The call to action came through mass e-mails from Linda McNulty
and other supporters of Measure E to gather at Guglielmo Winery on
Friday night to eat barbecue, drink wine, catch up with old friends
and pick up your Measure E lawn sign.
The call to action came through mass e-mails from Linda McNulty and other supporters of Measure E to gather at Guglielmo Winery on Friday night to eat barbecue, drink wine, catch up with old friends and pick up your Measure E lawn sign. George and Shelley Thomas led the longtime-resident support for what the Morgan Hill Unified School District promises to be “money for the children.”
New district assistant superintendent Michael Johnson spent the evening listening to the concerns and hopes of many attendees that Measure E will measure up. Bob Davis was spotted as one of the first out on the dance floor, and other district principals attending the event marveled at Davis’ ability to loosen up and forget about being an administrator for the night.
Catholic school survivors Kathleen Masner, principal at El Toro School; Karen Tavares, principal at Jackson Elementary; and P.J. Foehr, principal at San Martin Elementary traded parochial school stories while keeping a supervisory eye on the crowd. Graduation wind picked up toward the end of the evening just as the student entertainment came to an end.
Yachting! What a society thing to do. Bunni Gromeeko, a Gilroy resident and past board member of the South Valley Symphony, invited us to join her last Saturday morning on the San Francisco Bay along with the Los Gatos Yacht Club (a dry yacht club – in water, not spirits), of which Bunni’s late husband, George, was a founding member. Saturday’s event was a memorial race in George’s memory.
Bunni’s son, Captain Andrew Gromeeko from Miami, and her daughter, Marianne Thompson of Portland, Ore., joined the crew aboard the Aram Cara. The Aram Cara is a 47-foot sloop owned by David Kirk, former pre IPO Chief Technical Officer of AOL. Aram Cara means “soul friend” in Gaelic, and I found myself spiritually connected to yachting aboard large, beautiful sloops with a friendly captain and the international crew of two Brits, a Russian (Misha), and some Californians thrown in.
Although I had no idea what the sailing terms Andrew shouted out to the crew actually meant, I did understand that when the boat starts tipping in the wind, myself and the other greenhorns were to crawl over to the other side and provide ballast. This was no easy feat with a large Nikon camera in tow.
After tacking a few practice times near the Port of San Francisco sign, we were off to race around the islands of Alcatraz and Angel Island. The conversation on board was so lively that we almost forgot we were racing, and, not gloomily, we came in dead last out of four yachts.
The traditional toast to George Gromeeko of Stolichnaya was made on the dock with the rest of the club members, and lunch was served inside the South Beach Harbor Community Room. Mr. Kirk and his wife, Leigh, met us on the dock to clean out their belongings, as the Aram Cara is being readied for sale.
Although the Kirks are sad to say farewell to their soul friend, they console themselves with the fact that they are heading for a sailing adventure in the Greek Islands. Anyone interested in purchasing the gorgeous Aram Cara should contact Graham Macmillan at KKMI in Richmond at (510) 236-6633, and I’m available any day to provide soulful ballast (along with the rest of the international sailing waifs).
Saying goodbye appears to be a trend around here. South Valley Symphony musicians and board members gathered Sunday afternoon at the Gilroy home of Frank Locicero to say a final farewell to conductor Henry Mollicone and his lovely wife, Kathy. Locicero’s fame came from his early days cooking in gourmet alley at the Garlic Festival with Val Filice.
Locicero hosted Sunday’s backyard event, christening his new, spacious outdoor kitchen. The musicians commented on his eclectic mix of yard decor, dubbing the jaccuzzi area the “orgy motif.” Kathy Mollicone smiled and shouted, “I’ve been in an orgy!,” to which the multitude of side conversations stopped mid-sentence. “It was in a play. ‘The Tales of Hoffman.’ It was horrible. It went on for 20 minutes, and the guy next to me had really bad body odor.”
You never know what musicians and actors will talk about at parties.
Changing the subject to Henry Mollicone’s more spiritual compositions, like the well-known, “Face on the Barroom Floor,” which has been often misquoted as the “Face on the Bathroom Floor,” symphony bassoonist Ann Mayers reported to Henry, “I did see that when San Jose Opera performed it.” To which Vinny, one of the symphony’s oboists, asked, “Was it any good?” Henry shot back, “Yes, there were no oboe parts.” Vinny is still trying to formulate a come back.
The South Valley Symphony’s last concert of the season will be conducted by Tony Quartuccio at 8pm June 2 in the Gavilan College Theater. Piano soloist Allen Chen will be performing the “Gershwin Piano Concerto in F.”
Mr. Quartuccio joins the symphony as a guest conductor, but heavy lobbying by the musicians may result in his permanent place on the conductor’s podium. Henry Mollicone has provided the pranksters in the symphony with a multitude of accordion jokes, should Quartuccio’s appointment be made known.
Ciao for now.
