Calabasas really sparkled

Congratulations to the city of Calabasas on its wonderful Fourth of July Celebration. It is an outstanding community event. We thoroughly enjoyed it.

I have noticed that some people who live on streets named for our original great patriots have complaints about this recognition of the sacrifices of the founding fathers of our nation. How ironical. They are inconvenienced for a few hours once a year. How very sad. They obviously have not been in Calabasas very long.

If one does not go with the flow and move on, Calabasas can be a real heartbreaker. For us it was a heartbreaker when the pond at Crater Camp, where I learned to swim, was taken out so that Malibu Canyon Road could be put through.

Even worse was when Mulholland Highway was put through the middle of our field where we had farmed tomatoes. This cut off five acres of our land from the rest of our property and has produced traffic 24/7 for more than 47 years over what was legally ours.

Mulholland Highway also reduced our acreage. At one time we had a rifle and pistol range for target practice. The area is now closed to firearms. I could go on and on. The list of complaints and inconveniences is endless.

However, there also have been numerous wonderful experiences such as the annual Calabasas Fourth of July Celebration. In the words of that popular song, we prefer to "Accentuate the positive, eliminate the negative, latch on to the affirmative and don't mess with Mr. In-between." Robin Gensley Mitchell Calabasas