Last Call For Yvonne Modica

One of my most unfavorite characteristics about myself is that I pre-judge people, usually incorrectly. I'm terrible at first impressions and I have learned to ignore them (usually) and to adopt a wait-and-see attitude with new aquaintances.

I used to live in Sunnyvale in the late 80's. I lived near a comedy club called Rooster T. Feathers and I went there fairly often, every other week or so, because it was within walking distance of my house.

There was always a kooky old broad stationed at the door taking money and dispensing tickets. She kind of freaked me out because she was completely unlike any elderly person I had ever known. She was wrinkled and tiny, shockingly skinny, and heavily made up with poofed out hair and long talons for nails. To say she dressed flamboyantly is an understatement. I recall one of her outfits, a skin tight bright red suede pants suit.

Because she was so old and scary I would always have my exact change ready, pay quickly, then hustle off to my seat. Since I was always an early bird I had plenty of opportunity to observe her, hunched over and dispensing tickets, from a safe distance. She was a real character but I never had the nerve to speak to her.

Last week I was reading the obituaries in our local paper and a picture of a lady in a tiara caught my attention. It was her, the lady from Rooster T. Feathers! It turns out she was a local celebrity and here is her story:




YVONNE MODICA
Last Call for Yvonne Modica and a bit of Los Altos history.

Yvonne Modica was born Yvonne DeBrier in Atlantic City, NJ in 1914. She worked as a seamstress with her mother during her childhood and teen years and left home at 18. She became a dancer and eventually led her own chorus line called the Yvonnettes at a very posh nightclub called Polombo's. Here she met and had a long love affair with one of Lucky Luciano's closet and most notorious associates - The Gap. Later she met a sailor named Tony Modica whom she married.

During the 1950's she opened and sold a string of successful restaurants most notably the very elegant Golden Hoof Steakhouse in Los Altos, CA now the Original Pancake House still with her original brass bar top. She was the belle of the local restaurant owners, hosting parties every Sunday afternoon at her home for any restaurant folks who wished to show up.

Yvonne's heart was always with the young and creative. Before Bill G. had the Fillmore, during the early 1960's she opened the first rock n'roll night club on the Peninsula - The Big Beat - for teens as well as adults. Another innovation was operating all night on Friday and Saturday after the other bars closed serving coffee for $2.00 a pot and breakfast for $3.00. The best music in town - 2:30 to 6:00 AM when all the working musicians would jam at The Big Beat. A final bit of club trivia is that the day before the club opened, Ken Kesey rented the place from Yvonne for the last legal Acid Trip in the State of California. The band? A very young and unheard of group later to be called The Greatful Dead.

When the psychedelic era of rock n' roll evolved, Yvonne opened a second club called The Trip in San Mateo with black walls and fluorescent painted black lighted monsters. Now it's the home of Camino Camper.

Most remember Yvonne Modica as the feisty little lady at the front door of the Country Store (first in Mountain View then Sunnyvale) or Rooster T. Feathers Comedy Club, who wouldn't let anyone in without paying the cover charge.

Hundreds of young musicians and now famous comedians started their careers on Yvonne's stage. For all of us who worked for her, she showed us how business should be done and how to make a living. Before Gloria popularized Woman's Lib, Yvonne walked the walk but never felt the need to talk the talk.

Even after she retired (at 83!), she still collected door charges for events at the Senior Center in Mountain View.

Yvonne was a Diamond in the rough - A Lady with a Heart of Gold - Who always called a Spade a Spade.

Last call for Our Queen of Clubs came shortly after 12:00 AM Friday February 23, 2007 just about the time she would stop charging cover. She was 92.

I think of the many times I passed by Yvonne Modica with nary a word. Perhaps if I had stopped to chat with her I would have discovered what a fascinating person she was.

I wonder how many other fabulous and interesting people I have missed simply because I sized them up incorrectly or was reluctant to say hello?

Oregon Truffles - Fungus Not Chocolate

Basically winter sucks. However there is at least one good thing that winter brings...TRUFFLES!!!

Almost every year I order fresh truffles from Oregon. Sometimes I order black and white truffles. This year I ordered white only. I sliced them onto steamed green and white asparagus, mixed them with goat cheese and basil, baked them in red potatoes, infused them into honey, butter and olive oil, ate them with pasta and bruschetta.

My three favorite ways of preparing truffles are truffle pasta, truffle risotto, and truffled eggs. Without a doubt truffled eggs is the preparation the brings out the most pure truffle goodness. I believe the easier the recipe (and fresher ingredients) the better the taste...

Use the freshest eggs possible. These are from a friend's hens:


Fresh Oregon white truffles, clean off the dirt and grit:



Per person: Whisk three eggs and add a bit of sea salt (or kosher salt, good salt in other words). Dice some truffles for stirring into the eggs and slice some for the top. Melt approximately 1 tablespoon unsalted butter in pan and when it starts to sizzle add the eggs:


Stir the eggs gently over low heat until they are almost set. Add the diced truffles and add 1 tablespoon of creme fraiche or cream just prior to removing from the fire.

Serve on a warmed plate with toast or crostini:


Before the first bite place a napkin over your head so that you may experience the full aroma of the truffled eggs:

Bon Appetit!!

79th Annual Academy Awards - Oscars 2007

It has been almost a week since sis and I held our annual, star-studded Oscar party.

In addition to our usual clique of stars and musicians...


...we were visited this year by a number of celebrities including Uma Thurmann , John Travolta, and Bob Hope! Clearly some stars view the Seaberg Sisters' party as more important than the Governor's Ball (and heaven in Bob's case).

Hilari has actually attended the Academy Awards! She went the year Bjork wore a dead swan. So, technically, Hilari was the guest with the most star power. On the Hollywood red carpet the photographer would say "Date, step aside please." On the Seaberg red carpet we know Timo, so he is allowed in the picture.

Tom Petty showed up for a few laughs:

And some Clickorice:

Uma Thurmann and John Travolta:

Of course John is playing Tracy Turnblad's MOTHER in the movie hairspray so he's just practicing. Really.

Bob Hope showed up fashionably late and announced there are martinis in heaven:

It didn't take Bob long to hook up with a hottie and dazzle the other guests:

The hostess presented the chocolate Oscar to Uma for winning the ballot:

Dad and Tom consider the leftovers:

Here is our menu from the party:


Snacks:
*Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chex mix
*Clickorice
*Iran in Fragmints,
*Recycled Lifesavers
*No Time For mixed Nuts

Apps:
*Babel ghanoush with Pita O'Toole bread
*Deliverwurst Us From Evil with The Depitted olives and Alan Agherkins on Cars crackers
*Avocalypto guacamole topped with Adriañejo Barraza cheese served with Cate Blanchips
*Cantélope Cruz wrapped with Black Forest Whittaker ham

Mains:
*The Qweenies in Little Miss Bunshine
*The Good Sheperd pie with Meryl Sheep and Jackie Earle Haleeks in an Eddie Murphy's Irish stout gravy topped with My Country, My Country crock mashed potatoes
*Grilled PattyPan's Labyrinth squash
*Mark Wahldorf salad with Will granny Smith apples
*Roasted Happy Beets, Blood orange Diamond and Letters from Iwo Jicama on a bed of Kate Winslettuce, Dame Judy Drenched with a dressing of Dijon Honsou

Dessert:
*The Devil's food cake Wears Praline with The Dreamsicle Girls ice cream

Drinks:
*Helen Beerren, The Good German kind
*Abig-ale Breslin
*Bonny Doon The big Monster House red and white
*The Wines of Others
*Rincoke Kikuchi
*Sparkling Poceider
*Water

See you all next year!!

Drawbridge California/Tom's Birthday

On Sunday, Feb 11th (Tom's birthday), Synthia, Terry, Tom, Girlfriend (arf arf!) and I walked from Alviso out to Drawbridge. The walk starts from the Alviso marina:

Drawbridge is a ghost town that sits alongside the railroad tracks between Alviso (San Jose) and Fremont/Newark. It is illegal to walk out there but we did it anyway:

You have to watch out for the trains:

In the late 1800's the south San Francisco bay was a busy rail and waterway:

"From Newark, the rail would wend into the Byzantine waterways of the bay to Alviso & San Jose & intermediate stops on the way to Santa Cruz - 80 miles of narrow-gauge track. This project was in direct competition with the ruthless Leland Stanford which made it a bold venture indeed. When the plan went forward, a problem presented itself in the form of two navigable waterways - Mud Creek Slough and Coyote Creek Slough. By law, the waterways were required to remain open for shipping. The S.P.C.R.R.'s solution called for a drawbridge over each waterway operated by a lone bridge tender. The speck of land between the two waterways, where the rail crossed, was Station Island. The bridge tender lived in a small cabin on Station Island - the first inhabitant of what was to be called Drawbridges or Drawbridge."

"Fruit, vegetables, and other products of the land were shipped across the Bay to San Francisco in "scow schooners" - two-masted boats with a hinged centerboard, and a "fisherman's sail" to catch the wind when the sloughs were at low tide."

The Alma was one of these scow schooners. Here she is in 1900:

Unlike most of these boats that retired and were lost long ago, the Alma, a national maritime treasure, has been restored and today proudly sails the bay:

In the late 1800's the south San Francisco Bay wetlands and sloughs were unimaginably rich in wildlife. Game birds, ducks and geese especially, flocked by the thousands to gorge themselves on the abundant fish and shellfish of this area. The original drawbridge tender started inviting his friends to visit, word spread, and soon people were constructing simple cabins as hunting retreats. Over the years people built homes, hunting lodges and even a couple of hotels to accommodate the avid hunters and rabble-rousers.

Here is a brief time line from a most excellent website on Drawbridge, check out the website here:

In 1906, Drawbridge had grown to 79 cabins (private residences and duck clubs) and two hotel.

In 1926, Drawbridge was in full flower with approximately 90 cabins, and had five passenger trains a day.

Beginning in the late 1920's, excessive pumping of fresh water by surrounding communities would cause subsidence of the land and fouling of deep wells. Like Alviso to the south, Drawbridge began to sink. The railroad and cabins were in constant need of "heightening."In addition to land subsidence, raw sewage from San Jose was affecting the sloughs. Fish and foul abandoned the marshes. The diked salt evaporation ponds prevented natural cleansing by the tides.

In 1940, 50 cabins remained. The smell of raw sewage in the sloughs discouraged any thought of swimming.

In 1967, drawbridge consisted of 42 taxed residences and a population of 25.

In 1976, there were 24 taxed residences and one resident - Charlie Luce.

Tom and I with some of the sinking cabins in the background:

Synthia and Terry in a cabin:

In a cabin with neighboring water tower:

The boys took turns throwing rocks at the old Drawbridge phone. It was the only phone in town. Today it sits, gutted, on a pole:

The Gordon Gun Club built in 1880. It was the first building constructed in Drawbridge after the bridge tender's cabin (1876):

Another building:

Newark in the background, far side of the second drawbridge:

Headed back to Alviso:

Back in town we checked out the old cannery...

...and read a brief history of Alviso at the marina:

Happy Birthday Tom! Thanks Synthia, Terry and Girlfriend for taking us out to Drawbridge!

The Queen Mary 2 Comes to San Francisco

On Sunday Feb 4th the Queen Mary 2 entered San Francisco bay after completing a 14,000-mile passage from Fort Lauderdale and around Cape Horn.

Timo and Hilari invited their friends to join them on their J/120 "Twist." Don Louv, Synthia and I joined them. Don took the following pictures...

We left South Beach Harbor at around 1:30 p.m. As we approached the Bay Bridge we passed some stand-up paddlers:

The girls enjoyed the scenery and hoped for a beautiful day:

Synthia and I decided to hoist Twist's battle flag. About 6 seconds later Don drove us into a ferry wake and absolutely drenched us!

Twist showed off her colors under a crowded Golden Gate Bridge:

The Jeremiah O'Brien stood outside the Gate waiting for the QM2's arrival. I heard it cost $50.00 a pop to get a ride on the Sweet Jerry:



We enjoyed lunch while keeping a lookout for the QM2:



The Queen Mary 2 finally appeared out of the mist and roared into the crowd of power and sailboats. She was surrounded by many Coast Guard security boats and about six helicopters:




The QM2 slowed down and traveled under the Golden Gate Bridge with just 27 feet of clearance. There were people crowded on the hillsides on both the San Francisco and Marin sides of the channel:



Once inside the bay she was met by more spectator boats and the SF Fire Department:


Security was heavy around the Queen Mary 2 and those who got too close were quickly chased away by the Coast Guard and sheriff's department:

The decks of the QM2 were crowded with passengers and warning signs:

She finally stopped between Alcatraz and Treasure Island. We were impressed by the bridge that spanned the width of the boat:

The QM2 docked at Pier 27 for approximately 24 hours before leaving for her next port of call, Honolulu. From there she will continue her circumnaviation, around the world in 81 days.

Timo said the cheapest cabin runs around $21,000.00, while the most luxurious cabin, for the entire length of the cruise, will set you back approximately $185,000!

queen mary 2, san francisco sailing

Weird Purses From eBay

So I got it in my head that I wanted to buy a Lucha Libre purse or handbag. Although I detest boxing, and typically don't care for wrestling, I'm very fond of the Lucha Libre style of wrestling and showmanship. More on Lucha Libre later, back to the purses.

Naturally the first place I looked was eBay. I didn't find any Lucha Libre purses but I did find these weird gems:

Legless Toad coin purse, believe it or not there were two versions of a dead toad coin purse, both from Australia:

Also from Australia, kangaroo scrotum purse:

I always suspected that clowns are evil:

WTF????:

I'm still looking for a good Lucha Libre purse. I might have to buy a mask and make my own.

Mixed Message

Last week the Now Hiring sign went up. This week the yellow sign was posted.



Who would apply here?