Josephine White Lightner Todd will soon once again become Charlotte Duncan’s big sister when the Todd family moves back to a town of 18,000 in Tennessee and into the bosom of her family. ”But for Jo Todd, the move is emotional as she leaves a town that she has grown to love. ‘I will miss good friends,’ says Todd, who cried with joy when John reversed his plans to leave the Palisades 10 years ago and transfer to another parish in Delaware. ”When she moved to Southern California in 1983 as a single mom, she had never been west of the Mississippi. After she left home for college, first at Agnes Scott in Decatur and then Vanderbilt, she got a job that took her to Atlanta and eventually to Los Angeles. ‘I didn’t know what the trees were and when people said ‘That’s an oak,’ [not accustomed to the scrubby small-leafed coastal version] I said, ‘That’s not an oak!” ”Todd still retains the soft tones, but lively vocabulary of her native Tennessee and she’s familiar with Presbyterian clergymen; her uncle and her great grandfather were both ministers. ‘Being married to a clergyman, I understand the hours and calls in the night, it’s part of the job. But John is a regular guy. If he had held himself in some high and mighty position, we wouldn’t have been married.’ ”Until last year, Jo worked, most recently as an analyst in the financial reporting department at Rand. She also served as treasurer for Paul Revere’s booster organization, PRIDE, where she oversaw a $200,000 budget. ‘It turned out to be a lot bigger than I realized.’ The Todd’s 13-year-old son Michael attended Marquez Elementary and Paul Revere. ”’I knew that some churches expected the pastor’s wife to doooo something,’ says Jo, who also is the mother to 29-year-old Katy. ‘This church has been fantastic in respecting me as a person. I don’t feel as if I’ve been treated as pastor’s wife. This year at the annual mother-daughter tea, they honored me. That was really sweet. I picked up the good stuff of being the pastor’s wife.’ ”Despite working outside the home, Jo has been very much a part of the church community. She has been in and out of the choir, depending on her work and John’s work schedule. ‘One of us has to be home,’ she says. ”She also joins John greeting parishioners after the Sunday service. ‘It helps keep it a family time, a social time instead of a time for counseling.’ Jo is gregarious, funny with an agreeable easygoing nature. She says the hardest adjustment she had to make was not having say in John’s work. ‘I can’t make suggestions. Once, I remember suggesting Hymn 500, ‘God Is Working His Purpose Out.’ It talks about the people throwing their nets in the Sea of Galilee, and they all die. Nobody liked that song, so that was the end of my suggestions.’
Rev. John Todd’s Farewell
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
Presbyterian pastor John Todd, who has labored in the Palisades vineyard for 18 years, guiding, consoling and overseeing a new sanctuary, is bringing his 39-year career to an end July 1. He will delivers his farewell sermon this Sunday at 10 a.m. ”At 65, Todd thinks it’s an appropriate time to conclude his active ministry and move on. He, his wife Jo and son Michael intend to build a home on seven acres of hardwood forest in Tullahoma, Tennessee (halfway between Chattanooga and Nashville)’where Jo grew up and where much of her family still lives. ”’It’s been a great run and, like every person here, I love this community and I love this church,’ says Todd sitting in the office that he has suitably tailored to his taste with more books than objects on the shelves, sunshine streaming in, and an open door. ”When Todd came from a church with 1,500 members in Orange County to the Palisades church in 1985, the membership was aging and dwindling, a common phenomenon among mainline churches. ‘This parish was hurting,’ Todd says. ‘It was a tough place, the church had lost a lot of membership.’ ”Todd himself was ready for a change. He was recovering from a divorce and had met Jo, who was working in Orange County, in the church choir. Jo accompanied John to the interview with the Palisades elders and, according to John, made quite an impression. ”’We had been dating for awhile and planned to get married, but at one point we both kind of lost our confidence, since we had both been married,’ Todd recalls. ‘I called Bob Lowe [on the search committee] and asked him what would happen if I didn’t marry her: would the job offer go away? Bob hesitated for a while, then finally said ‘No.’ I guess he wanted Jo as much as he wanted me.’ The couple married one month after Todd took the job.” Todd says he knew from the start that the Palisades church was where he was supposed to be. ‘There is a different kind of intensity with my relationship with this church, and I think it’s because they allowed me to be exactly the way I wanted to be.’ ”His personal manner is notable, an updated biblical patriarch of sorts: commanding in stature, when he’s dressed in the black cape, green silver shawl and white starched collar, his intense brown eyes become all the more pronounced framed by the sweep of wavy hair and evangelist’s beard. ”’First of all, they gave me total freedom in the pulpit,’ which underscores the importance Todd places on preaching. Preparation for the Sunday sermon begins Monday morning, says Todd, who more than 20 years ago began the practice of reciting the Bible passage by heart. Throughout the week, he masters the text and refines and revises his sermon to be delivered for each of the two Sunday services. He choreographs his sermon, striding the chancel from side to side in his Falconhead cowboy boots, using his voice, his hands and his eyes to make the scripture relevant to this congregation. ”’Second, there were no expectations placed on my family, which might have been a problem as we live right next door to the church.’ (The Todds are the first family to occupy the manse on El Medio, which was built for them 20 years ago.) ‘They didn’t expect my wife to play the piano. And my son Michael, who’s 13, is no preacher’s kid. He feels totally at home here, he loves the Palisades. ”’Third,’ says Todd, ‘this community has allowed freedom for the church to be open. There are two kinds of congregations: exclusive, where everybody believes the same thing and they are all going in the same direction, and inclusive, which allows for a wide theological interpretation. That’s our church. As long as everybody believes in the core commitment, I don’t care how he or she comes at it. Some people come for fellowship, others struggle with the fundamental stuff like did Christ rise from the grave? But here is a free arena where you can wrestle with this.’ ”Calling himself one of the few Calvinists left, Todd believes that instead of placing the emphasis on the drive towards God, God is reaching for us. The challenge for Todd and for any church leader is to continue to address a community that isn’t listening’the Westside of Los Angeles, which tends to be very secular and not deeply religious. ”When the Web site ‘Mystery Worshiper,’ which publishes surreptitious critiques of churches, called Todd’s style a combination of Scottish traditional and Hollywood glitz, he couldn’t agree more. ‘Hollywood glitz is a complement. That’s what it should be, partly because of where we are and also the fact that so many of our people are involved in every part of the entertainment business.’ ”While Todd’s manner is dramatic, the content of his sermons is neither sensational nor political; he prefers to be inclusive on questions such as abortion and homosexuality. ‘My philosophy on that is ‘Don’t ask, don’t tell,” he says. ‘I consider these private matters. People have every right to advocate one side and the other. My concern is the spiritual arena, that people can have strong opinions but that they don’t throw rocks at each other.’ ”Todd admits that he does rely on humor to get from point A to point B, but often the joke is on him. Baptisms, he suggests, are sure to be entertaining. ‘Everything that could happen in a baptism has,’ says Todd, who enjoys baptizing babies during the service. ‘The congregation likes to see me in turmoil.’ ”When Todd took over as pastor, a survey conducted in 1985 predicted an aging demographic for the Palisades, and youth work was discouraged. And while the church disregarded the prediction and built up what has turned out to be a highly successful youth program under the direction of Rev. Eric Schaefer, Todd tackled the dwindling population in another way. ”He built a program based on the very Presbyterian idea of stewardship, that the church belongs to the members, who make a commitment to that body. ”’I preached commitment to God and took the scriptural approach to talk about that commitment,’ Todd says. ‘These are bright, wonderful people in the Palisades and once they believe, it’s like a revival in the old days.’ ”Todd also preached tithing, the idea of making an annual financial commitment to support the church. ‘I preached six sermons that had to do with money. We now have well over 50 percent moving towards tithing, and we’ve been in the black for 10 years. I’m very proud of that.’ Membership today stands at 600 with 1,000 affiliated. ”Ten years ago, Todd wasn’t sure that the congregation wanted to grow and commit to building a new church, so he decided to transfer to a church in Delaware. ‘I felt that I had wrapped up what I could do, but Bob Lowe was insistent. We went down to the Bel-Air Bay Club for lunch and Bob assured me that the congregation would build a new church. I felt it was too late, I had already committed to the church in Delaware. Bob said, ‘In this country there is no indentured servitude.’ I called the Presbyterian offices and talked to Jo about staying. She started to cry. She was so happy.’ ”Todd stayed for another 10 years and oversaw the construction of the new sanctuary, completed in May 1999, which he mentions as one of the highlights of his career. ” ”Todd won’t speculate on the future of Palisades Presbyterian, insisting that the new pastor must determine the next step. He will not continue ministerial duties in his new home, but rather looks forward to spending more time with his son, who will be entering 8th grade. Todd expects visits from has two daughters from his first marriage and a 12-year-old granddaughter. He will also continue to write. ‘I have a couple of books I want to do, and I might teach. The University of the South is 30 minutes away, and Vanderbilt is also a possibility. ”’The challenges for the next era will be to continue to address a community that isn’t listening. The majority of church members have no church background or very little. If they can trust us, they’ll listen.’
Mary Taylor, 85; Longtime Resident Loved Paddle Tennis
Mary E. ‘Mamie’ Taylor, a resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away February 21. She was 85. Born January 2, 1919, she was the widow of Franklin J. Taylor, who predeceased her in 1997. She received her B.S. in business administration from USC and was a champion paddle tennis player. She is survived by her sister, Letitia Wallace; sons Robert (wife Tiarre), John (Janet) and Franklin Jordan (Kathryn); grandchildren Mary and Svante Johansson, and Christy, Sean, Laurel, Mark, Hudson and Anne Marie Taylor, and great-grandson Nicklas Johansson. Services were private.
Former Palisadian Caren Mershon, 86; Devoted to Books
Former Pacific Palisades resident Caren C. Mershon died on May 4 on Bainbridge Island, Washington. She was 86. Mershon was born on February 9, 1918, to Hans and Catherine Christian. She and her husband Boies, who died in 1983, relocated to Bainbridge over 20 years ago. While living in Pacific Palisades, Mershon worked for a Santa Monica physician for many years. She was an avid reader and active in her new community as a member of the Friends of the Library. She also enjoyed embroidery and classical music. Her friend Elaine Moline would be happy to receive notice of any donations made in Mershon’s name to the Pacific Palisades Library Association, P.O. Box 2, Pacific Palisades, CA 90272. Mershon’s home on Hartzell was deeded to the Washington State Cancer Research Center.
Harold Lowe; Lived In Palisades 42 Years
Harold T. Lowe, a resident of Pacific Palisades for 42 years, passed away on June 17 at his home surrounded by his loving family. After a valiant recovery from a cranial bleed and subsequent coma in September 2000, he succumbed to leukemia. He was 84. He was born on March 21, 1920 in Rochester, New York, graduated from Brockport State, worked for Kodak until he enlisted in the Navy in 1943 and became an aerial photographer stationed in San Diego. Having fallen in love with California, he returned to the Golden State after being separated from the Navy in 1946. Here, Harold honed his successful marketing skills while working for national and international firms, and at one point formed his own international importing business. He will be sorely missed by his wife of 51 years, Lenora; daughters Laurie and Shelly (who attended Marquez Elementary School, Paul Revere Junior High and Palisades High) and their caring spouses Paul and Kathy; cherished grandchildren Ryan and Rebecca; extended family and very dear friends. Funeral services were held at Hillside Memorial Park on June 21. In lieu of flowers, the family would appreciate a donation in his memory to ARMDI, the American Red Mogen David for Israel, 888 Seventh Avenue, Suite 403, New York, NY 10106.
Maxine Neubacher; Was a Founder of The Village Green
Maxine Neubacher, a former resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away on May 16 at the Saddleback Hospital in Laguna Hills. She was 85. Before she and her late husband Bob retired to Laguna Niguel, they were very active in civic affairs and were honored as Fourth of July parade marshals. Neubacher was born on December 1, 1918 in Grand Island, Nebraska. She moved with her family to California in 1940. During World War II she served as a WAVE and after the war worked at Rand before marrying Bob in 1951. The couple moved to the Palisades in 1963, then worked together producing educational films for the Los Angeles school district with fellow Palisadian Dick Vetter. The Neubachers made many friends in the Palisades and contributed enormous time and energy to community projects. They were among the founders of the Village Green, and Bob and Dick Vetter were instrumental in organizing a trust fund for perpetual care of the Green. Maxine served several terms as president of the Palisades Garden Club. In 1995 the Neubachers moved to Laguna Hills to join her sister and family. Bob passed away in July 1997. Maxine is survived by her sister Mary Jo, nephews William (wife Ann) and Robert (wife Jeannine) and three grandnephews. She was entombed at the Veterans Cemetery in Riverside. Gifts may be made in Maxine Neubacher’s name to the Thirty-Seventh Church of Christ, Scientist, 15201 Bestor Blvd., Pacific Palisades, CA 90272.
Wolfberg “Retires” as Council Chair
The big question in the Wolfberg household these days is: What will George do now that he’s going to have some time on his hands? Or, to be more precise: What is he going to do after he gives up half of his volunteer civic responsibilities tonight, when his two-year tenure as chairman of the Pacific Palisades Community Council ends? While Wolfberg will continue to chair the Santa Monica Canyon Civic Association, how will he spend the day ‘or two’ a week he currently devotes to PPCC business? ‘There are lots of things for him to do around the house,’ responds his wife Diane. ‘There are lots of things for me to do around the house,’ said George, playfully mimicking Diane. The very idea that George Wolfberg, 66, will really, finally, have some free time elicits a huge laugh from both of them, especially Diane, who is involved in her own volunteer causes. Three years ago she received a Golden Sparkplug Award from the Community Council for her work with Zero Air Pollution, a group dedicated to supporting L.A.’s ordinance banning gas-powered leaf blowers. She was honored for developing its Web site (www.zapla.com), which she now maintains. As the couple ponder the possibility of having more time together, they are the picture of wedded bliss after 41 years of marriage: she padding around their Santa Monica Canyon home barefoot and wearing an apron as she talks about the challah bread she will make for their Friday Shabbat dinner; he, in polo shirt and shorts, proudly showing the results of his own domestic efforts over the years, from nailing every cedar board in the raised ceiling of their living/dining area, to his handmade pottery collection, to the blue hydrangeas that are growing ‘like weeds’ by the lap pool in their back garden. George is also a cook, and made Chinese food for his three children and three grandchildren who joined the couple for last Friday’s Shabbat. The meal was kosher, of course, ‘and vegetarian,’ he said. ‘We had brocolli chow mein, Chinese peas in ginger and asparagus in garlic black bean sauce.’ Raised in Hancock Park, Wolfberg received a B.A. in political science from UCLA and a master’s degree in public administration at USC before going to work for the City of L.A. where he held a number of administrative positions, including being a key budget analyst. In 1996, after 35 years with the city, he retired from his ‘real job’ and became involved in even more volunteer activities. While Wolfberg has been involved with the SMCCA since the couple moved to the canyon in 1972, and has been a long-time AYSO referee, he only became involved in the Community Council in 2001 after reading in the Palisadian-Post that an alternate representative was needed to represent the canyon. Within a year he found himself being recruited as chairman. Wolfberg is especially proud of the fact that under his tenure the PPCC has become ‘a model’ for L.A.’s burgeoning neighborhood councils, even though the PPCC does not officially belong. ‘I am more interested in the process than in the actual outcome of what are essentially public debates on community issues,’ Wolfberg said. ‘The whole purpose of an organization like PPCC is to give residents a voice, give them a chance to be heard. My job is to be an impartial referee and to help the community maneuver its way through the bureaucratic process. I find the process, the ferreting out of facts and ideas, essential and fascinating. In the end, politics are local, and start right here in our neighborhoods.’ Wolfberg said that residents can definitely influence public policy, pointing out a Community Council meeting in early January in which 100 angry residents showed up to demand more police protection in the Palisades from LAPD Captain Mike Chambers. ‘And we got it right after the captain saw, firsthand, how upset people were,’ Wolfberg said. ‘We went from having less than one dedicated police car to two, even if they aren’t full-time in the Palisades. That was definitely progress.’ Another example Wolfberg gives is how, just last month, a motion by the Community Council to request that the Coastal Commission allow the city to sell off some lots in Potrero Canyon in order to complete the massive infill project has ‘now integrated us into the decision-making process. The city can no longer ignore us, as they have for years.’ Wolfberg said that while he is personally against term limits for publicly elected officials (‘It should be up to the voters to decide how long they want a particular individual to represent them’), he thinks that change on a board like the Community Council is ‘healthy and invigorating for everyone. I’m looking forward to my new role as chairman emeritus. There’s still a lot of work to be done.’
City Bans ‘Early-Bird’ Parade Chairs
City of Los Angeles officials announced this week that ‘early-bird’ spectator chairs along the Fourth of July parade route will no longer be tolerated. ‘Due to the ever increasing amount of trip-and-fall hazards and blocked access associated with parade goers who place chairs and other obstructions on the public sidewalks’ the week before the parade, ‘the Bureau of Street Services will prohibit people from placing obstructions, such as chairs, benches and ice chests prior to 6 p.m. on Saturday, July 3,’ said a memo from Monique Ford, a field deputy for City Councilwoman Cindy Miscikowski. The parade begins at 2 p.m. on July 4 and travels from Bowdoin and Via de la Paz up to Sunset, east to Drummond, down to Toyopa and west back to Alma Real. According to the memo prepared by Ford and Street Services: ‘Per discussions with parade leaders, local businesses, parade goers and other interested parties, it was determined that the placement of these ‘space savers’ several days in advance of the parade was causing increased hazards and potential liabilities for people visiting the Palisades Village, specifically for those in wheelchairs, with strollers, or the elderly. The time agreed upon by these parties, 6 p.m. the night before the parade, was determined after lengthy discussions. ‘Be aware that Street Services will remove all obstructions placed on City property prior to the agreed upon time whether they are attached (chained, tied or roped) to any public object or not. All confiscated items will be available for pick-up on or after July 7 at 1479 Stoner Ave., West Los Angeles with valid I.D. and only after an appointment with the inspector has been obtained. If your items are confiscated, please contact the inspector at 575-8479 during regular business hours. Any items not picked up by July 30 will be destroyed.’
Hake Brings Spirit of America to Iraq
After almost a year of communicating with Americans serving in Iraq, Jim Hake made his first trip to the country this May as a guest of the Marines and civilian representative of his nonprofit organization, Spirit of America (SoA). Founded last year with the mission of helping Americans serving abroad to improve the lives of people in need, SoA is now working with a network of Iraqis to ‘support people and ideas that can make a difference in Iraq,’ Hake said. The Palisades resident gained national attention in April when The Wall Street Journal ran an editorial page feature on Hake’s campaign to raise $100,000 to help Marines establish Iraqi-owned TV stations in Al Anbar province, west of Baghdad. The article by Dan Henninger generated an enormous donor response; SoA received $764,408 from 4,088 donors in five days. The organization has now raised $1.1 million for the television project and $1.8 million overall since mid-April. As a result of this outpouring, Hake decided to increase the scope and scale of SoA’s activities in Iraq, which required traveling there to network and focus SoA’s strategy. Before leaving for Iraq on May 27, Hake attended a training session at Camp Pendleton that included safety/security issues, military procedure and a briefing on local culture. ‘I was instructed on ways to interact and not interact, and how to be culturally sensitive, such as not wearing sunglasses when talking to people,’ Hake said. He also learned about certain explosive devices that may be planted by the side of the road”what to look for and who to tell”and received protective gear to wear in Iraq. ‘It was the same training embedded journalists go through,’ said Hake, the father of two sons (ages 9 and 6). He and his wife, Kristy, a painter and photographer, have lived here since 1996. Hake first traveled to Amman, Jordan, where he met up with Lt. Col. David Couvillon, who worked with SoA last summer, and two retired members of U.S. Special Forces. They then flew to Baghdad for a day before heading west to Fallujah (30 miles) and Ramadi (60 miles), two of the most dangerous areas in Iraq today. ‘The basic purpose of the trip was to understand what SoA could do to effect the most immediate and, hopefully, lasting improvement in most Iraqis’ lives through forms of support by American people,’ Hake said. He also wanted to determine the best approach for having SoA personnel in the country to support the organization’s expanded activities. Some of the Iraqis he met with (from the Ministerial level to local leaders and ‘ordinary’ people) included an imam (religious teacher) in Ramadi, the head of the Iraqi Olympic Committee and Coalition Provision Authority (CPA) personnel, as well as civilians in three surrounding villages. ‘Some folks spoke English and some required an interpreter,’ Hake said. ‘They understood I was a civilian representing private citizens in the U.S. interested in finding out how they could be of help, that there is a set of people on the other side of world very interested and committed to a better future for them, and it’s not an issue of politics.’ Hake’s conversations with Iraqis and with Americans serving abroad focused on 1) things that would be helpful as a sign of goodwill and friendship, such as soccer balls or shoes for kids in rural areas and 2) things that can help provide substantial improvement. For example, economic development programs such as job training and microfinancing to get businesses off the ground and equipment for various projects related to employment, housing and construction. In Ramadi, Hake met with the Director of Economic Development for Al Anbar province, who is spearheading the creation of women’s sewing centers in the Ramadi-Fallujah region. This will provide women with a chance to make money (some for the first time) as well as clothes for themselves and their families. While Hake was there, he distributed school supplies, soccer balls and Frisbees donated by SoA and the organization’s supporters earlier this year. ‘The adults and children were happy to see us, happy to talk and play. And, like children anywhere (at least mine!), happy to get gifts,’ Hake wrote in a SoA newsletter update. ‘The women of the community made flatbread for us during the visit….Clearly, not every visit to neighborhood in Iraq would be like that one, but it was one of those nice human moments. It was also instructive to see how the Marines operate and relate to local communities. Very impressive.’ In Fallujah, Hake spent time at a center where Iraqi civilians meet with Marines to work on civil affairs and rebuilding projects. The center also serves as a training site for the Iraq Civil Defense Corps. ‘There I had a chance to discuss with the son of a local sheikh [the leader of an Arab village or family] ideas for a neighborhood sports program that SoA is considering supporting,’ Hake wrote. The program would make it possible for about 30,000 kids, ages 13 through 19, to play soccer later this year. ‘In many cases we won’t be going through the Americans in the military but working with Iraqi civilians,’ Hake told the Palisadian-Post. He also updated SoA’s media project featured in The Wall Street Journal. ‘The TV equipment is being delivered and installed, and technical training is being planned,’ he said, adding that Iraqi reporters are interested in journalism training programs. ‘With the new equipment, Iraqi personnel at one of the stations took to the streets with camcorders to do ‘man in the street’ interviews,’ Hake wrote. ‘When they broadcast the interviews, they received numerous calls with positive feedback. Ahmad Al-Rikaby, a London-based correspondent for Radio Free Iraq, recently started a popular talk radio in Iraq called Radio Dijla. ‘Media professionals in Iraq don’t have a long history of media freedom,’ said Hake, who also networked with Iraqis who run Web sites in English as well as Arabic. ‘Providing a way for people to talk and complain about what they have on their minds is an ingenious idea.’ After being in Iraq, Hake sees ‘great potential for country that is free, peaceful and prosperous’ and encourages Americans to support Iraqis in this goal. ‘While some [Iraqis] may have beefs with the American government, what they have with the American people is different,’ he said. ‘There’s a huge opportunity for that citizen-to-citizen connection.The vast majority of Iraqis aren’t deeply concerned about matters of policy but about a better way of life’what you or I would wish for the country.’ However, Hake also realizes the situation in Iraq is difficult and dangerous. ‘Each time we left base [Camp Blue Diamond at Ramadi] to visit a local village or community we were briefed on recent threats to Marine convoys (usually from IEDs’Improvised Explosive Devices),’ Hake wrote. ‘Attacks are not constant, but occur often enough to restrict the military’s freedom of movement and action. To get around requires traveling in armed Humvee convoys or helicopters.’ Referring to the recent assassination of Iraq’s Minister of Education, Kamal al Jarrah, Hake said, ‘People in Iraq are more susceptible to assassination, which discourages anyone else from stepping up. The key lies in Iraqis’ taking responsibility for the country, but if they’re at risk, it makes it harder.’ Since returning from Iraq on June 4, Hake and his seven-person staff have been fleshing out plans and thinking strategically about how they can invest in projects over there to make the biggest difference. The projects currently support Marines, Army, Air Force and SeaBees. ‘We are still assessing the best way to structure our in-country presence,’ Hake wrote. ‘In any scenario much of our work will be managed and executed by Iraqis (and we are developing good contacts in that regard).’ For more information or to make a donation, go to www.spiritofamerica.net or call 1-800-691-2209.
A Hearty Send-Off for PaliHi’s Class of 2004
Photo by Rich Schmitt, Staff Photographer
‘Horeem chavereem ubne mishpacha yekareen,’ (parents, family, friends, welcome) said Palisades High School graduating senior Molly Danziger in Hebrew, one of nine multilingual welcomes at the 2004 commencement held in the school’s stadium last Thursday. Five hundred seniors were presented with diplomas and encouraged in their future plans, which include 93 different colleges and universities at the evening ceremony that included speeches, awards, music and joy. Valedictorian and National Merit Scholar finalist Anne Marie Barrette wondered how much PaliHi had prepared her class for the future. ‘Life is about learning, both big lessons and small ones,’ she told the assembled parents, friends and faculty. ‘I learned that an 8-1/2- by 11-piece of paper is not adequate covering in the quad when seagulls are flying overhead, and I learned that 20 minutes of nutrition, if used efficiently, is just enough time to finish homework due third period. ‘No doubt these lessons will serve me well in life, but there are also more important things,’ Barrette continued. She underscored the importance of the ‘plus one’ rule: If you’re studying for a final, study one more hour. If you’re selling a product, aim to sell one more.’ Class president Kedra Sattiewhite found Pali to be a microcosm of the world, a study in cooperation and understanding. ‘We have learned to get along with different races, different cultures and people from different backgrounds,’ she said. Salutatorian and National Merit Scholar finalist Andrew Pan challenged the grads to look beyond the ‘usually true, but also usually trite and clich’d advice’ to graduates. ‘We have no doubt heard many adages the last few years at school, at home and even here, now as we graduate in a ceremony filled with cliches. What we must do is use our own judgment to find and act on the truth in these axioms….Take all the other simple truths you’ve learned here and keep them near and dear to you’and whatever you do, please don’t throw them out with your old homework!’ A class of extraordinary talent, many members contributed to the day’s program. Terrell Briggs and Charmagne Land combined their voices in the ‘Star Spangled Banner’ and the Palisades Charter High School Orchestra, under the direction of Terry Henderson, played the prelude and outdid themselves with John Philip Sousa’s ‘Stars and Stripes Forever,’ accompanied by fireworks. Clarinet player Daniel Fox and pianist Anne Marie Barrette provided a musical interlude before graduating senior April Johnson began her address. The class of ’04 was remarkable also for their academic achievements. Forty-two seniors were confirmed California Scholarship Federation Sealbearers and 11 students received commendations from the National Merit Scholarship committee. Four students, Alan Baik, Michael Jacobson, Marisol Melgarejo and Heather Thompson were honored for four years of perfect attendance. Some 50 organizations, foundations and educational institutions granted awards and honors to over 100 students. While the graduates were to be commended for their hard work and numerous successes, fellow classmate William Gray cautioned against cockiness. ‘Don’t take yourself too seriously,’ he admonished. ‘The great transcendentalist philosopher Henry David Thoreau took himself very seriously. He ended up living by himself in the woods for a year, talking to the ‘mighty woodchuck’ about the reasons for his existence. Please don’t let this happen to you…I ask you not to grow up, at least not all the way. Watch comedies, not just in-depth documentaries. Eat cereal, Play fun games…Drink a high-carb, caffeine-loaded caramel frappuccino every now and then instead of the usual decaf vente, soy-milk, light-froth, no-cinnamon coffee.’
