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Letters
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- Written by: Debi Freeland
On the beautiful moonlit night of Thursday, Jan. 20, I attended Robert Boccabella's champagne reception and opening, celebrating his new Lakeport location for Business Design Services.
Wow – this guy knows presentation and details! Imagine strings of clear votive candles reflecting on all of the window sills. At the reception desk, a zig-zag pattern of the same votives greeted the guests where the sign-in book was with an elegant glass to leave business cards in.
In the main room, on the large, oval glass meeting table, were three clear rectangular boxes; each box stood as tall as the string of votives inside of them. The spaces in between were filled with rock ice for a “fire and ice” effect.
As the evening progressed, so did the ice – lingering and, then, melting away just as slowly as the people oohing and awing over Lakeport's newest business, located at 195 S. Main St. (in front of Ralph's Shoe Repair) at the corner of Armstrong.
Tastefully placed food was strewn like works of art. I did a double take of the mountainous section of buttery Peccarino cheese that was laying on its side with its fuzzy imprinted logo on the outside.
Just like a landslide, at the bottom of the road (a black lacquered porcelain tile), bite-sized boulders awaited the constant flow of traffic ... Everything from black licorice jelly bears to flattened filets of Kour Thai Satay chicken-breasts-on-a-stick (with glass bowls of the most creamy peanut sauce), sushi, marinated button mushrooms, dolmas, veggies and more exotic cheeses abounded.
Not until that day had I ever eaten creamy, white cheese laced with dainty swirls of cooked, spiced apples. Another cheese had a hint of sage while another had prosciutto rolled inside of it.
Event design and production was by “In The Appropriate Style,” Ms. Zoe Tummillo, event coordinator. Wearing a dark double-breasted suit with gold buttons and a crisp, red shirt and dark tie under his jacket, Robert stood erect greeting with a warm smile while pouring Freixenet champagne and sparkling water into the guest's fluted glasses.
Three laptops were placed in different rooms to run slide shows of some of Robert's design installations. Simple, no-clutter designs of stunning office spaces and reception areas, elegant hotel rooms, and even a church said “this man has exceptional vision and style.”
What you might not expect from such an accomplished man is his very kind and gentle mannerism. At his core is the love of his family, friends and life itself. I'm so glad I went to this very memorable event. Thank you, Robert!
Debi Freeland lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Jacque Felber and Ruth Witzel
The Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church would like to thank all of the following for your part in making the Middletown Health Fair a success.
Thanks go to: The Live Well Clinic, Doug Ammon, Phil Jacobson and Leanne Costello; Adventist Health and the medical staff, Carol Bevins, Kevin Cole, David and Theresa Schmitz, Linda Schultz, Debra DeHart, Denise Dixon The Garden, Valerie and Steve Tennison; Earth Goods, Patrick; Reach Out, Veronica Mc Gee and Irma Lopez; The Middletown Pathfinder Club, Mike Cline, Charlie, Linda and Goodwin, Evan and Ruth Witzel, Denise Benner, Taylor Goodwin, Alaura Royce, Jeromy Abram, Rebbeca Bevins; Harvester's Market (Middletown); Clearlake Grocery Outlet; Jazzercise, Beth Rudiger, Shaylah, Hunt, Kerry Griffin; Angwin College Market; The Kid's Booth staff, Karlie Dixon, Hallie Dixon, Sydney and Cade Browning; also a big help, Joe Felber, Steve Dixon, Edna and Erin Day.
Middletown Time Star, Record-Bee, Lake County News, The Observer, you help make it all happen.
A huge thanks also to our wonderful community that came and experienced the awesome health features of medical testing, health screening, health advice, exercise, kid activities, food, free bottled water and smoothies, fueled with plenty of fun and friendship.
What a joy it is to see so many members or our church and community come together for spiritual, mental and physical healing.
Jacque Felber and Ruth Witzel are with the Middletown Seventh-day Adventist Church in Middletown, Calif.
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- Written by: Lorrie Gray
First of all, Michelle Scully. When she called me in early December to ask if some local entities could hold a fundraiser for us, I was flabbergasted. For all who know me, speechlessness is not my normal reaction.
She explained that the Lake County Winegrape Commission and its members, Colleen Rentsch of Seely Farm Stand, Lake County Walnut and Scully Packing wanted to fill boxes with organic walnuts, comice pears, Pink Lady apples and wine from Lake County and sell them to raise funds for our programs.
I agreed that this sounded like a wonderful idea, and we would see if there was a response. We set a price, and they all agreed to furnish up to 100 boxes.
The response was phenomenal! When the final tally was done, we sold every box we prepared, and still had people asking for more. Between box sales and outright donations, a total of $4,766 was raised. A gigantic thank you to everyone involved, from the donors to the purchasers.
Additional kudos go to Umpqua Bank for allowing us to use their parking lot as our distribution point. On a cold, windy, slightly damp day we met with buyers and gave them the boxes. One of the bank managers took pity on Michelle, Tammy Alakszay and I and brought us hot coffee in Umpqua travel mugs. We really do appreciate all of the help from Umpqua.
We also must thank the Lake County Office of Education for the loan of the Easy-up for the day, which provided some shelter from the elements.
Many thanks to the crew who helped pack the boxes. Patrick Scully ran quality control on the pears, Michelle on the apples, Sally Evans and Mary Beth Woodward polished and packed apples, Michelle and I added wine and walnuts, and Tammy Alakszay finished with letters, labels, box lids, and taped them shut. It took all of us working together to produce the final product, which was fabulous.
Heartfelt thanks go to Six Sigma Winery, Wildhurst Winery, Brassfield Winery, Round River Farm, Shannon Gunier, Lake County Walnuts, Patrick and Michelle Scully, Scully Packing, Seely Farm Stand, and all of the Hunger Task Force members for their generosity and support. The funds will be put to good use for our community garden projects, canning lessons, and helping feed those who need some help from those of us who have enough and want to donate to those of us who do not.
Lorrie Gray is a member of the Lake County Hunger Task Force. She lives in Kelseyville, Calif.
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- Written by: Nelson Strasser
How can that be? He was always hated by racists, but he became an enemy of the government when he turned against the war in Vietnam. That is why his speech from the Riverside Church condemning the war is rarely played on the media or in history classes. His image has been sanitized. This is a slander on his memory.
Here is a sample of his words, as profound and fitting today as they were in the 1960s:
“A true revolution of values will lay hand on the world order and say of war, 'This way of settling differences is not just.' This business of burning human beings with napalm, of filling our nation's homes with orphans and widows, of injecting poisonous drugs of hate into the veins of peoples normally humane, of sending men home from dark and bloody battlefields physically handicapped and psychologically deranged, cannot be reconciled with wisdom, justice, and love. A nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual death.”
What has changed? We are still spending 57 cents of every dollar on the Pentagon. We are shooting third world peoples as if they were objects in a computer game, young men are coming back damaged physically and mentally, and we are coming closer to spiritual death.
Nelson Strasser lives in Kelseyville, Calif.