Around the Neighborhood

While the rest of the country was freezing, in the Bay Area it was a good weekend to go outside. I rummaged in the closet until I found two old gloves, then off to the park to play pitch and catch with my son, as my father did with me forty years ago. My son’s not very good, but neither was I, despite memory’s embellishments. As the day wore on, his throws became straighter and crisper, and the ball began sticking to his glove. Hope springs eternal in a father’s breast: tryouts for the Little League are coming up.

We took a walk around the neighborhood. Some of the women in Asian households were sweeping the sidewalk and emptying their garages. The lunar Year of the Monkey starts this week, and by tradition one has to start the year with a clean house. A couple of homes are up for sale, so we paid a visit, looking for remodeling ideas. I looked at what these neighbors had done, every room re-carpeted and re-painted, considered briefly the multi-year task of upgrading my 24-year-old domicile, then switched on the TV to watch who was going to the Super Bowl. The local hero is Tom Brady, the New England Patriots’ quarterback, who attended Redwood City’s Junipero Serra High, where Lynn Swann [Steelers wide receiver] and Barry Bonds matriculated.

With neither the 49ers nor the Raiders in the playoffs, there’s less of a rooting interest this year, so actually I’ve been a little more productive on weekends (my wife says she doesn’t notice). I’ve gotten an early start on the tax return and boxed up some clothes for goodwill. Haven’t done anything significant yet, but the signs are encouraging. © 2004 Stephen Yuen

In Foster City the ducks don't confine themselves to the lagoons.