We live in north Los Altos and have a very prolific persimmon tree. After we used what we could and gave away what we could, my industrious wife decided to sell the rest. She offered them at a very good price and sold approximately 50 before trouble arrived at our doorstep.
In an age of social media frenzy, one admirable quality that strikes me as lacking is empathy.
Fortunately, I attended two events Thursday that proved empathy is very much alive and well in 2019.
In last month’s column I wrote about the awkwardness that can ensue when getting a massage. Male or female masseuse? Clothed or unclothed?
I had the good fortune to be among the 12,000-plus invited guests at the 75th anniversary ceremonies commemorating the D-Day landings in Normandy.
I had occasion to spend some time in one of the local county parks on Easter Sunday.
The park was mobbed – nearly every picnic table occupied, nearly every barbecue smoking. Many of the tables were decked in Easter-themed cloths and sported Easter baskets filled with colorful eggs, some real, some obviously plastic and prize-filled. We had arrived too late to see the family Easter egg hunts, but the treasure troves were on display on all sides.
“Hi, Jackie, this is Bruce Barton of the Los Altos Town Crier. I want to talk to you about this piece you just wrote.”
The year was 2010. My first book, “My Life in a Tutu,” had recently been published and for some strange reason, the powers that be at the Relay For Life cancer fundraiser thought I could do the marketing for the cause. I’d never done something like this before and I wasn’t sure I was up to the task. Hearing his voice, my stomach immediately churned, for I was sure he hated it and wanted a redo. Self-esteem has never been strong on my list of accomplishments.
When our family originally moved from Mountain View to Los Altos, we thought our newly purchased home cost more than what anyone ought to pay for a three-bedroom fixer-upper, but the joke at the time was that in Los Altos, you pay for the land and the house itself is free. That said, the property had potential, so my husband and I took the plunge and bought it.
The second day after we had moved in, a neighbor approached me while I was standing outside. He was an original homeowner, someone who had built his house on this tract of land where nothing but orchards had existed before.
The Town Crier welcomes letters to the editor on current events pertinent to Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View. Write to us at 138 Main St., Los Altos 94022, Attn: Editor, or email editor Bruce Barton at bruceb@latc.com. Because editorial space is limited, please confine letters to no more than 200 words. Include a phone number for verification purposes. Anonymous letters will not be printed.
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