Who was Los Gatos' Mountain Charley?

World of Tastes Buffet by the History Club May 23rd

Something different, casual and fun to do!

Foods from 12 countries are being sampled in an informal buffet at the History Club of Los Gatos at 123 Los Gatos Blvd  on May 23rd from 11 - 2.  Musical entertainment too!  Tickets are $25 at the door or reserve yours in advance by calling Kate Adams at (408) 438-3900.  

Real Estate Hazards

I've been selling real estate full time for 14 years and I have seen a whole lot of weird and akward stuff in the course of my work.  When you're in people's homes all the time  (and also when you are working with people who are experiencing a lot of stress), it's just going to happen.

Let me tell you, they don't prepare you for this when you are studying to take your license exam.

You are wondering "like what?"  I'll tell you. . . .

Intimate stuff:  Sometimes you go into a place and see things displayed that you feel you really should not see.  Such as? Such as boudoir photography of your client, special "toys", and sometimes "art" that may shock you. The oddest I ever saw was a home decorated with whips and chains (this for an Open House). Yes, really.

Naked people.  It'll wake you up!  Yes, when you are going into homes all the time, you will occassionally find yourself face to face with more of someone than you meant to encounter or people doing things you aren't supposed to see.  Once I had a naked teenage boy jog past me - luckily, he'd found a tiny area rug and held it carefully as he zipped by. Another time, one of my clients waved me through the home - forgetting that the spouse was in the shower!  And I have other stories too, but this is a G-Rated Blog.

Scary stuff. Talk about being scared out of my wits...  Twice I've turned down the wrong driveway by accident and found myself terrified by an overreacting nut. Once a man blocked my only exit with his jeep and screamed at me for tresspassing - only to learn I was trying to find the next door neighbor's driveway (a home that was for sale on a street where the addresses weren't marked - it was, by the way, his sister's home and he did know it was for sale). Another time, a client pushed me to go down a driveway when my better judgement (and the sign stating "alarmed driveway") warned me not to do so. A scary looking big guy with a rifle emerged and glared at me threateningly.

Gross stuff: Sometimes a seller will ask buyers and agents to remove their shoes. I recall doing so vividly along with a buyer client, only to have the client put her foot down (in the master bedroom, which had a dark brown hardwood floor) in a very large pile of puppy poop.  Ewww.  Another time a client phoned and apologetically explained that he'd accidentally left his dirty underwear on the bedroom floor, and would I please put it in the hamper before the Open House?  (This is just a sampling, there are many more stories I could share along this vein.)

You get the idea.  It's almost like Forrest Gump: "life is like a box of chocolates, you just never know what you're gonna get".

One of the toughest things I've encountered in my career, though, actually involves not homes and scary things, but cars and the safety of my passengers.  Ten or so years ago, I had a rash of clients who did not want to buckle up, and who did not care if their babies or toddlers were in car seats either. It was not a lot of fun when they climbed into my car and wanted to omit wearing seatbelts. This is, by far, one of the worst things I've run into in my career, because it's a client trying to get me to take risks that I know are stupid to take. And it's not fun to argue with anyone, let alone a client, but...

This is an issue where I'm just plain inflexible.

In life before real estate, I was a teacher - secondary religious ed. My last teaching job was at Notre Dame High School in Salinas, CA.  I taught a number of classes, and one of them was "Belief in Human Life". For the final, the students - all girls - wrote a five page paper on "What My Life Means to Me".  The paper was a wonderful reflection, often full of appreciation of parents, family, friends and others, but also full of hope for the future.  Each one was beautifully touching and a real keepsake.

One of my students was a very, very sweet girl named Stacey. She was rushing to school at the end of her senior year, zipping in her VW Bug down a road much like Quito Road, when the car slid off the road and into a tree.

Stacey wasn't wearing a seatbelt, and she died.  Her paper was read at her funeral. . . .

Paramedics said that if she had been wearing her seatbelt, she'd have been badly hurt, but she would have lived.

It's been 18 years since she died - I remember it strongly - she was so very, very young.

Every time I've had a client not want to wear a seatbelt in my car, I think of Stacey.  And I have the akward, uncomfortable conversation about the need for seatbelts.  It's the law. It's my car. It's my responsibility. It's not worth it.

I think it is getting better, but we're not yet at 100%. Today I read that the Los Gatos Police are now going to give tickets (not warnings) for folks who aren't wearing seatbelts.

I again am thinking about Stacey and have just one thing to say about that:

Thank you.

US Postage New Rate as of Today

Los Gatos in Art

best. 

Enjoy your Mother's Day. Do something unique and fun!

Odd Sighting: Oil in Los Gatos

Driving through the Central Valley or Central Coast areas of California, you see lots of oil pumps working busily. Oftentimes they are painted green, and sometimes they're even decorated with springy antennae so that they look like mechanical grasshoppers.  They are so goofy looking that you just have to smile.

They're a part of the rural landscape in other parts of California.

But you really do not expect to find these things in Los Gatos.

Oil was first discovered in the Santa Cruz Mountains at Moody Gulch  in 1861 (the California Highway Patrol has named the bend in the road near there "Big Moody Curve").  It ended up not being a moneymaker, and drilling there stopped in 1912.  Closer in to town, there were 12 functioning oil wells in Los Gatos between 1891 and 1929. 

The one pictured here was apparently pumping oil into the 1950s, though, and supposedly was giving out 8 barrels a day in 1953. But it was just not enough to justify the effort.

So this tethered pump, surrounded by a small chain link fence, now sits in the middle of a paved parking lot, shaded by a very large redwood tree. It really looks out of place next to the giant SUVs and luxury vehicles and tiny Mini Coopers parked there. The pump is a little rusty looking.  The paint is peeling. It looks, well, forgotten.

With gas rapidly approaching $4 a gallon, I am wondering if maybe this pump without a purpose shouldn't be revisited to see if it has something more to give. Maybe our technology would make it feasible to use again. Do you think?

In any case, it's a glimmer of the past.  If it can't be used, perhaps it can be respected.

I vote for a coat of green paint and some springing, bobbing antennae.

Just for old time's sake.

Bits of Los Gatos News

Former Los Gatos High football star and Stanford graduate Trent Edwards is picked by the Buffalo Bills in the NFL Draft.  Congratulations to Trent and his family (and neighbors too)!!  

Skateboard Park Gains Momentum

Review of Los Gatos Brewing Company (set to be in print version of the Merc May 13)

 Los Gatos artists held "open" Sunday May 6th

Honor Roll for Los Gatos High Hall of Fame grows

Fire at Lupin Lodge (Nudist Resort)

Commercial Property News Tidbits:

Los Gatos Oaks Apartment building has sold for $10.2 million

Downing Center at Union and Los Gatos Almaden has sold for $28 million. It had been in the Downing family for 70 years and had been rebuilt nicely in 1990.

Los Gatos Boulevard Design still unsettled

Town of Los Gatos information on commercial areas and available leases (with map)