Michael Copeland

East Bay Reality – Network Reality Shows Seem to Like East Bay Residents

October 1, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

Over the last 10 years, several well known reality shows have featured local East Bay residents. Granted, our region has racial diversity, attractive demographics and is culturally enriched, but what is the real appeal for reality show casting directors? Is it our local area charm and charisma, our good looks and athleticism, or just the fact that we are competitive and fun loving? Regardless why, the greater East Bay market has had a nice run on some very high profile reality shows recently.

Danville residents Sandy Draghi, a technician at Blackhawk Plastic Surgery, and her boyfriend, Jeremy Cline, a Vice President with CB Richard Ellis in Walnut Creek, will be competing in the upcoming season of the Amazing Race on CBS. The show was taped over the summer and premiered on Sunday, September 25th. Sandy says she had been a fan of the show since its first season and it was a dream of hers to be a contestant. “First I got Jeremy to watch it with me and then I talked him into sending in an application to be on the show”, Sandy said. “I was convinced we could out smart everyone else and do everything better. This was while sitting on the couch,” Jeremy added. Given that the show’s plot is to have each team race/travel a great distance, was yet to be seen how Jeremy and Sandy would do, having never taken a long trip together during their courtship. Fortunately, the intense interview/audition process set the table for what was to come. “We were sequestered in a Los Angeles hotel room for about a week, going through countless on and off camera interviews, never knowing our status. Finally, when we were notified that we were selected to be on the show, we couldn’t tell anyone,” said Jeremy.

Living and working out in the East Bay certainly helped the couple prepare for the show experience. “The atmosphere around the East Bay is very competitive in everything we do from our careers to staying in shape,” Sandy added. To train, the couple purchased backpacks, loaded them up and hit the local trials around Mount Diablo, the Lafayette Reservoir and the Pleasanton Ridge. “We live in an incredibly diverse area where there are so many activities to do outdoors,” said Sandy.

Both Sandy and Jeremy say their reality show experience was life changing. Jeremy especially complimented the show’s host, Phil Keoghan, and the crew, but candidly admits that, at times, the challenges to their relationship was like stretching a rubber band to its max, right before it snaps. Ultimately however, it brought them back together and today they are stronger for it. “Not many people get to go through something like this,” Sandy told me over the phone, “It was an extremely positive experience.”

Mike Spiro, a commercial real estate agent with Cornish and Carey’s Hayward office, recently was part of the winning team during the inaugural season of NBC’s Love in the Wild. Heather Pond of Sonoma was also a contestant on the show.

Last November, Mike wandered into a restaurant in San Francisco to grab some dinner after work. He was approached at the bar by a woman who asked, “Are you single?” “She said do you like beautiful women, exotic places and competition? Before I got the wrong idea, she said she was there with NBC hosting an open casting call for a new reality show,” Mike said in a recent phone interview. Mike thought he had hit it off with the producers and after two more audition/interviews in front of a camera, he was asked to take a physical and psychological test. Shortly after his background check, he was on his way to Costa Rica with the rest of the cast. Given the athletic and romantic competitive nature of the show, it was suggested that he get some sun and amp up his workouts before taping began. “That advice that was well taken,” Mike said.

Mike said the reality show was out of his comfort zone, but at 29 years old, he saw the opportunity as a way to break into his 30s (an early September birthday). Mike said, “Never did I think I would make it into the finals, let alone fall in love.” But, that’s exactly what happened. Mike says he doesn’t get recognized too often around the bay area, but he and Samantha are stopped occasionally in Southern California where she lives. “It’s usually tween girls that say something,” Mike adds. He couldn’t be happier with his reality show experience, and says that it far exceeded his expectations. Mike and Samantha are still together and preparing for their one month winning trip around the world.

Another Danville son, Dillon Ingram who is a member of the band, PopLyfe, recently made it to the final four on NBC’s sixth season of America’s Got Talent. Sadly, PopLyfe didn’t win, but they did get a once in a lifetime opportunity when they performed with Stevie Wonder on the finale show September 14th. Dillon and the band will also be performing at the Coliseum at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas as part of the show’s winning tour.

Coincidently, Thia Megia, of Tracy, made it to the quarterfinal’s during the fourth season of American’s Got Talent, but it was last season’s American Idol that gained her the most attention. Thia finished in the Top 10 and recently completed performing on Idol’s nationwide live tour. Additionally, La Toya London of Oakland competed for American Idol in 2004 and made it into the final four of season three.

Other East Bay residents who have participated in reality shows include Ashley Rich, an Antioch native who lives in Emeryville. She was among the 14 remaining contestants on the popular Fox Broadcasting summer reality TV series, So You Think You Can Dance. Sonja Christopher of Walnut Creek, has the distinction of appearing in the first season of Survivor on CBS back in the year 2000. It is likely that “Sonja” is the answer to a trivia question, as the very first contestant ever voted off Survivor. Filmed in Borneo, Sonja lasted only three days before her flame was extinguished at the end of the first episode. Yau-Man Chan was the fourth place finisher of Survivor: Fiji. He is the Chief Technology Officer for Computing Services, Network Services, and Telecommunications at the University of California, Berkeley’s College of Chemistry. Yul Kwon , winner of Survivor: Cook Islands, was a Concord, California resident who attended Northgate High School, where he graduated valedictorian and played varsity water polo and track & field.

We applaud all of the East Bay residents that have represented our area proudly while competing for reality show fame and fortune. Hopefully Jeremy and Sandy can bring home an Amazing Race win to continue to “Up” the Reality status of the 510 and 925 area codes.

What am I going to be for Halloween? My Annual Halloween Conundrum

October 1, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

Halloween has always been one of my favorite holidays, right up there with Christmas, Easter, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Valentine’s Day, Father’s Day and Arbor Day (who doesn’t like planting trees?). What’s the biggest difference between Halloween and all other holidays of lesser fun? On Halloween you are required to wear a costume. Costumes are cool. If you can find just the right apparel and accessories a good costume can transform a person into anything or anyone that they might want to be for a night. That last sentence kind of sounds like I’m talking about cross dressing, not that there’s anything wrong with that. As much as I like and take pride in my annual costumes, every year it’s the same question: What am I going to be for Halloween? It doesn’t matter that I’m 49 and stopped Trick-or-Treating when I was a kid (23), there’s still a lot of pressure to find just the perfect costume.

“I’m going to be a cowgirl cause I already got all the stuff. Boots, hat, vest and a bandana. Wanna see?” Lauren B. Age 9, Danville.

When I was a youngster, my mother made most of my costume decisions. Cry as I might, she just wouldn’t buy into my ideas of serial killer, big time wrestler or adult film star. So, despite my protests, I wore all the traditional classics; pirate, cowboy, caveman, toilet paper mummy. During those adolescent years, when money was tight because dad was dressing up as a degenerate gambler every weekend during football season, I was convinced to wear dirty old clothes and tell people I was bum or a hobo. Sadly, a lot of neighbors just thought I was too lazy to dress up. Today, it’s not politically correct to pretend to be a homeless person, but isn’t hoboness really just a lifestyle choice? Isn’t a hobo just a businessman who got tired of the grind in a bad economy and took to traveling the country utilizing our elaborate train system (by way of an empty freight car)? Truthfully, I can’t tell you the last time I saw a hobo, but I’m sure they are still out there.

“I might be Captain America. Did you know his shield can cut through metal and protect you from bullets?” Carter L., Age 7, Danville.

High school had its ups and downs when it came to dressing up for All Hallows Eve Night. As a freshman, you certainly didn’t want to stand out or appear dorky showing up for a Pumpkin Walk that may never actually happen. You could find yourself standing all alone on one of the school’s tennis courts in a wicked cool matador costume while others mock you. Tears of pain don’t just bounce off a spandex bull-dodging suit like you might think—they stain. Damn those chess club pranksters! It was different when our sophomore glee club dressed up as the cast of Grease. Unfortunately, I drew Sandy as my character. Hells Angels was the theme our junior year and we were bad ass. That was until we ran into some actual Hells Angels at the mall and they made us strip down and walk home in our underwear—three miles—and it was raining. Finally, my senior year rocked! Me and my boys dressed as the members of the rock band KISS. It’s just tough to look very “swag” in 11 inch platform shoes and runny demon make-up. By the end of the night, I just looked like a teenage San Francisco drag queen.

“Guess what I’m going to be….. he’s from Star Wars, he’s on the dark side and he’s Darth Vader.” Jake A. Age 6 ½, Pleasanton.

College brought all kinds of new and exciting costume ideas even though every Halloween frat party I ever attended, during my four…five….okay, six years of collegiate bliss, had a “Pimp and Hooker” theme. Not that I’m complaining. Fortunately there are a lot of television pimps to draw inspiration from for costume ideas; there was Huggy Bear from the series Starsky and Hutch, Rooster was a main character on Baretta and let us not forget Prime Time Neon Dion Sanders of the Dallas Cowboys whenever he appeared on a pre-game show before Monday Night Football. Fortunately, I still had my 11 inch Kiss platform shoes and a slick burgundy crushed velvet smoking jacket to get me into character. My signature line was, “back off sucker before I cut you.” The co-ed ladies-of-the-night loved my protective dark side.

“I’m going to be a princess because I like them and want to be one. And that is the costume mommy bought me from Costco.” Madison O., Age 5, Danville

In my bar hopping early 20s, it was one super hero costume after another. Superman, Spiderman, Aquaman, Captain America, Captain Shots, Captain Drunk Guy and my favorite, Captain Hit On Every Girl In the Bar. That was the year I met my wife.

As a married man and now father, I find myself tending toward a more conservative costume. There’s the ever popular, Plastic Surgeon (a lot of women want a second opinion), the sexy youth soccer coach (Mustang provide us with the hunkiest Nike dry fit coaching shirts) and the fan favorite, parish priest (if you don’t mind listening to people confess their sins –and I don’t). Of course it really doesn’t matter what costume I wear, it is assured to embarrass my daughters (Ages 12 and 14). We’ve been invited to the same family friend’s party for years and each year they get older I become unexplainably more embarrassing. There’s nothing I can wear that won’t mortify them if their friends are within a three mile radius. Now my strategy is just to achieve maximum shock value. Male cheerleader, Studio 54 Roller Disco Superstar and Tooth Fairy are my “go to” costumes whenever they’ve been misbehaving or disrespectful.

“I think I’m going to be a cheerleader because I like cheerleaders and cheering is fun,” Nadia L., Age 7, Danville

But alas, I’m back to where I started. What am I going to be for Halloween this year? To dress as a local magazine writer would just drive the neighborhood women crazy and if I were to suit up as an anonymous member of the underground protest group Anonymous I might draw unwanted attention to myself. I could always be an Indian, construction worker, policeman or one of the other members of the Village People. I respect firemen way too much to pretend to be a fireman. No one would buy me as a professional athlete, unless I dressed up as a member of the Pro Bowlers Tour. Apparently it looks like life has finally come full circle and I’m destined to bring back the pirate, cowboy or caveman. My mother would be so happy. Although given the current economy and present state of commercial real estate, hobo might not be a stretch. Don’t be surprised if I ring your doorbell and ask for candy. I’m old school that way.

“I have no idea what I’m going to be! What are you going to be?” Michelle C., Age 9, San Ramon

Local Guys Running Local Businesses

October 1, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

Greg Meier, owner and operator of Diablo Motors, grew up in Walnut Creek and graduated from Northgate High School. Greg’s parents still reside in the house where he grew up. Greg started Diablo Motors approximately 17 years ago and has operated the business from a metal building on Fostoria Way in San Ramon. Diablo Motors recently relocated to the former Total Sports building on San Ramon Valley Blvd. to create a larger and more visible showroom and service area.

Diablo Motors sells pre-owned high quality luxury cars (mostly BMW, Mercedes, Jaguar and Land Rovers) and a wide variety of sports utility vehicles. Greg individually inspects and hand selects the inventory, and his in-house service department performs all safety and maintenance functions. All vehicles are CarFax certified, sold with a warranty and delivered detailed with a full tank of gas. Clients can even custom order at no extra cost. Diablo Motors can arrange financing, take trade-ins and process the DMV paperwork. Greg says, “I pride myself on having a nice local guy approach to business. I work hard to eliminate the nerve-wracking weekends of cheesy dealerships and classified ad shopping a lot of people go through looking for a clean and reliable car. At Diablo Motors we try to keep it simple, easy and honest.” Greg’s reputation and his focus on customer service is refreshing and not taken for granted by his loyal cliental, many of whom have purchased several cars from him over the years.

Damon Casatico, Partner and Co-Founder of The Auction House, grew up in Danville and graduated from San Ramon Valley High School. Damon and his siblings still own the house they grew up in. Damon and his business partner/father-in-law, Gary Gapp, started the idea of The Auction House approximately 17 months ago. Damon is the high profile owner of Charity Benefit Auctions. He is one of the most sought after auctioneers in the country primarily focused on raising money for charities. Damon and Gary liked the one-time Cartan’s Baby Furniture store and connected with Greg to determine if a shared building arrangement might work.

The Auction House will be a unique blend of the old style auction format with a blend of Tri-Valley charm. Gary and Damon believe the focus will be on the sale of estate items including, but not limited to, antiques, jewelry, art, musical instruments and the obscure. The Auction House will be a place where the community can take advantage of buying or selling anything from a vintage juke box to an antique rug, a cigar store Indian to a diamond pendant. Gary says an auction is the most sincere and honest form of commerce known to man and he sees this venue as a gathering place on Wednesday nights where people can come and enjoy camaraderie, a little wine and cheese and an entertaining professional auctioneer who has the fast paced auction chant down to a science. “An auction house should do well in a good and bad economy, but the community’s support of local business is critical to a company’s success,” Damon says.

MdK – The Heart of Rock and Roll is Still Beating

September 8, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

The Bay Area has been home to many top rock and roll bands. From Jefferson Starship/Airplane, Santana and Journey, to Metallica, Green Day and Train, this area has been a hotbed of rock talent. With such a rich and treasured past, could MdK, a band consisting of four teenagers from the I-680 corridor, be the next big thing?

MdK originally consisted of Matt Salavitch (bass), Keller O’Rourke (drums), Nick Hays (lead guitar) and Tyler Stimspon (lead vocals and rhythm guitar). The boys met while participating in the Grizzlies Jazz Band at California High School and formed MdK roughly fourteen months ago. Since then, it has been a whirlwind adventure with this young band accumulating accolades and notoriety along the way. Recently, the band replaced Tyler with Kyle Paquin of Pleasant Hill. Kyle (19) graduated from College Park High School in June and will be heading to Diablo Valley College this fall.

MdK is a fresh mix of alterative, pop and classic rock along the lines of Good Charlotte, All American Rejects and Yellowcard. Their debut CD, Its Never Over, released in January of this year by R-Tist Records, is a powerful collection of high energy songs with great hooks, catchy lyrics and solid musicianship. When I sat down with Keller (18), Matt (16) and Nick (18), the boys had been in the midst of a two hour, mostly instrumental, rehearsal where they played a new song for me entitled, Left Side. “We’re working on an edgier, more mature sound,” says Keller, who the guys admit is the strongest musician in the band. Keller and Nick write a majority of the band’s songs. Nick explained, “As we get older, our lyrics take on a deeper content.”

Like most successful bands, each member of the group brings something unique to the table. Keller, also a freshman at DVC this fall, is very much into the sound and technical side of the music—not a big surprise since his dad is the band’s sound technician. Matt, a high school junior, is the charismatic outgoing one in the group. He is the best athlete and student within the MdK ranks and understandably gets most of the female attention with his muscular frame and charismatic smile. Nick, a senior, is much more serious and intense. He has “old soul” rock roots (Brad Gillis of Night Ranger is a close family friend) having been raised around musicians his entire life. Kyle, is the new kid on the block. He brings a dynamic change of pace to the MdK lead singer role. His strong vocal chops and vivacious stage presence should appeal to the band’s existing fan base and industry insiders evaluating the group’s potential.

While the guys admit there are the typical minor band disagreements, they all count on each other to make the group stronger as a whole. “We are always trying to perfect our playing and expand the sound,” says Matt. At the photo shoot, Kyle joined the band for two numbers, The Concert Song and Montana. Having just seen the band at the San Ramon Art and Wind Festival, I can already tell the band’s sound is maturing.

When asked what their goals are and how they would define success, Nick explains, “Making it” is what it’s all about. “We want the big fan base, big gigs, a big CD release with national airplay and video rotation.” “We want to play great music,” Matt states. “We want to be EPIC and get our music heard”, Keller adds. A definable goal is to play the main stage of the WARPED tour. This is another reason for the harder edge sound that the WARPED tour is known for having showcased bands such as Fall Out Boy, 30 Seconds to Mars, Simple Plan and Paramore, to name just a few who have headlined the festival over the years.

The boys of MdK plan to accomplish this feat with the help of their team which consists primarily of their parents. In additional to Keller’s dad, Cameron, handling sound and the website, Matt’s parents handle logistics and the band’s nutritional regimen, and Nick’s mom, Danielle, is the group’s Manager. “The parents have handled the business end of the band to allow the boys to focus on the creative process. We have goal setting sessions, planning meetings and the guys are learning more and more about the music industry a little at a time,” Danielle says. For their part, the boys appear to be sincerely grateful. The band has also added seasoned Road Manager Jesse Battle. Jesse has a long and storied history working with bands such as Journey, Eddie Money and Y&T.

While the band has already appeared on Television twice, it was a gig at a Youth to Youth Conference that they all agree has been the best experience so far. “There were over 600 people at the show and it was crazy,” Nick tells. “The boys hung out for close to 90 minutes after their set signing autographs,” added Danielle.

Keller says for now there is no Plan B. “We are going to give it everything we have and hope this all comes together.” The guys seem more than willing to make the sacrifices needed to crack the big time. The devote two hours daily to rehearsal. “It’s no worse than playing high school sports,” Nick says. Matt adds, “We don’t feel like we’re giving anything up. Our lives are very balanced.” Keller adds that playing every day with the band and getting to play live shows is worth all the practice. However, “Nobody likes lugging gear,” Keller states, although Danielle is quick to point out that the parents are usually performing roadie work while the guys usually interact with fans after a show.

Having followed the Northern California rock music scene for most of my life, MdK impresses me as a band with all the potential in the world. Matt, Nick, Keller and Kyle exhibit the type of heart and dedication needed to make it in the music industry today. The boys are poised to make their mark soon, having verbally committed to play at the NAMM show, taking place in Anaheim next January. NAMM is one the largest music product trade shows in the world, drawing over 90,000 attendees annually. It’s a good bet that with the team they’ve assembled and the contacts they are accumulating, the big time may not be far away. Given the chance, you may want to say, “I saw MdK live when they were first starting out.” In 1984, Huey Lewis and the News (another band hailing from the Bay Area) released the song The Heart of Rock and Roll is Still Beating. MdK is living proof that the heart beat of Bay Area rock music is alive and well.

MdK will be headlining Crow Canyon Rocks, a concert benefiting the Discovery Counseling Center of San Ramon Valley, on September 23rd at the Crow Canyon Country Club. For show details and ticket information visit the Discovery Center website at www.discoveryctr.net/fundraiseringevents/mdkconcert.html.

To Friend or Not to Friend? Facebooking with Childhood Friends

August 4, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

With Mindy Joshua-Matthews

Would it be overstating the obvious to say that Facebook is a modern day phenomenon? While most of us were doing “who- knows- what” in our college dorm rooms, Mark Zuckerberg and his buddies at Harvard developed a social networking internet sensation that would forever change the world. Facebook, simply put, is a mash-up of all things communication. From smoke signals and the telegraph to letter writing, email and instant messaging, Facebook is a revolutionary tool to connect people. The question is, do we want to connect with everyone? “Friending” someone is such a friendly thing to do, yet haven’t we all occasionally regretted “friending” someone who perhaps over utilizes this medium? Childhood friends are especially susceptible to this type of temptation.

To “friend” or accept a friend invitation from….. well friends, family, neighbors, the parents of your kids’ friends, fraternity/sorority brothers/sisters and attractive work associates is easy;, but is it always wise to accept a friend invitation from a second grade tether-ball partner we haven’t seen in thirty 30-40 years? I’m all for reaching out through cyberspace, but how far does that reach need to extend? This question may best be answered by the open line banter between two childhood friends now located on opposite ends of the state. Please allow me to introduce you to Mindy Joshua.

Mindy: I can’t believe Mike Copeland is a writer for a magazine. In school, I wasn’t ever truly convinced you could read or spell.

Mike: Nice! Mindy and I have known each other for roughly 44 years, ever since we sat in little chairs around a very small table on the first day of school in Mrs. Vander Veer’s kindergarten class at Edith Landels Elementary School in Mountain View. The year was 1967, when during an interactive lecture on the texture and contrast intricacies of finger painting, Mindy had an accident. Unless I’m mistaken, Mindy was still sweaty from a Double Dutch exhibition during recess and I was coming off a paste high after sneaking a taste at the urging of known paste dealer, Jimmy H. (Who knew that paste was considered a gateway drug?)

Mindy: It’s true. We have known each other that long. Can’t the number be abbreviated using creative license or something? Mike’s overactive imagination may have some of the details wrong. Mike’s place in my life was mostly right next to his best friend, Jeff M., the unrequited love of my childhood. I loved Jeff’s beautiful brown eyes, his thick jet black hair, his perfect jaw line and his stoic manliness. Even at six years old. I loved him, even if he never loved me. I loved him for never saying a word to me when I tinkled in my pants in Kindergarten. Come to think of it, Jeff never said anything to me, ever, but Mike did. Mike seemed so willing to be verbally smacked down. I honed the sharp knives of my wit on his naïve and totally unprepared-for-the-likes-of-me spirit and that was the start of our friendship.

Mike: Mindy was the smartest girl in our class, in every class K through 12. Mindy’s schoolyard hobby was to mentally terrorize the boys in class for their academic incompetence. Yet, her verbal approval of my contributions to a class could pump up my confidence like a five time Jeopardy champion., hHowever, whenever I displayed laziness in a subject, her cutting sarcastic wit would leave me feeling like a disgraced U.S. Congressman prone to inappropriate texting. Thank you for caring, Mindy.

Mindy: Mike was always there — in ….in virtually every class — and …. and naturally I took him for granted, like only a child can do. My recollection was that we were constantly sparring. Mike and I would verbally jab and punch while the object of my affection (Jeff M.) stood by, lifeless. Now, as an adult, I don’t take the dynamics of either relationship personally, but my connection with Mike was definitely more real. Jeff, however, still seems devoid of actual human emotion, much like a dull garden tool.

Mike: Let’s fast forward. I had a great time seeing and getting reacquainted with Mindy at our 20th high school reunion, so when she didn’t make (blew off) our 30 year high school reunion last fall, I was disappointed. When I heard that Mindy had run into our mutual friend Derek S. last September at the Mountain View Art and Wine Festival, a hometown cultural event we have all been attending for almost 40 years, I accessed Derek’s FB friend list and reached out to Mindy with a “friend invitation” hoping to reconnect with a LOG (Landels Original Gangster).

Mindy: Wrong! When I found myself missing the reunion and asking myself why, I started connecting to all the friends I could find on Facebook. I got Mike’s Facebook link through another mutual friend (Sharon D.) and it was I who reached out to him for a little on-line messaging banter. Apparently, he was so incredibly busy that day he apparently missed my FB friend request. Yes, sadly I admit that I did also extended a friend invitation to Jeff, who accepted but rarely (never) engaged. To no one’s surprise, least of all mine, he has since disbanded his Facebook profile.

Mike: Still with the Jeff, Jeff, Jeff! Get over him already. Regardless who started our Facebook interaction, Mindy is a cool FB buddy. After I perused her profile, checked out a few of her family photos we began communicating. If there’s a question I have about the past, I ping her and when she has time she pings me back. If we both happen to be free at the same time, we send condescending and sarcastic zingers back and forth, usually with some reference to our ancient history or old friends.

Over the last two years, I have gotten numerous friend invitations from childhood acquaintances and have accepted all of them. They are my FB friend until they do something that deems then “unfriend” worthy. If someone (Franz N. and Cheryl W.) documents where they are every second of the day with an annoying FB posting, “I’m at the proctologist’s office”…..unfriend. Newsflash…I don’t care where you area! I also get worked up over rambling extremist rants on politics, religion and parenting (Mark P., Terri W. and Maddy J., respectively). Share something interesting or relevant otherwise don’t post. I assume that if someone does come to the realization that they have become “unfriended“ by me then they can also figure out that it’s because of the nauseating or boorish nonsense they’ve been posting.

I’ve truly never stopped to consider that people can now check to see who’s been viewing their pages, not that my viewing could ever be considered stalker-ish (unless you’re Jennifer Lopez in which case my attorney says I must make a public apology).

Mindy: I checked out Mike’s life a little on FB and all looked pretty normal and decent, but then Mike always was pretty normal and decent. Not terribly fancy, just solid and reliable. Mike and I traded a few friend leads and he was right about Mark’s page. He is politically “out there.” I’m pretty sure he didn’t see me come and go from his page —he’s, he’s obviously too busy as working on the Ron Paul 2012 Presidential campaign committee. Like Mike, I deplore the Facebook friend that reports on every less-than-riveting event that is going on in her life and the lives of her attractive and polite children. I know they are attractive and polite because Stacy (real name not disclosed) posts every second of their adolescent development on her Facebook page. However, now that I’ve “friended” her and she knows I’m paying attention, I’m confident she’ll notice and be offended if I “unfriend” her. I’ve always liked her, but do I need her constant commentary clogging up my newsfeed? Is “unfriending” considered rude and well, unfriendly? What to do?

Mike: Facebook has opened the door for virtually anyone to track people down and reunions are a logical time to connect with childhood friends. I suppose, if you didn’t want to be found, you wouldn’t have a FB page. I’m relatively certain Ted Kaczynski never had one. It is scary to think that at our next high school reunion we’ll be nearing 60 years old and we’ll likely remember fewer and fewer of the people we went to school with thanks to old age and failing memories.

Mindy: Mike makes a good point – that is, if you don’t want to be found, then don’t have a FB page. Then again, you give up the ability to see if the prom queen got fat and shaves or the varsity quarterback has a multiple personality disorder. I prefer to know these things. I decided, while tossing over the friend versus unfriend dilemma, that neither is personal. FB is not meant to be; it’s just another way of communicating, something like “communication lite.” If you really want to connect, then do it the old-fashioned way, via email, phone or (gasp!) in person.

Both Mindy and I agree that Facebook is likely here to stay. While I have heard about “Facebook Addiction” and “FB Burnout,” most people we know appear to use the social network in moderation. Parents have an inherent responsibility to monitor their children’s usage of the site. We all want to ensure that the kiddies aren’t practicing some form of FB dark arts (a shameless Harry Potter reference). A recently released movie entitled Trust, soon to be available on Pay Per View or DVD rental, is a wake-up call to all parents on the harmful aspects of our children utilizing the internet as an often times anonymous form of communication. As for adults and friends from our childhood, I wonder how many elementary school friends have tried to friend Mark Zuckerberg, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, Chris Hughes or the Winklevoss twins? Good luck with that!

Hanging out with Tony Hicks The Contra Costa Times Resident Funnyman

July 10, 2011 by Michael Copeland 1 Comment

Anyone who has ever read Tony Hicks’ twice-weekly humor lifestyle column in the Contra Costa Times, might think this witty, sarcastic, self-deprecating writer would be a cool guy to hang out with, and you would be correct. After months of trading emails and Facebook messages, our mutual admiration society had finally scheduled its first meeting. Tony and I met one afternoon at Peet’s Coffee in Walnut Creek. When I arrive, he is engaged in a whimsical conversation with a political surveyor collecting signatures for a bill or petition. He is casually attired in cargo shorts, Vans and a cool Star Wars t-shirt depicting four Imperial Storm Troopers wearing the very identifiable “KISS” face paint. Tony has a collection of tattoos on his stocky frame and is easily recognizable by his trademark billy-goat scruff facial hair (he was in the process of growing his beard out when we got together to shoot photos for the article) which is visible in the headshot shown above his newspaper column. As we talked about a variety of topics over the course of a couple of hours, Tony reminded me of what the character John Bender, portrayed wonderfully by Judd Nelson in the popular 80s movie The Breakfast Club, might resemble as an adult. He is laid back and affable, but possesses the keen ability to provide humorously insightful observations of people, places and events.

Whenever I’m asked who has influenced my writing style in the magazine articles I’ve done for ALIVE, four names come to mind; Dave Berry, Scott Osler, Rick Reilly and Tony Hicks. When I shared this with Tony, he blushed like a little school girl. While Tony is almost 6 years younger than me, I’ve always admired that he can churn out two columns a week in addition to his twice weekly People Column responsibilities and his occasional feature pieces. When asked where he comes up with the ideas for his column, Tony says inspiration comes from personal experiences (parenting and growing up in the shadow of Mt. Diablo) or things he picks up in the media. “Most of my columns are written at home (often times in bed) and I’m a really poor planner so it’s usually just something that strikes me at the time.” I can totally relate to that as a fellow procrastinator.

Tony grew up in Walnut Creek, but his family moved to San Ramon when he was twelve. After graduating from Cal High School in San Ramon in 1985, despite having rock star aspirations as the drummer for the pop-alt band Nag Nag Nag, Tony left the group before the band relocated to Southern California and enrolled at Diablo Valley College. Tony says. “I wasn’t in any hurry to leave and there was plenty of partying to do while still living at home.” Despite receiving praise for his flair with the pen in a creative writing class at DVC, Tony felt like he had made a mistake by not going to L.A. with his band. ”I decided to move down south hoping the band’s new drummer would eventually quit”. After initially finding an apartment in Korea Town, which happened to be in the heart of rival gang territory, Tony eventually did rejoin the band and find a new place to live. Nag Nag Nag became a recognizable member of a group of promising So Cal bands known as The Alternate Power Source. However, after a couple of years of establishing their place in the club scene (amongst the popularity of grunge and metal acts), Tony left the band again and headed home… to be a writer.

The year was 1993 when Tony re-enrolled at DVC with aspirations of being a sports writer, and in the perfect world, the Warriors beat writer. After signing up for journalism courses, Tony joined the staff of the DVC Inquirer. Initially a staff reporter and later the Editor-in-Chief, Tony would go on to win a countywide creative writing competition sponsored by the East Bay Press Club. “Jake Williams, Deputy Editor at the Contra Costa Times, was a judge for the contest and we hit it off right away.” “I got a call a couple of weeks later from someone at the Times asking if I would like a few hours of weekly work reporting on Caltrans road work and street closures. As dull as that sounds, I thought I had hit the big time.” Ironically, it was around this time, mid 1995, that the band came calling again. Fortunately, or unfortunately, Nag Nag Nag’s lead singer was now playing in a band called Green Jello, which was getting some play on MTV and the group’s drummer was happily honing his craft as a writer.

Working an assortment of jobs at the Times gave Tony valuable experience in record research, city government and real estate editorials. He was also given the enjoyable task of covering sports on the weekends.After reading the book, Fear and Loathing on the Campaign Trail by Hunter S. Thompson and following the 2002 Presidential Election, Tony’s interest in politics blossomed. During this time, Tony and his earliest mentor, Jean Dickenson (his advisor at DVC) continued to stay in touch even after he transferred to San Francisco State to earn a degree in journalism. It was Jean the editor for the Valley Times (owned by Lesher Communications) who called after having interviewed Tony for a summer job as a fill-in for the day cop reporter. “I misspelled Lesher, but luckily Jean vouched for me.” Tony went on to fill-in as the Moraga beat reporter for the paper, where he eventually met his first wife. At 30, Tony did become a husband and step-father and by 2002, the two had a daughter, Olivia. Originally Tony and his wife had planned for a water birth delivery and had several false starts commuting from their home in Cordelia to the birthing facility in Pleasanton. Ultimately, the baby was delivered in the more conventional manner. “No, I wasn’t enamored with the idea of a water birth.” Tony states. The couple divorced in 2006, which was very tough on Tony at the time having just bought a new home ten months earlier and not getting to see his young daughter every day.

While his personal life was in state of turmoil, Tony was happy as the music critic for the Contra Costa Times. Having covered the local music scene in 1999, as a six month fill-in for the regular music critic, Tony then transitioned into covering the Berkeley beat for the West County Time in the spring of 2000. “If you can’t find something to write about in Berkley, you shouldn’t be a reporter”. Eventually he landed the dream job of full time music critic in July of 2001. “I worked my butt off covering concerts, conducting interviews and churning out articles”, Tony says. “I loved it.” When asked about his favorite memories, Tony recalls an hour long interview with Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, befriending Brad Gillis of Night Ranger, receiving a bottle of Cabo Wabo Tequila from Sammy Hagar and recording a jam session with former Metallica bassist, Jason Newsted. “Jason was getting ready to go on the road with Ozzy Osbourne when he invited me to jam after our interview. That didn’t suck”, Tony proudly admits. Surprisingly, it was a review of a show featuring Chrissy Hynde and the Pretenders that drew his biggest negative reader response. “Chrissy made some disparaging comments during the show about the terrorist attacks of September 11th and people attributed them to me as the writer. It got really crazy.”

Tony does credit his column for finding his current wife, Michelle. “In 2007, after dropping 30 pounds and getting his life together, a co-worker told me that one of her friends really enjoyed reading my column.” Using Myspace (pre-Facebook), they initially connected over the internet. Both being single parents of young daughters, they set up an innocent play date at Heather Park in Walnut Creek. The next day they met up to watch the Super Bowl and have been together ever since. Today, they call Concord home and together the loving couple have a beautiful three-year old daughter, Lucy. Tony is once again attending his favorite community college in Pleasanton Hill as a 43-year old senior. Despite completing the required journalism classes, with a minor in political science, he still needs to finish up a few general education credits to earn his degree later this year. “Yes, yes, yes, life kind of got in my way,” Tony sheepishly admits.

Tony enjoys hearing from his loyal readers and gets email virtually every day, including occasional notes from that dork who writes personality profiles for ALIVE magazine. “I’m actually not as funny or interesting in person,” the big guy confesses, although I would disagree. As long as there are still stories to tell, Tony Hicks will always be a cool guy to hang out with and/or follow in the rags.

June Swoon

June 7, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

I have always loved the month of June. The sun is typically out and the temperatures are consistently warm in this geographic region. The daylight hours are peaking as we near the summer solstice (June 15th -26th) and summer officially begins June 21st. People tend to spend more time outside gardening, going to ballgames or just taking in a leisurely stroll. Around the neighborhood, families are BBQing, washing cars and the kids are playing in the yards or at the pool. There is somewhat of a buzz of excitement as the school year nears an end and anxious anticipation as summer vacations begin. From the time I was a child, I associate so many good feelings and fond memories to the month of June that it may in fact be my favorite month of the year.

Baseball’s June Swoon – The term June Swoon typically refers to a professional baseball team that starts the season off extremely hot and then cools down come the start of summer. For almost my entire life, I watched the San Francisco Giants experience some type of swoon, not always in June, but at various stages of the season. There were even a few years when they were out of the division race by June. That was until last year, baby! El Gigantes stayed just close enough in the hunt during the regular season to peak at the right time and run the table in the National League playoffs and World Series. To experience the excitement of my home town team becoming World Champions was a boyhood dream come true. I only regret that my dad wasn’t alive to see it as a shared love for the Giants was a strong common bond between us.

June Weddings – Historically, June has always been the most popular month for weddings. That is where the term “June Bride” comes from. The month of June derives its name from Juno, the Roman goddess of marriage. It was anciently thought that couples who married in June would be blessed with prosperity and happiness. Yea, right! There haven’t been any studies done that I’m aware of, but my guess is just as many couples end up in divorce court who were married in June as any other month of the year. However, I do love June weddings. Where else can a suburban man take his wife to an elegant show, dinner and dancing all for the cost of a crock pot or wok? I truly don’t mind getting all gussied-up, sitting through a ceremony that would cure a bad case of insomnia just to get to the open bar. What wedding is complete with unrealistic nuptials, bad music and an odd assortment of boorish friends and dysfunctional family members? It’s all good, if the bride’s family didn’t cut-costs on the food. Eating a wedding cake made by Buddy “The Cake Boss” is on my bucket list. Granted, there are usually a few self-indulgent toasts throughout the festivities, but one I get my groove around the dance floor it’s “Party-Time.” My wife loves it when I break out “The Running Man, Mr. Roboto or the Cabbage Patch. MC Hammer’s got nothing on me.

School gets Out in June – As the master showman Alice Cooper once sang, “Schools Out for Summer!” Although in 1972, when that song was number one on Billboard’s chart, Alice was an androgynous, make-up wearing, boa constrictor toting, certifiable creepy guy that scared the snot out of me. Growing up, the last day of school ranked right up there with Christmas and my birthday as far as day’s I loved the most. Our last was typically June 8th which meant three uninterrupted months of blissful chillaxing. Our last day of school was often celebrated with water balloons, milkshakes, doorbell ditch and an over-night sleep out in the backyard with my bestest buddies. Granted, we had things to do, but nothing like the overloaded schedules our kids now keep. No wonder every nine year old in Danville has an iPhone. They need to text their peeps to coordinate carpools and manage their swim/dance/cheer/baseball/soccer/lacrosse schedules.

Father’s Day is in June – Granted Father’s Day is not as grand a celebration as Mother’s Day, but I’m not complaining. While Mother’s day is really an entire weekend of pomp and circumstance filled with expensive dinners, formal brunches, elegant flower arrangements, Hallmark greeting cards, elaborate gifts (preferably jewelry), a lot of pampering, compliments and several hours of alone time, dads do typically get to pick the dinner menu on our special day (assuming it’s approved by our wives). I, myself, am a big fan of the homemade cards, paper-mache office supplies and burnt toast served in bed with a soggy newspaper. All kidding aside, as a child I looked forward to Father’s Day as a way of putting my dad up on a pedestal and letting him know how much I appreciated everything he did for us as a family. Now, as a father, I enjoy this annual day of heartfelt adulation. Being a dad is hard work, and as gratifying as it is Father’s Day is always very enjoyable.

Summer Vacations – It didn’t matter if we were driving cross country (an agonizing form of incarceration and torture as a child) or just heading to the Santa Cruz beach for a few days, summer vacations were the best. Back when driving was an economical alternative to flying, the family vacation road trip was how virtually every family started their summer vacation. Now, when most SUVs get three gallons per mile and there’s a chance we could be paying $6.00 per gallon, air travel seems darn right affordable. As a kid, summer vacations often meant visiting family or friends. My parents apparently enjoyed the Bed and Breakfast ambiance of someone else’s house even if we only went across town. Unfortunately, living in an affluent community often dictates that you vacation in the Hawaiian Islands, the mountains of Jackson Hole, Wyoming or the theme parks of Orlando Florida. Sadly, given the economy, my children may have to settle for the Osage Theme Park of Danville with the exclusive five star camping accommodations of our very own backyard. I hope my HOA allows campfires.

On a side note, National Lampoon’s Family Vacation is a must have for any serious movie collector. Released in June of 1983, this brilliant madcap misadventure chronicles the Griswold family’s cross-country road trip to the Wally World theme park. Suffice it to say, the cross country car trip proves to be much more arduous than the Griswold’s ever anticipated, not unlike my highly anticipated drive-in movie date with the lovely Sandy Besthorn to see the movie when it was first released. Let’s just say that Miss Besthorn was much more interested in the Academy Award worthy acting of Chevy Chase than she was the smooth moves of one, Mike Copeland. Sadly, the virtually obsolete drive-in theaters were functionally terrible, but socially (and romantically) a wonderful summer time diversion.

As we enter June, the coolest month of the year (cool like awesome, not cool like put a jacket on), it’s time to kick-back in our hammocks and soak up the good vibrations (A song released by the Beach Boys in June of 1966). June Swoon’s are something to be embraced; like a cuddly Team Six Navy Seal, not dreaded, like Donald Trump running for President. June is the start of all of the summertime rituals; baseball, weddings, and family vacations to name just a few. Just don’t forget Father’s Day (June 19th), because if Dad’s not happy, it could be a long summer….starting in June.

I Am A Dinosaur

April 12, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

Dinosaurs were a diverse group of animals and the dominant terrestrial vertebrates for over 160 million years, from the late Triassic period (about 230 million years ago) until the end of the Cretaceous (about 65 million years ago). Dinosaurs freely roamed every continent on earth and while generally known for the large size of some species, most were human-sized or even smaller. Most of the scientific community believed these ancestors of today’s lizards to be sluggish, complacent, relatively unintelligent, predominately carnivorous, cold blooded and methodical they actually had numerous adaptations for social interaction. Wait one darn second! Couldn’t those detailed adjectives easily be used when describing my buddies and me? I’m talking about guys I work with, play softball with, hang-out with at our kids sporting events and, dare I say, my bowling group? It used to be that a man with a receding hairline or some grey (salt and pepper) in his temples was seen as dashing or distinguished. Today, any guy over forty-five is considered a prehistoric dinosaur; impractically large, slow-moving, slow to adapt, obsolete and bound for extinction. Sadly, I’ll be forty-nine this year which makes me part of the dinosaur demographic.

Before he hosted the popular game show, Are You Smarter than a Fifth Grader, Jeff Foxworthy (also a dinosaur) was a very successful stand -up comedian. His most popular bit was called, “You Might Be a Redneck.” For instance, “If you have more cars parked on your front lawn than people living in your house, you might be a redneck.” For the sake of this article, I would like to offer up a series of like minded ideas related to Dinosaurs.

If you don’t maintain an active Facebook account, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you’ve never read a Tweet, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you routinely fall asleep during an episode of “Law and Order,” You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you think spelling your name with a symbol (Ke$ha, Cope!and) is $illy, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you think Bieber Fever is a new strain of the flu, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you thought Aubrey Huff’s “Rally Thong” had more to do with cross dressing than team morale, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you’re optimistic Martin Sheen will eventually talk some sense into his son Charlie, You Might be a Dinosaur

If the last adult website you visited was to read up on Obamacare, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If your idea of exercise is bowling or golf, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you think Angry Birds is a reference to the nesting doves on your front porch, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you have to ask your elementary school age kids to program your mobile phone, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you think owning a hybrid vehicle is for hippies and employees of Greenpeace, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you think the money professional athletes are paid is absurd (because you would’ve played for free given the chance), You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you still pay your bills with conventional checks instead of on on-line bill pay, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you watch the popular television show “Glee” for the sensible dialogs of Sue Sylvester and the Journey tunes, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you still wash your own car, mow your own lawn, have less than a 50” flat screen television and make your kids lunches, You Might Be a Dinosaur

If you shook your head in agreement at five or more of the above referenced If………….s, You are a Dinosaur!

Dinosaurs remember the good old days, when it was totally acceptable in society to see a suave and debonair older gentleman in the company of an attractive younger woman? My, how times have changed. Now that “Dinosaur” relationship is frowned upon. My favorite new recording artist, Ke$ha (what, you thought I would say Justin Bieber?), even has a song out detailing the “creepiness” of my peer group appreciating the cutting edge look or her and her songstress contemporaries, such as Katy Perry, Fergie and Rhianna. Appropriately the song is called D-I-N-O-S-A-U-R. On the other hand, an older woman/younger man soirée is now in vogue with women being assigned the cool moniker of “Cougar”. What’s wrong with the term Lady Dino? My, how times have changed.

Back in the Jurassic era of our youth, life was so different from today. We often rode in the back bed of a pick-up truck and never wore seat belts in the car. When traveling by planes, trains or automobiles, we read books and listened to whatever music was available. Portable DVD players, laptop computers and iPods were crazy space age ideas no one had the capacity to even imagine, except maybe Will Robinson or Scotty on Star Trek.

We had three national television networks to choose from (NBC, ABC and CBS) and an antenna strapped to the chimney for reception. Now there are 600 channels available through an underground cable. There was once only one type of gasoline and it cost under $1.00 per gallon. We sat in the car while friendly service station attendants pumped it and even checked under the hood. Now we pay $4.00 a gallon and have no communication with anyone.

We went to drive-in movie theaters, carnivals and picnics. No one ever wore a helmet while riding a bike or skating. We talked with our friends over the phone, used the Encyclopedia to do our homework and I had a Pterodactyl as a pet.

All of my dino –contemporaries are feeling a sense of gloom, knowing that we either adapt to the new environment (quickly) or face eventual extinction. Fossil records do indicate that birds evolved within theropod dinosaurs, which are the ancestors of all modern birds, so perhaps there is hope for us old guys.

If we ever so slightly modify our lifestyle and expand our comfort level, mainly by observing our children, we can hopefully preserve our existence. We’ll either adapt trying or spontaneously combust from environmental overload, not unlike the asteroid theory that wiped out the real dinosaurs 65 million years ago. Sadly, I feel very old right now.

Who Couldn’t Use a Million Dollars?

March 15, 2011 by Michael Copeland 1 Comment

Given how the economy has devastated us financially over the past few years, with tax day right around the corner and because those *%)@!& Pittsburg Steelers didn’t cover the point spread at the Super Bowl last month, who couldn’t use a little money right now? By little, I’m talking about a round number like $1,000,000.00? Granted, a million dollars doesn’t go as far as it used to, but it’s not like any of us wouldn’t bend over and pick up a $1,000,000 bill if we saw it lying in the gutter. It’s a healthy enough sum that it would legitimately make a substantial impact in our lives as we scratch and claw our way of the pit of financial despair. In the 1967 movie, How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying, the opening voice-over states that if someone placed $1,000,000 in a standard federally secured bank savings account, the bearer would receive $50,000 annually. In 1967, at the financially savvy age of five years old (think E*Trade baby in kindergarten), I determined that if one could accumulate one million $1.00 bills one would never have to work or ever worry about money. So, I started collecting George Washington’s and hoping that savings accounts would always pay a 5% interest rate. Sadly, somewhere along the way, (candy, baseball cards, comic books or girls), my plan was derailed. If only….

The popular musical artists, Travis McCoy and Bruno Mars recently wrote and performed the catchy little ditty called, ”Billionaire,” which to me seems a little greedy, but given that Mr. McCoy and Mr. Mars are likely already millionaires (thanks to that one song) a billion would obviously be the next goal. Me, however, I would be more than happy with a million smackers. The question is: How do I help me get a million smackers (or dollars)? Oh sure, I could work really hard, but I’m almost fifty. Let’s face it my best days are behind me. The only people “killing it” at work are hedge fund managers and internet brainiacs. For me to accumulate real wealth in my career, I would have to work 26 hours a day in a real growth industry. Let’s see, what’s hot? Solar; cloud computing; social networking; electronic gaming and porn are probably my best bets. Just to be prudent, I better come up with a few more ideas.

Game shows: There are game shows that pay the contestants $1,000,000 if they win the grand prize. Who Wants to be a Millionaire is the obvious choice, but shouldn’t it be called Who Doesn’t Want to be a Millionaire? I’ve watched it a few times and can occasionally get some of the questions correct, but you have to answer all of the questions correctly if you want to be in the big money. They’ve got these things called Lifelines, Phone-A-Friend and 50/50 to help “hook a brother up,” but some of the questions are really hard. How do I know who invented internet, Al Gore? Maybe I stand a better chance at Minute to Win It. I could totally rock those baby games. You know what else I could rock, Deal or No Deal. The objective apparently is to hook-up with one of those smoking hot models holding a briefcase and outsmart Howie Mandel and some anonymous banker? I would select case number one and start picking off briefcase-toting hotties, numerically, starting with numero dos. Maybe I could create my own game show, Mail Mike One Million $1.00 Bills or Else I Start Dancing. That show would have to be on cable. Truth be told, my game is really Wipeout.

Crime: Probably not. White collar crime maybe? I wouldn’t want to actually hurt anyone or steal anything, but crime does seem like easy money if you have half a brain. The problem is, most criminals are idiots. Too many criminals use the “smash and grab” approach which never works. The movies such as Ocean’s 11 and Sneakers, come up with incredibly complicated and complex crimes. That’s way too much work. My Robin Hood crime spree would include getting really wealthy people to each give me just a little bit of money. It’s a pyramid scheme essentially, where one million of the world’s wealthiest people each send me $1.00. That’s not really a crime and I likely wouldn’t go to jail. I’m confident that I wouldn’t like jail. Three squares and a cot is a nice concept (like camp), but in reality there’s a lot more involved than just crafts and games. Besides, I’ve heard those prison jobs don’t pay much.

Gambling: The World Series of Poker has a huge payday and a nice bracelet to boot. Guys like Phil Ivy, Johnny Chen and Annie Duke seem to be doing pretty well for themselves. I don’t want to brag, but I’ve faired nicely at the annual Sycamore Valley Elementary School Texas Hold’em tournament. I haven’t actually ever won, but I’ve finished in the top 25 (out of 25) every year. As alternatives, there’s roulette, horse racing and I have heard there’s an interesting line brewing on next season’s Dancing with the Stars finale. Obviously, betting “sure thing” football games didn’t work out too well for me.

Inventions: I’ve been noodling on a few ideas that might be patentable. People love their animals and hybrid vehicles, so I have this crazy idea about energy efficient cars for cats. The Catmobile is in its infant stages, but last I checked the former Nummi assembly plant is empty. There are obviously plenty of qualified auto workers looking for a job and I doubt if they care who the end-user is, they just want to work. There’s also sure fire ideas like tuna-flavored chewing gum, bullet-proof hoodies and musical i-pod shoes (for spontaneous dancing). Brilliant, right? All of my inventions are available for sale at the low, low price of $1,000,000.00.

Writing: For Sale, one unpublished collection of children’s bedtime stories written and autographed by a talented Danville resident. Price: $1,000,000.00. Additionally, for sale, one finished screenplay – script ready for big budget production by a major motion picture studio. Also written and autographed by an acclaimed Danville resident. Purchase price: $1,000,000.00. Finally, get your limited collection of humor lifestyle and personality profile articles written and autographed by a handsome and charming Danville resident. Purchase Price: $1,000,000.00. Did I mention I have a concept for a new autobiographical comic strip? Think Calvin and Hobbes meets Garfield and you’ll love, The Adventures of Mike, Mr. Whiskers and Bobo. Purchase price: $1,000,000.00. Isn’t this how Scott Adams started?

It’s been said that money is the root of all evil. You know who said that? Probably someone who had a bunch of money and blew it all. If you read business magazines, listen to the business news stations, follow economic blogs or just have an inkling of common sense, you’ve probably figured out that the economy is going to remain stagnate for the foreseeable future. All we can do is keep working hard and hope we come into a little extra cash somewhere. As one of my friends likes to say, “I’m only six numbers away from retirement every Wednesday and Saturday. I’m playing the Lottery baby!”

The Sea Lion Legacy

March 15, 2011 by Michael Copeland Leave a Comment

Crow Canyon Country Club Sea Lions swim team has emerged as one of the preeminent recreation swim clubs in the Bay Area, if not the state of California. Finishing up the club’s fifth consecutive undefeated Valley Swim Association league season and sixth consecutive Contra Costa County Championships, the team of youth swimmers has established a remarkable legacy of swimming excellence. Led by a devoted coaching staff, a collection of talented young athletes and a committed group of parent volunteers, the Sea Lion’s program maintains a level of excellence envied by competitors near and far. However, as the team begins their 32nd year, it’s an appropriate time to reflect on the team history and how the Sea Lions came to be.

In the summer of 1978, Crow Canyon Country Club Pool Manager, Rick Fields and a loyal group o f member parents, including Anne and Tony Brennan (current 7-8 age group swimmer Katie Mitchell’s grandparents), Roger and Tina Kageyama and Maryann and Jerry Stumpf and Barbara and Bob Mc Calmont established the Sea Lion team. The initial objective of the program was to make it a fun recreational activity for families of the club. With a core group of thirty swimmers, the first year goal was to grow the team large enough to afford an experienced coach. That first summer, the team was coached by Rick and a few of the club’s life guards. The Sea Lions competed against other small swim clubs as far away as Albany. By 1979, the Sea Lion team roster had grown to seventy swimmers which allowed CCCC to hire Tracy Wedemyer as the team’s first official head coach. “We were begging families to join throughout the off-season,” said Anne Brennan. “But our efforts paid off.” Thanks to swimmers Sam Stander, Robin Stanko, Yvonne Bennett, Andy Eckel and Mark McCalmont the team picked up their first league victory that year. A successful Swim-A-Thon and Bake Sale allowed the team to raise enough money to afford team swim suits, stop watches and starting blocks. The starting blocks were designed and constructed by Crow Canyon Country Club member, Jack Bennett providing quite a savings to the team.

Jane Brennan Mitchell (1978-1989), Anne’s daughter and Katie’s mom, was on the team from its inception. Jane says, “From the beginning there was a real sense of community. We weren’t very good and we didn’t have a lot of swimmers, but we had so much fun.” Once Jane and her husband, Glen, were finally able to return to and settle in Danville, they promptly signed their daughter up to be on the Sea Lions. Jane, who started swimming for the club when she was seven says because of her wonderful memories of summers spent with the Sea Lions she never considered any other swim club. “I watch Katie playing around with the coaches in the pool or after practice and it brings back such wonderful memories,” Jane adds.

Pete Knoedler, and his sister Amy Knoedler Chambliss, both parents of current Sea Lion swimmers, swam for Diablo Country Club as kids in the mid 70’s and to late 80’s. Pete and Amy remember swimming against CCCC when the team was fondly known as Slow Canyon. “As bad as Diablo was, we always knew Crow Canyon was the one team we could beat,” Amy says with a chuckle.

By 1984, behind the strong coaching of Penny Powell, Carol Kellagher and Steve Pitzer, the team finished with a winning record posting an impressive six wins/one loss record (three wins/one loss in league). That news was reported in a special edition of the Sea Lion Sentinel, a parent published team newsletter. “Led by swimmers John DePiper, Tug Brennan, Justyn LeDrew (Connor Doyle’s aunt), Samantha Lewis and Karen Elgaaen the season had many highlights including a strong showing at the Greenbrook 12 and Under Invitational. Equally successful was the club’s annual Swim-A-Thon organized by Nancy Tatarka and a series of prosperous fundraising bake sales, featuring gourmet pastries, at each home meet.”

Zack Smith (1984-1989) and his sister, Lauren Smith (1986-1996) both fondly remember swimming for some pretty bad Sea Lion teams. Zack refers to those summers as organized chaos. He still remembers the old starter’s guns startling him as a little kid. Lauren’s fondest memories revolve around qualifying for the County meet and anchoring the free relay team. “They used to call me ‘The Motorboat’,” she proudly state. Together the siblings remember being dominated by Del Amigo and desperately wanting to beat DAPA every year. The team was led Penny Leach and her husband, John, who was a San Ramon Valley High School chemistry teacher and high school swim coach. Top swimmers of that time included Matt and Melissa Acolla, Katie Heim, Carl Parisi, Adam Keane, Samantha Lewis and Amy Sneed. Amy says that her family is still close friends with many of the Sea Lion families from that time period. “It was a real sense of family and friendship,” Katie affectionately recalls.

Ashlee Fox (1995-2001) remembers her father making her swim in a lake every day of her three week summer vacation in Michigan so she didn’t come back slower and behind the rest of her teammates. It paid off as she was represented the team at County and was named Swimmer of Year for the 13-14 age group. “We were a small team in terms of numbers, but we had a lot of heart.” Ashlee pronounced. Ashlee, along with Nina and Stephanie Davi, Chris Glass, Lauren Brochie, Cori Grundmeier, Katherine Brandt, Terrie Waterman and Sean Gruendl were the core of a strengthening Sea Lion team. “We were all very close friends and that made a big difference when we competed,” Ashlee added. The Gruendl family eventually added brother, Byron and sister, Jacquie to the team. Their mother Darlene worked on the board for many years and their father, John, is widely regarded as the preeminent swim meet public address announcer in the Contra Costa County.

Miranda Schneider, who has been a member of the team for twelve years (1998-2010) as a swimmer and junior coach would like to see the club bring back some of the great traditions lost. “The overnight Santa Cruz beach campout, a day trip/picnic to Rock City with the coaches, Greek games (tug-o-war, water balloon toss, watermelon and t-shirt relays), movie night, family pot luck dinners and Survival Week were what made this team so special.”

Thanks to the efforts of wonderful coaches past and present, most recently Dan Cottam, Ethan Hall, Dave Madden, Matt Struemph and now Jake Schroeder, the team is enjoying an unprecedented level of dominance. There has also been an incredible succession of phenomenal swimmers including Danielle Orlandi, Marina Smith, Forrest White, Gianna Garcia, Danielle Taylor and Conner Doyle to name just a few. The Crow Canyon Country Club Sea Lions have built a recreation swim team dynasty to be admired and emulated.

As any sport fan will tell you, every dynasty (San Francisco Forty-Niners, New York Yankees, UCLA Bruins Basketball or the De La Salle Spartans football team) starts with a legacy. Today’s club families owe a debt of gratitude to the legacy of pioneering Sea Lions families for getting the program up and running more than thirty years ago. Good luck to the Sea Lions and to every youth swimmer participating in a recreational swim program this year.

All photos for this article, courtesy of Karin O’Connell.