Halloween Book Passage

Your Boulevardier was very, very pleased to participate in this morning's Great Book Pass. The event, for the uninitiated, was the ceremonial transition fro the old to the new: 300 books were handed, one by one, through a chain of volunteers from the old Castro Valley Library on Redwood Road to the spectacular new structure on Norbridge Avenue. One overheard conversation said that 1,600 volunteers were participating in the event.

Clad in his beret and accompanied by Mon Petit Chou, Your Boulevardier reported at 8:00 a.m. to a table in front of Dara Chan's State Farm office at the corner of Redwood Road and Jamison Way. (At least a dozen tables were placed at intervals along the entire 0.7 mile route.) Waiver forms were signed and free t-shirts were received.



The event was scheduled to begin at 8:30, so an thirty minutes had to be burned. First, the old library was visited, and the books to be passed were viewed. It was learned that the books to be passed were not from the library's circulating collection, but instead part of the Friends of the Library's collection of books, intended to be sold (for just $2 apiece) to support the library. They ranged from biographies to cookbooks to fiction to children's books, and carried green frontispieces commemorating their participation in the event.



Around 8:30 a.m., our spot was returned to, and a little after 8:30 the first book arrived. It was Arcadia Publishing's Castro Valley history book, wrapped in a green and gold ribbon. It was handed down the train of volunteers, who ranged in age from zero (babes in arms were spotted) to senior citizens. Scouting groups and church communities seemed particularly well-represented.


All participants had two things in common that Your Boulevardier could detect: impressive civic pride, and a sense of fun and enthusiasm for the morning's adventure. In spite of the foggy weather, the mood was warm and happy. As cars passed, horns were honked and waves were proffered.

It was wondered how the books would cross the streets; surely the library would not put its volunteers in the way of traffic. Indeed, book carts (festooned with balloons and streamers) were placed at each intersection, on the "upstream" side of the book flow; when the books in a cart reached a critical mass (as determined by the volunteers handling the carts), they were wheeled across the street and unloaded into the stream of people. Then the carts were returned to the upstream side of the street to be refilled.

The exception to this system was at the intersection of Redwood Road with Castro Valley Boulevard; here, two carts were used, one on either side of the street. The walk/don't walk signs were obeyed, and the full and empty carts were swapped at the middle of the intersection.



After about a half-hour of passing, the last book arrived, greeted with an energetic hurrah. Appropriately enough, it was entitled "Curtain." All participant wanted to touch it, and many had their photos taken with it.

After the final book had passed, people from upstream in the line began to filter by in the direction of the new library; a person who seemed to know what she was talking about announced that additional volunteers were needed at the tail end of the book-bucket-brigade, so Mon Petit Chou and Your Boulevardier high-tailed it to Norbridge Avenue and re-joined the chain. Many of the books that that had been handled once earlier were passed once again.



Once the final book passed us (a second time), way was made across the footbridge to the library parking lot, where luminaries including Castro Valley Unified School District Superintendent Jim Negri and Alameda County Supervisor Nate Miley milled about, greeting the public. Cookies, fruit, candy, and water were available, and a row of large ceremonial scissors awaited ribbon cutting. The mood was festive and proud.



The actual passing of books seemed to have happened much more quickly than the planners had envisioned, because an hour's wait was announced before the library would actually be opened. Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou did not wait for the official opening, but instead made our way back to our car, satisfied that we had participated in an event that was truly historic and important in the life of Castro Valley.

No Exotic Bugs at Chez Boulevardier

Your Boulevardier noted earlier a pleasant encounter with a representative of the Pest Detection & Eradication division of the Alameda County Community Development Agency's Agriculture / Weights and Measures Department. (Now there's a mouthful.)

Yesterday a small pink slip was found under the doormat at Chez Boulevardier. The traps have been removed, and "no exotic insect pests were found at this time."

While Your Boulevardier is generally a fan of the exotic, he realizes that exotic insect pests do not merit for his favor. He is glad that none were found, and appreciates the professionalism and enthusiasm of the county worker who set the traps.

Park Renovations Underway

A little over a month ago, Your Boulevardier lamented the condition of the park on Castro Valley Boulevard that includes Castro Valley Creek. One of the architectural elements had been damaged, and some homeless men were noted to be engaged in a loud, profane fight. Your Boulevardier wondered if the park would get more attention with the opening of the new library.

Well, lo and behold, the park is being renovated. It was noted this morning that some trees and shrubbery have been removed; surveyors' stakes around the property indicate, perhaps, the position of landscape features to come. Several massive boulders have been moved onto the property (they're not visible in this photo), indicating perhaps that the naturalistic landscaping theme being used along the creek near the library will be continued to this park.



Your Boulevardier still does not envy the crew that will need to reassemble the bollard.

Pince and Needles

Sauntering around Castro Village yesterday afternoon, Your Boulevardier noticed this odd piece of burlwood in the window of Adela's Yarns.



It brings to mind the pincers of an insect, the horns of a bull, or something equally dramatic. Does anyone know the story of this lump of lumber?

Commuting is a Gas

Your Boulevardier may have a scoop for BART commuters. A shuttle service between BART and Castro Valley's park-and-ride lots, using natural gas-powered buses, is being planned. No details are available, but the folks who run Valley Truck Rentals (the place just below Neighborhod Church on John Drive) are involved. Valley Truck Rentals also plans to add wind and/or solar power to its operations.

Changing the Locs

As noted earlier on these pages, half of the former storefront occupied by Vella's Locker Room will become a bike shop. (There's now a business card taped in the window as well; Your Boulevardier forgot to make note of the shop name.) The shopping center management company, in preparation for its new tenant, has removed the signage over that part of the center.


This move, to Your Boulevardier, makes no sense. If one is going to bring in the equipment and personnel to remove part of the sign, remove all of it. One cannot imagine a scenario in which the shop occupying the left half of the building is going to want any part of the old signage.

Don't Pass On This Opportunity

Your Boulevardier and Mon Petit Chou are signed up to participate this Saturday at the Castro Valley Library's Great Book Pass. Are you?

The question now is whether costumes should be worn. Perhaps just berets.

Boulevard & Vine

How could it be that Your Boulevardier has walked the City of Lite for so long and never noticed the fantastic vine on the side of the B.A. Morrison building? Be sure to click the photo for a larger view.



The building was for many years a feed store. One believes that live chicks -- once the foundation of the Castro Valley economy -- were still sold there when Your Boulevardier was a youth. Given today's boomlet in backyard poultry among the eat-local set, that could perhaps be a going concern again.

On a related note: Mr. Morrison is to be commended for maintaining the building to such high standards. (Check the photos on the company website, linked above.) It definitely earns the coveted "favorite buildings" tag. He's also commended for letting such a rambunctious vine run rampant!

Near Misses

Twice on his morning walk today, Your Boulevardier was nearly struck by cars while in a crosswalk. Both episodes happened when drivers were making right turns on red lights; both rolled through the crosswalks and were looking left for cross traffic, not seeing the pedestrian -- yours truly -- approaching from the right. In both circumstances, the drivers did not seem to acknowledge the fact that they endangered a person. And in both circumstances, law enforcement was nowhere nearby.

After the second incident, which was frighteningly close and in which the car was traveling at very high speed, Your Boulevardier started to imagine elaborate revenge fantasies. If only he had had a few pieces of very ripe fruit at the ready to lob at the cars! Better: if only he had had a squirt bottle of garish nail polish to squirt on the passing car! (Best case scenario in this version would be that the driver would not notice the polish until later in the day, when the enamel had hardened to an industrial-strength sheen.) Or maybe this: one could roll a watermelon under the car as it passed, then quickly sit on the ground; the driver would feel a bump, look in his rearview, see a red splat and a person, and have a heart attack.

A deep breath is called for. Two wrongs don't make a right.

Motorists, please remember California Vehicle Code section 21453(b), which includes this language: "A driver making [a right turn on a red light] shall yield the right-of-way to pedestrians lawfully within an adjacent crosswalk".

Eyes on the Prize

On his morning walk yesterday, Your Boulevardier noticed this pair of odd little trees on the north side of Castro Village Bowl.



With a little bit of imagination, one can picture the building as a gigantic creature and the two poofs of yellow and green foliage as eyes.

Worthy Cause in Castro Valley

Your Boulevardier received the following email from two different people, and commenter Greenridge posted it below. The originator is L'avocat de Boulevardier Steven Dimick, who has given permission to republish it here. (Some slight edits have been made, clearly marked.)

Your Boulevardier went by Lee's Donuts this morning and purchased a very nice cinnamon roll. His waistline will not let him do so daily, but he will be making a contribution and encourages readers who are able to do the same.

Friends,

You have probably read that the owner of Lee's Donuts on the corner of Grove Way and Redwood Road was brutally pistol whipped about a couple of weeks ago during an early morning robbery. I'd like to tell you a little more about him.

Sam Nouv came to the U.S. from Cambodia and, in 1987, started working at Lee's Donuts. Before long, he was leasing the business from its owner and, in 1990, bought the business. He and his wife, Lori, go to work every day at 3:30 a.m., open up at 4:00 a.m. and don't close until 6:00 p.m. -- every day, seven days a week. They do close on a very few holidays, but in 19 years have never had a vacation and the most time they have ever had off at any one time is two days.

Our grandparents or great-grandparents worked like this when they first came to America, but no native-born American that I know would do so.

In addition to working these brutal hours, they are raising three sons, a 21-year-old currently at Chabot College, a 15-year-old at Castro Valley High School and a 10-year-old at Independent Elementary.

And Sam and Lori are two of the friendliest people you could ever hope to meet.

Sam has been back to work -- briefly -- for the last couple of days, but the burden of keeping the shop open for the last two weeks has fallen on Lori, the kids and a few friends.

I asked Lori if they had adequate medical insurance and she said they did, but their deductible and co-pay were killing them, when nearly all of their income goes for basic living expenses. Lori said their share of the medical expenses was $15,000. Sam later told me it might not be that high, but is at least $7,000 (Kaiser told them they don't have a final figure yet.)

Some community members are [planning] a series of fundraisers for the family. Ken Martin is planning a charity bocce ball tournament and other ideas that have been kicked around include a car wash. If you'd like to participate, [contact Steve Dimick via the link above].

In the meantime, if any of you can see your way to making a donation, however small, the family can sure use it. $100 would be great, but $5 or $10 will be equally appreciated. (I merely slipped them some cash.) Please look in your wallets for old, unused bills or consider writing a check to "Sam Nouv." You can deliver your donations to my office (20880 Redwood Rd., Castro Valley) or directly to the Nouv family at their store.

You could also pass this story on to your neighbors or other friends in Castro Valley. They just might see fit to give you a donation to pass on, or to visit Lee's and slip a few dollars into Lori's hand. And maybe they'll pass the story along even further.

Thank you in advance for any help you might be able to give. Despite our occasional differences, Castro Valley is a real community.

Steve Dimick

And The Heavens Opened

Your Boulevardier went for a long walk this morning, and was caught mostly unprepared for the light rain that fell. He did capture this scene, which -- if one were religiously inclined -- would likely be quite inspiring. It's hard to see in this photo, but the rainbow terminates right at the three crosses of Neighborhood Church.



Upon returning home he checked the rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier. After Tuesday's deluge, the rainfall total -- that is, from Tuesday evening through today -- was just 0.07".

Everything's Coming Up Fungus

This lone mushroom was spotted in an otherwise-perfect Castro Valley lawn this morning.



The grounds of Chez Boulevardier were not sprouting mushrooms, but the weed seeds lurking just below the soil's surface took off within hours, it seems, of the end of Tuesday's deluge. Your Boulevardier is determined to get them out of the ground before they get large this year. (As he has been every year ...)

Anita Bit of Sunshine

Your Boulevardier sallied forth in the late morning to take advantage of the dry weather. Insects were swarming, but creeks had dropped. No major destruction was found, but the walk was admittedly short. The new bocce courts on San Miguel Avenue seem to have drained well -- better, in fact, than the walkways around them.



Three bits of action went on near the intersection of Castro Valley Boulevard and Anita Avenue. A car had hit one of the stoplights, and a one-person crew (perhaps that's a nonsense phrase) from Alameda County was dealing with the damage. A few minutes later, an ambulance, fire truck, and two CHP cruisers were summoned to the Boulevard entrance to the Blockbuster/Wells Fargo parking lot; it appeared to Your Boulevardier, but cannot be confirmed, as if, perhaps, heaven forbid, a pedestrian had been struck by a motorist. (No, Your Boulevardier does not get paid by the comma.) A few minutes after that, a large group of well-dressed folks emerged from the Chabot Cinema; they had attended a sales meeting for their company. "We got free popcorn," one friendly attendee told Your Boulevardier.

Short, Sharp Earthquake

Just before 8:30 P.M. Your Boulevardier felt a very short, startlingly sharp earthquake here at Chez Boulevardier.

Between the quake, the torrential rains, and the vicious winds earlier today, it's beginning to feel a bit apocalyptic out there.

ADDENDUM: the rain gauge at Chez Boulevardier read 3.25 inches tonight.

Timing is Everything

Your Boulevardier notes with dismay that once again a large, windy, wet storm is arriving on trash day in his neighborhood in Castro Valley. Prepare for garbage cans (sorry, carts) to be blown over -- or for trash, especially papers, to be blown from trucks -- and for wet, sticky garbage to clog our streets and gutters. Sigh.

Zig-Zagging Into BART

Perhaps they've been up a while, but just today Your Boulevardier noticed that a zigzag of railings has been constructed at the bottom of the wheelchair ramp at the Castro Valley BART station.


Logic leads one to suspect that too many people had ridden bicycles or skateboards down the ramp at too-high speeds; those people then collided with pedestrians coming out of the station. It could also be that pedestrians and wheeled passengers going appropriate speeds from both directions had been colliding at the corner. Either way, this new slalom prevents unintended meetings from happening, which is a good thing. And it matches the stainless steel railings in other areas of the station.

CV Crime Scene

On his morning walk, Your Boulevardier noticed an Alameda County Sheriff's cruiser and a crime scene truck in the strip mall kittycorner to Trader Joe's, at the corner of Grove Way and Redwood Road. The part of the shopping center with the nail salon and pizza parlor was cordoned off with crime scene tape, and a few anxious-looking folks hovered about. No other details are available at this time.

Head over Heels

Your Boulevardier took a twilight stroll around downtown, stopping at the usual places: the bank (Wells Fargo, in his case), the post office, Castro Village (Yogofina is becoming a minor obsession) and Peet's. On the way to coffee, he noticed that the new day spa in the former Beneficial Finance storefront -- cleverly named "Holiday Spa" and featuring foot reflexology -- has a sign issue that only appears at night.



There are two ways to look at this situation (he said, not at all intending to be clever or ironic). Either the owners of the strip mall (or the Holiday Spa itself) were cutting costs and corners in making their sign; or that they were recycling, and also giving a subliminal message that the services presented are, in fact, beneficial. Either way, though, it must be noted that the sign is nearly impossible to read at night.

Ol' '56

The fading blue, white, and rust-colored 1956 Chevrolet Bel Air has been parked in the lot behind Castro Valley Lumber for as long as Your Boulevardier can remember. The tires still hold air, so it seems that it's not entirely derelict, but its registration does not appear to be current. The body seems to be in very good shape overall, and the original wheel covers are intact; perhaps someone at the lumberyard is waiting for the right opportunity to restore the vehicle.



A sidenote: The car's license plate -- AER 101 -- seems to hail from the very early days of six-digit letter-number combinations in California (assuming that AAA 001 was the first plate off the stamper).

Halloween on the Green

The Golden Tee (some of us cannot bring ourselves to say "GolfLand") has put out a display of straw bales, cornstalks, and scarecrows for Halloween. The photo does not do the display justice. It's a wonderful thing to have a mini-golf course in town.

Castro Valley's Own Big Dig

From Castro Valley Boulevard, Your Boulevardier noticed cranes and concrete pumpers at work near Eden Hospital the other day. On closer inspection, he saw that considerable work is underway on the new hospital.

Your Boulevardier did not have his camera, but fortunately the official blog of the hospital has some very good photos here. The live webcam of the site, while displaying a very good-quality image (and including some cool features such as time-lapse images) seems not to be pointed toward the most impressive part of the project, which is to the west of the helipad.