Saratoga News

Saratoga Sampler

Mary Ann Cook

Food and marriage-like a horse and carriage?

GOURMET MARRIAGE: Do good food and lengthy marriages go hand in hand? This group would lead you to believe so. These six couples are an outgrowth of a Saratoga-Los Gatos AAUW group who have been dining together for years in area restaurants. The Vossbrincks, Knotts, Garrods, Hills, Bueltemans and Lynches may hold a marital record as a group: a total of 315 years.

Herewith their tips for marital longevity: Lillian Vossbrinck (67 years of marriage) says, "Love lasted." Husband Bill says, "Never go to bed mad." Gertrude Knott (63 years) says, "You need to do your own thing." Les Knott says, "We believe in fairness and treating each other well."

Jane Garrod (57 years) says, "We were both relaxed about things if the other one did something weird. We worked together on the ranch, so our goals were the same." Vince Garrod says simply, "We like each other."

Dale Hill (46 years) says, "Choose well and then get some good luck." Bob Hill says Dale is not only his lover and the mother of his kids, but also his best friend. Marilyn Buelteman, (46 years) says they have complementary personalities; Herb Buelteman says he had no other offers. (Funny, the missus didn't mention his sense of humor.)

Greg Lynch (42 years) says perseverance and patience are the keys. Audry Lynch says similar backgrounds gave them the same values and helped them stick together through the bad times. The Garrods, Lynches and Bueltemans are all Saratogans.

LILITH FAIR: The Lilith Fair, a celebration of women's music, was the top pop-music concert to tour the country last summer and will touch down again this year at Shoreline Amphitheatre, June 23-24. Only this time one of the entertainers will be Beth Lisick, Saratoga High '87. Lisick won a competition for the half-hour opening slot on the festival bill over 20 other finalists (to say nothing of the 800 musicians who submitted tapes to the competition).

More poet than musician, Lisick says, "I tell everyday stories, like going to the dentist. I'd call it narrative storytelling." Her work "The Empress of Sighs" was anthologized in Best American Poetry, '97. Her band, "Beth Lisick Ordeal," has played area clubs for the past nine months and serves as background for her storytelling. Band members are George Cremaschi, bass; David Cooper, vibraphone; and Andrew Borger, drums. Beth is the daughter of Ron and Anne Lisick.

BECAUSE IT'S THERE: A group of Saratogans are planning to scale Mt. Whitney the end of July, weather permitting. Right now, it's still too cold to make the climb, reports Sally McElravey, one of the prospective climbers.

So popular is the Mt. Whitney climb that it's decided by lottery. The hopefuls had to submit their names six months in advance in order to get a climb date. Other Saratoga climbers are Kent and Nancy Witthaus, Lyn Wedel and Jan Eby. Ten others in their group are from Stanford.

McElravey, a teacher at Los Gatos-Saratoga Observation Nursery School, plans one backpacking trip a summer. On one memorable trip the McElraveys and Witthauses kayaked through Puget Sound in two-person kayaks.

This time she and her cohorts will go hiking with backpacks during the next two months to prepare for the Mt. Whitney ascent. "We'll take two or three days," she says. "One camp is at 8,000 feet, then a trail camp at 12,000 feet. Whitney's peak is at 14,949. Some people do it in a day, but we're going to do it the sane way, taking time to get acclimated." Now if the weather will only warm up.

SNIFF TEST: In less strenuous vacationing, there's news from Bill and Norma Ford. They're just back from a trip to England, Paris and the Loire, and they took a tip from Leo and Helen Bianchi in booking hotel rooms. Oftentimes restaurants listed for excellence in the Michelin Guide have rooms for rent above them.

The Fords did the research and found one such near the Eiffel Tower that filled the bill. Seems the smells wafting up from down below would alone be worth the price of the room The Bianchis have been using this method of room choice for years, usually in Italy, where they visit relatives. Matter of fact, they are there right now.

A QUESTION OF OWNERSHIP: Virginia Fordice wants to set the record straight. She isn't the owner of Aegis Gallery, she's one of the owners. However, she is one of the founders, as are Pat Puder and Jackie Butts, both still active in the gallery. "Pat and I found the location." Aegis is actually a collective, with the 26 artists exhibiting there sharing ownership.

Fordice also owns a design business called Fordice/Wasserglas, since she works mainly in watercolors and glass. The leaded and fused-glass window at St. Jude's Episcopal Church in Cupertino is one example of her work. Now she's busy designing floral arrangements for her daughter's August wedding--pyramids of green apples, orchids and French silk ribbons.

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