A “civil war” is how Leslie Finke describes the situation among residents last year at the Albert Einstein Center in Arden-Arcade.
“It got downright vicious,” says Finke, the center’s executive director for 37 years. “I’ve been here a long time. I’ve never seen such disharmony in the building. It was a civil war here. People were so mean to each other.”
In the pecking order, Anchovy is the chief chicken. She is an Ameraucana and lays pale blue eggs. “She will boss everyone around,” says Nicole Martin, who lives in Arden Park with husband Phil, and their daughters Phoebe and Lucie. “She will literally peck the others on the head.”Anchovy barely tolerates being picked up, but loves to be around people, especially Phil when he is working in the family’s spacious backyard garden. “She follows me around the whole time,” he says.
With more than 35 years in full-time ministry, I’ve performed scores of weddings. In the initial planning stages, the groom will often raise the awkward question about my fees.
For me, this moment is about as tricky as asking a waitress to decide her own tip. I sometimes try to defuse the monetary strain with a joke. Like, “Pay me whatever you think she’s worth, sir.” Boo-hiss. A real Grandpa joke, I know.
Scott Abbott readily admits that his favorite thing about running is when he’s done running.
“It’s such a physically demanding endeavor,” says Abbott, a championship runner, coach and executive director of the Sacramento Running Association, which operates the California International Marathon.
