Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Trucks duck webfooted pedestrians on Saratoga Avenue

DUCKLING ALERT: Boston Common has nothing on Saratoga. Remember the famous children's book Make Way for Ducklings? Well, Vineyard resident Arlene Finley has a clear view of Saratoga Avenue from her condo, and one day a few weeks back a mother duck and her eight ducklings were crossing Saratoga Avenue in Finley's clear view.

A moving van, no less, had stopped to let the family make a safe crossing from the easterly direction, and a truck had stopped on the other side to ensure safe passage. Would that we were all as considerate of the nonwebfooted, as well.

My informant didn't divulge whether the octet and mother were using the crosswalk provided. Ducks are in residence at the Vineyards yearly, and one resident, when he saw what trouble the ducklings were having scrambling up the side of the pond, installed a miniature ramp to help them in their egress.

BOP-IT: Latest craze among the games-playing set is a plastic contrivance called Bop-It. The purple plastic gadget talks to you in electronic-eze, giving such commands as "Twist it!" "Pull it!" and "Pass it!" and the tempo increases as each round of instruction is issued.

Bop-it shows up at baby and bridal showers, duplicate bridge parties--anywhere people who want to interact with plastics congregate. But its strangest incarnation may have been at a San Francisco Hotel recently, where 10 friends of Raiko Iwanaga gathered to celebrate Raiko's 60th.

That's the number of the birthday, not the Bop-it score registered, though that total would constitute an impressive score for the game. Ten longtime friends had kidnapped Raiko for a surprise overnight celebration in the city to the north.

They had lunch, took in a matinee and power-walked around town in wigs and party hats. And when they got back to their hotel room, they bopped-it. The game takes considerable knee bending, so the image of 10 women (d'un certain age, as the French so delicately put it), bopping and bending while trying to stay the course, provided plenty of hilarity.

RISING STAR: Saratoga volunteer/ philanthropist Elaine Knoernschild recently received a 1998 Silicon Valley Arts & Business Award from the Arts Council of Santa Clara County. Knoernschild's award is called the Rising Star. Knoernschild has been key in promoting the arts, particularly the San José Repertory Theatre and the Community Foundation, the two agencies that nominated her for the award.

Her time, passion and commitment were cited as instrumental in making the Rep's new theater building a reality. She was part of the capital campaign, co-headed the gala opening and has been a board member for 15 years. Her knowledge of the local arts scene ensures that foundation grants are awarded where they will have maximum impact, according to the Community Foundation.

Some 400 attended the "Creative Partnerships" awards at the San Jose Fairmont.

PAPERBACK SALES: The semiannual Paperback Sale is here again, held in the Community Room of the library. Opening night is April 15, 6-9 p.m., and books are an unbeatable four for $1. Sale hours April 16-18 are 10 a.m.-5 p.m. The wrap-up is Sunday, April 19, noon-4 p.m. That day all you can stuff in a grocery bag will cost you $2. An auction of rare and collectible books is April 16 at 7 p.m. sharp. Friends of the Saratoga Library are the event sponsors.

CLEAN PARKS: Some 200 Girl Scouts, from kindergartners to eighth-graders, observed Community Service Day last month by cleaning up four Saratoga parks, which included painting, weeding and sprucing up railings, reports Lori Burns of the city's staff. Karen Loomis was the coordinator, and 50 adults were also involved. A special patch was designed to commemorate the service.

PIZZA DELIVERY: This pizza delivery brought tears to the eyes of some recipients at the Julian St. Inn, reports Warren Nelson. Warren and his wife, Doris, and Paul and Sarah Piligian deliver food to the homeless at the inn monthly, part of the Presbyterian Church outreach initiated by Nelson.

"We usually get applause at the end of the meal, but this time there was a regular ovation, six different spontaneous outbursts of clapping," he said. "I haven't had pizza since I was in high school," said one man with tears in his eyes. Supplier of the pizza and salad was Jake's of Saratoga. Bernard Tougas is the restaurant's owner, and Stephan Crooks is manager, despite the name.

NAME-DROPPING: Speaking of names, Fleur Kettermann was the winner of the local chili cookoff held some weeks ago. This is to set the record straight on the spelling of her last name. Now if she'd only divulge the ingredients in her winning recipe that captured the judges' hearts and taste buds, we'd have the complete scoop. Note my restraint in not using the word heartburn.

TAX-FREE POETRY: Mary Lou Taylor will read from her poetry at Blue Rock Shoot on April 16 at 8 p.m. as an after-tax-day treat. The reading is one in a series celebrating the premiere issue of The Montserrat Review, an international literary journal published in San Jose.

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