gmhTODAY 11 gmhToday Nov Dec 2016 | Page 9

S hopping! Remember the good old days when you would set aside several hours; or maybe even a whole day to peruse the local department stores and specialty shops looking for that special gift or a new addition to your wardrobe? Okay, so maybe I’m jumping the gun when I say “good old days” BUT every time I go online — (Yes, I do go online occasionally although I try to reserve it for things that I can justify because I just can’t fi nd it locally, it’s two in the morning, or I use the old rationalization that I just don’t have the time to shop) — I think “this is not good”! This holiday season I’m challenging myself and you (our readers) to really make an effort to fi nd those holiday gifts right here in Gilroy and Morgan Hill. Let’s take heed to the Gilroy Foundation’s tagline “Give Where You Live” and apply it to our holiday shopping, “Shop Where You Live.” Besides, Amazon doesn’t have holiday music playing and the monies we spend online will not go to fi xing the potholes in our streets or cracks in our sidewalks. See our article about the impacts of shopping locally, pages 26-29 and some of the wonderful offerings available at our brick and mortar establishments, pages 10-13. During the holidays, we thought it would be nice to remember some of the people in our communities that are always there to lend a helping hand. Often times we don’t even notice them but they are there, working many hours a week to keep the museum open, or help our grandchildren across the street, or put together an “Oasis” — we’re happy to feature a number of these folks in this issue. See Preserving Our History (page 61), Out of Harm’s Way (page 69) and Leadership Advocacy (page 76). I want to thank Teri Nelson and Steve Smith for letting us visit their home so we could share with you the beautiful holiday wonderland they bring to Redwood Retreat Road. May you have a wonderful holiday season. Enjoy! On A Personal Note: We’ve had a pretty busy couple of months on the home front. Here are some of the highlights: Family and friends joined us for a celebration of the engagement of our son Peter Mickartz and his fiancee, Colby McKenney on October 2nd. Colby is from Boston and is a ICU Neurology nurse at UCSF. Peter works for Zagster out of San Francisco. They currently live in San Francisco (behind AT&T Park) and are planning a September 2017 wedding at Léal Vineyards in Hollister. Photo (l-r): Mick Garfink, Peter, Linda Hussar, Me, Steve Hussar, Larry and our soon to be daughter-in-law, Colby. Marge Albaugh, my mother, was inducted into the Gilroy Hall of Fame posthumously on October 8th (see event photos in the Community Digest on page 16.) GILROY • MORGAN HILL • SAN MARTIN Little Charlie, our new English Golden Retriever was born on September 3rd and came to live with us on October 16th. John Albaugh, my father, turned 97 years old on September 20th. He’s in good health and living in a nice care home. NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016 gmhtoday.com 9