Los Gatos Weekly-Times

Main Street

Mary Ann Cook

What Hall of Famer Buford wants, he gets

BUFORD TRIUMPHS: Buford Beauregard Ehlert, a pedigreed mastiff, finished his championship season at 19 months with four majors (first place) under his collar. Buford thus was entered into the Mastiff Club of America Hall of Fame, along with 10 of his siblings who finished their American Championship and his sire, C.M. Brite Star's Dual Image, who won his 100th Best of Breed.

Buford, who lives with Katherine and Gary Ehlert, is something of a canine bon vivant and can be spotted outside La Boulanger, the coffee shop and such environs. When the Ehlerts went shopping for a mastiff, Buford picked them. Katherine entered the pen, and Buford was the first puppy to come over and greet her. He had gotten wind that some of the pups were going to be sent to Cleveland, and he wanted to make sure he landed in Los Gatos, claims Gary.

Just back from vacationing in Santa Fe, Buford met both Larry Hagman and Richard Thomas while out for a stroll. That Buford. What a name dropper. He'll eventually reach 200 pounds but is gentle enough to be a nanny to small children. Historically, mastiffs were the original "big dog" in the Bible and were used by the Assyrians to ward off lions and wild horses. The breed was almost annihilated in WW I, because the dogs were used to pull ammunition carts and were continually bombarded.

KID LIT CRITIQUERS: A group of West Valley women who write and/or illustrate children's books meets monthly at members' homes to offer encouragement and editorial help to each other. So dedicated is this group they even met the day before Christmas Eve. Publishing deadlines have a way of creeping up, no matter what the holiday. All are published authors, so we're not talking novices here. And children's literature may be among the most difficult to break into.

Some of the hardest writing is that directed toward the shortest among us. And this group says it's gotten worse in the past two years, what with the number of publishing companies diminishing as firms merge, along with the new tax on warehousing that means fewer books are being printed. Plus, the number of competing writers keeps growing, so it's a triple bind. You have to develop a thick hide just to stay in the game, but these locals are in for the long haul: Joan Cottle, Mary Eckhart and Martha Kendall of Los Gatos; Joy Hulme of Monte Sereno; and Pat Compton and Jan Stiles of Saratoga. Kendall, Hulme and Cottle also give presentations in classrooms, another demanding feat of patience and creativity.

SALINAS SON STRIKES AGAIN: Remember when John Steinbeck was ostracized from hometown Salinas because folks there didn't take kindly to what he wrote about them in East of Eden? Well, now the same thing is happening with another Salinas product, Monty Roberts, who wrote his memoir,The Man Who Listens to Horses, which has been on the NY Times bestseller list for the past five months.

Seems others in his family didn't cotton to his tales that his father was abusive, and they intend to do something about it. They are writing their own book and already have an agent and publisher. Los Gatan Joanne Crum grew up with Monty, learned to ride from his mother, Marguerite, and was a close friend of the aunt who is writing the book. The aunt was an attendant in her first wedding, as was an uncle. Salinas correspondent Crum reports that she'll attend a reunion March 1, where family and friends will unite to give their own version of Marguerite and Marvin Roberts. The threatened book-burning will not take place, evidently on the theory that the pen is mightier than the fire.

A GIRL NEEDS CASH: Investment guru Joan Perry will autograph copies of her book, A Girl Needs Cash: Banish the White Knight Myth and Take Charge of Your Financial Life, at the Saratoga Book Market Jan. 19 at 7 p.m. She'll also speak before St. Luke's Women's Group Jan. 14. And she'll be heard on NPR's "All Things Considered" near the end of January. Perry owns Take Charge Financial! in Los Gatos, and the book is just out.

RETROSPECTIVE: A retrospective of the art of Ruth Schaus will be held Jan. 14-Feb. 28 at the Los Gatos Museum of Art and Natural Science. Schaus, a longtime member of the LG art community, created representational watercolors and abstract monotypes. Also on the bill is a "White Glove Affair," a handmade-book exhibition by the South Bay Area Chapter of the Women's Caucus for Art.

Seventeen artists have created innovative book forms using photography, printmaking, digital art and other media. White gloves will be provided for handling the books, hence the title. A reception will be Jan. 18, 1-4 p.m.

TEEN COUNSELING: Teen Counseling Center of the West Valley has sent out a plea for funds. The center conducts some 3,500 counseling sessions a year for more than 1,000 clients. The number: 354-7648.

[ Back to Contents Page | Los Gatos Weekly-Times Home Page | Archives ]