Orinda Resident to Would-Be Archer: Keep Your Arrows To Yourself

by Jim Caroompas

"I shot an arrow into the air;
it fell to Earth on a roof somewhere.
This time it caused no harm, but note
The next time could be all she wrote."

The poem above, borrowed and mangled from a famous Henry Wadsworth Longfellow verse, illustrates the view of Orinda resident Susan Stafford, whose rooftop was pierced this week by two arrows presumably aimed somewhere else.

Stafford lives on California Ave. The street above her home, Berkeley Ave., is the source of the arrows, she believes. She called police, who collected the evidence and canvassed the homes on Berkeley Ave., but no one reported seeing any bow and arrow activity.

Stafford hopes that the pointy perpetrator was among those the police questioned. She believes that the arrows were fired at the ravine by her home, where deer often wander.

"We are hopeful he spoke with the right household and scared them," she said. "But who knows? If not, I suspect the jerks will do it again."

Stafford is concerned that next time, an arrow will accidentally find its way to a child or a pet.

And one must admit, she has a good, er, point.