Saratoga Sampler

Family put heads together for invention's name

By Mary Ann Cook

OLD BLOOD AND GUTS: I don't know which military hero was called Old Blood and Guts but seems like the name could equally apply to Michael DiMucci. This Air Force captain has always thrived on trauma and emergency and can keep his cool in any situation, maintains his mother, Betty DiMucci.

A staff nurse at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas, DiMucci was recently promoted to captain. He's been in the Air Force a year, and entered as a lieutenant because of his medical experience and training. He has always thrived on and sought out crisis situations.

As a youngster, he flew with the Civil Air Patrol and rode with sheriff's deputies on emergency calls in their youth program. He worked at a Los Gatos funeral parlor (now defunct) and would come home with gory tales of bodies picked up in terrible accidents on Highway 17--before the concrete dividers were put in.He graduated from Bellarmine in 1978 and from the School of Nursing at UCLA in 1983. After graduation he worked in Watts and flew mercy flights in Minnesota, always specializing in trauma and emergency work.

"I guess you could say the gorier the better, where Mike's work is concerned," says Betty. "He's very good at what he does."

Along the way he also invented a power lifting system to raise and lower cots used in emergency rescue vehicles. This device is called an AntBoxx. His father, Vito, an engineer, helped in the design and the whole family put their collective heads together to name the invention.

It's easy to understand where the last syllable of the name of the patented invention comes from: obviously, its shape. And the first syllable was chosen because ants carry more than their own weight on their backs. And the Antboxx was designed to save the backs of those transporting patients into emergency vehicles.

The other DiMucci offspring are JulieSu Ward, a nutritionist in South Carolina who is married to former Saratogan David L. Ward, a paramedic. And Mia, who is with a computer company and lives in Daly City.

ARTWORK ACCEPTED: A painting by Dawn Hart-Koesis has been accepted to be shown at the California State Exposition in Sacramento from Aug. 20 through Sept. 6. The painting is one of 205 California pieces chosen from 1,119 entries, so it survived quite a field.

The painting is titled "A Joyful Heart is Good Medicine but a Broken Spirit Dries up the Bones--It's the Heart that Matters." The juror for the show was Marian Parmenter, director of the rental gallery at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

The artist and her husband, David R. Koesis, vice president of Oak Technology, are just back from a trip to Italy where Dawn was able to demonstrate the language skills acquired from a course at De Anza College. Italy serves as something of an inspiration for her artwork, as do the earth and gardening.

At their home in Saratoga, they're working on an acre and a quarter which she promises will be a major garden. She mentions Monet's garden, Giverney, as a touchstone, saying, "We're even building stone walls." Her bumper sticker should read "Born to Plant," Hart-Koesis says. "I feel like I'm born to plant beauty--both in paintings and growing things."

LUNG POWER: Saratogan Jacques Pham is one of the 137 people cycling across the entire country to benefit the American Lung Association. Participants raise money through pledges from family and friends in order to enter. The six-week expedition started June 14 in Seattle and will wrap up in Washington, D.C., July 31.

Big Ride Across America covers 3,250 miles and the cyclists average some 81 miles per day. Mobile units accompanying the group provide food, showers, medical support and bike maintenance. The money raised benefits lung disease research and education programs.

One in 10 Americans struggles for every breath, the Lung Association reports. On the cross-country trek the cyclists will collect names of people who are affected by lung disease, to create a list called the Chain of Hope, which will be unveiled on arrival in Washington. To add a name to the chain, log onto the Big Ride website at www.bigride.com.

IRON WOMEN: Iron Women doesn't sound like a book review group, but that's exactly what it is. Some 12 Saratoga-area women meet monthly at each other's homes for luncheon and discussion of a particular book. The one giving the lunch also leads the discussion.

And the name? Those who started it met while working out at the Los Gatos Athletic Club. Their emphasis seems to be multicultural. Some recent books they've read: The History of the Siege of Lisbon by Jose Saramago, which explores how histories get written and the discrepancies therein; and A Pale View of Hills by Kazuo Ishiguro, which provides some provocative discussions.

NATURE OUTINGS: Saratogan Jon Menard and his wife Sherry will lead a day hike to Ano Nuevo on Aug. 15, a five- to seven-mile jaunt, viewing elephant seals, dunes and wildflower meadows.

On Aug. 22 the hike will be at the Forest of Nicene Marks in Soquel, a six- to eight-mile trek with creeks, waterfall and redwoods in the package. The Menard's number is 374-5981.

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