Hope Comes to Town (well, to Newport Coast anyway)

While The Lagunan is not endorsing any particular candidate, she admits to a quickening of the pulse at the words "Obama in Orange County." The audacity of hope in the face of the meltdown that is the GOP at the moment creates an excitement and enthusiasm that I daresay no one under age 50 has witnessed in their lifetime. Keiko Sakamoto and Bill Witte are two of the Lagunans behind this breakfast fundraiser on June 11 (thanks, K&B!).


If you have a spare $1,000, you can come see for yourself what all the buzz is about. Senator Barack will rock the gateds and the unwashed paying masses at a private home in Newport Coast on Monday, June 11 from 8:30 to 10:30 a.m. Requested contributions to attend this undeniably memorable event range from $25,000 (good for a photo with him, I'll bet) down to a mere $1,000 (perhaps a handshake, no pushing!). Required RSVP cutoff is June 6; contact Melahat Rafei at 350-7733.

Home of the Blues: "Come Hell and High Water" at BC Space Gallery

The beauty of N'awlins before Hurricane Katrina, the frightening events during it, and the unimaginable aftermath are documented in COME HELL AND HIGH WATER at BC Space Gallery, May 17 - July 7, 2007.

The extraordinary artwork of three New Orleans-based artists give new meaning to its tagline, "Home of the Blues." Photographers Jackson Hill, Brian Gauvin, and Thomas Neff were there to record it all. As a town with its own share of natural catastrophes -- although certainly not of this scale -- Lagunans can relate, and I hope they come to this show.

Jackson Hill is a professional photographer and educator whose studio is located on the streetcar line in downtown New Orleans. From this vantage, his "Night Nature" series captures the romantic vision of the New Orleans nightscape as it was before Katrina changed everything. Brian Gauvin is also a working photographer and exhibiting artist in New Orleans who was on the scene in the critical periods immediately after the storm struck. His insightful images capture the ensuing chaos and often bizarre physical juxtapositions created by Katrina. Thomas Neff' is a professor at the School of Art, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, who participated in the ensuing search and rescue missions where he recorded his compassionate photographs and personal narratives of the survivors of the storm.

The collective impact of the work by these three artists is a compelling portrayal of the cataclysmic effects Hurricane Katrina has had on the lives and landscapes in the Big Easy.

Abnormal gallery hours are 2-5 PM, Tuesday through Friday, with other hours easily arranged by contacting the gallery in advance. BC Space Gallery is located at 235 Forest Avenue, Laguna Beach, 92651. For additional information you may call (949) 497-1880 or email bcspace@mol.net. You may also visit our website at www.bcspace.com.

People pics: Sandie Ward's Fashion Show, Mandarin Fine Art Gallery

A homegrown event by aspiring fashion designer Sandie was an amazing showcase of high-style fashions (bustiers, anyone?). Many thanks to Sandie for making it a benefit for Friendship Shelter, which helps highly motivated homeless adults from ALL of Orange County!

Speak out!

They did it!

Numbers haven't yet been tallied, but from the looks of the Boutique Benefit Saturday at Laguna Presbyterian Church, the hard work of Evonne Kane (second from left, in the dots) and her team of helpers paid off!

Their goal was to raise enough to pay Lisa, the amazing and wonderful caseworker who has been donating her time at the Laguna Resource Center to help families in need and homeless folks who need assistance. The amount and quality of the items donated from the closets and boutiques of Laguna were outstanding, and brought out the bargain-hunters in droves. This Lagunan bought two new tops from Lala, normally $98 each, for $20 apiece, and a cool brown suede coat for the same amount, plus a few other goodies. As promised, there were tons of designer items from some of the upscale shops in town, and a separate roomful of practical lower-priced and children's items. The cheerful helpers deserve a big round of applause, as does Evonne, who dreamed up the idea.

This homegrown fundraiser breathed new life into the Laguna Resource Center, a tiny non-profit that relies on the help of the community it serves. If you want to truly be of service, support organizations such as this one in its work to help people who need it the most. Some people think organizations like this draw homeless people to Laguna. I say they're here anyway -- why you not give them a place to shower, make phone calls, get food and give them the dignity every human deserves? A society is only as strong as its weakest link; if we rely on the Darwinian theory that only the wealthy or well-connected deserve to live here, we can't call ourselves much of a community, can we?

What Happens When People Care

Call me a sucker for a happy ending, but I burst into joyful tears when I saw this photo and e-vite from my friends J&K, a couple with hearts bigger than Texas. It was an invitation to celebrate an adoption of two children they aren't related to and whom they could have felt sorry for, written a check, and moved on. But they didn't.

(That's a photo of Victor and Vanessa with their adoptive parents, and the judge who made it official.)

My friends J&K were able to see the bigger picture that these two children faced, put aside their daily concerns and stretch the boundaries of their good will, patience and budget to give the kids a fighting chance at life.

J&K both have busy careers, two young sons with full schedules of Little League and school activities, a house to maintain, interests and hobbies of their own...... But when their longtime nanny was run down and killed in a crosswalk on Coast Highway in October 2005 by an inattentive lady in her big SUV, J&K (I suspect they'd rather I didn't use their names) saw the handwriting on the wall for these two, then ages 3 and 8, and recognized a harsh and uncertain future for them.

With the children destined to end up in foster care and with no guarantee that they would be kept together, J&K took them into their home for nine months as temporary foster parents. An optimistic and cheerful couple, I know this move was a big drain on their emotional and financial resources and a strain on the family unit, but to them it was never a question. They patiently facilitated the eventual movement of the children to another foster home of a generous family with financial resources, a similar ethnic background and a fervent desire for more children to love. That foster family officially adopted Victor and Vanessa on April 16th.

I'll happily attend that party, grateful for the opportunity to know J&K and to have observed the real "Secret" -- that we are here to help each other even -- perhaps especially -- if it takes us outside our comfort zone. That they cared enough to go to bat for the futures of Victor and Vanessa demonstrates that bravery comes in many forms, and sometimes it lives quietly just down the street.