Saying Goodbye to Sam Keen
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Gather in the Garden at Vintage House
A celebration of friendship, renewal, and the spirit of Spring all in support of Vintage House — where connection, vitality, and lifelong learning grow. Nestled in a sun-kissed garden meadow estate on Castle Road in Sonoma, this exclusive event invites you to savor the season with:
Live music and performances, silent auction, hors d’oeuvres, and wine.
Saturday, May 31, 2025
11 am - 2 pm
Castle Road Estate | Sonoma, CA
Tickets on Sale April 24
https://vintagehouse.org/gather
Sonoma Community Center is looking for volunteer makeup artists for their Trashion Fashion show. April 19th, from 10 AM - 4 PM
Send us an email for more details and to get involved!
scc@sonomacommunitycenter.org
DEADLINE FOR SUMMER GUIDE IS April 8
TRASHION FASHION RUNWAY SHOW
Tickets on sale now!
Saturday, April 19, 2 PM & 5 PM
SonomaCommunityCenter.org
TOP SECRET ON TIKTOK
The TikToc Group Chat invitation came from “SecDef-PistolPete,” and it was labeled, “PrinsCom ONLY - Highly Confidential and Private. Don’t Share This With AWINOOU (Anyone Who Is Not One Of Us).
I looked at the rest of the names on the invitation. There was KN-Rolex DgKlr-Grll; JD-Jr.Dict, RMad, JRCIA, MAR, MWNSA, S&M, SWit, JR-Sig, TulsGab, SteBan, NOTYRBznz.
I was listed as DBSONVALSON.
All the video cubes were still blank, but there was a general, incoherent buzz coming through my speaker and what sounded like a K-Pop song called Sugar Rush Ride. An adolescent voice was singing, “I can Feel I Can’t Resist It.”
“What’s this about,” I asked whoever.
“Oh, sorry. My bad,” said a very young voice, “I’ll turn off the tunes.”
“Is that a kid? What’s a kid doing on this chat?” said an angry male voice, coming from the SecDefPistolPete cube.
“The kid is mine,” said the Rolex-DgKlr-Grll cube.
“Why’s he here,” said SecDef-PistolPete, snarling.
“Oh, so you think you know how to do the nav on TikTok? Go for it Tat-Man.”
The S&M cube said, “Wait, don’t you have to be 16 to be on a TikTok Group Chat?”
“Well screw you, ass wipe, I’m seventeen. Tell him Mom.”
“It’s true. He’s 17. He’s my little man. Aren’t you Booker?”
“He has clearance?” TulsGab said, skeptically.
“Damn right,” said Rolex-DgKlr-Grll, “I cleared him my own damn self.”
“I’m not here,” said MAR, “because I’m in Moscow. Think I’ll just go dark. Bye.”
Just then all the cubes went to live video, but every face was a cartoon animal.
“Wait, whuttt?” said about six people in unison.”
“It’s for security,” said Rolex-DgKlr-Grll,” that’s why Booker’s here. Somebody has to do the Morph Animal Filter, unless you think you can handle it SteBan.”
“No, I’m good. But who’s running this show? The kid?”
“Who the hell do you think is running it,” snarled SecDef-PistolPete. “OK? Now, let’s go around the horn, make sure we all know who’s here this time. Can’t have anymore f**k ups like last time. So, obviously, I’m SecDef-PistolPete, and I’m obviously here, and I called the damned meeting.”
“And I’m obviously here,” said Rolex-DgKlr-Grll, “but you better drive this bus damn fast ‘cause I’m due in NYC in three hours for another TV-Op of a illegalVenezuelan round-up.”
“I’m here,” said JD-Jr.Dict. “But I have some questions about some of the illegals you’re rounding up. We’re getting some bad press.”
“No worries,” said Rolex-DgKlr-Grll, “we’re rounding up some press too. Just the ones that complain.”
“I’m here,” said RMad, “but I don’t know why.”
“You sound familiar,” said JRCIA, “do I know you?”
“Well helloo, I’m in your damn Blackberry.”
“Rachel? Rachel Madow? Sweet Jesus.”
I felt the need to interrupt.
“Are you people out of your Efffing minds. You’re holding another PrinsCom meeting on a public platform? On TikTok?”
“I don’t know you,” said SecDef-PistolPete. “Who the hell are you?”
“I’m David,” I said, thinking I should have kept quiet. “David, from the Sun.”
“Right,” said SecDef-PistolPete, “and I’m the freakin’ man in the Moon”
Instantly all the screens went blank.
Affordable Housing
Time for Sonoma to put its money where its mouth is
At the top of its goals for 2025, the Sonoma City Council has placed the creation of affordable housing, particularly housing for lower-wage earners. A review of Affordable Housing (deed restricted and income qualified) created during this past year is bleak; only two low and very low income units were built. Unless the city ups its game dramatically, it will fall far short of its goal to produce 311 Affordable Housing units during the next seven years, the state’s mandated target.
Luckily, there is an opportunity to make a difference. By using a million or so dollars from its $1.4 million Affordable Housing Trust Fund, the city can begin the process of purchasing the old Truck and Auto parcel at the corner of MacArthur Street and Broadway. It’s now up for sale. Having laid fallow since the business closed and was demolished, the site is perfectly located to provide housing for lower-wage hotel workers downtown and put a dent in the number of units needed and required.
The parcel costs $4.6 million, well more than one million dollars, but a million is enough to prime the pump. Nonprofit housing developers like Burbank or Midpen Housing know everything about how to leverage government money, but it’s up to the government to get the ball rolling.
Now’s time for the City Council to put its money where its mouth is. If the council is serious about creating affordable housing, now’s the time to prove it. It can begin with securing an option to buy the parcel, which will provide the time for the city to work with a nonprofit housing developer and lead a community-based fund-raising campaign to secure additional money. The Chamber of Commerce says its members complain they can’t find employees due to the lack of affordable housing. Now is the chance
for the Chamber and its members to be part of the solution and not just complain about the problem.
The parcel is currently zoned MixedUse, which is intended to be a blend of housing and commercial use, but there is no requirement that limits the use of the parcel for housing only. With a density of 20 units an acre, plus a density bonus of 50 percent, seventy or more affordable units could be built to house our service industry workers and their families.
The parcel is on our major commercial corridor, has access to bus routes, and is walking distance to Plaza restaurants, businesses, and local hotels. It’s within Sonoma’s urban core, and one of the few, large, undeveloped parcels remaining downtown. In short, it’s perfect.
If the City of Sonoma does not help purchase this parcel, it will most likely be bought and developed by commercial interests that exploit its development for high-end uses. Although it requires that 50 percent of the developed real estate be housing, only 25 percent of that is required to be affordable, putting barely a dent in the city’s goal.
We think the City of Sonoma needs to get proactive and take a bold step forward in implementing Sonoma’s Affordable Housing solutions. The city can’t have it both ways, making its top goal the creation of Affordable Housing but not actually doing it. The City of Sonoma needs to get off the dime and take real action to make it happen now.
About the Hanna Roundabout
It’s unfortunate that people who are ignorant of the design and thought put into the Hanna roundabout keep spouting their ignorance around the “distractions” and limited “view of traffic.” The design of the roundabout was carefully thought out, with input from research on other roundabouts around the world. The area in the middle that limits the view, other than the traffic lanes themselves, was purposeful. The “distractions” are in fact limited due to this design, directing driver focus to the lanes themselves in order to maximize driver attention and traffic safety. Stop spreading misinformation based on your own ignorance of the facts.
–Martin Laney, Sonoma
About “When Assholes Rule”
Yeah, yeah, I know… There’s going to be those who will say that such language is uncalled for. That crude and vulgar assertions are inappropriate and should only be heard between close friends or peers; such talk is for the Friday night poker game with your buddies.
Well, I think it’s about time to speak up and publicly express our displeasure and frustrations with the current administration’s dismantling of our democracy and rampantly moving the USA toward an oligarchy. The writing is clearly on the wall. If you’re not outraged you’re not paying attention.
As they say in the old adage: Call an ace an ace and a spade a spade. I think calling an asshole an asshole is quite appropriate. I couldn’t have said it any better myself. (well, there is another word or two that comes to mind…)
Thank you, Sun, for having the courage to say it out loud.
Buckle-up kids – it could be a rough ride
– Gregg Montgomery
Asbestos-Exposure Registry Could Save Veterans Lives
Asbestos minerals have been heavily applied by the US Armed Forces, especially the US Navy, since the 1920s until approximately the early 1970s. While their durability, heat resistance, and cost-effectiveness made asbestoscontaining materials highly efficient for insulation, shipbuilding, gaskets, and other applications, asbestos has its dangerous downside. Exposure to these mineral fibers leads to severe health conditions, such as mesothelioma, asbestosis or lung cancer.
Mesothelioma, which is an aggressive cancer, and asbestosis, the scarring of lung tissues, are solely caused by inhaled asbestos particles. When the microscopic asbestos fibers settle on the lungs, they raise the risk of lung cancer, the second most common cancer in the U.S. The most challenging disease among them is mesothelioma because it is very often misdiagnosed or only detected at an advanced stage. According to a medical study, between 14 percent and 50 percent of mesothelioma diagnoses are incorrect. In 2021, 2,803 mesothelioma cases were reported in the US, and 30 percent of the diagnosed are veterans. Unfortunately, there is no cure for mesothelioma, and it claims many lives. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) estimated that between 1999 and 2013, about 2,848 people died of mesothelioma every year.
Veteranswho served in environments highly contaminated by asbestos now suffer from its life-threatening consequences. However, a national database, set up jointly by the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense, could vastly improve this situation by enlisting military members with known or suspected asbestos exposure during their service years. Based on such a database, doctors could then refer all those at risk of having asbestos lingering in their bodies to regular medical check-ups.
California is among the top three US states with the largest veteran population in 2023, counting over 1.48 million veterans. There were 19,715 veterans living in Sonoma County in 2023, a decline of nearly 9,000 over the previous
decade. California has the most military installations in the country, with a very strong Navy presence. And the military used asbestos routinely for decades, particularly at facilities like the nearby Mare Island Naval Shipyard, where asbestos was used in boilers, incinerators, for insulating material and in general ship construction.
It is therefore not surprising that California had 27,080 asbestos-related deaths between 1999 and 2017, the highest number of such deaths in the country during that time. Of that number, 5,100 were mesothelioma deaths, the highest number compared to other U.S. states. In Sonoma County, the estimate for asbestos-related deaths was 588, with an average of 30 deaths per year for the same period.
The Military allowed its service members to spend years in asbestoscontaminated environments while knowing of the dangers. Because asbestos lingers in the body between 20 to 50 years after exposure before asbestos-related illnesses show symptoms, asbestos is still claiming the lives of many California veterans.
By Jonathan Sharp
Mesothelioma is caused by inhaled asbestos mineral particles attacking the tissues around the lungs, abdomen, heart or reproductive organs. The disease poses a significant challenge to the medical community because it is hard to diagnose. Initial symptoms resemble more common lung diseases, and when the first symptoms appear, which happens at a later stage of the cancer, it progresses rapidly, leaving almost no options for treatment. Diagnosis is further complicated because there are relatively few mesothelioma specialists in the U.S.
If mesothelioma is detected in time by specific tests, like X-rays, CT scans, PET scans, and biopsies, patients have the chance to receive impactful treatment, and their life expectancy and quality can be raised with the slowing down of the cancer’s progression. It is essential that veterans, even those who do not have any symptoms, attend specific health checks regularly.
Being alert to the possibility of asbestos-linked conditions is critical, and a digitalized veterans’ asbestos exposure database could be an important asset in extending life. Based on examples from
other countries, in 2019, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended the creation of a similar National Mesothelioma Registry focusing on at-risk populations. But no such registry exists in the US yet, and as long as veterans are one of the most affected populations by asbestos and mesothelioma, a database that focuses on their situation is should be a national priority.
Editor’s
note: This article was submitted by the Environmental Litigation Group, an Alabama law firm representing veterans exposed to asbestosis and other toxic chemicals. The law firm could stand to benefit from publication of this article, but the Sun believes the benefit to veterans, who frequently struggle to win attention and access to their needs, warrants the story.
The Long Short Flight of Sierra Nadeau
Dramatic Rescue on Sonoma Mountain
Sierra Nadeau should be dead. OK, that might be a little extreme. But not by much.
She was taking a hike up the labyrinth of trails and fire roads that snake up the side of Sonoma Mountain above Glen Ellen. Sierra is a very fit 32, and a culinary professional who loves sustainably foraging for wild edibles. She had her beagle-sized rescue dog, Brewski, with her and at first it was pouring down rain and the trail was slick with mud.
She also had a couple of EpiPens in her backpack because Sierra suffers from idiopathic anaphylaxis, meaning she can experience severe anaphylactic shock with no identifiable trigger, like a bee sting or other tangible allergen.
In the last four years, she says, she has had four or five episodes of anaphylactic shock, and on two occasions one shot from an EpiPen was not enough to relieve the symptoms which can, in extreme cases result in a sudden drop in blood pressure, constricted airways, difficulty breathing, a swollen tongue, unconsciousness and death.
On this day, as she entered a copse of fir trees, her little cone of reality disintegrated.
“I started feeling burning hot,” she says, “feeling weird.”
She managed to call Marius Canard, a close friend familiar with the trails on Sonoma Mountain, told him where she was, then fell to her knees and vomited.
“I was able to text Marius, and then 911, but I couldn’t reach my EpiPens, I’m lying in vomit, focused on breathing, my phone rings and I can’t even answer it, I thought, oh shit, I’m about to die.”
Thenmiraculously, Marius arrived, after racing hard up the soggy trail.
“He ran up that hill in seven minutes. He told me that my face was almost entirely blue. He probably saved my life.”
Marius injected Sierra with an EpiPen, called for a paramedic and tried to keep her engaged as she slipped in and out of consciousness.
Unknown to Sierra and Marius, a full-court rescue “surge” was underway in the corridors of Sonoma Valley Fire & Rescue, with two paramedics dispatched in a four-wheel “side-by-side” utility terrain vehicle (UTV).
Guided
by the signal from Canard’s cell phone, the paramedics plotted a course bringing them close to Sierra on a trail above where she was lying on a bed of leaves under an open column of space among the trees.
But the racing paramedics came to a sudden halt when they encountered a fallen tree completely blocking the trail.
Instantly, Mason Lewis, a ten-year veteran paramedic, vaulted out of the UTV, snagged his mobile rescue pack and raced down to where Sierra and Canard were waiting. Lewis administered more epinephrine as Sierra wobbled on the edge of awareness. She says she thinks she heard him say, “She’s going fast.”
The Sonoma Valley rescue team had meanwhile determined that Sierra was
By David Bolling
too far from an accessible road for an ambulance to reach her in time, and without the UTV – which carries a fullsized rescue basket – the only way out was up.
Lewis had already made contact with the Sonoma County Sheriff’s rescue helicopter, but it wasn’t available, so the call was transferred to the California Highway Patrol which promptly sent the nearest “bird,” but it was a comparatively small helicopter, which meant there was no room for Sierra inside. It hovered above the open patch where Sierra lay, and lowered a long rope with a plastic vest commonly referred to as a “scream jacket.”
An appropriate name since Sierra says she is “terrified of heights.” She was nevertheless helmeted, buckled into the jacket, and pulled straight up to the helicopter, hovering 200 feet above the ground.
“All I could see was the propellers,” she says, and that’s all she did see for the next eight minutes on the flight to Memorial Hospital in Santa Rosa, which has a landing pad. “It felt like forever,” she said after recovering. “This CHP officer held me by the handles outside the plane the whole way.”
Sierra, Marius and Brewski went back to Fire and Rescue Station 5 in Glen Ellen a few days later to thank Mason Lewis, who said their appreciation was one of the nicest things that has happened to me. “It was really great to see her again. We don’t always hear how things turn out.”
Askedif he thought Sierra would have died, Lewis smiled and said, “Well, it sure looked that way. So, probably yes.”
Sierra is convinced that’s true, that without Canard and Lewis, she would have missed the only free-outside-thehelicopter ride she will (hopefully) ever have.
In the place where it happened: Brewski, Marius and Sierra.
The rescued with the rescuers: Sierra, Mason Lewis, Marius Canard and Bewski.
A Tribute to My Friend Sam Keen
By Georgia Kelly
Sam Keen was my friend, sometimes a mentor, sometimes a big brother, but always one of my most treasured friends. I met Sam about 50 years ago when I was living in Big Sur and he was a frequent workshop leader at Esalen Institute. He was dating a close friend of mine so I saw him fairly regularly. My former husband and I often spent time with them in Big Sur and Muir Beach where they lived. But, it wasn’t until I moved to Sonoma in 1997 that I really got to know Sam.
My fondest memories of Sam will always be our afternoon teas. Our conversations would span a spectrum of subjects but usually revolved around politics, philosophy, literature, theology and books we were reading. We both preferred tea over coffee and believed that the ritual of afternoon tea was the ideal space for deep conversation. We also both loved birds and kept copious supplies of bird seed and peanuts on hand. Once when I visited for tea, Sam gave me a handful of bird seed and motioned for me to come outside. As we approached the bird feeder, a plethora of small birds started flying all around us before landing on our shoulders and arms. It was thrilling. They had no fear of us and preferred to get the seeds directly from our hands. His book, “Sightings: Extraordinary Encounters with Ordinary Birds” was about his love and appreciation for the wonder and beauty of the many species of our feathered friends.
Sam’s book, “Faces of the Enemy,” has been the go-to book for Praxis Peace Institute programs on war and peace. His understanding of propaganda and how people are manipulated by stories and images was second to none. He has one of the largest collections of propaganda posters in the country and his book is filled with some of these horrific images. Our discussions often focused on war, the failure to learn the lessons of history, or the reasons why heroes or cult leaders have so little trouble finding devoted followers. What motivated the true believer? Why did some people question
the beliefs they were taught and others did not?
Sam used to say that from the moment we are born, someone is shoving software into our minds. It was up to each of us to question the veracity of this software. Sam’s life work was about posing the questions that matter. Finding solutions, he believed, is not possible if one is not asking the right questions. He had a framed picture of a Question mark in his office, a constant reminder of the need to keep seeking and to question all sources. Having PhD degrees in both philosophy and theology, his inquiring mind was always busy and his insights reflected a dogged pursuit of knowledge. Sam was never finished with learning and never finished with questioning.
In2008, when I was organizing the conference Praxis would produce in Sonoma in 2009, I asked Sam to be a speaker. The theme was “The Economics of Peace.” Not being an economist, he was somewhat reluctant to take this on, but I told him he was to give us the philosophical side of economics, the values and ethics of a just economic model. After the conference in October 2009, he told me he had spent a year putting the ideas together for that speech. Needless to say, it was brilliant and I was so glad that I persevered in enlisting him for that task. One of the books he studied in preparation was “The Worldly Philosophers” by Robert Heilbroner. On his recommendation, I read it so we could talk about it. Reading and discussing that book with Sam was akin to a graduate course in economic philosophy. Being Sam’s friend meant learning all the time.
Sam was very comfortable with uncertainty, which seems very compatible with an inquisitive mind. We talked about that a lot. Why did everything need an explanation or an answer? Wonder was a divine attribute. In fact, he wrote a book about it, “Apology for Wonder.” Sam was a thinker and also a person who marveled at the beauty of the world and all life in it.
Then there was a time when Sam played the role of my big brother. In 1999, we were both in attendance at the State of the World Forum in San Francisco. I was there to play the harp for the opening banquet, which earned my entrance to the multi-day event. Sam was a speaker. One afternoon, he insisted that I attend a planning meeting because, as I recall, someone had cancelled and there was about to be a reshuffle. I was happy to be there and observe the inner workings of conference planning but was shocked when Sam suggested that I should be the moderator for one of the panels scheduled that evening. Well-known luminaries were set to be on that panel. I was the harpist. What was Sam thinking? Really, what was Sam thinking? Later, he admitted why he did it. First, he believed I was up for it even when I wouldn’t have considered it myself; and, second, he was convinced that I would challenge the usual rhetoric of the panel members. He wanted to shake things ups. I did exactly what he expected and my next career (Praxis Peace Institute) was probably seeded that night.
Samwas an advisory board member of Praxis Peace Institute before we incorporated in 2001 and remained on the board all these years later. His advice was invaluable when discussing conference topics or planning a program. I will miss Sam deeply. He has been a part of my life for most of my life. I’m sure that I will think about him often when I have afternoon tea, especially if it includes oatmeal cookies, which were his favorite.
Inthe last third of Sam’s life, he was blessed with finding a relationship that truly fulfilled him. Sam softened when he married Patricia de Jong. The side of him that liked to shock audiences and get them riled up, had dissolved (yes, there was that side of him, as many people can attest).
Sam lived well and loved well, a truly remarkable man who had a giant impact on the lives of many people. I am forever grateful to have known Sam and to have been his friend for so many years. There were tears in my afternoon tea the day I got the news of his passing. He will not be forgotten.
May
Sam’s spirit rest in bliss. Praxis Peace Institute will host a free discussion on zoom on April 4th to honor Sam Keen and Ofer Zur (who passed away in February). They were friends and often spoke at events together. The topic: “Propaganda and the Faces of the Enemy.” To get the zoom link, email: georgia@ praxispeace.org. This free program will be repeated live on Tuesday, May 6th at 5:30 at Aqus Café in Petaluma.
Sam Keen
What’s In A Name?
Older readers will remember that young Juliet Capulet fell in love with Romeo Montague, an affair complicated by the fact that their families had long been at war with each other. Weighing the implications of Romeo being a Montague, she voiced that now-famous line: “What’s in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.”
Tesla owners can identify with Juliet. Their car is a rose that by any other name (e.g., Buick?) would still be the fine car for which they paid a fortune. Alas, Tesla is irrevocably linked with Elon Musk who, as far as your correspondent can determine, has never been described as a rose.
But Mr. Musk (not ‘Herr Musk’) did not invent the Tesla or found the company. Tesla was started by two engineers who brought Elon in as an investor, later to be the company’s fourth CEO. It’s all here at: https://www.cnbc.com/2021/02/06/ tesla-founders-martin-eberhard-marctarpenning-on-elon-musk.html
However, for better or worse, Elon has become the face of Tesla.
That’s no comfort to owners of Tesla cars (or stock) watching videos of Teslas being smashed and burned by an element of Everyday Americans very unhappy with Elon for bullDogeing vast sections of the federal government at the behest of President Trump.
And maybe for being a little . . . eccentric? Certainly his behaviors, whenever a camera is rolling, are not typical of billionaire C-Suite executives, even those who started at the bottom by inheriting their father’s South African emerald mine fortune.
But caring readers may want to know: How to help Tesla owners – many of whom bought their cars before Elon became “a thing” – to protect their expensive cars? A gaggle of local wine and beer enthusiasts gathered recently and came up with a list of suggestions: Stencil “POLICE” on all four sides of the vehicle.
Hide your Tesla in the garage.
Drive only after dark.
Don’t park in public.
Buy bumper stickers (on Amazon): “I bought this before we knew Elon was crazy.”
Donate your Tesla to charity and claim a tax deduction.
Most important: Pay your auto insurance premiums.
Some suggested suing Elon for inciting damage to Tesla cars, and for causing their owners emotional distress. Others argued that the increasingly comical legal system would only aggravate an owner’s emotional distress. E.g., See: “No One Is Above The Law,” except the President when performing his official duties.
Still others noted that suing a billionaire able to buy the best lawyers and/or the worst judges would cost way more than a new Tesla.
Thankfully, as this piece goes to press, there have been no reports of vandalism, fires, bombings, etc., of Tesla cars or dealerships in the Valley. This is due to the strong personal ethic of our Valley residents, and the fact that the nearest Tesla dealership is in Santa Rosa, where several hundred protesters recently staged an anti-Musk/Trump demonstration, complete with signs and gestures.
Alas, innocent Tesla owners are in a bind not of their own making. The last car so tainted by politics was the Volkswagon. Per Google:
“Volkswagen’s origins are deeply intertwined with the Nazi regime, as the company was founded in 1937 by the Nazi trade union organization, the Deutsche Arbeitsfront, with the goal of creating an affordable ‘people’s car.’ During World War II, production shifted to military vehicles, and the company relied heavily on forced labor from concentration camps.”
Elon really needs to quit that ‘Nazi salute’ stuff.
My wife and I recently moved from one side of town to the other; we’ve downsized. After living in the same house for 28 years, that move included an awful lot of stuff.
As the comedian, the late George Carlin duly noted, accommodating “stuff” occupies a central role in modern human affairs. In our case, our stuff includes not only our own, but stuff acquired by our parents and their parents. Presumably, our children, grandchildren, and their descendants all the way down the line will someday have to deal with all this stuff.
There was a time when people only accumulated what they could carry on their backs or in the case of some, on a sled. For most indigenous people, homes were left behind as they traveled and were rebuilt from natural materials. Personal possessions might include a totem, beads, small carvings or a pipe for smoking. Nomadic hunter-gatherer societies traveled light.
In cultures in New Guinea, or the American Northwest, community leaders would accumulate possessions, but a Potlatch or festive celebration would accommodate the giving away of accumulated wealth. We call our modern version of this philanthropy, and celebrate it, honoring the wealthy who are generous.
Formost of us, however, modern life is like hauling a driftnet behind us which accumulates both treasured objects and ordinary trash. This stuff is accompanied by feelings of sentimental pleasure and security as well as being a burden we must drag around and protect. Entire industries have developed around stuff: insurance companies, advertising agencies, storage facilities, movers, auction houses, trash haulers, garbage dumps, landfill operations, and so forth. In a sense, our entire modern economy is predicated on stuff.
Our stuff includes my wife’s grandmother’s dishes, some of my grandmother’s pots and pans, photos of family members taken at the turn of the 20th century, my grandfather’s watch from 1952, my father’s WW2 Army uniform, and other memorabilia. Add to that a collection of potted plants, various artworks, quilts, comforters, sheets and pillowcases, and books. Tons of books. Fully 25 percent of the boxes now piled up and filling our new 2-car garage (the first of our adult lives) are filled with books.
By the time my mother died at 91 years old, she also had accumulated many books; they filled an entire wall of bookshelves, from floor to ceiling, twenty-five feet long. This was in 2011, well into the digital age. For her generation, books were the “internet,” the accumulation of knowledge that could be passed on from one hand to another, but when she died all that had changed. Sadly, my sister and I ended up selling my mother’s books by the foot. The accumulation of stuff, what we call consumerism, is changing our planet. When I cancelled my DirecTV account, I was told to send the receiver and electronics to a recycler. Think about that. DirecTV has nearly 12 million customers, and that means eventually 12 million receivers and electronic gear will be thrown away. Filled with semi-precious metals as well as highly toxic substances, such stuff may make its way across the ocean to a third-world country where it will be “mined” for bits of gold. Like they say, one man’s garbage is another man’s treasure, but really, is this a proper way to live?
Perhaps we will have the boxes in the garage just hauled away. Probably not.
BARBIES, KENS, & FRIENDS IN GALLERY 212
Exhibit & Online Auction
Thursday, April 3-Saturday, April 26
Opening Reception April 3, 5 PM
Gallery is Open Daily until 7 PM
View Auction Here:
CLASSES
Clay Stamping & Sprig Molds- Saturday, 4/5, 10 AM
Abstraction in Monotypes- Sunday, 4/6, 11 AM
Make a Trashionator Hat!- Sunday, 4/6, 1 PM
Profiteroles & Gougeres- Wednesday, 4/9, 5:30 PM
Springtime in Rome- Saturday, 4/12, 11 AM
Plein Air Tree Sketching- Saturday, 4/12, 10 AM
Tetra Etcetera- Sunday, 4/13, 10 AM
Flora & Fauna in Watercolor- Monday, 4/14, 10 AM
Essential Knife Skills- Tuesday, 4/15, 5:30 PM
The Art of French Desserts- Wednesday, 4/15, 5:30 PM
3-Week Watercolor Class- Friday, 4/18, 1:30 PM
French Bistro Cooking- Wednesday, 4/23, 5:30 PM
SoulCollage Exploration- Friday, 4/25, 10 AM
Soda Fire Workshop- Sat/Sun/Tues, 4/26-4/27 & 4/20
Clay Newsprint Transfers- Saturday, 4/26, 10 AM
Plein Air Watercolor Landscapes- Saturday, 4/26, 10 AM
Beginning Abstraction- Sunday, 4/27, 9:30 AM
Intro to Printmaking- Tuesday, 4/29, 5:30 PM
Resin Charm-Making Workshop- Tuesday, 4/29, 5:30 PM
Country Line Dancing & Lessons–Tuesday, 4/29, 7:00 PM
276 East Napa St (707) 938-4626
TRASHION FASHION RUNWAY SHOW
Tickets on sale now!
Saturday, April 19, 2 PM & 5 PM
Sonoma Veterans Memorial Building
The 5 PM show has a free reception following the runway show.
Carolyn Corbett VASTUS in the Causeway Gallery
Thursday, April 3-Saturday, April 26
Opening Reception April 3, 5 PM
The Causeway Gallery is located in the 2 Floor East Side Hallway. nd Open daily 9 AM-8 PM
Now Registering for Summer Camps!
June 2-August 1, the Center will host 17 art and enrichment camps. Each is Monday-Friday and will be taught by professional artists.
YOUTH ~ TEENS ~ FAMILY
After-School: Culinary & Ceramics- Thursdays, 3:30 PM
Creative Movement & Dance (ages 3-5)- Saturdays, 9 AM
Jazz & Ballet (ages 5-7)- Saturdays, 9:45 AM
Jazz & Ballet (ages 8-12)- Saturdays, 11 AM
Bilingual Move & Play- Wednesdays, 9:30 AM
Queer Art Club- Wednesday, 4/16, 6 PM
These were the current classes at the time of publication. Use the QR code to see class details and fees.
Membership has benefits! Join today.
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diRosa Exhibition Features Three Months of McCormack
An expansive, 40-year survey of painting and collage by Bay Area artist Frances McCormack will be on view to June 29 at the di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.
The exhibition – Frances McCormack: Rooted in Wonder – will be featured in di Rosa’s light-filled Gallery 1.
McCormack is a Boston native who lives in Sonoma and has exhibited her work in more than 100 museum and gallery exhibitions since 1984. She completed her fine arts education at San Francisco State University and at UC Berkeley.
Her abstract compositions, featuring tube or tendril like forms, fields and bands of color, and painterly layering and effects, quickly earned her praise, with art critic Kenneth Baker writing, “Her paintings strive for a kind of material poetic statement possible only in painting.”
In her paintings, McCormack explores personal themes with the garden as a guiding metaphor. Utilizing the concept of the garden as an enclosure, she populates the field of the painting with botanical references and images in earthly and vegetative hues that describe the nature of growth, energy, and even human struggle.
“I have always admired McCormack’s ability to create visual interpretations of flora and fauna that are energetic, compelling and introspective,” says Kate Eilertsen, Executive Director and Chief Curator at di Rosa. “Her painterly style and use of color reflect her engagement with Northern California’s natural and artistic ecosystems.”
A 160-page book incorporating samples of her work has been published to accompany the exhibition. In it, McCormack writes, “My experience in the studio goes something like this: I am looking for something. What I want to see is part idea, part feeling and part visual construct. This desire or search is emotionally specific in a way that words are not. For the sake of simplicity, let’s call this thing ‘a wolf’ and the process ‘a hunt.’
And in an essay included in the book
– “Frances McCormack – Rooted in Wonder: Paintings, 1984 – 2024,” she writes, “Time and reality are transformed by attention and condensation. This is the experience I want for the viewer. Wonder and curiosity. The arts — painting, music, film, performance — can serve as artifacts of reflection. They also inspire us to renegotiate our often-harsh contract with life and open ourselves to the unexpected.”
Arespected
San Francisco Bay Area teacher, McCormack taught studio art at San Francisco State University, Sonoma State University and California College of the Arts. At the former San Francisco Art Institute (SFAI) she was a tenured professor for 28 years. Upon retirement, she was designated Professor Emerita. Among other numerous honors, she was the first affiliated SFAI Faculty Residency Fellow at the American Academy in Rome in July 2000.
Frances McCormack: Rooted in Wonder is on view to June 29. The exhibition can be viewed Thursday to Sunday, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The full-color exhibition catalog, Frances McCormack –Rooted in Wonder: Paintings, 1984 – 2024, published by Fine Arts Press, is available from the publisher and di Rosa Center for Contemporary Art.
di Rosa is a non-profit art center and nature preserve specializing in the art of Northern California. Located at 5200 Sonoma Highway, on 217 acres in the Carneros region of Napa, di Rosa includes two large art galleries, a beautiful lake, abundant birding, walking trails with vineyard views, outdoor sculptures, and picnic grounds.
di Rosa offers an array of public programs and events for all ages to inspire creativity and curiosity. di Rosa is open to the public without reservations Thursday through Sunday from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., and by appointment Tuesday through Wednesday. Visitors are encouraged to bring picnics. For more information visit www.dirosaart.org
Post office thefts, Place des Pyrenées, Sherpas’ and other Restaurants
Caution: Several Sonoma residents have had mail, including check payments of bills, not arrive at their proper destinations. Some of these were apparently taken from the blue drive-by boxes in front of the Sonoma Post Office, and one person reported having this happen to checks they put in the indoor slots. Another person described a method of using fishing line to reach down through the mouth of the outside box and extracting mail.
This actually happened to me, and none of the checks I mailed to pay bills in January arrived at their destination. Like many others, I only found out when I got doublebilled in the next monthly period. The bank was super helpful in stopping payment on those checks, but it all took three or four trips into the bank, a lot of my time and bank officials’ time, plus the stress about whether the checks had been “washed” and funds directed to the thief.
When I asked about this at the Post Office, I was told it couldn’t happen and was shown the device one supposedly needs to open the outside mail boxes. When I called the non-emergency Sonoma Police number I was told, “We are aware of it” and “the post office is aware of it.” There was no answer when I asked both offices what they are doing about it. Local law enforcement suggested it was the fed’s problem, and the U.S. Post Office said it couldn’t happen.
Since that incident, I noticed that the second blue box from the south end of the row had red sticky stuff on the outer edge of the mail slot. Might that be part of the scheme?
What do we do if everyone says they are not responsible?
Place des Pyrenées for sale
A short version of a long story: Lili and Gratien Guerra, both originally from France’s Basque region of the Pyrenées, started Sonoma French Bakery on the south side of East Napa Street. The moved Sonoma French up First Street East where Gratien baked and Lili, along with daughter Françoise, greeted customers and happily filled their orders.
Eventually, they bought the building that then housed the Arts Guild and started their Basque Boulangerie & Café, which has since sold a few times. But they also built the charming Place des Pyrenées, back from the street that currently includes Murphy’s Irish Pub, Taste of Himalayas, and a boutique drink shop. We all age, if we are lucky, and sometimes it becomes time to pass on an achievement to others to enjoy.
Françoise Guerra Hodges answered my question with, “Yes, it’s true. After many years Lili has decided to let the Place des Pyrenées go. We have three terrific tenants who have been there for years. And we have so many wonderful memories that happened there, many that you have contributed to!”
Daniel Casabonne from Sotheby’s is their listing agent. Asking price: $5,250,000, according to MLS.
Marcella Hazan honored in Sonoma
The great late Italian chef Marcella Hazan was honored by the Sonoma International Film Festival Thursday, March 20, at a delicious four-course tasting menu dinner at Hanna Center.
Several years ago, the now late Lilla Weinberger, then co-owner of Readers’ Books, hosted Victor and Marcella Hazan at Carlo Cavallo’s former restaurant on West Napa Street.
I was honored to be invited to the luncheon to interview the Hazans. Sometimes Victor corrected Marcella or she corrected him, and it was a wonderfully revealing conversation.
This time, they were represented by their son, Giuliano Hazan, who has also made a living in food, partly with his popular book, The Classic Pasta Cookbook and at his cooking school near Verona, Italy. Giuliano, his wife Lael Hazan, and villa owner Marilisa Allegrini run the cooking school, residence, and tours.
Chef and restaurateur Joanne Weir emceed the event and introductions, which came to her naturally as the star of the PBS series “Plates and Places,” and as owner of two restaurants.
Steve Sando of Rancho Gordo beans, and a frequent visitor to Sonoma from the Napa side of the border, told stories about his friendship with and introduction of the white Marcella Bean he introduced to the market in honor of Marcella’s bringing heirloom beans into modern kitchens.
The menu included a beet and chèvre terrine by Tracey Shepos Cenami, Executive Chef at Jackson Family Winery, lasagna verdi al forno from The Classic Italian Cookbook by Domenica Catelli, Marcella’s Rancho Gordo white beans with Niman Ranch lamb prepared by Gia Passalacqua, and a taste of Marcella’s budino di pane caramellato, made by Domenica Catelli.
Guests were greeted with Gloria Ferrer Sonoma Brut. Wines served with dinner included Copain Daybreak White Blend, 2023; Brooks Estate Rastaban Pinot Noir Eola Amity Hills, 2022 from the Willamette Valley; local Sonocaia Estate Reserve Sagrantino 2022; and Brooks
Cahiers Riesling, 2017, also of Willamette Valley, Oregon.
The “Marcella” film itself, was possibly the best chef documentary I have seen. It was announced that eventually it will be in movie theaters and streaming somewhere.
Tyler Florence and other restaurant news
One or two of the most publicized restaurant closings are two establishments that started in San Francisco’s Union Square area and are owned by big deal Food Network chef Tyler Florence, who also owns Wayfare Tavern. Both were called Miller & Lux Provisions, and indeed they received luxe help from San Francisco’s Office of Economic and Workforce Development to the tune of $400,000, aided by $2,000,000 for renovations, and eventually free rent.
For some reason, Tyler Florence and company walked away from both spots a few weeks ago. Perhaps it wasn’t working.
But it always seems like, as one restaurant closes there is always someone else willing to try. B Patisserie might continue as popups, as they did during the big Chinese New Year of the Snake celebration and the NBA all-star games that flooded downtown.
So far, Sonoma restaurants and winery tasting rooms seem to be plugging along, with no known pending closings.
At the same time, John Toulze and Sondra Bernstein expect to open Poppy Sonoma in place of the fig café and wine bar very soon, and Pemba Sherpa plans to open Farmhouse Sonoma at the site of the former Palms Grill, now in April or whenever the Health Department returns for more inspections. Pemba and Justin Altamura, the latter the new owner of the shopping center, have worked very hard at both interior and exterior improvements of both the restaurant building and the whole center.
Nima Sherpa, of Sonoma Grille, wants everyone to know that he is not opening Pemba Sherpa’s Farmhouse Sonoma and has no business interest in it. Nima owns Sonoma Grille on West Napa Street and Pub Republic on Lakeville Road in Petaluma. Pemba Sherpa owns Taste of Himalayas in the Place des Pyrenées off First Street East. But then Pemba Salaka Sherpa owns La Casa Restaurant on East Spain Street and Yaki Yeti in St. Helena. Got it?
Bloom Carneros/Kivelstadt offers new Brunch menu
Starting April 5, Jordan Kivelstadt and his fun crew will offer a new Brunch Menu on Saturdays and Sundays. The menu includes an egg sandwich with side salad; an
egg white fritta with vegetables; bagels with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers, tomato and onion; a parfait bowl with Greek yogurt, housemade granola, fresh fruit and local honey; “Texas” French toast topped with vanilla Chantilly and fresh strawberries; and a Kids Scramble with scrambled eggs, bacon, and toast. Dogs and kids are all welcome. Opens at 11 a.m. weekdays, Tuesday and Wednesday, opens 9 a.m. Saturday and Sunday with live music 2 to 4 p.m. 22910 Broadway, Sonoma. (707) 412-0438.
April Suite D dinners by the girl & the fig
Two of Suite D’s super popular special dinners have popped up for April. Suite D is the girl & the fig’s fun triangular space at “the fig’s” catering kitchen on Schellville Road off Eight Street East. Reserve fast. I have waited too long and missed some of these dinners.
The Fried Chicken Dinner on April 9 offers buttermilk fried chicken, wedge salad with cherry tomatoes, housemade bacon, onions and blue cheese vinaigrette dressing, followed by Parmesan and herb potato wedges, collard greens, cheesy spoonbread, mini chocolate chunk cookies and chocolate brownies. Wines are included and no corkage if you bring your own wine. $45. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
April 16 brings a dinner “Inspired by Poppy.” Poppy Sonoma is the name of the soon-to-open innovation by John Toulze and Sondra Bernstein, where their fig café used to be in Glen Ellen.
Enjoy grilled asparagus salad, spring pea risotto, pan-seared chicken thighs, and vanilla bean panna cotta. Wines included; no corkage. $70. 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.
Both dinners are at 21800 Schellville Road, Sonoma. Tickets at figcaters.com/ store, event.
More fake meat?
Fake pork made in a lab by Mission Barns of San Francisco was just approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to allow their bacon and meatballs, made with a plant protein base combined with pork fat cells. They claim their product will help avoid growing and killing thousands of pigs and avoiding diseases such as avian flu, which has infected some four legged animals.
Fiorella chef and co-owner, Brandon Gillis, has worked with Mission Barns on getting the fake flavors and textures right for two years, he says. Fiorella restaurants in San Francisco will be the first to launch the new product on their menus.
This is not to be confused with local chef Fiorella Butron, of Allikai deli and catering on West Napa Street in Sonoma. Our Fiorella is the former executive chef at the former Edge restaurant on East Napa Street, now the location of Enclos.
Ridgeback Mechanical
California Naturalists Field Trip to Sugarloaf
WhenI took the California Naturalist course with the Sonoma Ecology Center (SEC) in March 2020, it was the early days of the COVID epidemic and shutdown. All in-person meetings and field trips were suddenly canceled. While we were all a bit shocked, SEC Education Program Manager and course leader, Tony Passantino, gave us the option to continue on Zoom, that new app most of us had never used. Tony told us we could complete the field trips if we wanted sometime in the future, post-COVID.,
So we sat alone at our sit spots close to home and submitted homework via Dropbox, another new app to learn. We shared our nature journals and capstone projects virtually to achieve our official certifications as California Naturalists. My final project was a public presentation on the fabulous and funny pileated woodpecker that flies and drills in our local forests.
Now five years later, I finally joined a field trip with the current Cal Naturalist class of 2025 on a watershed and geology excursion to Sugarloaf Ridge State Park. SEC’s Research Project Manager, Wendy Hayes, shared expertise on how water moves in the landscape. Scott Lawyer, Sugarloaf Ridge State Park’s Head of Maintenance, delved into the rocks and faults that shape the land.
The UC California Naturalist course is offered every year through the Sonoma Ecology Center, as well as at other locations. Read more at:
https://sonomaecologycenter.org/calnat/ https://ucanr.edu/statewide-program/ucenvironmental-stewards
The course consists of eight weekly lectures from a roster of local experts. They guide participants through a comprehensive syllabus that covers topics such as field observation, watershed ecology and environmental challenges, with the course culminating in each student presenting a Capstone Project and, finally, certification as a California Naturalist.
The current class consisted of about 25 people from Sonoma Valley and around the Bay Area, of multiple generations, including students, professionals, and nature enthusiasts like me.
Highlights from the Field Trip
To get us thinking about watersheds, Wendy provided this interpretation:
“Think of a brook like your fingers on your hands, gathered in a stream in your palm, traveling down the river of your arm to the body and on down to your feet which are the delta where the water spreads out again.”
When we stopped at Bear Creek, that feeds into Sonoma Creek near the Goodspeed Trailhead, she prompted us to consider why the smaller creek is so attractive to the chinook salmon that swam over 30 miles to spawn here.
“Bear Creek has shade, water stays cool, there are pools for fish and amphibians to rest in,” Wendy explained. “Water is the ultimate sculptor.”
From there, we walked up the road to take a look at rock formations. We stopped next to a swath of exposed hillside from a road cut and recent landslide. Here Scott pointed out a wall of red, iron-rich volcanic ash side-by-side with an expanse of white rock formed by totally different geologic forces.
“Road cuts are a geologist’s friend,” said Scott, as they allow a peek into what’s underneath the topsoil. An ancient landslide probably caused these different layers of rock to converge.
Further upstream we learned that, during the recent rains, Ponygate Creek poured dark silty waters from erosion and vegetation into the clearer water of Sonoma Creek below the falls. Why the difference? The smaller stream rushes through tangled vegetation and trees down from historic landslides, while Sonoma Creek flows along a fault where the way is rockier.
At this same confluence, Scott pointed out how the layers of rock on the opposite bank tilted vertically from uplift, but then suddenly went horizontal further upstream. Why? A fault in the hillside!
Along the way we also witnessed how the creeks and tributaries get scoured by rushing water and rocks get shifted by size as you head downstream with the biggest rocks higher up and sand and silt deposited lower down as the water slows. There is always so much to learn.
While it is too late to join this year’s class of Cal Naturalists, keep an eye out for sign ups next year.
(Thanks to my friend and Cal Naturalist Class of 2025 participant Nancy Evers Kirwan for sharing her notes from the day.)
WHAT’S UP WITH THAT?
In Defense of The Voiceless Ones
We’re entering spring and everyone’s romping with their adopted dogs or purring with their pussy cats.
The magnificent animals – the wondrous “individuals of another species” – are an important part of community. How can we make our earth safe for them? If I ran the world, I’d give a big prize to anyone who identified animal abusers. I’d give them rewards and international applause. They’d get a trophy so gleaming it would make everyone want to win it. People would rush to save animals everywhere.
We are their guardians, not “owners.” How can we protect them? One way to help animals is to minimize the amount of plastic they ingest through meats, foods, airborne ingestion, etc. People are absorbing too much plastic too. Did you know researchers estimate humans are ingesting a weekly average of five grams of plastic –the equivalent of a credit card in our bodies? Here’s another point that might inspire the guys: it’s found that men’s testicles are often full of plastic. Just saying…
Iknowwe all have tons of concerns on our “plates” these days, but let’s not forget the darling creatures that cheer us and need us. Our species have been confused about how to treat animals for ages. As the comedian Seth McFarlane said, “When a child kills an animal for fun, we fear mental illness. When an adult with the capacity to reason does it, we call it ‘sport.” Humans can’t seem to make up their minds about how to treat each other or the animals.
Some cynics say we’re anthropomorphizing when we believe they have feelings, attributing human characteristics to animals. But, Frans Waal, an
animal researcher says, “I’ve never liked the word, as if they are unfortunate creatures who have the bad luck not to be human - as if we are the center of the universe.” They are emotional creatures says Mark Leviton, another animal author. He comments caustically, “I don’t think humans are so successful, by the way. We’re destroying the planet.” And on that note, here’s another profoundly important fact found at the National Link Coalition: animal abusers often neglect and abuse humans as well; there is a clear correlation. Beware of humans.
People are for the birds. We change beliefs by the second. Nowadays we view pigeons as a nuisance, but in World War II, 32 pigeons were awarded the UK’s Dickin Medal for animal bravery. During World War I, a pigeon named Cher Ami, saved lives of the “Lost Battalion” by delivering a crucial message, even after being wounded. A hero.
Flaco, the lovely Eurasian eagle owl, who gained fame after escaping from the Central Park Zoo, died in 2024 after colliding with a building in Manhattan, suffering from traumatic injuries, a virus and rat poison.
Martha Nussbaum, professor of law and ethics sumed it up when she said, “To give animals recognition as persons under constitutional law would be the goal.” OK, I will hold onto that hope, even during a time when humans are dragging our constitution through minefields of malign interpretation.
Katy Byrne, LMFT, is a Sonoma Psychotherapist and author of “From Conflict to Communication.”
A Free Speech Movement: Redux
Is it time to ignite a new free speech movement in retaliation to the Trump regime, which wants to shut down the freedom of speech guaranteed in the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution?
To Wit: Amendment 1: Freedom of religion, speech, and the press:
Rights of assembly and petition.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
There you have it, written in 1791 and it still stands. The precise words of what is commonly known as the First Amendment of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States of America. It couldn’t be any clearer.
Still,throughout our 249 years (since our Declaration of Independence), the precepts of this guiding and rock-solid principle have been challenged, especially the singular provision guaranteeing the freedom of speech to its people, and the press and the free expression of any grievances to its government.
And now comes a government that has been chosen by a very small margin of the electorate, but nevertheless seeks to declare a mandate, when it comes to decisions regarding who has the right to practice freedom of speech and under what circumstances. This is not the first time for such overreach to be launched by a chief executive and his cabinet, and surely not the last. And once again, when pronouncements that violate free speech are declared from on high, they must be countered with equal vehemence.
In other words, we, the people, who are being told to shut up and disperse, must refuse and remain in place as it is our right to make our voices heard to the prevailing government, whether it likes it or not, with
the proviso that we keep it peaceable.
Throughout our history, probably since the inception of this history, there have been those among us who have disagreed with the powers that be and have made that known to them, whether it be for civil rights, or putative human rights. From Martin Luther King’s historic peroration to share his dream for equal rights, not race-based rights; to Mario Savio’s invocation to put bodies on the wheel for student rights and free speech in Berkeley in 1964. The clarion call was heard throughout the land, and the many stood as one voice.
Now, once again, the jack boots of this current government are threatening to shut us down while challenging our right to make our voices heard. We are threatened with deportation; we are threatened with the loss of our jobs; we are threatened with being cut off from heard-earned entitlements; and we are being threatened by cultural police who would tell us how to think and how to use our bodies.
These threats come to us as disembodied voices from media personalities or social network talking heads that purport to tell us what to believe, what is right or wrong, and whom we should listen to. These are just voices coming out of a box and carrying no more credence than a dog’s barking. We must wake up and stop listening to such voices that feed us worthless information and nothing of any substance.
There is truth “out there” and there is a reality underneath the bullshit and falsehoods that prevail. It is up to us to seek and find what we can use and what’s of value, and when to cast aside all the crap that comes out of the mouths of venal politicians and those who do their dirty work. After all it’s just a bunch of empty words coming out of a box and signifying nothing, not a thing.
Building a Community Around Cancer Cancer Support Sonoma
Cancer is the Bad Boy of human disease, arriving on a chopped Harley in a studded, black leather jacket, staring right at you as you try to avert your gaze, a big red ‘C’ on the back of his vest which you try not to look at.
Cancer is Voldemort, he who shall not be named.
Cancer is the shadow in the corner of the closet in your mind waiting for you to open the door and shout BOO!!!
Or it was.
Cancer may still be the second leading death-dealing disease in the United States (heart disease is number one), but the odds of it killing you have steadily declined.
According to the American Cancer Society, the cancer death rate in the U.S. has dropped by 34 percent since 1991. And five year survival rates have improved from 49 percent in the mid-1970s to 68 percent as of 2023.
The reasons are many and varied, but early detection is a major one, along with increasingly sophisticated use of new treatments, better drugs and, let’s face it, a lot fewer Americans are smoking.
And another reason for the decline in mortality may have something to do with the emergence of cancer support networks, agencies and nonprofits for cancer patients at every point of their cancer-defined journey. Places like Cancer Support Sonoma.
Kara Adanalian is a Sonoma graphic designer who celebrated her tenth anniversary of being cancer free on February 26. She is now 68. It was a major celebratory milestone because cancer had cast a shadow on her life since she found a breast lump at the age of 15.
That happened again when she was 16, and again at 17, when she had four lumps removed, and more when she was 21. Then, in 2014, a breast MRI revealed three lumps together, and then more growths in her lymph nodes. It was cancer, Stage II, requiring an aggressive response. That meant a double mastectomy followed by six months of chemotherapy and then weeks of radiation therapy that was both nauseating
by David Bolling
and blistered her skin with red and purple patches. “I looked like a Hiroshima victim,” she says.
If you’re not familiar with breast cancer treatment, you’re now saying to yourself, wow, good thing that’s over. But it was not.
Because, as Kara discovered, a final precautionary measure required taking an oral dose of Arimidex, an aromatase inhibitor to reduce estrogen production. The standard protocol is a pill a day, every day, for five years. The typical side effects? According to breastcancer. org, they include, hot flashes, weakness, joint pain, sore throat, high blood pressure, depression, nausea,
vomiting and at least half a dozen other unpleasant reactions.
Kara Adanalian’s experience isn’t a perfect template for every woman’s breast cancer experience, but it touches most of the bases and reveals a universe of treatments, challenges, remedies and adverse reactions that men never experience and most are not unaware of.
For Kara, Cancer Support Sonoma filled a void of information, support, encouragement and inspiration that was literally transformative.
“It changed my life for the better,” says Adanalian, who discovered the organization toward the tail-end of her cancer treatment. “I’ve met so many amazing people, I’ve learned how to take care of myself. The support in the cancer community was incredible.”
To be clear, Cancer Support Sonoma is not just focused on breast cancer, and is not just for women. It offers a menu of services to fulfill the organization’s eloquent mission, “to physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually support people in our community who are facing cancer treatment, celebrating recovery or entering their end of life due to cancer. We accomplish this by providing integrative, complementary therapies on a sliding scale.”
Those services include massage, reflexology, oncology yoga, community acupuncture (available to anyone, with or without cancer), naturapathic consultation, ayurveda consultation, ayurveda reflexology, Jin Shen Jyutsu, medical chigong, biodynamic craniosacral therapy, individual counseling, inperson support groups, and an end of life Doula providing emotional, physical and spiritual support.
CSS also connects clients with the broader universe of community resources, like the Ceres Community Project that delivers organic meals tailored for patients with chronic illnesses; the North Bay Cancer Alliance and four other hospital-based cancer support programs. All the CSS services are offered on a sliding scale fee structure, and no one is turned away.
All the practitioners providing services are experienced in oncology care, and are certified, licensed and veteran healers in their respective disciplines.
Kara Adanalian
Photo by Steven Krause
CSS has its roots in a three-year research partnership between the Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation and the North Bay Cancer Alliance to assess the effects of complementary therapies on cancer patients. When the study came to an end, patients and care providers all asked for the program to continue.
It has since transitioned through a series of offices to a spacious suite on First Street West just off the Sonoma Plaza. During much of its gestational growth, Cancer Support Sonoma was led by the energy, vision and sheer determination of Teri Adolfo, a pro bono executive director who doubled as a gifted practitioner with a Master’s degree in community health and organizational development, as well s a master’s degree n traditional Chinese medicine and a certified Ayurveda Practitioner.
“Teri,” says Kara Adanalian, “is a powerhouse, a five-foottall bulldozer. If it weren’t for Teri, none of this would be happening.”
Former Board Chair Chris Argenziano says the public should understand an important quality about Cancer Support Sonoma. “This group is not just about cancer,” she says. “It’s about your life, and getting through it. It’s about support groups for the whole family. It’s real support, not just treatment. You’re here for health and support. And all the providers here have skin in the game.”
Andspeaking of skin, Kara Adanalian, ever the graphic designer, decided to use some of hers as a symbolic declaration of her survival, growth and emerging enlightenment by designing a tattoo to cover the scarred and tortured canvas of her chest.
The design was applied by a local tattoo artist over the course of three very painful hours, a consequence of all the scarred skin. The pain, she says, was utterly worth every minute.
“It is,” she explains with deep reverence, “one of the most transformative experiences I’ve ever gone through.”
Cancer Support Sonoma is kicking off a 10-Year Anniversary WalkAThon With A Purpose on April 12, that will extend to June 21. The activity is both a classic fundraiser and a way to honor loved ones, support community members dealing with cancer and a celebration of life. Walkers can join walking teams, or just start walking on their own, keeping track of miles and dollars pledged. Participants can join an official kick-off April 12 with a free, guided, 2.5-mile walk at Jack London State Park from 9 to 11 a.m. Then, on June 21, there will be a last-mile celebration at Catarina Gardens, in Sangiacomo Family Vineyards, with food vendors, wellness offerings, information tables, and of course wine.
For more information go to cancersupportsonoma.org. To access their services, call 707.509.3549, or drop in at 585 First Street West, Sonoma.
Growing Up In The Haight –1960-1968
Iworkedfor my father during the summers, in his store on Haight Street since I was twelve, saving my money for milkshakes, school clothes and college. In the early ‘60s, the Haight was a middle-class white neighborhood with a smaller community of Black families. Over the next couple of years, many of the whites left and more Blacks moved in. The Black families moved away when the gays came, then the hippies descended, and then the drug addicts took over. Dad managed the Sprouse-Reitz from 1954 until it closed in 1968; dime stores didn’t do well in that grittier climate. Wrong stock.
In the summer of 1965, thousands of young people and runaway middle-class kids descended on the neighborhood to join the flower-power phenomenon erupting in San Francisco, seeing a whole new world through granny glasses and windowpane acid. The hippies swapped flowers, love and sex for peyote, mushrooms, and mescaline. Teenagers from Des Moines, Dayton and Duluth, tripping on purple haze and orange sunshine, joined the spiral dance.
Kids often slept in front of the store. Dad stepped around them in the early morning fog to open up, muttering, “G.D. good-for-nothin’ dirty hippies.” After mopping the floors, he’d dump the bucket of raunchy cold mop water on the young runaways sleeping against his tiled storefront. Later in the day, he’d take his big push broom and sweep them off the sidewalk as they loitered in the lazy afternoon sun.
Once a policeman tried to stop him. “You can’t do that, Mr. Clemens,” he said, holding up his hand to halt my father.
“When I see crap,” Dad retorted, “I sweep it in the gutter where it belongs.” With a final push, he turned on his heel back into the store. I pretended as if I’d never seen him before.
1967 was the Summer of Love. The hippies – with their light fingers, dirty long hair, and love beads – came in mainly to steal ribbon, gum and balloons. They didn’t bathe, shave, or work. They smoked pot and dropped acid. They engaged in open sexual behavior. On a cosmic peace train, they wanted to stop the war, stoned on love, love, love. The boys in their Nehru jackets, tie-dyed shirts and paisley bell bottoms – the girls in their flowing skirts, patched jeans, and braless tops,
represented everything my father stood against. He hated the Summer of Love.
Inthe aftermath of the Be-In and the Summer of Love, the Haight slid straight downhill. Many of the deteriorating Victorians were now a mixture of psychedelic-colored crash pads and rundown heroin haunts, an element of the criminals and pimps now pervading the streets. Rows of empty store windows were plastered with the Diggers’ Free Love, Free Food and Free Huey handbills. 1968 was the year Dad closed the store. The changing times did my father’s business, and my father, in. The pounding reverberation of sex, drugs and rock-n-roll cracked his foundation and walls. He surrendered and sold his stock, boarded his windows, locked his glass front door for the final time and left town. Adding insult to injury, the Haight-Ashbury Free Clinic moved into Dad’s store at 1644 Haight Street, letting the hippies and addicts –hoping for some spare change and a ray of sun in the morning fog – finally rest in peace against the red-tiled storefront.
Welcome to 1984
IreadGeorge Orwell’s 1984, picked up at the local library in 1965, when I was in middle school. I read it again in 1968 for a high school English class. In the late 60’s we had several young, very progressive teachers. In one class we were simply told to choose the books we wanted to read and to write a paper or book report on each one. Another teacher even told us to look beyond books and led us on an exploration of Marshall McLuhan’s “the media is the message.”
This leads me to today, as we begin our descent into the world being created by Trump, Fox News, DOGE and MAGA, and realizing that our 2025 is Orwell’s 1984. Language, and the media that delivers these messages, is Orwell’s 1984.
New Speak: Using short words that are easy to pronounce, so that speech is physically automatic and intellectually unconscious, so the mental habits of the user of Newspeak lack critical thinking.
stamp the words corruption and waste on anything and it becomes a reason to destroy an organization that cares for and helps women from all walks of life.
We hear it is corruption and waste to fund vaccine programs that save lives. It is waste and corruption to pay social security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits that keep people out of debt and from becoming homeless.
FromDoublethink: A process of indoctrination in which subjects are expected to simultaneously accept two conflicting beliefs as truth, often at odds with their own memory or sense of reality. Doublethink is related to, but differs from, hypocrisy.
New Speak and Doublethink are now the methodology of our national government. Trump is not smart enough to have created this methodology of manipulating us, but those who have obscene amounts of money and power have found in him the tool to accomplish their goals of enriching themselves, while destroying democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
We hear the words “rooting out corruption and waste” as a blanket reason to do anything. Planned Parenthood must be denied all funding because of corruption and waste, and because all the money going to it is to fund abortions. In fact, only five percent of Planned Parenthood spending is for abortions; the rest funds screening for health issues, birth control and wellness care. Just
the Redwood Empire Food bank, the USDA has confirmed the permanent cancellation of $500 million in food purchases for The Emergency Food Assistance Program funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation (CCC). Republicans have been masters at dispensing repeated misinformation for years. They tap into grievances, provide misinformation as to why it happens, and who is to blame. Many voters consume information via social media, podcasts and Fox News.
But, let me be a bit of a provocateur. Maybe it is because our education system is focused on reading, writing and arithmetic at the expense of nurturing compassion, critical thinking and social responsibility. Students are capable of doing it all. They can excel at math, science and language and still understand history and be advanced critical thinkers.
ASonoma Valley Unified School District trustee, who was appointed and not elected, states we must follow executive orders. But we must not give in. We must not follow an Orwellian 1984 edict in New Speak, we must continue to fight for our democracy and assure that the next generation is one of critical thinkers.
THRESHOLD
The Sonoma Valley Regional Library is excited to present a powerful photographic exhibition, Threshold, showcasing the work of two distinguished retired photography educators, Constance Schlelein and Monica Kuhlman Jacobson. The exhibition will run from April 1 to April 30, 2025, and features a stunning collection of digital photography and archival ink prints on paper. The public is invited to meet the photographers at a reception on Friday April 11 from 4:00 pm to 5:30 pm in the library’s forum room. Light refreshments will be served. The exhibition will be available to view for the entire month of April during open hours when the forum room is not in use.
The events are free and open to all. The library is located at 755 West Napa Street, Sonoma. For more information contact library manager Sabine Salek at (707) 996-5217 or ssalek@sonomalibrary.org. Keep up with all library events at www.sonomalibrary.org and on facebook, www.facebook.com/ sonomavalleylibrary
ASTROLOGICAL TIPS |
Easter, Passover and Taxes
Eclipse season officially ended on Saturday, March 29th, but the effects might still be felt as our energies settle back down. How did you do with your Universal Exams? Did you remember the work you have been trying to learn, or did you get swept up in the emotion and revert to old behaviors or habits? If you passed, well done – now let’s see what you get to work on next! If you reverted to old ways, keep at it - you will get another chance to pass those tests when our next eclipse season happens in September.
Mercury will be going Direct on Monday, April 7th at 4:07am PDT, which will give many people a reason to celebrate. Just as he is getting back up to speed, we have a Full Moon in Libra (always the sign opposite the current Sun sign) on Saturday the 12th. A Libra Full Moon will shine light on relationships of all kinds - even business relationships, as Libra is typically associated with love AND money.
The Full Moon aligns with the Star Spica, the brightest in the Constellation Virgo and a feminine archetype, so expect women’s issues to be highlighted. Venus, the Ruler of Libra, turns Direct on the 12th as well, which then has all the Planets moving forward as we are entering a time when projects can be moved along easily.
Before and after the Sun enters Taurus on the 19th, there are numerous Aspects so expect those few days to be stressful – which include Easter Sunday on the 20th. The Taurus Sun is leading the other personal Planets. Look at where zero degrees Taurus and Leo are in your chart because there may be tension between those parts of your life, which can be resolved with productive actions. Taurus, begin counting down to your Solar Return!
Days to watch:
4/7 - This White Circle Day denotes an abundance of supportive Aspects, but the one to pay attention to is Mercury turning Direct at 26 degrees Pisces. It is going to enter Aries on the 15th so
wherever that has stalled the energy in your chart, it will begin picking up speed.
4/12 - This is a powerful Full Moon at 23 degrees Libra, Conjunct the Star Spica, the brightest Star in Virgo, which was known in the pre-Christian era as the Great Goddess of Justice. Spica is a feminine archetype so expect to see issues related to women and their rights in the news. Personally, this is a good time to focus on your self-healing and personal surroundings. Venus turns Direct further empowering this day.
4/13 – PASSOVER BEGINS / PALM SUNDAY
4/15 – TAX DAY Mercury enters Aries while the Moon is in Martial Scorpio so expect a burst of rambunctious energy today. This is a good time to spark new ideas and projects.
4/17 - Mars enters Leo so hopefully you’ve gotten the bulk of the home projects done during the Mars in Cancer transit and now it’s just painting your colors and enjoying all your hard work. Mars in Leo tends to be dramatic, but generous.
4/19 - The Sun enters steady and effective Venus ruled earthy Taurus. It’s a good time to move forward on important projects and your garden!
4/20 – EASTER SUNDAY The day is packed with so many Lunar and Planetary Aspects that everyone is going to be feeling a little tuned up, so take it slowly and gracefully.
Carole Cherry and her parents, Ralph and Lahni DeAmicis, have been publishing Planetary Calendar for 25 of its almost 80 years in print. You may remember hearing Carole do the weekly astrological forecast on Ken Brown’s old morning radio show on KSVY FM or seeing their video forecasts on KSVY TV in years gone by. Now they are delighted to be back to provide the astrological insights for the Sonoma Sun.
