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.

THERE’S A SNAP in the air that says autumn is coming. The fall crush has

begun in the wine country and here in the hills, and the maples and ambars

are showing their blush. Neighbors are gathering on streets and circle

drives all over town — sharing salads and casseroles and laughter.

September is for picnics, and we had a blockbuster on Manzanita Drive last

week. The guys from our neighborhood fire station showed up — with two

shiny red engines.

As they unfurled the hose and set up some cones for the kids to squirt, a

flood of memories came back to me. It was the early ’60s on Marilee Drive

in Hopkins, Minn. The long wooden picnic tables were filled with hot

dishes, three-bean salads and Jell-O molds. We kids were catching crawdads

in the little creek, and the men on the block were getting ready to set

the swamp on fire — a summer ritual for weed control.

But one year the wind kicked up, and the swamp became a raging inferno. In

a panic, the men grabbed their garden hoses — but they might as well have

been spitting on the flames. Thankfully, the fire department came and

saved our street. From that day on, I’ve always invited firemen to my

block parties. They’re heroes. And even heroes need to eat.

Raiders on the runway: These guys “clean up pretty good.” Some of the

toughest Oakland Raiders on the field will swap jerseys for sports jackets

at an Oct. 7 dinner and fashion show at the Claremont Resort and Spa. Bill

and Julie Romanowski will be strutting their stuff, along with Tami and

Trace Armstrong and other famous football couples. Bloomingdales is

providing the clothes and the evening’s proceeds go to a favorite Raider

charity — the East Bay Agency for Children. Tickets are $175 with table

sponsorships starting at $2,500. For information, call 888-750-3222.

New at the zoo: Speaking of Raiders and runways, the Oakland Zoo is

“letting the cat out of the bag” about their fashion show this Saturday,

Sept. 20. Apparently, the zoo’s tapped some Raiderettes to model safari

wear to live African music. For a $55 donation ($45 for zoo members), it

should be a wild time. Call 510-632-9525 ext. 132 for tickets.

Improving Montclair: Here is a sampling of the latest survey results taken

by Friends of Montclair Village. The question being asked is: “What do you

like least about the Village and how would you improve it?”

Alison Blessing suggests having a fresh produce market on weekends —

maybe closing off a street early on a Saturday morning. She would also

like to see more stores and activities for young people.

Deborah Bonzell concurs, saying there is no place for young people to hang

out, other than the park. She’d like to see a teen meeting area like the

old Icehouse (the hamburger shop/ice cream parlor on lower La Salle).

Bob Meyers and Sylvia Sykora cite the overflowing Dumpsters and litter as

a problem they’d like to have addressed. They also think there should be

more street trees and a uniform code for business signs.

John Campbell would like to see better bench seating at “coffee corners,”

near Antioch Court. He suggests putting some of the business district

money into a loan program for merchants who want to make improvements on

their property.

The Montclair Village Association is using these survey results to help it

decide what improvements need to be made in our shopping district. If

you’d like to respond, e-mail Robbie Neely at Robbie@piedmontpines.org.

E-mail bag: No one loves trees more than we do, here in the hills. But

reader Jean Ingram has this warning about the impact of ivy on our pine

trees. “Many of our beautiful Redwood and Monterey Pine trees (and others)

in the hills area are being gobbled up and eventually killed by ivy which

is not native and is an invasive pest in this area,” she writes. Ingram

suggests that people cut ivy where it begins to crawl up the tree, then

gently clear it from the trunk area.

It’s all relative: How’s this for a conversation piece: A typewritten

letter from Albert Einstein to Nathan Leopold explaining the best way to

learn the theories of relativity!

The rare correspondence is up for bidding on Sunday at Oakland’s Harvey

Clar Auction Gallery. About 100 Einstein letters have been auctioned over

the last 15 years — ranging in price from $1,000 to $44,000. You don’t

have to be an Einstein to own one.

WHEN YOU take one day at a time, things can get pretty interesting. Like today, for instance: I left the house in my Toyota Prius and came back on an electric bike. None of this was planned, which explains why I was riding up Shepherd Canyon Road with my purse flapping and sandals on my feet.

How did this happen? It started when I pulled into Downtown Toyota for a quick oil change and realized it was time for my 30,000 mile service. Suddenly without wheels, I remembered the electric bike Montclair’s Wheels of Justice, i.e., Justice Baxter, had offered to lend me. But would it take me to the top of Montclair? Would I get my fall sweater all sweaty? And would my fashionable footwear hold up on this torturous climb?

The heck with it. I got on the bike and headed for the paved pathway behind McCaulous. Through a canopy of oaks, with the filtered sun warming the way, I crunched fall leaves with my tires. I was a school girl again, riding home on my bike with the bell and the little rack on the back. Coming out on Saroni, I started my ascent to the top.

The little electric battery kicked in — helping me pedal. A sweat bead appeared, and then another, as I rounded the corner to Skyline Boulevard. Straight up Manzanita, I looked at my watch as I pulled up to the house. Seventeen minutes door to door! It was like my own personal Tour de France, without the heavy breathing.

I’m going to put this bike through the ringer in the next few weeks — and if I still like it, I may buy one. In the meantime, if you see someone riding up the mountain in pedal pushers and sandals, give me a wave and a toot.

DOG LOOK-A-LIKES: If you look like your dog, it’s probably no accident. Hills anthropologist Gini Graham Scott says her research proves people are drawn to dogs who are similar in personality and temperament. Often, there’s an uncanny resemblance, as well. So if you look like your pooch and are proud of it, fire off a photo to Scott at 6114 La Salle Ave., Oakland, CA 94611.

The Web site is http://www.doyoulooklikeyourdog.com. Check it out just for the funny photos that folks have sent in.

This dog-owner connection is so ripe with possibilities, Scott is even working on a pilot for a reality TV show. Like Letterman’s stupid pet tricks, this show will have dogs and their owners dancing, doing duets — and a whole bunch of other zany behaviors. If your animal instincts tell you to, start training now.

E-MAIL BAG: More feedback coming in from the Friends of Montclair Village on how to improve our Montclair business district. Hills resident Cindi Goodsell says “I wish we pulled together more as a community and had parades — just like they do in Piedmont for the Fourth of July. I’d love to participate in harvest festivals, concerts/movies in Montclair Park, etc.”

Stuart MacKenzie writes: “Despite being a small village, the merchants are overwhelmingly realty and bank related.” He wants to see more diversity in the kind of shops, along with sprucing up the appearance with more flowers, trees and lights.

Doug Mosher cites the lack of evening draws as a problem. “We almost always pass by Montclair for evening dining and entertainment,” he says, wishing there were something like a movie house or theater in the Village.

Debra Mattson would just like to see more park benches for people to sit on, with nicer flower planters on the sidewalks and hanging from streetlights.

Erik Rausch agrees, feeling there are few open spaces in the Village proper — for relaxing and reading the paper.

And finally, there’s the response that one reader had in my column last week, wishing there were a Montclair store that sold magazines and newspapers. The owner of the Book Tree called with this response: “I’ve been selling magazines and books for close to 20 years,” says Joe Sullivan, who admits his efforts have been hurt by the demise of Cal West, a longtime Oakland magazine distributor. But, Sullivan says, he still carries everything from the Wall Street Journal to the New York Times and USA Today — along with, of course, the Montclarion.

TO CATCH A THIEF: The following story chronicles the problems of big city living. Reader M. Brady says she’s hot on the trail of a newspaper thief. Her husband reportedly caught the well-to-do female suspect red-handed the other morning, as she leaned out of her luxury sedan to grab their paper.

Apparently without shame, the woman did this in front of her two kids, muttering something about it being a free paper and driving off. Brady says she and her husband got the license number and are on the lookout. As for the suspect, she seems able to afford that nice car — thanks to the money she saves on subscriptions.