Super sick for the Super Bowl, so Miss Jenny and I missed the planned cioppino feast and plopped on the couch nursing the nasty bug with cranberry juice and seltzer water while the 49ers dove, then soared, then came up one – or perhaps two – play calls short. Disappointed? Sure. Dismayed? Hardly. It’s hard to get there, but all the pieces are in place for a few return trips. And next time I’m sure I’ll be exclaiming and exhorting once again … can’t remember having ever sat silent watching an entire 49ers game.
Know someone who’s game for one of thee most expensive weddings ever? They can enter now to become “the first lucky couple to be married on this gorgeous, romantic Valley Transportation Authority historic trolley this Valentine’s Day!” All you have to do is tell the good folks at the transportation agency why you should win it all – a wedding ceremony that includes 10 guests, gift certificates from local businesses and a special gift from VTA to remember your special day. It’s www.vta.org/wedding/ for the rules and all I can think of is whether always vociferous VTA critic Joe “Turkey” Thompson might want to climb on board and officiate …
No vows required to become the queen for the 35th Annual Gilroy Garlic Festival Queen Pageant. Our middle daughter, Cayla, flirted with the idea, but her talents were in sports and school and, as she’s a pediatric nurse (shameless Dad brag, I know), it turned out just dandy. Always thought the pageant does a great job showcasing the attributes that really count in life – good humor, social ability, kindness and a zest for something as zany, and yet as important to the community, as the Garlic Festival. So, if a young lady pops to top of mind, there’s a $1,000 scholarship to the winner from the Garlic Festival to go along with the $5,000 that Christopher Ranch awards and a whole lot of good life learning out there. First step: download the application at www.garlicfestival.com then get ready for a whole lot of hometown fun.
Not fun, but seriously important … I didn’t know that there’s a protocol for including an emergency contact phone number in your cell phone. You store a number in your phone under the acronym ICE (In Case of Emergency) and then, if emergency workers need to contact someone, they look to that number for a speedy way to reach them. Could be very important. There’s a simple way, too, that displays the number without passcode interference on the iPhone. And, borrowing the phrase Annie used frequently to punctuate her points in the movie “Bull Durham, “You can look it up.”
Look up and the Sharks are undefeated. Look again and the Sharks are on a scoring drought having lost three in a row. Being a Sharks fan is like taking a ride on the Big Dipper in Santa Cruz – up, down and all around – or maybe like opening the proverbial box of Forrest Gump chocolates. You just never know what you’re going to get. Why not? I just haven’t a clue.
Being laid up gave me the chance to watch an old movie that’s held up through the years like the Rolling Stones. “Bullit”, starring Steve McQueen, was filmed in San Francisco with one great car chase scene that’s still really cool. I remember being in the theater and marvelling that the car chase was so good your stomach would go up and down with the car like you were riding in it. Hard to believe it came out in 1968.
Field hockey fast forward to 2013 and College Signing Day. Having two daughters who played field hockey at Gilroy High, I know it’s a fantastic program run by Adam Gemar that keeps churning out winners. Congratulations to Monica Marrazzo (Cal), Alex Kachtajki (UOP) and Mariesa Mazzone (Mt. Holyoke) who signed letters today. Great work ladies and coaches. It takes a whole lot of dedication and work to keep such a successful program going.
Sad to relay that good guy and former City of Gilroy Recreation Director Bob Connelly has passed away in Aurora, Illinois after a battle with mesothelioma, a rare form of lung cancer. He helped build, then oversaw a spirited, top-notch city recreation department that furnished Gilroyans for many years with so many wonderful and affordable opportunities. His wife Kathy says that the family hopes to be in Gilroy this spring and have a service planned for Bob here.
Super SV sleuth GB says that Apple co-founder Steve Wozniak likes to eat at Marie Callender’s in Morgan Hill, now a privately owned Marie Callenders that has a makeover and a whole new menu after being purchased out of bankruptcy by a Silicon Valley businessman. Wonder if he’s interested in re-opening Jeffrey’s here by the freeway? Now that would be a coups for the Gilroy EDC.
Reach Editor Mark Derry at ed****@ga****.com
