A bird's-eye view

By JON HOORNSTRA

Have you ever noticed that more pigeons roost on the power lines next to Paul and Eddie's bar than anywhere else on Stevens Creek? You have to wonder if any of them have ever been cited for flying under the influence. Well, I suppose it's possible they are attracted by leftovers from the bar's sandwich operation. Or perhaps they are drawn to that spot by the zoo on the roads below, the contest in which good drivers struggle to avoid the bad ones.

Of course, things aren't always what they appear to be with bad drivers and accidents. Consider a recent mishap at Monta Vista High School. It was George Washington's birthday, Feb. 22, a Friday, around 4:30 p.m. I spotted a distraught young woman standing near her wrecked car, just yards from the principal's office. She looked young, perhaps a student, probably driving with a learner's permit, but obviously not yet the master of her car. She was speaking to a deputy sheriff who took notes on a clipboard.

For reasons unknown, the driver had turned her car nearly 90 degrees to the road, jumped the curb, crossed the sidewalk, and jumped a 1-foot-high concrete retaining wall. The car got hung up on the retaining wall, where it stalled and stopped. No people were injured.

To a passerby like myself it had the look of an odd, one-car accident. The driver looked like a juvenile, legally speaking, and I felt a little sorry her. I saw fear in her eyes and perhaps some tears on her face. I wondered if she worried that some Monta Vista classmates might drive by, point their fingers and laugh. By sunset, half the school would know. Isn't that a teenager's worst fear? Surely she wished there was a deep hole she could drop into for a while. And I wondered what would happen later. How would she explain this to her family? She had to know this would be a major setback on her road to a permanent driver's license. And what about the cost of repairs to the car? The front axle was obviously ruined, and likely there was much damage not immediately visible.

Conjecture aside, the police report said this young driver was 18 years old, just beyond the protected status of a minor. She was given two citations, one for driving without a license, another for making an improper turn. Improper turn, indeed. The investigating officer also said the vehicle belonged to the driver's parents, that she'd taken it without permission--bad decision.

The driver's explanation was that she panicked when she inadvertently stepped on the gas pedal when trying to hit the brakes. But a mystery remains--why did she turn the car nearly 90 degrees and head off the roadway toward the school? Was that a random aspect of the panic that set in? I could ask the driver, but I don't think she wants to hear from a newspaper. So I choose to put a good spin on the question. Let's allow that she made a very wise decision at a critical moment. Once the mistake over the gas and brake pedals was made, she turned the car toward the curb and retaining wall rather than continuing down the street, where pedestrians and motorists alike would have been in harm's way--maybe.

Finally a note about Geoff Patnoe, the planning commissioner who resigned Feb. 25 in anticipation of moving to San Diego. The Cupertino native will be missed by many. His remarkably easy manner and engaging demeanor were especially valuable to a commission that routinely deals with controversial zoning, housing, construction and development issues. There is a cruel irony, of course, that the cost of home ownership here played a part in the Patnoe decision to move.

Often felt, but underreported, is Patnoe's sense of humor. While explaining his resignation Feb. 25, he recalled the advice that he should get a dog if he wanted to be in politics and still have a friend. So the Patnoes got Spencer, a Welsh Corgi puppy. I wager Spencer and his friends will be back within three years. Coming or going, the pigeons at Paul & Eddie's will be watching.

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