DEAR VOICES: It's a book she's been writing in her head for the past 35 years. So says Lea Frey about the book she has written called Dear Voices, to be released this week. The book is a compilation of letters written between high school friends in support of one of the five, who is in prison.
Hearing that Joe had been arrested and jailed for armed robbery renewed their bonds, kept the letters coming. Letters were duplicated and sent to each of the five, who were scattered over the country. It's a story of the healing power of unconditional love between friends, as the book blurb puts it.
The book is composed of the actual letters (edited for nonessentials) exchanged from 1944 to 2003. The reader can trace the issues of those years as two of the group battle it out from opposing viewpoints.
One subtext in the book is a story of a failed romance. Frey was the high school sweetheart of one of the others, but broke off the engagement in 1948. That jilted member, evidently still smarting, shuns the prison project but does write intermittently.
Others include him in the exchanges, visit him and try to draw him into the fold—to no avail. He and Frey, however, ultimately reach a détente of sorts.
Dear Voices costs $19.95; it's available at Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com. (not a vanity press). Fifty percent of the net proceeds from the book will go to Friends Outside, the support organization for those with an imprisoned loved one—an apt choice, indeed, for this book.
Frey is a retired German and French teacher and is the language coach for Opera San José. Her earlier career was as a nurse. She is married to retired cardiologist William Frey, and they have two sons who live in Los Gatos with their families.
Jeff De Mattos of Vasona Graphics in Los Gatos designed the cover. He designs the programs for the Community Concert series of Los GatosSaratoga, and Lea is a longtime active board member of that group.
SMALL-WORLD TIME: Is the south of France overrated in the culinary department and Los Gatos underrated? Ira and Barbara Spector are inclined to think so. A few weeks back they were lunching in the garden of the hotel La Colombe d'Or in St-Paul-de-Vence, overlooking Nice and the Côte d'Azur.
Suddenly they caught familiar voices. Turned out to be Alain and Martine Staebler, proprietors of Café Marcella, vacationing nearby. Well, their lunch was good, confided the Spectors to the Staeblers, but not up to par with Café Marcella's.
It's easier to get an excellent French meal in Los Gatos than along the French Riviera, marvels Ira. La Colombe d'Or, however, isn't known just for its food. For years the hotel's restaurant has accepted paintings in lieu of cash for meals. Now it owns an extensive and enviable collection.
Such luminaries as Chagall, Picasso, Calder and Miró have benefited from its beneficence. But it works both ways. A practice that may have seemed foolishly generous at the time has paid off a gazillion times over by now, both monetarily and in spirit.
BANDSTAND CELEBRATION: Strike up the band for the second annual Bandstand Celebration. It's Aug. 28 at the Lyndon Bandstand in Oak Meadow Park from 6 to 10 p.m. and it's a fundraiser for the Los Gatos Community Foundation. Barbecue dinner is by C.B. Hannegan's and dance music is by Mack the Knife.
Tickets are $65 per person, $120 per couple and are available through the foundation at 408.354.8787. Those attending have a chance to win a Hawaiian holiday for two, valued at $5,000.
ARTS COMMISSION: George Forrester and Jade Bradbury were recently named to the Los Gatos Arts Commission and incumbent Joanne Johnson, chairwoman, was renewed for another full term. This is the group that brings the town public art and Jazz in the Plazz, among other enhancements.
Other members of the commission are Marianne Hamilton, Valerie Hopkins, Nicki Huber, Elke Groves, Teri Hope and Marcia Tjader.
YOUNG POET: The poetry of Los Gatan Autefeh Sajjadi, 12, will be included in a book called Celebration of Young Poets, to be published by Creative Communications. Though she didn't make it into the top 10 of the poetry contest, the judges liked her poetry so well they will include it in the book.
Autefeh, 12, will be a seventh-grader at Fisher next fall. She is the daughter of Azar and Hamed Sajjadi.
LIONS' GOLF: At the recent Lions' fundraising golf tournament, Sue Frey had the longest drive for women; Joan Lochner executed closest to the pin for women; and John Musser Jr. posted closest to the pin for men. All of which indicates that Lions are better at marrying or producing golfers than winning golf esteem themselves.
VIVA VINO: Viva, the LG Boulevard bistro, offers wine tastings every Tuesday. Thursday is two-for-one short-rib night at Crimson. So the East Side has multi attractions going on, too.
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By Mary Ann Cook