Next “Books in the Afternoon Book Club” – February 26 at 3 pm

The Silver Strand “Books in the Afternoon Book Club” took a two-month break over the holidays.  We had time to tackle the long, classic book “A Prayer for Owen Meany” by John Irving.  The book is hated and loved by many high schoolers—guess we still think like high schoolers.  We met on January 29^th at Nora Nicosia’s house to discuss the book.

The story is set in New Hampshire and details two boys growing up in the 50’s and 60’s.  Later the book moves to Toronto in the 80’s.  The group thought the book was captivating and boring, humorous and flat, thought-provoking and “bloated.”  It was certainly well researched by the author especially concerning Vietnam and immigration to Canada.  In an interview, John Irving said he’d probably never again write a better first sentence: “I am doomed to remember a boy with a wrecked voice…”

Many of the characters weren’t likeable but they were unique and well crafted.  The author makes use of foreshadowing (“Later I learned that I was capable of evil…”), which encouraged us to keep reading.  There were a number of twists and surprises.  We rated the book 3.4.

As mentioned, the character Owen Meany had a distinct, irritating voice.  One of the members said that the book really came to life for her because she listened to it as a book on tape.  The strange voice of Owen Meany made the book really interesting.

We selected “Where the Crawdads Sing” by Delian Owens as our next book.  We will meet on Tuesday, February 26 at 3 pm at Nora’s house to discuss this highly rated book (87% of over 4,000 readers on Amazon rated it a 5).

We forgot to list any non-fiction books we’ve read and recommend.  We did remember to talk about our trips to Mexico City, Australia, and Brazil.

If you want to join this fun group, please contact:
Nora Nicosia at noranic@ca.rr.com
Clarissa Cervantes at cissapaz@hotmail.com or
Kay Barancik at b2kbarancik@hotmail.com

Note: reading the book is not a requirement for attending.

Book	Author	Date	Rating
Little Fires Everywhere	Celeste Ng	11/14/17	3.5
Beartown	Fredrik Backman	3/6/18	3.6
The Woman in the Window	AJ Finn	4/10/18	3.5
Before We Were Yours	Lisa Wingate	5/15/18	3.4
The Mars Room	Rachel Kushner	6/19/18	3.0
The Marriage of Opposites	Alice Hoffman	8/14/18	5.0
The Great Alone	Kristin Hannah	10/2/18	4.8
The Leopard at the Door	Jennifer McVeigh	10/30/18	3.2
Less	Andrew Sean Greer	11/27/18	3.8
A Prayer for Owen Meany	John Irving	1/29/19	3.4

 

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SMHOA Regular Board Meeting, Monday, Jan. 14 at 7:30PM

The next SSMHOA regular Board Meeting will take place on Monday, January 14, 2019 at 7:30 pm sharp at 116 Lighthouse Mall.

All registered SSMHOA homeowners are welcome to attend. Homeowners can address questions and concerns to the Board during the Homeowners Forum which precedes reports on the regular agenda items and, if they wish, leave after they have spoken.

There will be reports from the Chairs of the Landscape, Security, Block Captain, Street, Emergency Preparedness, HOA Community Liaison, and Government Action Committees, and maintenance proposals review.

12 Interesting Facts About Your Silver Strand Path

1. The SSMHOA has an agreement with the California Coastal Commission to maintain the pathway from up to Topsail. Fees paid by the homeowners cover the expense.
2. The distance of the path we maintain is ½ mile.
3. The City of LA built and maintains the fence closest to the lagoon. We built and maintain the fence closest to the homes.
4. The path and area around it are not maintained by our landscaping crew.
5. There is a team of homeowners that monitors the path. For four years Richard Cervantes (Topsail) managed the path and improved it significantly.  Richard found a new contractor, Coastal Pacific Landscaping, which provides maintenance three to four times a year.  The budget is $5,000 per year.  The new “path manager” is Kay Barancik (Lighthouse), who started in October.  Thanks for all the hard work, Richard.
6. The SSDBRT (Silver Strand Doggie Bag Replacement Team) consists of John Conner, EJ (Tigre) Sheets and Jon Moryl. They keep the doggie bag containers stocked and ready for dog walkers.  We really appreciate their commitment to provide this convenience.
7. Approximately 1,500 people use the path per month. We expect an increase due to new units under construction in the area.
8. The path is covered with decomposed granite with a binding agent. It should absorb light rainfall.  In the case of heavy rain, we have installed various drains on the path.  Note: we are aware of the large puddles from the recent rains and are working on installing additional drains.
9. Homeowners along the path sometimes have water spraying onto the path which can damage it. Letters are sent to alert the homeowner.
10. If it has wheels, please don’t use it on the path—it can damage the path especially if wet.
11. Dog urine doesn’t damage the path.
12. The City of LA empties the trash bins on Monday and Friday mornings.

Kay Barancik and Richard Cervantes by Clarissa

If you have any feedback or concerns about the path, please send an email to ourpathsilverstrand@gmail.com and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Submitted by Kay Barancik

Next Books in the Afternoon Book Club: Tuesday, January 29 at 3 pm

The Silver Strand “Books in the Afternoon Book Club” meet on November 27^th at Nora Nicosia’s house.  We had Less to talk about–that’s the name of the book by Andrew Sean Greer.  It was a wonderful discussion because we didn’t all agree that the book was funny or that we liked the lead character Arthur Less.  We all agreed that it was extremely well written.  It was the first book we’ve read that the members brought quotes with them.  We agreed it was very poetic and “bedazzling.”  The writing was Pulitzer-quality and it did win the award in 2018.

Would we recommend the book?  It’s not a book for everyone.  It’s not a “page turner.”  The theme is a gay male author turning 50 who avoids the wedding of a former lover by going around the world—looking for love and acceptance.  Obviously you don’t have to be gay to enjoy the book.  It includes wonderful vignettes of Mexico, Morocco, Berlin, Paris, and India.  For example, the description of camels was brilliant.  See what I mean about not a book for everyone?  It was poignant to read that there aren’t many gay men turning 50 because so many died young of AIDS.

We selected A Prayer for Owen Meany by John Irving for our next book since we wanted a classic.  We couldn’t meet again for two months so it’s a perfect time to read this rather long book.

Our next meeting will be Tuesday, January 29 at 3 pm at Nora’s house.

Since we only discuss fiction in our book club, we now list any non-fiction books we’ve read and recommend.  From this meeting we have two:

• Becoming by Michelle Obama
• The Educated: A Memoir by Tara Westover

If you want to join this fun group, please contact:

Nora Nicosia at noranic@ca.rr.com
Clarissa Cervantes at cissapaz@hotmail.com or
Kay Barancik at b2kbarancik@hotmail.com

Note: reading the book is not a requirement for attending.

Book	Author	Date	Rating
Little Fires Everywhere	Celeste Ng	11/14/17	3.5
Beartown	Fredrik Backman	3/6/18	3.6
The Woman in the Window	AJ Finn	4/10/18	3.5
Before We Were Yours	Lisa Wingate	5/15/18	3.4
The Mars Room	Rachel Kushner	6/19/18	3.0
The Marriage of Opposites	Alice Hoffman	8/14/18	5.0
The Great Alone	Kristin Hannah	10/2/18	4.8
The Leopard at the Door	Jennifer McVeigh	10/30/18	3.2
Less	Andrew Sean Greer	11/27/18	3.8
A Prayer for Owen Meany	John Irving	1/29/19

Happy Holidays from all of us!

Bridge Home Venice Hearings Scheduled

Progress continues on the City’s effort to address homelessness through bridge housing. With sites open, approved, or under construction in other parts of the City — including the VA campus in Brentwood — we are moving forward with consideration of bridge housing at the former Metro bus yard in Venice.

Over the next two weeks, the Los Angeles City Council’s Homelessness and Poverty Committee, the full City Council, and the California Coastal Commission will each consider approval of the proposed temporary housing at 100 Sunset Avenue in Venice. The facility — with 100 beds for adults and 54 beds for youth — will help reduce encampments in the neighborhood and get people connected with longer-term housing opportunities.

I invite and encourage you to attend the public meetings on the proposal. The schedule is as follows:

DECEMBER 5
3:00 p.m.
HOMELESSNESS AND POVERTY COMMITTEE
Los Angeles City Hall, Room 340
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

DECEMBER 11
10 a.m.
LOS ANGELES CITY COUNCIL
Los Angeles City Hall, Room 340
200 N. Spring Street
Los Angeles, CA 90012

DECEMBER 12
9:00 a.m.
CALIFORNIA COASTAL COMMISSION
Newport Beach Civic Center City Council Chambers
100 Civic Center Drive
Newport Beach, CA 92660

Thank you for engaging in this crucial community conversation. There are no easy answers to the homelessness crisis, but working together, we can get people off the streets, out of encampments, and into housing.

Please visit www.BridgeHomeVenice.com to find out more about the proposal and to see answers to “Frequently Asked Questions.”

Regards,

MIKE BONIN
Councilmember, 11th District

Photos: SSHOA Emergency Preparedness Committee

A neighborhood meeting of the SSHOA Emergency Preparedness Committee was hosted at the home of Sandy Gooch and Harry Lederman on Saturday, November 3, 2018.

Close to 25 homeowners attended this informative event where information about preparing for a disasters, such as large earthquakes, was discussed.

Nick Hippisley-Coxe, Red Cross Volunteer and representative of the Venice Neighborhood committee, gave an overview of items that would be needed to survive for up to 12 days following a disaster. He also discussed the basics of “street CPR”.

Other handouts and materials were shared by Sandy Gooch. Bill Boyd, also a Silver Strand homeowner, discussed the pro and cons of solar power and home generators that might be useful following an earthquake.

Richard Cervantes, homeowner, discussed plans for neighborhood coordination and communication following a natural or other disaster.

Station Commander Marcus Achan from the LAFD Station 63 also shared ways that homeowners can plan home evacuations and survival during fire events, and how we can stay prepared in the event of an earthquake.

For more information or to volunteer for our Emergency Preparedness Committee, please contact Richard Cervantes at rccbeth@aol.com.

Station Commander Marcus Achan from the Los Angeles Fire Department, Station No. 63

Nick Hippisley-Coxe, American Red Cross Volunteer

Nick Hippisley-Coxe, American Red Cross Volunteer

Next “Books in the Afternoon Book Club” Tuesday, November 27 at 3 pm

We keep meeting like this: the Silver Strand “Books in the Afternoon Book Club” met at Nora Nicosia’s house on Tuesday October 30^th at 3 pm.  Our selected book was Leopard at the Door by Jennifer McVeigh.

Okay, it wasn’t our favorite of all the books we’ve read as a group.  We did find the themes to be interesting: colonialization in Kenya, the Mau Mau uprising, African settlers in the 1950’s, and living in a compound an hour from the next house.  Our challenge with the book was that it was depressing.  The lead character is nineteen, naïve, mistreated by grandparents, stepmother, and a military officer, and trying to “come home” to a world that has changed dramatically in six years.  There was some relief at the end when she prevailed to some degree due to the kindness of friends.  We appreciated the postscript that with a perspective by the author and a summary of the Mau Mau rebellion.

We selected Less by Andrew Sean Greer for our next book, which we will discuss on Tuesday, November 27 at 3 pm at Nora’s house. 

Sometimes the best part of a book club meeting is the discussions not about the book.  We heard about trips to the East Coast and beautiful, falling leaves, and outdoor sports.  We were thrilled to find out that a neighbor knows the author, Kristin Hannah, of our prior book, The Great Alone.  We now fantasize about the author coming to one of our meetings.  One member entertained us with her description of a one-week solo adventure on Amtrak—while reading the book for the meeting, of course.  She even posed for us in her Amtrak regalia.

Since we only discuss fiction in our book club, we’ve started listing in the minutes any non-fiction books we’ve read and recommend.  Although not discussed at the meeting, we have one recommendation:

The Library Book by Susan Orlean

If you want to join this fun group, please contact:
Nora Nicosia at noranic@ca.rr.com
Clarissa Cervantes at cissapaz@hotmail.com or
Kay Barancik at b2kbarancik@hotmail.com

Note: reading the book is not a requirement for attending…

See you Tuesday, November 27th at 3 pm at Nora’s house.

SSMHOA regular Board Meeting – Monday, Nov. 12 at 7:30PM

The next SSMHOA regular Board Meeting will take place on Monday, November 12, 2018 at 7:30 pm sharp at 124 Outrigger Mall.

All registered SSMHOA homeowners are welcome to attend. Homeowners can address questions and concerns to the Board during the Homeowners Forum which precedes reports on the regular agenda items and, if they wish, leave after they have spoken.

There will be reports from the Chairs of the Landscape, Security, Block Captain, Street, Emergency Preparedness, HOA Community Liaison, and Government Action Committees, and maintenance proposals review.

Photos: Roma Court Halloween 2018

Halloween 2018 Celebration on Roma Court in the Silver Strand, Marina del Rey

The young and not so young guests for the Roma Court Halloween extravaganza leave very little litter. But there are some discarded candies, candy wrappers and cigarette butts that need attention. This year, as he does every year, Brady Connell, owner of one of the fantastically ghoulishly decorated Roma Court Halloween homes, hosted a morning-after clean-up function, serving bagels and cream cheese and orange juice.

Brady, with homeowners Richard Lysle, Patrick Day, Ed Amorosi and Fred Karlsen, walked the length of Roma Court, collecting the litter.

Thanks to them Roma Court is actually cleaner than it was before the Halloween festivities.

Thank you to all and see you next year!

Photography: Clarissa Cervantes and Marilee Karlsen
Copy: Fred Karlsen

Reminder: Nov. 3 at 10AM – Staying Safe in the Silver Strand

STAYING SAFE IN THE SILVER STRAND
Saturday, November 3, 2018 – 10AM
116 Lighthouse Mall

JOIN US FOR A NEIGHBORHOOD EVENT
(Hosted by the SSHOA Emergency Preparedness Committee and Sandy Gooch)

“Home Access and Transport Demo– Truck Tour”
Los Angeles Fire Department LAFD, Station No. 63

ALSO

NICK HIPPISLEY-COXE, AMERICAN RED CROSS VOLUNTEER will discuss:

 – Emergency Preparedness Planning for home, family and travel – “What you will need”
– The Basics of Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) – Simple Demonstration

DATE: Saturday, November 3, 2018
TIME: 10AM – 12PM
LOCATION: 116 Lighthouse Mall

PLEASE RSVP WITH Richard Cervantes rccbeth@aol.com