A Little Cleanup, A Little News, A Little Plug

The Cleanup I: Your Boulevardier thanks reader mdbill4u for decoding "FOB" as "Friend of Boulevardier." It was intended as a takeoff on the name given to the close circle of longtime friends of former President Bill Clinton, who were sometimes referred to as F.O.B.'s, or Friends of Bill. (The previous link is well worth following, by the way.) A little more research has also found that "Friends of Bill" is also a term used in Alcoholics Anonymous and other 12-step programs, as Bill W. was the founder of that worthy organization.

The Cleanup II: The FOB who submitted the Redwood Road offramp photo has informed Your Boulevardier that they were, in fact, snapped on Tuesday morning, not on Tuesday afternoon. So, in a spirit of full disclosure, Your Boulevardier corrects himself and announces that they were posted within a few hours of being taken, but not within a few minutes.

The News: The web hosting arrangement used by the Castro Valley Boulevardier will soon undergo a change. This is necessitated by technical changes at Blogger, but Your Boulevardier hopes to use it as an opportunity to clean up and improve the blog. However, it also promises to be quite a hassle. Please stay tuned.

The Plug: Facebook users who love Castro Valley are encouraged to check out CV Legends, a Facebook group dedicated to all things Castro Valley. (If that link doesn't work, simply search for "CV Legends" on Facebook.) The format is simple: the host posts a photo, and readers riff on it. Judging by the comments, many of the readers are former Castro Valleyans, aged 30 and up, but that's probably an overgeneralization. Most importantly, the discussions among the 1600+ members are lively and fun.

Bubbling Beauty

For the umpteenth time, the fountain at El Rancho STEAK House was soaped again yesterday. And for the umpteenth time, Your Boulevardier has decided to report on it.



Perhaps this particular bit of mischief attracts Your Boulevardier's eye because soaping a fountain is one of the few harmless pranks -- one might say acts of vandalism -- that he played in his all-too-tame adolescence. (The steakhouse fountain did not exist then, of course; his soaping was done to the waterworks, now a planter, by the Hayward Public Library.)

This fountain, it's believed, does not contain ichthyic life, even though it is maintained by Connie's Pond & Garden -- just up the Boulevard -- which also sells fish. So perhaps the occasional spate of suds is not a bad thing. Certainly, it's a hassle for the good Rancheros. But it also certainly can be day-brightening to a pedestrian passer-by.

Feats of Clé

Your Boulevardier spent most of the day away today, and after dinner at home he realized he had not yet collected the mail from his Post Office Box. She evening was cool and clear, so an after-dinner walk downtown seemed in order. After 20 minutes of brisk marching, the mail was collected. After that, a stop was made at Trader Joe's on the way home. The walk was, in total, about 60 minutes.

Upon arriving home, Your Boulevardier realized he did not have his keys. He emptied his pockets and his shopping bag, to no avail. But he had had it at the Post Office. Thinking he had left it tangling in his PO Box -- sadly, not an entirely unlikely possibility -- he walked back to the post office after stashing the groceries in the side yard.

No keys were to be found.

Soeur de Boulevardier was phoned. She grabbed her copy of the key to Chez Boulevardier and drove downtown. She delivered Your Boulevardier home and waited in the car until her copy of the key was returned.

Tomorrow, Your Boulevardier will visit the Post Office again in hopes that a Good Samaritan found the keys and slipped them through the mail slot. Cross your fingers, readers. Replacing the keys is no big deal, but it is a hassle Your Boulevardier would prefer not to go through.

Why we love the Village Barber Shop

Your Boulevardier had a tough day today. He hit his desk early in the morning, without bathing or shaving. (Such are the privileges of working at home.) Lunch was eaten at the desk. Such days can be fun and exciting, but they can also be exhausting.

Around 3:00 p.m. a window of time opened up. If exercise was to be gotten, this was the opportunity. So a jacket and walking shoes were pulled on, and course was set for The Boulevard. The bank and post office were visited, after which Your Boulevardier cut through Castro Village on his way to Redwood Road.

He found his barber, Terence "Limbo" Lim, sitting on a bench outside the Village Barber Shop. Cordial conversation ensued, and soon Limbo invited Your Boulevardier in for a free trim.

Now remember: the desk had been hit this morning before bathing. To say Your Boulevard was a bit unkept is an understatement. "C'mon in, buddy. I'm not doing anything anyway," Limbo insisted. The offer was accepted. Jokes were made by other barbers that Limbo would be fired for giving away free trims.

It was a perfect treat for an otherwise-tiring day. A major tip of the Beret goes to the Village Barbershop and to Limbo. Thank you!

Sidewalks Are Optional

Your Boulevardier mentioned a few days ago that curb cuts and ramps were being constructed around town and that he was certain he had seen ramps in locations where there were no sidewalks.

Turns out one such ramp is among those recently built: this one at Redwood Road and Jamison Way. There are uneven dirt paths on either side of the new concrete ramp, and on the Jamison Way side there are multiple obstacles -- a signpost and a telephone pole guy wire -- that would prevent a wheelchair or double-wide stroller from approaching. The photo does not do the situation justice.



Your Boulevardier is not opposed to public works or government spending, but he does not like waste. Can readers convince Yours Truly that this ramp serves any purpose, and was therefore a good use of public funds?

Castro Valley Resident Has Letter Published In NY Times

A letter from Castro Valley was published in the New York Times a couple of days ago. The letter's author is one Wesley J. Smith; a scan of his Wikipedia biography shows that he is an attorney and an expert in bioethics, with a broad publishing and research background. (Not to mention the husband of San Francisco Chronicle columnist Debra Saunders.)

Which leads to a question or three: is Mr. Smith a Castro Valley resident? Is Ms. Saunders? Returning to Wikipedia, they are not listed among our town's notable residents, but such lists are typically made up of athletes, entertainers, and rock musicians, rather than intellectuals and journalists. Your Boulevardier will leave it to the reader to decide if that's a statement on Wikipedia, on American values, or on something else.

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 ...

English Only

Your Boulevardier happened to be visiting his bank this morning when a pack of English car enthusiasts gathered for a top-down drive in the cool autumn air.



Most -- if not all -- of the cars were MGs. (Click on the photo for a better view.) The variety of colors and styles and vintages was most impressive. Your Boulevardier snapped his photo a bit surreptitiously; had he been more bold, he would have inquired more about the group and taken photos of some of the elaborate headgear that the motorists were employing to keep their ears warm.

The roar and rumble as the string of English Roadsters started up and pulled onto The Boulevard was great fun to hear.

The Drink's On Me

This juxtaposition of billboards on Castro Valley Boulevard caught Your Boulevardier's eye this morning.



One would not suggest that alcohol and soda are equally bad for young people (or for adults, for that matter). However, a good case can me made that neither one is very good for a person. Soda in quantity -- the billboard advertises 100 ounces for a family of four as a possible serving size -- provides a great deal of carbohydrates and little else. Those 25 ounces would deliver 75 grams of carbohydrates -- largely in the form of high fructose corn syrup, which some say is worse than good old glucose.

We have excellent tap water in Castro Valley. Perhaps that's the best choice of all.

Crowing about Rowells

Don, the fiberglass horse that stands guard outside of Rowell's Saddlery, has a new friend -- a large-headed scarecrow. Your Boulevardier does not know if the smiling new fellow is a temporary or permanent addition to the shop's publicity team, but we're certain Don enjoys the companionship on chilly days like today.



("Don," by the way, is Your Boulevardier's name for the horse; the handle was bestowed in honor of Don Guillermo Castro, who once owned the valley in which our town now resides. Yes, Your Boulevardier is aware that "Don" is, in this case, a title, not a name. Work with me, people.)

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.

Malcolm and Me

Writer Malcolm Gladwell has been deemed a "master boulevardier" as well as an "epic ladies [sic] man" in an article by Sean Macaulay.

Your Boulevardier likes Gladwell's books and articles (for the most part) and finds himself surprised by the other information.