Depending on what day of the week it is, my name is either Pam, Pamela, Pollyanna, or Pest. The first and the last choices are the most widely used.
Today I am Pollyanna, because in spite of the national convention controversies, the Old Town trash pick-up issues, Street Fair anxieties, and alien Pokémon running wild in all of our stores, I am smiling.
It really takes very little to make me smile. This afternoon a man walked up to me and asked to talk to me for a minute. “It’s something good,” he assured me. “I just want to tell you what a wonderful job you (as in ‘all of you here in Old Town’) are doing. Other towns are not like this – good job!”
An occasional “attaboy” goes such a long way … so, here goes Pollyanna paying it forward: Thank you Jennifer Stone at Imprintability (on East Palm) for helping my sister, “The Other Jennifer,” with the Old Town Facebook page and for giving us an Instagram presence; thank you City Manager Oliver Chi for answering all my texts; and thank you Blanca and Daniella at Santa Anita Family Service (or SAFS, as I like to call it), for helping me get ready for meetings and never calling me “Pest.” More “attaboys” to come in future columns …
Now, let’s talk about Pokémon Go: when my grandson first showed the game to me, I loved it; then I heard about the accidents and the hackers, and I felt cautious. Now I’m back to loving it because it’s bringing tons of people into town. People have to eat and people who eat are happy – and they shop. Believe me, it works. And one more thing: the game is a happy game and does not involve shooting anyone or anything – it is an evolution of an innocent game from the mid-1990s, so many of the gamers are adults. It is interesting that what’s new today is often a re-introduction of something old, something that folks thought was just a memory.
Actually, that’s what I see happening with many things, including arts and crafts, books (actual printed books), and yes, print advertising. As I’ve mentioned several times, Old Town now has a quilt shop and I see that Myrtle Tree Café is hosting an Art Night soon – and, if anyone still thinks nobody reads newspapers anymore, ask me how many times I’m approached around town to talk about this column. Hey, social media is powerful, but it’s just a part of the whole. The pen is yet to be totally replaced by the stylus …
We have some events coming up around town: the next Summer Concert in Library Park is this Sunday, July 24, from 7 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., featuring the Mariachi Divas; Tuesday, Aug. 2 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. you can mingle with our Monrovia PD in Library Park and celebrate National Night Out (the event will have music and food); Saturday, July 30 Old Town will host the MAFA Art Walk and Traditional Music Gathering in the 400 block of East Myrtle – and, don’t forget the Monrovia Street Fair every Friday night from 5 p.m. to 9:30 p.m. on Myrtle.
Businesswise, we can finally announce that The Saltner on East Colorado is officially open for business: check out their superb wines and tasty small plates. I love the Glazed Port and the Moroccan Lamb, but there are many other choices.
Bottega at Bella Sera is now hiring – and because their windows are brown-papered up, I think we can assume something magical is happening inside. I can hardly wait for the unwrapping!
As for Copper Still Grill (where Sam’s Kabob Room was) – so much for an August opening. The front door was open the other day and I’m guessing maybe by Thanksgiving …
More to come next week!
