April 11, 2015
Written April 12+
Written April 12+
Dear Diary, Friends, and Families,
A nice part of our new life has been our neighbors -- at least the ones on our part of Cambridge Avenue. (The Bull Dog gang members stay on the part of Cambridge on the other side of the cross street - but that's another story entirely. It's an urban environment.)
One of the members of our neighborhood, from a couple of blocks away, is Jeane Fleck, the Fresno State women's swimming coach. This is how our street gets invited to her team's Spring fund-raiser; a luau, complete with BBQ pork, exotic dancers, and raffles and auctions for the fund-raising part. Here is this year's story in pictures.
Welcome from Coach Jeane  First order of business, organizing(?) our neighborhood's tables - and chatting      Then, eating. Always popular with our group.   There was a multi-pronged approach to raising funds. First, there was admission, but that was paid weeks ago, so we didn't care. Then, there were raffle tickets to buy ($20, with no "victories" for us.) Followed by a silent auction of a score of assorted gift baskets. We actually "won" two, but neighbor Ellen was the winner with a car-full.      A local Polynesian club provided very authentic luau entertainment, including inviting Jeane's assistant Igor to match steps with one of the dancers.        Igor    The highlights however, were the auctioning of home-made food. First, Coach Jeane offered a steak and fish dinner for six. Bidding was fast and furious. The winner signed on for $2,000! Then, seeing disappointment on the face of the second-place bidder, the athletic director duplicated Coach's offer for another six-person feast at his house. The auctioneer almost immediately awarded this to a very happy winner for another $1,000. Coach Jeane was ecstatic.    The last act was the auctioning of desserts hand-crafted by the swimmers (or, we've heard rumors, by their moms.) Here again, the bidding was extraordinary, as plates of cupcakes or a bowl of pudding went for a hundred or two. Plenty of generous folks wanted the girls to reach their goal of funding a Christmas training trip in San Diego. Nice people all around.    Next year, we may be off diets and able to help with the dessert auction! |
Now it is Sunday and, after a lunch with Mamo, we are packing for a
trip to visit California missions, from Ventura to Soledad - but that's
another story.Stay tuned,
John and Marianne