By Mickey Zeichick

Our next San Carlos Area Council (SCAC) meeting will be Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2017 at 6 p.m. in our Branch Library at 7265 Jackson Drive. Our meetings are open to the public. Our guest speakers will be Toni Noel, a top literary author and one who knows a lot about our San Carlos area, and Dennis Brown from RSVP. 

The Jan. 11 meeting of the Navajo Community Planners Inc. (NCPI) will have a presentation by the architect of the proposed new San Carlos Branch Library. While things are progressing, we still have a few years to before we can enjoy the new library. Meanwhile, our existing branch library has many exciting programs every day. The NCPI meeting starts at 6:30 p.m. at Tifereth Israel Synagogue (6660 Cowles Mountain Blvd.).

Orchard Hardware and Supply (OHS) has opened! I have shopped in their store and have chatted with their management team. The philosophy of OHS is that they want to become part of the neighborhood and so we are eager to give them the opportunity to work with us on the 4th of July Music Fest and Fireworks Project. There are other opportunities and we look forward to helping them be involved.

Construction activity has begun inside the former Blockbuster building at the corner of Navajo Road and Lake Murray Boulevard (next to McDonalds). As of this writing I do not know what is going to occupy this space but by this time next month I will have an answer for you.

Magnolia Science Academy will be moving from San Carlos to Allied Gardens but our partnership with this school and Principal Gokhan Serce, continues.

The end of 2016 is near and it brings a certain reflection on what went on during this past year. Not addressing any political activity but concentrating on one’s personal goals and outlook for 2017, there are many things we can do as “ordinary” citizens to get involved. Make your voice count. Stand up for those that cannot stand up for themselves. Volunteer. Help those in need to become more independent. You don’t need money to brighten someone’s life.

Each week I visit “Sam.” He gets daily visits from his sons but I am a different type of visitor. I am there simply to be a friend to him. I have visited with him for the past several years and I remember when I would drive him around this wonderful county of ours, we would laugh and enjoy a cup of coffee together at the end of our trek. I can no longer take him out for our rides, and gone are the days when we played checkers or Rook — now we just talk. Sometimes I can wheel him to the backyard where we can sit under the citrus trees and enjoy the birds flying overhead, the chickens clucking nearby, and the hum of airplanes above. I still joke around as he has not lost his sense of humor. This is the gift I give to him and to myself — a breather, a bit of my time, a bit of me.

If you are interested in being a special friend, know that there are a lot of Sams out there who are still good thinkers, who may not be able to get around without some help, but you can gain while you are giving to them. My time with Sam is sacred.

New Years’ resolutions: Most of us make them — some of us keep them. So, next year I am going to work less and smell more roses and enjoy long lifetime friends, new friends, and make friends I don’t know about yet.

If you would like to be added to the Interested Persons List, please contact me at mrzeichick@gmail.com. And, we also recommend joining Nextdoor.com to interact with the community online.

—Micky Zeichick is president of the San Carlos Area Council. Reach her at mrzeichick@gmail.com.