Main Street

Local student takes in the political scene

By Mary Ann Cook

FUTURE LEADER: Aaron Choate, a junior at Mitty High School, attended the National Young Leaders Conference in Washington, D.C., recently. The conference is designed for students who have leadership leanings and are excellent scholars.

Students met with elected government representatives and journalists and participated in skill-building exercises. "We got to be on the House floor," said Choate. (not just the balcony). He met his congressman, Mike Honda.

One exercise, If I Were President, casts students as president and Cabinet members and illustrates graphically how they would respond to an international crisis. Students also examined actual Supreme Court cases. One issue they debated was the gun control issue.

Though it sounds like Choate may be headed for a political career, he says music is his first love and hopes to carve out a career there. He has a band called Incomplete Thought. He's the singer and bass player; Sean Lydon is on guitar; and Matt Rodrigues is the drummer.

His mother, Cheryl, works in the administrative side of the Los Gatos Police Department, and his father, Paul, is an appliance repairman.

AUTHOR QUOTES: Some highlights from the recent American Association of University Women authors luncheon: Jonnie Jacobs, author of a stream of mystery novels, is a former English teacher and taught at Saratoga High School for five years. She also has a law degree and practiced law for several years. She started writing mysteries because she was naturally nosy, she says.

The memoir that Lillian Rubin wrote, Tangled Lives, is three-pronged: It's the story of her rise from an impoverished immigrant family; the difficulties of the mother-daughter relationship with a violently angry mother; and the trials and triumphs of her "very reluctant" journey into old age.

Third author Terry Ryan explained how her mother kept a family of 10 children afloat by entering and winning hundreds of contests throughout the '50s and '60s. Every appliance in the home had come from contest winnings. The down payment of their house was courtesy of her mother's winnings.

A trunk and chestsful of contest entries were found at her death and Ryan realized she had the makings of a memorable story. The book is titled: The Contest Winner of Defiance, Ohio: How My Mother Raised 10 Children on 25 Words or Less.

ATHLETES HONORED: The Hall offspring are winning athletic distinction. Son Ryan, a freshman at Saratoga High, was named All League Defensive Football Player, and daughter Kelsey is a member of the Pop Warner Tigers Jr. Pee Wee Cheerleading team, which placed second in regional competition and fifth place nationally. George and Stacey are the parents. George belongs to the Los Gatos Rotary Club.

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY: Campo di Bocce will celebrate its fifth anniversary with a party Feb. 16 with a Valentine's Day tournament, specialty food stations and wine tasting starting at 6 p.m. Entertainment by Pasquale Esposito and Gina Bowla Spaghetti.

DOWNSIZING: Planning to move from a large house to something considerably smaller? A talk at Los Gatos Meadows at 2 p.m. Feb. 19 may help. "Learning to Live with Less: Designing for Small Spaces and Planning for a Smooth Move" is Donna Quinn Robbins' topic.

Robbins is the author of Moving Mom and Dad. Refreshments will be served. Reservations are required and can be made by calling 408.354.0292.

LOCAL GETAWAYS: Moon Handbooks: Silicon Valley, is entering its second edition. Subtitled The Cure for the Common Trip, this is a travel guidebook replete with entertainment suggestions and day trips. It covers everything from Saratoga restaurants to hiking in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

The history and culture of each destination are included. Its author is Martin Cheek of Morgan Hill, who was a reporter for the Los Gatos Weekly some years back. The guidebook covers the area from Palo Alto to Gilroy. Money Magazine calls the series American's finest travel guidebooks. It's $15.95 from Avalon Travel Publishing: www.travelmatters.com.

ISSUES EXAMINED: The Senior Center will host the League of Women Voters forum in a pre-election review of the issues on Feb. 20 at 1 p.m. at the Neighborhood Center, 208 E. Main St.

NEW NAMES: The Los Gatos museums have new names and new logos, thanks to Rick Tharp and others. Here's the new nomenclature: History Museum (formerly called Forbes Mill); Art Museum (formerly the Tait or LG Museum of Arts and Natural History); and Nature Museum.

The Nature Museum is part of the Art Museum and will be updated and housed upstairs. It was formerly referred to in the same way the Art Museum was. So we have the new official monikers: Nature Museum, Art Museum, History Museum. The words "of Los Gatos" can also be tacked onto the end of any of them.

The Art Museum has a new paint job, too, thanks to Mike Manley, a neighbor.

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