Where Are You From?

When I am out of California and am asked where am I from, I usually say, “Saratoga.” Sometimes I say Silicon Valley. When on the internet, it is easy to find the city. Most people are satisfied when I say we live 60 miles south of San Francisco.

A Little Story:

When I placed my father with Alzheimer's at the Mission Skilled Nursing Facility in Santa Clara, I required his roommate be a "live wire." I actually interviewed the roommates in advance, as I felt an older person with a lot of personality would be very good for my father, rather than a person who lied in bed and slept all day.

It was an easy choice to make. The person I chose was eighty-four years old. He was mobile, talkative, outgoing, and most of all, not confined to a wheel chair. He smiled a lot. He was friendly. He liked to wear a hat tilted on his head. He was very glad to meet me. One of the first questions I remeber asking him was, "Where are you from?"

"I'm from Portsmouth, New Hampshire."

"Oh, a New Englander, huh?" I responded. "I bet you don't miss the weather."

"Not at all." I remember him saying. "New Hampshire is a great place to be from."

He spoke about it for ten minutes or longer. During the course of the conversation, he told me he moved to Santa Clara and that's why he chose this facility, because he had many friends living nearby.

"Oh, how long have you lived in Santa Clara?" I asked.

"Eighty-three years," he answered.

Here is a fellow who moved to Santa Clara eighty-three years ago who, I found out in the course of our conversation, had never been back to New Hampshire and left when he was less than a year old. But he still considers himself to be from New Hampshire.

This is where I have lived since I was born:

• 1942, Salvation Army Hospital, January 1, Manhattan, New York
• 1942-46, 3317 70th Street, Jackson Heights, New York 11372
• 1947, Chester, Pennsylvania
• 1949, Kew Garden Hills, New York (near P.S. 164 & 165)
• 1951, 34 Ervilla Drive, Larchmont, New York 10573
• 1956, Yucca Hotel, 6500 Yucca Street, Hollywood, California 90028
• 1956, 27 Latimer Road, Santa Monica, California 90403
• 1958, 809 Greentree Road, Pacific Palisades, California 90272
• 1963, 521 San Vicente Boulevard, Apt.#2, Santa Monica, California 90402
• 1964, 267 Throckmorton Avenue, Mill Valley, California 94901
• 1965, 1325 Pine Street, Apt 11, San Francisco, California 94109
• 1969, 358 Alida Way, Apt. 357 South San Francisco, California 94080
• 1969, 835 Masson Avenue, San Bruno, California 94066
• 1973, 500 Kiely Boulevard, Apt. 114, Santa Clara, California 95051
• 1973, 500 Roxbury Road, Los Gatos, California 95030
• 1975, 15563 Kirkorian Way, Monte Sereno, California 95030
• 1983, 130 Wood Road, Los Gatos, California 95030
• 1986, 45 Tait Street, Los Gatos, California, 95030
• 1989, Los Gatos, California 95030
• 2003, Saratoga, California 95070