Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Betty Peck triumphs over May Day rain

MAY DAY FROLIC: Rain may have put a damper on some May Day celebrations, but not those of the dauntless Betty Peck. Just meant the event was held inside the Peck Great Hall, where the maypole reached the rafters. Some 50 friends and family celebrated, with the children around the maypole first, and then 30 adults doing the actual weaving of the green and yellow ribbons.

Peck niece Karen Wesson was the queen. "I think everyone should celebrate spring," says Peck, who owns not one maypole but three. For those with the zest of Betty Peck, every day is May Day.

Now that we're on May Day, I wonder how the words "May Day, May Day" ever came to mean emergency or disaster. When actually just the opposite is true. The world seems to be set right by May 1, what with the prospect of long days, outdoor living and buds bursting forth. This year the rains have produced the lushest wildflower displays we've had in memory. Desert-goers have been attesting to this floral fact for the past few months, but the blooms around these parts are unparalleled, too. Just look around.

FILIPINO POETS: It's free admission to an evening of poetry at Montalvo, where seven Filipino writers will read from their works on May 19 at 7:30 p.m. in the Carriage House. "Borrowed Tongues" will include music and delicacies from the Philippines.

The event coincides with the centennial of Philippine freedom from Spanish rule. Henry Manayan, mayor of Milpitas, is honorary chairman, and the emcee is poet Nick Carbo, husband of Denise Duhamel, current poet-in-residence at Montalvo.

Other readers are Jaime Jacinto, Eileen Tabios, Fedelito Cortes, Marianne Villanueva, Jean Gier and Nerissa Balce, many of whom appear in an anthology called Returning a Borrowed Tongue.

A quote from the intro: "This book may serve as a discovery of a notable poetic tradition. In the early period of tutelage, Filipino poets borrowed a foreign tongue to express their poetic voices. Today, with this anthology of poems written in English, we return this borrowed tongue."

HEALTH FAIR: You thought there was no free lunch? Well, here's one. Saratoga's Southwest YMCA will hold a free day for seniors May 13 to introduce older adults to the Y's potpourri of programs. A health fair will be held for cholesterol checks, blood-pressure readings and diabetes testing from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m..

There's water workouts for arthritis sufferers from 10 to 10:45 a.m. and classes in land aerobics from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. Tours will be conducted throughout the morning. And there's a free lunch from 1 to 2 p.m. Call 370-1877 to reserve a spot. In the afternoon: water workout from 1:30 to 2:30. The Y as classifies seniors those 55 or older. All this AOA (active older adult) action is under the auspices of Carol Wolf.

HAKONE ART MENU: Carolyn Hofstetter will teach oil painting at Hakone Gardens May 15-16, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Paint in the gardens or in the shaded crafts workshop. Cost: $45 for one day, $75 for two. Next, sumi-e ink painting with Carolyn Fitz May 23, 11 a.m.-4 p.m.

The "four treasures of the Orient"--ink stick, ink stone, brush, paper--will be used, and focus is on Japanese symbols for the four seasons. Historical background and traditions will also be explored. Cost is $40 plus $5 for supplies, or bring your own. Bring bag lunches for those two classes.

For travelers who want to remember the world they experienced in color, Luanne Nieman will teach "Watercolor Basics: Travel Sketching." Watercolor mixing, drawing tips and how to travel light on painting supplies will be covered. This class meets 9:30 a.m.-noon June 9, 10, 16, 17. Cost is $60; beginning and experienced painters alike can call 741-4994 to register.

RED DRESS RUNNERS: Elizabeth Nast of Saratoga brought in the March issue of Runner's World to explain the sight of male runners in red dresses sprinting through Los Gatos one recent Saturday. Seems these folks are called Hash House Harriers, have been in existence since 1938 and have an estimated 900 chapters internationally.

The red dress tradition is nine years old and started in San Diego, when one runner brought a knockout date in a red dress to an event that ended in a hot tub. At the next hash, the harriers all dressed in red dresses as a spoof, and the tradition was born.

The name is from the childhood game of hounds and hares. Harriers are hounds who chase hares. With five chapters in the Bay Area, there's a wide choice of runs each week. Hashers have a relaxed view of themselves: They are "a drinking club with a running problem."

FRIENDS: Audry Lynch of Saratoga, author of With Steinbeck in the Sea of Cortez, will be the speaker at the annual meeting of Friends of the Los Gatos Library, May 15, 7 p.m. at the library.

AAUW: It's a brunch meeting at Rinconada Hills Community Room on May 16, 9:30 a.m-noon, to install new officers for Los Gatos-Saratoga branch of AAUW.

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