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The Reverend Minister Stephen Glauz- Todrank. Photo by Anthony Petrillo. Skyland Community Church, a member of the United Church of Christ, has been serving the Summit area since 1887. Stephen Glauz- Todrank accepted the position of Reverend Minister of Skyland Church in 1990. The Reverend is a graduate of...
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On Monday morning, Doug Beattie presented the new year’s financial report to the Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos Board of Directors as usual. Early Wednesday morning, he suffered some kind of a heart attack and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he died on Friday, January 13, leaving...
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Yoga came from the Far East thousands of years ago and today has many devotees who claim that it improves their life and health. This ancient practice began in India. Even though Yoga is ancient, it is very popular today. Many celebrities from Sting to Madonna to Martha Stewart...
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Local Realtor Cassie Maas, pictured below second from left, was honored as the 2012 Chair of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, Los Gatos/Saratoga District. The gala, in celebration of the passing of the gavel, took place on December 8th at the Toll House Hotel in Los Gatos. It...
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Doug Beattie Passed Jan 13, 2012

January 16, 2012

Photo courtesy of Don Wolf

On Monday morning, Doug Beattie presented the new year’s financial report to the Kiwanis Club of Los Gatos Board of Directors as usual. Early Wednesday morning, he suffered some kind of a heart attack and was taken to Good Samaritan Hospital, where he died on Friday, January 13, leaving behind his wife, Martha, and her daughter Kathryn. He was 72.

Doug Beattie (November 9, 1939 – January 13, 2012)
Doug first joined the Los Gatos Kiwanis in August 1966. An irrepressible Cardinals fan, I always assumed that he had attended Stanford. He worked with optics and cameras in Los Gatos in the 1970s. (You don’t know how little you know about your friends until they suddenly pass.) He re-joined the Kiwanis club in May 1993, and he served ably as the club’s treasurer for most of the subsequent years. In this role, Doug attended monthly board meetings, wrote scholarship checks to worthy students, and handled the accounting for the annual Fiesta de Artes event each August.
Doug provided a calm, steady voice and reliably sound advice to his friends, and he had a great sense of humor and a wry wit. He will be sorely missed.

A memorial for Doug was held Tuesday, January 17, at 1 p.m. at the Presbyterian Church of Los Gatos, 16575 Shannon Road.

Yoga and Healing

By Anthony Petrillo

December 29, 2011

Gabriel Benjamin striking what he calls the raja hanumanasana pose on the beach. Photo by Chris Bratt.

Yoga came from the Far East thousands of years ago and today has many devotees who claim that it improves their life and health. This ancient practice began in India. Even though Yoga is ancient, it is very popular today. Many celebrities from Sting to Madonna to Martha Stewart to Shaq are fans of Yoga. They say that it improves their looks, their energy and their physical wellbeing.

There are many kinds of Yoga practiced in the U.S. today. Three kinds seem to be very popular. These include Bikram, Hatha and Kundalini Yoga. Bikram Yoga’s namesake is Bikram Choudhury. Bikram teaches his craft at the Bikram College of India in Los Angeles. Bikram studios must be kept at 100 degrees Fahrenheit and 70% humidity so that students can perform the twenty- six postures. Bikram states in his book, Beginning Yoga Class, “These twenty-six poses are meant to systematically move fresh, oxygenated blood to each organ and fiber of your body, and to restore all the systems to healthy working order.” This practice improves flexibility and helps detoxify the body. It does not emphasize the spiritual. I once tried Bikram Yoga. It seemed too hot for me and I would prefer to practice another form of Yoga without the heat.

Hatha Yoga is a slower paced class with stretching asanas (poses) and
breathing exercises. It is relaxed and meditative. I really like Hatha Yoga
because it seems to be a good fit for me because it increases my flexibility and is meditative. It has a physical aspect and a spiritual aspect. Supermodel Christy Turlington, in her book Living Yoga, stated, “It is a system of Yoga introduced by Yogi Swatmarama, a Hindu sage of 15th century India”. Through Hatha Yoga, the practitioner tries to achieve balance between his body and his mind. This involves using asanas and combining this with pranayama that is a kind of breath control.

The spiritual energy in Yoga is called Kundalini, which is located in the sacrum of the spine. By practicing certain physical exercises along with breath control, the Kundalini will travel up the spine and open seven chakras on the way until it reaches the seventh chakra (at the top of the head) and unites with Ultimate Reality.

Kundalini Yoga is “a physical, mental and spiritual discipline for developing
strength, awareness, character and consciousness”, said Christy Turlington. This kind of Yoga has an emphasis on the spiritual awareness of the practitioner and requires speaking the truth, compassion and serving others. This is an advanced form of Yoga.

Lotus flowers have long been associated with yoga

Yoga is recognized as an alternative or complementary medicine in illnesses such as cancer and arthritis. The meditation and stress reducing aspects of
Yoga can be useful to patients who are facing a life-threatening illness or
surgery. It has been proven that patients who use imaging or meditation before
surgery have less pain and heal faster afterwards. It is also useful in childbirth
for relaxation. The asanas are helpful in maintaining and increasing flexibility in illnesses such as arthritis.

Yoga is being used to treat patients who have suffered severe trauma. Peter A.
Levine, Ph.D., is a psychologist who has 35 years experience in treating patients
for stress and trauma. In writing about the positive effects of Yoga to treat his
patients, he said, “This should be of no surprise when we realize that a common
denominator of all traumas is an alienation and disconnection from the body and
a reduced capacity to be present in the here and now.” He also said, “I
have seen various kinds of body interventions work dramatically – but none more
so than the physical practices of Yoga.” He added, “I have spent most of my
adult life studying Yoga. And I have come to see that it can be a particularly
healing intervention for those tormented by the unhealed effects of trauma.” In addition to treating patients suffering from physical trauma, Yoga is being used
to treat returning soldiers who are suffering from post traumatic stress disorder.
Thich Nhat Hanh, the world-renowned Zen Buddhist Monk said, “If you have
mindfullness, you have love and understanding, you see more deeply, and you can heal the wounds of your own mind. For when you touch deep understanding
and love, you are healed.” This is how Yoga helps.

Some Yoga practices emphasize the spiritual more than others and there is a
wide array of practices available to the average person today. Some people
don’t want a spiritual practice if they already have one, say, a Catholic or
Protestant believer. These people take Yoga classes the way they take any
exercise class, it’s just exercise. But according to ancient practice, the entire
purpose of Yoga is spiritual in nature and the asanas really just represent a
small portion of a Yoga practice. One could say that Yoga is a spiritual practice
with a physical aspect rather than Yoga is a physical practice with a spiritual aspect. In my opinion, either way, it’s a good thing and each person has to determine what he or she needs in their lives and what is to be gained.

A person will change with the practice of Yoga and then their practice will evolve
as they evolve, as will their spiritual goals evolve. Ancient Yoga has had profound effect on the modern world and has changed us and benefited us physically, emotionally and spiritually.

The 55th Annual Los Gatos Holiday Parade 2011

By Anthony Petrillo

December 8, 2011

This cheerful and energetic small-town parade manifests the spirit of Christmas in true Los Gatos style. Under sunny skies, I found a parking spot on Bachman Street, about 90 minutes before the 11 o’clock start of the parade. I was hoping to shoot some pictures and interview some participants. As I walked down a side street, I came across a group of men standing around a table sipping Bloody Marys. A man wearing a tan vest stood behind the table. He introduced himself as Todd, pictured right, and offered me a Bloody Mary. He explained that he was a volunteer with the Adventure Princesses Organization.

Tod, pictured right, with Adventure Princesses Organization. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

Todd said,“It’s a YMCA father-daughter organization, where every month we meet together at someone’s house, and we do crafts and things. The girls learn skills, speaking in front of people, building their confidence; we sing songs, tell stories; and every month, there’s an event with a whole bunch of tribes. Its part of a nation, called the El Gato Nation. This is the December event, the Holiday Parade. So we make Bloody Mary’s for this event. And we’ve had years of contests to see who makes the best Bloody Mary. I’m a former bartender, so I have a recipe that I have created for this”. He added, “The girls will ride down the street on their scooters and will throw out candy canes and interact with the crowd, and have some fun”.

I thanked Todd for the interview, and walked down the street.
On another block, I saw a group of firemen standing around a decorated fire truck. Alex Leman, Captain of the Loma Prieta Volunteer Fire and Rescue was with a group of firefighters, waiting for the parade to start. He told me, “We bring our water tender down. We’ve been doing this for about twenty years now, and the local Indian Princess and Indian Guide groups on the hill come down. They usually decorate the water tender, and then we have them ride up on top. So it’s a great opportunity for all the kids to experience the parade together and do some decorating, it’s just a fantastic time for the daughters and the sons and their fathers. It’s an opportunity for the kids to build memories.” I thanked him for his time and continued on.

As I made my way through the growing crowd of holiday and shoppers, the parade began to unfold. Walking down Santa Cruz Avenue, I watched vintage cars slowly make their way down the street. The crowd cheered as Los Gatos Mayor Steve Rice waved to the crowd with a smile. The floats continued to pass as I struggled through the dense crowd. It was estimated that 20,000 spectators attended this event. When I got to the Los Gatos Brewing Company, I walked inside and ordered a Mocha Frappachino. Watching through the large street side windows, I watched the fire truck lumber on, followed by the creeping police cars with the sirens wailing. The black-clad Los Gatos High School Marching Band strode smartly down the street, playing a Christmas tune. After about 200 organizations, the finale was Santa Claus riding in a red sleigh, trailered behind a car. Santa waved, and the crowd cheered watching old Saint Nick disappear around the corner. This was a fun way to celebrate the coming holiday, with a parade, a Bloody Mary and a festive crowd.

Interview With The Reverend Minister Stephen Glauz- Todrank Of Skyland Community Church.

By Anthony Petrillo

January 19, 2012

The Reverend Minister Stephen Glauz- Todrank. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

Skyland Community Church, a member of the United Church of Christ, has been serving the Summit area since 1887. Stephen Glauz- Todrank accepted the position of Reverend Minister of Skyland Church in 1990. The Reverend is a graduate of Harvard Divinity. He lives in the Summit community with his wife, Carolyn. He is the author of Transforming Christianity: Ten Pathways to a New Reformation.

I have known Stephen for several years; he is my minister and neighbor. He is a humble and highly intelligent individual who cares deeply about his congregation. I met Stephen for this interview in his office on the lower level of Whitaker Hall located next to the sanctuary.

Hiway 17: Stephen, when did you decide to become a Minister?

Glauz-Todrank: Well, I was in Seminary at Harvard Divinity School and while I was there I was planning to become a professor, I was in an MA program, but I just felt the sense of call while I was there. I transferred to the Masters of Divinity, which is the Vocational Degree for Ministry. It was about 1975, something like that.

Hiway 17: How did you become the Minister here, at Skyland Church.

Glauz- Todrank: Well, the United Church of Christ, which Skyland Church is a member. That’s the name of the denomination. The way it works is the church forms a search committee, and it works with the conference minister, who’s from the northern California area, and they put out a message through a denominational magazine that there’s a job opening. I saw the job opening, and I submitted a resume. It was a ten-page resume. The search committee worked through that, and hired me.

Hiway 17: What’s it like to be the minister at Skyland Community Church?

Glauz –Todrank: I really love being the minister here. I’ve been here twenty-one years and one of the things that I like is being part of the community. This is a wonderful church community and I love the people here, and I like being part of the wider mountain community as well, and it has always felt like home to me.

Hiway 17: Have you ever considered televising your services?

Glauz-Todrank: Well, the sermons are available on MP3, we haven’t thought of televising. Anything’s possible.

Hiway 17: When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up? Did you always want to be a minister?

Glauz-Todrank: Well my dad was a professor, and I thought that’s what I would want to be when I grew up. When I got older, I found that I really wanted to work with people. Not so much from an academic or thought point of view, but more from a heart point of view and a spirit point of view, so that became more important to me.

Hiway 17: What’s your favorite TV show?

Glauz-Todrank: I don’t get any TV, [Laughs].

Hiway 17: If you were granted one wish. What would you wish for?

Glauz-Todrank: That’s a good question. World peace. Harmony among all people on Earth.

Hiway 17: Where do you see Skyland Church in one hundred years?

Glauz-Todrank: I think there will always be a place for people to gather face to face and be in a spiritual community together. I think this church is really evolving and I think society is really evolving and lots more things are done on the Internet and people have made connections with each other all over the world on the Internet. I think there’s always going to be people who want to gather face to face and do what people do, pray together, to sing together, to eat together, to do projects to hopefully make the world a better place. I can imagine Skyland Church being here a hundred years from now and not looking greatly different from Skyland Church today, because I don’t think the Skyland Church of today is much different from how it was a hundred years ago, because this church has been going over a hundred years. I think people have been doing similar kinds of projects all that time. It’s never become a really huge church, it’s never completely died out. It’s always found some people in the community who have a spirit that wants to work together.

Hiway 17: I heard someone once called this church, ‘the little church that could.’ Who came up with that?

Glauz-Todrank: [Laughs] Actually it was one of our seminary student interns who was here and she said this is ‘the little church that could.’ [Laughs] She meant that we’re a small group, and that we do a fair amount due to our size.

The Reverend delivers his weekly sermons every Sunday at ten- thirty AM at Skyland Community Church at 25100 Skyland Road, Los Gatos CA, 95033.

Silicon Valley Association of Realtors Gala

By Anthony Petrillo

December 11, 2011

Local Realtor Cassie Maas, pictured below second from left, was honored as the 2012 Chair of the Silicon Valley Association of Realtors, Los Gatos/Saratoga District. The gala, in celebration of the passing of the gavel, took place on December 8th at the Toll House Hotel in Los Gatos. It was preceded by a cocktail party and was followed by a dinner.

Passing the gavel to Cassie Maas, 2012 Chair, Los Gatos/Saratoga District. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

In attendance (and pictured above) were Chairs representing the past ten years, with several past Chairs absent. Doug Evans (far left), manager of Coldwell Banker, Los Gatos was the 2011 Chair. Also pictured above is Bill Rehbock (third from left), Ian Macrae (fourth from left), David Tonna, Dennis Byron, and Jeff Barnett (far right), and John Tripp, a local mountain resident, (second from right). Each past Chair took the gavel and ceremoniously tapped it before passing it down the line where it was handed off to Ms. Maas in recognition of her upcoming year as Chair.

Upon accepting this honor, Ms. Maas said, “I’m the only one wearing a dress up here, because it’s been a long time since a woman has had this position.” This comment was greeted with loud cheers and applause. She also said, “I was originally licensed in 1977. I ended up working for Jeff Barnett of Alain Pinel Realtors, and Jeff was very involved in real estate and he encouraged all of us to get involved and he was actually the very first person to set me on this road. I really appreciate this opportunity and I really appreciate the support that I’ve been given from the beginning. I look forward to this coming year.”

Karen Trolan, Chair Elect, and Cassie Maas, Chair, 2012 SILVAR, Los Gatos/Saratoga District. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

Ms. Maas also acknowledged Karen Trolan who will be the Chair-Elect for 2012. Ms. Maas also expressed her appreciation for her Broker, Dennis Byron, who has supported and encouraged her.

Ms. Maas is a second-generation Realtor with Luxor Real Estate Group, in Los Gatos. She is a long-time Los Gatos resident and mother of two. She is an inaugural graduate of the Bay Area Real Estate Leadership Academy and was co-founder and Vice President of Smartphones Technologies.

John Tripp and Cassie Maas, local mountain residents with Paul Cardus, SILVAR Executive Officer. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

Ms. Maas will be responsible for conducting over 40 meetings this coming year. She will also represent local homeowner’s interests and Los Gatos and Saratoga Realtors at the California Association of Realtors (CAR) meetings as a CAR Director.

This year’s attendees included Paul Hume, founder of Alain Pinel Realtors, his wife Helga and his children who have assumed ownership of Alain Pinel Realtors. Jeff Barnett, Managing Broker of the Los Gatos office and Carol Burnett, Managing Broker of the Saratoga Alain Pinel office were also in attendance.

Cassie Maas talking to Paul Hume and his family at the Gala. Photo by Tony Petrillo

Cassie Maas talking to Paul Hulme and his family at the gala. Photo by Anthony Petrillo.

Other attendees included past Presidents of SILVAR, and Suzanne Yost, 2012 President of SILVAR. If you want to learn more about SILVAR, visit their site at www.SILVAR.org.

It’s Time to Harvest Glass Pumpkins

By Cassie Maas

August 24, 2011

A beautiful blue pumpkin all ready for the pumpkin patch.

As he has done for the past ten years, Tom Stanton is beginning to create pumpkins. He makes them out of glass by blowing them into a form to give them their distinctive shape and then slowly working them to get the colors and shape just right. His good friends Gigi Erickson, Mike and Stephanie Walton and Ken and Shelly Monfort will be lending a hand to create a colorful pumpkin patch of beautiful and artistic glass pumpkins that will find their way to the Los Gatos High School front lawn. Over the past ten years, Tom and his friends have donated their time to make these pumpkins and to help raise money for the Los Gatos High School. Tom estimates they have made over 150K during the past ten years for the school.

Andi stopped by a second time and watched Tom as he worked on a pumpkin.

While he was working, as often happens, a woman entered the shop for the second time that day to say hello. She lives in San Jose and had driven up to the mountains to explore and had stopped in to thank Tom for sending her up to the Summit Store. After briefly discussing the quality of the meats at the store, Tom went back to work and Andi Madvig watched for a bit and then left.

While Tom’s studio has been open to drop in visitors for the past 30 years that he has been working at Holy City, he is especially busy during Halloween, Christmas, Valentines Day, Easter and Mother’s Day. If you find yourself looking for a unique local gift, you may want to pop in, say hello and see what he is making. You can learn more about Tom by visiting his website at holycityglassart.com

He starts making the pumpkins by heating a ball of glass on the end of a blowing tube. He shapes it and heats it until it reaches the size he wants. To add color, he sprinkles the colors on a surface and rolls the hot ball of glass in the color and then heats it up again.

As Tom blows air into the molton glass, it begins to fill the form and take the shape of a pumpkin.

Once he is ready, he uses his foot to manuever a metal form into position. He lowers the blowing tube with the glass on the end into the form and then closes the form around it. Using his breath, he blows air into the tube and as the air enters the glass ball, it expands into the form and takes on the familiar ribbed shape of the pumpkin.

Once the pumpkin is formed, he shapes a stem and attaches it. Once it is attached, he uses a tweezer like tool to shape the stem and to give it a fresh off the vine look. With some additional effort, he creates a blossom and attaches that to the pumpkin.

The pumpkin is placed in an annealer (a cooling furnace) so it can cool down slowly. Cooling it at air temperature (even on a hot day) could cause the glass to crack. It takes time, artistic skill and technical technique to make one of these beautiful pumpkins. If you want to get one of your very own pumpkins, you can visit Los Gatos high School during the annual Magical Glass Pumpkin Patch. This year, the Magical Glass Pumpkin Patch will take place on October 1 and 2 on the front lawn of the Los Gatos high School.

Local: Rod Kendrick involved in Google’s car

By Cassie Maas

March 6, 2011

Local resident, Rod Kendrick (@motorod) has taken his love of all things automotive and has landed a dream position with Google in Mountain View working on the new self driving car. In case you have not heard of this car yet, it is a fully automated vehicle capable of driving long distances without a driver managing the process.

Sebastian Thrun, the engineer who leads the project was motivated by the loss of a childhood friend to a car accident. His background is impressive and this is not the first automated car he has developed. The Google car has driven down the tightly winding Lombard Street, traversed the Golden Gate bridge, and has circumnavigated Lake Tahoe. It has also traveled from the Google offices in Mountain View to the offices in Santa Monica. With over 140,000 miles, the results are incredibly promising and offer to reduce risk and free up time for drivers to do other tasks.

The only accident so far was when one of the vehicles was rear ended at a light! Our local guy Rod was sent off to Team O’Neil Rally School to learn how to handle a car under extreme conditions. The training is meant to ensure the safety of the robotic car testing. Rod is loving the opportunity to work with such talented individuals. Rod works as both a Safety Operator and Software Operator inside the cars as they are driven.

The cars navigate through the use of video cameras, radar sensors and a laser range finder to “see” other traffic and they also make use of data provided by scout vehicles which drive the course and return with data that is used to assist the robotic car in making its way to the destination. Google has an extensive data center and has the advantage of its Google maps which help provide information to the vehicles as well. The data center has the ability to store and process all of the information needed to navigate the cars to their destinations safely.

Google is not the only one to venture into the automated/robotic car territory. Volvo, General Motors, Ford, Audi and its parent company, Volkswagen are all working on vehicles that will provide accident avoidance assistance in some form. The differentiator is that Google has the infrastructure to provide data to the cars that the automotive industry lacks. Cars are already using sonar to detect the presence of other cars and to adjust the speed of travel while in cruise control. It is thought that the additional mechanisms brought into play may help reduce traffic deaths by at least half in the future since the majority of accidents are caused by driver error such as fatigue, inattention, etc.

This video has audio and some of the language may be offensive to some as it records the reaction of the passenger who expresses his surprise using profanity!

Rod lives with his wife Sandee, daughter Brittany, son Zack and twins Zoe and Ryan off of Summit Road in the Santa Cruz Mountains.

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