I visited downtown Los Altos on a whim on a recent Wednesday night to fulfill my desire for frozen yogurt. It was so deserted that I expected to see tumbleweeds rolling by as I drove down Main Street toward Miyo.

Despite downtown’s many restaurants, I wondered why open parking spots outnumbered people by approximately 20 to 1. While this is a downtown that certainly needs revitalization, between Aldo Los Altos, LuLu’s, Opa, Sumika and many other eateries, business should be booming. Los Altos has a substantial variety of restaurants, and people should be competing for parking spots as they frequent them nightly.

How to increase your home value

Location, location, location: My realtor asked what criteria I would use to find the best location. I ticked through a quiet street, good neighborhood, close to shopping.

No, he said, the top priority is always excellent public schools, even if you have no children of your own.

When I look around my home, I see signs of my husband everywhere: photos of the family to whom he is devoted, an Acosta Family crest, prints of Italian Renaissance, French Impressionist and Picasso masterpieces. I see his vision – always pointed at the horizon – in our remodeled kitchen and bathroom. The vegetable garden, the roses, the carefully tended lawn – that’s all him, too. I even see him in our appliances, every last one purchased at discounted prices with a firm adherence to both quality and value, not sacrificing one for the other.

As the afternoon sun poured through the sliding glass window, I Velcroed my 9-year-old body against the kitchen wall and felt its warmth drip down my tummy like hot fudge over vanilla ice cream. Closing my eyes, I prepared to daydream, but the darkness that engulfed me became overwhelming.

“Mom, what’s it like to be dead?” I probed, as she prepared dinner.