Magazine

Gary Anderson/Special to the Town Crier
Seniors sing carols at the Grant Park holiday party. The Senior Commission aims to expand such programming.

Gary Anderson is a former member of the Los Altos and Los Altos Hills Senior Commission. Following is his update on local senior services and plans for expanded programming.

Eliza Ridgeway/Town Crier
Los Altos resident Enid Davis honed her storytelling skills as a children’s librarian and a grandmother. She teaches local seniors to confidently share beloved stories, with a minimum of memorization required.

The elder storyteller has an image - village rememberer, family entertainer, perhaps even the picture book "quiet old lady, whispering, Hush." The idea of storytelling is simple - sharing a narrative without the benefit of notes.

But tale-tellers are often made, not born. When grandchildren finally arrive on the scene, making good on the role requires, for many people, a little initial help.

Megan V. Winslow/Town Crier
Local seniors with a wealth of experience and years lived abroad gather weekly to discuss foreign affairs and current events.

The morning after the United States launched a missile strike on a Syrian airbase, only hours after Justice Neil Gorsuch was confirmed to the Supreme Court, nearly 30 Los Altos seniors packed a classroom at Hillview Community Center.

The Foreign Affairs class had not yet begun, but the room was alive with chatter: Did you hear about the terror attack in Sweden? What will the filibuster-killing "nuclear option" mean for the future of Senate collegiality?

I think you and I have discussed poetry contests before. As you’ll recall, the really good stuff (ahem!) never wins - the judges are always young English professors who think blank verse or haiku is au courant. And there I stand, wistfully clutching my verses that rhyme and have meter.

Such was the case when, some years ago, Caltrain sponsored a poetry contest linked to Valentine’s Day. The rules: 100 words, love, trains. I could do that, and I did.

Tanya Kucak/Special to the Town Crier
Creating a permeable path enables stormwater to recharge the water table rather than running down sidewalks and streets into the bay. Above, several inches of mulch, though packed down, allow water to infiltrate. The mulched path flows nicely into planted areas.

Despite the healthy amount of rain last winter, Los Altos still has a summer-dry Mediterranean climate, and conservation is still the cheapest and easiest way to save money on your water bill as well as to ensure that we all have enough water for essential needs.

The drought is not over: Recurring droughts historically have been part of the Bay Area climate, and the summer-dry pattern means that if you have a garden, you need to pay attention to watering.

Town Crier File Photo
Sliding glass doors bring the outside in, providing additional living area without disrupting usable floor space.

As Californians’ passion for outdoor living continues to grow, many homeowners crave a stronger integration of their indoor and outdoor spaces.