A VIEW FROM THE HILL
APRIL 2005
EDITOR'S NOTE: Cleda Hampton did not threaten to sic "Nipper" (her Jack
Russell terrier) on me, but if she had I would have deserved it. Last month
she submitted two articles for publication about the time I went temporarily
brain-dead. Consequently the articles went unpublished. Sorry, Cleda.
SOCIAL CLUB MINUTES. Ben Davi called the meeting to order promptly at 4:00PM
on the 21st. He looked around and saw 34 chairs occupied by our neighbors.
Donna Davi reported we have almost seven grand in our sugar bowl. Jacky
Thomas said 21people signed up for St. Patrick's Day dinner, but 35 eaters
showed up, causing a strain on the meat supply. Jean Hart moved that the
Spring Dinner be handled as it has been in the past, with the Social Club
paying for the ham and members signing up for various other dishes. We may
not have a "Left Over Sunday" and instead save the ham in the freezer for
the next breakfast. The Spring Dinner is April 16th. Alice McClellan moved
and Betty Hanus seconded a motion regarding the Mother's Day Dinner. The
motion passed with no dissent. The dinner will be catered by Shirley's
Restaurant. The cost per person will be $10.00, with the Social Club putting
up the cleaning deposit of $50.00, as well as the gratuity. Drinks are at
1:00 with dinner following at 2:00PM. (More on this later in the
newsletter). Don Newman moved and Bonnie Rose seconded a motion which was
passed unanimously that the Father's Day Dinner be held at Izzy's
Restaurant. Don will get the details to present at the April meeting of the
Social Club. The golf tournament is scheduled for August 19th. The meeting
adjourned at 5:00PM as reported by Nancy Moore, Acting Secretary.
LADIES COFFEE: The last Tuesday of April (the 26th) will feature this "Come
one, Come all" event, as long as you are of the female persuasion. It is an
informal get together for the ladies of our neighborhood. Refreshments are
served by volunteers and a good time is had by visiting with friends,
meeting new neighbors, and just chatting about whatever comes up. It is a
relaxing time and a pleasant way to spend an hour or so. If you are new to
the neighborhood it is an easy way to meet new friends. The ladies usually
get started around 10:00AM.
TWO MEETINGS OF FISHERMAN'S CLUB: April's meetings are at 9:00AM on the 7th
and 14th in the Club House.
CLUB HOUSE LIBRARY: Cleda Hampton reported last month that the audio books
in the library had been moved to the craft room. Irene Repetski donated some
134 of the audio presentations. Cleda has invited all of the neighborhood to
participate by checking out a book or two. She reported that several of our
neighbors borrow the books when they are traveling to help the miles pass
by. Cleda, our Librarian, also says that she welcomes any new ideas or
suggestions. Thanks, Cleda
SLOW DOWN, DAGNABIT!!!!: Mildred Scott reminds us that sometimes people
drive too fast down our streets. As a reminder, when schools are out and
during summer many children visit our neighborhood. She cautions us to also
look out for a stray dog or cat. Finally she asks us to look both ways when
we back our of our drive ways. Well said, Mildred. We could all be a little
more careful (some more than others) and practice a little courtesy behind
the wheel. Thanks, Mildred.
THOSE BLANKETY-BLANK TAXES: If you haven't finished yours yet, please
remember that your home is taxed as Personal Property by the State of
Oregon, and these taxes are deductible. Further, a portion of the rent you
pay to LVH is also deductible. The letter you receive each year from LVH
will give you the amount of real property taxes the owners of the park paid.
A portion of your monthly rent check went to pay your share of those taxes,
and is deductible by you. It's not a lot, but every deduction helps.
ANOTHER WAY TO SAVE A FEW DOLLARS: Phagan's Cosmetology Academy (an
advertiser in our newsletter) will shortly be moving into their new building
on Highway 20 (158 E. Olive). It's where the old rental yard was. They plan
to be complete with their move by April 4th. As usual, they offer a discount
for Seniors, and will shortly be announcing more specials for Seniors. They
do hair design, facials, nails, etc. Nancy Krewina, the Director says that
in addition to easier parking the new building is bigger and much more
comfortable. Phagan's has been around in Oregon for over 50 years, and Nancy
says that even if you don't want to make an appointment now she would like
to have you drop by and look over their new facility. Her number is
265-9147.
DON NEWMAN: Again reminds us of the 5 rules to be happy:
1. Free your heart from hatred.
2. Free your mind from worries.
3. Live simply.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less.
Thanks, Don. We could all learn something from this.
WHILE WE ARE HEARING FROM DON: You can take this for what it is worth. Don
says: "OK....so if the Jacksonville Jaguars are known as the "Jags" and the
Tampa Bay Buccaneers are known as the "Bucs", what does that make the
Tennessee Titans?" (Go to your room Don, no dessert for you tonight).
RUMORS, RUMORS, RUMORS: There is one of these things going around about the
VIN number on your car. That's the little metal plate on the driver's side
of the dashboard that is visible from outside the car. It is your car's
identification number.
Well, it seems the rumor had it that a thief could copy down your number,
get a duplicate of your title, and sell your car. The rumor said to prevent
this you should put a piece of black tape over the number to foil the bad
guys. Sounds good, huh? Well, it turns out that Senior Trooper Terry Schuler
of the Oregon State Police says that state and federal law prohibits the
covering of the VIN. He says that if you do this and an Officer notices it,
he can have your car impounded until the proper identity of the vehicle can
be obtained. Trooper Schuler checked with Oregon DMV and was told that
thieves could take ownership only if the car's title or a certified bill of
sale showing a release of ownership by the registered owner was presented.
DMV has the registered owner's signature on file so a check could be made if
a forgery was suspected. Further, if your car is insured against theft you
would be reimbursed by your insurance company if some bad guy figured out a
way to sneak your signature on a phony bill of sale. So, remove this rumor
from the list of things you worry about. It will leave more time to either
worry about something else, or to spend enjoying our lovely neighborhood
which is free from snow, motorcycle traffic, diesel trucks, smog, traffic
lights, trains, and drag racers.
See, don't you feel better already?
JOY NEWMAN: I don't normally do this, but here is the EXACT letter as
received from this very nice lady:
JIM: Here is my opinion about changing the 2nd Time Around Sale date:
Originally this sale was held at the Clubhouse in the summer. It worked out
pretty well, but we had to haul our stuff up there and it was a chore. Later
it was changed to holding it in our own garages and that seemed to work
fine. We decided to hold it Labor Day weekend for a couple of reasons.
First, we still had tourists in town - a lot of them were shopping for stuff
for their college students who needed to get stuff for their new apartments.
We could sell lots of household stuff to them. Then, it was a chance to get
rid of a lot of our own summer stuff we no longer needed. We have had a very
successful sale over the years when we held it on Labor Day weekend, and I,
for one, would like to see it continue where it is.
Just a thought. Joy Newman
Very well spoken, Joy. I will be happy to print any other views on this
important topic.
DONNA TALARSKI: This month's tip from Donna is about Formula 409. She says
it doubles as a bug killer. Bees, wasps, hornets, yellow jackets all drop
dead when you spray the little buggers with 409 cleaner. Thanks, Donna
SPEAKING OF BEING RICH: Here's a real day brightener. I made a trip to
California recently to visit Aunt Betty. While I was there I read in the
paper that the average price per square foot for a house sold in Palo Alto
was (get ready for this)
NINE HUNDRED AND THIRTEEN DOLLARS! This means that a double wide like many
of us have (around 1560 square feet) would be worth $1,424,280. If you want
to make yourself feel good, why not get a glass of lemonade and ponder what
a good deal you could make for someone if you sold them your house for 10%
of what it would cost to live in Palo Alto? You could tell your prospective
buyer about the quiet peaceful neighborhood your home is in (remember the
previous comments about no trains, drag racers, smog, etc.?), as well as the
clam chowder at Mo's. Since it would be such a good deal, you could probably
do it yourself and not have to pay Pat Barker her commission. My number is
in the directory, if you can make this work let me know.
I also saw an ad for the low rent district of West San Jose. 1558 square
feet, built in the 70's........$699,950. Sure feels good to be rich, doesn't
it?
FOOD SHARE: Don Newman reports that the last two months have been a quieter
time in the Distribution Center, but there was still a lot of demand. He
mentioned that the Newport store of the Salvation Army is now under the
direction of Eugene, and as such there are now some items they will no
longer accept. Better call them first.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOU: Here are our neighbors who were April babies:
Ed Simon 09
Sam Wilcox 09
Ed Bedford 11
Paul Waehlte 19
Cleda Hampton 20
Marge Winston 20
John McHugh 20
Harriet Pitsenbarger 23
Carol Sadusky 23
Shirley Parsons 25
Eileen Jones 29
Marlene Crites 30
At the risk of being redundant I will tell you something you already know.
Medical science has proven that any cake or ice cream eaten on the
anniversary of your birth will be converted by your body into nothing more
than a smug smile. Therefore, after you blow out the candles, don't hesitate
to go back for seconds. Happy Birthday!!!!!
VOLUNTEER NEEDED: Betty Scott is retiring as birthday monitor. If you would
like this job, please contact Ben Davi. Thanks Betty for your years of
service.
AN ANONYMOUS NOTE: was dropped into the Editor's box last month. Here it is:
"Thank you to Gene and Shaleen Newbill
for sharing your garage door holiday
messages with your neighbors. If you
missed them - check it out on the next
holiday."
The Newbill's live at 559NE 60th.
SUNSHINE COMMITTEE: Cards were sent this month to Donna Davi and Jack
Scherer for surgeries they had. All is well so far, as they have both been
seen scurrying busily around the neighborhood. Jesse Stogsdill had an
injured back, which we hope is better by now.
If one of your neighbors has an injury, surgery, loss, or are just in need
of a kind word, please let Jean Hart know and she will send them a card.
Thanks, Jean
THIS IS REALLY TOUGH TO PRINT:
I received a nice letter from "Jo Jo The Rabbit" and wish I hadn't. Here is
some of it:
I hope everyone had a Happy Easter. I wanted to take a moment to thank all
those that have supported the "Rabbit" over the last ten years. What started
out as pure joy and satisfaction has become no longer that. So this will be
my last year. It is too bad that a few have to spoil it for the rest....but
that's life. Anyway, when now we have to have a sign up list for those who
don't want eggs in their yard, it just makes it hard to figure out in the
dark with volunteers that so-and-so doesn't want eggs in their yard. I think
it has become just too much hassle.
So, this is the last thing I will be involved with because of my full time
job my evenings and days off are a premium. I will be spending them with
people who appreciate me. Many Thanks, Jo Jo
The letter also talked about buying the candy when it was on sale and
freezing it and the thought that went into this annual tradition. I didn't
see any tear stains on the letter, but can imagine how difficult this was to
write. The second time I read the letter there was a tear stain on the green
paper.
This newsletter is not the place for my personal comments other than to say
thank you to the Rabbit. Your heart was in the right place and there are
many people who appreciated your kindness. You will be missed next Easter.
YES, SADLY, OUR PETS DO DIE: "Dog Nose News" a monthly publication about our
furry friends is featuring a five part series "Terminal Illness: Diagnosis
to Grief". The paper is available for free at JC Market. Look for it on top
of the counter where you buy stamps and mail parcels. Carol Frischmann, the
author goes deeply into this traumatic time and discusses the signs your pet
may be giving, support groups, and the notion that your pet is a partner in
the process of making a most difficult decision.
FOOD REPORTS WANTED: If you have dined at the following restaurant, please
share your experience with your neighbors. Write a brief note about your
observations and drop them into the Editors Box and they will be printed
next month.
Kam Meng Restaurant 837 Bay Blvd.
They feature a seafood pot for $12.95 cooked in a Chinese clay pot: oysters,
clams, mussels, shrimp, scallops, ginger, etc. They also have egg plant
tofu.
OBSERVATIONS: Baseball season starts next week! I made it through another
winter. Each year it seems like the winters get shorter. Where does the time
go?
Anyway, athletic supporter that I am, I will eagerly await the tossing of
the first ball this year. I purchased XM Satellite radio and will now be
able to listen to EVERY major league game played this year. I will be able
to chose National League, American League, day, night, etc. Costs about one
hundred and fifty bucks a year, but for that I can take the radio with me
when I travel and also enjoy it at home. They have a car mounted antennae
that has a magnet for your roof. It's not just for baseball....NASCAR races,
football, Old Time Radio (remember The Shadow, Gangbusters, The FBI In Peace
and War, The Jack Benny Show, Bob Hope, etc.)? It is all in there. My
favorite channel (besides baseball) is "Hanks Place" which plays nothing but
old time country music (Hank Williams, Bill Monroe, Ernest Tubbs, as well as
the new kids like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard).
Went to the RV show in Salem last month. They now have Fifth Wheel trailers
with FIVE slide-outs, as well as a fire place.
Spoke to Mary Lou Yeck (Emerald Coast Realty) a few days ago. She told me
that there were only four houses for sale in Newport in the $150-$250,000.
One of these is my daughter's house. It's listed for $237,500. She paid
$125,000 about five years ago. Is this starting to sound like California?
Went to a move in Berkley, California a couple of weeks ago. Saw "Schultze
Gets The Blues", a German film that was rated by the Oregonian as a "must
see". As you can see from my waist line, all of my taste is in my mouth.
This work of art went right over my head. Maybe if you see it you will
appreciate it, I didn't. While we were there, we made a brief detour through
the Oakland Hills where we almost got snared in a Police sweep. Seems that
from time to time the cops cordon off a neighborhood of a block or so with
squads of flack-jacket wearing officers who "drag net" the area looking for
baddies. On one side of the street you see people eating ice cream cones,
holding babies, walking their dog, etc., while on the other side of the
street nothing but police activities. It looked like a perfectly normal
activity for people who live in high crime areas. Sure makes our little one
horse town look attractive.
GLORIA MAZZEO, BETTY HANUS, AND JEAN HART have 80 tickets for the Mother's
Day Brunch. When they are gone, they are gone. There will be only ten
carry-out meals available. PLEASE HURRY AND GET YOUR TICKETS.
An extra helping of popcorn in the Clubhouse if you can name the number one
song of 1952. (It was Patti Page's rendition of the Tennessee Waltz). Okay,
second chance.....which song was number one in 1959? Right, Bobby Darin's
"Mack the Knife". I wonder how long it will be before one of those
stone-deaf "artists" make a rap version of these classics.
Speaking of the 1950's, here's another one. Which film won the best picture
Oscar for 1952. It was my favorite film ever. Movie was about the struggle a
man was facing in retirement. He had responsibilities to take care of, but
his replacement wouldn't be on the job for a few days. His employer told him
to go ahead and begin his retirement, but the guy just couldn't leave the
job behind. He stayed on to tie up loose ends, and all heck broke loose.
Figure it out yet? The guy was Sheriff Will Cane, played by Gary Cooper.
Yup, you knew all along the movie was "High Noon", didn't you?
I think a toaster is a modern invention. My wife, on the other hand has
figured out that if we take a hundred pictures on our digital camera that
she can take out the tiny memory stick and put it in Walmart's machine in
the photo department and browse through the pictures looking for the few she
wants to print. She then pushes a button that sets in motion the developing
procedure. We return an hour later and for less than twenty cents apiece she
has the pictures she wants and erases the rest. Not only that, she can do a
certain amount of editing of each picture.
I went for a ride in the Goodyear blimp once. What I remember is how quiet
it was and what a sensible method of transportation it seemed to be. Wonder
why they don't use blimps to take some of the load off the highways the
18-wheelers carry now?
I have been thinking of having a Texas Hold-em tournament here in LVH. There
would be a $10.00 buy in, with 80% of the total money collected being paid
to the winners. The remainder of the money would go toward what it is going
to cost to re-cover the pool tables. We'd do it like they do on TV. No
limit, and when you are broke you are out of the competition. This wouldn't
be something to augment your retirement income, (the big winner might make
$50.00), but it would be a lot of fun. If you're interested please drop a
note in the Editor's box.
See you next month.