Really felt
”
in the season
”
Tuesday night. Daughter Shannon brought over grandson Jackson,
who will be celebrating his first Christmas soon. After some
relaxed chatting in the kitchen nook, I scooped up the little guy
and headed for the Christmas tree.
Really felt “in the season” Tuesday night. Daughter Shannon brought over grandson Jackson, who will be celebrating his first Christmas soon. After some relaxed chatting in the kitchen nook, I scooped up the little guy and headed for the Christmas tree. He stared in wonder. I had put up, with daughter Mariah’s help, the requisite 4,582 lights (minus the one I stepped on of course). But it paled in comparison to the light in Jackson’s eyes. So, we spent 20 minutes hanging ornaments He got to touch each one – smooth ceramic, rough wood, and fluffy cotton – and I felt the wonder in a child’s eyes. Now that’s what I call Christmas magic.
Community holiday parties don’t happen by magic, so Pam and Jeff Martin get the prize for hosting back-to-back events, the Gilroy Assistance League soiree, featuring the incredibly talented Jeanie “Gin” Blocher behind the bar, and the Gilroy Foundation party, featuring wit and libations by Frank “Tonic” Angelino. Note to charitable groups: Put Jeanie and Frank behind a bar together and you could raise a ton of charity money.
Charity opportunities abound this time of year and if you’d like to help out the Gilroy Foundation Youth Board pick a paper ornament off the tree at Rabobank (Nob Hill parking lot) and fulfill the gift wish. The bank will even wrap the gift when you drop it off. Thanks in advance on behalf of the Youth Board: Alondra Navarro, president, Mackenzie Robinson, Jake Moen, Victor Olmos, Kyle Watts and Bryanna Chavez. Rabobank’s Friendly banker Deanna Franklin will appreciate the effort, too.
Big effort for the head of the California High Speed Rail Authority to come to Gilroy for a face-to-face meeting with our civic leaders. Roelof van Ark says CHSRA will build (i.e. pay for) a bare bones station and parking for Gilroy – accoutrements such as shaping the 6,000-space parking garage like a garlic bulb would be on our nickel. But, hey, if we can build a $30 million police station that’s a ghost town 80 percent of the time, there’s still hope, right? Roelof also said CHSRA is good for assisting with traffic – planning and issues – as well as a noise study. Plus, the bullet train could be at grade level, not on elevated tracks. All that is very encouraging in one sense, on the other hand where’s the money tree that’s going to pay for all this? At least it seems like there’s a dose of reality seeping into the CHSRA. Roelof says he’ll be back to visit Gilroy and by that time I should have the spelling of his name memorized.
Doreen Smith of All About Critters has the names of the four dogs that are available for adoption memorized, but if a name change is in order for a new owner, that might work, too. Doreen is hosting an adoption fair Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon at Canine Concepts, a dog and cat grooming business located at 16999 Monterey Road, Suite I in Morgan Hill. The pooches are from the South County Animal Shelter. So, if you’re thinking about a new Christmas pet, give the hounds who need a home a chance.
No chance that I’ll ever see completely eye-to-eye with the viewpoint well expressed by Police Officer Mitch Madruga in the letters today. I’ll be brief. The city has discretionary money – the General Fund. The vast majority of other funds in the budget are legally earmarked for specific purposes. So, the discussion about what percentage of the budget should be devoted to public safety is, by definition, always about the General Fund. Half or less would be my answer, but there’s a vast difference to me between police officers faced with stopping a car with black tinted windows at 2 a.m. and dealing with domestic violence calls as compared to a firefighter being called out to assist a heart attack victim. With so few fires, even the job title is a misnomer. What we really have are police officers and medical/rescue personnel. If Gilroy could significantly reduce its costs for medical/rescue personnel, the city could afford to spend more on crime prevention and crime fighting. That would make a lot of sense.
Need to call on Bobby Baksa, our local connection to the San Francisco Giants front office, to push for a schedule addition. “The San Francisco Giants will launch a public tour of the World Champions trophy beginning in early January, the team announced today,” read the press release. But, Holy Posey, no stop is scheduled for Gilroy. We can get a high-speed rail stop but not a chance to view the World Series Championship trophy up close and personal? Say it ain’t so, Bobby …”Fans will have the opportunity to have a professional photo taken and can purchase those photos online,” continues the release. I can guarantee a stop in Gilroy would bring out the black-and-orange fans. The World Series Championship Trophy parked in front of Stubby’s Sports Bar and Grill would be a beautiful thing.
Beautiful, too, is the annual U.S. Marine Corp Toys for Tots drive. Saturday is the last day to make a donation. You can bring a new, unwrapped toy to San Martin Christmas Tree Farm at 13865 Monterey Road in San Martin and if you need a tree, well … just don’t forget to bring the rain gear, we’re in for “the MOTHER of all storms”– again.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@****ic.com
