It’s yet another typical, awesome day in the Shores. Looking at the view from my townhouse I notice two men, wearing relaxed clothing – much like one would attending a friendly party holding clipboards filled with paperwork. I immediately figure they are selling something or conducting a survey so I prepare for them to stop by the house. However, the men seemed to be selective and did not stop to talk to me. I saw them veer left to continue through a green belt area, still on foot, no vehicle in site.

I had almost forgotten about the men until I took my dogs out for a walk and ended up following them around the complex. At this point, the investigation was on – the dogs were alert and I had my walking shoes on. In passing, I was able to get close enough to hear a neighbor speak to the men. They ‘appeared’ to be offering Comcast services. As they made their sales pitch, I heard my neighbor respond, but it’s what he said that concerned me enough to share with all of you.

In a polite attempt to get the salesmen to move along, my neighbor told them that he is, “just about to leave on a trip, his bags are packed he is ready to go”. The salesman asks my neighbor when he’ll be returning and my neighbor simply replies that he’ll, “be back on Tuesday”.

I hope my neighbors’ statements spark your attention or at the very least get most of you wondering why anyone would tell a stranger when they will not be in their home. Even if one is caught trying to avoid solicitors, a statement of such kind would never be safe

We all must be observant to our surroundings and never assume strangers approaching our homes have completely honest and sincere reasons for making contact with us. We must also warn and share this type of an interaction with our fellow neighbors. These men could have been legitimate contracted employees of Comcast; but we all need to be cautious and err on the side of requesting validation before discussing business with any company.

The safety of our neighbors is all of our responsibilities. There is no special training required, no special talents needed and it really isn’t anything complex; we all just need to pay some attention to our surroundings and stay aware. Harboring care and concern for your neighborhood is healthy and wise.

If anyone could pose as a salesman, how many other ways could a stranger be so visible that we tend to overlook them in our own front yard? Just a thought . . .

— Rick Gutierrez
— Redwood Shores resident

The following are letters written into the editor of The Pilot for the July 2010 issue. Letters can cover a wide range of topic and often are concerning local issues discussed in previous issues of the paper. 

Just a thought …

Recall if you will all the happy emotions that followed the victory of our beloved Giants during the World Series Championships. Most of us attended the games or viewed them on the TV, and nearly all of us were part of the hundreds of thousands of local folks celebrating throughout the bay area, whether in our homes or on our streets. For a moment our TVs and lives were plastered in a sea of orange and black, we stopped to just enjoy each other and the accomplishments of our underdog athletes.

In the streets, in stores, in our neighborhoods; complete strangers went out to cheer together. Against nearly all the odds, we all got to celebrate a historical moment for ourselves and our local baseball team. This is not something every city or every person gets to celebrate so we really should feel great about being part of such a momentous sporting event.

What I’m really curious about is how we can continue with this thrill? Keep the rushes of the moment going? Spread the friendliness that made our communities band-together, both strong and prideful and always positive?

I witnessed strangers wearing SF logo and Giants’ gear greeting one another with a “Go Giants”, or just starting random conversations over the boys-of-the-summer and concluding such introductions with fist bumps or a loud, smacking high-five.

We, as a community, need to try to continue promoting this universal feeling of pride and take additional steps to keep up with open, friendly communication and acts. When we see people we often forget to take the time to stop and talk. All it takes is a simple greeting or a common gesture of kindness that can and should help us grow together out of this historical achievement.

We live in a great community. We share common sentiments of wanting a clean and safe living environment. We should want to add more friendly or neighborly acts as part of the package. We need to continue celebrating our joy with our neighbors, folks just walking the pathways, family members walking as a group, people walking with their dogs, and people shopping at the Nob Hill complex. The next time you stop at an intersection give a wave; a nod to those next to you, those that may be crossing in front of you – it can’t hurt and maybe you’ll get a nod back.

We need to keep the merriment going! Let’s all embrace the moment and not allow another 50 plus years to go by without taking advantage of these positive feelings, just a thought!

— Rick Gutierrez

In recent weeks and months our community has experienced many traumatic events, such as the deadly gas main explosion in San Bruno, the recent ruptured pipe that leaked 48,000 gallons of raw sewage into our Redwood Shores Lagoon, followed days later by a small plane crash into that same lagoon, in which three people tragically died. Although we were all affected by these events, we were not affected in the same way. Those who witnessed the plane crash, or saw the plane heading toward them through their office window, or who bravely jumped into the lagoon hoping for survivors, experienced the accident in a very different way than those of us who drove by wondering why so many emergency vehicles were parked by the lagoon. As therapists, we wondered what the people in our community are doing with the realities of these events. Here are a few tips that may be helpful.

It is normal to think about and remember these events, to wonder about the persons who died and their families and friends. You may even think, “what if it was me”, or now have stress or fears that you never had before. Such reactions are perfectly normal responses to terrible events that occurred. But it is important to talk about this, to share your story and feelings with your friends, family, and coworkers. You may also have physical reactions, such as muscle tightness, body aches, and headaches, to name a few. Exercise, alternating with rest, can help give relief. Organize your time, and continue making daily decisions to give yourself a sense of control over your life. You may want to journal your thoughts or put the thoughts and feelings outside yourself, such as in a drawing or other art form. After a traumatic event, it is important to take care of yourself. Eat, rest and exercise as your normal routine allows. You may have recurring thoughts, dreams, or flashbacks. This is normal, and over time they will become less frequent and less painful. If you find that you fall deep into sadness, or can’t get the difficult thoughts out of your head, or are losing sleep, you might consider seeing a professional therapist who specializes in working with these issues.

Family life is a vibrant part of who we are in Redwood Shores. Model for your children the care and concern you would want for yourself. Be aware of how the children are processing these events and lend a listening ear. Let them tell their story without judgment, and let them know that their feelings and fears are being heard. Traumatic events change our lives. It is important to give yourself, your family, and co-workers the love and support that you all need to get through tough times.

— Dr. Carolee Stabno, PsyD, LMFT, and Sarah Nagle, LCSW

The following is a letter written into the editor of The Pilot for the November 2010 issue. Letters can cover a wide range of topic and often are concerning local issues discussed in previous issues of the paper. 

Just a Thought…

Driving through our community I see parents and their youngsters riding bicycles.  Family togetherness is precious, however I can’t help but wonder why the children are using helmets and most adults are not? The helmet law was created to protect our youth but the helmet was created to protect your life. Enforcing the law by making our children wear helmets is not enough. Parents have the responsibility to reinforce and display that safety and being socially responsible is just as important as following the law.  It is a fact that an accident or collision can cause severe head trauma and possible death. Parents are you emotionally and financially prepared for such a devastating event? What suitable excuse for not wearing a helmet could a parent give to a child? Parents do you want to keep having these precious times together? Just a thought!

— Redwood Shores Resident

The following are letters written into the editor of The Pilot for the July 2010 issue. Letters can cover a wide range of topic and often are concerning local issues discussed in previous issues of the paper. 

 Dear Editor,

A 3500 pound car, your SUV is about 4000 pounds, accelerating from 0-35 mph

In half a block uses about .025 gallons of gas. The next .025 gallons of gas will carry that same car about half a mile at a steady 35 mph. It costs much more to accelerate than it does to keep a car rolling. The second part of this is the amount of pollution that is introduced to the air by these frequent starts is significant.

Considering the number of stop signs on RWS Parkway and Marine Pkwy and the number of cars traveling in and out of RWS, the wasted gas and pollution created by the 0-35 accelerations is staggering.

There are, as I see it, 2 solutions:

1- Replace the stop signs with signal lights sequenced to, let’s say, 30 mph. Woodside Rd west of El Camino has 2 traffic lanes in each direction, planted median with dedicated lift turn lanes, as do our main arteries. The sequenced signals work there. And closer to home, El Camino is set up that way. Imagine, once you start moving on Marine Pkwy or RWS Pkwy and not having to stop until you come upon the blinking ”METOR ON” sign at the freeway entrance. Don’t get me started on this “METOR ON” nonsense, that is another whole talk show. I’ll bet we could get the feds to pay for the signal lights as part of some foscil fuel saving, clean air program.

2- San Antonio Road west of El Camino in Los Altos is the same 2 lane each way , planted median with dedicated left turn lanes. There is a school that has a signal light at the intersection and 2 miles down the road there is a library with a signal light at that intersection. In between, no traffic controls. This works there because the traffic gets staged at the lights, so between the 2 lights there is ample time for cross traffic to move.

Both of these conditions are way better than the “STOP SIGN” at every intersection we are dealing with on RWS and Marine Pkwy.

RSCA, you have been an effective advocate for positive change and RWS is a better place to live as a result. Come on, get behind it and convince Redwood City we need change on our main arteries.

— Redwood Shores Resident

 I’ve lived in redwood shores for 15yrs; I live in a house that faces Shell Pkwy and am so appreciative and grateful for how the Shores community is run. It is an oasis, to me, and one I would like to support and protect.

On that note, I wanted to share with you a story and hope that people become more compassionate and attentive as a result; Last week, it may have been Wed, I was home at 3pm. 3 young boys, maybe 12 or so in age, with backpacks were walking from Marine world down Shell toward Redwood Shores Pkwy. As I went into my yard to begin to do some gardening, I saw one of the boys leaning over my back fence, laughing, as he backed away. I walked over to where he had seemingly dropped something into my yard and thought it was a stone. I thought ‘how odd’ but okay; and then went around to see if I could speak with him, but they’d walked away quickly.

I went back into my yard and the ‘stone’ was gone; It wasn’t a stone but a young baby gossling. It was terrified and as I spoke to it, it cowered in the corner and became a ‘stone’ again; I left my yard so as not to scare it.

My first thought was that it’s mom and siblings were just the other side of the fence on the grass; and it could hear her but couldn’t find her as my walls are too high. I was filled with two emotions. One being annoyance and dismay at what was a very very cruel thing for these young boys to do; If I knew their parents, I would suggest they seek counseling as this seems cruel, not childlike innocent behavior. I was disappointed in man’s inhumanity to other sentient beings so to speak.
 
The second feeling was a bit of panic as to how to get the young gossling back to its mom before they left. I called a friend who was a police woman in her past and, as I had anticipated, she took control, picked it up safely, and we walked around to the back to find its family.

The mom bleeted a few times, and we placed the gossling down, and it waddled very very quickly back over to its family; and I was happy. 🙂

I was so pleased this had a happy ending but concerned. My neighbors to my left have two very large dogs and I was thankful the young boys chose to drop the gossling into my yard that was ‘safe’. If it had been next door, I do not want to describe the likely outcome.

I don’t know how you wish to communicate this, or even if you wish to do so, but I had to share it. I was hoping that an article referencing something of my above story, coupled with the firm communication that this is dangerous and really cruel act, be shared. Our wildlife here coexists with us as best we can accomodate; and it is so much more gratifying to know that children may rescue animals rather than put them in harms way.

I hope and pray our Redwood Shores community continues to be a place where people wish to come to enjoy the wildlife; where we can look and smile at how we can observe nature’s cycle as we live in the middle of Silicon Valley.

— Eilish McCaffrey

“I am certain of nothing but the holiness of the Heart’s affections and the truth of the Imagination.”
~John Keats

The following are letters written into the editor of The Pilot for the February 2010 issue. Letters can cover a wide range of topic and often are concerning local issues discussed in previous issues of the paper. 

A few things occurred this past week that solidified my belief that there should be no additional stop signs or signaled lights on Redwood Shores Parkway.

As I was stopped at a red light on Redwood Shores Parkway, at Market Place, a car went straight through the light without slowing down or with any hesitation. The woman driving the car almost hit a car that was making a left turn across her path. This could have ended with a very serious accident. Fortunately, the car turning left swerved to avoid the oncoming car.

There were three lanes of cars, all stopped, but she was oblivious to this. As luck would have it, a police officer was directly behind my car, so he also saw the entire episode. And he was able to apprehend the driver. This is one time that my wish of “Where’s a police officer when you need one?” came true.

In three additional incidents, this week, I was almost side swiped by cars whose drivers were not paying attention. The narrower lanes, on Redwood Shores Parkway, have been a constant contributor to this when drivers are not alert. I see this on a daily basis.

Today, a woman in the lane to my right literally tried to come into my lane to get to the far left lane. She didn’t care that she had no space to do so as she would have had to run into and over my car to do so. I did honk at her, to advise her that she was going to hit my car, but she only glared at me while gunning her car to race in front of me, while almost hitting another car.

Another point is that cyclists rarely, if ever, stop at stop signs. I witness this all the time, and saw one man do this yesterday. They can’t be bothered; it appears, to heed the posted signs. And, the new bike lanes make it easier to do so. If they were to utilize the paved multi-use paths, they would be more apt to stop, as it places them where they must pay attention to cross traffic.

As I mentioned in my letter in last month’s “Pilot”, there is no need to waste our taxpayer’s money on more stop signs or lights. It is the inattentiveness of people that causes accidents, whether they are walking, biking, or driving. And, the present lights and stop signs on the Parkway, are creating hostility and the need to speed, to make up for lost time when they either stop or “barely” slow down.

The people that are demanding to have a stop sign at Cringle have two great, safe and stress free options to use. They can either drive parallel to Redwood Shores Parkway for only one block, either East or West, to have a safe crossing at Marlin Drive or Bridge Parkway. This is a no brainier and would save them time as well.

That is the safest and most logical solution for everyone!!! WE DON’T NEED MORE LIGHTS AND STOP SIGNS ON REDWOOD SHORES PARKWAY!!!

— Linda Drummy, Redwood Shores Homeowner

The only people who want a stop sign at Kringle are the ones who live on Kringle. We already have many, many stop signs on Redwood Shores Pkwy and Marine Parkway (the only access roads to my home).  Why can’t the people who live south of RS Pkwy just make a right turn on RS Pkwy and then make a u-turn at the next intersection?

Why should the majority of people suffer because a few people don’t want a few extra seconds of inconvenience?

— D. Miller