A Year In Mill Valley

Merry Christmas!

The boys got up early and brought their stockings into our bed to open. Ahhh, the delights of childhood…the wonder on their faces…the light and sparkle in their eyes…long may it last.

The big hit this year was Lego. Rachel found someone on Craigslist who was selling “a large amount of Lego”, but because there were no pictures it wasn’t clear how much there was, or what kind. Rachel had been emailing with him for the past three months or so as we kept trying to find an excuse to go up to Santa Rosa. Finally we went to visit Chris and John in Healdsburg, and stopped in Santa Rosa on the way.

“A large amount” was an understatement. We got there and were met by a very nice father whose son had gotten to the age where he wasn’t using it anymore, and Dad was ready to have it out of the house. There were four very large clear plastic boxes, full of many other smaller clear plastic boxes, all brimming with Lego. Rachel took one look at it and was about to ask if she could go through it and pick out stuff (she’s on a don’t-bring-anything-extra-into-the-house-because-there’s-no-room kick), but I could see that Dad just wanted it all gone. I said “How much?”. $40. “Sold. We’ll take it all. Rachel, can help me carry it out to the car? (and sotto voce) We’ll go through it later.” We brought it home, and on Christmas Eve filled up small two boxes with men, helmets, bits of boats and space ships…a multitude of pieces…wrapped it, and placed it under the tree. The boys are loving it.

We had my brother and sister’s families up for dinner, plus Michael and Teresa (bring some outsiders along…always a great way to keep the family in line don’t you think?). As you can see in the picture below the table for 16 just fit into the living room…diagonally. Not quite as much room in the house as when we had 30 for dinner in Sausalito 6 years ago, but lovely and cozy and great fun nonetheless.

Dinner started with crab. Then soup. Then ham, mashed potatoes and green beans. Then Chris’ famous ice cream with Mom’s chocolate sauce, and Jeannie’s apple and pecan pies. Yum.

Forty-five years ago we had Christmas at my grandmother’s house in Brookline, MA. Here I am (bottom left corner) with my sister Jean, Mom (in blue), and cousins Andy, Pat and Peter Mahoney. I found this picture when we were at the Cape this summer. Can’t wait to go digging for more next summer.

Just finished The World Without Us. A real page turner…well written…fascinating…couldn’t put it down. Highly recommended. A+.

Great piece in the UK paper a while back about how the distance we allow our kids to roam has been drastically reduced over the last 4 generations. I can’t find the article, but this graphic says it all…

p.s. Thanks Rodney (see comments) for finding the original article at http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=462091

I sent an email to Nathaniel’s principal at Tam Valley Elementary School awhile back, and came across it again as I was cleaning out my inbox…I think it’s worth remembering.

Nice note back from Gail…

On Saturday we made our yearly pilgrimage to the Kosek’s Christmas Tree Farm on the coast. Exactly 5 miles below the Pigeon Point lighthouse, about half way between Half Moon Bay and Santa Cruz, I’ve been going there every year — except the two we were in Cornwall — since 1979.

That year I was at UCB in the doctorate program in Operations Research, and I spent most every weekend at the Kosek’s (homesick as all get out), and usually at the ranch. Jon would pay me $35 a day…planting trees (I must have planted 5,000), trimming trees before the tree-selling season, or doing any number of other chores that needed doing. Two or three weekends a month and I could make between $150-$200, enough to supplant my scholarship which covered fees plus a stipend which covered the rent (but not enough for food, books or anything else).

We met a bunch of friends out there…Whitney and her Mom, Dave, Michael and Teresa, Julie and Steve and their two. Dr. Jon was there of course, and all of his kids were there too…Peter and Marion and their four down from Oregon, Mary and Rich and their three, Ann and William and their two, Mugs and Pablo in from Peru, and JonJon and Julie with Rose down from Mill Valley. Wow, I don’t think I’ve seen them all in one place since Mugs went off to Peru about 10 years ago.

We ate, and we talked, and we hiked, pushed the kids on the swings, made wreaths, rode the tractor, ate marshmallows by the fire, and relaxed in a way that only happens with lots sunshine, fresh air, and good friends.

On the way home we stopped at Duarte’s in Pescadero. If you’re ever in that part of the coast, I highly recommend stopping in for the fresh local fish, and a piece of black bottom pie. The oysters were especially good too.

Took Rachel and the boys to A Christmas Carol at A.C.T. this afternoon. Very nice production. Had both boys riveted. You should have seen Sebastian’s face…mouth wide open as Marley rose from the bed.

Afterwards we watched them light the menorah in Union Square, then went to dinner at Trattoria Contadina in North Beach. One of the few old places left with linoleum on the floor, simple but good food, and a great homey atmosphere…highly recommended.

All in all, a great afternoon as the Christmas season sneaks up on us.

Saw After the Wedding the other night.

From IMDB: “A manager of an orphanage in India is sent to Copenhagen, Denmark, where he discovers a life-altering family secret.”

Real. Emotional. Heart breaking in places. Fantastic acting that never felt like acting. Plot twists that kept us glued to the sofa with tears coursing down our cheeks.

5 stars. 10 out of 10.

Nathaniel is in 3rd grade this year, and I’ve been riding with him to school in the mornings. Our commute is just a little bit safer because Marin County upgraded a crosswalk near our house. But the process of making that happen got me to thinking about why more kids don’t walk to school, and whether there’s anything I can do about it.

The problem is particularly acute at Nathaniel’s school where there’s one narrow road in and out of campus, the curb in front of the school is crowded, and the number of people who insist on driving right up the door is large (80% or more would be my guess).

When I was in 3rd grade we lived on the last street in north Chicago. (My father had been brought to Chicago by O.W. Wilson to be the Budget Director for the Chicago Police Department in the wake of the Summerdale scandals in 1960, and as such he had to live inside the city limits…but I digress). The street was a dead end, and I vividly remember getting to Wildwood Elementary School by cutting through two yards, then walking several blocks to the school. (Part of the reason it’s so vivid is that I remember getting picked on by one of the 5th grade crossing guards for a while).

The distance wasn’t far — just 1/2 a mile or so — but I’m pretty sure I walked to school every day, rain or shine, warm or cold, sleet or snow. The idea that I would be driven to school wasn’t an option. Why was that? What’s different about today?

I think there are at least five issues at Nathaniel’s school:

1) No local schools. One of the things the Mill Valley School District does not guarantee is that your child will attend the school closest to you. Anyone can request attendance at any school, and there appears to be no mechanism for prioritizing proximity to the school. (Reminder to self to write an entry about how to deal with the Mill Valley School District waiting list…)

2) There are more cars today…and they’re bigger, a lot bigger. We had a Falcon station wagon when I was in 3rd grade, and it was smaller than just about anything on the road today…especially the Land Rovers, Blazers, Tahoes and other behemoths that are used to ferry children to Nathaniel’s school.

3) People use their cars more. There are more activities after school. There are more dual income parents who need to drive to work. There are more divorced parents, and fewer Moms at home who can get the child ready for school without rushing, or available to walk to school with their children.

4) The sidewalks are narrow, the streets are narrow, most sidewalks have no curbs, and parking is allowed on both sides of most streets at all times. This means that walking is less safe…at corners (can’t see around the cars parked at the corners), and on the sidewalks.

5) There are no student crossing guards. When I was in elementary school the cool 5th graders got to be student crossing guards (someone reminded me today that they used to be called the safety patrol). They had an orange belt that went across their chest and around their waist, and they’d get to their designated corner about 20 minutes before the first bell, helping the smaller kids to cross the streets.

Ok, that’s enough about the problems, tomorrow I’ll write up some thoughts about possible solutions.

For the second year in a row our friends Pam and Tim hosted three families at their house for a camp out.

Well, ok, it’s not real camping, it’s just an excuse to get the families together to enjoy a great afternoon, evening and morning together.

Can’t wait to do it again next year!

Nathaniel and I have been biking to school in the mornings…he on his 5 speed, me on my mountain bike. I drop him at school, then continue on to work in Sausalito. It’s one of those simple pleasures that means a lot to him, and even more to me.

We ride down the hill until we reach Almonte Avenue, cross the street at Rosemont, then head back towards Mill Valley for a little ways to get on the bike path. The mornings have been lovely lately — fresh, cool, sun glinting off the water, herons in the mud flats, the seemingly infinite greens of the marshland on either side of us — as we peddle where the train used to chug between Sausalito and Mill Valley.

Just before school started I noticed that the crossing at Rosemont was not well marked. Several times I counted more than 20 cars going by as I stood in the cross-walk, half-way into the lane, trying to cross with my bicycle. I began to worry about what would happen when school started…when kids who are a lot shorter and harder to see than me, tried to cross there. So I thought I’d see if I couldn’t do something about it.

I started by Googling for “marin county traffic department”, then “marin country transportation department”, then “marin county streets”, and after a little digging around I found the County of Marin: Public Works - Road Maintenance website. Very promising.

Figuring that it never hurts to have a couple of people on the receiving end of an email, I looked up the Board of Supervisors, and saw that Charles McGlashan is the supervisor for Mill Valley.

So I sent the following letter to both the Road Maintenance Department as well as Supervisor McGlashan:

And I waited.

Well, I didn’t have to wait long, as I got a call from Charles McGlashan’s office the very next day. A very nice woman named Maureen Parton told me that she’d forwarded my email to the right person (the email on the website was that of the previous head of department), and I should be hearing something soon.

So I waited again. And on the September 13th I received this email:

with a followup from Maureen

Wow. 1 down (signage), 1 to go (new crosswalk striping).

I sent another email to Amanuel:

and he responded with

And once more I waited.

And do you know what happened? This morning, when I turned the corner from Rosemont onto Almonte (no, we didn’t bike this morning), what did I see? A striping crew, adding a big X-ING to the northbound lane. And when I returned home, I found a beautiful new crosswalk.

Thank you Amanuel and the Traffic Engineering Department. Thank you Maureen and Charles. Thank you all for making Nathaniel’s ride to school just a little bit safer.