MONTCLARION: DECEMBER 18,2009

‘TIS THE SEASON “… to get ripped off. Every year we hear the warnings: Don’t leave your valuables in the car. But we mess up anyway, and the bad guys know this.

Consider the recent rash of auto break-ins at Redwood Regional Park (Skyline Gate) and the nearby Hills Swim Club. Most have occurred in broad daylight, when it’s clear that the victims are going for a walk or a workout. In the time it takes to count to 10, the car window is shattered and the goods are grabbed “… everything from packages to purses to laptops. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: December 11, 2009

The loss of a pet can be devastating. For many of us, the family dog or cat is a loved one that can’t easily be replaced. To die of old age is one thing – you have time to prepare for your pet’s passing. But to succumb to something that can be prevented – is crushing.

Andrea Flaherty and her husband were walking their dog on Estates Drive in Piedmont, the evening after Thanksgiving. Their pet stopped to do what pets do – stick its nose in the grass and root around for food. Continue reading →

MONCLARION: DECEMBER 4, 2009

Its December 4th…do you know where your pickle is? Surely you hang a holiday pickle on your tree, for your little ones to find on Christmas morning. If not, you’re missing one of the great German holiday traditions – and a Town Crier favorite.

We’ve been hiding the pickle in our holiday fir since my daughter was 5 or 6. She’s 19 now, and she still competes with her brother to see who can get to the ornament first. Never mind that the tree nearly collapses in the kerfuffle, there’s a prize in it for the victor.

Perhaps to avoid the ruckus this year, I’ll create a theme tree of nothing but pickles. A tart little offering, to be sure, but at least the tree will survive through the holidays. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: NOVEMBER 27, 2009

They say that the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. With a hungry husband and a 6’4 teenage boy in my charge, I’ve come to realize this is more than an adage. So I want to publicly thank all the friends who’ve brought meals to our home during my recovery from hip surgery.

It brought tears to my eyes, the other night, when we sat down to yet another meal fit for a king. Lamb chops, tubule, eggplant, artichoke salad – even wine and home-made brownies. A dear friend had gone to all this trouble to show me how much she cared. She’d considered not just my needs, but those of my family, which has been stretched to the limits these last few weeks.

Night after night, the meals have been coming to our doorstep. Like Pavlov’s dog, we hear the bell ring and begin to salivate. And the parade of food never ends….the bubbling goodness of a spicy baked penne, the comforting combo of meatloaf and mashed potatoes, warm chickens and soups and salads and sides…and wine – my goodness the wine! Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: NOVEMBER 20, 2009

I’m not here to brag, but I’ve reached a milestone in my recovery from hip surgery. I’ve dumped the wheelchair and the walker, retired the crutch (by the fireplace), and settled on a nice little cane. It’s the sports model from Kaiser – with a sleek, curved design and enough power to go from zero to point-one mph in three seconds flat.

So I’m trying to come up with a name for my cane, which will be part of my persona for the next few months. Should it be a boy cane named Herb or Horatio, or maybe Michael? Or should I honor my girlfriends and all their support, with a female cane called Candy? Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: NOVEMBER 13, 2009

A lot has changed since we last got together. For one thing – I’m bionic. I’m home from the hospital with a perfectly-engineered part in my right hip – a titanium ball and socket that appears like a beam of light in my otherwise ghost-like x-rays.

“You have the cutest little bones.” I’m still stunned by the words that my doctor first shared in our post op visit. No-one has ever told me my bones are cute, or little. But then no-one has seen them from the inside out.

The 72 hours I spent in the hospital can only be described as a wild ride. Nurses coming and going – checking my vitals and giving me shots and dispensing more care than I probably deserved in a busy orthopedic unit. But I had the chocolate. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: NOVEMBER 6, 2009

Nothing beats a beat cop on a bicycle. Just ask the seven suspects rounded up in the hills, recently, for soliciting

Officer Maureen Vergara patroling the hills.

without a license. “It’s easy for them to duck and hide around here,” says officer Maureen Vergara. “But on the bike I can sneak up on them.”

Armed with her gun and handcuffs, Vergara rides her mountain bike around the hills at least once a week – responding to calls about door-to-door solicitors. “Their company is supposed to get a police certificate,” she says, but in most cases they don’t. They just hire a bunch of people and bring them up in a van to neighborhoods that seem “ripe for the picking”. Some of the solicitors have criminal records – outstanding warrants and drug violations and such. In almost every case, they’ve been hired without background checks. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: October 30, 2009

What condition my condition is in…

The older we get, the more we like to talk about our conditions. Next week I’ll be getting a procedure called a hip resurfacing. Sounds like something you get in a car wash – but I’m talking surgery – involving a titanium cup and a cap.

Oh, the sins of my youth. Looking back, I realize I was a bit hard on my little hippy. I had some blockbuster falls on my right side – doing crazy things like riding bobsleds and rodeo bulls. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: October 23, 2009

I sent my son off to school, this morning, with his sports gear stuffed in his bag. But in another part of Oakland, a mother was grieving the loss of her young son. 20 year old Phat Vin Le was the victim of a drive-by shooting in East Oakland this month. His ties to our community came through his years of playing baseball in the Noll/Soll league. Reader Ron Ruma says a shrine near Phat’s house tells it all. “Amid the flowers and candles were such things as his photo from Tim Ryan’s 2002 NOLL/SOLL “Juniors” team, the Paw Sox, (and) some memento baseballs from prior years/games.” Phat was a young man with a bright future – who was driving home around dinnertime when he was struck by a bullet near his house. My thoughts and prayers go out to Phat’s family and friends. Continue reading →

MONTCLARION: October 16, 2009

WE’VE USHERED in a new era for politics — the age of contrition. Never have so many elected officials, nationwide, used the “s” word to apologize for bad policy and hasty mistakes. Love means never having to say you’re sorry — but then we haven’t really been feeling the love from our politicians lately, have we? Continue reading →