain Blvd. at Keller Avenue, will host a discussion on the book, and Mary Magdalene’s role in the history of Christianity, at 7 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 25.)

E-mail bag

Julie S. wants to know why the line at the Montclair Post Office seems longer now than before the holidays. “I waited so long to mail a package, my frozen pizza from Albertsons started to thaw,” she writes.

Julie, even the postal clerks are baffled. But their guess is that a lot of folks got unexpected gifts this year and are rushing to reciprocate. Either that, or love is in the air and those Valentines are going out early.

Readers are asking

What’s going on with the parcel of land on Park Boulevard just below Highway 13? A web of netting and pipes makes me think that Caltrans may be getting ready to put some plants in. This land was once considered for a ride-share stop, but the traffic was too congested in the area. It’s also prone to mudslides, which may be why Caltrans is willing to spend the money to landscape it.

Eight hours!

That’s how long it took to get home from the Sierras on Saturday after New Year’s. I should have seen it coming: Safeway was out of the discount $39 lift tickets for Sugar Bowl, and after two months of stormy weekends, Saturday was a glorious day to ski.

But when five popular ski areas got ready to close for the day, a crush of cars descended on the two-lane road back to Interstate 80. I was in that 5-mile wall of traffic — and finally got home at midnight.

Was it worth it? For powder purists, the snow couldn’t have been better. I just wish they’d had night skiing.

CHRISTMAS BRINGS out the best in people — and the worst. In our rush to make one more holiday party or trip to the mall, we tend to forget our need for reflection. A wise man once said, “Peace on Earth comes from within.” We need those “Silent Nights” to remember why we celebrate this season.

So take some time to sit by the fire. Throw in a pine cone and watch it sizzle, or roast some chestnuts in a wire basket. Share an old-fashioned egg nog in Montclair’s cozy Malt Shop and stroll the sidewalks of our own holiday village. And whatever you do — stay away from the mall till the madness is over.

Playing Santa

By day, he’s the svelte owner of Continental Hearing Aid Center on Piedmont Avenue. But in the predawn hours of Christmas, Dick Stone dons his Santa suit and makes the rounds at Children’s Hospital Oakland.

Stone has been passing out toys to Oakland’s sick children for 26 years, with fellow Rockridge-Piedmont Lions Club member Joe Colaci. “I start eating Dec. 1,” he laughs, saying he needs to “bulk up” to play Santa. “When I’m done, I take off my beard and sit with my cat,” Stone says, adding that he enjoys a good brandy for his efforts.

Closer to home

The merchants on Leimert Boulevard have the right idea for bringing in new customers. They’ve coordinated one of the better light displays in Oakland — a marketing concept so simple it’s amazing that more business districts don’t do the same. So what if their PG&E bill could choke a reindeer? It’s a small price to pay for such high visibility.

Kids and Christmas

Kudos to the children in the Christmas Revels, Oakland’s wonderful holiday production that takes you back to the Renaissance era. The children in this production put in long rehearsal hours — sometimes until 11 p.m. on school nights. So if you see Elena Ash, Eliana Jacobs, Oliver Konkel, Simone Lawrence, Lili Miranda, Tyler Parrott, Neye Redmond or Liam Zarri, give them a pat on the back.

The 10 shows run through Dec. 21 at the Scottish Rite Theatre. For ticket information, call 510-452-9334.

Sugarplum treat

No Christmas is complete without seeing “The Nutcracker,” and what better version than the one produced by Oakland Ballet founder Ronn Guidi. Here, you see the dancers of tomorrow — young students enrolled in Guidi’s renowned East Bay Ballet School. The enchanting performances run tonight through Monday at the Regent’s Theater at Holy Names College. For ticket information, call 510-481-1156.

And the winner is

Congratulations to Lucille Bellucci, the Montclair writer who has just won a literary award from New Renaissance magazine. Her short story on cicadas, the insects that make that funny buzzing sound, won first place in the fictional short-story category. If Bellucci’s name sounds familiar, it may be because she’s already had three books reviewed in this very newspaper.

That’s life

For the person who has everything but time, how about this for a gift idea? Oakland’s Erin Cosgrove has gift certificates for life coaching sessions. Busy people use a life coach to help them set goals and keep their priorities straight. A good life coach is like a good athletic coach, helping a person reach new heights in happiness and performance. Cosgrove & Associates can be reached at 510-553-0727.

That’s the spirit

One of the Bay Area’s best holiday displays is at San Francisco’s Union Square, where merchants have really outdone themselves this year. Macy’s is bedecked with holiday wreaths glowing brightly at night. Saks Fifth Avenue has window after window of animated Christmas scenes, and the giant tree in Union Square glitters with thousands of twinkling lights.

When Irving Berlin wrote “White Christmas,” he painted a picture we still try to model today. Just look at any holiday weekend in the Sierra. Families from the Oakland hills and all around the Bay make the trek to Tahoe — to be in the snow.

So it’s no wonder my family and I threw our long undies into a duffle last weekend and headed up Interstate 80 to Crystal Bay. Pulling into the Cal Neva Resort, we found big juicy flakes of snow swirling in the nighttime sky. Here, they know how to set the mood, with a million twinkling lights pulling you in to the lakeside retreat that was once owned by Frank Sinatra.

The Cal Neva’s Indian Room is every bit as enchanting as the dining room at Yosemite’s Ahwahnee Hotel, with warm wood walls and a roaring fire in the huge stone hearth. You can see why Frank loved this place and brought the biggest names in Hollywood here to entertain.

But there were deep, dark secrets here too — secrets that only begin to surface as you look into the lore of this famed resort. There’s the tunnel between the main lodge, Sinatra’s chalet and the cottage where Marilyn Monroe overdosed on pills the week before she suspiciously died. There are walls of old photographs with Sammy and Dino and the boys, smoke curling from their Pall Malls and Lucky Strikes. There are tales of the regular visits from mob boss Sam Giancana and the Kennedys.

Here the holiday spirit combines with the spirit of another era — a time when Mr. Big ran this joint with a bevy of broads and booze. Under the twinkling lights of Cal Neva’s giant Christmas tree, I can almost hear Sinatra say, “I did it my way”.

Ballerina’s thoughts

With visions of the Nutcracker dancing through my head, my interest was piqued when I got this e-mail from Piedmont teen Cathy Trainor. A ballerina for seven years in the Berkeley Ballet Theater, she writes: “The time that dancers call ‘Nutcracker Season’ begins in late October, when we commit ourselves to long Saturday rehearsals, and staying extra hours at ballet class on school nights. We are all truly dedicated — we are doing something that we love to do.”

You can see the Berkeley Ballet Theater’s “Nutcracker” through this Sunday at the Julia Morgan Center for the Arts in Berkeley. For more information, call 510-843-4689.

Retread threads

With the price of designer clothing always going up, it’s nice to see a new high-end consignment shop in Montclair. Dragonfly Consignments is now just up the stairs from Crogan’s Restaurant on La Salle Avenue and already has a nice selection of name brand suits, coats and slacks — all “gently used,” as they say.

Face lift

Speaking of a new look in Montclair, have you been in McCaulou’s lately? The bright lights hit you as you walk in the door and see three large make-up counters where the shoe department used to be (it’s downstairs now).

Management has really pulled a Houdini to fit Lancome, Estee Lauder and Clinique displays in the already cozy store. But I’m thrilled. Now I don’t have to drive to Lafayette to get my free bonus gifts with every $30 purchase.

Sticker shock

You’ve gotta love this bumper sticker on a Toyota I saw returning from Tahoe: “When hell freezes over, I’ll snowboard there too!”

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ASK A JOURNALIST to find out anything, and we can usually do it. But when someone wants to interview us, we get that “deer in the headlights” look.

It happened the other day with a remarkable man who just happens to be one of the founders of Sports Illustrated magazine.

“Why would you want to do a story on me?” he asked modestly. I knew then that I would be using my best interviewing techniques on lifelong journalist Sidney James.

At 97, James is amazingly clear on the evolution of America’s most popular sports magazine. Holding a copy of the first issue, he sat on the couch in his neatly decorated room at Sunrise Senior Living in the Oakland hills.

“I was interested in sports as a youth,” he reminisced. “I followed the big league teams in my hometown of St. Louis. The Braves had a very good team in those days, and one year I saw every home game they played.”

With a passion for sports and a job in management at Life magazine, James was one of a handful of Time Inc. journalists asked in 1953 to explore the idea of an all sports publication. And while some of his colleagues thought the subject of sports wouldn’t interest the masses, James was a forward thinker.

This would not be a sports magazine, it would be the sports magazine — with the very best sports news, advice, sports fashion and photos. It would have a broad-based appeal for both men and women, taking sports coverage to a level that was, at that time, unthinkable.

James remembers “holing up” in a hideaway office while he worked on his vision for the publication — which, like the birth of a baby, arrived with much fanfare on Aug. 16, 1954. “It was an immediate success,” he beamed as he flipped through the pages. “It really caught on.”

I looked at the cover of James’ first issue, then back at the man who created it. James was silent for a moment, then in almost a whisper he talked about the cover as a real coup for its time. It featured a brilliantly photographed baseball game — the Milwaukee Braves under the stadium lights at night.

We thumbed through the history-making pictures and articles, and James recalled the way he and his staff brainstormed on stories about everything from hunting to horse racing. Even the ads seemed to jump out of the pages. Full pages heralded the most popular products of the day — from Lucky Strike cigarettes to Miller High Life beer. Today, almost 50 years later, the prototype is still the same. Sports Illustrated has withstood the test of time, and so has its founder.

If you’d like to read more about James check out his book “Press Pass: The Journalist’s Tale.”

Calling all choppers

How much wood can a would-be chopper chop? Councilwoman Jean Quan is looking for a few burly types (men or women) to chop and haul timber from the growing pile of tree trimmings at Monterey and Park boulevards. This is where PG&E leaves its tree debris — near the entrance to Montclair Golf Course on Monterey. The pile seems to be taking on a life of its own, so grab your truck and load it up — ’cause it’s free firewood for anyone who doesn’t mind a few hours on the chopping block.

Talking turkey

One more holiday with turkey, and I’m hanging up the oven mitts. Why? Because like so many others, I fouled up the bird on Thanksgiving. My thermometer broke in the breast of the great gobbler, and the bird had to be trashed.

But I wasn’t alone with my sad turkey tale. Another mom told me she accidentally cooked her bird upside down. The turkey’s golden brown breast turned out anemic at best.

At another house down the hill, a leaky aluminum roasting pan almost started an oven fire. And I heard more than one person proclaim that their turkey was still frozen on Thanksgiving morn. All things considered, I’m looking forward to a Christmas goose.

I’ve been picking up strangers, lately. A lot of strangers – sometimes 8 or 10 a week. Yes, the casual car-pool on Park Boulevard is really working out for me. Each morning, I nose my Prius into the line of vehicles waiting to pick up San Francisco-bound riders. Looking up from my newspaper, between sips of coffee, I see the orderly progression of passengers as they load up the cars. “I wonder who I’ll get,” I think, as I scramble to clear the clutter from the floor. The back seat flaps are great for hiding old banana peels and Kleenex. I can shove my papers in the hollow of the passenger door. Soon I’m at the front of the line. The next 2 riders are mine. A woman in a business suit opens my back door and steps in. Seconds later, a very tall man walks up. I’m surveying the leg room in the front as he folds himself in half like a pocket knife to get in. “I can adjust the seat,” I say, in my friendliest morning manner. “That’s okay,” he replies, “I’m still half asleep.” So I pull away from the curb and it’s apparent that no-one is in the mood to chat. “What’s the protocol, here,” I wonder, wanting to turn on the radio. It’s the morning after the recall and I’m dying to hear what they’re saying on KSFO. But the lady in the back seems depressed and the guy next to me is asleep. I hold off, driving in silence as I think it all through. I’m still new at this casual car-pooling thing, but as near as I can figure – riders are like guests. As long as they’re in my car, they should be comfortable.

Looking good: Those Raiders clean up pretty good when they’re not in their football uniforms. The Claremont Resort hosted Raiders on the Runway, last week, as a fund-raiser for the East Bay Agency for Children. “Romo” and Rice looked pretty nice in their sexy outfits from Bloomingdales. The flashing lights, the driving beat, the runway down the middle of the dining room – the fashion show was a class act that showcased some of my favorite Raiders, modeling with their wives and children. The players get only one day off a week during the football season. They made the most of this one, raising about $30,000 for EBAC.

Coming of age: I watched with interest, a few years back, when Sunrise Assisted Living was being built in the Oakland hills. They transformed a tired old shopping center into a beautiful complex at Skyline and Redwood Roads – across from the old Hills Newspaper office. So I eagerly grabbed the chance, the other day, to take a tour of the facility – and what a wonderful place to live! Each room is warm and inviting, with cozy corners for reading by the fire and game tables for playing cards. You can settle into winged chairs and watch wide screen TV, or go for a walk in the pastoral setting outside (with 2 horse stables across the street). It’s no wonder so many fascinating people live here, including the founder of Sports Illustrated. I should mention, too, that Sunrise is holding a Senior Resource Fair on Tuesday, October 21st from 2-5 pm. It’s open to the public with dozens of booths featuring flu shots, free hearing tests and computer lessons, as well as information on everything from banks to home care agencies. For more information, call 510-531-7190.

Rodeo Romance: With the Grand National Rodeo coming up at the Cow Palace October 24th through November 2nd, it’s the perfect time to mention this new book by my buddy, Alvin Guthertz. A prolific writer, Al’s new novel is called Magnets for Love – the story of a rough and tumble bull rider who falls in love with a refined horse show competitor. The story unfolds at the Grand National Rodeo and is full of colorful characters and stunning action. It’s available online at Barnesandnoble.com

Split personality: By day, he’s a Montclair Optometrist. By night, he’s a painter and set designer. Dr. Richard Jue, the owner of Viewpoint on Mountain Boulevard, is a fascinating man. His Asian art has been featured in the Oakland Arts Festival and in Mayor Jerry Brown’s “We the People” live-work space. But Jue does more than paint. His dance photography has been published nationally as well. You can see some of Jue’s work, this weekend, at the Hotel Triton in San Francisco. Or on the web at WWW.PROARTSGALLERY.ORG

THE TOWN CRIER: GINNY PRIOR

REMEMBER Michael Keaton as Mr. Mom? Well, we’ve got our very own Mr. Dad,

here in Oakland. Armin Brott writes the syndicated newspaper column “Ask

Mr. Dad” from his home in the Rose Garden/Grand Lake area. An Oaktown boy

since the age of 3, Brott lives with four lovely ladies — his wife and

three daughters.

How did he get the title Mr. Dad? “I guess the concept of Mr. Dad came up

a few years ago,” he says, “not long after the first edition of ‘The

Expectant Father’ was published. I started getting lots of calls and

e-mails from people who appreciated the down-to-earth, accessible,

regular-guy tone of my book.” Brott says he sold over a million copies,

and it became abundantly clear to him that many men needed parenting

advice. Mr. Dad was born.

So were a whole legion of fans — mostly men. But Brott gets some

interesting questions from women, too. Like the one from a baby-sitter who

wanted to know the best way to administer a spanking. Brott explained that

any spanking is a no-no, especially on someone else’s child. Believe it or

not, the same woman wrote back saying her employers insisted she use this

form of discipline — or they’d fire her. Brott told her to quit.

Then there are those who may not be up to the challenge of having a

family. Brott says he occasionally gets letters from men asking how to get

their wives pregnant. His reply? “If you haven’t got a pretty good idea of

that before you start, you aren’t ready to be a parent.”

Want more advice on fatherhood or parenting? Check out Mr. Dad’s Web site

at http://www.mrdad.com.

Mr. M&M

Who would have thought a little hard-shelled candy could change a guy’s

life? Since Hills dad Jim Hager won the M&M eating contest two weeks ago

(by eating 115 with chopsticks in three minutes), he’s been an

international sensation.

“I’ve had calls from morning radio shows in Iowa, Salt Lake City, Canada

and Australia,” he says, laughing. For the Toronto interview, they really

hammed it up, comparing him to famous Olympians, with theme music and

everything. Hager even has had producers from the Ellen DeGeneres and

Sharon Osbourne shows fighting over who gets to bring him to Los Angeles

for an interview.

It’s safe to say Hager is eating up the attention. But he may want to lay

off the M&M’s for awhile (though a complimentary bag and related gifts

were delivered to him yesterday at the Montclarion office). His day job is

— are you ready for this — a dental plan manager.

Outdoor classroom

Reader Joanne Hartman says she and 18 kids from the Canyon Elementary

School went “dock sailing” the other day. They toured an environmental

research yacht moored at the Berkeley Marina. Local shipbuilder Tom Wylie

designed the 65-foot Derek M. Baylis in his Canyon workshop — which

brings me to a point about this Contra Costa village.

It’s an artist enclave full of talented people, many of whom volunteer at

the little Canyon School. But because of a dwindling population of

children, this public K-8 school needs more students. If you’re

interested, call the school at 925-376-4671.

Improving Montclair

If you’ve been following this column, you know I’ve been printing a

variety of answers to a Village improvement survey being conducted by

Friends of Montclair Village. Helena Foster has this feedback on the

shopping district: “There aren’t enough places where people can sit down

and enjoy the outdoors. Not enough benches, etc. It doesn’t have a natural

foods store and I would love to see an organic restaurant.” She suggests

planting more trees and adding benches and outdoor art (sculptures and

fountains) to the downtown area.

Laurie Sanchez likes the personality of shops like What The Traveller Saw,

but wishes there were more outdoor seating for her to sip her Peet’s

coffee and eat her Grinders sandwich. “I was sorry the merchants were so

opposed to converting that block into a no traffic/plaza area,” she

writes. She also suggests getting merchant cooperation to use various

parking lots (World Savings, Safeway, Albertson’s) and then provide clear

signage advising when parking is available.

Then there’s the perspective Phyllis Bishop has from living in Montclair

since 1940. She remembers “when horses grazed on an open pasture where

Albertson’s now sits. The Safeway site was a stone yard, where sand and

gravel were sold. There was a nursery where McCaulou’s sits, and the

Sacramento Northern Railway ran on tracks up behind the present parking

structure.”

Bishop says change is inevitable, but what bothers her is the intersection

of Mountain and Antioch Court. It was once a green belt with a small house

where the Montclarion was published for a while. She longs for a park-like

setting there today and says the idea of a pedestrian courtyard would make

much more sense.

By Ginny Prior

Since biblical times, folks have enjoyed the fruit of the vine and other

fermented juices. After all, it’s the spirit that warms the body and

soothes the soul. So it’s no surprise that the Kerry House is hosting

twice-monthly discussions on religion in its Irish pub. It’s a “six-pack

of presentations,” if you will, that begins with a happy hour and evolves

into lively talks on God.

There’s no doubt, this is geared for the young at heart. Pints flow freely

at the Piedmont Avenue bar as folks congregate to share ideas and listen

to speakers. Priests from local Catholic churches talk openly about

Christianity today, providing a forum for new thoughts. And perhaps it’s

the spirits that allow for such free-flowing conversation — ideas you

might not share in the hallowed halls of your own church. For a schedule

of upcoming Tuesday night talks and more information on Theology on Tap,

log on to http://www.eastbaytot.org.

Shop talk

Montclair has three new shops on La Salle Avenue, next to Movie Express.

Two are jewelry stores, which are great for window shopping. The sparkling

beads and baubles catch your eye as you pass by Jewel Box of Montclair and

Meridian Jewelry and Design. There’s a new clothing boutique, Le Rouge, on

the block, too, where Special Tees used to be.

Next to the post office, Nelly’s Java has been remodeled in warm colors,

with a high-tech feel. The coffee shop is offering free wireless Internet

access to customers now, so I think I’ll set up shop there. Oh, and one

last thing. New garbage and recycling cans are springing up in the

Village. They’re definitely an improvement over the badly stained

containers we’ve had for the past few years.

Oakland listens

Here’s a lesson for anyone who thinks you can’t fight City Hall. Reader

Jill Broadhurst says she’s finally talked the Public Works Department into

making some pedestrian safety changes at La Salle Avenue and Liggett Drive

in Montclair.

“After much back and forth and feeding me the line of ‘there is no

collision history,’ they finally put down a crosswalk and posted signs for

zooming motorists,” she writes, adding that it’s time to give Oakland

credit where credit is due.

Timeless art

At 76, hills artist Fred Martin has a passion that shows no signs of

aging. In fact, he has several exhibitions up right now, including a

brilliant retrospect at the Oakland Museum of California.

It’s fun to see how Martin’s work has changed over the decades. In the

late ’50s he painted San Francisco’s decaying Victorian homes. In the

decade of “free love,” he played with collages and fertility themes.

>From early urban landscapes on masonite and board to large pastel drawings

of his travels, Martin’s work is thought-provoking and often deeply

spiritual. He’ll be giving a slide lecture at the Oakland Museum at 2 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 12. For more information, log on to http://www.museumca.org.

Great night out

After years of hearing about the fantastic performances at Alameda’s

Altarena Playhouse, I finally made it to one the other night. What a gem!

This intimate Park Street theater offers A-1 entertainment for about the

same price as popcorn and a movie.

The playhouse’s rendition of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” was

riveting, and I really felt like part of the asylum. Next up is the

perfect Halloween offering: “Jekyll & Hyde — The Musical.” For more

information, log on to http://www.altarena.org.

Modern-day shepherd

The weed-munching goats have left the Oakland hills for greener pastures

in Dixon. Modern-day shepherd Jose Surichaqui goes where his flock goes,

living in his little trailer and tending the herd with the help of three

ranch dogs. How appropriate that he spends time each summer on Shepherd

Canyon Road.

And how serendipitous, too, that a contractor doing a remodel in the hills

recently found this in the home’s wall: A 1937 newspaper with the

headline, “Goats for sale in the Fruitvale area.” Some things never

change, thankfully.