Letters to the Editor Feb. 9-15

Bravo ‘Almost Maine’

We feel so fortunate to have quality theatrical entertainment right here in Cambria. We recommend a Valentine’s gift of tickets to “Almost, Maine,” which is running Friday and Saturday evenings and Sunday afternoons through Feb. 19 at the Cambria Center for the Arts (the Old Grammar School on Main Street).

The play, a compilation of nine witty vignettes about love, is directed by Jill Turnbow. The four-member cast includes Kelli Rodda, Christina Fountain, John Carroll and Jonathan Shadrach, who are a pleasure to see in their multiple roles.

Bravo!

Julian and Donna Crocker
Cambria

Sporting thanks

Thank you for John FitzRandolph’s “Junior High hoops coach keeps eyes on the top prize” (Cambrian Jan. 26).

Thank you for Jude Basile’s mission to polish young basketball talent, preparing them for varsity coach Tim May’s Bronco team.

Stephanie Stacy
Cambria

Friends and fishing

My new best friends in Cambria are a man named Jeff and his delightful little daughter Hope.

I was surf fishing Sunday (Jan. 29) at Shamel Park, an activity for which I was hopelessly ignorant.

Jeff, a very experienced fisherman, came up to me and asked if I was having trouble finding sand crabs.

He must have seen me dig in two places and coming up with nothing. He directed me to some fly-covered seaweed further up the shore where he began to claw into the sand with his hands.

There was one plump wiggly bait bug after another. Hope’s young eyes spotted the little creatures.

That’s when I told Jeff, I didn’t know hardly anything about how to fish, either. My wife, Mary, and I bought a vacation home here in April and that’s when I took up surf fishing, buying some equipment at Virg’s.

But I had only caught a few sea perch since then, mostly by luck.

Jeff took the time to explain precisely where to cast the line, how to keep the line above the waves and what exactly a bite feels like. Then he told me not to jerk the line as I do in lake fishing, but just reel it in.

He and Hope stayed with me for awhile but they had to leave before I had any success. Now for the first time, however, I knew what to do.

A little while later, I felt the tug and reeled in. I felt the fish fighting. I love the feel of a fish thrashing for its life.

I pulled in a two-pound, fat, striped sea perch. I called my wife over.

She said the fish was too pretty to hurt. I’m not sure that’s a valid concept in fishing, but I returned my catch to its home.

However, thanks to Jeff, I know the way to catch more. What a treasure!

Steve E. Swenson
Cambria

Cartoon an insult

Art Van Rhyn what on earth were you thinking? Obviously you were not thinking at all!

The editorial cartoon in today’s Cambrian (Jan. 26) is a slap in the face and a truly horrible insult to those of us who have relatives serving on active duty with the U.S. military. Fifteen dead soldiers are a whole lot more important than Twinkies! This is not an appropriate topic for an editorial cartoon that is supposed to be humorous.

My grandson is currently being processed for a medical discharge with severe disabilities after two tours in Iraq. You owe us a public apology.

Shame on you, Art.

Alan S. Doctor
Cambria

Small club, mighty things

Cambria Sunrise Rotary (the Tuesday Morning Club) and Rotary Club of Cambria (the Friday Club) hosted “Cambria Uncorked” as a FUNdraiser during Cambria’s Wine Festival. It was a lovely evening at the new location of Artifacts Gallery in Cambria’s West Village, a beautiful setting and delicious evening of palate-satisfying fare and delightful art and music for all the senses.

This event followed our other wildly fun event last October, hosted with the Cambria Historical Society during the Scarecrow Festival, called “Beer and Brats” at the kick off that Friday night.

Though Cambria Sunrise Rotary is a very small club, we are able to do mighty things because of partnerships like these. This event would not have been as successful without the help of all the community and businesses and the efforts of the Rotarians from both clubs. Being in such a generous community makes creating an event from all aspects very fun. Cambria rocks!

There are many to thank: Artifacts Gallery for allowing us to take over their lovely gallery; Black Hand Cellars; Lone Madrone; Niner Wine Estates; Opolo Vineyards; Grey Wolf Winery; Veris Cellars, Clayhouse and Madeline’s.

Ron Perry of Cambria Rotary included his musical talents combined with his fellow musicians with “The Cellar Rats” who entertained us all evening. The bountiful abundance of food was provided by Robin’s Restaurant, Cookie Crock Market, Sweet Offerings, Cambria Café, A Matter of Taste, French Corner Bakery and Red Moose Cookie Company.

Both Rotary clubs made this event come together with their donations of time, talent, and energy for the enjoyment of all who attended.

Rotary clubs host events like these to raise money to support all our humanitarian projects in our community and all over the world.

To learn more, ask any Rotarian and join this worthwhile organization. Your life will be richer for the experiences. I know.

Linda Finley, Secretary
Cambria Sunrise Rotary Club

Litter: One big problem

Every time you drive down Main Street, you can see litter. When I was helping my 4-H club do a trash walk down Main Street last year, we found all kinds of things that made the town filthy. Cigarettes, food wrappers, juice boxes, candy wrappers, a headlight, even a pair of underwear! I feel that our community needs to be clean, so we need to keep it clean and stop littering in our town.

Littering the beaches, town and parks is bad for the environment and against the law. I feel we need to promote that littering is wrong and have organizations do trash walks all around town. If we don’t do something about it, the town will be a big garbage can! People enjoy this town, so we want it to look nice. Our 4-H club will be hosting a trash walk down Main Street on Feb. 25 to help clean the streets for a safer, healthier environment.

Some people might say that they could spend their time doing something else, but I think it should be a priority to our community to keep our town clean. I am a Junior Park Ranger, and in the Junior Ranger pledge, it says to “help protect and conserve the natural beauty of State and National Parks,” so I would like to challenge the town to make a commitment, like I am.

It’s everyone’s job to help keep this wonderful town healthy and clean.

Carlos Plummer
5th grade student, CAVA (California Virtual Academies), Cambria