NEW BOOK: Dancing Naked ... In Fuzzy Red Slippers is a new book by Carmen Richardson Rutlen of Los Gatos. A combination of self-help essays and poetry, it's published by Cypress House. Rutlen takes dance as her theme, and labels her chapters accordingly.
For instance, Tango is called the Dance of Love; Fandango is Family and Friends; and the Charleston is Old Time Dancing, the dance of aging. The book is written in a chicken-soupish way: no surprise there, since Rutlen has contributed three pieces to that series.
Writing the book helped ease the trauma of a very stressful divorce. Rutlen is the mother of a grown son, Toby, and has operated her advertising firm in Los Gatos for 15 years.
She lauds Cafe Marcella owners Alain and Martine Staebler and their entire staff for their help. Much of her writing (and inspirational drinking) was done there, with waiters giving her a table large enough to spread out her writing materials. Fittingly, she had a booksigning at the cafe earlier this month.
The email is DanceInFuzzyRed@aol.com.
IRON(WO)MAN CANADA: Renee Keane, 27, assistant director of building projects for the LGSaratoga high school district, has signed on for the Ironman Canada marathon in Penticton, B.C., Aug. 29, which includes a 2.4-mile swim, 112-mile bike ride and 26.2-mile run—all in under 17 hours.
The Ironman is a fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, and Keane has a personal link to that illness: her dad, Donald Plumlee, died of leukemia in '01. She has set her financial goal at $7,500, as part of the South Bay's Team in Training program.
Keane has run seven marathons already and her husband, Scott Keane, serves as her personal trainer and support base. To contribute to Keane's efforts, send checks payable to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, 2042 Crist Dr., Los Altos, 94024. Keane's number is 408.354.2520, ext. 324.
"I've seen the destruction the disease can have on a family," says Keane, "and I don't want anyone else to be impacted by that."
TIP ON TIPTOES: The holiday season didn't slow the fundraising efforts of TIP (Theater Improvement Project for LGHS). Informational dinner parties were held in various homes over the past few months, and the results have been impressive. A total of $120,000 has been raised, meeting its goal for '03.
The three couples who held recent parties were Sandy and Gil Decker, Bettie and Joe Zanardi and Joanne and Joe Rodgers. About 20 people attended each gathering. At some homes the Jazz Purrs sang and at other locales the entire band wowed the guests.
Now, it's onward to 2004, when Cindi Mulloy, LGHS music director Diana Pleasant and Sandra and Wayne Erickson have signed up to play hosts.
A DIFFERENT CON-ED: Conductive education is a system designed for children with disabilities caused by damage to the central nervous system. The program covers all aspects of development—physical, educational, social, emotional, communication and language.
The assumption is that these children—with the guidance of conductive education—will be able to learn the same skills as their able-bodied peers. Beginning Steps To Independence is a conductive education school in Los Gatos—one of only 25 in the country—and has been in operation here for seven years.
Classes cover a broad range—home-based programs, a Mommy and Me Center, an after-school program. Conductive education was featured in a recent 60 Minutes show, with interviews from teachers at the UCP Center in Cleveland, at Aquinas College in Michigan and the Peto Institute in Hungary.
Craig Roberts is executive director of Beginning Steps. The phone number is 408.371.5620 and email is Craig Robertscnt@aol.com. Gail and Mark Wright moved from Florida to Los Gatos so their son, Davis, 5, who has cerebral palsy, could attend this school.
Gail says Davis has been able to do things she never thought he would be able to do, thanks to the school. He's "blossomed cognitively" in the past six months in particular, she says. The ratio of teacher to child is two to one.
NEW OFFICERS FOR TERRACES: Daniel Doore, executive director of Community Hospital of Los Gatos, and Deal (Bud) Christiansen, retired owner of the late, lamented Chrislow's, were elected to three-year terms on the board of advisers of The Terraces.
The Reverend Lamar Allen, Calvary Baptist Church, and Clayton Bruntz, retired insurance exec, were re-elected. Allen Slutman was elected to the board in October. A retired engineer for IBM and Siemans/ROLM, he is a former chairman of the LG Planning Commission.
Officers elected for 2004 were Joe Cusick, chairman; Bruntz, vice chairman; and Pam Bancroft, secretary.
Got a tip for Main Street? Send email to
maryanncook@earthlink.net.
By Mary Ann Cook