A24 THE COAST NEWS DEC. 16, 2011
B DEC. 16, 2011 Small Talk JEAN GILLETTE Refreshment turns up everywhere I’m looking for a trail of crumbs and coffee grounds. This may answer my latest question about human nature. I see it in the copy that comes across my desk every day, inviting the community to club meetings, open houses, concerts and whatnot. <strong>The</strong> majority of these notices include the phrase “Refreshments will be served.” <strong>The</strong> gathering may be deadly dull or include song, speeches or even dancing, but the one constant is “refreshments will be served.” I know that whomever wrote these words is just trying to be hospitable and probably was raised with impeccable manners. Yet, I wonder every time I read it, who the hoard of peckish people are who can be lured to even the most tedious event by this vague promise. I have to ask, when was the last time that the offer of some unnamed, unknown “refreshments” was your deciding factor about going anywhere? I get hungry. I have been known to get so hungry around 10 a.m. that I will eat that lint-covered corn-nut in the bottom of my purse. But I never remember being hungry enough to drag my carcass to any event just because they promised “refreshments will be served.” I’ve attended my share of meetings and events. None of the refreshments ever took the edge off an endless litany of Robert’s Rules of Order. Sometimes those soggy cookies and harsh caffeinated beverages sent me racing for the door. At the very least, I make sure to eat before I leave home or throw a granola bar in my purse for backup. Anyone who has ever gone to a board meeting, a club meeting, a store’s grand opening, an art show, a tour or their child’s recital knows the absurdly broad spectrum “refreshments will be served” can cover. It ranks right up there with promise of a “continental breakfast.” You never really know which continent it’s coming from. In an upscale hotel in Germany or France, a continental breakfast can contain rich cocoa or coffee latte topped with whipped cream, butter croissants, crusty rolls, sweet butter, three kinds of jam, pate and cheese. At the bargain motel, it means dayold doughnuts, stale Danish and orange juice that can strip paint. <strong>The</strong>re is the new phrase TURN TO SMALL TALK ON B18 SECTION Law enforcement gets cuddly for annual toy drive By Shelli DeRobertis SAN DIEGO — A motorcade of police cars filled with new teddy bears made a grand entrance to Rady Children’s Hospital on Dec. 13 with a long line of flashing lights, sounding sirens and windshield wipers in motion. <strong>The</strong> pouring rain didn’t hold up the 21st annual San Diego Regional Law Enforcement Teddy Bear Drive as some hospital patients and parents made their way outdoors to see what was going on. “I had no idea,” said Kiley McDaniels, of Coronado, as she stood near the building to stay dry with her 4-year-old son, Aiden Castanon, who sat in a wheelchair and squeezed a new stuffed lion. She said she heard the loud sirens from inside her son’s hospital room and looked out the window and saw all of the police cars and officers. Once a year, volunteers from countywide law enforcement agencies pack up their squad cars with donated stuffed animals and meet at the USS Midway Museum where the patrol cars head to the hospital. Officer Patty Parra, of the Carlsbad Police Department, was one of about 20 members of the Carlsbad department who volunteered to be part of the 2011 teddy bear drive. She said she has delivered the bears for eight or nine years now, but today she is staying outside because she is sick. Why is she so devoted? Winter nights in the Garden ENCINITAS —<strong>The</strong> San Diego Botanic Garden alights with more than 100,000 lights to transform the garden during the day into a winter wonderland filled with live music and family fun, including a lawn campfire to toast marshmallows at night. Snow also adds to the festive evening, allowing for some sledding. For more information, visit sdbgarden.org. Clockwise from top: <strong>The</strong> Peace on Earth Carolers, a Victorian-style group provided musical entertainment. Carlsbad residents Mariss Pfaff and her daughter Elah roast marshmallows by the open pit fire. 11-year old Carmel Valley resident Mariangela Nava takes a sled ride in the snow at the San Diego Botanical Gardens on Friday night. Photos by Daniel Knighton. Law Enforcement officials gather new teddy bears to distribute to kids at Rady Children’s Hospital, Dec. 13. Photo by Shelli DeRobertis “Just because it’s important,” she said. For the Bartletti family, of Oceanside, the event was an unexpected treat for their son Jaydon, who will be 3 in a few months. “We’re very excited this happened today,” said Jaydon’s father, Jay. “He’s excited,” he said about his boy who posed and smiled for cameras with his large new teddy bear while one hand was attached to a portable IV unit. “Today determines the stage of cancer and the treatment,” he said. Jaydon begins chemotherapy tomorrow. He had a kidney removed two weeks ago due to a rare form of cancer called clear cell sarcoma of the kidney. <strong>The</strong> cuddly bear came at a time when the family needs a lot of comfort. Jaydon’s mother, Stacey, Jay and their new baby, Rowan, have been utilizing services across the street at the Ronald McDonald House while Jaydon recovers from having the cantaloupe-sized mass removed. So far this year, 65,000 stuffed animals have been donated through the annual teddy bear drive, said Carol Damon-Scherer, vice president of development for the hospital. Although that seems like a lot of stuffed animals, this year’s goal was to obtain 100,000 cuddly toys. Damon-Scherer said that last year, Rady Children’s Hospital treated 150,000 chil- dren. “We’ll give out a lot throughout the holidays. We’ll also use them throughout the year to bring pieces of comfort to the children,” she said. As the 9 a.m. event wrapped up, two Carlsbad police officers were some of the last to leave at about 11 a.m. Officers Jaime Meroniuk and Brett MacFarlane delivered their load of stuffed animals inside the hospital. “We rode together and our backseat was filled,” Meroniuk said. It was MacFarlane’s first time helping with the drive, and he said that along with the event helping make kids feel better, it opens their eyes to seeing that police are out there to help them. “If they need help, they’ll know who to turn to,” he said. Meroniuk said he handed out his armful of stuffed toys to kids in the casting room, and gave one to a couple who was waiting for their child to come out of surgery. MacFarlane also went into the different hospital rooms and handed teddy bears to children. He said that one little girl took the teddy bear and grabbed it. “Right away she knew what to do with it,” he said. In addition to the stuffed toy donations, Rady Children’s Hospital received $40,000 in monetary contributions, Damon-Scherer said. <strong>The</strong> Sycuan Band of Kumeyaay Nation donated $20,000 of that total.
- Page 1 and 2: VOL. 25, NO. 39 MAKING WAVES IN YOU
- Page 3 and 4: DEC. 16, 2011 by CHUCK ODD SHEPHERD
- Page 5 and 6: DEC. 16, 2011 THE COAST NEWS A5
- Page 7 and 8: DEC. 16, 2011 SOLANA BEACH — Ever
- Page 9 and 10: DEC. 16, 2011 THE COAST NEWS ARTS&E
- Page 11 and 12: DEC. 16, 2011 Working undercover is
- Page 13 and 14: DEC. 16, 2011 THE COAST NEWS Event
- Page 15 and 16: DEC. 16, 2011 A lot of my clients h
- Page 17 and 18: DEC. 16, 2011 Who’s NEWS? Busines
- Page 19 and 20: DEC. 16, 2011 Legals 800 NOTICE OF
- Page 21 and 22: DEC. 16, 2011 Legals 800 Coast News
- Page 23: DEC. 16, 2011 Council member Kristi
- Page 27 and 28: DEC. 16, 2011 Candidate reaches out
- Page 29 and 30: DEC. 16, 2011 Revitalization moves
- Page 31 and 32: DEC. 16, 2011 Legals 800 Coast News
- Page 33 and 34: DEC. 16, 2011 I’m finally going b
- Page 35 and 36: DEC. 16, 2011 THE COAST NEWS CAMP P
- Page 37 and 38: DEC. 16, 2011 SAVING THE CHILDREN K
- Page 39 and 40: DEC. 16, 2011 Legals 800 Coast News
- Page 41 and 42: DEC. 16, 2011 Items for Sale 200 It
- Page 43 and 44: DEC. 16, 2011 THE COAST NEWS B19