Miraloma Park Improvement Club

Miraloma Life: February 2007

• A Family Album: Beautiful Poetry at MPIC
• From the President…
• Legal Ease
• Curious Case of the Cat and the Fireplace
• Sunday Morning Basketball in Miraloma Park
• Territories
• On Shaky Ground: NERT NOTES
• Letter from Leland Yee, California Senate
• Holiday Party Cook Off Winners
• Vicious Dog Attack on Teresita
• A Mountain of Youth at Montara
• Fiddler on the Roof” Takes a Bow at SOTA
• Miraloma Cooperative Nursery School

A Family Album: Beautiful Poetry at MPIC

by Joanne Whitney
    
The bittersweet poem “Territories” (see below) is from Dan Liberthson’s new book of poetry,  A Family Album.  On January 14, a dedicated audience of bout 22 poetry enthusiasts gathered at the MPIC clubhouse and thrilled to Dan’s reading of other selections from the book.  Dan is an accomplished poet but what distinguished this afternoon was his wonderful commentary about the poems and his sensitive and emotional rendering of their beauty.

All present agreed that the afternoon was too short and they yearned to experience more of  the entrancing poems.

A Family Album came into being when Dan was cleaning out his garage for the millennium, discovered an old picture album of family members and started writing about the people contained in those long-forgotten images.  The poetry reveals the inner life of a family set apart and marred by great sorrows and tragedy but also blessed by great joys.  The book of poems contains actual pictures from the album, a fascinating series of labyrinths related to the subject matter and two compact discs with Dan reading.  You can capture the atmosphere we all experienced during the rendition at the clubhouse.

Dan’s Father was from the Ukraine, worked at various jobs and finally received an MD at age 46.  His Mother was a social worker, one of the few professions open at the time to intellectual Jewish women.  His youngest sister has been mentally ill from an early age and Dan’s consuming love and guilt tear at the emotions in the poems about her. 

All is not dark in these poems. There is great hope and great love and empathy.  Humor also abounds and the pieces about the aunts and uncles are true gems that make us remember all those characters in our own families that we cherished.

MPIC would like to thank Dan Liberthson for providing us with a beautiful afternoon of poetry and reflection. 

 

From the President…
  

by Phil Liard
“Where in the world is Miraloma Park?” may seem a strange question for someone living in Miraloma Park to ask. But in fact the precise boundaries of Miraloma Park (M.P.) are not well known. So let’s take a Grand Tour. (You can walk it in about an hour.)

We start at the corner of Portola Drive and O’Shaughnessy Boulevard, across the street from the McAteer Campus of the School of the Arts. Head down O’Shaughnessy Blvd. (only the houses on your right are in M.P.) to Malta Drive. Turn uphill on Malta (houses on Malta, Valletta, and Vista Verde are in MiraGlen, not M.P.) to Stillings Ave., where you will turn east (downhill). Houses on both sides of Stillings are in M.P.

At Congo turn right. (Sorry, Congo—you’re not in M.P.) Proceed to Melrose Ave. where you turn right and walk to Teresita Blvd. Houses on this section of Melrose are included in M.P. Proceed downhill on Teresita to the “T” intersection at Foerster St. Here the route becomes tricky. You have to cross Foerster, turn left and walk down the 700 block (included in M.P. but not beyond the 700’s), and hike up the short, steep section of Melrose with a few houses numbered 319 and up. This is a cul de sac, but the boundary of M.P. continues from here over private property up the embankment to where Melrose Ave. and Stanford Heights Ave. intersect. To get there on foot, you will need to go back uphill on Foerster, turn left and climb to the 300 block of Melrose Ave. At Stanford Heights Avenue you are back on the M.P. frontier.

Now hike down Melrose, only the north side of which (on your right) is in M.P., to Lulu Alley, an unlabeled easement that begins just before 500 Melrose. This first section of Lulu from Melrose to Los Palmos Drive is paved, but the next section that rises to Burlwood Drive is not paved (although it is passable if dry). For the third section, however, from Burlwood to Cresta Vista Drive, you will need to hire a jungle guide because it is overgrown and virtually impassible.

But the boundary of M.P. passes through here and even continues over private property up the escarpment to Sherwood Court. Jungle guides are in short supply these days, so to get back onto the boundary at Sherwood, you will need to take a substantial detour by following Burlwood east to Bella Vista Way, north on Bella Vista to Molimo Drive, up the steep hill on Molimo to Myra Way, and up an even steeper hill to the intersection of Sherwood Ct. where the 36 bus has a turn-around. Whew!

If you have a jungle guide, don’t send her home just yet. Continue on Myra Way and head down the steep hill along Dalewood Way—but keep to the right of Dalewood inside Mt. Davidson Park because the houses on Dalewood are not in M.P.  At the bottom of the Dalewood hill, turn right along a short stretch of Lansdale Ave. (which is not in M.P.), and then turn left onto a one-block section of Juanita Way (in M.P.), arriving at busy Miraloma Drive. Turn right on Miraloma and follow the 43 bus downhill (only the houses on your right are included in M.P.), to Portola Drive, pausing to admire the recently restored Fire Station 39. Walk uphill east along Portola (again, only the houses on the right-hand side are in M.P.) back to our starting point at the intersection of O’Shaughnessy.  Here you pick up your well-deserved water bottle and an “I survived the Miraloma Park Grand Tour” T-shirt.  Having successfully circumnavigated our neighborhood, you may be curious about the wildlife that lives here.

Following are some statistics from the 2000 census (which are indicative, if out of date).

Median age: 44.8 years (vs. 35.3 for the U.S. population)
Racial make-up: 62% white (vs. 75% for the U.S.), 5.2% black (vs. 12%), 25% Asian (vs. 3.6%).
Owner-occupied housing units: 84% (vs. 66% for the U.S.).
Renter-occupied units: 16% (vs. 34%).
Median household income: $95,313 (vs. $41,994 for the U.S.)

 

Legal Ease

Q: My 15-year old wants to get a part-time job. What hoops does she have to jump through?

A: Your daughter can get a part-time work permit allowing her to work no more than 3 hrs. on a school day & no more than 18 hrs. on a school week. On a non-school day, she can work no more than 8 hrs. & no more than 40 hrs. on a non-school week. Between Sept. & May, the workday cannot begin earlier than 7 am nor end later than 7 pm.

Q: Speaking of teens, what’s the scoop on when a kid can drive?

A: The first step to the coveted driver’s license is a learner’s permit at 15-1/2 yrs, which requires completing driver’s education & training programs & taking a written exam, among other requirements. Or, wait until your kid reaches 17-1/2 yrs., then she can get a permit without having to complete driver’s ed & training programs. But she still needs an adult in the car for at least 50 hrs.

 

Curious Case of the Cat and the Fireplace

An odd thing happened at my home a few days ago. I have my justifiable suspicions, but there’s no proof without forensic analysis, and I don’t want to bother our estimable Police Department, who already have their hands full with issues of public safety, such as restraining the outbursts of occasionally too vehement protesters or supervisors at one or another meeting, and attempting to keep public order in a country in which handguns are as common as baked beans and too many people seem furious and frightened at the same time. Aaaanyyyway…I awoke to the loud mewing shrieks of my kitty, who fancies herself a Guard Cat, and found her hissing, spitting, and making ninja-karate feints at the mouth of the fireplace. At first I thought she’d finally—as she is an elderly citizen—gone completely off her rocker, but on closer inspection I discovered a thick manila envelope lying on the grate, apparently having been dropped from above. Where the delivery  address should have been was the familiar paw print, where the return address should have been a swatch of dried mud, and within, a sizeable hunk of 1/4-inch drywall, two large feathers, some bazooka bubble gum, and a sample packet of kitty kibble, which I fed to my offended animal while apologizing profusely for ever doubting her sanity. If you want to know what was written on the wallboard, back and front, have a glance at the following. — Ed

Dear Editor,  I hope you will forgive the lateness of this Holiday offering, which, although my sense of time is quite different than yours, I know to be several weeks overdue. I had it delivered by the traditional chimney route in partial amends. Not by means of excuse, let me merely say that I was detained while on route to bring it earlier, attending to important business at my cousin’s place in the Presidio. Its delivery was accomplished not by y scrambling self, but by one of our resident redtail hawks, two mating pairs of which now share the mountain and its nearby environs, each pair keeping the other to its own territory by means of advisory shrieks and occasional winged escort. This behavior among the same species, to protect breeding and hunting sky and ground, I understand from an informed scientific source, is defined as territorial rather than exclusionary—the latter term being reserved for driving away birds of a different species (like the malingering crows).

I’ve noticed these stunning hawks occasionally through a half-open, daytime eye, and gone back to my slumbers entranced, to dream of sailing on giant wings, riding thermals up and over the valleys. You will no doubt have seen them too, if your neck is limber enough to look up (and if not, they are well worth lying on your back to view), huge birds, cavorting and celebrating in this winter’s dry blue skies, sky-diving for sport and perch-hunting for dinner, relieving me of some of the pestiferous mice and other minor critters that scramble over my snout as I snooze through these shortish days. My redtail friends are also good enough to flush the larger game for my uses, and, though they feign indifference, appreciative enough of public admiration to deliver this missive to you for wider dissemination in your noteworthy newsletter.

At present the hawks are in a particularly jubilant mood, as the crows that normally mob them (exclusionary behavior! as they are another species) have absented themselves on migration, and now the hawks have only a great-horned owl and the resident ravens to bother them.

The owl and I are quite familiar, though she keeps very much to herself and goes about her business, as we both hunt at twilight and thereafter—but except for the occasional contretemps when their times in the air overlap, she has little to do with the daytime-flying hawks. The ravens are another matter, pure punks and rabble-rousers liable to turn up ready for trouble any time and just as liable to bend your ear with their harsh, insistent cawing for no reason but the love of hearing themselves yap.

Alas, my bit of wallboard, removed with no little effort from a nearby dumpster, is not sufficient for my story, which I must continue next time, when I will reveal the important matter that kept me away over the Holiday, which no doubt you are burning to discover. Meanwhile, enjoy the dance of the hawks, one of the few worthwhile species around here—excepting present company, of course!

Your most apologetic and admiring servant W. Coyote, Esq.
 

 

Sunday Morning Basketball in Miraloma Park

by John Susanto
Apparently there are many incoming and existing residents in Miraloma that are unaware of our small neighborhood community activity, i.e, we have a basketball get together tradition spanning for over 26 years. When this topic was brought up to a few of our new neighbors, some responded with enthusiasm and have been coming ever since. For those of you that are interested, and have not heard about whom we are and where we play, please read on.

We play every Sunday morning outdoors (weather permitting) on the Miraloma Playground basketball court (next to the tennis court) adjacent to the baseball field, on Sequoia Way (between Omar and Bella Vista) starting at 9:00 AM. Games are half court games, and played in a very gentlemanly manner (e.g. If a player loses his balance or trips, the game is stopped immediately, to ensure that he/she is alright and be able to continue to play.)

 Winning the game is not the main emphasis, however the continuous getting together every weekend, and the long term safety of the players are.

The “Rules” of the games are: 1. To play at a non-competitive/non rough recreational level.  2. Students/Females/Women players with experience are welcome. We rotate all players so that everybody gets equal playing time.Age of players? They vary from 14 to 60 as long as they have some experience, basic skills, and exposure to basketball.  Presently, we have six 2 generations of Dad and Son players that are still active and play. This is a voluntarily event, it is not sponsored by a particular individual nor any particular group.  No dues or contribution in any form is being collected.

It’s fun to get together, play, have some sun (or fog), and fresh air on Sunday mornings. It does help us get ready for the following work week!
 
 

Territories

From Land’s End,
up on Sutro’s ruined observatory,
we gaze along the dwindling shore.
The air is empty, mild, and gray,
the wind away, the tide low
and the sea, for once, silent.

For us too a quiet moment, Sister.
You here from the East,
Ativan-calmed, fears of getting lost
forever on route, of finding me
the Devil, fearfully left behind,
normal abnormal self left behind.

Your world turns on a new axis
in a place far west of you
and it is me and what is mine,
a temporary stasis you want
to last forever. But I
cannot promise that even to myself.

Suddenly, a redtailed hawk
and a crow, large
though still half his size,
materialize and swoop up 
the cliff face, wheeling
belly to belly in widening spirals,

hawk screaming,
shadow-black crow cawing,
each fury paralleling
the other’s flight precisely:
to defy and chase away?
or invite for play?

Above the Golden Gate, Blue Angels
chew through sky in the same ventral formation
to thrill Fleet Week crowds,
mirroring each other with no more precision
and far less grace than our living birds,
though cast matching from the same metal.

The birds sunder and fall
and the jets claim your attention:
Wowie! Lookit! you croon,
your arm stuck straight out,
a beacon for the warplanes
turning with a ravening sound.

©2006 by Daniel Liberthson
 

On Shaky Ground: NERT NOTES

        
It’s time for all Miraloma Park-Mount Davidson NERT Team members to mark your calendars for the Annual Citywide Drill, to be held on Saturday morning, April 21, at the Marina Middle School, 8:30 am.

On Saturday, February 24, 9 am, there will be an Emergency Ham Communications class, geared for people who want to know what follows getting their Ham license. This will be a nuts-and-bolts, hands-on, ecom class, teaching “How to deliver a message.”  Class will be held at the SF Fire Department Division of Training at 19th & Folson. Enter parking lot from 19th. Contact Bob@jacklevich@yahoo.com.

For those who want to become a Ham, there will be a Ham Cram, the opportunity to earn your FCC Ham Technical License in One Day (!) on Sunday, Febrary 25, at 8:45 SHARP – 3:00pm at the SF County Fari Bldg-Hall of Flowers at 9th Avenue & Lincoln Way in Golden Gate Park. Bring 2 IDs (one with picture), a pencil & $20 cash for technician study materials & test. No need for advance preparation, session method does it in 6 hours.

For Tech License Holders this session is also an opportunity to earn a GENERAL License in One Day. Register at 8:45 am, don’t be late. Class starts at 8:55 am. $34 includes study guide, lesson, study session, and test at 1:30-3:30 pm. RSVP to dave1@wcf.com for General.

Passing either test will get you a Ham radio license from the FCC good for 10 years. You will be able to use:

—Local repeaters for Bay Area communication
—Echolink for Internet-based radio
—satellite & moon-bounce
—international shortwave frequencies for global communication

And most importantly, you could be a critical link in emergency communications between your family and neighbors and the San Francisco Fire Department and their Emergency Response Districts during a Level 5 disaster, or even between a NERT search-and-rescue team looking, say, for an elderly widow living alone in a damaged house and their staging area/ command post for updated information, or you may facilitate communication between two neighboring NERT teams, sending resources where they’re most needed, increasing efficiency when people’s lives hang in the balance.

Outside of Ham radio, one of our NERT team members, a former utility company worker and mechanical engineer, has graciously offered other team members help in figuring out their utility shut-offs. If anyone is not quite certain about the ins-and outs, or rather, the offs and ons of their gas, electrical or water shut-offs, a visit from this generous NERT may be just the enlightenment needed. Contact Gary if interested.

The Fire Department has a program offering to all Seniors (not strictly defined) living in San Francisco free smoke alarms, along with free installation and free home safety surveys. Trained volunteers (not Fire Department Inspectors) will install new smoke alarms or replace old ones where needed. I understand they also have such things as special low-frequency smoke detectors specifically designed to alert some hearing-impaired people and 10 year batteries so battery replacement is not such an issue.

As part of this progam they are also interested in educating seniors about fire and fall safey with a Power Point presentation by volunteers. For more information or to schedule a free smoke alarm installation, call the Senior Home Safety Progam at 415-734-2101.

Lastly, on Saturday, March 10, there will be a Leadership/ Coordinator’s “College” training, an opportunity to learn advanced topics around team development and NERT skills. All NERTs are welcome to attend. Training to be held at the SF Fire Department Division of Training at 19th & Folson.
  
Gary Isaacson, Miraloma Park/Mt.Davidson NERT Co-coordinator, garyi6n@aol.com, 415-585-9729
 

 

Letter from Leland Yee, California Senate

As your State Senator, I am very proud to continue serving the Miraloma Park community. In the past we have had constituents come to us to address problems or concerns with state government agencies, or to request various kinds of information and support. My staff and I are committed to continuing to provide the highest quality of public service possible. The following are examples of services that we can provide.

Community Services
· Speaking to community groups, schools, & organizations
· Assisting with community grant applications
· Presenting commendatory and memorial resolutions
Public Services
· Reports issued by the Legislature and state agencies
· Consumer protection information
· “Where to find it” – state agency information
Constituent Services
· Department of Motor Vehicles
· Veterans’ affairs
· Assistance with other local, state and federal agencies
Legislative Services
· Copies of legislation or information on the status of legislation
· Summaries and analyses of specific bills
· Legislative committee rosters

Please feel free to contact my staff if there is anything our office can do for you. The number for the San Francisco District Office is (415) 557-7857. We look forward to working with you.
 

Holiday Party Cook Off Winners

We goofed last month and forgot to announce the winners and their dishes at the Holiday Cook-off in December. 

They are:
Appetizers: Kathy Hoegger: Mushroom Bruschetta,
Karen Hensley: Warm Artichoke Dip
Donna Jean Carter: Deviled Eggs
Side Dishes: Michael Fox and Elisa Bulos: Splendid Spinach Salad
tied with Newton Don: Braised Mushrooms w/ Smithfield Ham
Cassandra Mettling-Davis: Pomegranate Persimmon Salad
Jacquie Proctor: Mashed Potatoes
Main Dishes: Donna Jean Carter: Los Alamos Chili Verde
Julie Olz (sp?): Sesame Noodles, Barbara Tarmina: Mushroom Lasagne
Desserts: Elaine and Dave Blair: Pumpkin Pie
Phil Laird: Chocolate Orange Cheesecake
Pauline Kilkelly: Irish Whiskey Cake
Patty Ludeke: Grandma Wanda’s Secret Recipe Cookies
Kathy Rawlins: American French Chocolate Cake
 

 

Vicious Dog Attack on Teresita

by Jed Lane

My teenage daughter was walking on Teresita from our house on Gaviota towards Portola when she was attacked by a dog.  She was on the sidewalk at 12:30pm on a Saturday in November in front of 301 Teresita. She was walking on the inside, close to the hedge, as a couple approached alking two large black dogs on leash. As they passed each other the larger of the two dogs went around in front of its owner and bit her on the upper thigh.

While a dog biting a person is egregious the worst offense here is that the owners did nothing more that say “Oh, he’s never done that before” and left. So here you have a young woman assaulted on the street with no provocation in our neighborhood and “our” neighbor walks away with out leaving any information with her for her parents to find out if the dog had its vaccines or if the dog has had other incidents of attacking people.

The bite did not penetrate her jeans but left a bruise that was 8″ in diameter and the teeth marks showed as a scratch across her skin. This is a powerful dog and it attacked her without any provocation.

I contacted Animal Care and was told that because I didn’t know who the owner is there’s nothing they could do. I was told that if I can find out who the owners are or where the dogs live I can start an action that might result in the dog having to wear a muzzle. All in all, this is not much of a consequence for a powerful dog to inflict on a blameless young woman or for an owner that’s ultimately responsible for the behavior of his animals.

The people walking the dogs were described to me as an Asian man with gray hair and a non-Asian woman. The dogs were described as looking like black Labs but could be of any mix and wearing kerchiefs around their necks. The man was walking both on leash. If you see these dogs be careful and if you know the owner tell him he should be ashamed of himself for his uncivilized behavior.
 

A Mountain of Youth at Montara

by Geoffrey Coffey

Here in earthquake country, the land moves in puzzling ways. Take Montara Mountain, a San Mateo landmark at the uppermost edge of the Santa Cruz Range, whose steep heights plunge dramatically through the fog down into the sea at Devil’s Slide. It looks like the western edge of North America, but in fact this granite and sandstone formation sits on the eastern edge of the Pacific plate, a tectonic “island” riding north along the shear of the San Andreas Fault. Montara Mountain originated with the sierra of Southern California, and has been grinding its long, bumpy way up the coast toward San Francisco for millions of years, at speeds approaching one meter per century.

Now protected as San Pedro Valley Park in Pacifica, the slopes of Montara Mountain support a relic plant community more like those of Santa Barbara and the Channel Islands than its neighboring natural areas on the Peninsula. A strenuous switchback trail climbs to the North Peak through dense coastal chaparral of Montara manzanita (Arctostaphylos montaraensis) and minor giant chinquapin (Chrysolepsis chrysophylla var. minor), two noteworthy specimens.  The former is a local endemic found nowhere else on earth, growing 3-15 feet tall with tightly clasping silver-green leaves held upright, stems covered in white bristles, and the red gnarled trunk for which manzanitas are prized; the latter is uncommon in this region, a large hrub or a small tree with boat-shaped leaves dusted with gold on their undersides.

A less grueling hike – and a more diverse plant community – can be enjoyed along the Hazelnut Trail, which traverses the north-facing slopes of the ridge between the middle and south forks of San Pedro Creek, where the steelhead still return to spawn. This path is named for Corylus cornuta var. californica or California hazelnut, which grows here in healthy abundance. These 8- to 12-foot deciduous trees have flexible branches once used for asket-making, and their edible seeds are delicious. This early in the season, the trees are merely in catkin,  with pendant buds that later will mature into separate male and female flowers.

But early birds can look forward to other, more unusual treats. The month of February finds many Bay Area botanizers on their knees with a hand lens paying homage to the elusive “foetid adder’s tongue” or Scoliopus bigelovii. This plant is small and well camouflaged, so keep a sharp eye turned down to the trailside – or perhaps a nostril cocked for the disagreeable odor said to attract carrion-feeding beetles, its principal pollinators. The name Scoliopus comes from the Greek for “crooked foot,” referring to the downward-curving pedicel of the flower stem. These beautiful orchid-like blossoms are yellowish-green, delicately striped in purple or brown, with multiple stems per plant sheathed in a single pair of clasping leaves pushed up through the soil like the open mouth of a subterranean serpent, or two hands raised from below in benediction. Scoliopus most often grows in moist, shady coastal areas (esp. redwood forests) from the Santa Cruz range to the outer coast ranges of Mendocino and Humboldt counties; the population on Montara Mountain ranks among the largest and most easily found in our area.

Trillium also emerges in February to the delight of native plant fanciers. This beauty grows from a rhizome, producing a single whorl of three egg-shaped leaves subtending an exquisite blossom of white fading to pink. Look for Trillium in the shadows of larger trees and shrubs, especially in seeps where moisture collects. Regardless of its difficult nature in cultivation, this remains an all-time favorite for the garden. Alas, with the rise of civilization in general (and of the automobile in particular), the native plant populations of California have been infected by numerous damaging species from foreign shores. Here along our central coast, Pampas Grass (Cortaderia jubata) ranks among our most notorious pests. This massive bunchgrass with the vertical white plumes was imported from Bolivia in great uantity during the 1950s, and Caltrans planted it for erosion control on road cuts up and down the coast. Within a decade or two, the disaster was in full swing. Each fertile plume produces thousands of windblown seeds, which sprout in any patch of disturbed or otherwise open soil they can find.

This noxious weed easily outcompetes native plants, swiftly replacing diversity with monoculture – and due to its remarkable size (much thicker through the waist than a man), tenacity (the leaves are sharp as blades), and reproductive prowess, it remains costly and difficult to eradicate.

Here on Montara, huge swaths of land along Devil’s Slide and Highway One have been subsumed by Pampas Grass, and the interloper is making swift progress into the coastal scrub and chaparral of the mountain itself. Help arrives regularly in the form of volunteer weeders, a devoted team of naturalists both professional and amateur who donate their time and energy for the ecological health of San Pedro Valley, but they face a daunting task. Of all these volunteers, the chief Pampas Grass Assassin is surely Jim Pommier.

Jim moved to nearby Linda Mar in 1963 “when this was just a fish farm” and began weeding the slopes of Montara as a volunteer in the early 1970s. His herculean efforts redoubled since taking retirement 13 years ago. With the trim, rugged build of a long distance runner (he has 35 marathons under his belt), the spry septuagenarian bounds up the path at a trailblazer’s pace, fast on the lookout for rogue Eucalyptus saplings and proliferating Pampas Grass. According to a mutual friend, Jim habitually carries a pulaski with him at all times.
“What’s a pulaski, some sort of sausage?”
“Certainly not.  A pulaski is a larger and heavier version of a mattock.”
To be clear: a mattock is a long-handled landscaping tool with a pick on one side of the head and a hoe on the other; a pulaski is half pick and half axe, the fearsome tool favored by firefighters, horror movie villains, and dedicated weed-busters like Jim Pommier.

During a walk we took together on the mountain, Jim eagerly pointed out the numerous spots he has cleared of exotic invasives, thus to allow the native flora to flourish. This kind of relationship between man and mountain demonstrates the symbiosis of a lost time. We humans once recognized ourselves as part of a larger community of life, but many now view the landscape merely as potential resources to be plundered. Is it possible that Jim Pommier’s tremendous vitality derives from some spiritual quid-pro-quo? With some perspective, the moral of our tale grows clear: take care of the mountain, and the mountain will take care of you.

* * *
Geoffrey Coffey is a principal of Bay Natives nursery (www.baynatives.com), where they carry limited quantities of the Montara manzanita, and he is the founder of Madroño landscape design studio (www.madrono.org).
 

Fiddler on the Roof” Takes a Bow at SOTA

San Francisco School of the Arts (SOTA) present the beloved classic musical “Fiddler on the Roof,” playing right here in Miraloma Park, from Feb. 22-March 10.

The production features a cast, crew and orchestra of talented students at SOTA, a public San Francisco high school that admits students by audition. The public is invited to SOTA’s high-quality productions.

The performances will be in the Main Stage Theatre at the school, 555 Portola Drive at O’Shaughnessy. Full schedule, tickets and information are available at www.sfsota-ptsa.org .

 

Miraloma Cooperative Nursery School

Miraloma Cooperative Nursery School is holding its annual auction, “Our Little Red School Celebrates Spring!” on March 10, 2007 from 6 – 10 p.m. at The Event Center at Saint Mary’s Cathedral.  Please join us for the silent and live auction, fabulous food, delightful drinks, live jazz entertainment and gifts galore!  Just a few of the exciting auction items include 7 nights on Maui in a 2 bedroom ocean front condo, 7 night stay in a 2 bedroom condo at Northstar Tahoe, one night Mendocino Eco Adventure staying at the Stanford Inn and an 8 week session at My Gym, just to name a few. 

Please R.S.V.P. at our registration site miraloma.org/auction.html or by telephone to Reva Adelman at (415) 695-0608.