IT’S THE CLASSIC rags to riches story, with a Montclair twist. In 1990, Gary Erickson was like a ship without a rudder. At least that’s what his dad thought. At the age of 33, he had no real job and was living in a garage in Berkeley. This is not to say that Gary was lazy. He was an avid bike rider, and this is how the story begins.

On a marathon ride one day, Gary was wolfing down energy bars like they were going out of style. But with 50 miles left on his 175-mile ride, his energy level was crashing and he couldn’t choke down one more Power Bar. It was then, that he had an epiphany. “I can make a better product than this,” he thought to himself. So he went back to his mother’s Montclair kitchen and the Clif Bar was born.

The fact that Gary’s mom was an expert baker didn’t hurt. “I grew up in this great Greek family,” Gary told me, “and every holiday we were always cooking.” In fact, Gary shocked his teacher, one year, when he brought in 100 buttery croissants that he’d made from scratch. His mother’s cookie recipes were equally delicious and were the foundation for the first Clif Bars, sans butter, oil and sugar. He used naturally processed rice syrup instead.

The Clif Bars took off. They were selling so well, that in the year 2000, Gary was offered $120 million for the business he owned with just one partner. He was tempted to take the money and run.

Then he had what he called “big epiphany number two.” “I was just two hours from walking away and having the money wired to my account — when I left the office, went around the block, and decided not to sell the company.” Gary and his wife, Kit, bought out the partner and have never looked back.

“It’s not just about the money,” he said. “I didn’t want to see all the work that I’d done become unraveled. As a private company, we do so many unique things, and go overboard for our quality.”

Indeed, a mega-corporation might be tempted to cut costs for the sake of its stockholders. But Gary and Kit are increasing their bottom line. They’ve gone all organic with the Clif Bar and hope to do the same with their Luna Bar and other products.

And how does Gary’s father feel about all this? He’s as proud as can be, and not just because of his son’s success. Gary’s dad’s name is Clif — and now, everybody knows his name.

(Gary’s new book is called “Raising the Bar: The Story of Clif Bar Inc.,” and is available online at BarnesandNoble.com).

Neighborhood alert

I’m getting reports, again, about door-to-door magazine solicitors in the hills. These are typically young people who are driven here in a van and dropped off in neighborhoods to make their sales quotas. One resident tells me a solicitor came back so many times, it felt like harassment.

If you have reason to believe that there’s any suspicious activity (last year a solicitor was arrested on an outstanding warrant), call the Oakland police on the non-emergency line at 510-777-3333.

Outstretched hands

What do wealthy Moraga and inner city Oakland have in common? They are linked by a volunteer-reading program that started six years ago at Saint Monica’s Catholic Church. The Moraga parish wanted to help a struggling Oakland Catholic school, so they chose Saint Anthony’s on East 15th Street.

Not only do volunteers help young students read, they bring them socks, shoes, uniforms and other clothing their parents may not be able to afford. If you’d like to help, contact Maureen Graf at 925-376-7226.

Birth of a car pool

Here’s a trivia question for you. How old is the car pool? Hills commuter Carol Van Steenberg says she was actually in one of the first carpool lines back in 1985 when a photographer from “Newsweek” came by to take a picture.

“The photo, taken by James D. Wilson (of) ‘Newsweek,’ shows me and a guy getting into one car, with another person about to get into the car behind us,” she says.

Back then, the carpool pick-up spot was on Park Boulevard, across from Corpus Christi Church (not down the street as it is now). The Dec. 16, 1985, article credits the kindness of strangers for cutting the 45-minute San Francisco commute time in half, not to mention the 75 cent toll it saved the drivers. Oh, how times have changed!

THE NUMBER ONE question I get asked these days has nothing to do with my kids or the weather. It’s all about what’s going on with Highway 13.

Despite the coverage in the Montclarion, rumors persist that our beloved little thoroughfare is being widened. Not true! It is, however, being altered in a way that angers a lot of us.

It’s a prime example of bad state-to-local communication, according to one local political source.

Here we’ve been trying to get scenic highway status for the Warren Freeway, and Caltrans comes along and starts taking out foliage. Why? Because the money was earmarked for guardrail replacement, and Caltrans decided it would be most efficient to put a wall into the median section — so it could use street sweeping vehicles instead of hand crews.

First, we got the plan for a sound wall (which was soundly thwarted) — and now this. It’s enough to drive some motorists crazy, when all they see on their daily commute is a concrete jungle.

A public hearing on the matter may take place this month, with the aim of convincing Caltrans to “up its budget” for beautification. But it’s a long, hard road — so to speak. We’ll be following the “progress” every step of the way.

Saying goodbye

After 34 years as the cosmetics lady at Longs Drugs and its predecessor, Guy’s Drugs in Montclair, Joan Gonzales is leaving. It’s the end of an era, really. Joan was around when drugstore cosmetics were all under glass, and there was no self service.

“We showed customers how to apply makeup, and we went to intense schools for Revlon and Elizabeth Arden,” she says. It was a tricky business, applying just the right amounts of pancake and mascara. But Joan thinks makeup is much better these days. “Now they have nice formulas — not the heavy lubricating creams of the past.”

Joan is moving to Healdsburg, where she says she’ll probably help out at the Longs. One thing’s for sure — whatever Joan does, she’ll put on a “happy face.” Good luck, Joan, the Village will miss you.

Shop talk

When it comes to inspirations, this story “takes the cake.”

Glenview mom Jennifer Sandstrom was putting together a basket of kitchen gadgets for an auction item at Joaquin Miller School when she thought to herself, “Hey, this is kind of fun!” Little did she know it would lead to a passion for cookery that would have her opening her own kitchen shop.

Stop by “Someone’s In The Kitchen” on La Salle in Montclair and see what’s cooking. FYI, Jennifer knows her way around the oven, too. She owned La Farine Bakery on College Avenue for ten years.

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I wonder if Oprah knows about this. There’s a local book club that’s been meeting since the early 1950s.

Reader Irene Olson says the group is a spin-off of the Oakland/Piedmont branch of the American Association of University Women. Around 25 women meet from September to May, starting with social time and then diving into their book of the month, with a review and lively discussion.

The women are celebrating their 50th anniversary with a Halloween luncheon at the Bellevue Club in Oakland, and two of the founding members are coming.

Author, author

Speaking of books, the head of the Sophia Center for spiritual studies at Oakland’s Holy Names University hosted a book party of his own this week. Jim Conlon’s new publication is called “At the Edge of Our Longing” and deals with the human need for a sense of purpose and belonging. It’s a poignant book for those who are searching for answers in life.

Going batty

Maggie Hooper would have stumped the panel on “What’s my line.” She’s a bat conservationist, who’s making the rounds at the Oakland public libraries this month. Just in time for Halloween, she even brings her furry fruit-eating friends with her.

Then there’s the annual pilgrimage to the pumpkin patch. Kids from Thornhill Elementary are going out to Joan’s Farm in Livermore today to pick a gourd from the 14-acre spread. This old-fashioned farm has a western town, museum and even a giant corn maze (if you really want to lose yourself).

AT THE EDGE of the Redwood forest, where the trees reach out to a brownish-green meadow, there’s a warm wood lodge. Inside, the fire dances and throws light across the room. “This is a treasure,” I think to myself as I take it all in. It’s like being in Montana or some far away place, but it’s here in the Oakland hills.

This magical spot is the lodge where the Redwood Bowmen Club has been meeting since 1939. The group’s president, Vail Briggs, took me up there the other day, and we shot a few arrows together.

“It’s a great way to get outdoors,” she says, “away from housework, the office and cement, and enjoy the beautiful state we live in.” Briggs describes archery as almost “Zen-like,” with its meditative focus on the target.

The range is open to the public, right behind Chabot Space and Science Center in Redwood Regional Park.

How popular is archery? Nationwide, the National Archery Association has over 50,000 members and is getting ever more attention from hunters and athletes.

But you don’t have to be either one to shoot in Redwood Park. For $6 a round ($3 for kids under 14 with an adult), you can try your skill at hitting 3D animal targets Saturday mornings. It’s the fun of hunting without the kill, but you need to bring your own equipment.

There’s also a turkey shoot Sunday, Nov. 21, when every kid “bags” a Rock Cornish Game Hen, and adults can win frozen turkeys. No real gobblers are killed on the premises, thankfully. Parking is free in the space center lot, and you’ll probably find a warm beverage waiting for you when you at the lodge.

For more information, or free instruction for a school, church or scout group, call youth project manager Jess Aldape at 510-237-7257 or send him an e-mail at j archer300@sbcglobal.net.

Lurking danger

It’s my sincere belief that most people are good and decent in the world. But scary incidents like these point out the importance of talking with your kids about strangers.

A hills teen student is said to be recovering from an alleged assault by a man in his 20s, who reportedly slipped a drug into her drink about two weeks ago. This happened after a night out with her friends, who didn’t see her leave with the suspect.

Meanwhile, a stranger gave a group of young Corpus Christi School students quite a scare when he spoke to them from his older model bluish-gray pickup truck at the corner of Park Boulevard and Leimert last week. The children were participating in a designated Walk to School Day.

They were just a couple of blocks from school when the suspect pulled up and asked them if they wanted some Spiderman stickers. They hurried to class where they reported the incident, and police in Oakland and Piedmont were called.

Garbage dump

Anyone who travels down rural Pinehurst Road from the Oakland hills to Moraga has seen the dumpster-size pile of trash that someone left there last weekend.

Neighbors who came on the scene almost immediately afterward say the offenders tied a rope to the guard rail — and the other end to a bicycle at the bottom of their garbage heap. Then the alleged polluters drove their trash-filled truck at high speed around the hair-pin turn, and the junk came tumbling out onto the road.

“It’s an old trick,” one witness told me. “You don’t have to lift a finger.”

But sheriff’s deputies in the area may get the last laugh. They pulled a number of names and addresses out of the mess and are going after the suspects.

Zoo games

The Oakland Zoo has a chance to make a cool 25 grand in a new Microsoft game contest. It’s made the semi-finals of a competition for America’s favorite zoo — and now the outcome is up to us.

Take a minute to log on to and cast your vote today — at www.oaklandzoo.org or www.microsoft.com/games/zootycoon/zoo2/favorite-zoo.asp. The winning zoo not only gets the cash, it gets the bragging rights to this big national popularity contest. I’ve always known our zoo had animal magnetism.

PARDON ME if I quote a famous line for my opening: “The Hills are alive, with the sound of music.” In this case, it’s Cuban music we’ll be hearing when the new La Taza Café opens on Thornhill Drive later this month (or soon thereafter).

Montclair couple Daniel Brajkovich and Minette Montoya have big plans for this place, which has seen a couple of restaurants in recent years, including the Thornhill Café and Canvas (which is still serving meals until the close of escrow).

“What we’d like to do is bring in different kinds of promotions and things like a flamenco night with food from southern Spain,” says Brajkovich.

His thoughts race as he imagines a guitar player and a dancer entertaining his patrons as they nibble on small plates of tantalizing food called tapas.

“We’re not looking to be stuffy,” he says. “We’re looking to be relaxed, friendly and social where people can come in to more of a lounge atmosphere, and they can have a glass of wine, maybe a couple of small tapas and discuss the day’s events.”

There’ll be a full dinner menu as well, and he plans to keep serving until almost 11 p.m., saying there’s a need for more late-night offerings in Montclair. Oh — and one more thing — Brajkovich says he’s opening up the patio outside. And true to the Cuban spirit, it’ll be a place where you can smoke a good cigar.

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Thanks to Marian O’ Brien for letting me know that the new East Bay Dance Center has opened in the Glenview district. She says her two daughters have been dancing with director Bonnie Sita for four years: “We feel so fortunate that they have been able to express their love of dance with this wonderful woman who is not only skillful and full of positive energy, but who is a kind and caring professional that you would love to have your kids dance with.”

The center (at 1318 Glenfield Ave.) offers everything from ballet to hip hop, and the new location is pretty special. It’s in the historic building where the Glenview Women’s Club met from 1914 to 1934. For more information call 510-336-3262.

Water therapy

What do you get when you cross a group of wild women (and one man) with water? You get the aptly named Aquanuts, who perform their own brand of synchronized swimming for local charities.

You should have seen them swing their pool noodles last weekend in a lively performance at the Hills Swim and Tennis Club.

On a serious note, a member of the audience who used to be an Aquanut herself was too sick to perform. She has brain cancer and came all the way from Texas to be at the show. And fittingly, the proceeds went to the National Brain Tumor Foundation.

Garden therapy

Sue Morgan is looking for folks who like to garden and want to help propagate plants in Joaquin Miller Park this fall. The greenery will eventually be planted along Sausal Creek, as part of the effort to restore the native habitat there. It’s a great program for kids, too, and classes from several local schools will be planting, pulling weeds and keeping track of their work in journals.

If you’d like more information on how you can help, call Sue at 510-531-6293.

Dig this

Most parents have seen the movie or read the book “Holes.” It’s the award-winning story of a desert camp where juvenile delinquents dig holes all day.

Well, it’s coming to a theater near you, and this time it’s live. The Alameda Children’s Musical Theatre is literally breaking new ground with this performance of “Holes,” since the group will be doing the whole thing (including the hole digging) outdoors.

Hills sixth grader Shannon Powers, who attends Corpus Christi School, plays the part of Kissing Kate Barlow and hopes kids will come see one of their favorite stories come to life. The play runs Oct. 9-24 at the St. Phillip Neri School lot on High and Van Buren in Alameda. For show times and reservations, call 510-521-6965.

THERE’S SOMETHING about Sinatra and a good martini that sets the world right. So how could I pass up a feature on a couple of “local cats” like the Martini Brothers?

The “brothers,” aka Grand Lake residents Bob Dalpe and “Mr. Rick” Fishman, have been promoting what they call the martini culture for years. But are the old standards back in vogue again? Not so’s you’d notice, says Mr. Rick. “I don’t see it as a hip new thing, but it seems to have really become the mainstream for the cocktail culture over the past 12 years.”

Still, finding a place for their band to play locally hasn’t been easy. “We’ve been really involved in the whole swing thing in the Bay Area, playing at places like the Top of The Mark and the Compass Rose, but there’s no place to play in Oakland,” Mr. Rick laments.

But the Martini Brothers have landed a groovy gig at one of the swankiest spots in San Francisco — Le Colonial. “It’s an upscale French Vietnamese Restaurant with long rattan bars and a lot of sophistication,” says Mr. Rick, who has his six-piece combo playing there from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. Thursday nights.

I caught their act the other night and believe me — it’s as smooth as a hot toddy in winter. The band really draws a crowd, too, since so many people are dying to go out where they can dance and drink and get dressed up. For this, San Francisco seems like the perfect spot.

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Speaking of music, thanks to hills photographer Reenie Raschke for sharing this: “I am always amazed at the jewels I find on my block. I met my guitar teacher, Caren Armstrong, when I put a note on her door saying, “‘It seems like a lot of people are walking into your house with guitars…. Is it possible you teach?'”

What Reenie discovered was that Caren not only teaches, she’s an amazing singer and songwriter — with three CD’s and a long list of credits. “My daughter and I went to the Mountain Winery in Saratoga to watch her open for the Beach Boys,” Reenie wrote. “She plays regularly at Strings in Berkeley, and has a lovely gig coming up at the Freight and Salvage in Oakland on Oct. 10. She so personifies the groovy women in our town.”

By the way, Reenie is a “groovy woman” in her own right. You can check out her work (and make an appointment for your holiday photo) at the Studio Montclair in the Village.

Flower power

Imagine Oakland abloom in yellow daffodils.

Keep Oakland Beautiful is giving away 25,000 free daffodil bulbs this month to groups or individuals who promise to plant them in public places. No fair putting them in your back yard garden — these buttercup beauties should be placed in parks and median strips, for all to share.

To order bulbs or for more information, call 510-434-5126.

Coming soon

Nero Tovar (owner of the wonderful Senior Nero’s on Grand Avenue) tells me there’s a new Cuban restaurant going into his building on Thornhill Drive.

The owners of Jackson’s Canvas — who are still serving lunch and dinner — will be getting out of the restaurant business in about four weeks, but will do catering in the future.

A Montclair couple is opening La Taza de Café sometime in late October or early November. I’ll have more in my column next week, but if you’ve been longing for live entertainment in Monclair, you’ll want to stay tuned. Co-owners Daniel Brajkovich and Minette Montoya say they’ll be bringing in Latin music and even a flamenco dancer or two.

The candyman

Remember the hills dad who broke the world record for eating M&M’s with a pair of chopsticks? Jim Hager may be taking his act to Japan soon.

Apparently, the Nippon Television Network is courting Hager for a show entitled “World Records” and may be flying Hager to Tokyo. Aside from good television, Jim’s act would make a good slogan over there. M&M’s …they melt in your mouth, not in your chopsticks.

HER NAME IS not Mary, and she’s not “quite contrary” — but boy can her garden grow.

I’m talking about hills resident Nancy Bauer, whose artful eye and whimsical flair have helped her design a most interesting garden. And it’s not even on her own property.

“There was this empty lot here that belonged to my neighbors,” she says, pointing to a strip of land just to the side of her house.

With the neighbor’s permission, Nancy started digging, and planting waxy begonias and decorative sage and all manner of flowers and bushes with one thing in common — their resistance to deer. But while deer seem to ignore the garden (with the help of a repellent called Liquid Fence), humans adore it for the joy that it brings to the neighborhood.

Nestled amongst the baby’s-breath and blue flax are grazing cows and plump pink pigs and other metal sculptures.

“I buy whatever’s cute and comical and in the budget,” Nancy says, referring to the garden art that’s never more than $20. She finds most of it in catalogs, including the cat-shaped birdhouse that’s hanging by a tail from a nearby tree.

It’s a roadside garden that makes neighbors smile. And it reminds us that when life gets too serious, we can always go play in the dirt!

Wake-up call

Hills neighborhoods are getting hit, again, by a rash of break-ins.

The Montclair Safety Improvement Council reports a growing number of car and house burglaries in the past month, especially on these streets: Ascot, Brookside, Burton, Chelsea, Fernwood, Pershing, Moraga, Mountain and Wilton.

Police have been asked to step up patrols again in the hills and are warning all of us to lock our car doors and all house windows and doors — even when we’re at home.

You can find out more information, along with Oakland police alerts, on the Web at www.montclairsic.org. The Web site also has offers on locking mailboxes, which help deter mail theft.

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West Oakland was a colorful melting pot of cultures and languages in the early part of last century. But historians say its history has been largely ignored.

Thanks to Mary Mousalimas for telling me about the efforts of the Ascension Historical Committee of Oakland’s Greek Orthodox Church to piece together life in this bustling, densely populated area prior to 1950.

She says almost every ethnic group was found in West Oakland at that time, including Assyrians, Chinese, Irish, Italians, Lebanese, Chicanos, Japanese, Romani (Gypsies), Greeks, Syrians, Portuguese and Slovenians. Each group had its own culture, language and in many cases, place of worship.

If you have photographs and family history you’d like to share, the Ascension Historical Committee would like to hear from you. Call the group at 510-531-3400.

Frightening display

I encountered a haunted house the other day. Imagine my surprise at seeing a ghost in the middle of a September heat wave.

But Halloween is just five weeks away, and the Terrace is ready. That sweet little coffee and gift shop on Broadway Terrace is showing its dark side — with a scary back room full of ghosts, bats and skeletons.

What makes this haunted house different is that everything is for sale. Dancing spiders, maniacal monsters and mechanical witches on brooms — they’re going like “hot-cakes at a pancake breakfast.”

But be not afraid. There’s enough merchandise to keep the place going — at least until October.

This is the story of Clyde, a tan-nosed tabby who’s lucky to be alive.

He was thrown from a car, recently, near Oakland’s Mormon Temple. No-one knows who did it, but the kitten was found screaming in the middle of the night — with broken teeth and an umbilical hernia.

Thank goodness for volunteers with the Feral Cat Foundation, who took Clyde in and nursed him back to health. He’s fine, now, and ready for adoption.

Won’t somebody take Clyde in and give him love and affection? His early life was a nightmare, but he’s ready to purr again, with a bowl of warm milk and a loving lap. And he still has eight lives.

If you’d like to find out more about Clyde or the Feral Cat Foundation, call volunteer Corene Carpenter Martin at 925-376-6937 or log on to an amazing Web site with information and pictures on dozens of rescue animals — www.feralcatfoundation.org. This Web site has helped pet lovers adopt almost 14,000 cats, dogs, bunnies and birds over the last three years!

Flying high

A group of Oakland passengers got a treat on United Airlines, recently.

Montclarion reader Steven Fuerch says he shared a flight with Oakland’s Olympic gold medalist Andre Ward. The celebrity boxer was flying home through Denver and had just said goodbye to a family member when he took his seat on the plane — in coach class. Upon landing, the crew made an announcement, and Ward personally greeted everyone as they got off the plane.

For a guy who must be flying high, he sure is “grounded.”

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Thanks to reader Catherine Brady for sharing an item that is music to her ears. Literally.

She says every morning she walks from Montclair to Shepherd Canyon and back, and lately she’s been hearing music from the parking garage on La Salle.

“At first, as it was a Sunday, I figured a saxophonist was enjoying the echo, and I thought ‘how wonderful for someone to share their music,'” she writes. But Brady says now she’s hearing it on weekdays and is wondering about the source.

She says it’s just another thing that makes Montclair such a unique and wonderful place to live!

Green tips

Illegal dumping is always a problem in Oakland, but this is dumping of a different kind.

Councilwoman Jean Quan says unsuspecting homeowners are hiring workers to clear brush from their yards, only to find that it’s not being disposed of properly.

In some cases, the tree limbs, stumps and mounds of tinder-dry brush end up in empty lots or canyons, where they are once again a fire hazard. She says the way to avoid this is to pay your contractor only after he’s presented a receipt from the Davis Street Transfer Station.

Getting hitched

Wedding bells, not bike bells, are ringing at Montclair’s local cyclery shop. That’s because Wheels of Justice owner Justice Baxter and business partner Dan Watson are both getting married this fall.

Justice is tying the knot to Rain Johnson in a partly Scottish ceremony, which means he’ll be showing off his “Scottish calves” in a kilt. Scottish calves, by the way, are big beefy leg muscles sculpted by long hours of pedaling.

Watson is no slouch on a bike, either. He won the heart of his gal, Gaby Raymond, when he showed up in Munich riding a unicycle.

SOME MEN will tell you, there are four seasons — winter, spring, summer and football. And as we approach this great season of football, there’s a new Bay Area team to watch. It’s a team of inspired, hard-working players who run laps and lift weights for hours each day. It’s a team of young men, plus one gutsy young woman.

Freshman Raquel Shocron plays football for Bishop O’Dowd. It’s not her first time on the gridiron. “I played football in middle school and heard that not a lot of girls try out,” she said, referring to her new high school team.

Two weeks ago, she showed up for practice and was assigned to the corner-back position. “It’s a lot harder than I thought,” she admits. “I thought it would be all fun and games, but it’s so serious.” How serious? Shocron’s father was trying to catch her eye during a recent practice, but the freshman player knew that looking at him might mean extra drills.

And speaking of drills, how does Shocron do on the line against her bigger, brawnier opponents? She says it’s all in the way she tackles. “I try to, like, go for the legs. I just block it out that most of them are bigger than me, and just go for it,” she says.

The technique is working. “At the beginning, (the guys) would tease me and talk about how I was going to quit. Now, some people still taunt me but the more mature players stick up for me.”

Being O’Dowd’s only female football player has other advantages, too, like star status.

Shocron says a junior came up to her the other day and told her she was sticking up for all girls. “It’s like girl power,” she says, laughing. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that Raquel has another sport to give her strength. In Tai Kwon Do, it’s called a black belt.

Small world

Mention Deadwood, and folks may think of that vulgar new show on HBO.

But when East Bay Realtor Nina Quan thinks of Deadwood, she thinks of her great grandfather Fee Lee Wong. “As a young man, he came to the states and lived in San Francisco for awhile,” she recalls, “then met some investors and followed them to South Dakota for the Black Hills mining.”

Quan says Fee Lee eventually started a family in Deadwood and opened an herbal pharmacy on the dusty main street, before returning to China and dying of an illness he contracted.

Generations later, his memory lives on. In fact, 70 members of Fee Lee’s family traveled to Deadwood last month to march in the Chinese section of the 1876 historical parade.

“We have a huge family,” Quan tells me.

It’s wonderful that they know so much about their ancestry in the wild, wild West.

Great beyond

Congratulations to Mills College doctor and anthropologist Robert Anderson for his new book called “The Ghosts of Iceland.” It deals with the fascinating topic of spirit doctors — deceased practitioners who are called on for their healing powers.

Anderson spent time teaching in Iceland, and his research on ghost doctors looks at how people make contact with the dead in medical and non medical ways. His book is published by Wadsworth Publishing Co.

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A word of warning from one of our Montclair merchants. Sherry Taddei says a briefcase belonging to her boss was taken from Montclair Florist recently, when no-one was looking.

Luckily, a neighbor found it the next day with nothing missing. The thief may have committed a “foul” deed, but the hero who returned the valise was rewarded with a fragrant bouquet.

Cajun spice

That city “‘cross the estuary” knows how to party. Alameda is home to the hottest Cajun dance club outside New Orleans and Texas. Every Friday night the top Zydeco bands in the west pull out their washboards and accordions to dish out the Cajun spice. Alameda Eagles Hall has a great wooden dance floor, too, that makes the two step even more fun. For more information, give Louisiana Sue a ring at 916-962-6415.

Animal corner

Remember the song “I’m a little teapot”? Well, there’s is a little teapot poodle, which at birth is the size of a church mouse, in our midst.

Given its size, you can understand why hills child-care specialist Vaughn K. had her poodle snuggled inside a handbag the other day. The 3-week-old puppy was sleeping between the wallet and the lipstick, under a Kleenex-sized blanket. Thank goodness Vaughn didn’t need to blow her nose.

THE ROAD to success can be long and hard. Especially if it’s an actual road that you’re trying to improve.

This is the story of a group of homeowners who wanted, and are finally getting, a safer street to the top of Montclair. Mike Petouhoff, the head of the Shepherd Canyon Homeowners Association, says you’ll see changes soon, on the long and winding Shepherd Canyon Road.

If you travel this route, you know the treacherous hairpin turn as Shepherd meets Arrowhead. After much lobbying, including a barrage of phone calls triggered by two neighbors who passed out leaflets last week, Oakland officials have agreed to recontour the road to make the curve easier to negotiate.

Crews are repaving that whole upper stretch of roadway, anyway, so why not fix this hazard? And speaking of hazards, the spot where Shepherd meets Skyline is no picnic either.

“It’s so steep,” says Petouhoff, “in 6 feet of travel you gain 4 feet in elevation.” He says the city plans to regrade that stretch, grinding some pieces of the road bed down and building some up to lessen the impact of the elevation.

So next time your travels take you up Shepherd Canyon Road, think of the hard-working homeowners who finally found the road to success — perseverance. Thank you, Mike, and all the members of your association.

Street talk

Jameela Williams called me this week to say her shop, Ester’s Garden Body and Bath, has relocated in Orinda. After six years on La Salle in Montclair, Williams says she needed to downsize and found a smaller, more intimate space in Theatre Square.

With the historic Orinda Theater as the center’s crown jewel, Williams should do well. Even better, she’s sandwiched between a fitness center and a hair salon. “So you can get your hair done, your body done, and then you’re ready for my lingerie,” she jokes.

Mailbag

Thanks to Rose P. for pointing out a story on Oakland’s Fruitvale Village that ran recently in the New York Times. The piece touts the project as having played a critical role in turning around one of Oakland’s poorest neighborhoods.

Despite the low average income, Fruitvale produces the second highest level of sales tax among Oakland’s neighborhoods, according to city figures. The numbers also show that land values have shot up sharply around this festive urban village.

Illegal dumping

If only there were security cameras trained on “hot spots” for dumping. One of the worst places is 35th Street behind Home Depot. It’s terrible blight on a direct route to two freeway on-ramps, and it’s always a mess.

Not nearly as bad, but perhaps more disturbing because of the natural beauty surrounding it, is Pinehurst Road down to Canyon. On two occasions last week, a variety of garbage was dumped, including three mattresses and assorted cans, bottles and clothing. To their credit, Moraga police took care of the cleanup the day I reported it. The Moraga police can be reached at 925-284-5010.

Animal instincts

It’s one thing to pet a cat or dog. It’s another, altogether, to give them a massage.

But Lisa James offers rubdowns for Rover and other assorted animals as part of her Bay Area pet care business. I saw her ad in the Glenview Laundromat the other day and had to find out more.

“From pit bulls to snakes — if it’s an animal, I love it,” she says, adding she can change problem behaviors after spending just a week with most pets. There’s no word on how the snakes react to a massage, but hopefully it’s not with a big squeeze. You can reach Lisa at 707-434-7133.

SCHOOL DAYS, school days. Just as our summer really kicks in, the kids return to the classrooms. There’s something cruel and unusual about this, but that’s life in the foggy Bay Area.

This year, there’s more reason than ever to celebrate this annual back to school ritual. There’s been a critical shift in fashion, away from bare midriffs and seriously sagging jeans.

If only this had happened a year earlier, Bishop O’Dowd High School might not have gone to mandatory uniforms. But the irony is, the preppy look is in this fall — with collared shirts for boys and plaid skirts and ponchos for girls.

For me, the timing is perfect. This week, my daughter starts high school, and my son begins junior high. Life doesn’t get any better.

Shop talk

Those who dream of a more “upscale” Montclair Village may be getting their wish. Not only is a new kitchen store opening soon on La Salle, but a renowned, high-end truffle shop is going in next door.

The owners of XOX Truffles Inc. actually live in Montclair — and have been waiting for this opportunity. (They’ll move into the shop occupied by Ester’s Garden Body and Bath).

Jean Marc and Casimira Gorce say their San Francisco business has been doing very well; they’ve received lots of acclaim and national press. Now, they want to expand closer to home.

XOX hopes to open sometime in November, permits permitting, and there are plans in the works for indoor seating — and an evening dessert bar.

Flag theft

I know it’s the Olympics, but even patriotism is no excuse for this: someone stole Old Glory from its pole at the top of La Salle in Montclair. “They actually lowered it the right way,” says Liz Silverman of the Montclair Village Association, “and didn’t cut it or anything. They just took it off.”

The flag was a memorial to Hank and John Raimondi, and Silverman says taking it is like “taking the offering out of the church plate.” If you have a clue about the red, white and blue, call her at 510-339-1000.

Purse snatching

You might call this a crime of opportunity.

A reader reports that a friend of hers was “mugged” in front of the Montclair Bank of America this week, just after an ATM withdrawal. The woman was putting her wallet back in her purse when a youth on a bike rode by and grabbed it.

The victim reported the crime to the bank’s security guard but wasn’t able to give a description of the suspect. It’s a reminder to all of us that our quaint little Village has big-city crime.

Field of screams

Oakland soccer parents are crying foul, after repeatedly finding the gate locked at the popular Spunkmeyer sports field. It seems that the city doesn’t have the staff to come out and unlock the field for every soccer practice and can’t pass the keys over to the coaches. Since vandalism precludes city staff from keeping the gates unlocked, players have just two choices — climb over the corral or suck in their guts and squeeze between the fence and the dumpster.

Cajun spice

That city ‘cross the estuary’ knows how to party. Alameda is home to the hottest Cajun dance club outside New Orleans and Texas. Every Friday night the top Zydeco bands in the West pull out their washboards and accordions to dish out the Cajun spice.

Alameda Eagles Hall has a great wooden dance floor, too, which makes the “two step” even more fun. For more information, give Louisiana Sue a ring at 916-962-6415.

Freebie alert

Thanks to Robin G. who reminds me of a longtime freebie in town. Montclair Golf Course, the little pitch and putt with the popular driving range, offers free Sunday night lessons for kids.

The one-hour clinics start at 6 p.m. and are good for youth 8 years old and up. The classes are offered seasonally, though, since only die-hard golfers like to be out in the winter rain.