Short Takes Short Takes (March 30, 2005)

When in doubt, get thee to emergency

Atherton resident Peter Carpenter, a member of the Menlo Park fire district board, is home recuperating from a heart attack he suffered earlier this month at his home in Kyburz, in El Dorado County.

His close call was made even closer by the fact that he and his wife, Jane, misread his symptoms: After a strenuous stint with the chainsaw on a hot day, he felt pain in both upper arms and was sweating profusely. Heat stroke, they thought. Some rest and cooling off would do the trick.

When it didn't, they headed for the emergency room, and a quickly administered EKG indicated he was having a heart attack.

In light of the delay in treatment, he feels lucky to be alive. "The warning signs do not always involve chest pains and shortness of breath."

So, he advises, "When in doubt, go to the ER!"
Don't be so hard on yourself, Deborah

No sooner did Woodside's Deborah Gordon appeal to her Town Council colleagues for guidance in representing the town on the City/County Association of Governments than she was elected by her fellow C/CAG members to serve as that body's co-vice-chair, a position she'll share with Menlo Park Councilman Nicholas Jellins.

Ms. Gordon received rambling responses from fellow Town Council members recently when she sought direction on an upcoming vote at a C/CAG meeting.

"So, do you have sufficiently vague input from us?" joked Councilman Pete Sinclair.

"I have trouble representing Woodside at C/CAG," Ms. Gordon confessed.

"I think we all have trouble representing Woodside," Mr. Sinclair retorted.

Walter Martone, C/CAG's transportation manager, had a rather different assessment of Ms. Gordon's performance. He said he was really looking forward to working with her on upcoming legislative issues.

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