Beautiful and warm, that’s how the weather’s supposed to be this spring weekend and that’s how the San Jose Sharks are playing after the Olympic break. A Stanley Cup would be fitting for Joe Thornton, in particular. The longer he plays, the more legends he passes in the record books. When you watch him carefully, he’s clearly a “Jedi Master” feeding teammates the puck for scoring opportunities. At just the right moment in just the right place, the disc arrives on the stick and it’s a thing of beauty to watch and marvel over.
Marvelled at the “Turn out for T” fundraiser at Troy’s Bocce Ball Saturday to benefit Teresa Glover, formerly of the Dispatch graphics department and Westside Grill, who’s fighting lymphoma. A line at the door formed quickly in the evening and wonderful raffle prizes filled the pool table tops. The bands were terrific and the supportive vibe had to be a huge boost for Teresa and her family. A check for $20,025 presented to her at home Tuesday night, will also be a huge help. Oh, and I discovered a real treasure at Troy’s – a full-sized shuffleboard table. Let the after-work newspaper staff tournaments begin anew.
A whiff of a new manufacturing business in South County really caught my attention. Gabriel Garcia, inspired by his Argentinian wife Natalia’s heritage and that South American country’s rich and delicious outdoor grilling tradition, is launching Gaucho Garcia grills. You have to check out the design – it’s stunning – stainless steel v-grooved height adjustable grill, iron fire box to the side to render hardwood coals. This baby appeals to any man who likes to stoke the fire, cook the meat and enjoy the fruits of that labor with family and friends. Plus, I just couldn’t resist that simpatico feeling while perusing the website. Sample this: “What do martinis and chimichurri have in common? Answer: they are best served according to their traditional ingredients. This means dry vermouth and gin for martinis and parsley, oregano, garlic, red wine vinegar, olive oil, and red-pepper flakes (or some very similar combination) for chimichurri. That’s it. As Da Vinci once said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” That’s written by a guy who gets it. Check out the sharply designed logo, too, at gauchogarcia.com. It’s going to be a huge hit.
Opposite of a huge hit – the Santa Clara Valley Water District’s notice to South County farmers that the water from the Cross Valley Pipeline would be cut off in two weeks. Isn’t that just dandy planning, a two-week notice? The CVP is fueled by federal water from the San Luis Reservoir and the water district says it has to restrict the agriculture use to ensure drinking water supply for the entire valley. Andy Mariani – proprietor of Andy’s Orchard farm stand where the world’s best chocolate covered apricots come from – says his 60-acre cherry orchard and 15 or so additional acres planted with stone fruit trees will likely die. An idle well on his property will cost big bucks to resurrect and there’s no guarantee it isn’t dry. Chiala Farms, operated by farmers and community benefactors George and Tim Chiala, will be severly impacted, too. Meanwhile, former Morgan Hill mayor and current District 1 Water District Director Dennis Kennedy says the water was never intended for agriculture use. Pardon me, but if it wasn’t intended for ag use, why was it being used for ag for all those years? The water district shouldn’t be sending out two-week shut-off notices. It should be figuring out solutions and our representative should be putting the pedal to the metal making sure that South County isn’t subjugated to our more populous northern neighbors without sufficient reason. Isn’t there a conservation number that could be insisted upon in North County for one year so that farmers could survive – or is all the pontificating about open space and preserving agriculture merely campaign lip service? There has to be a better way.
Don’t think there’s a better way to make chicharrones then how they do it at Arteagas Market. Crispy, bite-sized and seasoned just right.
Just how it goes, I guess. Avoid the 13 started, if I remember correctly, as a campaign that banded together 13 law enforcement agencies in the area to drive home a public education message about drunk driving enforcement during the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. Great idea. The media picked up on it and the message surely got out. Fast forward a decade or so and I just received an Avoid the 13 press release aimed for St. Patrick’s Day. OK, I get it, but the problem is that when all the holidays are added from Cinco de Mayo to Labor Day, the heralding of yet another and another Avoid the 13 campaign diminishes the original intent and, more importantly, the message becomes overdone and routine and fades into background noise.
Plenty of noisy places to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day Monday in Gilroy – Irishman Mike Benson’s Claddagh Pub tops the list and Charles Davis at Station 55 is planning a bash as well. To toast “cheers” in Gaelic, you say “sláinte” – pronounce it “slawn-cha” and you’ll even impress Mr. Benson and his lovely lass, Lesley.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com
