When she arrived in Kyoto in 1947 as a medical missionary, Dr. Alice Cary knew one word of Japanese: “ohayo,” which means “good morning.”

Emerging from anesthesia after an operation, Amity Pierce Buxton’s husband turned to her and said, “I have something to tell you.”

Every spring, Larry Marks, 88, polishes silver for the Oakland Museum’s white elephant sale. A resident of Piedmont Gardens in Oakland, Marks also serves on the information desk at San Francisco’s Asian Art Museum, and he has volunteered at that city’s airport museum and cartoon museum as well.

From earthquakes to wildfires, the threat of community emergencies is ever present for ABHOW’s California communities. That’s why residents of Piedmont Gardens are learning more about what they can do to help each other should disaster strike.

When Sid Spies and two fellow residents of Piedmont Gardens each suffered the loss of a spouse in 2002, they helped each other by sharing their pain.