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As far as physical pain goes, I have experienced very little in my life. I have never had any surgery, a broken bone or spent a night in a hospital. So it truly shocked me recently after I had been suffering severe knee pain for several weeks for no apparent reason, to learn that x-rays show that my left knee has been damaged by osteoarthritis. I thought there would be a gradual onset of something like this, with warnings leading up to it. Neither of my parents had arthritis. I never expected arthritis to make an appearance until much later in life, if at all.

At the age of 8, horse camp was all Lori McIntosh dreamed about back in Virginia Beach, Va.

Last month thousands of Gilroy residents were surprised when they opened their front doors. Hanging on the knobs were placards showing a garlic plant bursting through the soil with text proclaiming: “Coming to the Garlic Capital, 2014.”

As I creep closer to 60 and my youngest is completing her last year of high school, my wife and I have had more than one conversation about downsizing. Soon our little girl will be off to college and we certainly won't need four bedrooms, three bathrooms or the pool for just the two of us. Less house, less maintenance, lower utility costs and more time to travel are all high on our list. It seems to be the American way; we start with an apartment, upgrade to our first home, start having kids, need a larger and then another larger home. Then one by one the kids move out and we start the cycle again, only in reverse.

“Art,” a French play, originally premiered in Paris in 1994 and was the brainchild of prolific French playwright Yasmina Reza. It was translated into English by British playwright Christopher Hampton and opened in London in 1996. “Art” went on to win many awards, including a Tony on Broadway in 1998.

Local cadets take first in competition: The Chesty Puller BN, United States Naval Sea Cadet Corps, a naval youth program which covers the Monterey Bay area, recently placed first in their division at the annual Seamanship Challenge held at Coast Guard Island in Alameda. The unit competed in teams of four, and earned third place for Line Heaving; second place in the Obstacle Course; First place for Close Order Drill; First place in Damage Control; and First place in the Stretcher Relay. This gave them an overall first place in the Combined Units Division.

BIRTHS: Harper Elise Flores: Harper Elise Flores was born Aug. 24 to Rebecca Gutierrez and Chuck Flores of Hollister. She weighed 6 pounds, 14 ounces.

To paraphrase Hamlet, the young opossum literally suffered the slings and arrows of outrageous (mis)fortune. It was walking along the top of a fence just minding its own business, perhaps looking for an evening meal of fallen fruit or crunchy snails, when a person deliberately shot it down with an arrow. A neighbor saw the poor creature desperately struggling and notified the Wildlife Education and Rehabilitation Center. Staff at WERC found the arrow had pierced the top of the front leg and through the chest, narrowly missing vital organs, but leaving him extremely weak and causing severe nerve damage in the leg. X-rays showed the humerus bone was shattered. It was with very sad hearts that this little opossum was euthanized.

Does the city ever plan on cracking down on the fruit vendors on the corners of Gilroy streets? Do these vendors have business licenses? Where is the fruit coming from? The state requires all food sold to be prepared in sanitary kitchens. Is this fruit being prepared in such manner?