Poppies & Poison: There's Mills in these Hills
There's just a bit of green left on the hillside, turning brown for the summer. Poppies are blooming everywhere—in the medians of Joaquin Miller Road, in the cracks of the stairs. The poison oak is luscious and green. If I didn't know better I'd collect arms full of these glossy, bountiful leaves for a bouquet. I love the story that Poison Oak is the forest protector, that the Miwok would give it to their children tiny bites to eat, like a vaccine, to befriend it. But today I'm mad about deceptions. About those who appear friendly but are actually hostile. About poison pills . Mills College has been intertwined with this park since before it began, and it is now. Mills produces women leaders—some of whom are on the FOJMP board. You don't hear about Jack London's wife, who went to and worked at Mills, or the honorary degree bestowed by Mills on Ina Coolbrith. The East Bay Hills open space exists because of president Aurelia Henry Reinhardt . The Mills Cyclones t