'O WAD some power the giftie gie," wrote Bobbie Burns, "to see ourselves as others see us." An editorial in the Sacramento Bee may offer a clue. The Jan. 7 writeup headlined "Crying over spilt latte" quotes our mayor as saying, "We've got to keep our downtown looking better. We have to invest in it if we expect to get an economic return."
"But in this particular case," the Bee's savant goes on, "the mayor presides over the height-of-hip hamlet of Los Gatos, near San Jose. The grunge he laments is not empty beer bottles, but sidewalk splotches from spilled cafe lattes and cappuccinos, juice-bar concoctions and the remains of castoff muffins and scones. . . .The footpaths of Los Gatos are paved with the breakfasts of yuppies."
After a mention of the Town Council hiring a consultant to advise on a downtown cleanup, the writer adds: "What's odd about this is that specialty coffee drinkers, normally so fastidious about the freshness of the grounds (or) the saturated-fat content of a boysenberry-marzipan muffin, should turn out to be such slobs about gunking up the public sidewalks.
"Whatever the case," the writer concludes, "Los Gatos would appear to have the means and the caffeine-driven energy to work it out."
Gee, thanks. We can always use encouragement from the capital. Now for a mocha. (And thanks to J. D. Vanderlaan for the clip.)
CHAMPION Red Cross blood donor Deborah Best was honored March 19 at St. Mary's Church on Bean Avenue. Since 1987, Best has donated 80 times and given almost ten gallons of blood. Makes we who cringe a bit at the mere thought of losing a drop feel a bit out of it.
HE MAY be unknown to younger folk, but those old enough to have read the Saturday Evening Post may remember the Colin Glencannon stories by Guy Gilpatric. The fictional Scotsman was chief engineer of the Inchliffe Castle, a rusty British tramp steamer. A large, heavyset man with a walrus mustache and a fiery temper, Glencannon's favorite expression when annoyed was "Foosh!" His cherished beverage was a whisky called Duggan's Dew of Kirkintilloch.
Carl Nolte, the San Francisco Chronicle reporter who joined the crew of the Jeremiah O'Brien when the last Liberty Ship sailed from San Francisco to Europe last year, wrote about an informal literary group, the Glencannon Society, which held meetings aboard ship. The O'Brien's chief mate, Walter Jaffee, founded the society.
At C.B. Hannegan's, bartender Tom Ovens was inspired to offer customers "Duggan's Dew Blended Scotch Whisky" ($3) during a week of commemoration of the O'Brien voyage. That was the week a display of O'Brien photographs opened at Forbes Mill Museum. Among those to sample Duggan's Dew was Bill Rowlands of San Jose, a retired salesman, maritime veteran of World War II and able seaman. Rowlands was one who helped restore the ship at its San Francisco pier, and he was aboard for the 1994 voyage.
Duggan's Dew is still made in Scotland in 50-gallon kegs, but the crew denied bringing any home.
MORE THAN 100 people attended a March 9 party in honor of longtime yoga teacher Ruth Barati's 80th birthday. The potluck dinner and open house was held at the Los Gatos-Saratoga Recreation Department, where Barati has taught yoga for more than 20 years. Along with the lavender and purple balloons were photo montages of events from her life, including years when her husband, maestro George Barati, conducted the Honolulu Symphony. Other family members attending included their daughter Donna and son-in-law Kevin Gillory, who's a broadcaster on KQED radio, and two granddaughters. A total of $1,200 was collected for the Lorna Barati Music Therapy Foundation of San Francisco, which honors the memory of the Baratis' oldest daughter.
FRIENDLY Neighbors of Los Gatos will hold their monthly luncheon meeting March 27 at Johnny's Restaurant, 14675 Winchester Blvd, starting with a social hour at 11:30 a.m. Vel Strahota of Sunrise Jewelry will show jewelry and accessories.
MICHAEL BRYANT, a 56-year-old Newark real estate agent who recently returned from a "harrowing" 1,200-mile sailing trip from Fiji to New Zealand, was the speaker at the March 14 meeting of the Los Gatos Yacht Club. Ten of the 13 days it took Bryant and two Sausalito friends to make the passage were in heavy seas and gale-force winds that at one time flipped their 40-foot sloop on its side.
The yacht club's first 1996 Day on the Bay will be a cruise to the Sausalito Yacht Club March 23.
WHEN Superintendent Colleen Wilcox wanted a new graphic identity for the Santa Clara County Office of Education, she called on Los Gatos designer Rick Tharp. He came up with a modern logo that makes a metaphorical image using the initials SCC to represent a flame of knowledge. Susan Craft of Tharp Did It studio was co-designer for the pro bono project. The logo will appear on stationery and signs and in print and Internet media. Tharp has won numerous awards, including the prestigious advertising Clio.
SENIORS looking for a different summer vacation might consider the Senior Ventures Program, classes and field trips at Central Washington University at Ellenburg. Family Service Association hosts an information meeting March 25 at 11 a.m. at the Neighborhood Center.
Also at Neighborhood Center, "55 Alive" refresher courses for older drivers are April 8 and 15. To register send an $8 check to Family Service Association, 208 E. Main St.
This article appeared in the Los Gatos Weekly-Times, March 20, 1996.
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