The HUGE news in the Los Altos Town Crier this week is that Tom Hanks was in town, and he bought four boxes of Girl Scout cookies from some Girl Scouts. This all happened on February 28, but news moves a little more slowly down there, and it just got reported. And apparently the "bona fide movie star not only bought cookies, but also tried to help the girls sell more boxes to other passersby."

Yes, Hanks kicked in an extra $20 on top of his cookie purchase, and he offered to let anyone else buying cookies to take a photo with him, but only if they bought cookies. He's just that kind of a guy!

It turns out that Hanks, whose son Truman is currently a freshman at Stanford, stopped through Los Altos to visit Los Altos Business Machines, which sells and repairs vintage typewriters. Hanks, a big typewriter enthusiast, was having his son's machine repaired, and took the opportunity to add two vintage Smith Coronas to his own typewriter collection. Well, that's fun.

As you may recall, Hanks spent his teenage years living in Oakland, attended Skyline High School and Chabot College, and he recently wrote an op-ed in favor of President Obama's plan to fully fund two years of community college for students.