Miraloma Park Improvement Club

Miraloma Life: January 2009

• Hats off for the 2008 MPIC Holiday Potluck Party!
• Attention Miraloma Park Resident
• Community Gardens Thrive In San Francisco
• I Am Honored to Serve!
• We’ve Lost One of the Best
• Park  News
• Legal Ease
• Some Cold and Flu Myths
• In Memory:  Elizabeth Mettling

 

Hats off for the 2008 MPIC Holiday Potluck Party!

by Dan Liberthson

This year’s Holiday Potluck was, by all accounts, the best yet, attended by some 90 people all of whom appeared to be having a fine time. Laura Lee and her band provided the usual wonderful musical environment, and the inimitable Boswick the Clown entertained kids and adults alike with his act, his antics, and his remarkable balloon hats. There are many volunteers to thank for making this annual feast and entertainment possible, perhaps foremost Kathy Rawlins, whose wonderful decorative designs graced the mantelpiece; Newton Don, who took the terrific photos are now on our website at miralomapark.org; and Board members Mike Naughton, Karen Wood, Cassandra Mettling-Davis, Karen Breslin, Robert Gee, Phil Laird, Jim Ilardo, and Dan Liberthson, who helped with various aspects of set-up, clean-up, and administration.

But those who really make the party happen every year are, of course, YOU—our Miraloma Park neighbors who come to celebrate the season and contribute to the festivities your best dishes and your good cheer. Here are the winners in each category of this year’s Potluck prizes, whose delicious contributions helped us open the Holiday Season with wonderful culinary treats.

Entrée: (1) Jambalaya – Charles Frye; (2) Teriyaki Salmon – Eugenia Lau; (3) Santa Fe Chili – Newton Don; (4) Turkey Lasagna – Shannon Chu
 
Appetizer (only one was brought): (1) Irish Soda Bread – Pauline (no last name given)
 
Side dish/salad: (1) Garlic Noodles – Norma (no last name given); (2) Cranberry Deliciousness – Scott Ludke; (3) Baked Beans – Yvonne Hipskind; (4) Pecan Pear Pleasure – Michael Fox
 
Dessert: Baklava – Wendy Frisk; Pretzel Salad – Jeff & Satish (no last names given);
Lemon Bars – Jimmy Lau; Strawberry/Lemon squares – May Cheng
     
There were many other wonderful dishes, so all cooks please give yourselves a round of applause, and all other diners please second that. If you fell in love with any of the winning dishes and would like to get the recipe, give us a call or email us with your request and we will try to obtain it for you from the cook (we can’t guarantee success, but will give it the old college try.)

We also thank the local merchants who donate gift certificates as prizes to spur us on to the culinary heights.

This year our supporting merchants included:

Mollie Stone’s Tower Market on Portola, a fine and friendly place to shop
Paradise Pizza on West Portal, with tasty pizza and Italian cuisine
Shaw’s Ice Cream on West Portal, with many delicious flavors
Papenhausen Hardware on West Portal, my favorite place for hardware needs
Critter Fritters in Glen Park, with a nice variety of pet supplies and a resident cat
Destination Bakery in Glen Park, for wonderful baked goods (I like the tarts)
Cheese Boutique in Glen Park, home of delicious cheeses and gourmet foods
Quixote Mexican Grill on Dewey at Woodside (really good burritos and other stuff)
Bird and Beckett Books and Records in Glen Park, a bookstore, performance center, and  local treasure
Dan Liberthson, author of The Pitch is on the Way: Poems About Baseball and Life (available at Pitchpoems.com)
Jacquie Proctor, author of San Francisco’s West of Twin Peaks (available at MtDavidson.org)

As always, we urge you to support our local merchants as they have supported us, and help to preserve the remarkable assortment of stores that enrich our neighborhood’s Portola commercial area and the adjacent shopping districts in Glen Park and West Portal.

The MPIC thanks everyone, residents, merchants, and entertainers, who have helped make our Holiday Potluck tradition so rich and rewarding, and we wish one and all a happy and prosperous New Year.

      

Attention Miraloma Park Resident

Last month, we invited you to renew your membership in the Miraloma Park Improvement Club (MPIC) by sending your annual dues and returning a form which was inserted in Miraloma Life. We include the form again just in case in the mad rush of the Holidays you lost it and forgot to send it in.  If you are not currently a member, please consider joining to support your neighborhood volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining and improving the great quality of life we enjoy in Miraloma Park.  We operate as a non-profit neighborhood organization working with neighbors, our district supervisor and city agencies on a broad range of issues that serve the needs of the community.

Our board members work diligently to maintain our Clubhouse and keep it charming and beautiful for rental at reduced rates for MPIC members.
The MPIC produces The Miraloma Life, our neighborhood’s monthly newsletter, and our website www.miralomapark.org. 

In 1999, the MPIC produced the Miraloma Park Residential Design Guidelines, which were adopted by the San Francisco Planning Commission.  The guidelines help insure that when homeowners improve their property, they do so within the context of their surroundings, while maintaining the character and charm of our neighborhood.

We put on many fun and educational events throughout the year including historical presentations, local area tours, candidate and local issue forums, kitchen and garden tours, and social events including our annual holiday party in early December.

Safety on Teresita and other roads is an on-going effort that is critical to everyone’s well-being.  The MPIC board works diligently with city officials to reduce speeding using careful placements of stop signs, speed monitors and other  traffic calming tactics.
ships with the officers at Ingleside station, insuring that Miraloma Park remains the peaceful and relatively crime-free neighborhood we all enjoy. 
Graffiti is a type of vandalism and urban blight that is not tolerated in our neighborhood by the MPIC.  Our board members consistently and swiftly eradicate graffiti as soon as it appears. 

The quicker it is removed the less likely it will reappear. Please fill in the form and join us in these activities.

Mike Naughton
President, MPIC

                          
Community Gardens Thrive In San Francisco

by Phil Laird

My friend Mike is an avid gardener. Among the crops in his garden are herbs (our supply of fresh thyme depends on him), rhubarb, Lisbon lemons, dahlias, euryops, clivia, and carnations. Mike lives in an apartment; his gardening happens in an 80 square-foot plot, part of a community garden near Glen Park. Besides the twenty individual plots, there is a common area with fruit trees, kiwi vines, roses, camellia, cottonwood, rhododendron, – trees and shrubs too big for individual plots.

Mike serves as the coordinator for his community garden; the waiting time to obtain one of their plots is about two years. We who live in Miraloma Park and have back yards (front yards too, if we haven’t paved them over) can easily forget that the majority of SF residents live in apartments with limited opportunities for gardening. Widow boxes aside, apartment dwellers face a challenge if they want to grow their own flowers and vegetables.
 
I confess that I am a rather poor gardener. Fortunately I live with someone who is both more talented and more energetic. Together we do our best to make our front yard presentable and interesting, all the while fending off challenges from gophers, dogs, thieves, and oxalis. Our back yard we reserve for ourselves, plants we like to grow that may or may not be appealing to others. Occasionally we try to grow food. Our first attempt yielded lemons that looked like grapefruit and tasted like this newsletter. The zucchini we planted this past summer grew beautifully but faster than expected; by the time we harvested them, they could have been mistaken for footballs. But we succeed in growing roses, ferns, maples, and a blend of native and non-native plants. Watching the hummingbirds, doves, jays, bees, butterflies, and squirrels they attract is a lot more exciting than watching cage fighting on cable.

For some years I lived in the Fenway section of Boston where, from my apartment window, I could see dozens of industrious people tending plots in the Fenway Victory Gardens. The gardeners there were not friendly: they were there to work, not to chat with folks strolling through the Fens. Mostly they grew flowers because vegetables were too easily raided by all the four- and two-legged critters sneaking about the park at all hours. All but a few gardeners abandoned their plots during the New England winter, leaving a barren metaphor for the ravages of the season. But here and there a kind gardener had devoted a corner of his valuable real estate to holly and other colorful evergreens, a promise to the rest of us that winter’s dominion would not prevail. During the holidays grateful Fenway residents would hang ornaments and laud the solstice with song.

Social scientists ascribe the primal need for gardening to six factors: food, beauty, solace, therapy, community, and education. Among these, the latter two are often undervalued.  For while gardening is often a solitary endeavor (as it seems to have been for the Fenway gardeners), community and street-corner gardens foster civic consciousness and social ties. Several schools–among them our own Miraloma School—are putting outdoor gardening into the curriculum as an active way of raising environmental awareness.  Bee culture also has a useful place in the schools. In the 1950’s my primary school had a small beehive with a glass wall that did much to enliven our science classes. “Bees in San Francisco” may sound reminiscent of “Farms in Berkeley??”.

But, in fact the San Francisco Beekeepers Association meets monthly at the Randall Museum, maintains an informative website (sfbee.org), and lists volunteer beekeepers who visit schools on request. So where are all the hives?

 Most are tucked away out of sight—in community gardens, in remote sections of Golden Gate Park, and on rooftops—but many backyard hives exist. That incredible baklava that was a hit at the MPIC holiday party in December? It was made with honey from the hive of a SFPD officer who regularly patrols our neighborhood.

The inspiration for this article is a newly published book by Alex Hatch entitled “Cracks in the Asphalt: Community Gardens of San Francisco.” The author features thirty of the more than one hundred community gardens in San Francisco, with maps and full-color photographs. The book is worth the $20 price if only for the extraordinary photography of Stacey J. Miller, who has mastered the difficult art of photographing garden landscapes. 

One of the gardens featured in the book is Arlington Garden, the one where my friend has his plot.

A check of community gardens in the city shows that the majority are on land owned by DPW and RPD (Rec and Park Dept.). Others are on property held by the housing authority, the school district, the port authority, the state, the federal government, and private individuals who make land available for public gardening. Prior to 2003 the San Francisco League of Urban Gardeners, known as SLUG, had responsibility for most of the community gardens. SLUG also ran a federal program for economic development and job training, but the organization disbanded following revelations of financial and political mismanagement. Today no central agency manages all community gardens, but several organizations offer support and advocacy. The San Francisco Garden Resource Organization (SFGRO) musters volunteers and raises money in support of community gardens. Garden for the Environment (GFE) provides technical information and education to gardeners. San Francisco Green Schoolyard Alliance (SFGSA) encourages public schools to establish outdoor learning environments on school properties. Friends of the Urban Forest helps residents plant trees along neighborhood streets.

 And the San Francisco Parks Trust (SFPT), formerly the Friends of Rec and Park, raises sums large and small for major parkland improvements and local projects, notably street and sidewalk parks.

Patches of city-owned land too small to develop dot our city and our neighborhood. When they become eyesores, neighbors sometimes offer to plant and maintain them. Getting approval from the owner is only the first challenge: a plot of more than a few square feet needs fencing, water, and waste removal service, even if neighbors pay for the plants, tools, and supplies. A strip adjacent to Miraloma Playground is a prime example. When Rec and Park began renovating the ball field, neighbors lobbied to have irrigation extended down to the strip, which they promised to maintain. To date the proposal is still in the works, according to Jed Lane, who organized neighbors on Bella Vista for this effort. Elsewhere in the neighborhood a large triangle of grass along Marietta Drive had long been cared for by a conscientious neighbor.

 But last year the neighbor notified the city that he was no longer able to maintain the lawn and asked the owner, the Department of Public Works (DPW), to take over the maintenance.

 Over the summer and fall the patch degenerated into brown thatch and dog poop. But thanks to the efforts of Supervisor Ellsbernd, DPW has now installed working irrigation lines, and if these are properly applied, the neighbors will soon see an attractive lawn, host to a forsaken Monterey Pine aging quietly at the corner.
To this success story we may add two others: the Melrose-Detroit Garden and the Los Palmos Garden (at Foerster), where for years the neighbors have transformed neglected properties into beautiful oases for all to enjoy. Community gardens and street parks add so much character to a neighborhood, to its sense of community, and to its property values. Converting a neglected patch of land into a garden takes only a few citizens with time, energy, and vision.

 

I Am Honored to Serve!

Finally a clear day, after all that rain and cold, warm enough to open the window and lie down next to the cat in the patch of sun brightening the greens and reds of the living room carpet. Ah, we need the rain, lots of rain, but we need the sun too, for thawing frozen bones and frosty skin. Doze a bit, sink into the warmth, feel for a few moments the loveliness of being alive and feeling pleasure—no demands, no one to please. Eyes half closed, doze. But what is this strangely shaped shadow that flits across the window and over my face, barely sensed through the spaces between my eyelashes? Annoying, this, but let’s have a quick look, just to make sure nothing’s wrong—then back to nap. Oh, my! Kitty’s jumped up and started hissing at the open air, fur puffed and tail erect, looking very much the brave, no-nonsense Marshal Cat. And now the shadow resolves, and the object that caused it glides in through the window, circles the room once, and settles in my lap. A paper airplane, made from a brown grocery bag, perfectly formed, covered with irregular but emphatic scrawling, and, of course, signed with the familiar paw print. Duty calls. Alas! -Ed [Please forgive my editorial comments on the letter below—I felt that M. Coyote would want me to clarify a few points.]

My fellow Miralomans, I bring you great tidings and cause to rejoice. The President-Elect, responding to an urgent letter on my behalf from the United Animal Federation, Miraloma Park Chapter, has acknowledged the electoral irregularities that led to his winning office despite overwhelming public support for yours truly (see last month’s Miraloma Life). While legally unable to reverse the officially recorded verdict declaring victory for his campaign, he is able and willing to offer me an important post in the new administration. Your humble servant, M. Coyote, is in fact proffered the cabinet post of Vice President in Charge of Animal-Human Relations (VP-CAHR in admin lingo). This appointment is especially significant because the new First Family cannot have a canid in the residence, as the youngest of the Family does not tolerate the dander of canine species, making me, you might say, a sort of official surrogate doggie.

Though accompanied by no salary and no particular privileges, the position represents much more than a mere gesture; it is, rather, a long-sought recognition of the urgency and legitimacy of formal animal-human relations, and offers me a podium from which to reinforce the vital importance of animal opinion and cooperation to our national security and well-being. Rest assured, dear Miralomans of the two- and four-legged persuasion, that although empowered only to speak and not to enforce, even with no executive authority, I will strive diligently to serve the animal kingdom down to the last robin, opossum, squirrel, and chipmunk. [Surely he must mean by “serve” to work on behalf of, as the other meaning would be inconsistent with his message. -Ed.]

Lest any species not included in the above representative list take offense, let me reassure all creatures that I will avail myself to them and them to me with no reservation, without prejudice to any, in the interest of their betterment and reward. Gone are the days when only those bearing immoderate gifts or promises of food and drink got the ear and helping paw of the government. I will be a representative for all, even the smallest and least able among you to provide me a succulent morsel. You may have faith in me to deal even-handedly at the dawn of this bright new era in our mutual history, be confident of this, I prey you. [Editor’s Note: sic—a typo, or should I say, paw-o, or perhaps a Freudian slip?]

And let me put on notice all miscreants, including the notorious raccoon and crow gangs, that no violation of peace and harmony in our beloved community will be tolerated. Let sweet ratty no longer tremble in his burrow, let the mild sparrow cease to worry for the welfare of her family, let vole and marmot rejoice in the security of their dens, let the delicious bunny rabbit [Another typo here? Was “delicate” intended?-Ed.] and the engaging groundhog, the multitudinous mouse and the myriad mockingbird, sing and burble in their peaceful dreams, no longer in fear of the raptors and predators among you, for I promise that none of you will become appetizers for them when I have my way, and indeed, they will get their just desserts. [A trifle ambiguous, but I think we must take this in good faith to mean that no one will be eaten, not that only he will and no other predator will eat them or that they will be entrees or desserts, not appetizers.-Ed.]

I, the redoubtable M. Coyote, promise with paw on breast and tongue in cheek that in this new era there will be a chicken in every pot—figuratively speaking, of course, stop that indignant clucking!—as no actual chickens will be harmed in the making of this new world. In closing, my friends, let me sum up in the incisive fashion you have come to expect from this candidate, without reservation. Read my lips—no new noshes. [Surely he does not mean “status quo” here, i.e., continued consumption of the same old foodstuffs, but rather no carnivore habits at all. Yet I seem to recall a few years ago a vow on his part to become a vegetarian that was somehow—shall we say—lost in translation?-Ed.]  

I remain—

Ever your devoted servant and benefactor,

M. Coyote, Esq.
  

 

We’ve Lost One of the Best

by Dan Liberthson

Elizabeth Mettling, former President of the MPIC and long-time Board Member, died on December 1 after a brave battle against lung cancer. Born on October 13, 1930, Elizabeth was a fifth-generation San Franciscan. She walked across the Bay Bridge when it opened, visited the 1939 World’s Fair on Treasure Island, and frequented Bohemian North Beach in the 1950s. The loving mother of three children and grandmother of three more, she opened her creative, artistic, and intellectual mind not only to her family but to everyone who lived around her, friends and neighbors. Elizabeth was a serious reader with many interests, and a font of local historical lore.

We knew her as someone who was always willing, based on her own reading and analysis, to take a position she felt was in the community interest, and to follow up her words with deeds. With her caring spirit, she was especially concerned about and active on issues she considered vital to health and well-being—her own and that of others—such as, given the unbridled advance of technology, the potential dangers of the proliferation of electronic and microwave transmission devices near schools and in public places.

Gifted with a remarkable memory, verbal skill, wit, and humor, she made her arguments well, and was heard with respect by City officials, including Mayors Jordan and Brown. We will miss Elizabeth Mettling’s compassion and keen spirit, but we are grateful to have known her and to have received the wonderful gift of herself that she gave so freely.
                
 

Park  News

Some neighborhoods in San Francisco are lucky enough to receive attention from city agencies and non-profits who identify the needs of residents and bring in services to address them. Some agencies even set-up local beacon offices. Our immediate neighborhood is not so lucky, and generally relies upon grass-root groups who volunteer personal time, energy and talents to encourage involvement from their nieghbors, contributions from local businesses, and lots of good ideas to write grants that fund activities in public parks, gardens, schools, and other places where neighbors can come together.

Sunnyside Park Families & Neighbors (SPFN} has been sitting at the table of the newly formed “Neighborhoods West of Twin Peaks Convener Group” sponsored by the SF Dept. of Children, Youth and their Families (DCYF) who share information of interest to families. DCYF has made monies available for those who have been involved in the Convener Group to apply for a grant to fund activities that emphasize interaction between children, their families and neighbors.

SPFN will meet the January deadline for grant submission requesting a share of the monies to stage two or three events or programs in our various local gathering spaces: Miraloma Athletic Field, courts and Rec. Center , Sunnyside Playground and grass field, the MPIC clubhouse, and possibly local schools and churches. Some ideas include “Miraloma Olympics,” musical sing-along concert with a contest for a “Blue, Green & Black” song composition to promote recycling and keeping parks and the neighborhood green and clean, community picnics and games, mural or tile fundraisers, vine Tee-Pees plantings, and the very popular “Scooter-O-Rama.”      Your ideas are actively sought after! No idea is too wild—don’t forget to include teens and seniors. Call or e-mail suggestions to Jed Lane (425-9810, jed@jedlane.com) or Andrea O’Leary (334-3601, SPFamilies@aol.com).
 

             

Legal Ease

by Mary Catherine Wiederhold, Esq.

This column discusses employment arbitration agreements.  In California, it has been a long held belief by judges that one of the main purposes of arbitration is to resolve disputes more quickly. While this may be true, arbitration sometimes led to unfair decisions because large employers could impose arbitration unilaterally on their employees.  Many arbitration “agreements” provided that the employee could not sue the employer, but the employer could sue the employee.  Furthermore, employees were usually forced to “agree” to arbitrate on a “take it or leave it” basis, usually right before they begin their first day on the job.  
  
The American tradition of legal arbitration traces its origin to the Court of Chancery in 15th Century England.  A chancery court permitted parties to petition directly to the King to resolve disputes.  This was controversial, however, because it bypassed juries and placed new powers in the hands of judges.  It also eliminated certain procedural safeguards.  In the United States, arbitration was used by the securities industry beginning around 1872 as a way to resolve business disputes, personal contracts and other matters.  The California Arbitration Act passed in 1927, governed mediation and arbitration procedures.

The California Supreme Court resolved some of the controversies concerning arbitration in employment contexts in 2000.  The case involved employees suing their employer for, among other reasons, ending their employment because they were heterosexual.  The employer countered by filing a motion to compel arbitration of their claims.  The Supreme Court ruled that an arbitration agreement between an employee and an employer cannot deprive an employee of certain basic legal rights.  For example, an arbitration agreement cannot limit remedies that would be available in court, such as the awarding of punitive damages for malicious conduct and attorney fees for the prevailing party.

The court also ruled that arbitration rules apply equally.  For example, if the arbitration agreement could not provide that employees were required to answer certain questions or produce documents before an arbitration hearing, but the employee was not required to provide anything. This is an important right since it is the employer that usually keeps documents such as employee evaluations, pays raises based on merit, and length of employment that an employee needs to prove her side of the case. 
 
The court also found that the employer must pay for the cost of arbitration if it imposes it within an agreement on the employee.  One negative aspect to arbitration for employees was the high cost of arbitrators who can charge up to $4,000 per day in addition to site costs of $200 to $500 per day.  An employer is in the unique position and usually has the deepest pockets to pay for this type of expense more than the terminated employee.

The supreme court also ruled that an arbitration agreement must be bilateral.  An employer could not compel arbitration but reserve the right to block an employee’s effort to arbitrate. 

In August 2008, the California Supreme Court ruled that all parties may agree and obtain a review of the arbitrator’s decision by the Superior Court.  This is important because prior to this decision, arbitrators could make rulings that were counter to the law’s requirements and the decisions could not be reviewed.

 

Some Cold and Flu Myths

1.  Myth:  The flu is just a bad cold.  Truth:They’re not even cousins.

Colds and flu are both caused by viruses. But they’re different strains. It’s hard to tell which you have, but here are two clues:

Colds come on gradually. First, it’s a sore throat, then a runny nose followed by a cough. The flu, on the other hand, hits at once. Colds don’t generally produce fever. With flus, you may be burning up. (Exception: Children can run high fevers with colds.)

 2.  Myth: A cold affects your nose, throat and chest. The flu strikes your stomach.
Truth: Not quite.

The flu can make you nauseous, but in only about a third of cases. Usually, when you’re sick to your stomach, it’s for a different reason – another virus, a bacterial infection or food poisoning.

 3. Myth: Cold weather makes you catch a cold or flu.  Truth:  It’s just a coincidence.

Except for the fact that both colds and flu happen mostly in winter, there’s absolutely no climate connection.
 People do spend more time indoors within sneezing distance of infected friends, relatives and co-workers.
Cold and flu viruses also survive better in winter, when humidity is lower. The longer they survive, the more chances they have to infect you.

Cold air may also be hard on the respiratory system, making you more susceptible to infections.

4. Myth: Getting a flu shot can give you the flu. Truth: Not even close.

The vaccine is made from a dead flu virus. It can’t infect you. Any reaction you may have is due to the vaccine’s proteins and chemicals, Edelman says. So, even if your reaction feels like the flu, it’s not the flu.

5. Myth: Breathing the same air as a sick person can make you sick.
 True.

Coughing and sneezing can send viruses into the air. And you could get sick inhaling them. But that’s not likely. More common: A sick person rubs her eyes or nose, picks up a telephone and deposits germs that can live there for several hours. You pick up the phone, rub your eyes or nose, and the germs have claimed a new victim.
To avoid catching a bug – or giving it to someone else – wash your hands or use hand sanitzer often during cold and flu season.

 

In Memory:  Elizabeth Mettling

  
Silver
like moonlight but
warmed by sunlight,
that was her whole tone,
color of soul and body¯
impossibly fair skin, flawless,
fine plate hair in skeins,
pure intent woven through,
contralto silver the voice
lilting now only in memory,
absent but hauntingly present
like the chime of a distant bell.

Temperament of silver,
humanly malleable but firm
in her care, her love
for us, as she would rise
from deep brooding
to speak with bright reason
of doing what was right
for the children, the parents,
the neighbors, the citizens¯
everyone on green earth.

Silver ringing true
as she tilted against towers,
cell phone or Sutro Heights,
as against giants whose greed
might harm us, loosed
by our neglect to give the lie
to their hirelings, always
more enamored of coin
than the public good.

Quixote, she took up our causes
and was her own Sancho too,
laughing in the wise dirt, moonlit,
holding a bota of wine,
its arcing stream reflecting
silver the gleam of her eyes,
laughing at malarkey,
hers and the world’s,
even as she tried to sweep
the broad horizon free
of its cobweb of hazards.

So rare was Elizabeth
that she thought of others
in the same breath as herself.
In her you did not hear
the grinding and lurching
our parts tend to make
when we try to shift interests
from ours to theirs.

Now she is gone,
part of the neighborhood’s soul
torn from its hilly body
and carried off beyond the dark sky.
But not beyond memory,
where she shelters and waits
through the winter storms
until the next fight with City Hall
when she will look up, wise
light in her eyes, and counsel,
“Yes, you can do that, but
you’ll have to watch those bozos,”
laughing a peal of pure silver.

by Dan Liberthson, ©2008