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Saratoga Sampler
Golf tourney, donation raises money for J.W. House
By Mary Ann Cook
FOR CANCER PATIENT FAMILIES: Teenager J.W. Knapen died last year, a victim of an inoperable brain tumor, but his dream of building a special home for families of young cancer patients is edging closer. He wanted a place near Kaiser Hospital, Santa Clara, where families could convene quietly, eat together and talk with other families facing similar challenges.
When Saratogan Walter K. Palmer heard about the campaign to build such a house, he knew he wanted to contribute. And earlier this month he presented a gift of $30,000 to Barbara Mount, president of the J.W. House board of directors.
The occasion was the second annual J.W. House Golf Tournament at Cinnabar Hills. Palmer, a retired Kaiser Permanente office employee, attended the post-tournament dinner with his daughter Karen Anderson, companion Nesya Fishstromand and son-in-law Einar Anderson.
"When we learned about J.W. Knapen's dream to build a special home for families, it was a natural that my father make the gift," said Anderson, a former mayor of Saratoga. Since the drive for the house started three years ago, $1.2 million has been raised toward the $1.5 million goal.
Some 100 golfers played in the tournament, and the auctions brought in more than $50,000, so the total was $80,000 for the fund that day. Leo Ruth was tournament chairman. The putting contest was won by Kathleen Smith, Barbara Mounts' sister. Nothing fishy there, though, since 99 others tried, too.
Rick Willson won four door prizes, which looked suspicious, since he was sitting next to the Rev. Jerry Wade.
CHAMPAGNE WITH OLIVIA: Rhoda Porter is a childhood friend of Olivia de Havilland, and when she and her friend Genevieve Palace, retired English teacher from Saratoga High, headed for Paris last year, they touched base with the famed actress.
The Paris visit was propelled by the fact that Porter's daughter, Susie, and her husband Chip were living in Paris. Both are teachers who were on sabbatical. When Susie called de Havilland to tell her Rhoda would be in town, the California contingent was invited over for champagne.
In Rhoda's words: "We had a glorious evening--and our children were amazed at our memories of practically every friend we ever had in school." The next day Olivia sent her secretary over with a note and photograph of the two LGHS grads taken in Alaska in l944.
Both women were there at the same time, de Havilland visiting the troops and Rhoda serving in the Red Cross.
AGING INTIMACY: Kicking off the reemergence of the Saratoga Senior Center's Wednesday lunch program was speaker Mary Buxton, social worker/therapist. Buxton's topic was "Intimacy, Sexuality and Aging." She counseled that intimacy should still be rewarding even with physical limitations.
Flexibility and creativity are called for. She warned against unrealistic expectations and negative attitudes. Women in particular have self-esteem problems regarding their bodies, promulgated by the fashion world and a culture that focuses on youth.
If ads reflected real people we'd feel a lot better about our bodies, Buxton commented. The therapist deflected some myths about sexuality, saying sex doesn't have to be spontaneous: It needs to be planned for and talked about, especially between longtime partners. Sex has to be intentional, even to setting a date.
As for getting in the mood, Buxton suggests warm showers, candles, music, lubricants, even sexy stories and/or erotica. Turning off the TV and the computer are essential for improving intimacy, she stressed. Buxton advised her listeners to ask for what they want.
Partners don't necessarily know, and certainly can't be expected to guess, what their mates want. One woman in the audience repeatedly called out, "But how do I find a good man?"
Buxton's suggestions: join a line dancing class, and check out Match.com and Classmates.com. "We grow old because we stop playing" was another Buxton theme. Reminder: Lunch reservations need to be made by noon on the Tuesday preceding the Wednesday lunch. The number is 408.868.1257.
INDIAN DANCE: Abinhaya Dance Group will present "Saatvika" July 1, 4 p.m., at Hoover Theater, 1635 Park Ave., San Jose. Featured soloist is Rasika Kumar, daughter of Abinhaya founder Mythili Kumar. Rasika has been under her mother's tutelage since 1987 and has studied in Chennai, India, with master teachers there.
For the past 10 years, Rasika has performed major roles in company productions. She was a computer science major at MIT and president of Natya, MIT's classical dance club. There Rasika organized, choreographed and performed in events in the greater Boston area. Today she's a software engineer at Google when she's not dancing.
In "Saatvika," which means the emotions within, the dancer internalizes the emotions of the characters portrayed.
The contact number is 408.983.0491.
Got a tip for Saratoga Sampler? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.
