Home Blog Page 1936

Marcia Morgan, 88; Former Palisadian

Marcia Bentley Morgan, 88, died March 6 in Lakewood, Colorado.   Originally from La Grange, Illinois, Marcia moved to Pacific Palisades and married the late George Eldred Morgan. They lived on Bollinger Drive until the mid-1980’s when, after Marcia’s retirement from safety deposit box management at Security Pacific Bank, they moved to Maine and finally to Colorado to be closer to family.   Marcia enjoyed nature, golf, gardening and volunteer work wherever she lived. She loved the beach, birds, and the collection and arrangement of treasures’found stones, shells, glass and antiques. She was crafty and artistic, a watercolorist. She had a twinkle in her eye, an arch sense of humor, intense opinions, generous affections and special causes: she loved fun and wanted everyone to have it. Her whole family was supported by her encouragement and generosity.   Marcia is survived by her two daughters, Susan M. Bentley M.D. (husband Kim R. Jonason, Ph.D.) of Louisville, Kentucky, and Julia Bowen Love (husband Jerald) of Littleton, Colorado; four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren; her brother, Duncan Fisher; two brothers-in-law, their spouses, partners and families. She will be remembered by her step-children and step-grandchildren, the Morgans and Tanners.   A memorial service was held in Colorado. Please consider celebrating Marcia’s passion for nature through the Kennebunkport Conservation Trust, P.O. Box 7004, Cape Porpoise, Maine 04014 (or visit kporttrust.org. A more complete obituary is online at www.allstatescremation.com/index. Click on ‘Obituaries.’

Frank Rejlek, 99; ‘Old-World’ Gentleman from Czechoslovakia

Frank Rejlek, who lived in Pacific Palisades for more than 40 years, died 15 days before his 100th birthday on January 31.   He had originally moved to the Palisades from Bel-Air so that his wife, Maria, and daughter and son could enjoy a family-oriented community. They lived on Napoli Drive in the Riviera before moving to the Highlands.   Frank was born in Czechoslovakia, now the Czech Republic, and typified a true European ‘Old World’ gentleman. He loved to talk about his happy childhood, from his school days and many friends to his chores and taking care of his younger brother.   At age 18, Frank volunteered and was drafted into the Czech Cavalry for three years, which he said was an adventure that ‘taught me how to survive.’ He then earned his doctorate in education, and worked in filming and documentaries. His employer sent him to New York to investigate this new field in hopes of utilizing it to educate children. Frank taught himself rudimentary English during the three-week voyage to the United States.   After landing in New York, Frank soon realized he needed to come to Los Angeles to further his study. His quest for more information about documentaries led him to visit colleges and universities. He enrolled at UCLA and earned a master’s degree in his field.   Frank could not return to his beloved country because of World War II, so he remained in Los Angeles. He began working for Paillard and then became friends with Victor Hasselblad, who hired him as a sales and distribution representative for Hasselblad cameras and equipment. He worked successfully for Hasselblad from 1957 to 1988 and became in charge of the business operations in 11 states.   As luck would have it, Frank was at the right place at the right time’Pepperdine University in Malibu for lunch’when a beautiful young lady, a French professor at Pepperdine, beckoned him to join her for lunch. Maria became then and forever the love of his life and mother of his two children.   Frank traveled a lot all over the world, sometimes for business (he retired at age 75) and sometimes with his wife for pleasure. For many years he flew back to the Czech Republic every year to place flowers on the graves of his mother and father.   Later in life, even though he was sight- and hearing-challenged, Frank continued to live in his Palisades townhouse; at age 99 he would not move to assisted living. He walked up and down Michael Lane to the mailbox and to the restaurant and haircutting salon. He did this by counting steps and by knowing the curbs in the road. He managed and navigated in his own home using his familiarity of the location of light fixtures, doors and steps.   Frank loved his independence and his mental faculties were intact. He would challenge anyone half his age, maybe a third.   All of Frank’s closest relatives died tragic deaths. His wife Maria died of cancer at age 54. His daughter Mia died at age 10 of an undiagnosed pneumonia, and his son Peter, whose hobby was hang-gliding, died after gliding off a cliff one beautiful day. Frank has one surviving relative, his nephew Yuri, who lives and works in Berlin.   Despite the tragedies and Frank’s losses, his enthusiasm for life and enjoyment of the best foods and wines continued to the end of his life. He had been looking forward to celebrating his 100th birthday with friends at Modo Mio restaurant in town.

Thursday, March 24 – Thursday, March 31

THURSDAY, MARCH 24

  Pacific Palisades Community Council meeting, 7 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The public is invited.   The Palisades High School senior-directed play ‘Museum’ opens at 7 p.m. in Mercer Hall on campus. Other performances are March 25 and 26 at 7 p.m. and a Saturday matinee at 2 p.m. Tickets at the door are $8-$12. (See story, page 11.)

SUNDAY, MARCH 27

  Nature photographer Jim Kenney, a Palisades resident, will lead the Temescal Canyon Association hikers on a wildflower hike up Red Rock Canyon (about six miles). Meet for carpooling at 9 a.m. in the Temescal Gateway Park entrance parking lot. Please, no dogs. Visit the TCA Web site at temcanyon.org. This hike was postponed because of last Sunday’s rain.

MONDAY, MARCH 28

  Monthly meeting of the Pacific Palisades Civic League, 7:30 p.m. in Tauxe Hall at the Methodist Church, 801 Via de la Paz. There’s one house on the agenda, under new business: 660 El Medio (new two-story residence with attached two-car garage).

TUESDAY, MARCH 29

  Priti Aggarwal will present a workshop for teens and preteens (10 and older) on Henna Art, 4 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. (See Upcoming Events, page 10.)   Chamber Music Palisades will feature music by Haydn, Uebayashi and Brahms, played by five featured musicians, with commentary by Alan Chapman, 8 p.m. at St. Matthew’s Church, 1031 Bienveneda. Tickets at the door are $30; students free. (See story, page 11.)   

THURSDAY, MARCH 31

  A performance by magician Tony Daniels for children and their families (suggested for ages 5 and up), 4 p.m. in the Palisades Branch Library community room, 861 Alma Real. The performance will be followed by a free magic workshop for children and teens.   Chamber of Commerce mixer, co-hosted by the Rotary Club of Pacific Palisades and the Palisades-Malibu YMCA, 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at Y headquarters, 821 Via de la Paz. Non-members: $25.   Pacific Palisades resident Jean Rosenfeld, Ph.D., and colleagues will discuss ‘Terrorism and Political Violence in the Contemporary Era’ at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore. (See story, page 11.)

The Great American Drive

Maiya Verrone poses on a two-lane road near a wind farm in Judith Gap in Big Sky Country.
Maiya Verrone poses on a two-lane road near a wind farm in Judith Gap in Big Sky Country.

By PATRIC M. VERRONE Special to the Palisadian-Post Some people drive to see the sights along the way. Some do it to relax. Some even do it to get somewhere. In July and August of 2010, my family drove just to see if we could.   We drove through all 48 contiguous states, book-ended by flights to Alaska and Hawaii. Fifty states, 25 days, five Verrones.   When planning a drive like this, you quickly develop a proficiency at Google Maps, a Stockholm Syndrome affection for hotels.com, and a patriotic loyalty to AAA (though I never had the nerve to tell any single Trip-Tiker about the whole drive for fear they would revoke my membership).   Then there was the small matter of convincing the rest of my family to give up a month of their lives to sit in a minivan for an average of six hours a day. My wife Maiya was an early convert (though she would have preferred we do it as retirees), our older son Patric bought in once it was clear he could Facebook from anywhere in America, our daughter Marianne sensed the tide rushing against her and relented, but our brave 10-year-old Teddy held out. But an iPad on his birthday and, on July 27, we were off to Anchorage.   The sheer size and scope of Alaska was enough to persuade the kids to stay there for a month, but we still had 49 states remaining, so we took in a few glaciers and a single midnight sunset and set some individual goals: I would collect a refrigerator magnet from every state, Maiya wanted a postcard, Patric would buy a pen, Teddy a stuffed animal and Marianne’well, she didn’t want to feel obliged to buy something. Smart girl. We also intended to take a photo of all of us holding the state flag in every state.   We flew to Seattle, met up with my sister Phyllis (a Florida schoolteacher who became known as Aunt Tripod for taking the next 38 flag photos), rented the van and the game was afoot! A foot applied directly to an accelerator pedal for over 172 hours.   How do you drive through 48 states? Well, starting in the Pacific Northwest, you go east on the I-90 for nine days, make a right turn at the Atlantic, work your way down the I-95, take consecutive rights at the Gulf of Mexico (first at Pensacola, then New Orleans), and then hang a hard left at St. Louis, westward towards Las Vegas. There are a few detours to pick up stragglers like North Dakota, West Virginia, Kentucky and two of the Four Corners states, but that’s the basic route. The real challenge of driving 21 days doesn’t fully hit home until you pull into the rental car return lane at the Vegas airport and the attendant says, ‘You drove 9,154 miles. Your contract allowed for … unlimited mileage. Have a nice day.’   The 21st-century road trip is nothing like the days of staring at cornfields and Burma Shave signs. The information superhighway runs parallel to the interstate. We frequently smelled burning plastic caused by overloading three cigarette lighters with the many adapters charging my Droid telephone (supplying us with wireless Internet), my Sony Vaio laptop, our Magellan GPS, three iPhones (one connected to the radio to broadcast ballgames and music), and four MacBooks’to watch DVDs and play two simultaneous versions of Sims 3. Also, there was our blog, which we updated nearly daily. It’s still available at http://pverrone.wordpress.com/.   There are certain things that kids growing up in the Pacific Palisades learn when they see the rest of America. They see that people most everywhere else eat too much. They realize that cornfields are ubiquitous. They learn words like ubiquitous.   I learned some things, too. There is a lot of road construction in the summer up north. There are many more Su’bway restaurants than there are subway stations (by an order of magnitude). Don’t speed in Texas.   As for our personal goals, we learned early in the trip that some state borders don’t have welcome centers; welcome centers don’t stay open very late during fiscally challenging times like these; even when welcome centers are open, many don’t have gift shops; and not all gift shops carry postcards, magnets, stuffed animals and pens.   There is so much more to report, including crossing paths with President Obama’s motorcade (we did!), falling into Niagara Falls (we didn’t!) and the bounty of American cuisine from the original Starbucks to Roy Rogers to McDonald’s; from Alaska caribou burgers to Maine lobsters; from chocolate-coated potato chips in Fargo to sugar-coated beignets in New Orleans; from thirty flavors of cheesecake in Manhattan to 60 varieties of Coke in Atlanta; from a two-gallon ice cream sundae in Boston to a 72-ounce steak in Amarillo.   Our final reward was four days on Waikiki Beach in Honolulu. All told, we clocked 18,677 miles by plane, car and even boat. Maiya collected a full complement of postcards and Teddy found 49 stuffed animals (missing only one from Kansas, which he was able to later order on eBay). I gathered 48 magnets (of which I have also now have a full set), Patric got 26 pens and we took 50 state flag photos (out of over 1,200 photos overall). We arrived home at 5 a.m. on August 24, eliciting sighs of relief and a few groans when I announced, ‘We’ll have even more fun next year when we do it in reverse!’ (Patric M. Verrone is a television writer/producer whose current credit is ‘Futurama.’ He was president of the Writers Guild of America West from 2005 to 2009. Maiya Williams Verrone is a novelist and TV writer whose latest book is ‘The Fizzy Whiz Kid.’ Patric C.W. Verrone is a sophomore at Harvard-Westlake where he is involved in theater. Marianne Verrone is an eighth grader at Corpus Christi School and captain of the academic decathlon team. Teddy Verrone is a fifth grader at Corpus Christi and now wants an iPad 2.)

Village Books Hosts Terrorism Experts

Palisadian Jean Rosenfeld, Ph.D., academic researcher at the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion, will discuss terrorism at Village Books on March 31.    Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Palisadian Jean Rosenfeld, Ph.D., academic researcher at the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion, will discuss terrorism at Village Books on March 31.    Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

Pacific Palisades resident Jean Rosenfeld, Ph.D., and colleagues will discuss ‘Terrorism and Political Violence in the Contemporary Era’ on Thursday, March 31 at 7:30 p.m. at Village Books on Swarthmore.   Rosenfeld is an academic researcher and historian at the UCLA Center for the Study of Religion and works with a group of social scientists focused on the nexus of religion and violence. Her talk will highlight themes of domestic terrorism in a book by former white supremacist Kerry Noble, ‘Tabernacle of Hate: Seduction into Right-Wing Extremism,’ a case study which ‘stands in my estimation as one of the classic accounts by a white supremacist of his journey into darkness and out of darkness,’ Rosenfeld says. It is ‘one of the most important, readable, and gripping true narratives of our time.’   Noble was a propaganda expert for a Christian survivalist commune in the Ozark Mountains when federal and state police converged on the site in 1985. Noble, who had begun to question the religious group’s beliefs, worked in partnership with the FBI’s Hostage Rescue Team to defuse the standoff, which could have devolved into a tragedy like Jonestown or Waco. His book tells the inside story of how religious movements can turn to terrorism.   In addition to crafting the introduction to the newest edition of Noble’s book, Rosenfeld has edited a collection of 15 scholarly papers on global political terrorism and violence, titled ‘Terrorism, Identity and Legitimacy: The Four Waves Theory and Political Violence.’ The papers include work by Jeffrey D. Simon, a former Rand Corporation analyst and current president of the Political Risk Assessment Company in Santa Monica, and David C. Rapoport, a professor emeritus of UCLA’s Department of Political Science and a lifelong scholar of both ancient and modern terrorism and its causes. Rapoport is described by Rosenfeld as ‘the grand old man of terrorist studies.’   Simon and Rapoport are expected to join Rosenfeld and offer insights on their latest theories in the field, including the advent of lone-wolf operators, like Major Nidal Hasan of the Ft. Hood mass shooting, and the fourth historical wave of terrorism, based in religion.   ’Before we can effectively eradicate or mitigate terrorism, we must understand it,’ Rosenfeld says. She hopes that ‘anyone who’s serious about terrorism’ will attend. Information: (310) 454-4063.

Tickets for Historic Film Series Go on Sale Soon

The Los Angeles Conservancy will open its Last Remaining Seats series on May 25, celebrating a quarter-century of classic films and live entertainment in historic theaters. Tickets, typically in high demand, go on sale to members March 30 and to the public April 13.   The series will run Wednesdays at 8 p.m. through June 29 in the Broadway Historic Theatre District of downtown Los Angeles.   ’Rear Window’ (1954) will open the series at the Orpheum Theatre (1926). The Alfred Hitchcock thriller, starring James Stewart, Grace Kelly and Thelma Ritter, will be hosted by film critic and historian Leonard Maltin. A pre-show performance by Robert York on the Orpheum’s original Mighty Wurlitzer organ will be featured at the beautifully restored theater.   On June 1, the hit musical ‘The Music Man’ (1962) will be screened at the Los Angeles Theatre (1931). The Technicolor version stars Robert Preston as con man Harold Hill. Special guest and co-star Susan Luckey will be featured at this last and grandest movie palace built on Broadway.   This season will include a bonus seventh show: two screenings (matinee and evening) of the 1950 classic ‘Sunset Boulevard’ at the Palace Theatre on Sunday, June 26, a century to the day after the theatre opened.   The full schedule, available at laconservancy.org and subject to change, currently includes ‘Captain Blood,’ starring Errol Flynn; the original ‘King Kong,’ starring Fay Wray; ‘Zoot Suit’ which tells the story of the Sleepy Lagoon murder and Zoot Suit riots in 1940s Los Angeles; and ‘Safety Last!’ starring silent comedian Harold Lloyd.   Last Remaining Seats began in 1987 as a way to draw attention to Los Angeles’ historic theatres. Thousands of people come to experience classic films as they were meant to be seen’in beautiful, single-screen theatres, filled with fellow fans and accompanied by vintage short films, onstage interviews and live performances.   For tickets ($16-$20), call (213) 430-4219 or visit laconservancy.org.

Grammy Winner to Play with Chamber Music Palisades

Grammy-winning violinist Sara Parkins will perform as one of three guest artists at the Chamber Music Palisades concert on Tuesday, March 29 at 8 p.m. in St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, 1031 Bienveneda. Guest clarinetist Don Foster and cellist John Walz will also join Susan Greenberg on flute and Delores Stevens on piano for a program that showcases three compelling works by contemporary Japanese composer Yuko Uebayashi, including the rhythmic and virtuosic chamber piece Suite for Flute and Cello. Uebayashi, who was born in Kyoto in 1975 and has lived in Paris since 1998, has created music that has been described as ‘lyrical’ and ‘surprising.’ Haydn’s captivating Trio in C for Violin, Cello and Piano and Brahms’ thought-provoking Trio for Clarinet, Cello and Piano in A Minor will provide the evening’s musical bridge between Asia and Europe. The piano trio by Haydn is considered one of the era’s best. The Brahms work’s third movement combines a Viennese waltz and Austrian L’ndler, complete with yodeling clarinet. Parkins won a Grammy playing with the Angeles String Quartet for the Best Chamber Music Performance of 2001. She currently holds the principal second violin position in the Pasadena Symphony Orchestra. Palisadians Greenberg and Stevens, co-founders of Chamber Music Palisades, draw guest artists from talented colleagues in the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and Los Angeles Opera, as well as other leading instrumentalists in the U.S. and Europe. For tickets ($30 at the door), call (310) 463-4388 or visit cmpalisades.org.

PaliHi Tennis Rallies with Weekend Wins

PaliHi's Oliver Thornton hits an ace in last Monday's home win over Western League foe Hamilton.    Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
PaliHi’s Oliver Thornton hits an ace in last Monday’s home win over Western League foe Hamilton.    Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

Playing in the 12th Annual All-American National Team Invitational in Newport Beach last weekend, the Palisades boys’ tennis team went toe-to-toe with some of the country’s top teams and finished Saturday with a 2-2 record. In the opener, the Dolphins took on Corona Del Mar and held leads in all three doubles matches, but only the No. 1 team of Oliver Thornton and Robbie Bellamy held on to win. In singles, all five matches stayed close, but Pali dropped three’and though the Dolphins trailed only 53-50 in total games combined, they lost the match, 5-3. Next, Pali took on Potomac from McLean, Virginia, and was poised to win the back draw title. However, a foot injury to No. 1 singles player Bellamy led to his uncharacteristic 8-0 loss. Meanwhile, Thornton, Max Licona and Sam Catanzaro each won singles and the Dolphins won one doubles match to give Pali a 4-4 tie. However, because of the tiebreaker of total games won, the Dolphins lost, 51-50. The Dolphins bounced back to defeat two defending state champions, Christ Church of Greenville, South Carolina, 6-2, and later in the day, Regis Jesuit of Aurora, Colorado, 5-3. The doubles teams swept all six of their matches, going a combined 48-13 against Christ Church and Regis Jesuit. For the tournament, Thornton went 3-0 in singles and 3-0 in doubles. Palisades plays away at Venice on Monday, March 28 at 2:30 p.m. and returns home Wednesday for a 2:30 p.m. match against LACES.

Dolphins Win a Dramatic League Opener

Palisades sophomore pitcher Harrison Simon unwinds for a pitch Thursday at home against the Pirates. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
Palisades sophomore pitcher Harrison Simon unwinds for a pitch Thursday at home against the Pirates. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

Before Tuesday night’s Western League opener against rival Westchester, Palisades baseball head coach Mike Voelkel talked about the importance of a never-say-die mentality for his team.   Deep into sixth inning Tuesday, with the night getting colder and Pali’s prospects only looking dimmer, the Dolphins made their coach look prophetic.   Faced with a 1-0 deficit, two outs and a 1-2 count, with sophomore Elliot Barzilli on first and junior Cary Jacobson on second, senior Philip Joseph lined a ball to center that seemingly would tie the game.   But after rounding third, Jacobson slipped on dewy infield grass and fell less than halfway to home. He got up and immediately headed to score, but with the delay, it seemed Comets centerfielder Jordan Burt’s surging throw home could beat Jacobson to the plate.   However, Burt’s throw sailed out of play over the back stop, the umpires awarded Barzilli two extra bases, and suddenly, Pali had its first two runs of the game. Sophomore starting pitcher Harrison Simon closed out the seventh to complete the thrilling 2-1 win.   ’You always say never die in baseball,’ Voelkel said after the game. ‘We put the pressure on them to force a mistake and that produced our second run. If we didn’t pull together and we didn’t truly believe, then we don’t get that win.’   Gaining such a victory seemed difficult before Joseph’s clutch hit, however. The Comets (4-5) jumped out to a 1-0 lead in the second inning on Andrew Carter’s RBI single and 6-foot-4 senior pitcher Robert Gsellman, the reigning Western League MVP, held Pali hitless through 3-2/3 innings. After finally allowing a single to Barzilli, Gsellman proceeded to strike out five of the next six batters.   But in the sixth, Jacobson drew a two-out walk on four straight pitches, immediately stole second and Barzilli was walked. That set the stage for Joseph, who had grounded into a double play and struck out in his first two at-bats.   ’It was great job,’ Voelkel said. ‘After he got two strikes, I could kind of see him relax. He was a little jumpy before; then he just stayed over the plate, had good control and delivered a great result.’   So too did Simon on the mound. He used a looping curve and diving change-up to deliver a complete game with 11 strikeouts, including eight of his first 10 outs.   He also killed Westchester’s last chance in the seventh. After Rigo Perez reached second following a walk and sacrifice bunt, No. 9 hitter Nicholas Clayton came to the plate with one out. Perez tried to take third on a pitch in the dirt, but catcher Jake Green easily threw him out. Simon then wasted no time striking out Clayton to end the game,   ’Westchester is one of our biggest competitors for league, so this was huge,’ Simon said. ‘It’s a really big win.’   Palisades (3-5) extended its record against Western League competition to 44-2 since the 2008 season. The Dolphins play at Westchester today at 3 p.m., then travel to Camarillo on Saturday before returning home to play LACES on Monday and El Camino Real on Wednesday. Both home games are at 3 p.m.

Pali Girls Lacrosse Ends a Busy Week

PaliHi lacrosse player Ashli Marino makes a run for the goal in last Tuesday's 13-7 home win against Westridge. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer
PaliHi lacrosse player Ashli Marino makes a run for the goal in last Tuesday’s 13-7 home win against Westridge. Rich Schmitt/Staff Photographer

It was an up-and-down week for the Palisades High girls lacrosse team, as they played five games in seven days.   The hectic schedule started at home against Westridge on March 15. Six of the team’s seven attackers scored and the Dolphins raced to a 13-7 victory. The next day, Birmingham came to the Stadium by the Sea and the result was largely the same, as juniors Sarah Thorson, Sammi Sharpe and Nicole Gobriel, as well as senior Chelsea Bailey (who will be attending NYU next year) scored the majority of the goals en route to an impressive 15-5 victory.   On Saturday, the Dolphins traveled to Laguna Hills for the LA-OC Invitational Tournament, and played a morning-afternoon doubleheader. First, they came up short in a tight match against Laguna Hills, 11-8, and in the afternoon, they fell to Aliso Niguel, 8-2.   On Monday this week, Pali came back strong with 19-5 home win over Huntington Park to get back to their winning ways.   The Dolphins (6-4) play at Manual Arts and stay on the road with a game at La Canada next Tuesday and Jordan on Wednesday.   Pali will finally return home on Friday, April 1 to host its first-ever invitational tournament, the Pali Invitational, where they will take on Peninsula at 5:30 p.m.