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Editor,
I remember when I saw, for the first time, a very polite, older lady asking me to sign a petition against building affordable housing in Menlo Park downtown. She told me that she wanted to “save our parking lots,” and this initiative has since become Measure P. Then, I was stunned and didn’t know what to say. Here is what I would tell her if I met her again:
You are standing your ground, your asphaltic concrete.
A Menlo Park landmark. It’s a treat,
For anyone looking for something ugly and hot.
I’m confused. No child in history ever pled:
“Grandma, take me back to that lot!”
Yet you plead in court,
And demand a city-wide vote.
You say you’re saving the city, but exactly from what?
You worry it’ll become different.
Louder. Taller. Maybe less to your liking.
You don’t love parking structures,
You don’t fancy biking.
And it’s totally fair
If, as a human, you’re a little bit scared.
But “I like it as it is” is a preference, not a right.
And you wrapped your preference in a lawsuit, a measure, a sign,
When all you want to say is: “Don’t change it, it’s mine!”
Let’s get this straight.
You are not saving Menlo from developers or the state,
Or traffic, or shadows, or height.
You’re saving it from people. From a cook, and a baker,
A teacher, a maker,
A nurse,
And what’s even worse:
Your own grandkids.
They come for Thanksgiving.
Ah, so good to have them near!
And you ask, year after year:
I wish you weren’t leaving!
It’s your home! Why don’t you move here?
They smile. They don’t reply.
They love you too much to tell you that the reason why
Is that you “saved” this town from … whatever it is.
Its character stayed but left no room for your kids.
Next day, you drop them off at the airport gate.
Traffic is light. Parking is great.
You drive home by yourself, leave your car by the door.
Life’s good. You have everything you vote for.
Menlo Park needs people, and people need homes. Please vote NO on P.
Sasha Khristich, Menlo Park
