SIUSLAW NEWS ❚ WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 10, 2016
House concert to feature C AR C HRONICLES —
award-winning pianists The Marquee
COURTESY PHOTOS
Lisa Downing and Starr Parodi
B Y C AL A PPLEBEE
On Friday, Aug. 12, Kathy
Parsons’ house concert series
will feature Lisa Downing and
Starr Parodi, two award-win-
ning composers and pianists
with some very impressive
credentials.
Downing is a classically
trained pianist who was nomi-
nated for two Emmy Awards
this year for a benefit concert
she performed for the
Colorado Women’s Hall of
Fame.
She has performed in con-
cert all over the world both
solo and with other notable
artists, including Liz Story and
Suzanne Ciani.
Parodi has scored the music
for hundreds of movies, televi-
sion programs and live orches-
tral works. A classically-
trained artist, she played piano
and keyboards with various
gospel and soul bands, catch-
ing the attention of Arsenio
Hall, who invited her to play
keyboards for his dynamic
house band, The Posse.
Parodi was also invited to
play at The Kennedy Center
for Bill Clinton’s Presidential
Inauguration and was a fea-
tured artist for Keyboard
Magazine’s 20th Anniversary
Concert.
Come for a very special
evening of piano music.
Reservations are required
by calling Kathy Parsons at
541-999-9720 or email her at
kathypiano@gmail.com.
The address and directions
will be furnished when reser-
vations are made.
Frank’s 101 Barbershop
“My spiritual healing is working!”
Starting August 1st
I will be open Mon, Tues,
(closed Wed), Th ur and Fri.
Mornings will be for
walk-ins and At ernoons for appts.
Special to the Siuslaw News
I
was first introduced to
Volkswagens by my foster
sister who purchased a
1958 bug to go off to college.
I was still in high school so
stayed home, but her college
was close enough that she
returned home quite often and
I’d get to borrow the bug. She
had painted it blue with a
brush, so it really looked like a
hick’s farm car — which it
sort of was. Reverse didn’t
work so we always had to park
it so you could pull straight
out.
It would be a decade before
VWs came back to my atten-
tion. When I married my sec-
ond wife she had two extreme-
3 B
Years — Volkswagen
ly straight Karman Ghia mod-
els. Her brother had a Baja
bug and soon I came down
with bug fever. I can’t recall
the entire sequence but over
the years I owned a variety of
VW models myself: two near-
ly-identical Things — as long
as you didn’t consider one was
very original and in great
shape, the other was a rust-
bucket.
Along the way at one point
I also acquired a movie prop
car that was a pretty poor
replica of the WWII VW
Kubelwagen that the Thing
was based on. It was really
rough though!
Despite the condition of the
Kubelwagen, I really had a
blast driving it around the
perimeter of our country
acreage. One time I pulled up
in front of the barn and turned
off the key, but it kept run-
ning. So, being the bright guy
I thought I was, I pulled the
battery cable — first one, then
the other, figuring it would die
without the power from the
battery.
Wrong.
I finally just put it in fourth
gear and popped the clutch,
killing the engine. Later, as my
real-mechanic brother-in-law
fixed the problem, he gave me
a lesson in automotive elec-
tronics to demonstrate where
my resolution was flawed.
Other VWs would come
and go over the years, includ-
ing a variety of old bugs, a
21-window bus and two super
beetle convertibles. The sec-
ond of those soured me on
VW's for the time. Its comput-
erized brain-box kept failing,,
leaving us stranded from time
to time. I tried three different
shops with European expertise
and none of them could solve
it. After the third time out of
the shop at a cost of $700, it
got traded in the next day on a
Ford pick up.
I had another bug just in the
last couple years; it was one
of those deals I couldn’t pass
up. It was a 1966 standard
bug with low miles and all
original. It needed a little re-
furbishing, but with its six-
volt system on the Oregon
coast, and gas mileage less
than anticipated, it was soon
on its way to a collector in
California who contacted me.
After receiving delivery, he
was so impressed with its
original condition, he was
leaving it un-restored.
Of course, the value of
VWs has changed consider-
ably over the years. In some
cases, I paid just a couple
hundred bucks for some of
the vehicles that passed
through my hands decades
ago; those same cars are now
bring several thousands of
dollars.
That 1966 bug brought
back a lot of memories, even
to the escapades in my sister’s
’58 bug... Like the time I was
on a date with the preacher’s
daughter out at Lake Lowell
enjoying the submarine races
(we always read scriptures
first: “And in the beginning -
Amen”). A car-load of college
guys started hassling us so I
sped out, forward of course,
and they took chase.
Fortunately, I was very
familiar with the back roads,
there was a full moon, and the
bug had a great hand-brake.
After gaining a little dis-
tance, I cut the lights and
relied on moon-light vision
and the hand brake to eventu-
ally lose them completely.
You ’gotta love old VW
bugs.
Travel safe.
Us TOO Flor ence
Behind the headlines
Please, no new clients at this time.
541-999-9800
396 Hwy 101 - Florence
B Y B OB H ORNEY
U S TOO F LORENCE FACILITATOR
P ROSTATE CANCER SURVIVOR
This month, I want to address
prostate cancer post-treatment life.
There is a big difference between a
high or rising pre-diagnosis PSA
and a post-treatment PSA that
remains high or drops but rises.
With pre-diagnosis PSA, there
can be a number of possibilities as
to its meaning with prostate cancer
being only one of them. With post-
treatment PSA, its significance
will bear heavily on the success or
failure of our treatment — being
cancer free, demanding continued
scrutiny or needing additional ther-
apy.
It is not unusual for those of us
who have undergone prostate can-
cer treatment to deal with some
PSA anxieties as we periodically
check the success of our treatment
with PSA tests. There often seems
to be a “what if” lurking in the
back of our minds as we await the
results of each test.
I well remember a discussion of
PSA anxiety with a man who had
attended Us TOO Florence meet-
ings following his diagnosis. His
choice of treatment was external
beam radiation. The periodic fol-
low-up PSA tests were causing a
high level of anxiety, enough so
that he was about to stop the fol-
low-up tests. As he said, “I’d
rather stick my head in the sand.”
That might seem like a strange
comment from someone who, from
his tests thus far, had been success-
fully treated for his prostate cancer.
But, having been bitten once can
play all sorts of tricks with the
mind. I can fully understand what
he is saying.
Some men simply want to put it
out of their mind and go on with
their lives. They don’t want to
attend Us TOO Florence meetings,
get their PSA checked or talk about
their experience; They just want to
go on with their lives.
Even though the newly diag-
nosed men gain immeasurable
information from talking with
those who have taken the prostate
cancer journey, not every man is
capable of sharing his story. To
some, this is a very personal jour-
ney that they want to keep strictly
to themselves.
This is not wrong and everyone
needs to understand that. I am per-
sonally very thankful for the men
who are open and willing to attend
Us TOO Florence meetings and
share their experiences, but it
would be wrong to hold ill feelings
toward those who are unable to do
that.
I used to go through some of the
same PSA anxieties with each six-
month test, but mine were short-
lived and are getting shorter. My
surgery in 2002 was followed with
unsettled PSA results which final-
ly increased to the point, in 2007,
that additional therapy — radia-
tion — was recommended. Having
been through both treatments, I
fully appreciate the importance of
my PSA test results.
I know they have helped extend
my life considerably beyond what
“could have been,” so will
doggedly continue to get them.
Do I, therefore, insist that every
man who has been treated needs to
follow my example?
Absolutely not.
We in Us TOO Florence have a
common understanding: The cor-
rect decision for what a man does
is the decision that he makes for
himself… and we do not question
it.
Each man makes his own deci-
sion and owns the results of it.
That applies to choice of treatment
and follow-up to that treatment.
My experience is that those
choices are made much easier by
talking with men who have
already worked through those
decisions. But, some men are
more comfortable making their
choice in private — and that is ok,
too.
That being said, I (and other
survivors) will continue to attend
Us TOO Florence meetings to
share our experiences with those
men who are reaching out for
information.
As valuable as our experiences
are for men beginning their
prostate cancer journey, the icing
on the cake for those who come to
our Us TOO Florence meetings, is
having our urologists in atten-
dance.
Dr. Bryan Mehlhaff attends our
evening group and our lunch
group is attended by Dr. Roger
McKimmy and his PA-C Cameron
Derbyshire.
Whether it is pre-diagnosis PSA
testing, choosing a treatment or
life after treatment, their expertise
is invaluable — and free.
FRAA to feature ‘Three Glassy Ladies’ in August
The public is invited to
attend a three-women show
titled: “Three Glassy Ladies.”
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Call the Siuslaw News to Join Our Senior Directory
541-997-3441
BRADLEY
BERG
ATTORNEY
Wills - Trusts
Probate
1932 Pine St.
Suite B-3
Florence, OR
997-8114
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Hearing
2285 Hwy. 101, Florence
997-8866
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541-997-3441
This will be held at the
Florence
Regional
Arts
Alliance (FRAA) Gallery at
120 Maple St. A reception
with refreshments will be held
on Friday, Aug. 12, from 3 to
5 p.m.
Then on Saturday, Aug. 13,
the three artists’ beautiful
glassworks can be viewed
from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., includ-
ing during the popular Second
Saturday Gallery Tour, from 3
to 5 p.m.
The artists will be available
It’s not like her.
Mom has always
been so patient,
but now when I
ask her questions
she gets angry.
We can help.
Call us with questions
about aging
and Alzheimers.
1-855-ORE-ADRC
HelpForAlz.org
OREGON DEPARTMENT OF
HUMAN SERVICES PROGRAM
during these times to meet
guests and answer questions
about their art forms.
The three “Glassy Ladies”
include Peggy Goodrow, who
works with stained glass; Tina
Shoys, who works with mosa-
ic
glass;
and
Kristin
Anderson, who works with
fused glass.
Goodrow has lived in the
Pacific Northwest her entire
life, and loves the natural
beauty of the Florence area.
“After a long career in den-
tal hygiene, I decided to make
good use of the right side of
my brain and started 14 years
ago to take stained glass class-
es,” said Goodrow.
Her favorite thing to do
with glass is to “use lots of
color and different textures of
glass,” she said.
In addition to being a mem-
ber of FRAA, Goodrow is on
the art display committee at
the Siuslaw Public Library.
Shoy started to do mosaic
work after retiring from a
career in corporate telecom-
munications management.
She sells her art on Etsy, at
local arts and crafts events,
and has sold work in several
local Florence shops. She is
also a member of FRAA.
Anderson said she began
working with fused glass “as a
counterbalance to my analyti-
cal daily work as an engineer-
ing director.
“I fell in love with the color
and creativity that comes with
creating glass art,” added
Anderson, who has an Etsy
store and has sold work in gal-
leries, including FRAA.
She serves as vice-president
of FRAA, and enjoys “helping
to promote the arts in
Florence,” said Anderson.
Starlight to host Stella Blue
Musician Stella Blue will
perform at the Starlight
Cabaret Wednesday, Aug. 17.
Blue has been performing
music on the West Coast for
more than 30 years. The music
begins at 6:30 p.m. at Flore-
nce Unitarian Universalist
Fellowship, at Highway 101
and Heceta Beach Road.
Tea and coffee will be pro-
vided, or BYOB if over age
21. Finger foods are welcome.
The event is free to the pub-
lic, but donations will be
accepted.
www.TheSiuslawNews.com