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Flight Museum Takes Wing

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In the main room of the Flight Path Learning Center Museum on Imperial Highway, a miniature antique American Airlines plane anchors the room. Exhibits of travel posters, maps and paintings line the walls.
In the main room of the Flight Path Learning Center Museum on Imperial Highway, a miniature antique American Airlines plane anchors the room. Exhibits of travel posters, maps and paintings line the walls.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

On the south side of LAX is an unknown gem of a museum filled with flight attendant outfits, a scanner of the actual voices from the tower tracking in- and outbound planes, and a mural that salutes the Centennial of Flight and the 75th anniversary of the airport. The Flight Path Museum is one of the rare ones that holds the interest of both parents and children. Located in the Imperial Terminal, which was home to World Airways and then the now-defunct MGM Grand Airlines, the museum sits on the tarmac of LAX and provides one of the most accessible public views of jets landing and taking off. Charter flights for teams like the Clippers and Lakers take off from this area, and visitors to the museum have been thrilled to see favorite athletes boarding a plane. On the museum’s floor are five airplane seats facing the windows offering a premier location to watch various jets land and take off on Runway 25 left and 25 right. Those who enjoy the rumble of planes and hearing noise of gigantic outward-bound jets can go outside, practically placing you on the runway. Immediately next door to the museum is the K-9 bomb-sniffing operation. Museum patrons are allowed to stand outside behind the fence and watch the dogs during training. Approximately 50 suitcases are put down and a dog sniffs around each bag. When he finds any suspected contraband, the dog lies down. As a reward, the trainer takes a ball or toy out of his pocket and they play for a few minutes before the dog goes back to work. As children watch the planes, parents will be interested in the collection of 15 black-and white photos taken by the official airport photographer, Wen Roberts. In the 1960s, he took photos of famous people traveling by air. It was a different era, when passengers traveled dressed up in their best clothes. Roberts caught the naughty come-hither look of Jane Mansfield, Marlon Brando’s bored smoldering sexuality and the sweetness of Audrey Hepburn. Another attraction are colorful antique posters the airlines issued to lure passengers to travel. Lee Nicholas, the Flight Path’s executive director, remembers when teachers brought the posters into classrooms that depicted Hawaii and London and other faraway geographic destinations. Travel agents used to put them in windows, but with the advent of Web sites and bookings over the Internet, these artistic posters are no longer created. The history of LAX can be studied through photos. The dedication photo in 1930 shows LAX (then known as Mines Field), a small runway surrounded by open land on all sides. Small private planes went in and out, but there was no commercial traffic because the major airport in the Los Angeles area was in Burbank. About 1940, the name was changed to Los Angeles Muncipal Airport. During World War II, the military used the fields. After 1946, the airport was opened to commercial traffic. A 1961 oil painting shows an era when LAX had almost a regional appearance. A single roadway runs in front of six ticketing and baggage buildings. Originally, a passenger would go to ticketing, then into one of the underground tunnels that led to the satellite oval buildings near the runways to await departure. With the advent of larger planes, the space between ticketing and departure/arrival became unusable and long hallways were built from ticketing to gates. There is a 1/100th scale model of the super-jumbo Airbus A380 jetliner’the first of its kind on display in Southern California, according to Rowena Ake, Flight Path president. “It will hold 800 passengers if they all fly economy,” Nicholas said. “The plane will probably carry closer to 500 to 600 people.” It’s set to arrive at LAX in November 2006, and once again the gates will have to be refigured to accommodate the larger plane. The museum has a real grab-bag of diverse small exhibits. Fine china, linen napkins and real silverware detail the glory days of commercial air flight. A ceiling-to-floor case is filled with models of different aircraft of Southern California and large oil paintings of planes, donated by the Marina City Club. A small room is filled with Flying Tiger memorabilia. Ann Proctor, the head of volunteers, showed a room filled with flight-attendant uniforms. Recently the museum sponsored a fashion show. “We only used the outfits up to 1990,” Proctor said. “After that they were all dark and Navy colors.” The variety and color of the uniforms are amazing. The large flower print of the muumuu’s came from the inception of flights to Hawaii. A bright-green dress with yellow embroidery, complete with gold shoes, was the outfit for the first flights between Mexico and the U.S. Different uniforms are featured throughout the museum and rotated frequently. Currently the entire collection is being catalogued. Carolyn Woods, who was a flight attendant for United Airlines for 44 years, gave the museum every outfit she had been required to wear during those years. Perfectly tailored suits, with size six labels (but looking closer to a size two) hang on a mannequin. Proctor, who was a flight attendant with TWA from 1957 to 1964, confessed, “I was on weight check.” A thin svelte woman, she explained, “It was my first time away from home and I gained some weight. Every time I showed up for work, they made me step on a scale’if they could find me,” she said laughing. Proctor worked with TWA because it was the first airline to allow married attendants. “You had to quit when you got married,” Proctor said. “Some foreign airlines still have that requirement.” There are also some paper stewardess outfits in their collections, which were in vogue for about a year. Once airplanes headed to foreign destinations were in the air, the flight attendants in first class changed into outfits that look a bit like a colorful short toga. “The women who wore them told me they carried scotch tape and scissors,” Proctor said. “They also wore either a body stocking or a pair of shorts underneath.” The museum has a small library with aviation-related technical materials as well as books on commercial and civil aviation. Currently, the library is in the process of being catalogued and put on a database. The plans are to build a respectable research library. This museum will celebrate its second birthday on Wednesday, October 5, with a benefit that will feature news reel footage of Howard Hughes’ famous Spruce Goose airplane. A fully restored TWA Constellation airliner from the 1940s era will be available for guests to tour during the benefit. In addition to all the airline memorabilia, one of the most attractive aspects of Flight Path are the group of volunteers, all of whom have had careers in commercial aviation. At the front were three volunteers, all retired, two of whom had logged over 40 years with the airlines. All were eager to answer questions and share their vast knowledge. Since the museum is new and still relatively unknown, visitors can receive a lot of personal atttention The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. every Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursdays and the first Saturday of each month. School and group tours are available. The location is 6661 W. Imperial Hwy.; admission and parking is free. For driving and parking directions, go to the Web site www.flightpath.us or call 215-5291.

Palisadian Sets Kicking Records at Notre Dame

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Palisadian Kai Forbath had a season to remember at Sherman Oaks Notre Dame High last season. As the placekicker and punter for the Knights’ varsity football team, Forbath made 19 of his 21 field goal attempts (the longest being 52 yards) and was a perfect 73-for-73 on extra-point kicks on his way to breaking the state record for points in a season by a kicker with 130. The Palisades Highlands resident played an integral role in Notre Dame’s third consecutive CIF Southern Section Division III title. Forbath begins his senior year Friday night in the Knights’ season opener versus Birmingham. His efforts earned him numerous honors as a junior, including first team All-CIF, first team All-State, Los Angeles Times First Team, EA Sports First Team. In addition, he made the Reebok National Team and Sport Illustrated’s Pre-Season Team. Forbath has already been offered full-ride scholarships to eight Division I schools, including UCLA, California, and Notre Dame. But Forbath’s immediate goal is to help Notre Dame to another CIF championship.

Palisades Girls Catch Field Hockey ‘Fever’

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By MICHAEL KAPLAN Special to the Palisadian-Post The popularity of girls field hockey at Harvard-Westlake High in North Hollywood has increased exponentially in recent years, and, as a result, more players from the Palisades are taking an active interest in the sport. Traditionally, field hockey’s popularity has been limited to the southern United States with universities like Wake Forest, Old Dominion, North Carolina, and Maryland annually claiming NCAA championships. Over the past few years, however, the sport has begun to grow nationally at the high school level. Although girls field hockey has been a CIF sport since 1974, only recently has it really taken off here in Southern California. The boom has been dramatic at Harvard-Westlake, where the Wolverines have captured two CIF titles over the last three years. “When I started playing field hockey two years ago, there weren’t nearly as many girls playing,” said Palisadian Lucy Singleton, a sophomore on Harvard-Westlake’s team. “There are many more upcoming players in the lower grades as well. Through word of mouth its popularity has really spread.” Field hockey in the Southern Section is broken down into two leagues: the Sunset League and the Golden West League, which includes Harvard-Westlake. Several members of the Wolverines’ team hail from the Palisades, including Singleton and juniors Hailey Orr and Hannah Dean. Each has played field hockey every year at Harvard-Westlake High. To be successful at the game, one must have speed, energy, and coordination. Like soccer and lacrosse, it also requires a great deal of stamina as players are running up and down the field constantly. “It takes a lot more skill than you would think,” Singleton said. Being short is an advantage because the ball stays on the ground at all times and sticks are the only means of moving it down the field. Thus, field hockey appeals to girls who may not be tall enough to play volleyball or basketball. “The game is centered around getting low and bending your knees, so being short enables you to get lower to the ground,” Singleton said. “But anyone can play because of the different stick sizes, which ranger from 35 to 38 inches.” Field Hockey is played on a pitch similar in size to that of a football field. As in soccer, there are 11 players a side, including the goalkeeper. The ball is advanced using curved wooden sticks that are flat on one side. Teams accumulate points by shooting the ball into a goal slightly smaller in size than a soccer goal. Like soccer, players are whistled for fouls and illegal contact, which can result in penalty stokes and free hits. “I play defense, which requires a lot of hand-eye coordination because you need the stick skills to steal the ball from your opponent,” Dean said. “And you need to be tough enough to intimidate your opponent.” Across the city, girls are getting more and more opportunities to play field hockey. There have been numerous youth programs and club field hockey teams that have sprouted up all over Los Angeles. Dean cited a club league at Moorpark College where girls can train in the offseason. There is even a “Futures” program in Hollywood where high school players train to play for the national team. As girls’ field hockey continues to grow at a rapid rate, Palisadians are eager to play and create hope for more local high schools to offer the sport. “When I started in seventh grade there were only about 20 girls that tried out for the team,but this year about 50 girls tried out for junior varsity alone,” Dean said. “So the numbers have really increased.”

Golden Couples of Pacific Palisades

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1951 – Ralph and Norma Nahigian

The 53 years that Ralph and Norma have been married’soon to be 54 on November 11, Armistice Day, almost never were. Ralph, a Rhode Island native who was attending business school outside Chicago, first spotted Norma at St. James Church in Evanston, Illinois. “I saw her at the organ and I knew I had to get her name,” he recalls. They dated for five years, and then, Norma says, “I gave him an ultimatum about marrying me.” Five years was long enough for courtship, according to Norma, who was also dating a man from Detroit who had already asked her to marry him. It wasn’t that Ralph didn’t want to pop the question but, as Norma explains, “He didn’t think he should get married until his older brother did.” Ralph’s father had died when Ralph was young and his older brother had raised him. On a harsh, windy day in December 1950, Ralph took Norma out to Lake Michigan. “We were standing on a jetty along the shore,” Norma says. “The wind was blowing, it was so cold’and he asked me to marry him.” Ralph’s brother was married in April, and the following November the Nahigians exchanged vows in St. Luke’s Church with 250 people in attendance. All of Ralph’s family came from Rhode Island by car and were surprised with an early snowstorm. As they left the church, Ralph says, “I carried Norma over a snowdrift to get her into the car.” “We came out to California on our honeymoon,” Ralph says. “When we saw how beautiful it was, we made a plan to eventually come out here to live.” The couple first moved to Rhode Island, where Ralph worked in the family business’a laundry and dry-cleaning plant. They had two children, Laura and James, but all the while they were saving money for their move to California. They knew that things were more expensive on the West Coast, and they didn’t want to make the mistake that so many other transplants did, which was not to have saved enough money and have to go back. When Laura was ready for kindergarten, the Nahigians decided to make the move. In November, Norma flew out with the two children and left them with her mom at the Lindomar Lodge, a hotel that no longer exists on the corner of PCH and Sunset. She then flew back to Rhode Island and joined Ralph for a cross-country drive in their station wagon. “When we drove out, I had my 60 African violets,” Norma remembers. “I couldn’t leave them behind.” Ralph had built crates to put them in, and every night when they stopped for the day, he had to carry them into the motel. “It tells you how much he loved me to drag them in every night.” As Ralph recalls, “We were in Indiana someplace, around two in the morning. We were dead tired, and it was cold.” A hotel manager looked out his window, saw Ralph bringing the crates to the room and called the state police. They got a knock at the door a short time later from a trooper who wanted to know what kind of contraband they had. Once out here, they settled in a two-bedroom, one bath home at 653 Radcliffe Ave., which they purchased for $25,000. “It was the best place,” Norma says. “The kids walked to school and there were nice neighbors.” Ralph also remembers, “It was before Temescal Canyon Road was built and raccoons came up to the house; mothers would bring their babies.” Discovering that the dry-cleaning business was more expensive here than back East, Ralph got into the plastics business instead. For 40 years, he owned the Plastic Mart, which started in a two-car garage on Colorado Avenue in Santa Monica and grew into a successful plexiglass fabrication business (including surfboard construction and materials for boat repair). After helping her husband with his company, Norma started a business making decorative objects like paperweights out of polyester resin. Her workplace, also on Colorado, didn’t have a toilet, heat, or water; if she wanted any of those “luxuries,” she had to wait until lunch. The Nahigians worked long hours, six days a week, but Sunday was always a family day. Norma’s extended family all eventually moved to California, so on Thanksgiving, they would have 30 people in their little house on Radcliffe. The sink always gave them problems on that holiday. Ralph looks at Norma and asks, “How’d we get through those days?” She looks at him and says, “I don’t know, Ralph, I don’t know.” He replies, “We were young then, I guess.” They celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary at the Riviera Country Club, where Ralph surprised Norma with a necklace. On the chain is a gold circle with a diamond in the center. “I didn’t expect it, because I thought the party was it,” Norma says. Ralph tells her, “You deserved a medal for putting up with me for 50 years.” “Don’t think there haven’t been difficulties,” Norma says, “but you get by them.” She recalls that when she was in Trader Joe’s shopping, a clerk stopped her to look at the necklace and asked her how she managed to stay married for 50 years. “I’ll tell you what works,” Norma told the clerk. “If you can forgive your other half anything, you can stay married. We all have faults.” Ralph winks, “I keep telling her, you’re still on probation.”

Internist Dr. Robert Bornstein Opens Practice on Monument

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By EVELYN BARGE, Palisadian-Post Intern When Dr. Robert Bornstein visited relatives in Pacific Palisades while on vacation last summer, he said he “instantly knew” the ocean-side community would be the perfect place to open up his own practice where he could continue his medical career as a board-certified internist and family doctor. “I think I was born to come here,” Bornstein said in an interview last week. “This is the right place for me, both personally and professionally. It feels like it was meant to be.” Last September, Bornstein officially moved from his native Pennsylvania into a home in the Sunset Mesa neighborhood with his wife, Rena, and two teenage sons, Joshua and Michael. He brought with him 20 years’ experience as a Philadelphia-area doctor and a vision for an individualized style of medical care specially tailored to the needs of health-conscious Southern Californians. Bornstein, who was born and raised in Philadelphia, received his undergraduate degree from Muhlenberg College. He attended medical school at Des Moines University of Medicine and Health Sciences in Iowa, graduating in 1981, and then completed his three-year residency in internal medicine at Philadelphia’s Metropolitan Hospital. He was appointed chief medical resident in his third year. Now, with his new practice in the medical building at 984 Monument St. set to open for initial visits this week, Bornstein said he is excited about the possibilities the future holds for his professional career in the Palisades. “I saw that people here were very motivated for healthy living,” he said. “They love to be educated about all kinds of health issues and are very aware of preventive care.” Bornstein, 48, said this kind of lifestyle fits well with his personal goals for his practice. “I’ve done a lot of personal research and study to not just be able to care about my patients conventionally as an internist, or family doctor,” he explained. “I plan to spend a lot of time with patients and develop a real plan for their health in the future.” While Bornstein acts as a primary care physician, he said he is also aware of the demand for integrative medical care and plans to incorporate it into his practice. “I can act as a person’s general family doctor, but I’m going to be able to add other benefits so they don’t have to go looking all over the place for a variety of services,” he said. “I hope to offer people individual nutritional advice and expert preventative care,” Bornstein added. “That’s really the key to a healthy future.” In addition to simply addressing a patient’s current medical problems, Bornstein said he has developed a formula for healthy living called a “blueprint for wellness.” Using a patient’s personal background, including such factors as environment, genetics, experiences and family health history, he looks for “hidden health threats to allow patients to make better decisions as time goes by.” Bornstein doesn’t just recommend a healthy lifestyle for his patients. He said he also applies the formula to his own life. “I always try to practice what I preach. I have a high level of nutrition and exercise. I also try to stay on top of cutting-edge preventive care, so I can take all those factors and inform my patients.” Leading an active lifestyle led Bornstein and his family to get involved at the Palisades Recreation Center, where his sons play basketball, and to enjoy the outdoor activities available year-round in Southern California, especially after enduring Philadelphia’s harsh winters and hot, humid summers. “It feels like such a healthy environment here,” Bornstein said. “I’m enjoying living more outdoors, especially walking and hiking.” His wife, a graduate of Iowa State, is a teacher with experience in elementary and special needs education. She currently gives private lessons in the area. Son Joshua attends Santa Monica High and Michael goes to Malibu High. As for his professional career in the Palisades area, Bornstein said he plans to stay permanently. “I really advertise myself as ‘your doctor for life,'” he explained. “I want to be in this area for a long time. Your patients come to count on you, and this is where I feel I’m probably going to be for the rest of my professional career.” For more information, visit www.yourdoctorforlife.org, or call 230-4848. (Evelyn Barge is a senior at Pepperdine University, where she’s majoring in communications. This is her first story for the Palisadian-Post as she begins a fall internship.)

Marquez Elementary Begins Year with Interim Principal

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Lewin Dover’s last day as principal at Marquez Charter Elementary was, August 25, which meant that Interim Principal Ruth Oates, who started on August 30, was thrown right into the middle of the hectic preparations that accompany every new school year. Dover left to accept a position at a year-round school closer to where he lives in Orange County. “It was a win-win situation for Lewin,” Palisades Elementary principal Tami Weiser said Tuesday. “But it’s a real loss for our community.” In the midst of typical first-day chaos as parents filled the administration office, Oates was remarkably calm Tuesday afternoon when she made time to talk with the Palisadian-Post. “This is usual for an interim principal,” Oates said. “You pick up where the other person left off or where the school is at the time. You have to be pretty flexible.” Interim principals are retired principals who step in until the school has a new leader in place. Overseeing the approximately 635 students and 30 full-time plus seven part-time teachers at Marquez, Oates has considerable experience. She received a B.S. in home economics from Tuskegee University, a B.A. in elementary education from UCLA, and an M.A. in administration and management from the University of LaVerne. When Oates was teaching at Main Street Elementary School in South L.A., she found herself pressed into taking a leadership role. At first she was reluctant to leave the classroom. “I really felt hesitant,” she said. “As an administrator, I realized my role included a larger group of children, as well as working with dedicated teachers.” She feels that the media doesn’t fully portray the quality of teachers in the public school system. Even though teachers at Marquez worked last week to set up their classrooms, she points out, many of them were also at the school over the Labor Day weekend. “That is dedication,” Oates said. “The teachers are so willing to share their knowledge and expertise and time for the success of the children.” Two years ago, Oates worked as an interim principal at Kenter Canyon Elementary. “It was rewarding and refreshing to see the interaction of the total community,” she said. She told the District that this was to be her last assignment’that she was truly retired, yet when they asked her about stepping in at Marquez, she agreed. “All schools in this area are similar in parent involvement, teacher dedication and professionalism,” Oates said. “The area is unique in that way.” She also likes the way that the parents are enthusiastic and generous in support of their schools. Oates is the mother of four grown children and six grandchildren. One daughter is a teacher for LAUSD, a second is a physician with Kaiser. Her older son is a dentist, and her youngest is an engineer with the L.A. County Fire Department. Many in the community may know her youngest son, Shaun, because he attended Paul Revere Middle School and Palisades High. Although her family lives in the Baldwin Hills area, her son chose to attend school in the Palisades. Despite her sudden loss of retirement, Oates will continue to serve as vice president of her local seniors club that has 200 members. She also enjoys square dancing, and is working on her family’s genealogy. Capitalizing on her career as a teacher and school administrator, Oates loves to travel. Last year she went to Argentina and Brazil; two years ago she went to Thailand. She tries to plan a major trip every year, and often travels with her sister, who is also a retired school principal. Oates showed a picture of the latest addition to her family: Coco, a registered 20-month-old blue merle chihuahua. She has a little carrier for Coco and takes him everywhere, except to school. Currently, the Marquez Governing Board is organizing a selection committee that will consist of teachers, parents and administrators. It could take as long as two months to find a new principal, or as little as four to six weeks.

Palisadians Send Relief to the Gulf

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From left, Romi Messer, Annie Steele and Lena Kane organized a bake sale over the Labor Day weekend to raise money for hurricane victims.
From left, Romi Messer, Annie Steele and Lena Kane organized a bake sale over the Labor Day weekend to raise money for hurricane victims.

By LIBBY MOTIKA and ALYSON SENA Pacific Palisades individuals, families, churches and businesses have been responding to the enormous need for help and support for the victims of Hurricane Katrina that devastated an area the size of Wyoming on the Gulf Coast last week. Since the cataclysmic event occurred, the Palisadian-Post has been receiving letters and phone calls daily identifying individual and group efforts to raise money to send to the area. Palisadian Maureen Cruise is joining an aid caravan on Friday bound for Covington, Louisiana, just off the north shore of Lake Pontchartrain, returning on September 19. Items that will be delivered include paper supplies, diapers, baby supplies, large cans of vegetables and school supplies. Cruise suggests that for those who wish to donate money, they may do so through VFPRoadTrips.org. Resident Billie Phelps is sponsoring a family from New Orleans for one year. School children have been holding lemonade and cookie sales in the village and in various neighborhoods around the town. One group of 4 and 5-year-olds in the Country Estates took shifts selling lemonade, bottled water and homemade goodies on Labor Day in hopes of raising a couple of hundred dollars. But as the day went on, residents volunteered to match whatever the children collected and as many as 20 families matched the $500 the children raised. The Santa Barbara oil company Venoco, through its foundation and founders Tim and Bernie Marquez, offered to match the money collected in the neighborhood. Organizers of the event Kelly Holscher, Evelyn Granat, Gina Vincent and Pam Ellis estimate that they may raise at least $20,000 to be sent to the hurricane victims. Seeds UES fifth-grader Daniela Grinblatt organized a cookie sale with the help of her babysitter Sabrina Lux. Grinblatt and two friends Vanessa Holyoak and Paheli Desai accepted donations and sold the homemade treats on the Village Green. The $500 donation will be sent to the American Red Cross. Kayla and Tessa De Mari offered free lemonade and asked for donations for the hurricane victims from their stand at the corner of Sunset and Temescal Canyon Rd. They made $178 in three hours. Palisadians Liana, 11, Holly, 10, and Elon Wertman, 7, and their friends Harley Food, Isabella Rust and Zahara Eden opened a lemonade stand on Saturday in Brentwood. They raised several hundred dollars on Farmers Market day and at another they children got a $10,000 donation. The secret to the amount of money raised, they said is: The lemonade and cookies are given away for free, donations are accepted with a smile and a round of applause. Romi Messer, 10, organized a bake sale over the Labor Day weekend and enlisted help from her friends Annie Steele, Lena Kane, Lily McGuire and Ashley Moreno. At Sunday’s Farmers Market, they raised over $400 for the relief effort. This coming Sunday, September 11, there will be a table set up at the Farmers Market between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m. for donations. Goods will also be accepted. These include water, canned goods, diapers, pet food, formula, blankets and clothing. All contributions will go to the American Red Cross. The Rotary Club of Pacific Palisades donated $1,000 for gas for a truckload of supplies gathered by the Van Nuys Rotary Club to be delivered to the needy in Louisiana. The Office Supplier began a relief effort last Friday by placing a five-gallon water bottle on the counter for donations. Manager Jenney Miller reported that so far the store has collected $500 not only from customers, but also from other businesses on Sunset, including Denton Jewelers., En Route Travel, Daniella Coiffeurs and First Federal Bank. The money will be sent to the American Red Cross. Carol Sanborn, director of pastoral ministry at Corpus Christi Catholic Church, said they collected $13,000 in relief money last weekend and donated it to Catholic charities in the area for hurricane relief. Both the parish and school have an ongoing collection for Catholic charities and relief services. “We’re asking parents to match what the kids raise,” Sanborn said. “We are exploring a mechanism through Catholic charities by which parishioners may share their homes for lodging,” Sanborn added. “We’re also investigating the possibility of both our confirmation program members and school children collecting school supplies for children in Mississippi and Louisiana.” For anyone who wants to volunteer time to help relief efforts, Corpus Christi is referring them to the American Red Cross. The Palisades Lutheran Church is also brainstorming ideas for supporting victims of Hurricane Katrina, including sponsoring a pastor or family who wants to relocate here, according to Rev. Walter Mees. “We have a lot of congregations under water,” Mees said. “This is going to be a longterm and ongoing response.” He added that some of their members have family in the area hit by the hurricane, and members are giving money towards relief efforts through Lutheran Disaster Response, a collaborative ministry based in Chicago. Others are donating money to Thrivent Financial for Lutherans, an organization that is collecting hurricane relief funds and will supplement $1 for every $2. Calvary Christian is encouraging parishioners to donate money, which it sends to local churches in the New Orleans area. Palisades Presbyterian Church has collected $2,410 for Presbyterian Disaster Assistance and $675 for the Red Cross, and its efforts are ongoing. Two of the church’s nursery school graduates who are now first graders had a lemonade stand that raised $70, and another young member of the church had a yard sale Saturday to raise money for relief efforts. The Methodist Church is collecting money for the United Methodist Committee on Relief (UMCOR), a nonprofit international humanitarian aid organization providing Hurricane Katrina relief. Members of Kehillat Israel are collecting money for The Jewish Federation’s Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund and the American Red Cross. Honorary mayor Steve Guttenberg spoke to the Palisadian-Post from the Astrodome in Houston, where he has been volunteering since Tuesday morning. “I was in New York and kept seeing this on the news,” Guttenberg said. “I couldn’t stay away. “As a volunteer, I show up to a ‘shape-up,’ and one time I’m giving out food and then I get reassigned and I’m giving out cots. It’s a big space’the Astrodome’and they need people to run different errands,” said Guttenberg, who has been working 12-hour days. “Most of these folks just want someone to talk to. I’ve been talking to and spending time with them.”

Wine Is Not Science, It’s Love

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The Grape Vine

By Merv Hecht I had dinner last month with a physician who’s working on a software program that purports to scientifically correlate brain waves with the effects of mood-altering medications. His theory is that doctors currently prescribe these drugs based on loosey-goosey criteria, not based on a scientifically-proven regimen. If he can establish reliable correlations, he believes the basis for prescription of these drugs will become more “scientific.” We wish him good success. Wine making’and tasting’is sort of like that. The people making it are exercising a lot of judgment on what other people will like. And the people drinking it have trouble verbalizing what it is that they like or don’t like about many wines. It’s not science, it’s love. During August, two articles appeared in The New York Times that dealt with these issues as they relate to wine. One, “The Emperor of Wine: The New World Order” is a biography of Robert M. Parker, Jr., who is probably the most read and most influential wine critic in the world. Parker initiated the 100 point scale of wine evaluation. The bottom line of the article, as I read it, is that Parker tastes so many wines at a time that from a purely physiological point of view his palate can’t possibly hold up during a tasting of as many wines as he tastes at one time. So his expertise is not based on science, but a “unique semi-divine tasting ability.” Do you want to buy wine based on the recommendation of somebody using a “semi-divine” method? Do you invest in the stock market that way? The second article is even more interesting. “The Chemistry of a 90+ Wine” is a review of a California company called “Enologix,” which is the brainchild of Leo McCloskey. McCloskey’s theory is about the same as the physician I mentioned in the first paragraph. Instead of evaluating a wine by tasting it (a loosey-goosey methodology), he uses scientific instruments like mass spectrometers to measure the chemical compounds in the wines. The results are fed into a proprietary software program. Based on the chemical analysis, the program predicts, with great accuracy, he says, what the Parker score will be. By testing the grape juice at various stages, the producer can make changes to increase the “Parker score.” When I was a lawyer, in a different lifetime, I represented a very successful computer-dating company. The clients filled out an extensive psychological and personal evaluation sheet. The results were fed into the computer, and a computer program matched up likely marriage candidates. I spent a fair amount of time at their office handling legal and tax matters for the company (which had grown quite large). While there I noticed that one of the owners, whom I’ll refer to as Mrs. Smith, looked at the computer matches, but didn’t follow them with any regularity. She met with each client, made her own notes, and did a personal match-making. When I asked her why she didn’t rely on the computer, she explained it as follows: The computer can assimilate a limited amount of information because of the limits we are willing to go to input data. But even the data that is input doesn’t deal with bad breath, sloppy grooming or lisps. First these items have to be cleared up, she said. Then, she said, there’s a certain intuitive element that is the most important of all. I wonder if Mr. McCloskey adds or subtracts anything from his data, based on his intuition. I wonder if Mr. Parker has a checklist of the elements of taste that he reviews as he tastes the wine, or if he just has an overall impression: “Ahhh, this is a 95.” I wonder if the physician’s correlation tables will be accepted by the general psychiatric community. And most of all, I wonder if most wine drinkers care about any of this stuff.

Patrice Dworkin’s Delicate Panels Transform Uncertainty into Beauty

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When artist Patrice Dworkin completed her monumental flying angel bas reliefs several years ago, she was pleased with what could be called a beautiful exploration of empowered women. She had equipped each of her “angels” with symbols of their shining talents’a briefcase for one, a trowel and garden gloves for another. While a few of these colorful papier-mach’ wall fixtures still hover like guardian angels in the studio of her Rustic Canyon home, Dworkin has continued her search for new content, admitting “that the best thing about the work is doing it, but as soon as I’m done, I’m done, and I’m ready to move on.” Dworkin confesses that she thought her angels were edging toward craft, and while she did enjoy such craft projects like making props for her children’s school projects, even volunteering to fabricate the man-eating plant for the Adderley School’s production of “The Little House of Horrors,” she eventually wanted to return to paint and ink. She sketched the world around her in her pocket tablet, worked with collage and paint, and experimented with different surfaces. Soon enough she found an imagery that would stimulate her imagination and invite introspection. “You never have to look very long for your creative ideas; they find you,” Dworkin says in tracing the origins of her new work. In her trials and experiments, she discovered Plexiglas, which attracted her because of its translucence and its durability, and for the past two years has been the “canvas” for her explosive creativity. To visualize Dworkin’s work, imagine a Chinese scroll with its delicate pastel watercolor images decorating a long, vertical parchment. Instead of paper, imagine Plexiglas with delicate, jewel-like lines incised on back and front against a pastel background. The panels pivot 360 degrees. The imagery mimics both the botanical and anatomical worlds, and is meant to resonate back and forth. Are those the delicate veins of the sycamore leaf or the fragile network of the circulatory system? Ever since Dworkin declared herself an artist a decade ago, snipping the safety tether to the Brentwood Art Center classes, she eagerly accepted the challenge of art, where there are no boundaries, no right, no wrong, but where she could go beyond the pretty and try to express the feelings which have no words. The new work combines Dworkin’s particular love of the plant world and the magnificent design of the human anatomy. “A single leaf my son Adam brought me inspired me and allowed me to go on more of an inner journey,” Dworkin says. While Dworkin’s paintings contain familiar imagery, they speak to her response to a period of grief and uncertainty. Her daughter Chloe was born with a heart anomaly, which required her to have a pulmonary valve removed when she was six months old. “Although she was chugging along with no symptoms without a pulmonary value, it became clear as she got older that there was an advantage to placing a value, which meant open-heart surgery,” Dworkin explains. Dworkin and her husband Stephen consulted heart specialists all over the world, and finally decided to go ahead with the operation. But the uncertainty over what to do, if anything, and then the uncertain success of the operation, was excruciating. “What do you do with all this?” Dworkin asks. “I realized that the only way to address this was in my work. You start to transfer something painful and turn it into something beautiful.” While Dworkin had resolved to use the imagery of the circulatory system in her work, although abstracted, she had to consider how Chloe would feel about it. “Chloe was thrilled and thought that my treating this very serious thing about her, her heart, not her pretty face, was wonderful.” You can see the remnants of the circulatory system Dworkin had been drawing over and over and over in earlier paintings, elements that she says have become very rich. The paintings have both botanical and anatomical references that are touch points for the meaning of the work. Chloe, who turns 15 in October, had successful heart surgery in June, bringing to an end the year of anxiety but also exuberant creativity for her mother. It is this work that the Los Angeles Art Association will feature in a solo exhibition, which opens with a reception from 5 to 8 p.m. Saturday, September 10 at Gallery 825/LAAA Annex at Bergamot Station. “Creating this show has been such a steadying influence,” Dworkin says, adding she is still intrigued by Plexiglas and her attachment to hearts and flowers (Chloe means blooming or growing). “For my future work I am considering a eucalyptus motif and more 6-ft. panels.” Although she has been absent from the studio this summer, caring for Chloe in recuperation and preparing Adam for his first year in college at Tufts, Patrice can’t wait to get back to work. “I’m compelled to do this,” she says. “If I don’t do this work, I get grumpy.”

PALIHI FOOTBALL PREVIEW

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Coaches Expect Forward Progress

Palisades High offensive coordinator Aaronn Castro (right) is putting his players through rigorous conditioning drills to prepare for the season opener September 9 against Sylmar.
Palisades High offensive coordinator Aaronn Castro (right) is putting his players through rigorous conditioning drills to prepare for the season opener September 9 against Sylmar.
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer

Ever since practice began exactly one month ago, Palisades High coaches and players have sought to erase the memory of last season when the Dolphins set a school record for losses. That was then, this is now and the focus is on moving forward, not reliving the past. “We are young and inexperienced, but we’re stronger, faster, and more talented,” said second-year Head Coach Leo Castro, whose team finished 1-9 and dead last in the Western League a year ago. “We’re deeply motivated to succeed and our goal is to make the playoffs.” A postseason berth would appear to be a tall task with so many new names on the roster and the graduation of key starters, including quarterback and kicker Dylan Cohen (who won the Post Cup Award last spring as Pali’s outstanding senior athlete), receptions leader Brandon Bryant, offensive lineman Justin Page, tailback Anthony Anaebere and defensive captain Dave Villalobos. Several other players transferred to other schools, including last season’s leading rusher Andre Harris (Taft), promising receiver Javon Crowder (Crenshaw), and brothers Donovan and Nicholas Blount (Cathedral). Replacing Cohen at quarterback will be junior Raymond Elie, who made first-team All League on frosh/soph last year. Backing up Elie will be Robert Gillett, who started several games when Cohen was injured last season. “The plays are the same but varsity is definitely a different level in terms of strength and speed,” said Elie, who lives down the street from the USC campus. “I’ll be looking to pass first but if the line collapses I’ll use my second instinct and run. And when I take off, I’ll score. No one’s going to catch me.” Elie’s bravado is shared by senior wide receiver and free safety Ryan Henry, who points to the Dolphins’ improved conditioning as a key to improving their record. “We started preparing much earlier this year,” hHenry said. “We went to seven-on-seven leagues at the beginning of the summer, we’ve been in the weight room since and the coaches have been much stricter about getting us in shape. Our focus during practice has been on conditioning, tackling and special teams.” Much of Castro’s staff is the same. His son, Aaronn, returns as offensive coordinator and Carter Austin returns as running backs coach. Ed Weans will be the defensive coordinator, Jujuan Atkins will work with the defensive backs and Ron Cuccia is the quarterback consultant. “I’m really high on Raymond because he is a triple-threat kind of quarterback who can run, throw or hand off, so he’s going to give the defense problems,” Castro said. “On top of that, he’s left-handed. He and Gillett competed for the starting spot all summer, so both got better in the process.” Only 35 players suited up on varsity last season and the Dolphins figure to dress even less this year, meaning several starters, Henry included, will have to play both offense and defense. “Our numbers are way down,” Castro said. “We may only have about 30 players on varsity and 18 or 19 of those will be juniors. So we’re an extremely young team.” Anchoring the front lines will be 6-7, 275-pound junior Mitchell Schwartz, an honorable mention All-League choice last season. “We’re looking good,” said Schwartz, whose older brother, Geoff, is now the starting offensive tackle at Oregon. “The team is much more enthusiastic and our camaraderie is way better than last year.” Up from the frosh/soph squad are tackle Marsden Burton (6-2, 340), center Josh Brookhim (6-0, 180) and linebacker Julian Portugal-Gooden (6-0, 205). Castro described senior offensive guard/defensive end Christian Clark (6-3, 240) as a “pleasant surprise” while linebacker Henry Argueta and offensive guard/defensive tackle Evan Lambkins (6-1, 235) will provide stability up the middle. Gillett, second-team All-League last year, will double at linebacker and free safety. Billy Ortman and Ryan Lebowitz will play linebacker, Shane Brando will play guard and tackle and D’Kylo Forman will be an offensive and defensive tackle. On offense, seniors Marquise Coleman and Gillett will be the work horses at running back, assisted by fullbacks Michael Anderson and Cesar Amaya and tailbacks Jonathan Aghachi and Anthony Yarborough. “I actually prefer to play defense but I like being on the field every play,” Gillett said. “Our backfield will be balanced and we’re more accustomed to the coaches and what they expect. I think we’ll start this season much more prepared than we were going into last year.” Wideouts will include Herbert Smith, Julian Harris, Dajuan Cofield, Travis deZarn, Sudsy Dyke, Christopher Henderson and Michael Cissel and Colin Vining. Alphanso Gray, Deonte Baker and Portugal-Gooden will rotate at tight end. Cohen’s placekicking and punting successor will be senior Esteban Moreno, who booted a 38-yard field goal two years ago in his first game on the frosh/soph team. “I’m pretty accurate from 35 yards and in,” Moreno said. “My longest in practice is a 48-yarder. I just hope I can be reliable when the pressure’s on.” Unlike last season, Castro is not reluctant to start juniors over seniors. In fact, the Dolphins will start eight juniors on offense and six on defense. “We’re going with the kids who we’ve coached and taught and know our system,” Castro said. “Last year, we gave the seniors the benefit of the doubt and, in many cases, it hurt us. This time, we’re going with the guys we know will stay eligible and who know the plays we want to run.” One factor that could help the Dolphins improve on last year’s record is their schedule. Seven of Palisades’ 10 games will be at Stadium by the Sea, including its annual showdowns with league rivals Venice and Westchester. However, Los Angeles, the team the Dolphins beat last year, has been replaced by Invitational finalist South Gate, which returns Daniel Kozasky, one of the top quarterbacks in the City Section. By far the Dolphins’ toughest test will be Sylmar in next Friday night’s opener. The Spartans possess one of the most highly-touted running backs in the nation, C.J. Gable, who burned Pali for two long runs in Sylmar’s 25-10 victory last season. “There are no pushovers in our league anymore,” line coach George Burns said. “Five years ago you could count on one or two wins every year just by showing up but that is no longer the case. We’re gonna’ have to fight like heck to win every game.” Pali’s players seem ready for the challenge. “We’re pretty confident,” Baker said. “We’re looking forward to coming out strong and starting the season off right. I think a lot of teams are going to overlook us because of last year, but we’re a different team and we’re going to surprise people.” Frosh/Soph Despite having only four returning starters, second-year coach Calvin Parker is optimistic that his team can improve on last season’s 2-7-1 mark. “We will most definitely be better,” said Parker, who will be assisted by defensive coordinator Kelly Loftus and special teams coach Al Heath. “I think we have a better attitude this year, better chemistry. If we execute the way I know we can, we can win eight or nine games this year.” Sophomore Alan Ferguson will start at quarterback while fellow 10th-graders Lazzarian Rankin (fullback), Vorsper Aiwize (tailback) and Miles Nelson (tailback), a transfer from Westchester, will handle the ball carrying duties along with freshman Justin Sawai. Returners Milton Strausberg and Adam Cristiano will anchor the receiving corp while freshman Brandon Omar will be a factor on the offensive and defensive lines. Another key will be the continued inprovement of sophomore center Alejandro Medrano. “We haven’t fumbled a snap since he took over in the fifth game last year,” Parker said of Medrano. “He’ll be a key on offense and the front seven will be the key on defense. We need to have good pursuit and get more helmets on the ball.”

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