Saratoga News

Mary Ann Cook

Saratoga Sampler

Saratogans join in trek to India and Nepal

EXOTIC TREK: Some 15 Saratogans took a two-week trip to India and Nepal, and one participant, Marlene Duffin, recorded her impressions of the trip in an email to friends and passed along same to the Saratoga News. Temples, cave sculptures, a ride on an elephant to see the Amber Palace and, of course, the Taj Mahal were all part of the package. But the highlight was a parade the group witnessed from a temple balcony--gods, devils, carts pulled by bulls, and people with arc lights in their hands, transformers on their heads and a generator being pulled in front of the group.

There they were able "to see the Indian people as they really are ... happy, excited, having a wonderful time." Also, while waiting, they talked to local families in spite of language barriers.

"The Indian dishes were tasty and wonderful. ... Most of all I will miss the bulls and cows in the streets. They walked with pride and became such a part of the country scene. ... The respect for the animals was amazing."

The most heartbreaking moments were the beggar children who greeted them almost everywhere and wouldn't take no for an answer. Duffin described the screams for money from a 3-year-old as their bus pulled away. "One realizes that the task of feeding so many poor children and adults is not doable. The screams are embedded in the mind."

Saratogans who made the trek: Gladys and Fred Armstrong, Joe and Marty Clevenger, Roy and Ann Cook, Ron and Marlene Duffin, Desi Gallmeister, Dee Heinze, Jan LeFevre, Harriet Lundquist, Carolyn Tanner and John and Aiko Tauchi.

LAST IS BEST: The Foothill Club wrapped up its public lecture series for the year with what many called the best of the bunch. Emilia Rathbun, 93, spoke on "Women's Role in the New Millennium." One of Rathbun's points was that women should be proud of the myth of Eve in the garden of Eden because Eve chose knowledge, not just intuition.

Because she chose knowledge, Rathbun opines, we now know how we're made and how we can better ourselves and become more like the gods. Rathbun is "a wonderful mentor on what makes a full and wonderful life, embodies and helps the rest of us realize the true value of women," said Betty Peck.

Rathbun, whose late husband, Harry, taught law at Stanford, made her listeners cognizant of the richness women can bring to humanity, Peck added. Rainbow Hawk, a Native American who takes a similar message to cultural centers around the world, said Rathbun's talk held true for men as well, and he had long wished that this type of knowledge would be spread.

"This talk has added 20 years to my life," said one listener afterward. Lecture committee members Joan Bose, Harriet Lundquist and Margaret Slemmons are responsible for booking the inspirational nonagenarian speaker, who stood ramrod straight for the entire talk.

JUMP START: The agency Next Door, Solutions to Domestic Violence, is the only 24-hour emergency battered women's shelter in San Jose. It runs a 24-hour bilingual hotline, plus an outreach program for teens that's considered so successful it is being used throughout the U.S. A new Child Play Therapy Center will open soon, thanks to a $50,000 donation from Kaiser.

The center was designed and furnished by Design Response, the used-furniture-for-nonprofits company founded by Saratogan Helen Carreker. Another Saratogan, Susan Wytyshyn, is a board member of Next Door and vice president of Jump Start, the newly organized auxiliary to Next Door.

Judy Alberts of Saratoga is also a member of Jump Start, which now numbers 25 members. An auction held recently raised some $74,000 for the shelter, which offers counseling, education and a safe haven for women and children who are victims of domestic violence.

Families stay between 30 and 45 days at the shelter, and 19 beds are available. To volunteer to serve either the auxiliary or Next Door, call Wytyshyn at 446-2527.

ART & FLOWERS: Saratoga floral designers Daniel Della Monica of DDM Designs and Phyllis Shea are helping create the Art and Flowers fundraiser for the de Saisset Museum on the Santa Clara University campus April 16-19. Designers will interpret art from the museum's collection with flower arrangements that will be shown with the art work that inspired them. Lindsay Catterton of the Wild Geranium in Los Gatos is another of the 38 designers who are part of the show.

ART SHOW BEQUESTS: Saratoga Rotary presented Eastfield Ming Quong with $3,200 and the San Jose Cleveland Ballet $2,500 as a result of their annual fundraiser, the Rotary Art Show. The sums quoted in the March 11 column were lower and incorrect, Fred Peterson reports.

PET OWNER ALERT: You can become an instant cat owner by checking out those in need at the Hemingway Cat Hospital, De Anza Boulevard. Since the Saratoga Bagel Shop is handy, you could pick up your favorite bagel, then move on to Hemingway.

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