Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Boulevard of Dreams: A favorite Willow Glen street is a world in itself.




A tree grows on Lupton

By Shaina Rogozen

I love Willow Glen. While many of the teenagers here long to exchange this small neighborhood in San Jose for fast, exciting city life, I adore the quaint houses that lie under a canopy of green and the calm silence broken only by a child's laughter. I love Lupton Avenue.

I first became well acquainted with the street freshman year on my way home from my bus stop at Lincoln and Minnesota. I always anticipated turning left onto Lupton from Minnesota, for I grew to love Lupton's stately charm and friendly nature. When I feel overwhelmed by life or when I just need a spot to think, I leave my house, walk to the corner of my street, turn left and enter my haven. Walking down the long stretch to Minnesota gives me ample time to lose myself in thought.

The street's very name suggests its warm, open atmosphere. As a child, I often mistook it for "lupine," a flower whose elegance and delicacy perfectly captures the street's aura. The trees lining both sides of the street are lovers, reaching for one another overhead to create a sky of green.

This summer, the leaves were a brilliant emerald; however, I noticed yesterday that the bright adolescent green matured into a regal though muted shade. On the ground before me lay beds of yellow, red and brown. The wind carried these leaves off the ground; they danced in the air, teasing the sidewalk until finally the wind died down and the performers fell to their slumber. Walking slowly to enjoy every minute, I heard nothing but the metronomic pattering of my footsteps and the crackling of leaves as I trespassed in their domain.

On Lupton Avenue, I am boundless. I breathe in the sweet air, filling my lungs with life. I am free to stop and look at the white roses on someone's driveway, smell the brilliant red roses or admire the perfection of a solitary pink bud.

The houses themselves are beautiful. Modest to stately, each exudes a different personality. The houses have different characters, but are unified by their mutual charm. I admire each one: the storybook aura of a brown cottage on the right; the grand white columns and proud red door of the white mansion on the left; and, finally, my favorite, the inviting purity of the peach house. Quaint and subtle, the peach house draws me with its ivy-kissed archways and its multitude of neatly organized flowers that remind me of a prism's rays or proud soldiers smartly lined up for a parade. The house itself seems to absorb light, capturing it inside its patio, tempting walkers to peer inside.

In the secluded world of Lupton Avenue, I feel safe. Despite my mother's constant warnings, I feel as though nothing bad could ever happen to me there. Such a peaceful street could never be adulterated by anything dangerous. Thus I continue my solitary walks.

On Lupton, I see the change of seasons. In July, I was tickled by the giggles of a baby girl pushed by her father from a tree swing. In November, the swing hung still, occupying only a silent scarecrow. Time passes on Lupton Avenue. Leaves and flowers blossom before my eyes. I see them in their prime and I see them fall, leaving the trees cold and bare. I see children grow up. I witness the departure of old families and the arrival of new ones.

On Lupton, I enter a safe and beautiful world, free to think, free to explore. While only too soon, Willow Glen will be out of my grasp, I will always recall the happiness I felt as I lost myself on Lupton Avenue.

---

Shaina Rogozen is in Kris Morrella's junior honors English class at Lincoln High School. She wrote this essay for an assignment to model Henry David Thor-eau's writing from 'Walden.'

---

Around the Glen

The Domino Theory: One thing always leads to another

Sports Briefs

High school wrestling

WGHS Rams soccer