Columnists

Ah, Super Bowl weekend. Let the parties begin! More importantly, let those television commercials begin! Last year, a pug with a passion for Doritos made the top 10 list for commercial success, along with a group of dogs throwing a party and serving Bud Light. This year, we'll have rottweilers and Doritos, and a chorus of dogs with Volkswagens. All designed to make us laugh while we go out and buy their brand.

When my husband and I met and married some 27 years ago, we brought our young daughters from previous marriages - his one, Sarah, and my two, Tara and Lindsey - and became a blended family. Mark and Sarah’s personalities are robust and structured while my girls and I are a little more fruity and complex. (Note: Mark especially agrees with the fruity description.) Our differences cause the usual squabbles but in the end, we are a great balance for each other. Our girls are all grown up now and it’s such fun when we all get together. Like a fine wine, our blended family has aged well.

It occurred to me that while everyone I know is off enjoying summer holiday vacations – cruises, climbing “Fourteeners” in Colorado, jetting off to Europe – I’m living vicariously through others and should probably use this time to do something noteworthy, such as write a novel. Because I’ve realized that, behold! Right here in my very own home await countless mysterious adventures.

When it comes to history, I’m always entertained by uncovering the surprising chain of connections that link the past with the present. To illustrate this game of connect the historic dots, let’s take this year’s centennial celebration of Silicon Valley’s Villa Montalvo estate and connect it, along a winding avenue, to the reign of the great Holy Roman Emperor Charlemagne.

Many of my favorite adventures began on the sofa with a map. I see a vast blank region crossed by a single lonely road and wonder: “What the heck is out there?” One day, the lure is too great to resist and I go. The experience is always so much more than just another Sunday drive.

To hear many Jackson Oaks residents talk, public trails would make the perfect setting for Stephen King's next novel. Based on their comments at last week's Morgan Hill Bicycle and Trails Advisory Committee meeting, trails are rife with fire bugs, litter bugs, careless smokers, vandals, burglars, sex offenders, drunk and amorous teenagers, drug users, homeless people, peeping Toms, and reckless bikers running over hapless pedestrians trying to escape vicious animal attacks.

A recent story in the Gilroy Dispatch, Morgan Hill Times and

Every year, it’s the last, but certainly not the least. We’re talking county fair time once again. And this final one is the San Benito County Fair at the Bolado Park Fairgrounds, just south of Hollister.