On Friday May 2nd at 7:00Pm join children’s book author Pam Mayer for an interactive workshop that will expose the “7 Myths About Writing a Children’s Book”.

I have just received word from a contact in the County Airports department that to mark the start of Dream Machines this Sunday, at 10 AM there will be a LOUD blast from an air horn.  I asked, “how long?” He didn’t know but he emphasized loud.

Thank you to Cindy for keeping my scrapbooking items safe until I could claim them. I was quite upset when they were taken from my car the other night. It made me feel so much better that someone would take the time to find their owner.  Thanks!

Ellie Bailey

I’ve created a new website called the “Montara Dog Blog,"The purposes of this site are:

To provide a forum for everyone who walks their dog(s) in Montara and the surrounding trails.

To create a loose association of dog owners, linked by e-mail, to share information of urgent interest, such as lost dogs, found dogs, mountain lion sightings, etc.

To create a photo gallery of Montara dogs and their owners, just for fun.

And, last but not least, to encourage responsible behavior on the part of dogs and their owners.

In addition to the blog and photo gallery, the site has a map of Montara’s popular dog walking trails, a page for free classified ads relating to dogs, and useful links to other web sites.

For more details, visit http://montaradogs.com or call Bill at 728-3946.

Sometime last week,my head hurt. I rarely get headaches--and this didn’t feel like a headache.

The pressure was boring from the back of my head through my eye. That’s how I described it. I took Tylenol exra, I took Ibuprofin. I took them alone and together, and while the unusual sensation was mute, the pain never vanished.

A lymph node felt tender to the touch.

On Monday, my forehead showed a small rash--but I’d had that before and it was nothing a little cream from the doc couldn’t take care of.

But not this time. The forehead rash was there the next morning. So was a very swollen, rash covered eye, my right one.

And the pain was worse.

I was baffled. I looked like the loser in a prize fight. I looked beat-up.

All day I wondered what was going on. Did I get hit in the head by something--we had just taken a trip to Vegas for a night-and-a-day--and at one point the take-on fell on my hand. Did it hit my face, too? and I just forgot about it?

While walking around the house, it came to me. “Shingles. I have shingles.”

I thought shingles was for old folks, not for me--but a year ago a friend got it on her back, and while describing the terrible experience, she mentioned that there was a vaccine available.

“June, go get the vaccine,’ she said, more than once during our talk. Do you think I did?

Boy, do I wish I did. How could I have not listened to her almost-prophetic words.

“Go get the vaccine!”

The day of the skin eruption and the swelling and pain around the eye, I went to our Coastside ER in Moss Beach. I told the doc, “I think I have shingles,” and when we looked at me in the bright room, he agreed.

Because I had gotten there in the early stages, there was “hope” that it wouldn’t get much worse if I took the meds at once. The time was 8:35 on Tuesday night.

“How late is Long’s open? I asked.

“Nine o’clock. Go...!”

So we didn’t have much time to talk about shingles, I had to get the anti-viral drug, Valtrex.

I’m a writer, not a doc, but apparently if you’ve had chickenpox you may be at risk for shingles. Google it and read about it. (My impression, also, is that shingles can strike anyone at any age these days. It doesn’t just happen to you if you over 60. Plenty of folks much younger are getting it. I’ve even seen is described as an epidemic--until it scabs it is contagious.)

The next morning I got an emergency appt with Dr. Koo at the Peninsula Eye Physicians in San Mateo. Having shingles around the eye can be dangerous. But I was ok. Dr.Koo has seen a lot of patients with my condition--and gave me the support I needed.

In a nutshell, shingles is horrible and extremely painful...the vaccine that I wish I had gotten may stop you from ever having to suffer what I did.

Please get the word out.

June Morrall

Just to let y’all know, I am off like a herd of turtles and working through the requisite rigamarole to get the 2008 Season of the Market up and running.  We are heading toward opening in Shoreline Station in Half Moon Bay on Saturday, May 3rd, and opening day on Wednesday, May 7th at Rockaway Beach in Pacifica.  I am good to go in Pacifica, but have one more go-round before the Half Moon Bay planning commission once again on March 27th, and if any of you are so inclined to come to the meeting or drop an email of support to why that would be swell -

Good news for the impatient and impertinent: 

If you just can’t wait ‘till May, there will be a mini-version of the Coastside Farmers’ Market on Monday March 31st at the I.D.E.S. Hall in Half Moon Bay from 5 to 7:00.  This mini-market serves as the opening act for an evening with one of my personal heroes, the bold and remarkable Ann Cooper.  I’ve been lucky to be working with a great group of community members from the HEAL Project, Cunha Community Schools, Seton Coastside, Coastside Family Medical Center, CUSD Food and Nutrition Programs, and we are thrilled to present an evening with this Renegade Chef and Agent of Change, and author of “Lunch Lessons”. 

The Half Moon Bay Beautification Committee is accepting applications for their annual grants. The deadline is March 31.

Last year, the committee awarded $104,000 Coastside non-profits, educational organizations and municipal agencies. Funding for the grants comes from the annual Art & Pumpkin Festival, which is organized and operated by the Beautification Committee.

First Annual Camp Jones Gulch Open House
April 13, 1-3 p.m.

Camp Jones Gulch, a branch of the YMCA of San Francisco, a resident camp located five miles south of La Honda on Pescadero Road is holding an Open House event on Sunday, April 13 from 1-3 PM.

This is a great opportunity to see the camp facility, take a tour of the property, participate in activity areas and purchase a ticket to our Kids to Camp barbeque. Everyone is welcome to attend this inaugural annual event.

Camp Jones Gulch is home to a variety of YMCA led programs including summer and winter resident camp for youth ages 8-17, family camps, parent-child programs and community events.

In addition, it is the host site for the San Mateo and San Joaquin County Outdoor Education programs provide opportunities for 5th and 6th graders to participate in environmental education programs. Additional user groups include; scout troops and jamborees, youth-based organizations, music camps, 4-H, and tai-chi and yoga retreats.

For more information, to pre-register for the free Open House program or to purchase tickets to the Kids to Camp barbecue fundraiser, contact our front office at (650) 747-1200.

www.campjonesgulch.org

Students at HMB High School want to be MADE, and in Allan Bruce’s case, that means riding the waves at Mavericks.  These days, Bruce, a junior at HMBHS, is more teen idol than surfer dude.  Currently appearing in the spring musical “Grease” as Doody, Allan’s more focused on acting, singing and studies than hanging ten. 

Why a surfer?  “I’ve lived in Half Moon Bay all my life, I always thought how cool it would be to surf. I mean Half Moon Bay is a surfing community, and I feel since I can’t surf, I don’t feel I’m a part of this community as I would like too. I love everything about surfing the rush and the adrenaline. I have been watching MADE ever since I was in the sixth grade, and I always thought of how cool it would be to be taught something by a professional! I am not just doing this for TV, I am doing this for the experience. I mean don’t get me wrong being on TV would be so much fun, but mainly the experience is what I am looking at.” And the audition process?  Bruce called it “really easy and comfortable.”

Lissandro Garcia, another tenured actor (Kiss me Kate and Grease) at HMBHS agrees.  “I want to be a hip-hop dancer because it is something totally random from what I am, which is outgoing and nerdy”.  Garcia’s favorite part of the audition, “They told me to do my best interpretation of a hip hop dancer and I did.  I did the robot and shook my booty for him and he started laughing. I would say it was quite an experience. The MTV guy was really cool and nice.”

Entering its eighth season, MTV’s “MADE” is one of the network’s most successful shows because of its ability to connect with ordinary teens who often find their lives mirrored by the contestants.