When Oakland police Officer Stanley Mock died in a 2007 motorcycle accident, nowhere was the mourning deeper than the city’s Chinatown, where he was beloved for befriending at-risk kids and running a toy drive every Christmas for Asian and Pacific Island children. His work didn’t die with him, though, because Karen Chung refused to let it.
“My brother was a troubled teen, and Stan was always checking with us all the time and taking us out to eat,” says Karen, who thinks of Mock as her godfather. “It was so important to keep the drive going as a memorial to him.”
She can’t do it without our help, though, and every year the people of Oakland (and beyond) have come through. Once again, she’s looking for books, toys, clothing and food for families in need, along with board games kids can play with their friends.
“The little ones love toy cars,” she says. “The older ones like soccer balls and basketballs.”
Please don’t limit yourself to these suggestions. If you see something you think a child would like, chances are one will. The drop-off place is the Lincoln Square Recreation Center at 261 11th St. in Oakland.
Chung and her volunteers, many of whom were recipients themselves when they were little and didn’t want to give up toy drive’s fun when they grew up, will pick up the donations, wrap them and hand them out Dec. 20 to a whole lot of excited kids at a gala outdoor carnival in Chinatown featuring goodie bags and lots of cotton candy. Then Karen can start looking for Christmas presents to hand out next year. An angel’s work is never done.
Holiday wishes: Finally, let me wish you Happy Hanukkah, Merry Christmas or whichever other occasion you choose to celebrate. I love Hannukah because it’s a liberation celebration, and what could be better than that? My favorite always has been Christmas since I was a little kid, though, because the hero of the story is a little kid too, and I could relate to that.
I also love the music, from “Silent Night” and “Once In Royal David’s City” to “The Christmas Song” (aka “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire”) and “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” but I think every copy of “The Little Drummer Boy” should be rounded up and burned.
I get a nostalgic rush every year watching “It’s A Wonderful Life,” which was partly filmed in my old high school gym. Remember the prom scene where Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed and a whole bunch of other people are dancing on a basketball court when a prankster throws a switch and the floor opens up to reveal a swimming pool underneath and everyone falls in the water? That’s my high school. It was built as a federal Works Progress Administration project during the Great Depression. We used to hold tug-of-wars by opening the floor only 20 feet, with the losing side falling in the water.
Most of all, I love the Christmas spirit. The vibes really are better at this time of the year. People really are nicer to each other, if only a little. A lot of people think I’m Catholic because I write about the Catholic church so much, but I’m not. I’m Jewish.
One my boyhood heroes was Sandy Koufax, who won the undying affection of every Jewish kid in Los Angeles — and I was one — when he refused to pitch the first game of the 1965 World Series because it fell on Yom Kippur. Don Drysdale pitched instead and got shelled in the first inning. As manager Walter Alston came out of the dugout to take him out, Drysdale handed him the ball and said, “I bet right now you wish I was Jewish too.”
My other boyhood hero, I confess, was Pope John XXIII, who was known as “The Good Pope.” Now he’s officially canonized as St. John XXIII, but anyone who is old enough to remember will tell you that everyone already knew he was a saint, just as everyone knew about St. Francis of Assisi.
I remember when he was elected at the age of 76 and hearing my father scoff, “He’ll never live long enough to accomplish anything.” Dad was right about one thing: He only lived less than five more years. But Vatican II ain’t exactly chopped liver.
Martin Snapp can be reached at catman442@comcast.net.