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Saratoga Sampler
Saratoga's Turley stares at the stars for a living
By Mary Ann Cook
HEAVENLY SHOTS: Stare at the heavens nightly, and you can get some concept of what stargazing Saratogan James Turley does for a living. Turley is a publisher of astronomical images from the great observatories of the world, and his business is named Sky Image Lab, from which flow the astrophotos he publishes.
These photos show spectacular, nearly unbelievable images of the universe and galaxies (ours and others), as well as the Earth as viewed from outer space.
One of the most popular of his museum- quality photographs is the Pillars of Creation, showing a cosmic birthplace of stars. The images he prints may be shot from the Hubble Space Telescope or from NASA or other astro-centered agencies worldwide.
You can see stars forming, starburst galaxies, double helix nebula, Saturn's new rings, a cartwheel galaxy, Pleiades star clusters, new solar systems forming, shots of the Earth at night.
Turley has always looked up at the night sky. When he looked through his friend's telescope 10 years ago and saw the Great Andromeda Galaxy, he was hooked.
Closer to home are close-ups of rarely seen birds taken at the Don Edwards Wildlife and Refuge Center or Vasona Park. His website is www.SkyImageLab.com, where you can take a look at hundreds of these images.
Turley is a product of hightech, is widely traveled (mostly in Asia), speaks several languages, including Japanese, Chinese and some Thai, and met his wife at a Zen temple in Kyoto, the ancient capital of Japan.
DEBONAIRS ARE 50: There's a local dance group called the Debonairs, which embraces a number of Los Gatos and Saratoga couples. Ballroom dancing has always had a certain cachet, but the popularity of TV shows featuring celebrities and international competition has certainly heightened its appeal lately.
However, the Debonairs don't need any prodding from TV. This group has been in existence for 50 years, a milestone for any club. There are 95 couples in the lineup, and perhaps 60-70 couples regularly appear to trip the light fantastic. No original founding members remain.
The Debonairs meet every other month at the Palo Alto Elks Club but will lose this venue come August, so they are looking for a new home. Since it's a sizable group and includes dinner, an ample space is needed. There are a few openings for new members, but they need to be sponsored.
For information call Campbell and Joyce Scott of Los Gatos at 408.395.4912, co-presidents of the Debonairs. Other Los Gatos members are Bert Altmann and Juliana Richmond; Phil and Mary Deardorf; John Gaffney and Jackie Seymour; Ted Gallis and Helene Snyder; Pete and Barbara Rose; and Ottoman and Cecelia Wong.
Saratogans include Bruce and Karen Crawford; Dana Ellingen and Nora Mason; Vergil and Jan Givens; Frank and Ruth Ann Juliano; Floyd and Janet Okada; Kinji and Eileen Sera; and Dan and Margie Sisley.
"Dancing has made good times better and helped me through many a difficult time," attests longtime Debonair Juliana Richmond.
HOPING TO CONNECT: Hannelore and Ray Brabo of Indianapolis want to re-connect with Don and Pat Harris, a Saratoga family whose children are Ryan and Cindy. The Brabos were transferred to Indianapolis 12 years ago, remember the Harrises fondly and would like to get up to date with them.
They're hoping someone reading this will help get them in touch. The Brabos' phone is 317.487.1997; their email is Hannebear@AOL.com.
CALENDAR PIN-UPS: The Ryan Iwanaga family seems to have cornered the market on calendar modeling. Four members of the family are featured in three current calendars. Ryan and daughter Keats of Los Gatos appear in the Women's Council of Realtors' calendar, dressing up the month of March.
Ryan is vice president of the Sereno Group Real Estate company. His wife, Meena, is an Oakland Raiderette and hence is pictured in the Raiderette calendar for August. Meanwhile, Ryan's mother, Reiko, of Saratoga, is the February calendar girl for the Buddhist Churches of America calendar.
There's an up-to-date family.
UNVEILED: Sculptor Jerry Smith created the only known bust of famed architect Julia Morgan. Berkeley, take note. The bust was unveiled at the recent club centennial event for the Foothill Club. Smith is no novice sculptor; his work has appeared at the Corcoran Museum in Washington, D.C.
Besides all that, he's a former mayor of Saratoga. Also unveiled at the fundraiser was a Morgan portrait by Mary Ann Henderson. And Marilyn White played Julia Morgan in an historic pageant of the club; Willys Peck was the only male actor, performing three roles.
GROUND SHAKING: Marlene and Ron Duffin recently moved to a condo in San Jose. Marlene has been on every school board in Saratoga known to exist, is now active in the Saratogan Lions, running for district governor. Ron was on the SASCC board for years, and served on the Hakone board as well.
Did anyone else feel the ground under Saratoga groan as this support system left the Village?
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