Letters

One good letter deserves another in response

I want to thank Lee Fagot for the letter that appeared in the Sept. 1 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times. This letter expressed the concerns that I have had for a very long time and yet I have never written to the Weekly-Times or anyone else to voice them.

I did nothing because I felt that I would sound like one of the people who have the "not in my back yard" attitude, and that no one would really care how I felt about this.

Mr. Fagot's letter reminded me that while it may not change things to make one's feelings known, nothing can be changed if they are kept quiet.

I have lived in Los Gatos for 17 years and in that time have seen what was then the road "less traveled" become a town that I fear people will one day say they would like to visit but would never want to live there.

Downtown is quickly becoming the Valley Fair of Los Gatos, and our schools are bursting at the seams. I used to love walking downtown and shopping while feeling that I was a part of a small community that was something special.

Now it just feels like walking through a mall without a roof. This past year it took me 20 minutes to drive my daughter little more than a mile to school at Fisher. Traffic on Los Gatos Boulevard is bumper to bumper for most of the day, and downtown is rapidly losing the uniqueness that made my friends and family jealous that we lived here.

It appears to me that the emphasis has shifted from a desire for quality of life to quantity of life. How sad.

Jorja Silva
Los Gatos

Fiesta could have been great, but it certainly wasn't

My first introduction to your quaint city of Los Gatos was as a vendor with the Fiesta de Artes show. Your town showed a lot of promise. Promise of having a great if not good show ... unfortunately it was neither.

Not because it was just plain hot, but it seemed to me there could have been a better plan to make this show successful. I have participated as a vendor with California Artists for six years and have found Nancie Allie [the professional event coordinator] and her staff to be very professional and always did her part to get the people to attend. I am not trying to win any popularity contest, I just follow the rules and, hit or miss, I generally have a good show.

Every vendor I spoke with was a first-time participant with Fiesta de Artes. It dawned on me why there were so many first-timers. I can see why vendors would not be breaking down your fence to do it again.

Speaking of fences, I feel the fence is a dismal mistake. Not to mention the guards with badges at the gate. I can appreciate precautions but this was ridiculous. Yes, I, too, will probably be an absentee at the Fiesta de Artes next year. I see no reason to get up before dawn to drive 100 miles, fight a fence, dolly an entire setup and stock for a show that is just for the people who come to be entertained. Where are your buyers?

I'm afraid they were at other shows that didn't have fences to hassle with. Too bad; this could really be a great show.

Yolanda M. Mauras
Salinas

Sidewalk cleaners: time to check in

Volunteers have coordinated a town sidewalk cleaning. The merchants on W. Main Street and N. Santa Cruz Avenue have been notified and are responding well.

If you were missed, call Shirley at 354-7878. Thanks, volunteers: Bea Link, Gary Schloh, Azita Aghevli, Greg Stowers, Rob and Nancy Walker, Calle Brophy and Beth Cilker Smith.

Shirley Henderson
Los Gatos

University seeks help preserving WWII memories

This letter is directed to WWII veterans and their families:

Help save the personal legacy of World War II. The experiences and paper-based memorabilia of those who served in the armed forces and defense industries--so often discarded--are valuable parts of this nation's history.

The Florida State University Department of History has set up the Institute on World War II and the Human Experience to collect and preserve this physical heritage for research, teaching and exhibition. If you or someone you know has letters, diaries and photographs of the period, please contact the Institute at the Department of History, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL 32306-2200, or call them at (850) 644-9033.

We will be delighted to send an information packet or answer any questions concerning donation of materials to the Institute and their future use.

William O. Oldson
Professor of History

Just remember, politicians are an entirely different breed

Those seeking to understand the "major disconnect" between the town's efforts to be responsive to the community's wishes and the community's perception of how effective those efforts are, as discussed in the Opinion pages of the Aug. 18 issue of the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, should keep a few things in mind.

Politicians at all levels--federal, state, and local--are a slightly different breed of cat.

In order to gain political office, these men and women are willing to suffer the tedium of endless fundraising cocktail parties and rambling town hall meetings. They seek to enter a field in which compromise, sacrifice of principles and association with those you dislike are the sine qua non of success.

They desire entrance to a club whose members most Americans think are duplicitous at best, dishonest at worst. They feel a need to "lead" their fellow citizens to a better life through the improvement of economic, social and environmental conditions (if those conditions happen to coincide with their personal agendas).

They like getting up in front of people and telling them the "right" way of doing things. They like to run things. They are not satisfied with just a successful business or professional career.

They invariably profess a great love for the community and people where they live but have no compunction against moving on to greater things if the political winds blow in their favor.

It should not really come as a surprise to anyone that town leaders are not exactly acting as people feel they should with respect to citizen participation in community planning. Nor should it shock anyone that perhaps they are not following through on their pre-election promises.

e.e. cummings wrote that "a politician is an arse upon which everyone has sat except a man" ("One Times One," 1944). And Ernst Mach (1838-1916) held that "the proper memory for a politician is one that knows what to remember and what to forget."

It might be a good idea for the good citizens of Los Gatos to heed a mutation of Mach's words during the next election: Remember what the current crop of politicians are doing to you.

And then forget them.

Frank Stagnaro
Los Gatos

New stickers will allow mountain residents to bypass roadblocks, get home

DeCinzo: KICU and KCAT

Photo: Shoestring Theater Company's production of 'Annie'

Picture From the Past

Sports Briefs

LGHS varsity football team hopes for title

Los Gatos, Wilcox frosh-soph expect to battle again this year

Leigh varsity football team boasts experienced players, team speed