Lengths and Breaths

Your Boulevardier is once again hosting the Subcompact Loaner this weekend, and the sun is shining, so this morning was a good one to get out for a long walk on Castro Valley Boulevard. The first stop on our journey was Valley Java, where Your Boulevardier feels safe tying up the SL for a brief moment. (His unease with doing so at busier, more exposed places is explained here.) Our arrival occurred before the church rush, so the shop was quiet, with only a few customers at the tables and soft jazz audible over the hubbub.

Your Boulevardier was tempted to take a peek at the hospital construction site, but opted instead to head east on the Boulevard. It was noted that the ARCO station at Wisteria Street is closed due to an Alcoholic Beverage Control violation. Interesting to note that they're not selling gas during this shutdown; could it be that the Patrón and Pabst brings in more money than the Petrol?



From there the Post Office was visited. Although the sign announced that dogs were not welcome, Your Boulevardier broke the rules and walked the Subcompact Loaner into the building to check his box. Then the Village was passed through; bowlers were already arriving for their morning observances.

Near Peet's, Your Boulevardier had a chance encounter with Paul, the husband of Soeur de Boulevardier. (If there is a colloquial French phrase for "brother-in-law," Your Boulevardier does not know it.) Paul asked if Your Boulevardier was "walking a mop" -- recall that the Subcompact Loaner is a small, white, hairy dog -- and other family news was shared. From there, Your Boulevardier ambulated through the shopping center behind the Wachovia branch that will become Castro Valley's Wells Fargo Bank this coming April. He confirmed that many of the storefronts in the center are vacant, though there is a dentist, a real estate agent, a title company, a hair salon, and a tutoring company in business.

The Boulevard was crossed at Yeandle Avenue -- Rudy's was passed without ducking in, since Your Boulevardier is trying to limit his intake of sweets -- and the under-construction path from Castro Valley Boulevard to the Castro Valley Library was explored. (The work seems to have been stalled by the recent rains.) A book was returned using the Library's nifty self-service electronic scanner, after which the creek was inspected from the footbridge. The streamflow is far calmer than it was just a few days ago, due to the recent dry spell. (Your Boulevardier finds our town's creeks thrilling when they're raging, but much more pleasant when they're just flowing peacefully.)




The rest of the walk to Chez Boulevardier was without incident or observation worthy of reporting. It was a fine morning for a walk, though; the air is clean and smells fresh, the sidewalks and crosswalks are passable (no major flooding or mud traps were encountered) and the sun shone brightly. A fine close to the month of January.

Wheels to Learning

It was a splendid, sunny winter's day, and Your Boulevardier visited the Castro Valley Library yesterday to pay some overdue fines and renew a book that has been slow reading. While there he noticed a colorful collection of bicycles locked in the rack.



This was a cheering sight. It showed that people of a variety of ages were using the library -- a fact that could be confirmed by a peek through the doors, of course -- and that they weren't all driving there. One can't tell at a glance how many people -- other than Your Boulevardier -- had walked there. Perhaps a shoe rack is also needed? On second thought, no thank you ...

We're Counting On Boulders

On a recent visit to the new Castro Valley Library, Your Boulevardier noticed that one of the boulders near the footbridge has an identifying number.



Truth is, when the boulders were delivered many weeks ago, it was noticed (but not posted, alas) that all of the stones were marked with numbers. Your Boulevardier was tempted to make a remark about tagging, but let it go. Now, it is guessed, those numbers were used by the landscape architect to direct heavy equipment the placement of the boulders.

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.

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.

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.

Bridge to Somewhere

The Castro Valley Library continues to hurtle (not "hurdle," sorry) headlong toward completion. A few weeks ago, a pedestrian bridge across Castro Valley Creek was installed; Your Boulevardier recently took a look.

The bed of the bridge was made from a railroad flatcar, and according to news reports its fanciful rail was designed by a pair of San Francisco artists. The railing will reportedly continue as a fence along the creek,



At first glance, the position of the bridge did not make sense to Your Boulevardier. After all, couldn't pedestrians simply keep walking on Norbridge Avenue to get to the library? Then he remembered that the library's entrance is to the rear of the building -- that is, the side away from Norbridge -- and there isn't a driveway on the west side of the building. So the bridge will let walkers from BART or Redwood Road avoid traversing all the way around the building to get to the doors.

(Remember, readers can always click on a photo for a larger view.)