1-2014 village voice

Village Voice Newsletter • January 2014 1

Founded in 1991 Vol. XXIII, No. 1 | January 2014

What is CERT? — Part I

Editorial

Welcoming a New Year

It seems amazing that 2014 is already underway. How time flies when we’re having fun in our corner of paradise! To all our readers, we extend our very best wishes for an enriching and re-warding New Year!

As you likely already know, this is an important year in the history of Ocean Hills CC – our community’s 30th Anniversary. In upcoming issues of the Village Voice, we will be presenting in-formation on events that are be-ing planned and scheduled to help our residents celebrate this important milestone.

The New Year is also a turn-ing point for the Village Voice, with Bob Wong stepping down as editor-in-chief and Russ Butcher stepping into his large shoes. You may wonder, “Is the Voice planning to make any ma-jor changes?” No, we are making only minor ones, which we think will make the paper easier to read and more attractive. We will be adding a new feature, “Bird of the Month,” highlighting the magnificent bird photography of OHCC resident Ray Spencer.

On a final note: We are searching for someone in our community who is knowledge-

By Timothy Lynch, Member of CERT We at Ocean Hills Country Club are

fortunate to have first responders, fire and police, that respond to our 911 calls within minutes to assist us with med-ical emergencies, fires, rescues and ac-cidents. This is what we have grown to expect. But have you ever serious-ly thought about what would happen if we had an area-wide natural or man-made disaster? Would we still get the same quick response? The answer, un-fortunately, is NO. We may not see pro-fessional first responders for up to 72 hours. The local first responders would most likely be overwhelmed by calls within minutes of the event. So where does this leave us? We will have to rely on each other for help in order to meet our immediate life-saving and life-sus-taining needs. CERT cont’d. on Page 3

The Village Voice is a publication of the OHCC Journalism Club

Fortunately, Ocean Hills Country Club has a Community Emergency Re-sponse Team (CERT) that is dedicated to helping with both disaster prepara-tion and disaster response.

OHCC CERT is affiliated with the Oceanside Fire Department CERT whose goals are readiness, people help-ing people, rescuer safety, and doing the greatest good for the greatest num-ber. CERT is a positive and realistic ap-proach to emergency and disaster situ-ations where residents would initially be on their own and where their own actions can make a real difference. Through training, CERT members can do the following: manage utilities, put out small fires, provide basic medical aid, and search for and rescue victims safely.

EDITORIAL cont’d. on Page 3

New members complete CERT courses.

2 Village Voice Newsletter • January 2014 Village Voice Newsletter • January 2014 3


EDITORIAL, cont’d. from Page 1

able about flowering plants/horticulture and would be able and willing to write a monthly column on a wide variety of gardening topics that could be helpful to those among us who enjoy gardening/patio landscaping. We are also seek-ing a volunteer staff member who could serve as our roving reporter who is able and willing to cover meetings such as those of the Master Board and the OHCC Landscape Com-mittee, and who could occasionally conduct one-on-one in-terviews. n

CERT, cont’d. from Page 1

The CERT concept was first developed and implement-ed by the Los Angeles City Fire Department (LAFD) in 1985. The Whittier Narrows earthquake in 1987 underscored the area-wide threat of a major disaster in California. Further, it confirmed the need for training civilians to meet their imme-diate needs.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recognizes the importance of preparing citizens. The Emer-gency Management Institute (EMI) and the National Fire Academy adopted and expanded the CERT program.

In the coming months, OHCC Community Emergency Response Team will prepare a series of articles for the Village Voice that will provide information on a variety of topics de-signed to help assist our community become prepared for any disaster that, of course, we all hope will never happen.

Part 2 of this series is scheduled for the February Village Voice.

(Tim is a retired Deputy Fire Chief from Bakersfield, Calif.) n

Our Thanks toBob Wong

For the last seven years, the Ocean Hills Village Voice has been under the capable editorship of Mr. Bob Wong — as well as serving as a member of its staff and board of direc-tors starting nearly a decade ago. Each month, he has gath-ered together the articles by our many writers and compiled the illustrations – a number of which have been his own photographs. In addition, Bob has written nearly all of the monthly editorials, as well as several articles — notably his humor-laced column, “The Crusty Curmudgeon.”

Several months ago, Bob gently suggested to the mem-bers of the Journalism Club’s board that it was time for him to turn over the reins of the Voice to a new editor-in-chief.

While Bob has now stepped down from the editorship, we are grateful that he has agreed to remain involved with the Voice. He will continue compiling the photos for each is-sue, writing his regular articles, and serving as a director on the board.

We are also grateful that Bob will continue giving back to our community in so many other ways: creating a number of exquisite floral arrangements for the Garden Club’s annual

January isNational Blood Donation Month!When was the last time you gave

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flower show; finding creative ornaments with which he and other Garden Club volunteers decorate the Clubhouse lob-by’s Christmas tree; creating the decorative table centerpiec-es for the Village Vets annual dinner-and-dance holiday par-ty in December; helping collect clothing for families, toys for children, kitchen-ware, and electronic equipment generous-ly donated by many OHCC residents for delivery to Camp Pendleton’s thrift shop; and preparing delicious cakes and pies for various organizational functions. For many years, Bob taught classes in Chinese Brush Painting.

Thank you, Bob, for all that you’ve accomplished over the years for Ocean Hills CC and for the Voice.

—The Board of Directors, Journalism Club n

The Voice’s NewEditor-in-Chief

The Journalism Club Board of Directors named Russ Butcher as the new editor-in-chief of its month-ly publication, the Village Voice.

Russ brings with him a de-cades-long background in writing and editing. He grew up in Wash-ington, D.C.; and came to love the out-of-doors – notably birdwatch-ing and hiking while vacationing in New Hampshire and Maine. In his teens, he attended Mill-brook School in New York State where he produced a small monthly newspaper, the Spruce Tree News; and in 1960, grad-uated from the University of Colorado, Boulder.

In 1961, Russ began his conservation career in San Fran-cisco as research editor for the Sierra Club’s exhibit-format book program, before moving to the Save-the-Redwoods League as public relations director. In the mid-’60s, he was a staff writer for the National Audubon Society in New York; and for 17 years, he wrote many New York Times editorials on a wide variety of land- and wildlife-conservation issues.

After serving as public relations director at the Muse-um of New Mexico in Santa Fe, Russ moved to Mount Des-ert Island, Maine, where he began authoring and illustrat-ing books — including his best-seller, Maine Paradise. Based in Arizona’s spectacular Cave Creek Canyon in the mid-‘70s, he wrote and illustrated a book on the scenic and ecological highlights of the desert regions of the American West.

From 1980 to 1993, Russ served as Pacific Southwest re-gional director for the nonprofit organization, Nation-al Parks and Conservation Association — covering the 50-plus national parks from west Texas to northern California. In that position, he also successfully negotiated with mining, power and timber companies to achieve win-win solutions for a number of environmental issues and conflicts. In the mid-’90s, he wrote a detailed guidebook to all of the USA’s national historical parks and sites. Russ’s most recent book,

Editor-in-ChiEf: Russ Butcher: [email protected] or 9-5 weekdays: 760-295-4679Photos: Bob Wong: [email protected] Coordinator: Jack Collar: 760-598-0580advErtising: Richard Travis: 760-724-4091ProduCtion: Sandra Powers: 760-579-9330

board of dirECtorsMary Jane Matthews, President

Marileen Johnson, Vice PresidentCharlotte Pichney, Secretary

Seymour Prell, TreasurerBob Wong, Director

Russ Butcher, Editor-in-ChiefContributing WritErs

Joe Ashby • Tom Brennan • Joan BuchholzRuss Butcher • Tom Fuller • Ellen Kippel

Ira M. Landis • Selma Leighton • Timothy LynchDebbie McCain • Dan Neilson • Beverly Nickerson

Charlotte Pichney • Peter Russell • Jack ShabelAndy Truban • Dora Truban • Bob Wong

advErtising info/dEadlinEsThe deadline for advertising in the Voice is the 1st of the month, for publication on the 15th. Advertising copy, accompanied by a check to the Journalism Club, must be in by the 1st of the month and sub-mitted to: Village Voice, 4716 Agora Way, Oceanside, CA 92056

Advertising E-mail: [email protected] information, call Richard Travis, 760-724-4091

Ad Rates: Full Page $145 (Add $75 for color)Half Page $85 (Add $50 for color)

Quarter Page $45 (Add $25 for color)Eighth Page $25 (Add $10 for color)

Mssion statEMEntWe stand for integrity and truthfulness in writing, all inclusive-

ness and professionalism, providing information and articles that are useful and innovative; and ever ready to listen and understand the views and needs of the community at large.PoliCY statEMEnt

The Village Voice is published monthly by the Ocean Hills Jour-nalism Club for the purpose of communicating information of inter-est and/or concern to the residents of Ocean Hills Country Club.

All costs are borne by the Journalism Club.We request submissions to The Village Voice be limited to 500

words and be received by the 21st day of each month. Distribution will be on or about the 15th day of each month. Please do not sub-mit materials that have been previously published in other sources.

Photographs may be submitted, with a note to have them returned if so desired.

Special events and functions of clubs will be considered for publicity.

The Village Voice reserves the right to decline submitted material that does not meet standards for accuracy and objectivity. Editori-als rcflcct the opinion and judgment of The Village Voice ’s editorial board. Letters to the Editor, and Commentary, are the opinions of the signers of the material and do not necessarily reflect the policies of The Village Voice and its publisher, the Journalism Club.

Advertising matter that appears in The Village Voice implies neither endorsement nor recommendation by the Ocean Hills Jour-nalism Club, publisher of The Village Voice.

The Voice reserves the right to edit all letters and commentary and submissions.

The Village Voice

Russ Butcher takes over the reigns at the Voice.


America’s National Wildlife Refuges: A Complete Guide, was published in 2003.

In 2009, he and his wife Karen moved from Tucson to Ocean Hills, where he has served as managing editor of the Voice for the past year. n

Postage Stamp Priceto Increase

The price to mail a first class letter will increase to 49¢, ef-fective January 26, 2014. To the average consumer, a 3¢ in-crease in the price of a Forever stamp may not have a ma-jor impact, but for those businesses that depend extensively on the U.S. Postal Service for mailings could suffer. For ex-ample, charities and bookstores competing with Amazon would feel the impact of the rise plus a 6 percent rise in bulk mail. Postcard stamps will cost a penny more to 34¢.

For the last fiscal year, the USPS lost $5 billion, an im-provement from a $15.6 billion loss in 2012. The post office has struggled for years as a result of growing internet usage – in addition to Congress’s requirement that the postal ser-vice set aside $5.6 billion in payments to cover future health care costs for retirees.

Buy now; stamps to go up January 26.

REVERSE MORTGAGE:• Allows Seniors 62+ old to draw upon the Equity in their homes providing income after retirement. • Many Seniors use it to meet unexpected medical expenses; Supplement Social Security; Make home improvements and more. Can be used to Purchase a New Home.

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REFINANCE:• Decrease monthly payments; Get cash out on your home equity.• Consolidate debt; Pay off your current mortgage sooner.

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What will the unintended consequences be? Will few-er people use “snail mail” in favor of the internet? Will the postal service require less help, thus forcing layoffs? Will greeting card companies go out of business? Only time will tell. Meanwhile, save a few cents. Buy your stamps now, be-fore the price increase goes into effect. n


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Update on Channel 12After several months plagued by a lack of signals on

Channel 12, Audio Visual Committee member Ron Carso delivered the filter in December to Cox that was needed to provide us with a clean High Definition Channel. Then the rest the interface hardware was bench-tested by software consultant Lowell Kay. The installation was completed by the first of the January when Apple delivered the first wave of Mac Pro. Snippets of our broadcast material was seen on our new channel (thought to be 867) when additional test-ing and installation took place. Scheduling should have been started by the date of this publication, subject to how rapid-ly our AVC learns how to load material into the system. n

Audio-Visual to TrainMembers of OHCC Clubs

Ed Farley, member of the OHCC Audio-Visual Commit-tee, has announced a program to train at least one member of each club how to provide any type of lighting or sound that their club may need for any of their events in Abrava-nel Hall. To accomplish this, A-V has greatly simplified how the light board is set up to make it very easy to use. Training sessions are scheduled the third Wednesday of each month

in Abravanel, from 3 to 6 p.m. Additional training sessions can be scheduled separately as desired.

If your club is interested in attending these A-V sessions, please contact Ed Farley, A-V chief at [email protected]. n

Ed Farley will conduct A/V sessions.

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760-270-4925SERVICES:

Kitchen: Clean countertops, stove top, sink, outside of oven and refrigerator, microwave outside and inside, trash emptied, and floor cleaned.

Bedrooms and Living Room: All areas dusted, vacuumed or moppedif applicable, mirrors cleaned, and trash emptied.

Bathrooms: Tub/sinks/tile/vanity top/left shining. Toilet and surrounding area well cleaned. Trash emptied, rugs removed and shaken, floors well cleaned.


At Your ServiceMany people on the outside consider residents of OHCC

a closed community, a community whose activities center around recreation, entertainment and parties.

Not so. Many of our clubs reach outside our Village for the benefit of rest homes, charities and veteran causes. This form of noble work is little known and the editors wish to acknowledge their kindness and generosity.

Ladies of the Sewing group contribute to friends, neighbors at out-side organizations.

The Sewing Club This group of ladies, headed by Kathy Moskovitz, pro-

vide knitted blankets for the Neo Natal facility at Tri-City. They make several dozen gorgeous covers a year and the new mothers more than welcome the gifts.

In storage are chemo-caps for those whose disease has caused hair loss. Word-of-mouth has spread beyond our gates and many friends and neighbors afflicted come for these caps.

Lucky children at the Carlsbad Lutheran Church re-ceive pajamas for Christmas. This year, the ladies have sewn about a dozen pairs and plan to increase the number next year.

You may have heard all about “Toys for Tots,” but have you ever heard of toys for animals. Yes, the Sewing Club has provided toys for dogs and cats at the Humane Society in Carlsbad. The club has not received any thank-you notes from the animals yet, but its members know they are appre-ciated.

Colorful pillows are a welcome sight for kids at Tri-City. They are a contrast to the stark-white ones provided at the hospital. They make a number of them each year and are a big hit with the patients.


The Ukelele GroupYou can hear the group’s ukulele musicians practicing

old familiar songs every Tuesday and Friday at the club-house. They play for various club gatherings during the year.

But instructor Larry Eaks, learned that students at O’Farrell Charter School in inner-city San Diego were form-ing a ukulele band, but not many could afford such an in-strument. Thirty percent of the students live in foster homes and all receive free lunch. The teachers stay after hours to keep the kids out of trouble and engaged in an activity to better themselves.

Larry sent out a call and soon Helen Nielsen, Fred Viz-caino, Larry Eaks, Wanda Guilano, Rosalie Naughton, Max Isaac and Bob Wong responded. Amazingly, some 20 ukele-les were donated. The Ukelele Club has been the most pop-ular after-school club leading students to connect with the school and as a result achieved the highest academic per-forming middle school in Southeast San Diego. With the price of each ukulele hovering around $100, each ukulele be-comes one of the most precious possessions each student can have. OHCC residents can be proud to have accomplished so much good to those who have so little.

(If there are any clubs or organizations that are providing services or products to outsiders, please inform the Village Voice. We would love to publicize your activities.) n

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featuresfeaturesWatching WildlifeBy Russ Butcher

Winter Wanderer of the ArcticThankfully we are enjoying one of our relatively benign

winters here in San Diego County. But just imagine the life-style of an animal that lives in the Arctic tundra of north-ern Alaska and Canada. Arctic foxes remain active all win-ter, as they hunt for food. Some of them wander hundreds of miles across vast treeless, snow-covered expanses of the North American mainland, Arctic islands and floating floes of sea ice.

This hardy dog-like mammal is one of North America’s half-dozen kinds of foxes. It is roughly the size of our own gray fox, measuring about 2.5 to 3.5 feet from its shiny black

Arctic fox blends with snow.

nose to the tip of its bushy tail. With the onset of winter, its coat is transformed. Summer’s grayish-brown fur turns white, camouflaging it to blend in with the snow-covered environment, and the fur thickens to provide extra insula-tion against the subzero cold. To further shield it from the frigid temperatures and fury of winter storms, its furry ears, muzzle and legs are shorter than other kinds of foxes, there-by reducing the loss of heat from its bodily extremities. Even the soles of its paws are protected with winter fur. When


temperatures plunge to 50 degrees or more below zero and gale-force winds blow, it seeks temporary refuge by burrow-ing into a sheltered snow bank or snow drift.

How do these winter nomads find food amid such chal-lenging conditions? Scientific research has shown that some foxes, traveling alone or in pairs, may cautiously follow po-lar bears or wolves, in anticipation of feasting on a partial-ly eaten seal or other prey that the bigger predators have left behind. Or the carcass of a walrus or beached whale may attract and feed a number of foxes for weeks. A signifi-cant part of the fox’s diet is the brown lemming, whose pop-ulation goes through boom-and-bust cycles every three or four years. When lemmings are abundant, the foxes thrive on these large-mouse-size rodents. But when their numbers crash, they must either hunt for harder-to-find sources of food or starve.

As for the Arctic foxes that are more homebodies than long-distance wanderers, the mating season runs from Feb-ruary to May. Prospective parents typically use part of an ex-isting, long-used hillside den where their 6 to 12 pups are born between April and July. The male provides food for his family. By early autumn, the fox pups begin their own wan-dering and hunting. And all too soon, Arctic winter returns with its darkness and bitter cold. And, yes, just thinking about the Arctic fox makes me even more grateful to be here in Ocean Hills. n

BridgeBy Dan Neilson

Your Bidding ObligationToo often a player will pass hoping partner will make an-

other bid. The bidding then dies short of a make-able game. Certain point counts obligate a player to push the bidding to a specific level. If the two hands hold 26 or more points, there is an obligation to reach game in a major suit or No Trump. With 23 points, a contract of two No Trump or three of a suit is obtainable and must be reached.

Let’s say you are responder and have the following hand: Axx xx KQxx Qxxx. A total of eleven points. If partner

opens on Heart, this hand should deduct a point for not hav-ing Heart support, but is still worth ten points. Ten points, plus partner’s opening thirteen, total 23 points and you are obligated to force the bidding to two No Trump. You cannot bid one No Trump hoping for another bid by partner. There-fore, you should make a bid of two clubs to force the bid-ding to two No Trump. If partner rebids their Hearts, you should carry-on to three Hearts as an invitation if they are at the top of their range.

The same reasoning holds for opener. If you have re-sponded one Spade or one No Trump to their opening one Heart bid and they hold Kx AQJxxx xxx AKx ; they must bid two No Trump. Their hand contains 17 points and your bid shows a minimum of six. Seventeen plus six equals the re-quired 23 points and a contract of two No Trump of three of an agreed sort must be reached.

When bidding, add the minimum points your partner can have to your count and force the bidding to the proper level. n

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The Original Pancake House435 S. Melrose Dr.,Vista , 760-758-3441Mon. – Sun. 7 a.m. – 3 p.m.

The Original Pancake House was opened in 1953 in Port-land, Oregon. Currently it is a chain of family-owned res-taurants with over 90 franchise locations from coast to coast. San Diego is home to four of them. The first opened in Ke-arny Mesa in 1979, now there are others in Vista, Encinitas and Poway. When thinking of The Pancake House, one im-mediately pictures their signature Baked Apple Pancake — a plate-sized single large pancake covered with sautéed ap-ples and cinnamon sugar. The menu offers a wide array of crepes, oven-baked omelets, French toast, waffles, and clas-sic and specialty pancakes. All of their pancake batters are made with a special sourdough starter that is grown in their

kitchen and based on a culture of pota-toes, flour and sugar.

It has been al-most ten years since I last ate here. Not much has changed except the pric-es have increased over the years. It was noon and we were in a breakfast mood so we picked the nearby Original Pancake House. The restaurant is sim-ply furnished and it was sparsely occu-pied. We were hand-ed menus as soon as we were seated. In-side it was a sepa-rate menu with a selection of seven standard sandwich-es such as a Classic BLT ($8-$10).

Before going in, we had decided on variations of plain egg dishes. I had over-easy eggs with a very small toasted English muffin and a container of grape preserves. Eggs sunny side up and scrambled were the oth-er order choices. The scrambled eggs came with unseasoned, plain fried potato slices. It took four tries before we were all served exactly what we ordered. Despite their menu stating they feature the finest fresh fruits of the season, they were completely out. We were told that due to a delayed deliv-ery by the distributor there was no fruit to be had. I will say that my over-easy eggs were perfectly prepared with bright yellow, runny yolks. The kitchen gifted me with one extra

Scrambled eggs and fried potatoes

Eggs sunny side up and Englishmuffin.


egg because of the difficulty in getting my or-der correct. The scrambled eggs were made from real eggs, moist and soft cooked. All of our egg dishes were sat-isfactory.

I cannot at-test to their other specialties that all sound so delicious on the menu. Such as the Tahitian Maiden’s Dream Crepe, made with bananas, sliced in sour cream, topped with diced bananas in apricot puree, and served in a China boat. Om-elets are served with three buttermilk pancakes or toast. The mushroom omelet is topped with homemade mushroom sherry sauce, rolled in a skillet and oven baked (allow 20 minutes). Meat choices are ham, smokehouse bacon, corned beef hash, Canadian style bacon or sausage.

The Original Pancake House’s large menu has so many variations on classic dishes one of which will surely please your palate. n

Health, Exercise and YouBy Andy Truban

Twelve Workouts That WillHelp Arthritic Pain

When your joints hurt, you are probably not eager to ex-ercise even though you have heard that you should. Exer-cise keeps joints loose and flexible and promises pain relief for a host of conditions, including osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis and fibromyalgia. The following are low-impact, joint- friendly exercises for shaping up:

1. Waist-deep Water Walking: lessens impact on joints by 50 percent versus similar walks on land. Take a class with an instructor who can teach you proper form.

2. Chest-deep Water aerobics: involving the body’s up-per, lower and midsection, will lessen the joint’s weight im-pact by 75 percent.

3. swimming: an endurance building exercise that works on all muscle groups. To minimize injury risk, learn to swim properly.

4. bocce ball: get moving with this calorie-burning social activity that helps you forget your pain. Be cautious on how you hold and toss the ball, since it might aggravate arthritic

Front of restaurant.


hands, wrists, shoulders or elbows.5. golf: works on your upper back, legs, shoulders and

wrists. Some heart-healthy exercise will be achieved by us-ing a wheeled cart instead of a motorized one. Also, wear soft-spiked shoes and use a light-weight club.

6. Shuffleboard: requires a person to push forward with the legs as well as pushing the cue and puck by using the arms. Wear comfortable non-stick shoes. Caution: remember that hard pushes could aggravate arthritic shoulders or el-bows.

7. treadmill Walking: a strength-building exercise where you select the speed at your own pace. Later on, you can in-crease the workout speed as you grow stronger, and might add the “simulated hill climbing” function. However, in the beginning start by walking slowly for approximately ten to fifteen minutes a week.

8. Walking outdoors: strengthens muscles and helps re-lieve arthritic pains. Take advantage of the stress reducing benefits the outdoors provides. If possible, stick to smooth dirt trails in order not to aggravate arthritic legs.

9. Cycling: indoors or outdoors works all the mus-cles in your lower body even your feet. If you ride outside, use padded gloves and avoid handlebars that cause you to hunch over the bike.

10. Elliptical Machine: will lessen the strain on your lower body, since the machine does part of the work, thus enabling your joints to go through a fluid circular motion. During the first few weeks, begin your workout at the low-est slope and resistance setting for ten minute sessions. Lat-er, increase exercising time by five to ten minutes a week. Caution: If you have balance or coordination problems, this might not be the machine for you.

11.Yoga: will improve flexibility and muscle strength. Se-lect a slow-paced class that emphasizes proper form. Use a chair, if you suffer from severe arthritis.

12.tai Chi: Improves balance, reduces stress and arthrit-ic pain. However, Tai Chi might not be best for people with severe arthritis or balance issues. Exercise caution while per-forming Tai Chi while standing.

(Reference: Arthritis Today, 2013, by Catherine Winters.) n

I Love A MysteryBy Ira M. Landis

I did something unusual recently by reading two of Stu-art Woods’ books, Doing Hard Time and Unintended Conse-quences, at the same time. I carried one with me when I went


for physical therapy and kept the other for my night-time reading. This really wasn’t too difficult because many of the characters are recurring “regulars” and the locations are so familiar: Bel Air, Santa Monica, Century City, Las Vegas in Doing Hard Time.

Unintended Consequences has a European setting, with very peculiar circumstances introducing readers to the antics of billionaires and the ultra-wealthy.

For escapists from the real world, Stone Barrington is ev-ery man’s fantasy: wealthy, handsome, his own private jet, beautiful, smart women constantly seeking his company, an attorney of counsel with a major law firm, a director on many important corporate boards including a major Holly-wood studio and a Bel Air hotel, a former police officer with a wide circle of friends, an ongoing relationship with the CIA and its key officials. What more could anyone want?

Stone’s son and his friends play an integral role in Do-ing Hard Time. They are driving to Hollywood to develop a movie they have written and will star in and, unbeknownst to them, are the targets of villains from Stone’s past. They are protected by an unpredictable source, a recurring char-acter whom Stone and his CIA friends have repeatedly en-countered in the past.

If you are interested in fine-dining gourmet experienc-es, Woods will make you envious of his characters’ dining extravaganzas. I hope I have whet your appetite enough to

give you a brief taste of what to expect in the ambiance cre-ated for the world of Stone Barrington without giving away too much of the plots.

*** Another totally unusual experience I would like to share

with you this month is Inherit the Dead, a mystery authored by twenty bestselling writers to support and benefit Safe

Horizon, the leading victim assistance agency in the country. Linda Fairstein, a crime novelist and board member of

Safe Horizon, was a driving force in this new fund-raising activity. She was a prosecutor in New York for thirty years.

Perry Christo is a PI (private investigator) with a past. As a former cop he lost his badge and family when a corruption scandal left him broke and disgraced. When a wealthy so-cialite living on the Upper East Side calls him one cold night, he takes on what appears to be a straightforward and lucra-tive case. She is looking for her beautiful daughter, Angelina, who is about to become a very wealthy young woman. But as Christo digs deeper, he discovers there’s much more to the lovely “Angel” than meets the eye. Her father, her boy-friends, and her best friend all have agendas of their own. He soon realizes that Angel may be in grave danger.

This classic noir story takes twists and turns down New York’s dark streets and along The Hamptons’ beaches and back roads during a bitterly cold winter where nothing is as


it seems and everyone has something to hide.The fact that the twenty authors each wrote a separate

chapter was not in the least bit diverting. The plot proceeds seamlessly. n

The Street Where You Live: Agora WayBy Dora Truban

The word Agora designates the famous central public as-sembly areas created in ancient Greek cities. There, free-born male citizens gathered to listen to civic announcements, and discuss politics and military news.

Democracy — the world’s most elusive and cherished goal — was born in Athens’ Agora. The great philosopher Socrates attracted crowds of youths eager to hear him in-quire from the Agora’s participants their understanding of the meaning of life. A young poet Aristocles renamed himself Plato after listening to Socrates. Plato eventual-ly changed Western philosophy and became Alexander the Great’s tutor.

Later, the innovative Agora allowed merchants and tradesmen to open their shops. A market place was creat-ed for fishmongers, vintners, confectioners’ pastries, cloth merchants, jewelry purveyors, dress makers, etc. A separate “potters market” was also reserved for women and their slaves for selling and purchasing cookware.

A warm salute to historical Agora and our great OHCC’s neighbors. n

Agora in Athens, Greece, became a popular shopping mall

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CambridgeRestaurant & Bar1280 E. Vista Way, Vista, CA 92084(760) 724-7242

The portion of the fish was very gener-ous, but the soggy bat-ter on the fish could have been crispier. Having been told this, the wait person brought out a piece that met his expecta-tions.

Cambridge, like its predecessor, is strictly a neighbor-hood restaurant. By retaining the policy of well-prepared food at reasonable prices (entrees are priced mostly under $17 and beef roasts and steaks, around $20, it should con-tinue the tradition established by John’s. The restaurant is concealed behind O’Reilly’s Auto Part Store and is more ac-cessible through the entrance on Bobier Drive. Parking is ad-equate and opening hours are Monday thru Thursday 4 to 11 p.m. and Friday thru Sunday 10 a.m. to 11 p.m. n

Maybe Cambridge Restaurant should have been named “John’s, res-urrected.” The place is the same; the noisy bar is the same and the staff is the same. So what’s different? Well, the menu prices have been jacked up a little and a few new items have been added. But just about everything else is the same in-cluding their daily specials which at $10.99 is a remarkable bargain.

Three of us went last Monday at 5 p.m. expecting to dine quietly, but surprisingly, there were already about a half-

dozen tables al-ready occupied. Judging from the noise ema-nating from the adjoining bar, there must have been a high level of activity there. Nevertheless, we were seated at the quiet bal-cony. The tables were nicely set

with white starched linen tablecloths and napkins, a step up from what was there before.

Each of us ordered a different item off the menu: cala-mari steak, fish & chips and roasted chicken. All dinners came with soup or salad, warm bread knots, potatoes and vegetables. Our guest thought she could detect anchovies in her Caesar Salad, something that won her over complete-ly. Her dinner arrived with a half of an entire chicken nicely roasted with touches of sprinkled herbs. No human on earth could possibly consume that much at one meal so her dinner came logically with a doggie box.

I had the calamari steak accompanied with the same plating as the chicken: half a broiled tomato, broccoli, carrots and mashed potatoes crowned with a potato chip. Unfortu-nately, the tasty steak was submerged under a ragout con-sisting of onions, tomatoes, garlic, capers and intensely salty Greek olives that dominated the entire dish. Too bad, I love calamari for its taste and texture alone and doesn’t require additional embellishments for improvement.

Fred had the Monday night’s special: Fish and Chips.

Half a roasted chicken; enough for several people.

A popular dish: fish & chips.

Same layout as before.


My Travel ReflectionsBy Joe Ashby

Saudi ArabiaWe passed the city of Tabuk and arrived at Bin Assi

Horsing Center, operated by a Bedouin tribe. This is where they train horsemanship, including the riding of camels as well as sleek Arabian horses. The moment we exited our bus, we entered another world. Bedouin men on horses and camels in front of open-faced tents lined with carpets and the vast desert sands behind them made it a perfect scenario for our cameras.

The men and their camels were well attired, as the lead-er invited us into their tents to share a dinner of roasted lamb, rice and fruit accompanied with hot Pepsi Cola. They showed us how to eat with our hands, but many preferred KFC boxed meals.

In a separate tent, two women were busy baking bread and a couple of others were weaving colorful wool into fab-ric. Of course, they did not miss the opportunity to invite us into their “antique store” that was devoted to a handful of locally crafted souvenirs.

Outside, a few boys no more than 5 years old were sit-ting astride their fathers on camels with the same white shirts and bandoliers. Other older boys were wrestling with a white donkey that didn’t like the idea of being broken. Over an open fire, a man was stirring and roasting coffee beans and asked me to lend a hand, to which I complied.

After lunch, we were offered the opportunity to ride the camels. Some did. Then young men raced back and forth on horseback, pulling a sword from the desert sand. It was quite a show with these friendly Bedouin. Tariq, our guide, said we were the fifth group to enter Saudi Arabia and there were 68 more groups due in the following six months. They put on the show at a rate of three a week. And as the sun set beyond the hills and the desert, we took leave. It was one of the best days of our visit.

Bedouin elders form a welcoming committee.

Boys learn to ride at a young age.

St. Catherine’s Monastery dates back to the 4th Century A.D.

The next day, our tour included a visit to St. Cathe-rine’s Monastery located at the base of Mount Sinai. The area is controlled by the monks. It was here where Moses helped Sarah, the daughter of Jethro, at the well. Other Bib-lical events occurred here: the burning bush, Moses receiv-ing the tablets from God with the ten commandments and his striking the gold calf image into the rocks. This was a sa-cred spot even before St. Helena, mother of Emperor Con-stantine, named it as such, built the first chapel here and de-clared Christianity to be the official religion of the Byzantine Empire. Catherine was a young woman converted to Chris-tianity by St. Basil. Her father became upset and secured the services of 11 philosophers to remedy the situation. But these philosophers themselves became believers and con-verted. Catherine and the philosophers were all killed, but 300 years later, her body was found perfectly preserved. The new church, built by Emperor Justinian, was named in her honor, though she had never been here in her life. n


Out & About inSan Diego CountyBy Jack Shabel

Balboa Park is a real treasure in San Diego. One of the many museums located in the park is the San Diego Air & Space Museum. With the well-established ties between San Diego and the avia-tion industry, it stands to reason that this museum would be something special, and it doesn’t disap-point. This is evident when you first enter and im-mediately see a full-scale replica of the Spirit of St. Louis — the original of which was built in San Di-ego — along with a life-size figure of Charles Lind-bergh that welcomes you to the museum with a handshake.

The displays cover the history of aviation, from the earliest forays into manned flight to the space age. As I have always been fascinated with the space pro-gram and would love to have been an astronaut, I really en-joyed seeing one of the actual Apollo 9 space capsules.

The museum structure was originally one of three Ford buildings and the center atrium of the museum contains a Ford Tri-Motor hanging from the ceiling, along with a Cata-lina flying boat and two beautiful Ford motor cars. In addi-

tion to the planes and support vehicles, there is a 3D theatre featuring three different animated experiences, complete with moving seats and enough thrills to satisfy the adrenalin junky in most of us.

There is a section that traces the history of PSA (Pacific Southwest Airlines), including an exhibit showing the vari-ous stewardess uniforms throughout PSA’s history.

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There is a Kid’s Aviation Action Hanger for the younger generation, including motion simulators, if you want to try to fly a simulator and would like the thrill of flying at every possible angle – including upside down.

When you enter the museum, they will offer to take your picture in front of a green screen. What they do with the background is a lot of fun. My wife and I are shown stand-ing on the surface of the moon, with the Earth in the back-ground. There wasn’t a lot of pressure to buy the picture, so don’t be afraid to let them take a couple of shots.

A nice gift shop offers just about anything with an avi-ation theme that you might want. The museum’s entrance fee is $18 for adults, $15 for seniors/students/retired mili-tary with ID, $7 for youth (3-11 years), and children (2 and under) and active duty military are free. If you decide to have a go in the flight simulator, it costs an additional $8. The museum is open seven days a week, and is closed only on Thanksgiving and Christmas. The address of the muse-um is 2001 Pan American Plaza, San Diego, CA 92101; the phone is 619-234-8291. The website for the San Diego Air & Space Museum is www.sandiegoairandspace.org. Next time you are in Balboa Park, give the Air & Space Museum a try. I don’t think you will be disappointed! n

Scam AlertBy Ira M. Landis

I received the following interesting note from a friend:“I dialed ‘0’ to check this out, and the operator confirmed

that this was correct, so please pass it on. (I also checked out snopes.com and truthorfiction.com. This is true, and also ap-plies to cell phones!)

“I received a telephone call last evening from an indi-vidual identifying himself as an AT&T Service Technician (could also be Telus) who said he was conducting a test on the telephone lines. He stated that to complete the test I should touch nine (9), zero (0), the pound sign (#), and then hang up. Luckily, I was suspicious and refused to do so.

“Upon contacting the telephone company, I was in-

formed that by pushing 90#, you give the requesting indi-vidual full access to your telephone line, which enables them to place long distance calls billed to your home phone num-ber. I was further informed that this scam has been originat-ing from many local jails/prisons. DO NOT press 90# for ANYONE!

“The GTE Security Department requested that I share this information with everyone I know. After checking with Verizon they also said it was true; so, do not dial 90# for anyone! PLEASE PASS THIS ON TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW!”

***After the recent very bad storms that ripped through the

East Coast on very heavy travel days, one might think that buying travel insurance for holiday season travel would be a slam dunk decision. However, the National Consumers League recently concluded that travel insurance is often a bad deal because most policies are full of exceptions that al-low insurance companies to deny requests for payoffs. They won’t disclose their track record for paying claims, making it nearly impossible to judge whether the insurance is worth the money.

The unfortunate reality is that these protection policies bring in big bucks for the airlines each year but offer very lit-tle real value for customers. The most common exceptions


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used by insurance companies to reject claims are illnesses in-volving a preexisting medical condition, pregnancy or child-birth, losing a job or having a business meeting cancelled. Some policies won’t payout even if your trip is cancelled be-cause of nuclear contamination or terrorist attacks. Policies that are rife with exceptions are usually less expensive than more comprehensive policies with fewer exceptions.

The bottom line is to read the policy coverage yourself and personally determine the risks you are willing to accept. I always make sure that I am covered for medical emergen-cies. n

Cooking With BeverlyBy Beverly Nickerson

Beverly’s FavoriteCorn Bread

If you are looking for a California Corn Bread like Marie Callender’s, this is not the recipe for you. Mine is less sweet and has real cornbread texture. I de-veloped this recipe over a number of years and it has a crisp-

er crust and a flavor with “tang.” I think it is a perfect ac-companiment for winter soups.

1 1/3 cups all-purpose flour2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon salt½ teaspoon baking soda3 tablespoons sugar1 1/3 cups yellow cornmeal (e.g.”Albers”)2 lg. or x-lg. eggs1 2/3 cups Knudson’s Buttermilk (Do not substitute).1 stick butter, melt in microwave.special Equipment: True* 9 x 9 square aluminum bak-

ing pan or normal size (3 inches across top) muffin pans, grease heavily on the bottom with shortening or margarine. (*A ”true” baking pan is one that has the same measure-ment inside the top as inside the bottom. Most “department store” pans are slanted and one inch smaller across the bot-tom. “True” pans can be purchased online from Parrish Co. in Gardena, CA. If you are using a department store pan, the mixture will be higher in the pan and probably take longer to bake.)

temperature: 400° for cornbread in square pan, or 375° for muffins.

Yield: 9 to 12 pieces in square pan or 14 muffins.Sift together into a large bowl the flour, baking powder,

salt, soda and sugar. Mix well. Add cornmeal and whisk. In a medium bowl whisk the eggs, add buttermilk and

whisk again. Pour this mixture all at once into the flour bowl, add the melted butter and just barely combine the in-gredients with a rubber spatula.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan or muffin tins and bake on the center rack or stagger the muffin pans over two oven racks in a preheated oven. Bake 30 minutes un-til deep golden on top for cornbread and 20-25 for muffins. Serve at once while hot or keep bread covered with foil at room temperature for 24 hours. Place cooled muffins in zip-lock bags for overnight storage on counter. Leftovers of ei-ther may be frozen; defrost before reheating. n


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Senior Driving Tips

Seniors More Susceptible to Injuries in Auto Accidents

According to David Strickland, administrator of the Na-tional Highway Traffic Safety Agency, drivers over 65 are more likely to suffer serious injuries than younger drivers in auto collisions. This occurs even in low-severity crash-es. Strickland revealed that an 85-year-old driver is 1.7 times more likely to suffer moderate or severe injuries as com-pared with drivers between 35 and 54. Surprisingly, data also shows that if a front-seat 85-year-old passenger is in-volved in an accident, he or she is five times more likely to get injured. He concludes that older people are still at a dis-advantage compared to younger people when it comes to tolerating injury. “Aging results in increased fragility and frailty.”

During the past decade, the population over 65 increased 20 percent. And during the same period, older license hold-ers grew about the same amount indicating there are some 35 million licensed older drivers. In the past year, there were 214,000 older drivers injured, a 16 percent increase from the year before.

The Traffic Safety Agency plans to explore new research on technology that could help drivers avoid collisions and improve the system for identifying dangerous drivers.

(Data from the NHTSA, Dec. 2013.) n

Shopping AroundBy the Phantom Shopper

DashcamHave you ever

wished you had a cam-era to record an acci-dent or a “perpetrat-ed accident” while you were driving. The Dash-cam placed on your dashboard will record up to 16 hours of ac-tivity. The camera is equipped with a 140º-angle lens and a 2.5-inch video screen. It is activated with a motion-sensor detector and powered by a cigarette car lighter plug or battery. It’s available at Am-azon and priced from $79 to around $100.

Dashcam can record up to 16 hours of activity.


New Camera in TownFor those who have more money than sense, there

is a new camera from Leica. It’s a digital single-lens re-flex (DSLR) camera that promises to function all the pre-cise needs of a professional photographer. Advertised in the Samy Cameras ad, it boasts that Samy will pay the tax and you pay the rest: $21,950. Oh yes, the lens is not included.

Advanced publicityThere is nothing like a year or two of advanced hype to

whet your appetite for a new Ford Mustang car. Yes, being promoted now is a latest design for a Mustang not available for another year but the ads apparently are to ward off any-one planning to buy a BMW or Porsche. n

The Crusty CurmudgeonBy Bob Wong

After-Christmas Clean UpI liked Scrooge. He didn’t have to

decorate his shop or hang holly around his house. He never had to decide how to decorate a Christmas tree for he had none. All he had to do was to hang out his window and have some kid buy a turkey for the Cratchets. Bah, humbug nothing, I like him.

Now it’s after Christmas and we’re still undoing the out-side blinking lights. The tree has been undecorated although it may take me another couple of weeks to dismantle the tree itself and pack it away for another 10 months. All the crèch-es have been stored and there are some 19 of them around the house including three in the kitchen complete with can-dles that are lit anytime I attempt to help with the cooking. Candles, if you are not aware, send messages to the kitch-en heaven to ensure that the resulting meal will be edible. It helps most of the time.

But the worse part of the clean-up is to clear the Christ-

mas cards from a pile. It’s the time of year my wife groans and moans over our neglect for not having responded to a Christmas card sender when we failed to be a Christmas card sendee. Undoubtedly, we will now be on their black list. As far as I’m concerned, we don’t have to respond to ev-ery distant relative or acquaintance we briefly know but will probably never see during the remainder of our lives. We should just give them a telephone call and tell them we are still among the living. It’s cheaper than sending them a $1.00 card plus a 46-cent postage stamp.

Then there is the letter form from our relatives describ-ing the grand achievements of their children. “Then John-ny, who is only six years old this year, won the best-student award in his music class playing the tambourine. And you remember sweet Josephine. She’s 12 now and she is so good at school and at home, she has her eyes on Harvard. Har-vard is our dog.”

Somehow it’s difficult to know how to respond to such trifle. I hate being sarcastic but I enjoy sending them a re-sponse describing the award I received when I graduated Summa Cum Laude from the sixth grade at grammar school. The blue ribbon is a bit faded, but it hangs proudly in the bathroom. And I’m still waiting for my Phi Beta Key for my spelling achievements at my middle school. But you know how slow the mail is nowadays. n

The Golf GameBy Peter Russell

The Marines have it right! Although SEMPER FIDELIS actually means “always faithful,” or “always loyal,” it can also infer “don’t give up the fight,” in civilian vernacular, or many other equally true American sentiments. I recently found out that it may also be applied to a bad round of golf!

I recently received an early morning call from a good friend to fill in for him at a course that he had planned to play with three other golf buddies. I didn’t hesitate a mo-ment as I had never played the Carmel Mountain Ranch course before and had heard from many friends how beau-tiful this course is. So true, as it turned out. Our foursome


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agreed on an often used format to make it an “interesting” game; a 6-6-6 game where the 1st six holes are played as a CART team, the next six holes by an OPPOSITE team (mean-ing the cart drivers play with the other cart rider), then the last six as DRIVERS (the two drivers make up one two man team and the riders make up the other team). Interesting and it changes the dynamic several times during the round.

I have been playing quite well recently and felt especially ready to take on this new challenge. Suffice it to say it didn’t start out that way, and only got worse as time went on. I was embarrassed with my performance even though it was my first round at this very challenging venue. It wasn’t pret-ty and I started berating myself (quietly!) for my inability to overcome my play. But I did keep a smile on my face; after all, as they say, “any day on a golf course is better than . . . .” You fill in the blanks. It almost came to the point that I was ready to turn in my brand new irons (which I was given by my lovely wife for Christmas; thank you darling!) for a ten-nis racquet, or some other sport instrument.

And then on Christmas Day, 2013 I awoke with an epiph-any, ergo to the Semper Fi attribute! Instead of beating my-self up, from the start I should have been focusing on the what and why of things and being more assertive with each stroke. Assertive in this case may have meant a lay-up in-

stead of a long drive, or a different approach shot than going for the green all the time.

On reflection, it was a great golf day with friends, at a re-ally nice course with water hazards and greens out of sight over the hills, but fortunately with two guys who knew the course. That always helps. The moral of my story is that the next time you find yourself playing like a 100+ golf-er and want to shoot yourself in the foot, just get out your wallet, pay the piper and enjoy the outing for what it is. A real Southern California walk on some of the most beautiful places on earth – a golf course in SoCal in December!

It can’t get any better than that, can it? n

A walk on the golf course in winter can’t get better than this.


Bird of the Month

GreatHorned Owl

The mainly noc-turnal Great Horned Owl is more often heard than seen here in Ocean Hills. Its call is a series of several deep-ly resonating hoots of varying lengths, such as hooo hoo-hoo hooo hooo. If you hear a pair calling back and forth to each other, the male’s hooting is lower pitched than is the fe-

male’s. This species measures roughly two feet in length and a wingspread of more than four feet. Atop this owl’s large head is a pair of prominent, widely spaced ear tufts. Plum-age is dark-brown mixed with gray across the back, with

narrow brown banding beneath, a rusty-orange face and in-tense yellow eyes. This bird of prey feeds on rabbits, rodents and smaller birds. The great horned is a resident of wood-ed habitats from coast-to-coast, from North America’s north-ern extent of trees all the way to the southern end of South America. n

The Real Estate CornerBy Tom Brennan

(Tom has been involved in all aspects of real estate for more than 40 years, both as a lawyer and as a realtor.)

Residential EscrowOne of the most essential functions

involved in a residential sales transaction is that played by the escrow holder. It is important that the parties to the transaction (normally, the buyer, seller and lender) mutually select a licensed, independent escrow company, whose sole business is providing escrow services. Choosing the escrow company is similar to choosing any professional – get sever-al referrals from trusted and experienced sources, then com-

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pare costs, services and conveniences. Typically, the buyer and seller cause the initial escrow in-

structions to be drafted and delivered to the escrow holder. It should be noted that the standard California Residential Purchase Agreement (RPA) contains joint escrow instruc-tions which instructions are customarily supplemented by the escrow holder.

Since a residential purchase involves significant amounts of money and considerable documentation, the escrow pro-cess is constantly in flux requiring substantial preparation, attention to detail, creative problem solving and frequent communications. It is not unusual for the escrow instruc-tions to be amended, modified or supplemented multiple times during the escrow period. Such changes are normally in writing and signed by all of the affected parties.

The escrow officer opens escrow by assigning the trans-action an escrow account number and depositing the execut-ed RPA, the joint escrow instructions and the buyers earnest money deposit into escrow. Monetary deposits are ultimate-ly applied to the purchase price and/or approved vendor costs or, upon appropriate cancellation of the transaction, re-turned to the depositor (less any cancellation fee owed to the escrow holder).

The escrow officer is required to perform, among other things, the following:

• follow the instructions of the parties in a timely man-ner;

• handle the funds and/or documents in accordance with the instructions;

• pay all bills as authorized;• respond to authorized requests from the parties;• close the transaction only when all the terms and con-

ditions have been met or mutually waived; • distribute the funds per the instructions; and• provide an accounting for all distributions and pay-

ments (a Settlement Statement).It is imperative that each party read and fully understand

the escrow instructions and the role of the escrow officer. It should be noted that the escrow officer is not functioning as

an attorney, broker or accountant. Accordingly, questions re-garding the application of tax laws, price of the property, zoning regulations, title issues, etc., should be referred to the appropriate professional and not the escrow officer.

The parties can facilitate closing of the transaction by promptly and accurately responding to any requests by the escrow officer. Finally, it is important to review the prelimi-nary settlement statement provided to the parties by the es-crow officer prior to closing in order to ensure proper alloca-tion of funds. If there are any questions, immediately notify the escrow officer for an explanation and be sure to retain your final Settlement Statement for tax purposes. n

The Movie SceneBy Joan Buchholz

The Book Thief“Tis the season when all the adult movies appear all at

once. It’s difficult to choose what to see and what to miss; I can’t see them all. But it seems The Book Thief was one I shouldn’t miss.

The film takes place in Nazi Germany in 1938 and cen-ters around Liesel (Sophie Nelisse), a 13-year-old heroine who is on the run with her fugitive mother and little broth-


er who dies early in the movie. Mother disappears later and Liesel is taken in by a good-hearted provincial couple, Hans (Geoffrey Rush) and his wife Rosa (Emily Watson). Liesel is belittled by her schoolmates for being illiterate, but her spunky attitude makes her an adept reader and soon she is taking books from the local library. She suddenly shares her passion with Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jewish boy her same age who is being hidden in the basement of the couple’s basement. The Nazis of course hate books and commence to burn piles of books in the town square.

The movie continues with the Nazis harassing the Jews with a background of Heaven Street (the main drag) and the sounds from John William’s score. Yes, the bombs fall and death is everywhere, but Liesel appears to overcome tragedy because of her spunky attitude. There is good acting, partic-ularly by Geoffrey Rush whom I get to love. The film is seri-ous and often sad but there is a ray of sunshine. I give it 3 ½ smiles out of four.

12 Years A SlaveBased on a true event, 12 Years A Slave tells of a black

man (Chiwetel Ejiofor) who is lured from his home and fam-ily by a pair of traveling showmen in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., in 1841 with a promise of easy money playing the violin.

He is drugged, however, and sold to slavers in Wash-ington, D.C. Any attempt to reveal his true identity results in beatings. His first master, Ford, despite the fact he was a Christian man, nevertheless believed he had a right to sub-ject another to slavery. His second master was Epps, a drunk and psychopath who looked upon a black man not as a hu-man being, but rather as a dog.

Director Steve McQueen gives extra emphasis to his ac-tors through extreme close-ups. I felt claustrophobic in many of the scenes and wished the film would get on with the sto-ry. Some might suggest that this film is overkill, but I think it reveals slavery as tortuous and inhuman. I give it three smiles out of four. n

Kippel’s Pet CornerBy Ellen Kippel

Dangers of Retractable Leashes As you all know, both San Diego County and our own

OHCC Handbook of Rules and Regulations require that your dog be on a leash not to exceed six feet when in public places (except for designated off-leash areas). Before using a retractable leash, please make certain you’ve got one that’s


strong enough to handle your dog. Dogs that have a tenden-cy to bolt or take off running after perceived prey should never be restrained with a retractable leash. Aside from those dangers, there are other things to keep in mind when using one of these popular leashes.

The following are things that you need to watch out for when using retractable leashes:

• Prickling leash burns. Retractable leashes, especially the thin string variety, can very easily cause leash burns.

• Entanglement or strangulation. Retractable leashes can also get twisted around a dog’s neck or legs. Worse, if your pooch panics and jerks the moment it gets hog-tied, it could cause the leash to pull even tighter.

• Fatal accidents. There are times when our dogs dart away all of a sudden, and with a retractable leash on him, your dog might dart even farther, faster. Nevertheless, it’s the reeling that’s a serious issue here. It is possible that Fido may spot a squirrel or anything interesting across the street, and suddenly take off after it. If you’re not alert enough, his abrupt behavior and an un-sturdy retractable leash could put him smack on the road, right in front of a speeding car.

• The leash drops. Because these leashes rarely have a wrist strap and are sometimes heavy and bulky, dropping them is a regular occurrence. What’s worse, if you drop the handle, the lack of tension can send the heavy handle hur-dling toward your dog. Not only could the heavy leash han-dle smack your dog in the head, if your dog is spooked by the leash-handle zipping deafeningly toward him, he may take off running.

• The cord is grabbed. If you grab the cord/tape while it is being pulled from the handle, you might suffer from im-mediate injury like cuts, burns, and worse – severed or in-jured fingers.

• The cord wraps around you. Poor handling can also cause the cord/tape to twist around you or someone else’s fingers resulting in deep wounds, or worse, amputation.

• The collar breaks or comes off your dog. The moment this occurs, the leash could retract at top speed while the other end of the line whips around at the same full momen-tum leading to serious injuries to face, teeth, and eyes.

We have had some serious accidents in the village caused by the retractable leashes. Let’s all stick with a six-foot nylon or leather leash that allows you to easily control your dog. This will keep you and your pet safe and also protect other people around you from potential dangers as well. n

Re: Editorial, December 2013Village residents who insist it is their constitutional right

to display political posters on their front lawns are opening a can of worms.

Would it then be acceptable for supporters of residents who are candidates for the OHCC Master Board, a village board, hospital board, school board or any other board to do the same?

Displaying posters on front lawns for any reason is not the image most OHCC residents want to project, especially when potential home buyers are on the premises.

Volunteering to work for the campaign of a candidate of your choice in some area of your special interest is a less intrusive and more supportive way to express freedom of speech.

— Bunny Landis

Deadline for article submissions is the 21st of the month for the

next month’s issue.Send articles to:

[email protected]


Village Vets MeetingOur guest speaker at our January meeting will be SGT-

MAJ Mike “Iron Mike” Mervosh, USMC (Ret). In combat, he served at every enlisted rank with infantry units –Private to Sergeant Major. He was on Iwo Jima and has many firsthand accounts of that battle and was promoted to Company Com-mander on the island. The meeting will be on Thursday, Jan. 23, 2014, at 3 p.m., in Abravanel Hall.

On Thursday, March 27, 2014, we will have a guided tour at March Air Force Base where we will get an up-close look at Predator military aircraft. We will then continue on to the Air Museum — home to over 70 historic aircraft. Lunch is included. The cost is $70 all inclusive and Veteran Club members will have priority until January 24th. Guests are an additional $5. Please place your checks, payable to the Trav-el Club in the Travel Club Envelope at the front desk of the clubhouse, indicating your sandwich choice (turkey, ham, roast beef or chicken). n

announcements

City of Hope sponsors another gala event.

City of HopeThe Ocean Hills community is invited to attend a gala

evening, Saturday, February 1, 2014, at “Kovin’s Kasino of Hope,” in Abravanel Hall. During the evening, you will have gambling, delicious appetizers, desserts, wine, soft drinks and prizes galore! Last year, we had a full house. Those in attendance participated in a Live Auction, Raffles, Black Jack, Roulette, and Poker. This time we’re having even bigger and better prizes. If you don’t know how to play, the professional dealers will help you. This year we are adding BINGO!


Are Computers a Big,Fat Mystery?

Do your grandchildren know way more about comput-ers than you do? Perhaps it’s time to shake hands with a computer and get acquainted.

Your Ocean Hills Computer Club is sponsor-ing free comput-er classes. We start with the very ba-sics. Class is held in the Club House, using computers in our own Computer Room. Just bring yourself; you don’t need to own a computer. Classes will be taught by a patient and knowledgeable instructor.

Have fun with mouse skills, keyboarding, computer games, digital photos, surfing the wonderful world wide web (WWW). Learn to communicate using e-mail and Sky-pe. Using computers helps maintain mental alertness!

Call Jerry at 760-712-7518 with questions and for sign-up information. n

For information about this event, considered by many in the village last year to be “the best thing and most fun we’ve had since we moved here,” and for ticket purchases, call Re-gina Aulisio 760-295-5530) or Rona Cole 760-295-4299. n

Travel Club Announcement

DONUT AND COFFEE $1Thursday, January 30, 2014 • Clubhouse

The Travel Club invites you for a donut (or other good-ie from the donut shops) and coffee on Thursday, January 30, from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. The cost is only $1 and we hope you will come and enjoy some time with friends. Find us in the Clubhouse’s Greenery Lounge. In celebration of OHCC’s 30th Anniversary, this is the first of monthly events held by various clubs (usually on the 30th of the month) for resi-dents to come and enjoy each other and possibly meet new people. These are not fundraisers — just fun and friends get-ting together. We hope to see you there, —Cathy, Lynn and Judy of the Travel Club. For more information, please call Judy Harris, 760-724-0227. n

Jerry St. James offers free computer classes.


ComputerIssues?

760-859-6151

Call Tim O’Bryan The Tech Man”

for help with:Computer Problems,Repairs or Lessons

Also Specializing in Audio, Video,TV and Home Networking

Just a phone call away!

Resident of OHCC for 5 Years

TIM’S CELL #

[email protected]

”

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Deadline for article submissions is the 21st of the month for the

next month’s issue.Send articles to:

[email protected]

Support the Village Voice byvisiting our advertisers!


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Call David or Sarah now to schedule your complimentary lunch and tour: (760) 744-4484

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John Hanna • Joan Rudolphdavid siegel

We at the VV extend our deepest condolences to the family of John Hanna. John was a distrib-utor of the Voice almost from the inception of the monthly paper. Even when he was ill, he insist-ed on carrying out his responsibility. We extend to Ruth and his family our sympathies.

source: Ocean Hills Community Patrol

1-2014 village voice

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