Around Town: Season of light, shoes that fit

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Early December marks the start of party season in La Cañada Flintridge. We light the gazebo in Memorial Park and the big tree in Glenola Park. Christmas lights go up on fences and houses, street after street. The parties begin.

There are parties of all sorts. Garden brunches, weather permitting, with Champagne, good coffee, fresh orange juice and croissants. Cocktail parties in homes with breathtaking views of the foothills. Tea at the Thursday Club on Woodleigh Lane. Chanukah latke feasts. Christmas buffet suppers. Rose Bowl game day extravaganzas. The list goes on.

We are blessed, not only in December. La Cañada Flintridge is a special town. We live in the season of light.

Our son used to call this area — the town where he grew up and the nearby communities where his friends lived — “The Bubble.” When he said, “The Bubble,” he was referring to La Cañada Flintridge, parts of Pasadena, San Marino and South Pasadena. For him “The Bubble” meant a encapsulated safety zone where he and his friends could drive around at night in their rebuilt cars (Geoff’s Chevelle, Andrew’s Mercury, Matt’s various Hondas), visit one another, visit girls, and maybe see a dust-up or two, allegedly started by kids from “outside The Bubble.” Sometimes the police would pull them over and ask to look under the hood. No tickets involved.

Not everyone grows up in such a place, a small town side-by-side with one of the world’s major metropolitan areas, full of exciting opportunities and cultural diversity.

La Cañada Flintridge is a special town, but it is also what you make it. There are dozens of ways to stay involved. There are clubs and charities, venues for involvement and a City Hall down the street. At the risk of sounding like a Pollyanna, there are benefits to staying connected.

Your children, for example, will grow up feeling that they are from this town, part of a community, no mean feat in the Los Angeles urban sprawl.

So, now that you are hopefully in the mood, I have a request. Last year, you responded to my request to build a Tower of Tuna in the Valley Sun offices. The tower was awesome. We delivered the tuna to a food pantry where it was given to needy families.

This year, in the season of light, I have another request. Please bring one pair of brand new children’s tennis shoes, any color, any child’s size, and/or children’s socks, to the Valley Sun offices, 727 Foothill Blvd., La Cañada. You can even say hello to Carol, if I’m not there. Beginning today, through Jan. 20, we will collect the footwear and donate them to Shoes that Fit program at L.A. Family Housing ( www.lafh.org).

Thank you, my friends, and party on!




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Published Published: Thursday, December 10, 2009 4:11 AM PST
Commentary
Around Town:
Season of light, shoes that fit
By Anita Brenner



La Cañada Valley Sun: La Cañada Flintridge, California