It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood

Just like the pouring of rain from the clouds this week, so was the outpouring of praise from neighbors who passed by today, giving a “Thanks!” for making the Cascade so nice and a few “Congratulations!” to Barbara for receiving KPIX’s Jefferson Award.

You couldn’t help but whistle that song “It’s a beautiful day in this neighborhood, A beautiful day for a neighbor,  Would you be mine? Could you be mine? Would you be my neighbor?” made popular by Mr. Rogers. Everyone was so friendly!

One neighbor, Larry, who has lived in Oakland for 55 years, was one of the first who greeted us today. He saw Barbara on TV, and mentioned that he, like she, also worked as a librarian.

We were also inundated with those who pledged their support as new volunteers: Tadios, Reyna, Cathy and Jennifer. Tadios stopped his workout and joined in right away, sweeping the North stairs.

Joining Tadios was Tom, Dang, Yoshi and yours truly. We all dove in, sweeping debris and clipping overgrown ivy.

The grounds were so wet and mushy, that only Barbara dared to work in them. The soaked soil did make for excellent weed pulling. Barbara was overheard at one point exclaiming, “these weeds!” You can be sure of this: those weeds didn’t stand a chance with Barbara.

Afterwards, over beverages, Yoshi’s banana bread and French macarons from Feel Good Bakery, Barbara mentioned that May 1st of this year marks the 10-year anniversary of our volunteer efforts. A time for celebrating and cheering ourselves!

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