By Lina Broydo
Infatuated and influenced by romantic movies such as “Dr. Zhivago” and “Anna Karenina” which feature many romantic scenes of the main characters traveling by trains, I also developed love for traveling by train and on my recent trip to the glamor and excitement of the Cannes Film Festival in France I boarded a fabulous train at Santa Maria Novella primary train station in Florence, Italy. Reserving a more expensive and comfortable seat right next to a large window I was planning and hoping to marvel at the beautiful scenery along the 9 hours trip.
My anticipation was thrilling and exciting. But Oh Mon Dieu! The endless graffiti journey all along this itinerary was completely surprising, shocking and disappointing. Every train stop station at the lovely and quaint villages and small towns we passed were disfigured by unexpected and endless hugely unattractive graffiti.
A huge surprise awaited me upon my return home when I discovered the newly installed large art designated platforms on the corner of State and Third Streets in the heart of Los Altos.
With the motto of “Transforming Lives and Strengthening Community,” Assistance League of Los Altos is an all volunteer nonprofit organization that has been servicing the Santa Clara Community for over 60 years with the Los Altos Chapter focusing on making their community a better place to live. And that they did once again by proving that there is more to Silicon Valley than just chips and technology! They created a new and visually attractive innovation platform for expressing your artistry and it is free of charge! All you need is imagination and a basket with colorful chalks which is also provided free of charge.
How about sharing this brilliant innovative idea with the city governments of Italy and France? And maybe many cities in our country.
