Village Voice, June 2012

[email protected] Vol. XXI, No. 6 | June 2012

The Village Voice is a publication of the OHCC Journalism Club

EditorialAs tragic as it was, September 11,

2001 in New York brought forth oneevent that virtually unified all thecitizens of the United States. It was aday in which we no longer wereDemocrats nor Republicans. Wewere Americans.

Now, eleven years have passed.Now we, as a nation, have becomedivisive and polarized. We are enter-ing a period of vicious politics neverseen before in recent memory.

Very shortly, most of us willbegin receiving flyers and pleas forcontributions for their causes. Andalready we are being bombardedfrom political TV commercials, mostof them slandering the opponentswith downright falsehoods and exag-gerations.

As seniors, most of us have cer-tain affiliations toward one politicalparty or another, perhaps inheritedfrom our parents or opinions formedlong ago from our workplace orschools. At social gatherings it’s rarethat anyone would bring up politics;it’s a dangerous subject for there willalways be someone in the crowdwho will disagree. And in disagree-ments, there grows factions. That’sthe last thing we need in our commu-nity.

Just a few weeks ago, a prolifera-tion of signs heralding candidates forlocal offices and propositionssprouted like infectious fungus onMelrose, Lake and Cannon. Soon,we will be plagued with placards forstate and federal offices in the com-

EDITORIAL, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

OHCC Burglary SuspectIs Arrested and In Jail

The services of Community Patrol in combination with precautions taken by res-idents help insure their safety and the safety of their property. Pictured isOfficer Robert Gomez of Universal Protection Service.

Police Officer Dulcie Fish, CrimePrevention Specialist, reported that ayoung male with connections to ourVillage has been arrested and chargedwith several burglaries. He is currentlyin custody and is awaiting sentencing.While Fish was unable to positivelyconnect this man with burglaries inOHCC, there was a strong probability.

In October and November of 2011,there was a rash of burglaries in our res-idents’ homes. In the middle ofDecember, several Oceanside Police

Officers came into the Village andapprehended a 28-year-old man sus-pected of multiple crimes. It was laterdiscovered that the San Diego Policerequested OPD to apprehend this per-son who had been living in his grand-mother’s residence. Apparently some-one in the San Diego area had discov-ered an item listed on “Craig’s List” hewas able to identify as an item that hadbeen stolen from him. It was tracedback to the suspect living in the Village,

BURGLARY, CONTINUED ON PAGE 3

The Village Voice — June 20122


ing November election. And one wonders if these signs actu-ally sway voters. Most of our mature residents doubt it. Mostresidents simply ignore them feeling that it’s just part of thelandscape.

And that brings up the subject of placing political signs onour front lawns. True, each front lawn is the private propertyof the owner, so that under the law, one can place any sign onhis property. While most avoid littering our front lawns, therewill be a small minority who insist on sticking signs out front.And what does this say about our beautiful community? Whatdoes this say about the owner? Does he or she expect to swaythe entire neighborhood with their sign?

There is another infectious plague that has just begun toshow its ugly head: individuals who telephone neighbors andother residents pleading for their votes on coming issues andcandidates. That can be more intrusive than any other tech-nique. It’s uncalled for and it is abhorrent.

We live in an upscale community. We live with neighborswho have about the same values. The editors of the Voice feelour residents should not degrade our beautiful campus, ourhomes or our community lifestyle.

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EDITORIAL, Cont’d. from Page 1

then reported to the San Diego Police which notified OPD.According to Officer Fish, this suspect had a record of a

string of burglaries in the area, and while she was unable todefinitely link the suspect to our burglaries, the likelihood wasvery high that this person was responsible. After a few days incustody, the suspect was released due to the “lack of evi-dence.”

Since this incidence, there have been no reported break-insor reports to the police. However, Officer Fish recommends allresidents should take every precaution to insure their safetyand the safety of their home and property.

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BURGLARY, Cont’d. from Page 1

New books in our library depend on support of residents.

New Book Acquisitions Dependon Residents’ Contributions

The money received from the residents on Dues Day inJanuary is beginning to dwindle at a rapid pace. Our library isattempting to maintain a constant stream of new books and issolely dependent on generous contributions of readers andparticipants.

Alice Robeson, president of the Library Association, saysthat any new selection will be greatly curtailed without thesupport of our residents.

The library is one of the most popular rooms in theClubhouse. It provides a comfortable quiet respite from theoutside. It features magazines donated by our residents and theborrowing of books is free, based on the honor system. Thereis a backlog of both old and new National GeographicMagazines. A computer, located by the fireplace is availablefor use by residents.

There is a staff of dedicated volunteers who catalog andmaintain the books and will be available to answer questions.For all newcomers, be sure to drop by and visit one of ourcrown jewels.

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For information, call Sandra @ 760-295-1993

Village Voice4716 Agora Way, Oceanside, CA 92056

Advertising E-mail: [email protected] information, call Richard Travis

Ad Rates: Full Page $140 (Add $75 for color)Half Page $85 (Add $50 for color) Classifieds (3 lines)Quarter Page $45 (Add $25 for color) $9 ResidentsEighth Page $25 (Add $10 for color) $12 Others ($3 addl line)

Patronize the businessesyou find in the Voice.

Mary Jane Matthews, PresidentGilda Barnard, Vice PresidentCharlotte Pichney, Secretary

Seymour Prell, TreasurerBob Wong, Editor

Marileen Johnson, Director

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

Editor: Bob Wong, [email protected] address: 4935 Thebes Way, Oceanside, CA 92056Distribution Coordinator: Jack Collar, 598-0580

Village CoordinatorsUpper Cordoba . . . . . . John Hanna . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 940-1874Cyrus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Theel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .945-4588Hydra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Seymour Prell, Ruth Leader . 945-7631Majorca . . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Miller . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 758-1960Mykonos . . . . . . . . . . . Betty Collar . . . . . . . . . . . . . 598-0580Portofino . . . . . . . . . . . Werner Rind, Mary DuarteSantorini . . . . . . . . . . . Chuck Barlow . . . . . . . . . . . .758-0625Zante . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Alan DeCarle . . . . . . . . . . . . . 631-0179

Advertising:

Richard Travis, 724-4091 • Email: [email protected]

Production: Sandra Powers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 579-9330

Ira LandisAndy TrubanDan NeilsonFrank IsmailGilda Spiegl

Joan BuchholzJoe AshbyBill Walsh

Phyllis WardTom Lynch

Tom FullerSelma Leighton

Mary Jane MatthewsCharlotte Pichney

Russ ButcherBeverly Nickerson

Peter RussellJack ShabelBob Barnes


Mail Box Delivery for ImpairedResidents

To accommodate many of our residents who have beenhaving trouble sending and retrieving their mail from theirmailboxes that are located alongside the street, here is a newaccommodation provided by the Postal Service and our HomeOwner’s Association. This is how it works:

If, at your next visit to your doctor, he determines that youare impaired in such a manner that it becomes difficult for youto walk from your house to the mail box, ask him/her to fax toour HOA, and indicate your impairment. (Fax number: (760)758-8647)

Upon receipt of the letter, the HOA will order a white mail-box to be installed alongside your front door at no charge.

Your mailman will deliver mail and pick up your outgoingmail at your door.

(This information is from a resident who has experiencedthis situation.)

LookingSkyward

On March 19th, a fullMoon of rare size andbeauty rose in the east atsunset. It’s a super“perigee moon”—thebiggest in almost 20years. “The last fullMoon so big and close toEarth occurred in Marchof 1993,” says GeoffChester of the US Naval Observatory in Washington DC. FullMoons vary in size because of the oval shape of the Moon’sorbit. It is an ellipse with one side (perigee) about 50,000 kmcloser to Earth than the other (apogee). Nearby perigee moonsare about 14% bigger and 30% brighter than lesser

It was the first annular eclipse in the continental U.S. sincethe May, 1994. A solar eclipse occurs when the moon passesbetween and the earth and the sun, thereby totally or partiallyobscuring the image of the sun for a viewer on earth. An annu-lar solar eclipse occurs when the moon’s size is smaller thanthe sun, causing the sun to look like a ring and blocking mostof the sun’s light.

The transit of Venus took place on June 5 and is one of the

Deadline for submissions forarticles in the Village Voice is the

28th of each month. No exceptions.

Partial eclipse as seen throughthe fog over the Village.


Call Richard @760-724-4091 to

advertise in the nextVillage Voice Newsletter

rarest sky watching events. The next time the planet Venuswill cross the face of the sun will be in 2017. It appeared as aslow-moving tiny black dot silhouette crossing the sun. Venustransits occur in pairs that are eight years apart that takes placeless than once per century. “Only such six such events haveoccurred since the invention of the telescope,” according toastrophysicist Sten Odenwald of NASA’s Goddard SpaceFlight Center.

And on June 4, there was a partial eclipse of the moon.For the curious, it is interesting to note that in the coming

month of July, there will be five Saturdays, five Sundays, andfive Mondays, a phenomenon that occurs only once every800+ years.

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The CrustyCurmudgeonBy Bob Wong

Just Strumming AlongIt took a little coaxing, a little nagging

from my wife to pursue other interestsother than competing with “AmericanIdle.” So with some persuasion fromLarry, Reneé and Mimi, I joined the ukulele symphonyorchestra.

First, I discovered, you must be equipped with a ukulele, amysterious four stringed guitar-like banjo ukelele. Oops, theregoes eighty dollars. Then the salesman sold me an Aloha shirt.“No one plays a ukulele without one,” he claimed. “And don’tforget to buy a tuner and a ukulele case.”

Well, I emptied my wallet, left the store, prepared to enter-tain the world.

There were about a couple dozen experienced ukulele play-ers in the room at the clubhouse and when I got there, allstrumming away and tuning their banjos ukes. Larry gave memy first instruction: with your left hand, you place the thirdfinger on the third fret. That note is “C.” With your right handyou strum all four strings. Easy! “Pling, pling, pling. I got it.”

“Next, you go to G7, crunch your third finger to the 2ndfret, first string, your second finger to the second fret, secondstring and your first finger to the second fret, third string.”Say, What?

“Larry, why don’t we just get that one note down pat, ‘C?’”So Larry patiently allowed me to practice my “C” note for twohours, I strummed happily along with my single note.

Then, enter Reneé. She was our enthusiastic band leaderwho told us to turn to page 3 of our instruction book. It was

features



the iconic classic known throughout the civilized world,“Pistol Packin’ Mama.”

“OK, everybody,” she announced: “Let’s start on “C.” I strummed on “C.” “Let’s slide to G7.” I strummed on “C.”“OK, go to A.” I strummed on “C.”“Next go to F.” I strummed on “C.”Throughout the entire song, I strummed on “C,” No one

noticed. Then we turned to the next page and while everyonetunefully played the song, I remained on “C.” Reneé noticed.

She thought I had played the “C” note with such emotion,vigor and vitality, that she is making arrangements for me toplay solo with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra. I willsoon be joining them in Mozart’s 1st movement of Symphony#4.

My part will be strumming the ukulele with my well-prac-ticed, “C” note. Too bad Mozart won’t be there; he wouldhave been proud.

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Out & About inSan Diego CountyBy Jack Shabel

We have been living here in Southern California for lessthan two years and have already visited the USS MidwayMuseum on the waterfront in Downtown San Diego threetimes. In my four years in the Coast Guard, I spent a little bitof my time at sea. Visiting the museum was a nostalgic tripdown memory lane without the bad food and smelly bunk-mates from the engine room.

The Midway was commissioned 1945 and was the firstship too large for the Panama Canal. It served during theVietnam War as well as during Operation Desert Storm. It wasdecommissioned in 1992. The USS Midway Museum openedon the San Diego waterfront in 2004 and surpassed five mil-lion visitors in 2010. It is one of the top tourist attractions inSan Diego, and it deserves to be.

Tour admission includes audio guides which explain theworkings of this behemoth of a ship that carried a crew of4,500, generated 212,000 horsepower and burned 260 gallonsof diesel fuel for every mile traveled. Just some of the high-lights of the museum are the more than 25 beautifully restoredaircraft on both the flight deck and the hangar deck, flight sim-ulators, a walking tour through the lower decks featuring mess

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decks, chapel, sleeping quarters, laundry, medical and dentalfacilities, and, if you missed your chance earlier in yourcareer, a chance to visit the brig. The museum is staffed witha plethora of docents who give presentations on the workingsof the engine room, how to launch aircraft, and, of course,how to land them. All of the docents whom I encountered hadserved on carriers during their military careers and most havebeen pilots. The docent pictured here was giving a fascinating

15-minute talk on launching planes every 45 seconds. He hadpersonally piloted more than 150 carrier launches and land-ings.

Another interesting tour is of the bridge area or, as theycalled it, the island. This is probably the only area that you willhave to wait a bit as the tours are taken up in groups becauseof space limitations. This tour takes you to the flight con-troller’s station (called “The Boss”), the navigation room, thebridge, and the Captain’s and the Admiral’s quarters. From thetour it was obvious that neither of these gentlemen had to dealwith stinky engine room bunkmates.

Parking is available on the same dock that the ship ismoored at and there is a very nice gift shop and the FantailRestaurant located rather cleverly on the fantail of the ship onthe hangar deck offers pretty tasty fare for reasonable prices.They even have some items from the Midway’s 1945 cook-book. The Midway is located at 1492 North Harbor Drive inDowntown San Diego and is open every day exceptThanksgiving and Christmas from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

During the summer (June 30 to August 19) they open at9am instead of 10 a.m.. Admission is $18 for adults, $15 forseniors (62 and up) and $10 for youth (6 to 17) and retired mil-itary with valid ID. Children 5 and under are free. Their website is at www.midway.org. This is more than a museum, it isan experience.

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USS Midway, a major attraction for locals and tourists.


lage of Zante and the hills beyond. In one corner is a Meyerlemon tree and curiously, a single stalk of a corn plant thatbrings back fond memories to Seymour.

On the opposite corner is a four foot metal crane that rocksback and forth partially submerged in greenery and shaded byan enormous ficus tree. Along the side is a winding path bor-dered by more green bushes and purple seafoam statice.

The Ostros love looking out from their back garden, espe-cially during the evening hours when the landscape sparklesbeneath the stars. “Seymour,” Paula exclaims, “We’re not inthe Valley anymore! This is closer to paradise.”

The Garden SceneThere is little doubt that the garden being

reviewed this month was planned and designedby a professional. That professional is LisaOstro, daughter of OHCC residents Paula andSeymour Ostro. Naturally, Lisa put her best footforward for her parents and the Ostro’s frontentrance dazzles with splashes of color. Whitealyssum forms a ground cover for the floralarrangements of brilliant pink hydrangeas, tallpurple foxgloves and lavender delphiniums. Anoversized fuchsia plant with giant sized blos-soms of red and purple is the first thing onenotices upon entering the garden.

Paula takes care of the deadheading andfeeding of the flowers. She particularly enjoystending to her pure white Iceberg roses whichbloom prolifically in early spring. She says thisclimate is perfect for her garden, a contrast toher formerhome in theValley wherethe tempera-ture climbsmiserably dur-ing the sum-mer months.She andSeymour havelived in theVillage foraround 20years. Whenthey firstmoved in, thefront garden consisted of dirt. Then gradually, they placedbrickwork, planted flowers, bushes and Australian Burl Fernsthat shaded the entrance. A very tall white birch tree alsoallows its long drooping branches to form a canopy over thefront. The result is a very cozy entrance.

The view from the back is spectacular. It overlooks the vil-

Brilliant hydrangeas add to the colors of the garden.

Below: Paula, under an umbrella of shade trees.

Flowers arranged with a florist’s touch.



Shopping AroundBy the Phantom Shopper

With the recession upon us, every penny counts. Butdespite the economy, have you noticed how expensive ournecessities have become? Groceries and fuel have skyrocket-ed. But with a little snooping around, I have discovered a fewways to save dollars.

A tube of toothpaste at any of our local drug stores andmarkets hovers around $3. And a tube really doesn’t last toolong. Now for a dollar, you can get most major brands oftoothpaste at our local Dollar Tree or 99¢ Only Store. At thatprice, I can afford to buy a six-month supply for a fraction ofthe cost from other retailers.

How about this? As I get older, I rely more and more on eyeglasses. It became a major expense when I purchased a pair atJCPenney’s or Sears. But when a friend of mine in the Villagesuggested I try Lens-4-Less where they advertise glassespriced starting at $29.99, I shrugged them off. How could anyoptometrist price any decent pair of glasses at that price. Well,surprise; I did and I found them very satisfactory. I walked outwith a smile on my face having saved more than $150 or moreat that price. Lens-4-Less is located on the corner of Collegeand Hacienda besides the discount grocery store. The addressis 3504 College Blvd. Oceanside, CA 92056, telephone (760)758-7900.

Computer Tips(From the Club Connection, the publication of the

Computer Club, with permission from Jim Kaminsky,President.)

I've Got an App for That!This month I’m going to tell you about an app that I use

once or twice every month and it accomplishes what had beenan often frustrating activity with aplomb. The app is calledFlixster, or probably more accurately, Movies by Flixster withRotten Tomatoes. Flixster is an app for movie-goers. Here’show I use it: I open the app and find the best reviewed or mostpopular movies that are currently playing in theaters (it alsolists the top “anticipated” movies). I’ve found that anythingwith an 80% approval rating or higher is usually pretty good.Not sure you’re interested in that top-rated movie? Click “PlayTrailer” and you’ll see the movie trailer that you would see inthe theater previews. You can also read what people liked anddidn’t like about the movie. Now that you know you want tosee the movie, give Flixster your zip code and have it findwhere the movie is playing. Up will come theaters where it’splaying, nearest to farthest, and the times the movie plays ateach theater. Press another button and you’ll get a map of howto get to the theater. If you’re so inclined, you can also pur-chase tickets for the movie right from the app. Flixster will


McGinnis, she has definitely put her fingerprints on so manysocial functions in the Village. Now after 11 years, andbecause of our old friend’s back problems,” she is forced toretire.

We sat at my house one day as she reminisced about hermultitude of experiences, some funny and some not so funny.One party she worked at the Lanai, Lyn had her electric hotplates plugged in, as did the acoustical guitarist. The musicwas too loud, so someone pulled the plug. Unfortunately theypulled the plug on the hot plates. The music was still too loud,but the hotplates got cold. Naturally Lyn worked it out.

One of her favorite dinners every year was the chili dinner

also load the movie into your Netflix queue if you’d like tosave some money and wait for the DVD to come out.

Flixster also rates new and soon-to-be released DVDs.I like Flixster a lot. It does just what it’s supposed to do.

Tell me how other people feel about a movie, give me a pre-view of the movie, and let me know where and when it’s play-ing. No fuss, easy does it. In about 5 minutes you get all youneed.

Movies by Flixster, with Rotten Tomatoes, an app for theiPhone and iPad, are free at the iTunes store.

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Village HappeningsBy Selma Leighton

We are all aware that there are many types of institutions inthe world. Banking institutions, institutions of higher learningand even institutions we prefer not to talk about. But there arealso people who are institutions, based on the amount of timeand effort they have put into an enterprise. Such an institutionis Lyn Asaro, known to everyone in Ocean Hills as MamaLyn.

I don’t believe there are many of us who have not at sometime or other been to a party that she and her staff eithercatered or worked on. Together with Sally Palmer and Cathy

From L-R: Sally Palmer, Lyn Asaro, Cathy McGuinnes


she made for the Nubees after their holiday caroling. I under-stand some people learned to sing just so they could have hercorn bread with honey butter. Ahh, I wish I had a voice.

But Lyn has always had fun cooking and serving. It wasn’tjust work, it was a love of the job. Having a glass of wine inher hand while cooking, I’m sure didn’t hurt. Looking at thehappy smiles of her staff in the accompanying picture taken inthe clubhouse kitchen, I have a feeling everyone had that help-ful glass of wine. She also remembers the time she was push-ing a cart full of dishes across the dance floor when some manjust grabbed her and whisked her away. The cart stayed whereit was, she went dancing.

But all work and no play is not Lyn’s style. She has beeninvolved with tennis, pickle ball and Theater Arts, and ofcourse she and Renee Kelson do a mean ukulele duet. So that’sour Mama Lyn and staff. I felt they have been so much a partof the community that a printed good bye was warranted. No,she’s not leaving the Village. She’ll still be around, and stillhaving fun. Like me, she likes fun-ny.

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The Movie SceneBy Joan Buccholz

The DictatorTalk about distasteful. Talk about raunchy. Talk about poor

taste. That just about covers it all in this over-the-top lunacy.But I found it funny and entertaining... all 83 minutes of it. It’soutrageous, it’s quick and we are either in fits of laughter or intotal shock.

The star of the show is Sacha Baron Cohen (remember himin “Borat?”) who plays General Aladeen, a dictator of a fic-tional North African country. He leads a reign of terror fromhis palace. On a trip to New York, his second-in-command,Tamir, (Ben Kingley) stripped him of power and the general isforced to live as a commoner on the streets of Manhattan. Heresents his ouster by Tamir and Efawadh (played by SashaBaron as a double) and plots a revenge with the help of a goofball nuclear expert he thought he executed back home. Andthere is the usual love story cliche with Anna Faris playing

Zoey, a zealot preaching organic veggies and “Death toAladeen,” not knowing the imposter is the man she is fallingfor.

You have to choke on some of the jokes when the jokes hithome. In a speech, Aladeen claims that in America, one per-cent controls all the wealth, a ruler can declare war,,, even onthe wrong country.

Despite its crudeness and vulgarity, I give it 2-1/2 smiles.It was entertaining and short.

The Best Exotic Marigold HotelThe story centers around a group of English pensioners

who are searching for a cheap and unusual location for retire-ment. They find an ad exalting a hotel in far-off India promis-ing the luxury of the mystical east. The cast is perfect: JudiDench, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson to name just a few.What they find is a run-down excuse for a hotel where noth-ing works, the telephones are dead and the accommodationsare far from what they expect.

Everything to the group is a cultural shock and the conflictbrings uproarious laughter. Dev Patel is the young Indianmanager and he virtually steals the show with his shenanigansand eastern philosophy that doubles for excuses.

The movie is captivating only because it could easily be atravelogue for the city of Jaipur. But thanks to the variousissues of the members of the group, we get involved in thesolutions that are solved in the final scene. The cast fits per-fectly with the characters.

The majority of the audience was seniors who so enjoyedthe film, they applauded at the end. I did too. I give it 3-1/2smiles and hope everyone in the Village will see it. It’s a hoot.

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Deadline for submissions forarticles in the Village Voice is the

28th of each month. No exceptions.


Veterans ProfileHank Talbot, Lt., Air Force

At 21 years old, Hank wanted to be an Air Force pilot.America was at war when he graduated from high school andhad attended college in Kansas City where he lived most ofhis life. So he left it all behind him and signed up at therecruitment center. He was off to be a pilot.

But the Army didn’t send him off to be a pilot right away.He required almost two years to learn how to fly. His trainingsent him all over the U.S., from Wisconsin, to orientation atpre-flight schools in Santa Ana, Tulare and Taft where he flewthe BT 13, a basic trainer plane. Advanced flying took placein Texas and in April of 1944, he was awarded his “Wings.”He flew the B 17 Flying Fortress.

However, the Army had other plans and Hank wasassigned as ground maintenance officer where he was respon-sible for 200 men to see to the maintenance of planes. Heshuffled paper and made sure inspections of the facility andplanes were up to standard. But in February of 1945, thingswere beginning to change. He was sent off to the PacificTheater. This time, perhaps he would be able to fly.

Hank was shipped off on the USS Burley, an Auxiliary

Personnel Assault ship in a convoy that took him to EniwetokAtoll in the South Pacific. While in the process of refueling,the Burley collided with another APA and the ship sufferedconsiderable damage.

Later he was assigned to Anderson Air Force Base inGuam. Guam was considered the ideal base to launch B-29Superfortress operations against the Japanese Home Islands.

20%DiscountEveryWed.4-9pmENTREEONLY

Hank as a cadet. An armada of B-29 bombers and of which Hank wasan integral part.

Hank recalls his life in theAir Force in great detail.


Although assigned as Ground Maintenance Officer, Hankmade a number of bombing missions over the enemy air baseson the Mariana Islands in order to prevent Japanese suicideflights from taking off. There were scary moments when hespotted enemy “Betty” bombers flying overhead, but he fig-ured they were on reconnaissance missions and did not engagein any action. Hank also was part of the 21st bomber com-mand under the leadership of General Curtis LeMay. Hankrecalls the loading of incendiary bombs onto the bombers thatincinerated Tokyo and took a toll of 80,000 casualties.

When the war ended with the dropping of the Atomicbomb, Hank continued his duties in disposing of surplus mate-rials on Guam. The B-29s continued a mission dropping foodand supplies to Allied prisoners. In 1946, Hank was releasedfrom the Service, returned to Kansas City. He was employedby the Eastman Kodak Company where he was instrumentalin furnishing the Navy with a new computer output Microfilmsystem that recorded and simplified record keeping. The sys-tem is still used by most major companies today, includingPCM, our management company.

After moving around the U.S. several times and in severalplaces, Hank found a home here in OHCC where he lives withhis wife, Mabel.

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Bird UpdateBy Andy Truban

With the help of EdGunderson, we checked thefront nine Bluebird boxes.

Four bluebirds fledgedin box #5 The old nest wasremoved. Now, it has a newnest, and the parents arearound it. If they start theegg-laying, this will be thefirst nest with a second-nesting activity cycle thisyear. Let’s hope there aremany more to follow.

As of today, May 27th, 2012, the status of the front nineboxes status are as follows:

Box #10— Four nestlings. We fed both parents mealworms.

Box #7—Four nestlings. Fed both parents meal worms. Box #4—Five eggs, unchanged from last week.Box #5—Completed nest, no eggs yet.Box #6— Box still empty, no bird activity seen. This box

probably should be moved, it may be too close to the rest-room.

Red-tailed Hawks: While there, using binoculars, wealso checked activities in the Red-tailed Hawk nests. Thenest in the tallest Eucalyptus tree near the red phone and thesixth green showed no activity. However, while we werewatching the nest on the opposite side of the course — alongthe fence near the third green — a Red-tailed Hawk flew inand landed beside the nest. Based on its feathering, itappeared to be a young bird which had probably beenfledged from that nest. It is not known whether the parentswere were still feeding it.

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Mother bluebird tending herflock.




The Latest Fraud GambitsBy Ira M. Landis

Thousands of timeshare owners are trying to sell theirunused or unwanted investment properties and are often get-ting swindled. This recurring scam seeks to obtain upfront feesof $2,000 or better. The scam often surfaces when times aretough economically and the investors are stuck with vacationproperties they can’t afford to use plus annual fees they can’tafford to pay. Anxious to sell, they often can fall victim toscam artists posing as timeshare resellers who take upfront-fees, as much as $5,000 in some cases, but provide nothing inreturn. The scammers claim they have immediate interestedpotential buyers, perhaps a corporation or foreign buyer. Youmay get such promises by mail or by phone. The biggest redwarning flag is the minute they want you to send moneybefore the transaction closes.

A California couple spent about $15,000 for a one-bed-room one-week timeshare in Napa Valley years ago. Theyrarely used it. Last summer, when the husband lost his job, hedecided to try and sell the investment to get some money topay bills and mortgage payments while he sought a new job.After searching online, he got a call from AAA TimeshareInc., an Orlando, Fla. company, salesman. Within weeks hewas told the company had found a buyer but needed $3,000,in two cashier checks, to cover “paperwork and processingfees.” The checks were sent by overnight delivery. The com-

pany then essentially disappeared; no more responses torepeated emails or phone calls. The company has an “F” rat-ing from the Better Business Bureau. The seller was so anx-ious to complete the sale he never checked. The moral: Get allpromises in writing; never pay upfront fees; don’t be pres-sured into sending money or giving financial account numbersover the phone.

****

An OHCC resident received the following message on heranswering machine: “Hey, this is Karen. Sorry I missed you,get back to us quickly. I have something important to tellyou.” Then she repeated a phone number beginning with 809.Fortunately, she did not respond. The next week the followingemail was received from AT&T:

“Do not dial Area Code 809, 284, and 876 from the U.S. orCanada. The scammers try to get you to call by telling you thatit is information about a family member who has been ill or totell you someone has been arrested, died, or let you know youhave won a wonderful prize. In each case you are told to callone of the above area code phone numbers right away.

People unknowingly return these calls and get a longrecorded message. The objective is to keep you on the phoneas long as possible. If you call from the U.S. or Canada youwill apparently be charged a minimum of $2,425 a minute.The 809 Area Code is located in the Dominican Republic. Thecharges afterwards can be a real nightmare because you actu-ally did make the call. None of the phone companies will wantto get involved as they are simply providing the billing for theforeign company. THINK TWICE! BE CAREFUL.

Thanks to Melvina Terry for alerting us to this scam.

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favor of working on my notes and improving my sleep time.And the river was quiet again.

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Travels With JoeBy Joe Ashby

A View of the AmazonIt was five when I awoke. The La Esmeralda was still tied

up to the shore. The river was very still and despite the occa-sional light rain, I enjoyed the silence while I worked on mynotes and drank dark coffee. The La Esmeralda has a crew of10 that operates the 125 foot river boat. The ship is outfittedwith freezers and refrigerators. Each cabin has three singlebeds, a small writing desk and storage closets, a standard toi-let and a very large shower. Despite being in an untamed jun-gle, the boat was very comfortable.

Immediately after breakfast, our guide Nathan led us onsmall catamarans out onto the Pacaya-Samira Reserve Lake.

Across the lakewe set out onfoot and came toan enclosure thathoused a giantanaconda. It wasa juvenile, only 8feet in length.There were also afew spotted tur-tles and a rathernasty red-tailboa. A small boyproduced a giantleaf, on which

was a deadly red poison dart frog from which we kept our dis-tance.

We passed by a few rubber trees, nothing like the 19th cen-tury when the prolific trees were a major source of rubber forthe world. But since then the industry was transferred toMalaysia and Indonesia. After the rubber rush, came oil explo-ration, then lumber and now hunting. Nathan showed us thegiant hunting ant, the largest and most deadly of all ants in theforest. They live up to two years and when they die, they leavean algae which becomes a parasitic plant, itininga, whichresembles a philodendron.

Returning to the La Esmeralda, we stopped off at the smallvillage of Monte Alegre where we were hosted by Maria Luisaand her family of seven for lunch. The village has a populationof about 100 with 15 families. The table amounted to severallarge palm leaves spread in the center of the floor. Lunch con-sisted of guinea pig, catfish wrapped and baked in leaves,manioc, plantains, farina, pepper sauce and fruit juices. Thecatfish was very good, but I was not entranced by the rest ofthe lunch, particularly the guinea pig that was greasy andtough.

After lunch we went on a fishing expedition. Baiting ourhooks with pieces of beef, it was no time until the water wasboiling with piranha. They were hard to hook, but they had notrouble removing the bait from our hooks. We did catch a fewpiranha, dogfish and catfish then returned to the boat with ourloot. After our fish dinner, I decided to skip the boat ride in

Our next meal: piranhas.

Natives extracting juice from sugar cane.

One of several suspension bridges.


pink flamingoes obtain pink pigments by eating crustaceansuch as shrimp. These ingested pigments are carried in thebloodstream to the feathers. Carotenoids are also believed tocontain antioxidants and other health-enhancing elements.Thus the brightly colored plumage of a male may possibly sig-nal his good health to a prospective mate.

The shades of blue feathers, by contrast, are not derivedfrom food, since blue pigments are destroyed as food is digest-ed. Instead, avian blue coloring is caused by light refractionfrom the structure of the feather itself. This structure containsair pockets and a three-dimensional substance known as a ker-atin protein. When white light shines on a blue feather, the pat-tern of this structure causes red and yellow wave-lengths tocancel out each other, leaving the blue wave-lengths to reflectback to the observer’s eyes as “structural color.” Variousshades of blue are caused by the size and shape of keratin. Andso we see the blue plumage coloring of such birds as blue-birds, jays, and buntings. The dazzling, iridescent colors ofhummingbirds are similarly caused by the prism-like lightrefraction of the microscopic structure of their feathers.

The green plumage of many kinds of parrots and parakeetsoccurs when a yellow pigment overlays a feather’s structuralblue color.

But do birds see these colors? Surprisingly, scientificresearch has shown that birds not only see colors, but they seea significantly greater diversity of colors than we humans candetect. Some birds have an additional color cone (a flask-shaped cell) in the retina of their eyes that allows them to per-ceive a range of ultraviolet light not visible to the human eye.

So, yes, there’s a lot more to avian plumage than simplymaking it easier for us to identify birds. It seems there’s a rea-son for everything in Nature.

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Watching WildlifeBy Russ Butcher

Bird ColorsHave you ever wondered why many kinds of the world’s

9,000 bird species have such colorful plumage? Why, forinstance, are the male Summer Tanager and VermilionFlycatcher an eye-popping red, several kinds of orioles a bril-liant orange, and goldfinches and many species of wood-war-blers a vibrant yellow? Why is it that several kinds of blue-birds and jays are beautiful shades of blue? And what aboutthe bright green of parrots and parakeets?

As a lifelong birdwatcher, I’ve always been fascinated bythe endless variety of plumage colors and patterns that help usdistinguish one species from another. But clearly there is a lotmore to avian plumage than just making it easier for ushumans to identify birds. The plumage of some birds, such asthe predominantly brown-colored sparrows, wrens, and otherground-feeding birds, as well as the subdued colors of mostfemales, enables them to blend in with their surroundings. Bycontrast, the males of many species have bright plumage thatmakes them conspicuously visible.

The bright colors of a bird’s feathers are created in one oftwo basic ways. Red, orange, and yellow typically come fromsubstances known as carotenoid pigments that are derivedfrom food and synthesized in the bird’s liver. For example,

Colorful plumage make these parrots conspicuous.




This restaurant is appropriately named for it is hidden inthe back woods of Carlsbad. Nothing is around it except foran open air flower stall, a liquor store and a tree nursery.Across busy El Camino stands a barren hill with a few sagebrushes. That’s all. Bobby’s is simply an old fashioned neigh-borhood cafe serving old fashioned home style cooking. Mypartner and I had to see what was the big allure.

Entering the side door (I had expected a screen door aswell), the decor can be best described as an inside view of ascrap book with a collection of photographs of friends, neigh-bors and celebrities. We were seated by a friendly woman wholooked as though she had worked there forever.

Bobby’s Hideaway Café4901 El Camino Real, Carlsbad760-729-6900Hours: Open every day at 6 a.m., closesMonday at 3 p.m., Tues.-Sat. at 9 p.m.,and Sunday at 8 p.m.

She recited themenu by rote and per-suaded me to order theChicken Cordon Bleu,a breast of chickenstuffed with asparagus,ham and Swiss cheese,then blanketed with adelightful mustardsauce. It was a goodchoice. Dinner wasaccompanied by amelange of fresh veg-etables and smashed redpotatoes with garlic.(Smashed potatoes aresomething new on themarket scene. It’s merelyboiled potatoes that arecrushed intact with theirskins.) Dinner was pre-ceded by a small cup ofspicy but tasty lentil soup,the recipe of which mayhave been borrowed fromMexico.

My partner started din-ner with a generous saladwith a honey-mustarddressing. He ordered a(SC) Hideaway steakaccompanied with themixed vegetables andbaked potato with theusual butter, sour creamand chives. (SC in this Hideaway cafe is a code for SeniorCitizen. Do you have to be a senior? And do you also have tobe a citizen?) The steak was grilled to perfection, was tenderand smothered with delicious fried onions. The onions wereespecially sweet because, according to the chef, they werewhite onions.

Their menu is extensive. The most popular meal is atbreakfast where the locals gather to savor pancakes, omelettesand even biscuits and gravy. For lunch, Bobby’s offers a rangeof burgers that cost around $10.

Entrees feature a large selection of chicken dishes, but alsooffer steaks and ribs. The next time I visit Bobby’s, I must tryTequila Lime Chicken, chicken breast served with mush-rooms, lime juice and Cuervo Gold Tequila in a cream sauce.It sounds yummy, if not intoxicating. Most dinners range fromabout $12 to $15 with beef dishes about $6 more. Their dessertselection appeared to be rather mundane and we didn’t try any.

There was nothing fancy about this restaurant. It servedhearty meals at very reasonable prices in a sturdy woodenbuilding. It was enjoyable to visit a restaurant with the clockturned back 50 years.

(Gilda is a member of the Southern California RestaurantWriters.)

Bobby’s Hideaway Cafe is decided-ly hidden.

Steak smothered with sweetgrilled onions.

Chicken cordon bleu with garli-cy smashed potatoes.


TodayBy Tom Fuller

What is so fairAs a day in June

To keep our spiritsWarm and in tune,

Or to stroll in the eveningAnd just look at the moon?

Nothing can compareWith a beautiful day,

Whether staying at homeOr a walk in the way;

It’s so very lovely,That’s all one can say.

Today is for usTo fully enjoy,

To smile and be happyAnd our tongues to employ

As we tell of His loveAnd eternal joy.

God is its Author.How long will it last?

Only twenty-four hoursAnd it will be past.

So cherish its blessingsAnd throw open the sash!!!!

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Exercise, Health & YouBy Andy Truban

Focusing on Four Types of Eye DiseasePresently in the U.S. more people than ever suffer vision

impairment and blindness caused by age-related eye diseases.Poor vision reduces your quality of life. Research also links itto: falls, car accidents, and even a shorter life span. It is rec-ommended that adults aged 55 to 64 years should undergo aneye exam by an ophthalmologist every one to three years,while those age 65 and older every year or two.

The four most common eye diseases are: cataracts, diabet-ic retinopathy, glaucoma and age-related macular degenera-tion. This information will be divided into a two-part seriesdue to its length. First: cataracts and diabetic retinopathy; thennext month, we will take up glaucoma and macular degenera-tion.

CATARACTS:In the U.S., close to 21 million of people aged 40 have

cataracts according to the Center for Disease Control andPrevention (CDC). Cataracts are caused by clumps of proteinin the eye’s lens leading to blurry, cloudy vision, and glaresensitivity.

Detect it: Undergo a comprehensive eye exam using anophthalmoscope, a device used to inspect the retina that is

located in the back of the eye, and a “slit-lamp” test thatdetects cataracts in the lens.

Treat It: Under anesthesia, a small incision is made on theside of the cornea. Then, a tiny sound-wave emitting probe isinserted to break-up the cataract so it can be suctioned off andthen discarded. The implantation of a permanent artificial lensin the cornea follows. However, Dr. R. Linsy Farris, professorof Clinical Ophthalmology at Columbia states: “Just having acataract doesn’t mean you have to have surgery on it. If anolder person can read and watch TV, they don’t necessarilyneed to have their cataract removed. It’s an individual deci-sion.”

DIABETIC RETINOPATHY:The CDC estimates that 5.3 million adults suffer from dia-

betic retinopathy, which includes damage to the blood vesselsin the retina located in the back of the eye. In some cases, frag-ile blood vessels swell and leak into the eye, blurring vision.In others, the blood vessels grow abnormally large and leakblood, causing severe vision loss.

Detect It: There are often no visible early signs of diabet-ic retinopathy because the blood leakage happens duringsleep. But, if you have diabetes and notice spots floating inyour field of vision, see your eye doctor immediately becauseyou may need treatment before more serious hemorrhagingoccurs. This is the reason why diabetic people regardless ofage, should get a comprehensive eye exam at least once a year.

Treat It: Laser surgery to stop blood leakage and vision


stabilization can reduce the risk of blindness by 90 percent,according to the National Eye Institute. Cases of severe bleed-ing may require a surgery called vitrectomy, to restore sightthrough a tiny incision in the eye to drain the bloody fluid andthen replace it with a salt solution. Patients can usually returnhome the same day.

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The Golf GameBy Pete Russell

I’ve always liked words. I collect words like conundrum,epiphany, and penultimate. Of course I don’t get a lot ofopportunities to use them in every day discourse, but I lookfor all opportunities.

A new word came to my attention during the aftermath ofthe 2012 Zurich Classic golf tournament when Jason Dufnerprevailed over one of my favorites, Ernie Els, in overtime.The TV golf wags could not get enough of Dufner and hisWAGGLE. I had never heard the word before but after a lotof critical discussion about Dufner’s waggle, I got the pictureof its meaning. For example, Wikipedia says that “Waggledance is a term used in beekeeping and ethology for a partic-ular figure-eight dance of the honey bee.” I guess thatexplains it all. In golf it seems to mean the constant motion ofa golfer while addressing the ball, but only with the hands and


club, not the body. Dufnerdisplayed an unusualamount of “waggle” justbefore he hits the ball andhe sure does that very well.It garnered him a millionplus dollars in prize moneyover Mr. Els! It can’t be allbad.

Then I got to thinking.When I used to play a lot ofsingles tennis, I developeda certain style of prepara-tion for returning a serve. Ipretty much stayed on mytoes and waggled (now Ican use the word) my feetto stay in motion, thenwhen my opponent threwthe ball in the air in prepa-ration for the big serve, I began my forward motion in antici-pation of the ball coming at me quickly. But my waggle pre-pared me for the obvious course of action and I could reactquickly as I saw which way the ball was bouncing. My actionwas always forward, toward the net, and I always felt ready toattack the serve. That is my story and I am sticking to it.

In physics we all learned that a body at REST tends to stayat rest, and, you guessed it, a body in MOTION tends to stayin motion. Enter the WAGGLE! By including a little wagglein your shot preparation routine, you bring the body to thatlevel of motion to encourage good club rotation including thewrists. As the golf wags like to say, plan your shot and thenshoot your plan. By the time you’re addressing the ball youshould already have your plan in mind. The waggle just getsyou into motion while you concentrate on the ball; then PULLTHE TRIGGER! If you’ve done your homework in practice,your body already knows how to start the back swing, rotateyour hips during wind up, and then smoothly starts the clubinto the downward arc toward the ball — which you are stillstaring at. Right?

That should be part of your waggle pre-shot routine, i.e.,

keeping your eye on the ball through impact. Your body andmuscles like repeat movements whether you are golfing, play-ing tennis or a thousand other sports and activities.

So in the future, TO WAGGLE OR NOT TO WAGGLEthat is the question!

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To waggle or not to waggle —that is the question.


Cooking WithBeverlyBy Beverly Nickerson

Quick Linguini withClams

I adapted this recipe from GuilianoHazan’s pasta cook book. Late and ina hurry one evening, I substituted cel-ery and celery leaves for parsley and canned clams for fresh.We loved the substitution and I have served it this way for

years as our main course. In the sum-mer, I often serve this as a starchside-dish with grilled meat for com-pany.

1-1/2 tablespoon extra virgin oliveoil

2 tablespoon finely chopped onion1 large clove garlic, peeled, minced1/2 cup dry white wine1/2 cup chicken broth (Swanson’s regular)1/4 cup finely chopped celery and 1/3 cup coarsely

chopped celery leaves1 can (6-1/2 oz.) “Snows” chopped clams, drain, reserve

liquid12 oz, linguini (I prefer “La Romanella” at Smart and

Final) cooked 7 to 8 minutes in boiling, salted water, drainSalt and freshly ground black pepper

Sauté onion and garlic in oil over low heat in 12-inch skil-let until onion is soft. Do not let it brown! Add wine and cookone minute over medium-high heat until reduced by half.

Add broth, celery and leaves plus liquid from the clams andsimmer 2 minutes over medium heat. Add clams and cook just1 minute. Turn off heat, add the drained, cooked pasta, salt andpepper, toss well and serve. Reheat left-overs in themicrowave the next day.

Servings: four, as a main course,

Grilled Romaine LettuceThis is a quick recipe for a veggie side dish

1 heart of romaine lettuce1-1/2 tbs Canola oil1/2 tbs butter1 clove garlic finely chopped (optional)Salt, freshly ground black pepper

Submerge the whole romaine in water, drain, shake welland pat dry with paper towel. Remove 1/8 inch off the stemand cut the lettuce in half lengthwise, leaving the stem endintact.

Heat oil and butter to medium high in a 12 inch skillet.Saute garlic for a few seconds and place the two halvesromaine flatside down and cook over high heat for 2 to 3 min-utes until it is browned in a few places on the underside. Turnlettuce over and cook 1 to 2 minutes. It would not be over-cooked, wilted or soft. Sprinkle with salt and pepper andserve. You can sprinkle with crumbled Gorgonzola cheese andserve as a first course.

For barbequing, brush lettuce lightly with Canola or oliveoil, add salt and pepper and place on hot grill flat side downabout the same time as above. (Note: I recommend Canola oilas a flavorless alternative to olive oil. It has more Omega 3fatty acids than olive oil and is low in saturated fat.)

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BridgeBy Dan Neilson

Responses to Weak Two BidsWhen partner opens a weak two bid, there are several

responses available. The weak two bid is a preemptive effortto cut into opponents bidding space. With a weak hand youwill pass, or raise the preempt. With a stronger hand a two NoTrump force is given. Following are some hands you might


have after partner opens with a weak two Hearts. What’s yourbid?

1. xx xxx AJxx Qxxx2. Jxxxx xx xxx KQx3. Ax Jxx AKxxx xx4. xx xx AKQxx AKJx5. QJxxxx x xx KQxx

1. Three Hearts. The opponents surely have a spade fit sopush them a little.

2. Pass, Bidding is asking for trouble.3. Two No Trump. With a minimum, partner will bid three

Hearts. With any other bid, raise to a four Heart game.4. Four Hearts. Don’t waste time with a forcing two No

Trump bid. You want to be in game – so bid it.5. Two Spades. This hand will probably make three more

tricks in Spades than in a Heart contract.

When partner opens with a preempt, you must count avail-able tricks rather than points. However, the preempt has a lim-ited range that will give you a good idea of how strong youropponents are.

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By Mary Jane Matthews and Charlotte Pichney

P.F. Chang’s China Bistro5421 Paseo Del NorteCarlsbad • 760-795-0595Hours: Sun.-Thurs. 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri. & Sat. 11a.m. to 11 p.m.

You enter P.F. Chang’s by passing two 11-foot tall horseswho symbolize the original Forbidden City in China. Chang’sserves Chinese cuisine in a very attractive bistro setting. Onceinside a hostess greets you, and in our case told us the lengthof the wait (15 minutes), while handing us a remote to alert uswhen our table was ready. This is an extremely busy locationwith many seats and benches in the foyer to accommodatewaiting patrons. Once inside the dimly lit dining area, thefocal point is the hand painted panoramic mural depicting 12th


century China on the wall behind the bar. Throughout theroom there are several terra-cotta warriors standing guard. Thedecor is very impressive once your eyes accommodate to thedarkness.

We concentrated on the lunch menu entrees skipping theregular menu’s many pages describing a huge variety of housespecialty dishes. Lunch specials are only offered Mondaythrough Saturday until 4 p.m.

Mary Jane chose the Almond and Cashew Chicken, stirfried with bell peppers, onions, mushroom, celery, bambooshoots, and water chestnuts in a garlic soy sauce. ($8.95) Theentree was bland and soupy. Her ice tea was ginger infusedand refreshing. She decided on the fried rice ($1 additional)which tasted the same as plain white rice. Most lunch entreesstart with a choice of a cup of either egg drop or hot and soursoup, or a mixed green salad.

Charlotte ordered her favorite dish — shrimp with lobstersauce; despite its name this is a lobster-less dish. The namecomes from a Cantonese style white sauce using fermentedblack beans that is served with stir fried lobster. Its ingredientsare shrimps in a garlic white wine sauce with Chinese blackbeans, mushrooms, scallions and egg. ($9.75) The tendershrimps were bathed in the savory sauce waiting to be blend-ed into the rice. Lunch entrees are served in an oversized shal-low soup bowl with your main choice on one side and steamed

white rice on the other, an arrangement that makes it appear itis a larger serving that it really is.

Service was good and our waiter was very attentive. Wearrived at 1 p.m. to a fully filled restaurant and by 1:20 p.m. itwas almost empty so go after the lunch rush hour. Note thatthey have a gluten free menu, also a Happy Hour menu onlyavailable from 3 to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday, a kid’s menu, andall dishes are noted spicy or vegetarian. Beverages availableinclude wine, specialty cocktail drinks, beer, sake, soft drinksplus coffee and teas. To end your meal there are 12 signaturedesserts, highlighted are: banana spring rolls, the great wall ofchocolate, flourless chocolate dome and New York stylecheesecake. ($6-$8)

This restaurant is part of a chain of 400 under the P.F.Chang’s China Bistro and Pei Wei brands. The Carlsbad loca-tion, adjacent to the Outlet Mall, Car Country, the FlowerFields and Legoland, draws many customers from tourists andnearby businesses. We were impressed by its dark ambience;however, our meals were unremarkable and a bit pricey forlunch ($12 without tip). There are many north county Chineserestaurants offering more sides and larger portions on theirlunch specials at a lower cost.

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Impressive entrance and interior decor atP.F. Chang’s.

Almond and cashew chicken with friedrice.

Shrimp in lobster sauce with whiterice.


The Passing DayBy Joseph S. Harris

Sweating riders on charging mountsKicking clouds of mud on high

Breathing, foaming, grasping breathStriking, fleeing, biting mounts

Racing, calling, riding onAcross the fields of rolling hills.

Stately trees bare to the wind.Point the way to the passing day.

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The Financial PageBy Bob Barnes

Finding Safety inRisky Financial Markets

Last month we suggested an investment edge could beachieved by periodically rotating capital into those marketsectors with the strongest “relative strength.” We also notedthat this strategy may have had some hidden flaws and thismonth we review two of those flaws and outline a remedy theaverage investor can engage to control risk exposure andavoid loss of capital.

Flaw #1: Extreme care must be taken when building a rel-ative strength portfolio to assure that the assets are not highlycorrelated. Recent market behavior has dramatically demon-strated this point as virtually all market sectors have declinedexcept bonds. It does no good to have a rotation model ofassets if we can only rotate from poorly performing assets intoless poorly performing assets.

Flaw #2: Different asset classes have wildly different riskcharacteristics which are commonly referred to as “beta” inmarket speak. The higher the beta the higher the volatility andhence, the higher the risk. When the market moves, higherbeta assets will rise or drop disproportionately. This is a goodthing if you happen to be on the right side of the market butcan be frightening if the market moves against your position.

A simple yet effective remedy to these otherwise unpre-dictable market risks is often referred to as Tactical AssetManagement (TAM), a financial engineering process that putsa new twist on classic risk management. Most investors havebeen told that diversification is the best way of spreading outyour bets in the market so that chances of all of them beingwrong at once is low. Unfortunately, this theory occasionalfalls apart, as it did in late 2008 when the market plunged50%. Losing 50% in the market in 2008 means that you needto make 100% just to recover your capital. However, if youcan create a strategy that captures most of the gains of stocksin bull markets but avoids most of the losses in bear markets


then you can save years of having to recover your capital. Thisis the goal of tactical asset management.

TAM accomplishes its goal by allocating assets to a portfo-lio that do not have a strong correlation—that is, they do notgo up and down together—this is the new approach to diver-sification. In general, the lower the correlation, the better thediversification benefit. Thus, it’s important to include as manyassets that have a low correlation as possible in your portfolioand in this way minimize the chance of being wrong on all ofthem at once.

Recent market studies have shown that proper allocationdecisions in portfolios account for nearly 95% of the range ofinvestor performance. In contrast, finding the best stocks isonly 5% of the game. Getting the asset allocation decisionright is the only way to consistently do well in both bull andbear markets. In today’s environment, the correlation betweenstocks is so high that when the market falls substantially thechances are virtually certain that even the best stocks will fol-low suit. However, the best asset classes—whether stocks, realestate, bonds, gold or even cash—will almost certainly outper-form the market by a substantial margin.

TAM strategies are widely used by hedge funds and mutu-al funds to add value to their portfolios – and you can too. Ifwe merge our relative strength tactic with a TAM non-corre-lated portfolio we now have a guide to construct a portfoliothat delivers the best of both worlds, maximum risk controland sensitivity to market trends.

By Tom Lynch

The Penguin and the Leviathan: How CooperationTriumphs Over Self-Interest, 2011, by Youchi Benkler,Berkman Professor of Entrepreneurial Legal Studies atHarvard University.

Prof. Benkler is out to overturn what he sees is a fallacy,that is, we are driven by self-interest so we respond only toAdam Smith’s invisible hand of free markets or the iron fist ofa controlling government, the Leviathan. The basic question,Benkler writes, is “how can we build cooperative systems thatprotect us against our worst selves, without relying on eitherthe fear of punishment, or the strategy of Leviathan, or purelyon incentives and carrots or money – the invisible hand?”(p.80).

His argument introduces the latest concepts of nature ver-sus culture, and a close look at examples of actual cooperationand its evolution. He next focuses on group identities whenhumans do cooperate. He cites research that indicates wherecommunication was facilitated amongst strangers, they makecompromises and commitments they actually kept, rather thanhaving to be unduly compensated (self-interest), or threatened(controlling government). What Benkler found was that for


cooperation to flourish, fairness was extremely important. Ifnegotiations and communication can produce a way forwardmost feel is fair, then cooperation prospers. If this aspect is notcommunicated about, the prospect is much less. Benkler trotsout a host of research and anecdotes to illustrate his points.

The morals and norms in cooperation have a separate chap-ter. What groups will accept as fair has to be discovered ratherthan assumed, and if you guess wrong, cooperation will notprosper. Benkler presents anecdotes and evidence showingthat when business managers communicate and negotiate afair system with their workers, the workers, in turn, give theircommitment to such a company. When managers assume theyknow what employees want and value – say through variousincentives the manager deems appropriate, which most likelyfit the managers needs more than the employees, cooperationdoes not flourish.

Benkler’s last chapter is entitled “How to Raise aPenguin,” his icon of a group where cooperation thrives.Benkler knows we are not angels, but feels his evidence inobserving and researching human groups reveals that, overall,we are fair-minded, sociable and humane.” (p.249). At leastmost of us are and a system to enhance cooperation can bedesigned so cooperation will flourish. The key concepts arecommunication, framing, fit, and authenticity. If your designis to hide exploitation behind a facade that shouts “this is a fairdeal for all,” it won’t last long. Rewards and punishment canbe a part of the design, but only if the group really sees themas fair rather than manipulation by management. Otherwisethe management will get resentment or even retribution, suchas petty theft or even outright sabotage.

Benkler’s illustrations, through studies and anecdotes, sig-nificantly add to his conceptual presentation. They make hisbook a very worthwhile read.

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I Love A MysteryBy Ira M. Landis

David Baldacci has written 23 mystery novels. His plotsare often twisted and usually have surprise endings. His sto-ries grab you from the first page and are hard to put down. His

latest is no exception.In “The Innocent,” Will Robie is a hit man, a covert sanc-

tioned assassin for a top secret obscure U.S. governmentagency. He never questions his orders and always succeeds.He always works alone and is responsible only for himself.When he turns 40 he starts to question whether he has missedout on a lot life has to offer. He is hopeful that he will havetime to find out. However, he has made a major mistake.Robie knows he is the best in the business, but is keenly awarethat he can afford only one mistake. In the course of his longcareer, he has carried out his assignments without questioningwhy his targets have been selected. His latest order, however,truly bothers him. It begins when he is sent to kill a targetclose to home in Washington, D.C. Something doesn’t feelright about the whole deal, and he refuses to complete the kill.He ultimately follows his instincts and backs away. His han-dler, however, shoots through the window and kills the targetand one of her children.

Robie flees the scene, but now his own people appear tohave turned against him. In his attempt to get out of town, heencounters someone else who is trying to escape an unseendanger, equally desperate and only 14 years old. Julie doesn’ttrust him or anyone else. Julie Getty has been in and out offoster homes for years. Her parents love her but can’t stayclean and sober. They send her a note at her latest foster hometo come join them later that evening. She makes her escape but


the happy reunion she envisioned turns out to be the last timeshe will see them alive; instead she sees them being murdered.

The more Robie learns about Julie and the tangled plot thatput them together, he becomes convinced that someone hasorchestrated the whole thing for his benefit. He tries to deter-mine who while trying to prevent terrorists from striking inhigh places.

I hope Baldacci will bring these characters back as he hasdone with his “Camel Club” series. He has left me wantingmore — “wanting” is not strong enough.

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New Hip Replacement ProcedureDartmouth Medical School in New Hampshire has pio-

neered a new hip surgery procedure that eliminates the need tocut or repair any muscle. Therefore, there is no need for bloodtransfusion, no pain or blood thinner medications, and requiresonly a one day stay (overnight) at the hospital. Typically,patients will be walking the day following surgery.

“Traditionally, orthopedic surgeons perform hip replace-ment from the back (posterior) or from the side (lateral),”explains Dr. Stephen Kantor, a member of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center’s joint replacement team. Whileboth procedures have proven to be effective and safe, “withthe posterior approach, the surgeons detach or cut through(and then repair) a smaller amount of muscle than in the later-al procedure so the recovery tends to be faster. However, thisposterior approach is associated with higher dislocation ratesin some patients,” says Dr. Kantor. Recently, with moreadvanced instrumentation and operating room facilities, athird surgical route known as the anterior (from the front) hasbeen gaining favor with surgeons and patients. “With the ante-rior approach we are getting the best of both worlds,” says Dr.Kantor. The Dartmouth team has been offering the anteriorapproach for the past three years. “It allows us to get into thehip joint without having to cut or repair any muscle,” says Dr.Tomek of the Dartmouth team.

Dr. Kantor compared the results of the old and new proce-dures. One of Dr. Kantor’s patients had the posterior operationin 2008. She stated, “I had pain medications after surgery. Ihad limitation with the hip for the first six weeks, and I wasalso on coumadin” to prevent blood clots. That same patientunderwent a total hip replacement on the other side using theanterior approach in 2010. She stated, “The difference waslike night and day. I had absolutely no pain after surgery, so Idid not require any pain medication. I didn’t need a nurse tocome to the house every two days to check my coumadin lev-els. And I didn’t have any restrictions, which made the physi-cal therapy and moving around in general much easier andmore comfortable.” According to Dr. Kantor, “The anteriorprocedure is suitable for most patients with some exceptionssuch as the morbidly obese or those who have hip abnormali-ties caused by trauma or congenital defects.”

Dr. Kantor and his colleagues at Dartmouth-Hitchcockhave consistently received positive comments from patientsand are able to state, “We have enough patients who we havedone one hip the old way and the other hip the new way, andthey all say unequivocally that the new way is much better.”Lee and I have friends in Columbia, Maryland whose daugh-ter had a hip replacement with the anterior approach lastNovember and is as happy as can be. Walking the day aftersurgery, her comments were, “Now life is good and is gettingbetter everyday with a new hip.”

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LegalertBy Bill Walsh

Insiders’ Profit PurgedManny and Moe owned a real estate construction company

and visited with me from time to time regarding their realestate projects. Manny stopped by my office on a Wednesday.He informed me that on the previous Friday he and Moe hadpurchased about $250,000 worth of shares of Jack’s employerthrough a local stock broker. On Monday, Manny asked that


potpourri

the shares be sold. The stock price had doubled over the week-end, a sweet quarter million dollar profit. The broker took thesale order, but told Manny he hoped they hadn’t traded onsome “inside” information. Manny had worried over this anddecided to come see me.

“Bill, do you know anything about securities law?”“Why, what’s up? He told me of his purchase and sale and

the broker’s comment.”I then learned of Jack’s involvement. It turned out that Jack

had been privy to a high level discussion at the company onThursday night. This discussion involved news that the com-pany was about to make a large and profitable acquisition.Jack had relayed this data to Manny. Manny then called Moeand got permission to invest their partnership funds in thestock purchase.

On further inquiry I learned that Jack had left the buildingright after his meeting with management, walked across thestreet and made the call to Manny from a pay phone.

“I just wanted to ask a couple of questions about this.”“Manny, I don’t think you get it., You have just revealed to

me that you, Moe, Jack and your parents have conspired toand in fact engaged in insider trading, a federal crime. This isa serious matter which will probably result in both fines andimprisonment.”

“You’re kidding!”“I am not.”“Bill. This is a big company with millions of shares out-

standing. How are they going to know of our purchase andsale?”

“It is the Security and Exchange Commission that willlearn of the matter. They have what is known as a “stockwatch computer.” This spits out unusual and suspect transac-tions. The purchase and sale of these shares wrapped aroundthe company’s announcement of its acquisition will certainlyreach some investigator’s desk.”

“Are you serious about our going to jail?”“Deadly serious!”“OK, Bill, what do we do?”“Well, Manny we try to undo what you’ve done. Have you

received the money from the sale yet?”“No. The broker said it might take a week or so.”“Then I suggest you authorize me to call the Broker and

instruct him to unwind the transaction. I’ll ask him to rescindthe purchase and sale and give you back your purchase priceless his charges.”

“Will that end the matter?”“Hardly!! But it may eliminate the issue of criminal intent

and push this matter into the civil arena where the conse-quences are only civil penalties with no jail time for anyone.”

He left to meet with the other members of the family. Abouttwo hours later he called and gave me the authorization to pro-ceed. I called the broker and told him what to do. There wassome difficulty in unraveling the trades, but it happened.About 5 weeks later I received a call from an attorney with theDepartment of Justice asking me and my clients to appear inhis office to take my clients statement under oath. I refused.

The matter was ultimately resolved as I had predicted.

Manny and Moe received fines but no criminal charges werelevied. Jack was terminated and barred from working for anypublicly traded company for ten years.

Security law is designed to assure that investors have avail-able to them all data needed to make an informed decision onthe purchase and sale of shares. Individuals who succumb tothe temptations of greed and attempt to trade on insider infor-mation will feel the sting of the law.

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Village Veterans MeetingVeterans Village of San Diego

On Thursday, June 29, 2012 the Village Veterans will meetin Abravanel Hall to hear a representative from the VeteransVillage of San Diego speak about this organization.

One day in 1981, a group of veterans sat around in a groupcounseling session talking about mounting a combat assault


classifiedsCOMPASSIONATE CARE GIVING

Certified Nurse Assistant, Certified Home Health Aid, PersonalCare, Light Housework, Driving, Pet Care & Healthy Cooking.

Janet Cornell 760-845-5425

EXPERIENCED HOME CARE PROVIDERIncludes personal care, driving, cooking, light houswork.

Village refs. Flex. hours. Ann, 760-431-9338

DENNIS "THE COMPUTER DOCTOR"Computer Repair at your home. Servicing Ocean Hills for over

10 years. Hundreds of happy customers. 760-598-6222.

A HANDY YOUNG SENIOR can do Painting & Repairs,Powerwash & Window Cleaning. 38 years experience.

Call John at 760-809-0877

STAMP COLLECTOR BUYING US & WORLDWIDESTAMPS, COLLECTIONS/COVERS.

CALL LOU AT 760-729-7955

COMPUTER PROBLEMS? Need Help? Lessons?Audio/Video/TV/DVD. Call Tim O’Bryan: 760-305-8095 or my

cell: 619-955-3646. Resident of OHCC.

RemembrancesOur deepest condolences are extended

to the families of the following:

Robert Barker • Philip KlepeschJosette Allard • Louis Garfin

Clay Marohnic • Montana Bryant

SOURCE: Ocean Hills Community Patrol(To acknowledge the passing of the deceased, a family mem-ber or close neighbor is requested to report the name of the

deceased to the Community Patrol.)

PROFESSIONALAUTO DETAILING SERVICES

Call Raphael at 760-453-3057



on the VA. They wanted to shine a spotlight on the lack ofmedical and psychological care for Vietnam veterans when aFather William Mahedy suggested the group do somethingthat will make a difference. Thus they formed the VVSD tohelp comrades who were sleeping on the streets, under bridgesand in the parks.

The VVSD has evolved over the past 30 years into anationally recognized organization known for delivering inno-vative service to veterans. You will hear a first-hand accountof his experiences from a former veteran who had resorted tosleeping on the streets. The meeting will commence at 3 p.m.Thursday, June 28, 2012. Refreshments will be served.

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Poverty Knows No VacationBy Jeanne Bartman

This is gentile reminder to all that poverty does not take avacation! I am hoping my reminder to you will result in moreof your generous contributions of comfort items for those inneed of your help. Remember, I’ll be happy to see your pack-ages on my patio table at any time in small or large amounts;it all counts. We are always in need of small soaps, toothpaste,shampoos, combs, brushes and small comfort and hygieneitems. Please don’t forget my table while you are out havingfun. It is a good feeling to give and you have been very gener-ous. The recipients thank you as does the staff at the NorthCoast Interfaith Center.

Be happy and safe as you travel. I’ll be looking forward toyour safe return. My address is in the phone book.

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information was gleaned from a true Hopi, then his commentsmay have been distorted.

Example: a “Hogan” is a Navajo word for their traditionalstyle of home. The Hopi and the Navajo have been enemiesfor several centuries, and I find it highly unlikely that a Hopiwould ever use a Navajo word. The Hopi villages are knownas “Pueblos,” a Spanish word meaning exactly that — vil-lages.

Example: The ancestors of the Hopi are NOT, as stated, theAztecs. The Hopi can prove their ancestry going back at leasta thousand years in the very same area in which they livetoday. These ancestral people are known today as the “AncientPuebloans.”

I know from my own experience that the Hopi are very pri-vate people and after many years of having their truths distort-ed by white people, they are generally not disposed to talkingabout their ways.

Whilst it is true that the Hopi, as is the case with mostindigenous people around the world, are a matrilineal (NOTmatriarchal as stated) culture, the rest of this article, whilstessentially accurate, is written in a flippant manner that I finddistasteful.

— From Tim Smith

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Misconception of HopiTo the Editor:The article in the ‘Village Voice’ entitled “Hopi Law

Prefers Women” has at best many errors.I myself have spent many years living and working

amongst the Hopi people, whom I have found to be the mosthonest and peaceful people imaginable.

The Hopi Tribal Council is very touchy about being mis-represented by white people with little real knowledge. If this

letters to the editor


Documents

Village Voice, June 2012