Pacific Palisades does not seem to be a town short of personal trainers. Whether it is yourself, a mother, sister, father-in-law or mere acquaintance, somebody you know has one. So, what makes Palisadian trainer Angela Parker different from all the rest? Parker’s specialty is children, and they make up the majority of her clients. ”’I have been working with children for years,’ Parker said. ‘I have been a dance instructor, lifeguard, camp counselor, swim coach, nanny, after-school help line operator and big sister to six siblings. ”’I motivate children to try harder, push farther and believe they can achieve their goals.’ ”The Los Angeles native has been training kids for a year now, not only to help them become fitter, but as a way for them to gain confidence and a good attitude about life. ”’Kids can be very hard on themselves. I like to encourage them that they can do anything if they put their mind to it. Using the body to do this is one of the most powerful tools,’ Parker said. ”’Children who strive to add exercise to their lives often find themselves doing better in school, sleeping better at night, maintaining more effective relationships with peers and teachers, and feeling better about themselves and their environment,’ she added. ”Parker has lived in the Palisades since November, but her job training the 20 children she has accumulated takes her farther afield. ”’I have clients all over’from Malibu to Beverly Hills’and I travel to their houses and train the kids in their own homes. During the training session the parents are home, but I do not encourage them to watch. I want the time to be about the kids, and if they are performing for a stranger, they will normally be likely to step it up. The exercising is also a time for them to feel an independence from their parents.’ ”Parker said she does encourage sessions with the whole family so she can teach them how to work out together as a unit. ”Asked about her young clientele, Parker said: ‘About half of my students are overweight and the other half range from kids that are underweight and need to be more active, to kids that are having emotional problems’for example, if their parents are getting divorced. I use fitness as a way to make them feel better. To the kids, I want to be their friend, and to the parents, I want to be a great example to their children. If that can happen, then I am doing my job. I want the kids to feel as if they can do absolutely everything; that is what I want them to come away with.’ ”She said her sessions can be filled with just about any form of exercise. ‘I grew up dancing, and so I incorporate that into my sessions with some of the little girls. They’ll even bring their own CDs along. I have one little boy who loves basketball, so we do that. From the jump rope and trampoline to pogo sticks and running, I will incorporate whatever is fun for them.’ ”When asked about nutrition and diet, Parker said: ‘I encourage healthy eating, but nothing drastic. I just say eat when you’re hungry and stop when you’re full. I simply encourage balance and moderation.’ ”Besides working out in people’s homes, Parker does like to train outdoors. ‘That is what is so great about the Palisades; there are so many places you can go. I’ll sometimes meet clients in the park or at a trail and begin our workouts there.’ ”The training sessions are an hour long, and Parker encourages two to three sessions a week. She also can train more than one child a session. ‘Sometimes they like to come with buddies, or I’ll get a brother and sister teaming up. I can have three to four girls at a time, but that depends on the age group.’ ”Although Parker has acquired some adult clients through her younger clientele, her main focus is children. She gives the first one-hour session for free, and charges $65 a session thereafter. Parker also has packages: 8 sessions for $480, or 16 sessions for $800. ”Palisadian and Marquez student Louis Kane 11, has been training with Parker for a year. His father David is very pleased with the results. ”’I knew Angela from around the neighborhood and thought she could benefit Louis with his self-esteem and confidence; which she has done,’ Kane said. ”When asked if his son had improved on a physical level, he said: ‘Oh, definitely. He is not limiting himself by his physicality anymore. He plays baseball on the Bronco Dodgers at the Rec Center, and is doing quite well in the playoffs this year.””’ ”Contact: 454-0596.

By TAMMI JACOB Special to the Palisadian-Post Nobody is ever prepared to hear the words ‘you have cancer,’ but women should know the risks and what they can do to get early detection of the disease. I look at myself in the mirror now and don’t even know who I am looking at. I am bald. It is not me. I am sick three weeks out of the month from the chemotherapy. I have to keep telling myself that I am alive and all this will be over soon. ”I suffered from years of endometriosis (a condition in which the tissue that lines the inside of the uterus grows outside the uterus and attaches to other organs) and because of this, was told by my doctor that I should get tested for the BRCA gene, known as the genetic cancer for Eastern and Central European (Ashkenazi) Jewish ancestry. I was told that UCLA had a study and was given their number. I phoned and became part of their study in 2002. The genetic testing consisted of a questionnaire and a blood test. Two weeks after the blood test I went in for the results. I was told that I was BRCA 1 positive, which meant that I had a 50 to 85 percent chance of developing breast and ovarian cancer in my lifetime. I wasn’t shocked by the outcome of the test, for my mother was a breast cancer survivor and every other woman in her family had lost their fight against the disease. I knew my risks. I had been getting mammograms and ultrasounds every six months since I was 25 years old. ”I took the information and contemplated getting a prophylactic mastectomy to prevent the breast cancer from occurring. My insurance company had authorized the procedure and I had met with a surgeon, but I just couldn’t do it. I kept thinking that I might not get the disease. I figured if I kept up with my semi-annual mammograms and ultrasounds, anything that would come up would be diagnosed early. I took the information and did nothing with it. ”About six months after the genetic testing, my endometriosis began acting up again and I was told that the best thing for me to do was to have a complete hysterectomy. By doing so, I would not only take care of the endometriosis, but also the high risk of ovarian cancer associated with the BRCA gene mutation. I was advised that by the time ovarian cancer is diagnosed it has spread and is hard to beat, and that this would be the best option for me. Being 32 years old, this was a very hard decision for me. I was divorced and had two children, but knew that one day I would marry again and might want to have more children. I made the decision that I needed to be content with what I had and that my life was most important. I had the complete hysterectomy, ”Six months after the hysterectomy, I went in for my routine ultrasound and learned that they found two lumps on my left side and a mass against my chest wall on my right side. The doctor was taking longer than usual and so I asked her what they see when they find something. She handed me a tissue box and showed me. The tears could not stop flowing. She told me that they wanted to do a mammogram to take a better look. The mammogram confirmed the two lumps on the left side, but the mass on the right side was too deep against my chest wall to be detected by the mammogram. The doctor told me that I needed to see a surgeon right away to have a biopsy of the masses. ”By the time I got home, my primary care physician had been phoned by the radiologist and had put in the request for me to see a surgeon. Within two weeks I was having a surgical biopsy. One week later I was given the news that I had breast cancer. One month later I had a double mastectomy and began chemotherapy. All the doctors could say to me was that the hysterectomy should have prevented the breast cancer and that they didn’t know where to put me on the charts because, based upon the numbers, I should not have gotten breast cancer. Well, I did and I should be more than a statistic. ”Time has gone by so fast, it doesn’t seem real. I sit and listen to other women and their stories during my chemo sessions and realize that I am lucky. I knew that I had a family history of cancer and therefore got mammograms and ultrasounds every six months. Because the mass on my right side was so deep, a mammogram alone would not have detected it. Insurance fought me every step of the way because I am so young and they don’t think young women need mammograms. Many a time I paid out of pocket for the screenings. Women should know their risks and take every precaution. I used to think that divorce and single parenting were hardships, but they are nothing compared to the reality of cancer. ”My mother asked me to write this for the women in our community, for my aunt and cousins, to get the message out that you need to be aware and fight for quality screening. You can’t adhere to insurance protocols; they don’t care about you. You need to stay on top of your exams and know about the new screenings available to you. There are studies at UCLA that provide up-to-date information. (Editor’s Note: Palisadian Tammi Jacob, 33, who wrote this essay three months ago, has finished her chemotherapy regimen and is moving forward positively. The daughter of Lynda and Daryl Stolper, Tammi attended Palisades Elementary, Paul Revere Middle School and St. Monica’s High School. Her twins, son Kyle and daughter Remi, are kindergartners at Palisades Elementary.)

Jiva Yoga Studio in connection with music ensemble Acoustica and Temescal Canyon State Park will be hosting a celebration of the Palisades community on Sunday, June 13 from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. The half-day retreat, led by Jiva head yoga teacher William Asad, will include a morning yoga class geared to all levels, a scenic Temescal Canyon hike to the waterfall, a catered vegetarian lunch and an outdoor concert of classical and world music by local artists. ”A Palisades resident, Asad developed the idea for the retreat based on his belief that ‘you don’t always have to search for something, you can stay right where you are and realize what’s here for you’a yoga studio, music and nature.’ He approached his musician friends and yoga students Jahna and Michael Perricone, also Palisadians, who agreed to perform with their band, Acoustica, at the event. ”'[The retreat] is about creating a place of consciousness and bringing it to our community,’ says Jahna, a singer whose recently recorded album, ‘In The Balance,’ is a collection of classical melodies intertwined with world and urban rhythms. She is also the vocalist on her husband, Michael’s own CD, ‘Journey of Seven Bowls,’ (available at Jiva and Village Books) in which Perricone combines his affinity for yoga with his eclectic musical abilities, using Tibetan singing bowls to create a new, ‘yogi-crossover’ genre. ”The retreat will begin at 8:30 a.m., when participants will meet at Jiva (15327 Sunset) for a gentle, wake-up yoga class; Asad will teach the adult class and fellow yoga instructor Ben O’dell will teach the children’s class. (Participants should bring their own yoga mats if they have them.) Health bars and juice will be provided after the yoga class. ”The group will then walk over to Temescal for a 2-1/2- to 3-mile hike that will end in the canyon meadow (near the general store), where participants will enjoy a vegetarian lunch and Acoustica’s musical performance. ”Acoustica specializes in world music, blending classical melodies with global cultural influences, and the concert will also feature music from Sting, the Beatles and classical composers such as Orff, Pergolesi and Delibes. The band members performing include Perricone on acoustic guitar and Tibetan bowls, world-renowned Lebanese ethnic woodwind player A.J. Racy (performer with Sting), Southern India native Abhiman Kaushal on tabla, and Jahna on vocals, along with guest singer Christine Katzenmaier. ”While space is limited for the yoga class, everyone is welcome to the musical performance, which starts at 1 p.m. Parking is free in Temescal Canyon Gateway Park; follow the signs. Prices are $45 for the retreat, including lunch (half-price for kids), or $10 for the concert only. Contact: 454-7000 or go to www.jivayoga.com. For more information on local artists Jahna and Michael Perricone, visit www.airetight.com

The first thing you ask yourself when thinking about high school actors doing ‘Fiddler on the Roof,’ is can a teenager transform himself into the play’s central character Tevye, who has the gravity that comes from having suffered and survived and yet the sense of humor of one who has learned a thing or two about life? ”The answer is yes. The moment we meet Tevye (Adam McCrory), a poor dairyman trying to eke out a life in an impoverished Jewish village in Russia on the eve of the Revolution, we are convinced that this Palisades High School production hits the mark. ”’Every one of us is a fiddler on the roof, trying to scratch a pleasant little tune,’ Tevye says in his quietly paced and thoughtful prologue speech. ‘Why do we stay? We stay because Anatevka is our home and tradition’ Everyone of us knows who he is and what God expects.’ ”PaliHi junior McCrory, who in real life is a ‘wee Irish Catholic boy,’ dissolves under his whiskers and hopsack into the much-nuanced character the musical demands. McCrory entered PaliHi as a freshman after emigrating with his family from Belfast. He appeared in his first ever musical two years ago in the lead role in ‘Crazy For You.’ ” ”His task in ‘Fiddler’ is to keep the momentum buoyant’after all, this is not ‘Les Miserables,’ yet to be able to convey his fear and confusion as his world’kept together because of tradition’is disappearing. ”As Tevye explains in the prologue, God’s law provides balance in the villager’s lives under the pressure from outsiders, including the constable, the priest and countless other authority figures. ”’We don’t bother them and so far, they don’t bother us,’ he says. He ends by insisting that without their traditions, he and other villagers would find their lives ‘as shaky as a fiddler on the roof.’ The book by Joseph Stein, based on a short story by Sholom Aleichem, is imbued with the humor and folk wisdom that one would expect to find in a rural Russian village at the turn of the century. The action is concerned primarily with the efforts of Tevye and his wife Golde (Amy Gumenick) and their five daughters to cope with harsh existence under Tsarist rule. ”Change is inevitably thrust upon Tevye as his daughters, one by one, test the iron grip of tradition by wanting to marry for love, instead of by preordained agreement. In contemplating the announcement that the young revolutionary Perchik (Brian Koteen) and his daughter Hodel (Gilli Messer) have announced their engagement, Tevye muses ‘He loves her. Love, it’s a new style. On the other hand our old ways were once new, weren’t they?’ ”Whether you’ve seen ‘Fiddler’ ‘which opened on Broadway in 1965 followed by a movie in 1971’ or not, most everybody knows the music, and what a rich score it is. From ‘Tradition’ to Matchmaker,’ the music by Jerry Bock and lyrics by Sheldon Harnick are forever hummable and have become a tradition! ”The cast and orchestra, under the direction of Terry Henderson, are confident and strong. Each of the leading ladies’including Tevye’s oldest daughters Tzeitel (Taylor Fisher) Model (Gilli Messer) and Chava (Kia Kurestski)’and his wife Golde (Amy Gumenick) have beautiful soprano voices, that whether in a solo or in chorus enrich the musical numbers’especially ‘Matchmaker,’ ‘Sunrise, Sunset’ and ‘Anatevka.’ ”This production, directed by Victoria Francis, has taken a couple of challenging risks, and because of them delivered a rich, dramatic theatrical piece. Of note are the Russians, particularly Terrel Briggs, whose daring, aerial lifts and jumps are stupendous, overseen by choreographer Monique Smith. And who will ever forget the terrifying specters Fruma Sarah (Melissa Lerner) and Grandma Tzeitel (Tia Lebherz) conjured up in Tevye’s dream? ”The orchestra, particularly the clarinets, brings such life (l’ chaim) to the Klezmer feel of this Chagall-like village. ”One cannot discount the look of the show; both the sets and costumes are of a piece. From babushkas to shoes, the hues of brown and gray play counterpoint against the wonderful, sprightly optimism of the fiddler on the roof (Brittany O’Neil), dancing and fiddling in her Kelly green duster and red cap. ”’Fiddler on the Roof’ plays Thursday, Friday and Saturday, June 3, 4 and 5 at 7:30 p.m. in Mercer Hall at Palisades High School, 15777 Bowdoin. Tickets are $10; reserved seats for $20. Contact: 454-0611.

When Norma Sklarek was studying to be an architect in the late 1940s, she didn’t have any role models. In fact, there were no African American women licensed as architects in the United States when Sklarek decided to pursue that career. The Palisades resident made history in 1954 when she passed her licensing exam and earned certification in New York State. ”’Women have a rough time in architecture and you have to be willing to stick with it,’ says Sklarek, who grew up in Harlem during the Depression, the only child of West Indian parents. ”Today, out of about 120,000 licensed architects in the United States, 1,443 of those are African Americans and only 160 are African American women. ” ”’My parents wanted me to have some sort of profession,’ says Sklarek, whose warm and modest demeanor does not quickly reveal the obstacles she had to overcome in her field of choice. ”She pursued architecture because ‘it seemed to embody math and art,’ and not only did she have a knack for those subjects but ‘my mother would always remind me that the first time I ever saved money to buy something for myself, I bought an art book.’ Sklarek’s mother worked in a factory to support her husband through his education at Howard University, where he earned his medical degree. ”Sklarek attended Catholic elementary school before transferring to public junior high school (originally called PS93), where she was one of few black students. She learned early on how hard she had to work to achieve her goals when she missed her first algebra lessons due to appendicitis, and had to put in extra effort to learn the material so she would pass her final exam. ”’If you keep trying and don’t give up, you can achieve,’ says Sklarek, who went on earn a high math score on an admission test for Hunter High School, an all-girls magnet in Brooklyn that she says was ‘the best school in New York at the time.’ ”Columbia University’s School of Architecture accepted Sklarek in 1945 with minimum requirements’one year of liberal arts at Barnard College’whereas most students accepted were war vets with several years of college, some with B.A.s and M.A.s. ”A ‘subway student,’ Sklarek would do her schoolwork on the subway commute between Columbia and her home in Brooklyn. She was one of 20 students and two women to earn a bachelor of architecture degree from Columbia in 1950. ”Yet the biggest challenge for Sklarek was still ahead: getting a job in a white, male-dominated profession. ‘I applied to 19 different offices in New York and couldn’t find a job,’ says Sklarek, who had given birth to her first son, Gregory, before graduating from Columbia. ‘They weren’t hiring women or African Americans, and I didn’t know which it was [working against me].’ ”Sklarek went to work for the City of New York in a civil service job while she was studying for her licensing exam. She shocked her colleagues when she passed all seven parts of the four-day architect’s licensing exam the first time she took it, which resulted in an offer from Skidmore, Owings and Merrill (SOM), one of the leading architectural and engineering firms in the United States. ”As a trailblazer in a white, male-dominated profession, Sklarek always felt highly visible. ‘If a man [employee] came in late, it wasn’t noticed, but if I came in late it was noticed. I was always punctual and discouraged any social talk. I would come in early and start working right away instead of reading the newspaper.’ ”While she worked at SOM, Sklarek also taught an architecture course two evenings a week to students at New York City Community College. ‘I had to get over my shyness,’ Sklarek says. ” When she moved to California in 1960 with her two young sons, Gregory and David, Sklarek again found that several of the firms she contacted had never hired a woman, though they didn’t object to it. She joined Gruen Associates in Los Angeles, where she became the first African American woman director of architecture, responsible for the technical and functioning aspects of commercial projects such as the San Bernardino City Hall (1973), the Pacific Design Center (1976) and the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo (1976). ”Sklarek stayed with Gruen for 20 years, and during that time, she met and married fellow Gruen architect Rolf Sklarek, a German Jew and graduate of the Bauhaus who had been imprisoned under Hitler. ‘We traveled all around the world together looking at architecture,’ says Sklarek, who accompanied Rolf on his return trip to Germany in 1970. ”Rolf designed the modern-style Rustic Canyon home they lived in together for 20 years until his death in 1985. Sklarek lives there today with her husband of 19 years, Cornelius Welch, M.D. ”The first African American woman to be licensed as an architect in California, Sklarek was admitted to the American Institute of Architects (AIA) in 1966 and became a Fellow in 1980, the first black woman to be honored by her peers with a fellowship in AIA. ”Among Sklarek’s larger projects was Terminal One of the Los Angeles International Airport, built just in time for the 1984 Olympics. Then vice president of Welton Becket Associates, Sklarek served as project director for Terminal One, which accommodates 10 million passengers, annually. ”’At first, the architects working on the airport were skeptical because a female was in charge of the project,’ Sklarek says. ‘But a number of projects were going on there at the time and mine was the only one on schedule.’ ”Now, L.A. Mayor James Hahn has proposed a $9-billion plan to modernize LAX, which has not been remodeled since 1984. Hahn’s plan involves demolishing Terminals 1, 2 and 3. However, City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski has launched an alternative that postpones some of the more controversial elements of Hahn’s proposal, such as the destruction of the terminals, until further examination. Sklarek’s other projects include many shopping centers throughout the United States, including the Santa Monica Place Mall, the Oakdale Shopping Center in Minneapolis, Park Center Commercial Complex in San Jose and Fox Plaza in San Francisco, which is half commercial and half residential. ”In the 1980s, Sklarek became the first African American woman to form her own architectural firm, Siegel-Sklarek-Diamond in Los Angeles, which was the largest woman-owned and mostly woman-staffed architectural firm in the United States. However, the firm was short lived since ‘it’s tough for women to get the projects, and clients are used to working with men. ”’I’m proud to be an example for women and African Americans,’ says Sklarek, who was a principal at The Jerde Partnership (who designed Horton Plaza in San Diego) from 1989 to 1996, in charge of project management and review of the functional and technological aspects of projects. ”Last September, Governor Gray Davis appointed Sklarek to California Architects Board (CAB). She has also served as a supplemental examination commissioner for the board and as a master juror for the National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB), grading the design and site planning licensing papers. She currently serves on the CAB’s Professional Qualifications Committee and Regulatory and Enforcement Committee. ”A member and chair of AIA’s National Ethics Council (NEC) from 1993 to 1996, Sklarek taught for a number of years at UCLA on the graduate architecture staff, and has been a guest lecturer at several universities, such as Columbia, Hampton in Virginia, Iowa State and Howard University in Washington, D.C. In her honor, Howard University offers the Norma Merrick Sklarek Architectural Scholarship Award.