Dudley graduated from Los Gatos High in June, joined the Marines, and was sent to Iraq six weeks ago. Besides the yellow ribbon around the Dudleys' front tree, the U.S. and Marine Corps flags fly at their house as well. Joe's parents are Pete and Jeannie Dudley.

Shady View Lane has many proud traditions, including an annual Christmas tree lighting, but these yellow ribbons are far and away the most important, says Shannon Holmes Susick of Shady View.

ON BOARD: M. Kent Norton of Los Gatos has been appointed to the board of the San Jose Museum of Art. Norton is the inventor or co-inventor of 12 patents. And he has served as senior scientist or director of engineering for several valley companies.

In addition, he has been a college professor, having headed the science department at Vanier College in Montreal. At the University of British Columbia he taught in the physics department. Norton and his wife, Rita, are enthusiastic art collectors—their interests include photography and ceramics, as well as paintings.

The Nortons are sponsors of the L.A. Post-Cool exhibit now at the museum. They have lived in the South Bay for the past 23 years.

NEWLY ORDAINED: Mike McKay, who has served at Calvary Baptist Church as its youth minister for the past nine years, recently took another step forward in his call to the ministry: he was ordained in front of peers and elders in a ceremony that validates his understanding of doctrine and interpretation of the Bible.

He has now become one of Calvary's half-dozen pastors. The church is good-sized, what with 700 members and a regular congregation of 1,200. McKay will be the pastor in charge of ministry development. He has been active in the high school community, working with CASA (Community Against Substance Abuse), as well as the church youth group Real Life.

His wife, Kristi, is a kindergarten teacher at Lone Hill, part of the Union School District. Their children are Jamie, 17; Jessika, 15; and Josh, 13. McKay's undergrad work was at San Diego State University, and his theology degree was from Western Conservative Baptist Seminary.

ARIZONA SOJOURN: Jan and Don Black are back from a two-month trip scouring Arizona in their RV—the tour included the cities of Tombstone, Bisbee, Tucson and Mesa. They took in baseball games at the Giants training camp, which were something of an audition: the play looked ragged, compared to that in the regular season.

In Mesa the Blacks stayed in the Mesa Regal Resort RV park, which had a layout similar to a plush condo complex, what with 2,200 units and four pools, two hot tubs, two large dance floors, an exercise room and a Roly Poly game room.

In this last, players roll a curved wheel down a track and it's hard to control, since it takes unexpected turns. That's one way to beat the winter doldrums—RV it to the Southwest.

TRAVEL DESTINATION: Didja see the travel article in the Chronicle extolling the delights of a getaway to Los Gatos? One of the themes of the piece was that the economic slump has bypassed our town, that the place has a bustling prosperity, as though the bust hasn't happened.

Of course the slump has hit us, but it's heartwarming to know we look prosperous, despite the dot-com balloon bursting.

FOR THE HOMELESS: The spring tea is the one fundraiser per year that the American Associaton of University Women Committee on Homeless Women and Children depends on. The committee uses money from that one event to support the Georgia Travis Center in San Jose, where lunch is served along with job training, parenting classes and job referrals.

The co-chairwomen of the tea are Nancy Anderson and JoAnn Lambert. Anderson recounted the story of a woman named Helen who made good use of the center. After going through a rehab program, Helen started to pull her life together using the resources of the Georgia Travis Center.

Today she has a new job and a place to live, thanks to the help she received. Incidentally, Georgia Travis, a Los Gatan who died last year, was dedicated to the cause of the homeless. The center named for her stands on land recently sold, so it has to be relocated.

Fortunately a new site has been found across from the women's shelter, and it's larger and more convenient for its users.

ART SHOW: The Los Gatos Art Association's juried show at the Tait is a standout, I can testify. Stronger every year, it's on display now until May 3. News of the resurgence of the museum even reached the ears of Olivia de Havilland in Paris. The famed Los Gatos High School grad called the museum, said she wants to help out in some way. To be continued ...

Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to maryanncook@earthlink.net.