5-2014 Village Voice Newsletter

The Village Voice • May 2014 1

Founded in 1991 Vol. XXIII, No. 5 | May 2014

What is CERT? — Part VBy Timothy Lynch, Member of CERT

In last month’s article, we stat-ed that the three main areas of disas-ter preparation are: make a plan, build a kit, and be informed and discussed how to make a plan.

This month we will focus on build-ing a kit. As noted in previous arti-cles, when a major disaster occurs, you may be on your own for up to 72 hours without normal and timely emergency response from Police and Fire Depart-ments. Other regular services may be compromised as well. Water, electrici-ty, and natural gas services may be lost. The local grocery store may be closed or the roads to them closed.

Therefore, the assembling of a ba-sic disaster supply kit is necessary to prepare us to survive for several days without all the services and conve-niences to which we are accustomed.

Basic Disaster Supply Kit

The basic disaster supply kit should include the following recommended items:

• Water — one gallon per person per day

• Food — at least a three day sup-ply of non-perishable food

• Battery-powered or hand-cranked radio CERT cont’d. on Page 4

The Village Voice is a publication of the OHCC Journalism Club

STORAGE, cont’d. on Page 3

Editorial

Are We Wasting Water?

At the April 14th Master Board meeting, a few members of the audience offered com-ments and asked questions re-garding water issues — espe-cially concerning over-watering, frequency of watering, and need-ed repairs to irrigation systems. Here is a brief overview of some water-wasting concerns that were discussed at the meeting, as well as others that were not men-tioned:

First, our front-yard irriga-tion systems have been here for many years – in some villages for as long as 30 years — and conse-quently they are prone to spring-ing leaks and failing to function as well as they once did.

Second, and of even greater importance, is the way in which these out-dated and inefficient front-yard sprinklers are unfor-tunately wasting precious water. This is how they work: When an irrigation cycle concludes deliv-ering water, the irrigation lines are emptied of water, virtually all of which is then wasted by flow-ing down street gutters and into the wastewater drains. When the next irrigation cycle is turned on, the lines must be completely re-

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2 The Village Voice • May 2014 The Village Voice • May 2014 3


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STORAGE, cont’d. from Page 1

filled before watering of the front yards can resume.The only way this unfortunate waste of water can be

stopped is to invest in the purchase and installation of a new, state-of-the-art water-delivery system, in which the ir-rigation lines are not emptied out, but are always full of wa-ter — both during and between water-delivery cycles. This new system also features more efficient “low-flow” sprin-kler heads that utilize less water and are fine-tuned to de-liver water where it is specifically needed. Such “high-tech” sprinkler heads are made by Toro. Two villages – Santori-ni and Zante – have already successfully replaced all of their front-yard sprinklers with these new Toro heads. In addi-tion, O’Connell personnel have begun installing Toro sprin-kler heads at certain locations along Leisure Village Way. All of this is very welcome water-conservation progress.

Third, a few OHCC residents are unfortunately over-wa-tering their own patio garden landscapes, causing excess water to flow through a drainpipe that empties into street gutters. This, of course, wastes increasingly valuable and costly water. Residents are urged to set timers so that excess watering is avoided and to save themselves the added ex-pense of unneeded water.

Helpful water-conservation tips for homeowners, sug-gested, for example, by Eco-Greenscape, include the follow-ing:

(1) Seek good advice regarding water-conservation strat-egies and drought-tolerant plants from such places as “plant nurseries . . . irrigation supply stores, as well as directly from your water provider,” to help maximize your water savings.

(2) Assess Your Water Usage: “Contact your wa-ter agency . . . to see how much water you can potentially save.” “Most water agencies offer free water audits to their subscribers.”

(3) Devise a Plan of Action: “Will you change some of the plants in your landscape for more drought-tolerant kinds? Will you switch from a spray irrigation system to a water-ef-ficient drip system? . . . Or will you . . . add a fresh layer of mulch to your planter beds?”

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Fourth, residents are encouraged to be aware of evi-dent water-wasting problems that should be reported. Each OHCC village is financially responsible for its own costs of water. So it would be very helpful to know who to con-tact regarding a problem within your own village. Between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m., you should call the HOA office to report a problem and, if necessary, to ask for a work order launching an investigation into that problem. After these hours, calls should be directed to the front gate staff. If water is gushing from a broken pipe or irrigation line, you should ask to have someone check on it ASAP. It may also be helpful to follow up with a call to verify that the problem is being addressed or has been fixed, since huge amounts of water can be wast-ed in a very short time.

Wasting water, individually or collectively, for any of the above reasons poses an increasing risk of very serious future water shortages for all of us. Everyone’s cooperation is vital-ly important. n


EdiTor-in-ChiEF: Russ Butcher: [email protected] or 9-5 weekdays: 760-295-4679rEPorTEr: Helen Nielsen: 760-305-7557PhoToS: 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

Richard Travis, DirectorRuss Butcher, Editor-in-ChiefConTribuTing WriTErS

Joe Ashby • Tom Brennan • Joan Buchholz • Russ ButcherTom Fuller • Ellen Kippel • Ira M. Landis • Selma Leighton

Timothy Lynch • Debbie McCain • Dan NeilsonBeverly Nickerson • Helen Nielsen • Charlotte PichneyPeter Russell • Jack Shabel • Gilda Spiegl • Hank Talbot

Andy Truban • Dora Truban • Bob WongadvErTiSing inFo/dEadlinES

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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.

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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 VoiceCERT, cont’d. from Page 1

• Flashlight and batteries• First aid kit• Moist towelettes, garbage bags and plastic ties for per-

sonal sanitation• Wrench to turn off utilities• Manual can opener• Local maps• Cell phone with chargers, inverter or solar chargerOnce you have gathered the supplies for a basic emer-

gency kit, you may want to consider adding the following items:

• Prescription medications and eye glasses• Pet food and extra water for your pet• Cash or traveler’s checks (ATM’s may be inoperable)• Important family documents• Sleeping bag or warm blanket for each person• Complete change of clothing• Household chlorine bleach and a medicine dropper to

treat water• Fire extinguisher• Matches in a waterproof container• Personal hygiene items• Paper plates, cups, paper towels, and plastic utensils• Paper and pencil

Maintaining Your KitJust as important as putting your supplies together is

maintaining them so they are safe to use when needed. Here are some tips to keep supplies ready and in good condition.

• Keep canned food in a cool, dry place• Store boxed food in tightly closed plastic or metal con-

tainers to protect from pests• Throw out any canned good that becomes swollen,

dented, or corroded• Write the date on the cans and rotate regularly• Change stored food and water supplies every six

months. Be sure to write the date you store it in the contain-ers

Kit Storage Locations

Since you do not know where you will be when an emer-gency occurs, prepare supplies for home, work, and vehi-cles.

home — Your disaster supplies kit should contain essen-tial food, water, and supplies for at least three days. Keep this kit in a designated place and have it ready in case you have to leave your home quickly.

Work — You need to be prepared to shelter at work for at least 24 hours. Make sure you have food and water and other necessities like medicines in your kit. Also, be sure



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to have comfortable walking shoes at your workplace in case an evacuation requires walking long distances. This kit should be ready to “grab and go” in case you are evacuated from your workplace.

vehicle — In case you are stranded, keep a kit of emer-gency supplies in your car. This kit should include:

• Jumper cables• Flashlight and extra batteries• First aid kit and necessary medications• Food items containing protein such as nuts and ener-

gy bars• Water for each person and pet in your car• Warm clothes, gloves, hat, sturdy shoesFor additional information on disaster preparation, and

assembling and maintaining a disaster supply kit, go to www.ready.gov. n

Victory for San Diego Water Authority

In a historic ruling, Superior Court Judge Curtis Karnow decided the giant Metropolitan Water District of Southern California (known as MWD) had systematically overcharged the San Diego County Water Authority (SDCWA). The deci-

sion agreed with the county authority that MWD can only legally reflect the amount it costs to convey water supplies to a member agency. He ruled the MWD cannot charge oth-er operating costs as well, invalidating the rates MWD had charged SDCWA since 2011. This could save county custom-ers $2 billon over the next 45 years. It could also recoup a huge sum during the next phase of the trial set May 16 that would consider damages owed by the MWD. The water au-thority has authorized another lawsuit against MWD over rates adopted for 2015 and 2016, that if the rates were al-lowed to stand, the MWD would overcharge ratepayers by about $92 million.

The MWD provides about 80% of San Diego County wa-ter and is the biggest client and largest member agency of the MWD, a water wholesaler that serves 19 million people from San Diego to Ventura and Riverside. n

San Diego’s Top Quake Threat Is Rose Canyon Fault

The biggest feasible earthquake threat to San Diego County is likely not the infamous San Andreas Fault that runs through the LA Basin, and Coachella and Imperial val-leys. Rather it would be a major slip along the Rose Canyon Fault that runs through downtown San Diego, La Jolla and north along the coast. “That is our number one threat,” said Ron Lane, head of emergency services for San Diego County. “The San Andreas does very little damage. It’s not the big one. For us, the big one is at Rose Canyon.” A major quake on the Rose Canyon Fault would create chaos rivaled only by major wildfires in recent San Diego history. A quake on that fault could reach a magnitude of 6.9 to 7.2, according to county emergency planning documents. Though Rose Can-yon has not produced a quake since well before European settlement of the region, it is considered active.

“The proximity of the fault to the city center and main economic hubs could put the entire area on hold for months or even years,” said an assessment for a statewide disaster drill known as The Great California ShakeOut. “Most resi-dents are less than 15 miles from the fault and ground shak-


ing from a major event is sure to cause damage through-out the county. Hospitals in San Diego County appear to be meeting earthquake standards that took effect in 2013, but most of them need to spend millions of dollars to meet tougher rules by 2030. By then, hospitals must install utili-ties and communication systems that will continue to func-tion after a strong quake.

Damage to water and sewer lines from major shaking on the San Andreas Fault could hit $1 billion. It would cre-ate special challenges for San Diego County, which relies al-most entirely on water imported through two major aque-ducts that run past Fallbrook from points north. The San Diego County Water Authority is pumping $1.5 billion into its Emergency Storage Project, designed to connect reser-voirs and increase storage so that the region could survive without imported water. n

(Excerpted from: [email protected]; (619) 293-2034; Twitter @sdenvirobeat. © Copyright 2013 The San Di-ego Union-Tribune)

Art Lovers Invite You to Their 30th Anniversary Event

Beginning at 1:30 p.m. on Friday, May 30, the Art Lovers Club will celebrate OHCC’s 30th Anniversary by hosting a sculpting demonstration in Abravanel Hall, featuring master sculptor Lynn Forbes. From a block of clay, she will create a sculpture of someone chosen from a raffle drawing, and the raffle-winner will be given the sculpture. This event will be open to everyone in OHCC.

Before the demonstration, the club will also provide an optional luncheon, beginning at 12:30 p.m. and consisting of sliders, cookies and beverages at the cost of $5.00 per per-son. Lunch and raffle ticket sales will begin on Thursday, May 1, from 10 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., at the clubhouse concierge desk; and will continue on each Monday and Thursday thereafter until May 22. Raffle tickets will also be for sale at the May 30 event. The club says there will be many raffle prizes. You are invited to join the festivities. n

featuresfeaturesGetting to KnowOur NeighborsBy Helen Nielsen

Larry Eaks – Part 2The rest of the story picks up with Larry’s years of treat-

ments and doctors trying various methods to restore his health. He was in a VA treatment center in Long Beach and on the first day there, he went to a lecture that was a new beginning for him. The doctor giving the presentation spoke these words: “Don’t think about the things you’ve lost or the things you might get. Just think about doing the best you can with what you’ve got.” That simple statement had a profound effect on this young man and he decided he would live that way, to the best of his ability, for the rest of his life.

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Determined to be positive about his future, Larry en-rolled in art and architecture classes at USC. He hoped he could find some type of work he could do and heard that the Howard Hughes Company had a bus with all the seats re-moved to accommodate wheelchairs and bring paraplegic veterans from the VA to his plant for possible work. Larry decided to go with them. He and other veterans were wait-ing in the parking lot for the return bus when they noticed a basketball hoop and ball. Wondering if they could possibly play basketball while confined to a wheelchair, they started

tossing the ball!This little event became the beginning of wheelchair bas-

ketball! A reporter from the Hearst Newspapers sports divi-sion happened to see them and suggested they form a team and play other VA hospitals. When they told him they had no way to do this, the reporter told them he would arrange for a D-3 airplane from Howard Hughes and Hearst News-papers would provide for all their transportation, lodg-ing and meals. They formed the first wheelchair basketball team in the United States and were flown all over the coun-try where they helped to start and play other VA teams, in-cluding one held at the United Nations headquarters in New York City.

Few had ever heard of playing basketball from a wheel-chair. The new sport quickly caught on. Many times, Larry was MVP of his team. At first, they were winning almost all of their games. But the sport did so much to help rebuild the lives of these veterans that it became very popular and soon the “Flying Wheels” team was facing very competitive play-ers. Although they lost a few games, they were known ev-erywhere as “the team to beat” and won many beautiful tro-phies honoring all their successes and sportsmanship.

Following his adventures with the “Flying Wheels” team, Larry returned to his home in Long Beach. His career in art and architecture began, along with spending time with old friends. When driving with a friend one day, a very pret-ty girl named Heather joined them for the ride. When she re-turned home from the ride she told her parents she just met the man she would marry. Three weeks later, she did. She was just as adventurous as he was and they’ve been togeth-er for 56 special years. They lived for a few years in Seal Beach, joined a yacht club and purchased their first sailboat. Together, they managed the sails and with their combined talents, entered very competitive races and won many tro-phies. Later, with a larger boat, they made many weekend voyages with friends and family on Catalina Island.

As with all of us, time brings changes to our lives. Their daughter Lori felt it was time for her parents to move to Oceanside where she lives with her husband and three chil-dren. Larry and Heather moved to Ocean Hills CC in 2006, and they love it here. Their son Kevin lives in South Lake Tahoe.

Larry is a very generous, outgoing person and loves people. Several years ago, he helped a friend start Ukelele classes here in Ocean Hills. Many of these students went on to form the now well-known group, “The Village Jammers.” Also, being an artist, Larry has taught numerous classes here and is now starting a new art class in oils, acrylics, wa-ter colors and chalk for our residents.

So, that concludes the rest of the story — except for one “little” detail!

Larry enjoying a piece of his artwork.


Thirty years after Larry’s “Flying Wheels” adventure, he received a letter from the National Wheelchair Basketball Association telling him he had been chosen to be in the Na-tional Hall of Fame for Wheelchair Basketball.

Wonderful neighbors like this enrich the lives of us all!

BridgeBy Dan Neilson

In this day and age, people are bidding on lesser values than in the past. A pass seems to be missing from some play-ers’ vocabulary. It is prudent to bid only when forced to do so. There are three conditions that force you to bid. Your val-ues – as opener you have 13 points or six points as respond-er. Your partners bid – a takeout double, a new suit, an invi-tational bid or a jump bid. The opponents bid – you have the values for an overcall or a takeout double.

Most of the overbidding takes place in two areas. Invita-tional bids and competitive bidding. Invitations are rather easy to handle. If you are at the upper end of the range, bid on – if at the lower end, pass. If, as responder, your bidding has proceeded lS-2S-3S, go to 4S with nine points and pass with six or seven. With eight good points to go on, avoid counting Jacks in side suits.

Competitive auctions create a different problem. If you can raise your partner, or re-bid your six-card suit at a con-venient level, then do so; but if your partner has a free bid, your hand must contain additional values (for another two or three points) for you to bid. For example – the bidding has proceeded 1D-P-1S-2H -? Your hand contains Kxx xxx AKxx Kxx. The Two Heart overcall has disrupted the bid-ding. Many people would bid two Spades to stymie the op-ponents, but a simple pass is indicated. A two Spade bid should show four Spades or at least 15 points with only three. Add a Queen of Clubs to the hand and a penalty dou-ble is indicated if available. Don’t let the opponents get away with anything but have additional values before stick-ing your oar in the water.

Pass whenever allowed—it will simplify your bidding.

My Travel RecollectionsBy Joe Ashby

IndiaI started from LAX and met up with my daughter in

New York. She had asked me to go with her to India, even for a short visit of two weeks. The flight to Delhi took about a dozen hours and after a mixture of movies, music, food and an occasional sleep episode, we landed at Delhi’s Indi-ra Gandhi Airport where we met our guide Arvind. Making our way to our hotel through the ever crowded Delhi streets, Arvind informed us it happened to be a nine-day religious holiday with great amounts of traffic, crowds in all the tem-ples and a burgeoning nation of mostly Hindu people fast-ing and celebrating. In 1911, the British made Delhi the capi-tal and then capital for the independent India in 1947.

There are five million vehicles in Delhi and it appeared they were in motion at the same time. There is horrible air pollution and it increases each year with the growing immi-gration from the countryside. India operates on IST (India Stretchable Time) which means any quotation of time is but an estimate. Sikhs are the fastest growing Hindu sect, phys-ically distinguishable because the men typically wear tur-bans. Religion binds the country together and the pursuit of


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karma tempers this massive population. We were amazed to see how civil drivers are amidst totally chaotic road con-ditions. The check in at the modern Suryaa Hotel went smoothly and we settled in for the night.

The night flew by and our first day in India began. A heavy haze cloaked the view of Delhi and an occasional horn or a squawk from a crow broke the morning stillness. After breakfast, Arvind greeted us as we boarded the bus

Memorial to Gandhi. Colorful street musicians.

for the day’s exploration. The streets were already alive with millions on foot, bicycle, motorbike, rickshaw, tuk tuk, and large and small busses. Our first destination was Jama Mas-jid, the largest mosque in India, constructed by the invading Moslems and made from the stones of Hindu temples they had destroyed. We removed our shoes before entering the mosque made of red sandstone. Pillars and domes and walls surrounded a huge open area. Arvind provided more infor-




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mation than we could possi-bly absorb. We replaced our shoes and made our way through an army of ven-dors peddling beads, leath-er whips, stamps and coins, postcards, toy tuk tuks and other offerings that we ig-nored. The bus took us to Raj Ghat, the place made sa-cred and historical by the cremation of Mahatma Gan-dhi, the father of modern India. A large rectangular park contained a modest marble slab with an eter-nal flame where we paid our respects to this man of

greatness at a time of unrest and uncertainty. We were deep-ly moved. n

Jama Masjid, largest mosque in India.

The Movie SceneBy Joan Buchholz

BearsEvery year we can expect another nature film from Dis-

ney. We’ve seen Oceans (2010) and African Cats(2011).This year, it’s Bears. The narration comes from the voice

of John C. Reilly who makes the characters relatable for chil-dren in the audience. “Sky” is given the name of the mama bear who is introduced to us while snuggling with her two fresh newborns, a boy and girl named “Scout” and “Am-ber.” They were born in a snow-packed cave in Alaska and the camera makes us feel we may be intruders instead of seeing something quite intimate and awesome.

The story follows the bears’ trek from high in the snow-covered mountains down to the source of their meals: salm-on. The cubs roll down the hills and tussle while Sky en-courages them along. Arriving at an idyllic meadow, they encounter lots of other hungry bears also in search of food. These bears are ruled by fearsome “Magnus” and Sky must protect her cubs from not only Magnus, but from other bears, as well as wolves. John C. Reilly makes light of the

“Sky” with baby cub.



events really aimed to lighten the challenges the bears face for the viewing audience, especially the little kids. The un-derwater footage of salmon swimming upstream often into the mouths of bears is breathtaking, especially when seen in slow-motion.

I always enjoy nature films on TV, but to view it on the wide-screen makes the subject more personal and intense. I give it three smiles (out of four). n

Fallen Coral Tree branch.

The CrustyCurmudgeonBy Bob Wong

While in the minority, I have al-ways believed trees and plants were fully capable of communicating with one another. Plants and other growing things also experience pain and joy, just as we humans do. Many plants do not thrive well when planted close to

adjoining plants they don’t care for. I had been told that fe-male avocado trees don’t bear fruit unless there is a male tree nearby? Really?

One day, while driving from the parking lot of the club-house, I could see one of our coral trees at the entrance was



not feeling well. The tree itself looked healthy enough and its blossoms had been bright and hearty. But one of the low-er limbs began to sag. Investigating, I found there was no apparent breakage of its branches but as each day passed, I could see the branch started to weaken and droop even far-ther. Its flowers and leaves began to shrivel. Within just a few weeks, the leaves withered away and the red flower pet-als dropped lifeless onto the ground.

I felt something could be done to save that branch such as provide an intravenous injection, or give it some vita-mins. But no; to let it fade away without any ceremony or eulogy is unforgiveable. They just sawed off the branch and trucked it away. No feeling, no regrets, they just hauled it away.

And after I mentioned this to my wife, she had no sym-pathy saying, “It’s been there for almost 30 years and you can’t expect it to live forever. And like the rest of us, if your leg gets diseased, I’ll just have someone cut it off.”

“Thanks, that’s reassuring. But I don’t expect the tree to live forever, just long enough to last during my lifetime.”

“Honey, when you get to the stage that coral tree gets, I’m going to do to you what the penguins in Antarctica do when one of them passes away.”

“And what’s that?”

“Well, they all gather together around the dead penguin, lay him down on the ice pack. Then they dig a hole next to him and all together sing, ‘For he’s a jolly good fellow, for he’s a jolly good fellow.’ And when they finish the song, they wave him good bye and kick him into the ice hole.”

“I don’t think that’s so funny.” n

New roll-up calculator.

Shopping AroundBy the Phantom Shopper

Flexible calculatorHave you ever been elsewhere in this world and had a

need for a calculator? Calculators have now been shrunk to the size of a playing card with keys so small it becomes impossible to use them unless you have fingers the size of mouse paws. Available now is a calculator you can actual-ly manipulate. This one is built into a flexible rubber pad measuring about 4 x 6 inches and can be folded up into your pocket or purse. It’s convenient and useable and the price is right: $4.

Nighttime Snack

We’re not in New York, Los Angeles or even San Diego. When we leave the theater at night and would love to have a snack, there are very few restaurants available to accom-modate us. Now, Jack in the Box has announced that it can offer late-night “Munchie Meals” for just $6. Let’s see what you get for that price: a chicken with cheese sandwich, two tacos, French fries and a 20 oz. soda. This is but one of four selections available. Now we late seniors can drop by Jack’s before heading home. We can expect other fast-food restau-rants to follow suit very soon.

Airline’s Giant Seats

Las Vegas-based Allegiant Air is now offering a wider seat and more than 3 feet of leg room in its Boeing 757 air-plane. These seats, which number just six on each plane, are


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located in the first row and the mid-cabin emergency-exit row. These choice seats come at a price: from $40 to $50 ex-tra depending on the flight. For those unwilling to put out that kind of money, Allegiant Air offers “Legroom+ seats” for $6 to $32 that will give you an additional four inches of leg room. I wonder how much I could save by bringing my own chair. n

What’s Going onOutside the Gates?

On the opposite side of the street from Rancho Buena Vista High School was a Greek restaurant. It closed about a year ago and is currently be-ing remodeled and replaced with “rita’s ice Custard happiness.” While no one could be reached there, it appears to be a fancy ice cream parlor, judging from the pictures of future offerings.

On the corner of Emer-ald Way and West Vista Way, a new Smart and Final, a ware-house-style food and supply store. At one time, the operation only involved a wholesale gro-cery business, but has recent-

ly morphed into a retail type store without any membership requirements such as Costco’s $50 annual entry fee.

Many residents have wondered what kind of struc-ture was being constructed on the corner of Melrose Drive and Cannon, cattycorner from Ralph’s shopping center. It is the new sanctuary for the St. Thom-as More Catholic Church. With nearly nine years of planning and fund raising, the eight-million dollar building is in its early building phase and the walls and re-bars can be eas-ily seen from the streets. Completion is scheduled for ear-ly 2015.

Replacing the old Robinson-May Store in the Carlsbad shopping center will be the new Target, along with a 24-hour Fitness gym and a regal The-ater. The Robinson-May was closed for several years and the satellite stores either closed or suffered badly from a lack of business. The Westfield manage-

ment company then sought new tenants for a brand-new building and was successful in signing several contracts. Others stores will hopefully follow.

Those passing by the new construction on the parking lot of Lowe’s Hardware Store on West Vista Way and the 78

Freeway have been quite curious. Banners on the fence announce that a bevMo store will occupy that space later this year. BevMo is simply a beer, wine, spirits and gourmet food superstore despite its rather odd name.

In the Food 4 Less shopping center on the corner of Hacien-da and Melrose, a new counter-type restaurant opened called Wing Stop. Their menu offers chicken wings prepared in var-ious ways, chicken strips and

chicken sandwiches, and French fries, of course. For wing aficionados, this must be a blessing.

Occupying the old Starbucks in the Albertson’s shop-ping center is Skybound Coffee + dessert lounge. An upscale coffee shop, Skybound offers very fancy cakes and other des-serts and a wide range of coffee and teas. n

(See What’s New? article in this issue.)


Computer TipsThis month’s app, CamFind, is another of those “How

do they do that?” apps. You see, CamFind lets you identify just about anything just by taking a picture of it! Using Cam-Find is as easy as snapping a photo with your phone. Just launch the app and take a picture of anything you want to learn more about. CamFind will give you accurate, relevant results within seconds.

• See someone carrying a purse that you love?• Want to know the year and model of that old classic car

you see in the parking lot?• Who made that light fixture you admire? But Wait, There’s More . . . If the Chinese restaurant you went to is closed, take a

picture of the sign on the door and find out where anoth-er one is located nearby. When you visit a country where you don’t speak the language and find yourself at a loss for words, take a picture of what you need and CamFind will translate for you.

You can even share things with your friends by sending your CamFind results to Facebook, Twitter, and email. The app also includes a QR and barcode reader, along with tra-ditional text-search functions and voice-search capabilities if you don’t want to take a picture. It also offers VoiceOver of identified objects so you know how things are pronounced, as well as an automatic flash and zoom. You’ll not only get a list of Internet search results — just like you do when you type a phrase into a search engine — you’ll see images that are similar or related to yours, as well as local price compar-isons and online shopping websites to let you get the most bang for your buck.

CamFind is a pretty amazing app. You’ll be asking your-self, “How do they do that?” I don’t know. But I do know that it’s free in the iTunes store. n

Out & About inSan Diego CountyBy Jack Shabel

The San Diego Automotive Museum in Balboa Park is another example of the quality in the wonderful collection of museums that San Diegans are privileged to have. It’s lo-cated right next to the Air and Space Museum on Pan Amer-ican Plaza. They are just finishing up an exhibit on muscle cars that will end on May 30th. When my wife and I visited, there was a display of Corvettes commemorating the 60th anniversary of the first edition of this American Classic.

In addition to the exhibits, there are a number of very in-teresting permanent exhibits in their collection. There is a very impressive collection of old Harley Davidson and In-dian motorcycles, including a display of the actor Steve Mc-Queen’s love of racing motorcycles. His quote is, “I’m not sure whether I’m an actor who races or a racer who acts.”

Another interesting display tells the story of the plank road that was built back in the early 1900s that linked South-ern California with Arizona. There are numerous restored cars on display including a 1913 Pierce Arrow, a couple of

An Automotive Museum exhibit.


Ford Model T’s from 1911 and 1914 and a 1966 Bizzarrini just to name a few. The Bizzarrini was developed by Giotto Bizzarrini who worked for Ferrari before being fired. He al-ways thought he could do better than Ferrari and designed and built his namesake cars to prove his point. Only about 140 were built and the museum has one of them.

Of all the interesting motorized vehicles that were on dis-play, the one I found the most interesting was the Louis Mat-ter Car. This amazing vehicle established a cross-country en-durance record by driving from San Diego to New York and back without ever stopping. The trip totaled 6,320 miles and required refueling from a moving gas truck three times! It has a stove, a refrigerator, a kitchen sink, an ironing board, a chemical toilet, a shower, and was capable of having a tire changed while still rolling down the road. An engineering marvel before the days of modern day RV’s, it was all done because Louis’s wife wanted to go camping, but didn’t want to rough it. There is a video that is shown at the display highlighting the amazing features of this converted 1947 Ca-dillac.

The San Diego Automotive Museum is located at 2080 Pan American Plaza, in San Diego’s Balboa Park. Admis-sion is free on the fourth Tuesday of the month for San Di-ego residents. Regular admission prices are $8.50 for adults, $6.00 for seniors over 64 and military with ID, $5.00 for stu-

dents and $4.00 for youth 6-15. Children under 6 are free. The hours are 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and 10 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. on Tuesdays. The last admission of the day is 15 minutes be-fore closing time. n

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.)

The SouthernCaliforniaWater Crisis — Part 1

Perhaps the single greatest economic and environmental issue facing Southern Califor-nia — and our community — in the coming years will not be an energy shortage but rath-er a contraction of usable fresh water. This is-sue portends to have a negative impact on the real estate values in California’s southern re-

gion unless adequate measures and creative planning are promptly implemented.

Water levels have contin-ued to fall.


The CrisisAs a result of its naturally arid landscape, Southern Cal-

ifornia has always relied mostly upon water shipped from other locations to meet its ever-increasing appetite. Conse-quently, with a growing population and a dwindling supply, Southern California will encounter a water crisis of epic pro-portions in the not too distant future. In this two-part article, we will briefly review the reasons for the problem and note some suggested solutions.

While most of the water in California is used for farm-ing and other commercial ventures, according to the Envi-ronmental Protection Agency more than 40 million residents each consumes about 100,000 gallons of water per year. This massive amount of water cannot be provided through currently available sources in the region, and therefore re-quires diverting water from the Colorado River and pip-ing substantial amounts from Northern California through a lengthy and aging aqueduct system.

Few residents are aware of the true extent of the area’s water crisis because this region is decked out with green lawns and other lush vegetation, beautifully manicured golf courses and numerous swimming pools. However, traveling south from Orange County, one can observe the true natural landscape of the region. Between Camp Pendleton and San Diego lie 50 miles of chaparral – barren and dry land cov-ered in sparse shrubs.

According to Illumin Engineering, in their attempts to turn this naturally arid land into a green paradise, Califor-nians use about 50 percent more water than residents of the eastern third of the U.S. This usage is compounded by the fact that Southern California, on average, gets less than 10 inches of annual rainfall, thereby forcing the southern ar-eas of the state to be dependent upon Northern California and the Colorado River Basin states to provide for any short-fall. In fact, Southern California uses about 75 percent of the state’s total water resources.

Moreover, many experts contend that an antiquated in-frastructure coupled with potential climate change also pose serious threats to current water sources. If, as predicted, snowpack in the surrounding mountains begins to melt ear-lier in the year, water quantities from these natural resourc-es will become extremely sparse by mid-spring of each year; and by summer and early fall, water needed for crops, land-scapes and gardens will no longer be available. In addition, evaporation from exposed aqueducts due to higher mean temperatures and less frequent rain also will apply great stress to the region. With aging, leaks, disrepair and deterio-ration have caused the aqueducts to lose large quantities of water each year, thereby resulting in further significant loss-es of available water sources.

With all of the above factors contributing to our decreas-ing supply of water, finding cost-effective solutions is chal-lenging. Accordingly, in order to prevent our region from becoming a desert wasteland, both the private sector (in-cluding individual residents) and all levels of government

must devise new and innovative methods to access and pre-serve potable fresh water in the future. n

(Stay tuned for some suggested solutions in Part 2 next month.)

Village HappeningsBy Selma Leighton

What could possibly fill Abrava-nel Hall with 2-year-olds, 22-year-olds, 52-year-olds and 92-year-olds? Why, a magic show of course — which was held before the April 19 Easter egg hunt. Kids were mesmerized. Elizabeth Haynes’s great grandson, Maisonn Gedaudas, told me that in his whole life (9 years) he had never seen anything so amazing.

I was fortunate to meet Jerry Sueth’s 2-year-old grand-daughters, Catherine and Alexandra. I say fortunate, be-cause I, too, have twin grandchildren. Mine are 27.

In all my interviews, I think the youngest person I met was Marilyn and Alan Roudebush’s great nephew, Brady. He didn’t have much to say.

Now that all of my seven grandchildren are in their 20s I don’t get to play fairy Godmother anymore. However, right in front of me, little Leif Anderson lost a tooth biting on can-dy. Leif, I owe you a dollar. Is that the going rate for teeth this year?

The winners of the “Count the Chocolate Eggs” con-test were Tasha Glazier and Kahai Tanner, both grandchil-dren of Sue and Frank Tanner. What fun!!!

Now, how do I tell the next story? I’m going to use my best journalistic skills. Patty and Greg Smith were telling me that one day their grandson, Brock, noticed two beetles procreating. He turned to Patty and said, “Grandma, why is that beetle giving the other beetle a piggy back ride? I have no idea what her answer was. Now, I think that was funny, and you know I like fun-ny.

In conclusion, I would like to say: It’s really difficult to make an event including more than 200 people look easy. And that is what Chris and Louise and their helpers did. Many, many thank-you’s for bringing smiles to so many faces. They made sure it was a very special day. n

Scams UpdateBy Ira M. Landis

At this point in time I am reasonably sure that many readers have at least heard about the scam to dupe seniors into sending money to assist a family member who has no money to get out of jail and return home from some foreign country. The call usually comes from some one purporting to be from the U.S. embassy or consular office. Often, the “family” member mumbles on the call in a pleading whiny voice. A new version of this scam was brought to my atten-



tion by a member of our OHCC community who actually re-ceived a recent call from the 809 area code.

The woman caller said “Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you—get back to us quickly, I have something important to tell you.” Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809. A regular reader of this column, our friend did not respond.

She recently received the following e-mail: Do not dial Area Code 809, 284, or 876 on calls to the UK, Canada, or the U.S. The message is being distributed all over the U.S. and U.K. The way they try and get you to call is scary: They get you to call by saying it is about a family member who is ill or in jail, died or to let you know you have won a Great prize. In each case you are told to call the 809 number right away. Since there are so many new area codes these days, people unknowingly return these calls.

If you call, you will apparently be charged a minimum of 1,850 euros or $2,700 per minute. And you will get a long re-corded message. The point is they will try and keep you on the phone as long as possible to increase the charges. Why does it work: The 809 area code is located in the Dominican Republic.

The charges afterwards become a real nightmare. That’s because you did actually make the call. If you complain,

both your local phone company and your long-distance car-rier will not want to get involved and most likely will tell you that they are simply providing the billing for the foreign company. You’ll end up dealing with a foreign company that argues that they have done nothing wrong.

Many thanks to Penny Ostergaard for her invaluable in-put. n

The Street Where You LiveBy Dora Truban

Poseidon WayThe Greek deity, Poseidon,

and its Roman equivalent Nep-tune, ruled their watery do-main as “Gods of the Sea, Earth-quakes and Horses.” They created Earth’s first horses with golden manes and brass hooves, so they would pull their mag-nificent chariot over the restless waves.

Poseidon/Neptune with their massive Trident shattered rocks causing earthquakes. Trident’s might is no longer a myth! From the depths of the sea, our nuclear-powered sub-marine fleet can launch its powerful Trident ballistic missile in defense of our freedom.

No town or city is named Poseidon. His only role is in films such as Poseidon Adventure, and as Ariel’s loving father in Disney’s Little Mermaid.

Neptune achieved a higher status as the eighth planet or-biting our Solar System. Trident is one of its thirteen moons. Only a city in New Jersey and a beach in Florida bear his name.

Will our Poseidon neighbors identify with the sea or the sky? n

Poseidon, god of the seas.


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Mimi’s Café2177 Vista WayOceanside, CA 92054760-721-7170

The location was familiar in the Walmart center on highway 78 at Jef-ferson. The restaurant with its quaint tile roof cottage was familiar. But what was not familiar was a new French-oriented menu. When anyone mentions “French,” we immediately associate that with exotic and ex-pensive food. But not here at Mimi’s.

Last February, a brand new menu was introduced to Oceanside. Not surprising, since the chain was bought out

by a company called Groupe Le Duff, own-ers of La Mad-elein’s res-taurants and Bruegger’s Ba-gels. Their goal

has been to bring “joie de vivre” to Mimi’s.

Most items were named with French monikers, even though many items were somewhat familiar with American names.

Four of us were seated in a compact room since the main dining room wouldn’t be open for another hour. The serv-er was very obliging and knowledgeable. He brought us the familiar brown walnut bread to start. The special of the day

was two dinners for $25 that of-fered appetizers, entrees and des-serts. What a deal! Our guests chose an acceptable Caesar’s salad, two chose the French onion soup that was judged “ab-solutely terrific!” It was luscious and steamy hot. I selected a seafood crepe, nicely filled with shrimp, scallops and spin-ach in a perfect lobster sauce. It was a great starter for the dinner to come. Next time, I will go for Les Artichoke Frites or the Mussels a la Mimi.

Entrée selections were French, but not so foreign that the average dinner would be intimidated. Our guest chose the bouillabaisse, a seafood soup simmered in a white wine base with shrimps, scallops, potatoes and carrots and served with French baguette croutons. It was a fusion of complex flavors that made this dish a winner. The other two ordered Poulet a l’ Orange that arrived wrapped in two crepes and drizzled with a dark-orange sauce. One said the orange sauce domi-nated the delicate flavor of the chicken and would have been better if the sauce were placed on the side. I ordered the Pot Pie Nouveau (as suggested by neighbor Phyllis Horn). The menu described it as follows: “Roasted chicken, petite pois (peas), carrots, mushrooms and onions folded into a creamy sauce with a hint of herbes de Provence, topped with a flaky, buttery, puff pastry crust.” The description could have been an exaggera-tion, it really wasn’t; it was astoningishly delicious.

For dessert, out came a trio of treats to be shared by two: bread pudding with a buttery whisky sauce, an apple-cinna-

Bouillabaisse with mus-sels and crouton.

A trio of desserts: brownie sundae, bread pud-ding and apple crisp.

Chicken crepes in an orange sauce.


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mon crisp with a dash of whipped cream and a small cup of irresistible brownie with vanilla ice cream.

Breakfast is served until 11:30 a.m. and lunch until 3 p.m. — serving hamburgers with fancy names. Most entrees are priced in the teens and parking is plentiful. Wine and beer are available with a happy-hour menu at 5 p.m. n

(Gilda is member of the California Restaurant Writers Associ-ation.)


Bird of the MonthWestern Grebe

Birds have many ways that males court females during the mating season. One of the avian world’s most unusual and amus-ing courtship activities is per-formed by a black-and-white duck-like water bird — the West-ern Grebe. As one of Ray Spen-cer’s photographs this month graphically illustrates, a male and a female will suddenly rise up and, amid much splashing, run side-by-side across the surface of the water in a spectacular court-ship dance, known as “rushing.” One of the best places to witness this amazingly synchronized water-skimming spectacle is at Lake Hodges in the San Dieguito River Park, adjacent to I-15 near Escondido. Measuring about 25 inches in length, these long-necked birds are at their largest congregations on

Grebe with young.

Grebes “rushing.”

Photos by Ray Spencer

lakes of Southern California from late autumn through ear-ly spring. Their loud screeching call carries great distances across the water. They dive into the water to catch small fish and other aquatic life. Their nests are floating platforms con-sisting of twigs and other plant material. n


Reality DiscoveredBy Tom Fuller

I have arrived; my hair is grayand I’ve enjoyed the ride to this very day.

Once it was white, then blond, then brown;it changes colors quite often, I found.

But who am I to argue with Old Man Time?

To Him I’m in debt and much more than a dime.He’s been so very gentle as the years hurried by;it takes my breath away as the years seem to fly.

Weep not for me during life’s fun trip;

though changes occur, I still say “Let ‘er rip.”If my hair reverts back to towhead white,

that will be just fine, for it’s part of the flight.

I feel quite sure it won’t be purple or green,but if it should be, my family will scream.

As for me, I’ll just take it because it is my hairand I think it will be better than to have nothing there.

The Golf GameBy Pete Russell

Did you know that you can EASILY surf through the last two years of The Village Voice? The newslet-ter has recently put the is-sues on the web, with easy access using the following URL. Type in http://issuu.com/villagevoicenewsletter. This will display all previous issues for the past 24 months. You can browse through, among all other topics, the previous Golf Columns. How about that? And my point is, I have previ-ously written about how to gain LENGTH on your drives just by how you tee up your drive, and how you stroke the ball. The following I am quoting from an article in the May 2014 issue of Golf Digest by Grant Waite. The title is “Upper-cut – adjust your swing path for big yards.” Who wouldn’t like to do that?

“Most of the time you’re told to hit down on the ball, but what about tee shots? I’m convinced you should hit them on the upswing, with the driver moving out to the right (for right handers). That’s how you hit a draw and maximize distance. I have studied the dynamics of driving for many

Hit ball on upswing.


years, and our research shows that unless you swing a driv-er as fast as the tour pros – 110 to 120 MPH – you’re losing a ton of distance if you don’t hit a high draw. How much? Our TrackMan tests indicate that a golfer with a 99 MPH driver swing speed who hits down on the ball 1 degree produces a carry of 195 yard. if that golfer swings up on the ball 3 de-grees with the club head moving out to the right, the carry jumps to 240 (yards). You read that right. A slight upward hit versus a slight downward hit can mean 45 yards. The backspin might be reduced too, for a better rollout. So are you sold on the idea of swinging up on the ball? Here’s how.

“(1) SETuP: Aim your body to the right and favor your front foot. To promote a draw, aim your body lines – feet, knees, hips, shoulders – to the right of the target. This will help you swing on an in-to-out path through impact. And as long as the clubface is close to, or pointing left of, that path when you contact the ball, you’ll hit a draw. For an upward strike, the ball should be in line with the outside of your left shoulder, and your body weight should favor your left foot. To set your weight, try leaning your right foot inward at ad-dress.

“(2) iMPaCT: Push your hips upward and raise the han-dle. Make your normal backswing, and as you’re coming down, thrust your belt buckle up and to the right of the tar-get. This keeps the club swinging in that direction and trans-

fers more weight to your left foot. The final key is to feel as if you’re swinging the grip end of the club out and away from your body through impact. In effect, you’ll be swinging it up and to the right. This sets up that high draw you want.” n

Health & ExerciseBy Andy Truban

New Food Eco Labels Answer,“What Is in My Food?” — Part 1

Concerned consumers often ask: What is in my food? How is it made? According to the 2014 Natural Products In-dustry Forecast, food producers now are using Eco labels identifying their food produc-tion practices as well as providing a product’s list of their ingredi-ents. However, from a nutrition-al and environmental standpoint, it still is difficult to determine if these labels are beneficial:

Fair Trade Certified — Coffee, tea, bananas, nuts, apparel and body products are certified to contain no Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs). This certification indicates that both producers and traders have


met standards established by the non-profit organization, Fair Trade USA. These standards also aim to ensure that disadvantaged farmers and laborers receive just compensa-tion and have adequate health and safety standards.

Non-GMO Project Verified Seal – These products are verified to contain no more than 0.9% GMO ingredients in dairy products, dairy alternatives, processed products such as snacks, breakfast cereals, soups, sauces, baby food and pet food.

This seal’s verification has the highest standards of “Non-GMO” currently available in the U.S. and Canada. However, since this label indicates no more than 0.9% GMO, it does not guarantee it is a totally GMO free product.

What are the controversial Genetically Modified Organ-isms? Products that have introduced specific genetic chang-es to their DNA that allows for new crop traits as well as give greater control over the food’s genetic structure.

According to Green America, “because of the prevalence of soy and corn in processed foods, about 30,000 Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) food products sit on our U.S. grocery stores shelves. Since 1996, the top nine GM ingredi-ents are: soy, cottonseed, corn, canola oil, U.S. papaya, alfal-fa, sugar beets, milk, and aspartame artificial sugar.”

gM Soybeans can be found in products like tofu, soy milk, soy sauce, miso as well as any product containing emulsifier lecithin (often derived from soybeans) such as ice cream and candy.

gM Cottonseed oil has been modified genetically to be pest-resistant. It is available as a stand-alone product as well as a common ingredient in margarine, salad dressings and for-frying potato chips.

gM Corn can be found in hundreds of products: break-fast cereals, corn-flour tortillas and chips, corn oil mayon-naise and shortening, and literally anything sweetened with high-fructose corn syrup, processed cookies, yogurts, soups and condiments.

gM Canola oil is derived from rapeseed. Ninety per-cent of the U.S. crop has been genetically modified. Avoid USA’s canola oil.

gM Sugar beets account for half the sugar production in the USA. If a bag of sugar, or a product containing sugar,

does not specify “pure cane sugar,” it likely has a combina-tion of cane sugar and GM sugar beets.

aspartame is an artificial sweetener derived from GM micro-organisms and is found in 6,000 products. Avoid any-thing labeled as containing NutraSweet, Equal or Aspar-tame. n

(References: Environmental Nutrition, Volume 37, Issue 4, April 2014; Green America, http://action.greenamwerica/org; Wikipedia Encyclopedia.)

(Next month’s Part Two article will cover additional ECO labels.)


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Rough-winged swallow.

Watching WildlifeBy Russ Butcher

The Swallows Are BackA few weeks ago, we once again began seeing swallows

gracefully demonstrating their aerobatic prowess – darting here and there in pursuit of flying insects. Of the 90 species of swallows worldwide, California has seven. All of them have sharply pointed wings and most have forked tails. Nearly all of them measure five to six inches long, with wing

spans of 13 to 15 inches.One species we commonly see here in Ocean Hills is the

Northern Rough-winged Swallow. Typically, several of them fly together -- acrobatically swooping, turning and darting low over the golf course, other open grassy areas, and above our streets -- twittering and chirping as they go. Their plum-age is brown above and pale brown to dusty white beneath. Unlike our other swallows, the rough-winged has a squared-off tip of its tail.


Cliff swallows in mud nests.Tree swallows.

Photos by Ray Spencer

If you see swallows with a slightly forked tail, it is like-ly the Tree Swallow, the adult’s plumage of which is dark, ir-idescent bluish-green above and bright white beneath. This species is often seen flying over lakes and ponds, as well as open grassy expanses. If you see swallows with a deeply forked tail, it is the Barn Swallow.

And then there is the Cliff Swallow. Large colonies of these attractive birds can be observed around bluffs, cliffs

and highways bridges, such as the I-5 spans across coast-al lagoons, under which they build nests of mud mixed with grass. The most conspicuous aspects of the Cliff Swallow’s plumage is its white forehead patch and light-buff-colored rump patch.

It is the Cliff Swallow that has long been widely known for its annual return on or around March 19 to nest at histor-ic Mission San Juan Capistrano in Orange County. An initial


small group of these swallows, the “scouts,” arrives first. A few days later, the main flock of the large colony arrives and begins the task of rebuilding the mud nests that cling to the ruins of the old stone chapel, the roof of which collapsed in the 1812 earthquake. Fewer swallows have been returning to the mission in recent years, as many have chosen to nest nearby in less-developed places. On or around October 23, these amazing birds set forth on their 6,000-mile migration back to Argentina.

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But for now, the several species of swallows that recent-ly returned here from wintering in Mexico, Central America and South America are now busy mating, nesting and rais-ing a new generation. A key value of swallows is similar to that of flycatchers and bats – thriving on and helping control the populations of flying insects. But these birds are also in-spiring to watch as they perform their awesome aerial ma-neuvers. n


By Charlotte Pichney

HomeTown Buffet288 Rancheros DriveSan Marcos – 760-471-9944Mon.-Fri. 10:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m.Sat. 7:30 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Sun. 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.

We were in San Marcos, we were hungry, and there was the HomeTown Buffet sign beckoning to us. The TV voice of their CEO promising a great new menu was ringing in my ears when we decided to stop and sample the upgraded menu delights. In retrospect, maybe Sunday is not the best day to try a buffet restaurant accompanied by three young children.

The small arcade located just before the main dining area with three claw machines stuffed with brightly colored toys

So many items to choose from at HomeTown Buffet.

tantalizing the children was another reason we had second thoughts. Their interest in food became secondary to win-ning one of those tempting prizes. As if that wasn’t enough, on the way out was a huge gumball machine to catch a few more coins from the children.

Once we passed the arcade and found a table, I can tell you that the “joint” was jumping. Most of the tables were filled with noisy groups of 8, 10 or 12 people. We watched staff gather at five different parties to sing their rendition of Happy Birthday accompanied by much hand clapping.


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Sunday’s buffet costs adults $11.69, seniors $10.99 and children ages 2-3 /$1.99, 4-7 /$3.99, and 8-11/ $5.99 (bev-erages included). Adults pay $2.19 extra for drinks. Restau-rant tours are offered by staff to patrons who are not famil-iar with the restaurant layout. After we seated ourselves, a server came over and initialed our receipt. We never saw her again and a different server promptly removed our empty plates.

Macaroni and cheese, a bread roll, waffle fries, pizza slice, and taco (too spicy) were the initial selections for the children. After pushing the food around on their plates, they focused on tasting different drinks and desserts. We tried the

carving station and were given a small piece of roast beef that was cut to order – rare or well done. The busy taco station was sup-plied with a variety of necessary fixings. One bar held two large kettles of soup along with vari-ous garnishes. Depending on the day of the week, the soup choices are potato cheese, cream of broc-

coli, Italian sausage & bean, navy bean, and clam chowder.

While serving myself, I found people rushed to any station as the trays were refilled with fresh food. Many were not shy about getting whatever item they were seeking even if meant pushing a slower person aside.

On Sundays, the menu features carved ham, turkey and roast beef, candied yams, spaghetti, pork chops, fried shrimp, spinach Maria and pizza. Side dishes are black-eyed peas, mashed potatoes, rice & gravy, corn bread dressing, broccoli, Brussel sprouts, fresh vegetables, shrimp & grits, and potpies. The Bake Shop dessert bar held ramekins of hot apple crisp and chocolate lava cake; also cookies, pie slices, chocolate and vanilla parfaits.

Great eating for the whole family. Plate fit for a king, or queen.


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If you require a gourmet dining out experience, avoid buffets. Food sitting over trays of hot water under heat lamps may qualify as edible but do not create a dining de-light. n

Cooking withBeverlyBy Beverly Nickerson

Crustless Kale QuicheKale has become very popular this

past year and after trying a number of recipes without too much success, I finally determined we like our Kale cooked longer until tender. So I created this dish for dinner one evening and we both really enjoyed it.

3 strips regular bacon, cut in ¼-inch strips1 medium onion, peel, chop about ¼-inch1½ quarts (6 cups) packed, coarsely chopped kale (in-

cluding ribs), about ½-inch pieces.*1 medium carrot, peel, shred1 cup shredded “Dubliner” cheddar cheese or x-sharp

cheddar4 large or x-large eggs2 teaspoons Dijon mustard1-¼ cups homogenized milk¼ teaspoon salt½-tablespoon butter, cut in fourths for baking dishSpecial Equipment: 8½ x 2 or 10 x 1½-inch shallow,

round Quiche or baking dish, sprayed with “Pam”Temperature: 350° Servings: Five to sixCook the bacon pieces about 5 minutes in a 9-inch skil-

let, then add the chopped onion, stir well and cook over low heat about 15 minutes until onion is soft. Set aside.

While the bacon is cooking, drop all of the kale into a 2-to-3-quart pot half full of boiling salted water, cover and cook 1 minute, uncover and stir well; cover, lower heat and simmer 15 minutes or until rib pieces are tender. Drain well in a colander, then press down hard with a meat pounder or something similar, to remove excess water, set aside.

Whisk eggs in a large bowl, add mustard and whisk again. Add milk and salt and whisk until smooth. Now add the drained kale, bacon, onions, carrot and cheese and com-bine.

Place butter pieces in the baking dish and set in the hot oven about 1 minute to melt the butter. Remove dish and swirl melted butter over the bottom. Pour ingredients into the baking dish, set on the center rack of the pre-heated 350° oven and bake about 40 to 55 minutes. The Quiche will turn golden and puff-up a bit, test it by piercing with a small sharp knife half-way between the center and the edge. If the knife comes out clean, the Quiche is done. Remove it to a

Wonderfully delicious and healthy quiche.

mat or rack and let set 10 MINUTES before cutting. You can re-heat leftovers in the microwave on “medium.”

(*Chopped Kale can sometimes be found already cleaned and cut in plastic packages.) n


potpourripotpourri

The Color Purple

No, it’s not the movie. It’s the return of the pur-ple blossoms of the Jac-aranda tree. The cycle runs the gamut from be-ing a wonderful shade tree most of the year, then de-foliates in the winter and bears round seed pods the size of gambling chips, be-fore ushering in the mag-nificent display of spring blossoms. After the flowers fall, the light-green foliage begins to appear and the cycle starts all over again. There are a few Jacaranda trees in the com-mon areas of OHCC, the most prominent of which are at the main entrance. For old-timers, they have witnessed this se-

Jacaranda blossoms herald the coming of spring.


Recalling“The Rescueof CaptainPhillips”

In 2009, four Somali pirates stormed a cargo ship Maersk Alabama off the coast of Africa. The captain of the ship, Rich-ard Phillips, was taken hostage in a small red lifeboat, when the pirates demanded more mon-ey than was offered. The USS Boxer and two other U.S. Navy ships surrounded the lifeboat and the Navy SEAL Team 6 managed to kill three of the four pirates. The fourth was taken prisoner and Captain Phillips was freed and taken aboard the USS Boxer. This was recently dramatized in the movie starring Tom Hanks.

Captain Mark Cedrun was the captain of the Boxer at the time and recalls when Phillips came aboard, he hugged the guy and said, “Welcome aboard,” and took him down to the ship’s medical department to be examined by the ship’s doctor. Captain Cedrun assumed Phillips hadn’t eaten for several days and wanted something to eat. But all Phillips wanted was some beer. He got a whole cooler of beer.

The residents of OHCC will have the privilege of hear-ing Captain Cedrun speak about this terrifying event at a meeting sponsored by the Village Vets on Thursday, May 22, 2014, at 3 p.m. in Abravanel Hall. n

What’s New?By staff reporter

Upscale coffee house

Have you ever wanted to share a pleasant moment with a friend over a cup of coffee and a slice of white chocolate cake filled with raspberry and Bavarian cream? Skybound Coffee + Dessert Lounge is what you are looking for. It’s located at what was a Starbucks at 1661 S. Melrose Drive, in the far lower cor-ner of the Albertsons shopping center. Just opened a month ago, Nancy and Aaron Eyerly decided this was a perfect lo-cation for their concept for an upscale shop for a variety of organic teas and freshly ground coffees, where customers can also enjoy a variety of fabulous pastries or gelato (a fla-vorful Italian ice cream with high butter fat content and low aeration.)

Captain Cedrun, USN, C.O. of the USS Boxer.

White chocolate cake and rose petals.

Upscale coffee house; sumptuous desserts.

quence for many years and often ignore nature’s beauty. For nubees, however, it’s something to behold. One couple re-calls their first impression of OHCC several years ago when brought here by a real estate agent. The Jacarandas were in full bloom. What a welcome!


All the desserts are from a local bakery, freshly made and delivered daily. Nancy has assured that the pastries have no preservatives, and their sorbet is home made.

Although the shop is open for business at 6:30 a.m., daily offering breakfast sandwiches, they plan to have brunch in the future. They close at 8 p.m. but remain open an addi-tional hour on Fridays and Saturdays.

The décor is very contemporary with a lounge area, per-fect for afternoon tea or a morning snack. n

Military ChroniclesBy Hank Talbot

Memorial Day —Remembering Our Veterans

In recognition of our veterans’ role in society as defend-ers of America and the values that secure the freedom and safety of her citizens, there is no other group that may claim the same amount of responsibility. Our soldiers are con-stantly out front, boot camps and bases working tirelessly to ensure we are safe from threat. Without them, there would be no insurance that our values as Americans are being de-fended around the clock. They constantly work to defend our lives, and by this, they are protecting the most vital and

important part of the USA.Our veterans, the men and women of today and our past

who have worked to ensure that our country is secure under the ideals in which their forefathers have spent their lives, are still to this day, among the most important members of society. The families of veterans, many of whom live with-out their loving spouses, siblings, children, parents and fam-ily are members of society who are constantly reminded that their beloved veterans and their work is to be appreciated

Memorial Day — remembering our veterans.



and remembered. There is not a moment that these amazing individuals are forgotten by their families. The amount of compassion that these individuals have for both their veter-ans and their country cannot be recorded in words.

Without remembering the lives that were lost, the battles that could be won, and the victories that were rejoiced, there can be no appreciation for the passion that has been dedicat-ed by every member of the military. They have been the de-fenders of liberty, justice, equality and above all, freedom. It is our job to appreciate every drop of blood, sweat and tears that they have dedicated to ensuring that our lives continue under the ideals of America.

To the veterans here in OHCC and elsewhere, we salute you. n

(Hank Talbot, himself a B 17 pilot in WWII, will be the author of this new series for The Village Voice. At 91 years old, Hank continues to be a scholar of military events and biographies of mil-itary individuals.)

New Oceanside Restaurant Now Open

You may have read in the March Voice that the Monterey Bay Canners Restaurant was closed for extensive remodel-ing. The newly renamed Oceanside Broiler is expected to be open for business by mid-May, with new menus for lunch and dinner. We look forward to discovering whether what they serve matches their delightful harborside location. The Oceanside Broiler is located at 1325 Harbor Drive North,

Health Informationon the Internet

According to the National Institutes of Health (NIH), “The quality of health information on the Internet varies. Some Web sites provide good information, but others have information that is inaccurate or out of date. You need to evaluate individual Web sites carefully. If you’re consid-ering making a health decision based on information you found on the Internet, it’s a good idea to discuss it with a health care provider and to bring printouts of the Web pages to your appointment.

“To evaluate the quality of a health-related Web site, try to answer these questions:

• Who runs it? If it isn’t obvious, look for a link to an “About This Site” page.

• What is the site’s purpose? Is it there to sell products? Does it promote a specific viewpoint? The “About This Site” page will usually give you this information.

• What is the source of the information? Many health sites post information collected from other Web sites or sources. If the organization in charge of the site did not cre-ate the material, the original source should be clearly identi-fied.

• What is the basis of the information? Look for refer-

ences to scientific research that support what the Web page says. Keep in mind that personal stories and opinions are not the same as objective scientific information.

• is the information reviewed? You can be more con-fident in the quality of medical information on a Web site if qualified people review it before it is posted. If experts have reviewed the information, their names will usually be men-tioned on the Web page.

• is the information up to date? Some Web sites are up-dated regularly, but others aren’t. Outdated medical infor-mation can be misleading or even dangerous. Many Web pages include a date when the information was last re-viewed. Look for it near the top or bottom of the page.”

(An Online topic in NIHSeniorHealth.) n

Taking MedicinesAccording to the National Institutes of Health (NIH),

studies have shown that, “when it comes to taking medi-cines, ‘one size does not fit all.’ For example, allergy medi-cines simply do not work for everyone who takes them. For some people, taking the standard dosage of a prescription pain reliever such as codeine offers no pain relief, and can even cause side effects that are uncomfortable or life-threat-ening.

“As the body ages, fat and muscle content change, affect-ing how the body absorbs and processes drugs. Many oth-er factors – exercise habits, diet, and general state of health – also influence how a person responds to medications.

“Another key factor is heredity – the genes we inher-it from our parents and other ancestors. Genes can influ-ence the way people respond to . . . antidepressants . . . and many blood pressure and asthma medicines.

“Your genes determine the shape and function of your proteins. As drugs travel through the body, they interact with dozens of proteins.

“Everyone’s genes are slightly different, so everyone’s proteins are different. Variations in some proteins can af-fect the way we respond to medicines. Such proteins in-clude those that help the body absorb, metabolize, or elimi-nate drugs. . . .” n

(Excerpts from a topic in NIHSeniorHealth.)

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

next month’s issue.Send articles to:

[email protected]



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

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TRANSPORTATION SERVICESTransportation ServicesAlso available for transportation to/fromairports, train stations, cruise ships and

personal appointments

“Skip” Hayden • Barbara Weiner-HayesArnold Kovin • Gwen Laidlaw

Phyllis Jean Nickel • AnnaMary SandersSource: Ocean Hills Community Patrol

Brilliant Red Sunrises in North County

A phenomenon called Rayleigh scattering causes light from the Sun to bounce off tiny particles in the atmosphere and scatter in different directions. Sunlight consists of many different colors: from red, which has the longest wavelength of all visible light, through to violet at the blue end of the spectrum, which has the shortest wavelength. Due to this short wavelength, blue light is scattered more effectively than oth-er colors, and this is why the sky normally appears blue to us.

At sunrise or sun-set, however, when the Sun is low on the horizon, the light rays must pass through more of the atmosphere – and there-fore bounce off more molecules – than at other times of day. This means that more blue light gets scattered away before the light reaches your eyes. Other colors – such as red, or-ange and yellow – can therefore continue to pass through the atmosphere unaffected, creating beautiful colors at the start and end of the day. n

(From How It Works, Oct. 15, 2010.)

Red sunrise at 7 a.m.

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Documents

5-2014 Village Voice Newsletter