Support Alzheimer’s legislative action

I am 15 years old, and my grandmother is one of the 5 million Americans living with Alz- heimer’s disease. In order to help patients like her, I developed a diagnostic tool for the early detection of Alzheimer’s that uses machine learning and de-identified patient data from the Alzheimer’s Disease Neuroimaging Initiative.

But no amount of individual effort will be enough to end this disease. Instead, we must work together and strive to make public policy choices that advance Alzheimer’s research and patient care.

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.

In last month’s column I wrote about the awkwardness that can ensue when getting a massage. Male or female masseuse? Clothed or unclothed?

Kudos to LASD for ‘courageous’ deal

Regarding Sangeeth Peruri’s column, “Sharing is the solution for BCS, LASD” (April 17): I am disappointed with his stance.

First, we do not have two communities, Bullis Charter School and the Los Altos School District, but one community: Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View families. Some choose to send their kids to Bullis Charter School, some to district schools, some to both over time.

My mom was a woman who was way ahead of her generation. For a woman born in China in 1914, she was bold to have defied her mother’s desire to play matchmaker for her with a son from a wealthy family. This was definitely not the norm for Chinese girls during her days. She had already met a young man she thought had ambition and drive. She married him, my father, and chose to get a secretarial job to help with the finances.

I was too young to know much about the early years other than my father having to settle his father’s debts before he managed to transition into a shipping business after the war. Once the family finances were secure, my parents made sure that we had a quality education and engaged home tutors in Chinese, calligraphy lessons, plus piano lessons for all the kids and ballet for the girls. My mom took on the task of visiting boarding schools on the East Coast before sending my brother and me to prep schools.

Every year, my students in my Holocaust course ask me: What’s the difference between Shoah and the Holocaust? Or the difference between Yom HaShoah and Days of Remembrance of the Victims of the Holocaust? In my years of work as a scholar and Holocaust educator, I’ve seen much confusion over these names and definitions. In the wake of the upcoming remembrance ceremonies, I thought it appropriate to offer some clear definitions.