I just made this before the holidays and it is delicious. It tastes great toasted too!

Persimmon Bread

Using the higher amount of sugar will produce a moister and, of course, sweeter bread.  Adapted from Beard on Bread by James Beard.  Makes 2 loaves.

• 3½ cups sifted flour
• 1½ teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 to 2½ cups sugar
• 1 cup melted unsalted butter and cooled to room temperature
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup Cognac, bourbon or whiskey
• 2 cups persimmon puree (from about 4 squishy-soft Hachiya persimmons)
• 2 cups walnuts or pecans, toasted and chopped
•  2 cups raisins, or diced dried fruits (such as apricots, cranberries, or dates

1. Butter 2 loaf pans. Line the bottoms with a piece of parchment paper or dust with flour and tap out any excess.
2. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
3. Sift the first 5 dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl.
4. Make a well in the center then stir in the butter, eggs, liquor, persimmon puree then the nuts and raisins.
5. Bake 1 hour or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Storage: Will keep for about a week, if well-wrapped, at room temperature. The Persimmon Breads take well to being frozen, too.

by Judy Bracken

Like most everyone in NSC, I love to ski, but I also love water in it’s unfrozen form. I am a swimmer, and have been for most of my life. I started swimming on teams when I was 5 or 6, but never took it super seriously like youthful swimmers do nowadays. Consequently, I didn’t burn out and continue to love swimming as an adult. For the past 26 years, I’ve been on a master’s adult swim team, and decided to log my workout yardages starting back in 1996. It seemed to motivate me and helped me stay on track with consistent training. It wasn’t until a couple years ago that I realized my cumulative yardage was in the millions! If you stick with something long enough, by the time you’re my age it might equal a million, maybe even 14,780,748! That is about one third around the world if I was swimming on the equator. I suppose if I continue swimming another 48 years I might make it all the way. Just have to keep going until I’m 110!

Imagine if we had tracked all of our ski miles over the years! Maybe some of you have now, with the new ski trackers. If so, let us know and we’ll publish it here.

Welcome to December!  Snow is here and we’re excited for the ski season to start.  Below are the links to articles for this month. See you on the slopes!

President’s Message by Armand Gutierrez

The Top 4 Reasons to Wear a Helmet on the Slopes by Deanna Power

Mondo Bizarro by Hoyt Nelson

Pass Holder First Tracks

Please know that anyone is welcome to submit articles at any time.  Just email them to jwaldobracken@gmail.com

by Armand Gutierrez

Next to Thanksgiving perhaps the Christmas season is my favorite time of the year. There’s nothing like listening to Christmas music (old standards and new versions), watching the neighbors put up Christmas lights and decorations, and everyone getting into that Christmas spirit that permeates the atmosphere. And then again, it also means that the ski season is starting and the white slopes of Tahoe will once again become my playground. This is when Mother Nature does some of her best work, laying down a carpet of endless snowflakes and transforming the hillsides and mountain vistas into a true winter wonderland.

Upcoming Events
Pre-Season Ski Potluck Dinner – Saturday December 8th
This potluck dinner is designed to get everyone excited about the upcoming ski season and the ski-week to Big Sky in January. Everyone is encouraged to wear a ski outfit, either your best, worst, or anything in-between, and provide a dish that will tantalize the taste buds. Rick Dumlao and his wife Patt have graciously offered their home in Union City to host what I hope will become an annual event. An Evite has been sent out so please RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount, and the club will provide beverages so all you have to bring is a tantalizing dish.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019
The Big Sky trip is a month away and there is time to get in some skiing up at Tahoe before the trip, although most resorts have limited lifts/trails open at this time. The Big Sky Orientation meeting will be held on Saturday, January 5th so mark your calendars. This will be an opportunity to meet other members on the trip, socialize a bit, and pick-up the souvenir gift. The Big Sky pamphlet will be distributed by email since the Orientation meeting and our trip departure are very close. An Evite will be sent out in December that provides all the details. If you don’t receive an Evite then let me know at president@niseiskiclub.org. Also, Karen Soo is coordinating the potluck dinner and will be sending out an email listing your condo mates so you can get a head start on putting together your potluck menu. This trip is getting closer and closer and hopefully everyone is preparing for the upcoming ski season. Big Sky has received quite a bit of snowfall and the expected temps are in the teens and low 20’s, so start packing your warm ski outfits. Kristin Thornquist is organizing a Yellowstone National Park Tour for Wednesday, January 23rd. If you’re interested then send her email at kthornquist@sbcglobal.net.

Christmas Greetings
This has been a good year for NSC with the popular Vail Trip, the annual picnic Membership Meeting, and the NSC 60th Anniversary Dinner. On behalf of the NSC board I would like to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a safe and Happy New Year.

by Deanna Power

While the number of people opting to wear a helmet on the slopes has increased significantly throughout the last decade, there are still many people who don’t wear helmets. While most resorts do not make wearing a helmet mandatory, medical professionals recommend wearing a helmet on the slopes because of the impact it can make on the outcome of an accident. There are several advantages to wearing a helmet when skiing or snowboarding, so there is no reason for you to not wear one when participating in alpine sports.

The Statistics

While there is an excellent safety record for snowboarding and skiing overall, there are inherent risks that come with any dangerous sport. When you wear a helmet, you can improve your safety and decrease the risks of you being seriously injured in an accident. The most recent data provided from helmet studies reveal that skiers and snowboarders are understanding the benefits of wearing a helmet. According to a study conducted by the National Ski Areas Association (NSAA), 67% of those who ski or snowboard wear helmets while participating in alpine sports.

The study shows that the use of helmets reduces the risks of suffering a head injury anywhere from 30% to 50%, but that decrease is usually limited to the less serious head injuries. Just because you wear a helmet, you shouldn’t participate in risky behavior because there has not been a significant reduction in the number of fatalities on the slopes during the last 9 years.

Four Reasons Why You Should Wear a Helmet

There are multiple advantages to wearing a helmet. Here are just a few:
1. Safety. Research shows that while helmets may not completely prevent head injuries, they can significantly impact the severity of the injury and the outcome of the accident. Most injuries occur when a skier strikes an inanimate object, such as a rock, tree, or the ground. Helmets can play a significant role in reducing the severity of the impact and reduce the trauma that your head suffers.

2. Warmth. Being out on the slopes can be cold. Because the body loses most of its heat through the head, a helmet can be beneficial in keeping you warm. Helmets act as insulators and will keep your head warm.

3. It can hold your goggles in place. When you are skiing, you want to wear goggles to protect your eyes. A helmet can help you keep your goggles in place so you can see better when you are out on the slopes.

4. There are many reasons to wear a helmet, but an important one is that you set a good example. When children and adults see other people wearing helmets on the slopes, they pay attention. You wearing a helmet can lead others to wear a helmet and protect themselves as well.

Choosing a Helmet

When you select a helmet, you want to choose the right helmet for your needs. You want to get a helmet that properly fits. This means that when you strap it on, you don’t want it to shift when you tilt from side to side. There are helmets of different styles and designs. Some helmets are more lightweight than others, but they are usually more expensive. Select a helmet that feels comfortable so you can get a lot of use out from it. If you choose to wear a helmet, you’ll be going a long way in protecting yourself while skiing or snowboarding.

*This article was not written by an attorney, and it’s always your choice as to whether you want to wear a helmet. Just keep in mind that if you wear a helmet, you could be saving lives!

by Hoyt Nelson

I grew up in rural Connecticut where the New York style pizza was pretty good, but there was no other ethnic food than Chinese, and that was nothing more than “Chung King” chow mein in cans from the grocery store. There was a “real” Chinese restaurant about 30 miles away in a town curiously named Canton, but the food there was a disgrace to that name.

We’ve all heard, and possibly sampled things like chocolate-covered ants, Rocky Mountain “oysters” (sheep testicles) and sheep eyeballs, and I found there are very few limits on what some people will eat to satisfy their hunger. Moving to California in 1962 opened my eyes and mouth to the bounty which has only exploded into the richness we see today. In the early 1970s, I bought small cans of whale and rattlesnake meat and found them tasty. Soon after, I bought a book called the “San Francisco Underground Gourmet”. Over the course of several years I sampled more than 50 restaurants from every manner of cuisine, including places like Chez Nick – a combination of French, Russian and The Khyber Pass which in 1969, claimed to be the only Afghan restaurant in the western hemisphere. One of the few places in the book that I missed (before it closed up) was a place in the Haight called “The Magnolia Thunderpussy”, whose specialty was pineapple thunderpussy. (The owner was actually woman who called herself Magnolia Thunderpussy.) Other than pineapple, I regret that I never found out what else was in it.

I took the next step at a Peruvian restaurant in San Jose (not Isabella’s on Winchester which I now visit every couple of months) where I ate a couple of grass hoppers, but found them little more than salt and crunch.

Many years later, my wife Nancy ate a scorpion in China on a business trip and reported that it tasted pretty much like grasshopper.

In 1972, I spent 6 months in Europe. In particular, the snails in France were delicious. I’m told that the French snails are the same variety as our US snails, but you have to be careful since US snails frequently have a taste of snail bait (poison). Also, I’ve heard the French put the snails on a corn starch diet for 2 weeks before eating them to clear out any of their usual food from their systems (snails are not picky eaters).

In Scotland, I learned about haggis (sheep organs and oatmeal stuffed into a sheep stomach) but never saw it on a menu and we didn’t ask. 

Further north in Sweden, there is a gelatinous “dish” of (usually cod) fish that has soaked in water for a week or 2 and then preserved in lye (sodium hydroxide). I worked with a Swede in the mid 80s who actually ate it while camping by himself above the Arctic Circle but unfortunately we never saw it on the menu.

While hiking the Inca trail in Peru in 1986, I noticed an occasional house out in the middle of nowhere with a white cloth attached to a 10 foot pole. May is harvest time below the equator and I learned this “flag” was a sign that chicha was for sale there. It’s a slightly fermented corn drink, whose fermentation is hastened by spitting in it. (I’m told there’s a similar drink in the Amazon jungle which people blow their noses into the fresh juice to do the same thing.) I didn’t stop at one of these places in the hills, but did run into a chicha seller at a train station (sitting there with a bucket of the stuff and a glass). (The local custom is to spill a few drops on the ground before drinking as an offering to Mother Earth). It tasted pretty good and I now find chicha on the menu of many local Peruvian restaurants (although it’s not fermented).

While at work in the late ‘90s, a Filipino technician brought in a delicacy called balut for lunch (means “wrapped” in Tagalog). It’s a fertilized duck egg that has been soaked in soy sauce and buried in the ground for a couple of weeks. Partially developed claws and beaks are visible, but not yet hardened. Nobody (including me) had the guts to sample one.

In a restaurant just off Stevens Creek Blvd. in San Jose there is a dish labeled “Stinky tofu” on the menu. We had heard of such a dish, and here was our chance to sample it. It did smell pretty terrible, but once you got it past your nose, it wasn’t all that bad (we actually finished the portion).

Finally, there’s a dish (we heard about from 3 different sources) from southern China called “The 3 Screamings”. It involves newborn baby rats. You pick one up with your chopsticks and it screams for its mother. Then you swish it around in soy sauce and the salty sauce gets in its eyes so it screams again. Finally, as you bite down, it screams one last time. There is even worse, which I will not describe here. If you must know, see me in private.

Heavenly Mountain is offering fresh first tracks every Monday at 8:30am for pass holders. You can access first tracks from any base area that is open. See our Nisei Ski Club Facebook page for more details.

by Armand Gutierrez
It’s almost the end of the year and here’s what we can look forward to: listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving, paying property taxes by December, watching the weather forecast for rain and snow predictions, and best of all – getting together with family and enjoying a Thanksgiving Dinner. According to AAA, the Thanksgiving weekend is the most traveled weekend of the year. And why is that? Simple. Thanksgiving is the time of the year when family members travel far and wide to be with family and be grateful for who we are and what we have in our life. In the words of John F. Kennedy – “As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them”. On behalf of the Board I would like to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving and enjoy your time with family and friends.

Upcoming Events

There are a number of events for the month of November so take a gander and see which one sounds appealing. To start off, the 13th Annual Snowbomb Festival is back again on 3-4 November at Pier 35 in San Francisco and 10-11 November at the Santa Clara Fairgrounds. These shows are free and you can get your tickets at www.snowbomb.com.

Hoyt is at it again with another Bocce Ball event on 3 November at Lake Almaden. Take a look at the bocce ball article for more details.

For you movie buffs there will be a Warren Miller movie at the Heritage Theater in Campbell on 10 November. Plans are in the works for possibly including dinner that evening. Details will be in next month’s newsletter.

Save this date – 8 December. At our last board meeting I casually mentioned that the club should have a Pre-Season Ski Potluck Dinner party. After all, ski season is coming up and this club is noted for having a variety of great food at potlucks, so why not combine the two? My dilemma at the time was figuring out where we could have such an event. Well, new board member Rick Dumlao stepped up to the plate and volunteered to host it at his house in Union City. For you chefs, here’s the opportunity to amaze everyone with your culinary delights. Also, since it’s a pre-season ski party then let’s have some fun with everyone wearing a favorite, not so favorite, retro, or outlandish ski outfit. An Evite will be sent out to provide the essential details (like date, time, and place). Please RSVP the Evite to provide an accurate head count of attendees and also list what you’re bringing for the potluck dinner to avoid duplicates. Drinks (beer, wine, soda, and water) will be provided by the club.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019

Thanks to everyone that remitted final payments for the Big Sky trip. This trip is getting closer and closer and hopefully everyone is preparing for the upcoming ski season. Big Sky has already received some snowfall as shown in the photo taken on October 12th. Kristin Thornquist is researching a mid-week day trip to Yellowstone National Park. Stay tuned for details and an email will be sent out to see how many people would be interested. Save the date for the Big Sky Orientation Meeting on January 5th.

The Nisei Ski Club celebrated its 60th anniversary on September 8th at the China Stix Restaurant in Santa Clara. There was a large turnout with over 70 attendees who enjoyed a sumptuous Chinese banquet. Thanks to Karen Soo who organized the fabulous event. Another thanks to Karen Soo and Bill Lee who took pictures of the milestone event. Here are the links to the photos:

• Bill Lee’s photos
• Karen Soo’s photos

A booklet chronicling NSC’s history was published as part of the 60th anniversary activities. It contains a brief history of some of the highlights and milestones of the Nisei Ski Club and of some of the people responsible for them; based on past archived NSC records and oral histories. The Nisei Ski Club evolved from an organized weekend ski trip through the San Francisco JACL (Japanese American Citizen’s League) during the 1950’s. During this time, there were very few organizations for Asian Americans of any type and interest in skiing quickly grew. Skiing was new and enthusiasm for the sport quickly grew. The ski trips became so popular that it was soon decided that the club become independent from San Francisco JACL. That’s how the Nisei Ski Club was formed.

Happy 60th Anniversary!

by Sandy Kiyomura

Most of us are aware of Executive Order 9066 where 120,000 people of Japanese descent were interned at “concentration camps” during WWII. Some of us have relatives who were detainees or know of some. It is a very sad part of America history and this musical presents it very well.

“Allegiance” is a musical about the Internment of the Japanese during WWII. If you didn’t get to see this, you missed a powerful and entertaining show. (The SF Chronicle gave it top reviews). The cast was mostly Asian and the musical covered five decades, following 4 generations of the Kimura family before the war, during the war and (a scene)50 years later. There were 25 numbers (songs) and the singing was excellent, the lyrics creative and the dancing entertaining. The lead actress Lindsay Hirata did a phenomenal performance, singing and dancing in most of the numbers. There were some light-hearted moments : “why do Japanese students do well in math? Because they were in Concentration camps”. There were many dramatic scenes that centered around the conflict between men who wanted to volunteer for the Army (under the 442 Go for Broke battalion) and the others who were protesting the war. The latter were called the “no no” boys because they would not pledge allegiance to the US. Most of the “no no boys” were sent to Tule Lake camp. But life was not all bad at the camps. They had baseball, classes and dances. I enjoyed the dance scene where the cast performed an energetic swing dance number. Dances like this must have provided moments of relief during the harsh conditions they were living under. It was sad when a baby died because of lack of medical treatments. One only knows how many deaths (suicides) there were, or how PTSD may have affected the detainees.

Before the show, I went to dinner with my family and friends. One of my friends, Eloy Maoki was born in Peru. But Eloy was also sent to a detention camp (Crystal City) when he was 4 years old. This camp was for the people from the 13 South/Central American countries that the US ordered sent to camps. There were also German and Italian detainees, however the Germans and Italians were given hearings. My daughter found that one of Eloy’s friends, Yuji Ichioka, was her Asian American studies professor at UCLA. Mr. Ichioka was a prominent historian who wrote “Issei” and “Before Internment”. We must not forget history because it is repeating itself these days…and it’s not pretty.

Editor’s note: If you missed the musical, you can see George Takei’s Allegiance the Musical in movie theaters on December 11, 2018. Find a movie theater near you at Fathom Events.

by Hoyt Nelson
Here’s another installment in Hoyt Nelson’s love affair with food.

The first Street Food that I fell in love with were the liquados in Mexico about 1963. My first trips there were in the heat of summer and the thought of a cold drink was irresistible. Various fruit juices (mainly orange) were freshly squeezed and mixed with sugar and ice. These cold drinks were pure heaven.

In Istanbul in 1974, it was a little different. I stopped to watch a street vendor barbecue what looked like intestines on a spit. He handed me a bite and I noticed a couple of oldsters tittering about how I might react. Of course I had to eat it! But, cook had not cut it up because it was easy to wrap the intestines around the spit. He also did not care that this made it very hard to clean out the original contents (which smelled and tasted like you-know-what). On my next trip to Istanbul in 2007, we had a much better experience. Fish sandwiches were being sold on a small boat moored close to the bridge across the Bosporus. We frequently don’t take time to eat lunch while touring, but we took a flyer based on the smell. It turned out to be one of our best street foods ever. We saw lots of people with fishing poles on the Galata bridge and I believe the fish had been caught only minutes before we ate them. As most fishermen will tell you, fish is at its best when it is eaten as soon as it has been caught.

Although there wasn’t a street in sight, I think the following still qualifies as “Street Food”. On our 2nd trip to Thailand in 2005, we witnessed many small floating restaurants (like canoes). All the food was cooked and sold to other working boats – mainly breakfast. We never saw a tourist buy anything since the tour boats had other plans. Further up north, we maneuvered down a fast moving river for about 5 miles on a primitive raft of bamboo logs lashed together. At the end of the trip, we stopped in the middle of a forest; there was a “kitchen” created from a tarp draped over a few saplings sitting next to a fire pit. The cook served us a Thai meal that would be considered very good under the best circumstances. Dishes were “washed” afterward in an old rusty dishpan filled with very brown water from the river we had just come from. We survived with no ill effects.

In a small town close to Yellow Mountain in southwest China, I remember a menu in (translated dishes into, frequently meaningless, sometimes laughable) “English”. One entry for “Nutritious Beef Penis” caught our eye (as opposed to all those other cheap fast food penises we suppose). Nobody in our group sampled it.

I was not tempted to try anything more exotic until a trip to Java in 2011. One night, our tour guide took us to a street market and sat us down at a place specializing in cobra. A young girl brought out a wriggling snake which she killed and skinned in front of us. The cook however was not very skilled and he deep fried the pieces till they were rock hard. The raw blood, when mixed with a little red wine was however surprisingly good.

I stopped at a gelateria in Venice in 2013 for a quick cone where I noticed a tub labeled “pina”. Pineapple sounded good so I pointed to it only to discover the flavor was in fact “pine nut”. It wasn’t too bad, but not my favorite. The next night I bought some chestnuts from a vendor not too far away, but I later discovered they were not roasted. I had no means to roast them while on the trip but was lucky enough to get them home (illegally) through customs. (I find chestnuts in the U.S. frequently to be a bit moldy, but I have always had delicious roasted nuts in several European countries.)

Most Asian countries are known for great street food and Singapore is no exception. We made a special trip to the most famous area known as the Maxwell Street market to check it out. It takes up nearly a city block of 6 or 8 orderly rows of about 25 stalls each, with stationary tables and chairs in common areas between rows. Everything is pretty cheap, delicious and very clean. You can wander around and pick a little of this and some of that.

One of the joys of SouthEast Asia is the exotic (to us) fruit. Our local guide in Java bought samples of various kinds like rambutan, jackfruit, red dragon fruit, durian, mangosteen (but not durian which is known for its rotten smell). – all quite good. These days, you can buy many of these at Asian markets like Lion or 99 Ranch, but it probably wouldn’t be as fresh. We later bought some durian in Bangkok, just to try. Once past the nose, it is mild and fairly sweet. One can however still see signs posted in some hotels, railroad stations, etc. saying “NO DURIANS ALLOWED”.

Sandy Kiyomura

Have you ever watched “Dancing with the Stars” and thought that you would like to dance? You don’t have to be a star to dance. This is something anyone can do (whether there’s snow or not). When I ask friends if they would like to learn to dance, the two answers I get most are “I don’t have a partner” and “I have two left feet”. My response is: “I will find you a partner because we rotate partners” and “I have people with two right feet!” If you can walk, you can dance. In fact, they have “adaptive dancing” for people with disabilities. I have taught people who are visually impaired and they are often better than “normal” people.

I have been dancing for about ten years and teaching for seven. I find that dancing is not only a physical activity, but it strengthens the mind and it’s good for the soul. My mother had Alzheimer’s disease and that is my greatest fear. Ballroom dancing is the only physical activity which has been shown to ward off dementia. Here’s a study that says that dancing makes you smarter and increases cognitive acuity. https://socialdance.stanford.edu/syllabi/smarter.htm

When I first started dancing, I had trouble remembering the steps. I took lessons and still couldn’t remember. So I decided to enroll in the Ballroom Dance Teacher’s College where I studied for 16 months and learned to teach 17 dances. My personal experience has taught me that when I teach, I become more proficient. Over time, my memory improved and now I can dance 20 to 30 patterns around the room. In addition, the physical and social benefits are great. Where else can you pay as little as $5 and meet people, dance to great music and feel energized? Many of my friends have made dancing part of their life. They are in better shape and look like healthier and happier people.

In summary, dancing can expand your social circle. It is uplifting and fun, helps you get fit and improves your self-confidence. https://www.ballroomdance.co/benefits-of-ballroom-dancing/

If you would like an introduction (free for first class), come to the Mastick Senior Center in Alameda. I teach every Wednesday from 1-2 PM.

Hoyt Nelson

This month I want to talk about an unusually tight group of good restaurants just off of Saratoga Ave on Payne in W San Jose. They are all within 200 ft. along a strip mall, with only 3 or 4 non-restaurants. Going from L to R, there is a Japanese, Korean, Burmese and Ethiopian place. The prices are all moderate and I would happily return to any of them.

The first on the left end is Dan, an “Izakaya” Japanese informal pub (originally meaning a stand-up sake bar). The menu is especially long, with many of the standard Japanese menu items and many special entries like several intestine and sea urchin items. The drink menu is also very extensive, including Junmai Ginjo and Ginzano Suzume Kuro.

Next in line is Yummy Tofu & BBQ. It’s a Mom & Pop Korean place with many of the standards and a good Banchan (7–9 small side dishes that normally come free with all main dishes). Korean was never a favorite with me, but we have been there about a dozen times in the last 3 years and we now consider the cuisine to be one of our “standards”.

A couple of doors down is Kyusu, a Burmese place with probably the best atmosphere of the bunch. The cuisine is close to Thai, but many dishes are similar to that of Laos, and some are only found in Burma. Everyone must try the tea leaf salad. It’s one of the signature dishes for Burma. It’s a mixture of cabbage (or lettuce), ground peanuts, minced Burmese peppers, garlic, fermented tea leaves, lemon juice, split peas, sunflower and sesame seeds, tomato and shrimp powder – all mixed together by your server at your table. They are also famous for their fish “chowders”. It’s pretty good, but Mandalay on California at 6th in San Francisco is still my favorite of this cuisine.

On the end of the mall is Zeni, an Ethiopian restaurant. We typically order a veggie combo (and a non-veg combo if there are at least 4 in our group. There are no utensils, so 6 – 9 dishes of meat and/or veggie stew and salad are plopped on an enormous pancake-like bread called injira. Another basket of injira (usually cut up into 2” by 5” strips and rolled up) is provided and is used to scoop up a mouth full of whatever. At the end of the meal, bits of the soaked injira that was the base of the meal can be eaten, if you have enough room. If you like to drink with your meal, there is usually a bottle of taj (a semi-sweet Ethiopian wine) available. This cuisine is not for everyone, but is an experience everyone should have at least once. Another down side is that the place is usually quite crowded and has a line of 10–15 out the door. I also must admit, I like the similar Walia at the corner of San Carlos and Bascom even better. You may have to wait here too, but it’s worth it.

Note: I always consult YELP.com before going to a new place, but there are a few caveats. 1). I usually like to see at least 25 reviews so that It’s unlikely that reviews are “stacked” with just the owners’ biased comments. 2). The more up to date the reviews are, the more I believe them. Things can change. 3). I frequently wait a few months after a place opens so that places have time to iron things out and the reviews have a chance to gather a believable consensus.

by Judy Bracken
October’s newsletter is chock full of fun news about skiing and lots of other stuff! Here is what you will find:
President’s Message, by Armand Gutierrez
Big Sky Psych Up, by Rick Dumlao
Dragon Boat Races, by Tina Woo
Taiko Like No Other, by Sandy Kiyomura
The Most Romantic Restaurants Near & Far, by Hoyt Nelson
Ski in Japan, by Sandy Kiyomura
Do You Wanna Dance, Pt. 2, by Tina Woo

And if you missed it, there are interesting articles from past months as you scroll down. Happy reading!

by Armand Gutierrez, President
Reunions. A lot can be said about reunions. Reunions come in two basic varieties: the family reunion and the high school or college reunion, with the high school reunion reigning as the most popular. Family reunions serve the purpose of getting the family together, feasting on a grand dinner or a picnic, and visiting with your favorite sibling, grandparent, or grandkid, or perhaps you are the favorite grandparent. High school reunions are usually at 5- or 10-year intervals and organized by a “reunion” committee. Generally the first two reunions have a great turnout, but as years pass the attendee list gets shorter and shorter due to the passing of long-lost friends or just not being in position to attend due to health or distance factors. The last high school reunion I attended was my 20th in 1986, and I don’t recall if there was a 50th a couple of years ago.

The NSC 60th Anniversary Dinner was a different type of reunion, sort of a hybrid between the family and class reunions. Held on September 8th at the China Stix restaurant in Santa Clara there was a great turnout with over 70 attendees. Scheduled like a high school reunion but it exhibited family characteristics. After all, the Nisei Ski Club is like family. Our Happy Hour went over an hour because old and new members were busy chatting, meeting new friends, and reminiscing about the old days in the club. There were members present long before I joined NSC and it was a pleasure to see them attend this dinner. Reunions like this are events in our lives to be cherished and remembered, for they don’t happen often. The picture shows the ex officios that were in attendance.

Upcoming Events
Aki Matsuri – October 6th
This Fall Festival is being held at the Wesley United Methodist Church on Fifth St. in San Jose. Although not as big as the Nikkei Matsuri, there will be Japanese cuisine, marketplace, entertainment, kids zone, and a silent auction. If you can attend please do so to show our support for this great cultural event.

Big Sky Ski Week 2019
The final payment for the Big Sky trip is due October 10th so grab those checkbooks and send in your payment. Rick Dumlao was in Yellowstone National Park at the end of September and took a side trip to Big Sky. Take a look at his article and see the snow that’s already accumulating on Lone Mountain at 11K.

by Rick Dumlao
In late September Patt and I took a road trip to Yellowstone National Park. I didn’t realize until after we were there that Big Sky ski resort was a little more than an hour’s drive away. After a few days of touring the park, we decided to check out the ski resort.

It was a scenic summer drive that ended in a long uphill grade to the resort. I first went by the Big Horn condos where we will be staying. There are individual and double condo units and most them are two stories. There’s a Poma Lift on a slope that seemed a bit steep about a 150 ft from our street. Couldn’t see what the inside looked like, but the outside appearance looked nice and the road looked recently paved.

The resort itself is about a quarter-mile further up the main road. There was some summer activity going on like skateboarding, mountain biking, miniature golf and rock climbing. There was also some winter preparation going on in the general village business area. They are also installing a new 8 chair lift from the main resort. I spoke to one of the employees who said they were expecting a good winter this year. He said the phrase going around the resort this year was “steep and deep”. Of course I checked out the local watering holes and determined my first beer off the mountain will be at Montana Joes! To my surprise I also saw there are gambling slot machines there as well. This is also connected to a small mall with the typical gift shops, sport shops, clothing shops, first aid and grocery store.

There was already a dusting of snow at the mountain peak that you can see in the photo above. The employee I spoke to said that it just happened last night and this morning. Within the hour I was there it started to lightly snow again. At that point we decided it was time to leave in case it started to get worse, (in September!!)

by Tina Woo
Paddlers! Drummers! ARE YOU READY? Attention, please. Air Horn, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. Up, Up, Up , 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, Up, Up, Up. READY AND REACH, REACH, REACH. This is a very typical race start chant to get the dragon boat from a stationary position and out of the water to a race pace. This is followed by a POWER 10, NOW! 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, READY and REACH, REACH, which helps paddlers to focus and synchronize their strokes. And, finally, FINISH IT NOW, when paddlers “dump” everything we have into every stroke in time.

Live, Love, Survive is a dragon boat team founded in 2005 by Jenn Eng and is comprised of those who have been touched by cancer (survivor, caregiver, family member). We participated in the 23rd Northern California International Dragon Boat Festival held on September 15-16 at Lake Merritt in Oakland. This is the largest competitive dragon boat festival in the United States. The event was hosted by the California Dragon Boat Association and sponsored by Kaiser Permanente. The race included over 120 teams locally, out of state and international teams (one from Germany). The championship included novice, rec and competitive races for middle school, high school, college, corporate, mixed men and women adult, masters teams, and super masters who came together to participate in this annual event.

Origins of Dragon Boating
Dragon boat racing is one of the earliest known forms of boat racing and is celebrated at festivals and races worldwide. The roots of dragon boat racing go back 2000 years. Legend has it Qu Yuan, a scholar and advisor to the emperor of the Chu Kingdom jumped into the Mei Lo River to protest against government corruption. Local fisherman raced out in their boats to save him by beating drums and pounding their paddles on the water. They also threw rice dumplings (aka “joong”) into the river to distract water dragons from eating Qu Yuan.

Boats and Races
A dragon boat is a large, canoe-like craft made of wood and fiberglass that is colorfully painted and decorated with a dragon’s head on the front of the boat and a tail on the back. These boats hold an average of 20 paddlers seated two per row. A drummer and steersperson accompany the paddlers along the course. The average race course is 500 meters and usually takes anywhere from 2-2-1/2 minutes.

It’s easy to see why dragon boat racing is one of the fastest growing sports. It’s an impressive sight to see an elaborately adorned dragon boat surging towards the finish line with its engine of 20 paddlers pulling hard in unison. Combine the competition and excitement of the races and you have a great event for participants and spectators of all ages. It’s a great way to celebrate community.

Dragon boat paddling is a wonderful off-season ski activity. It builds cardio-endurance, strength in the “core”, lower back, legs, shoulders and arms. Are you interested in learning more about dragon boating? There are numerous meet ups which meet Saturdays mornings in Foster City and the Berkeley Marina. Please contact me if you’d like to try dragon boat paddling.

In the meantime, PADDLES UP!

by Sandy Kiyomura
Did you know that San Jose Taiko is celebrating its 45th year? Last year they performed for the Golden State Warriors during Asian American Heritage week. They have performed in 44 states and 250 cities! I had never seen them perform, but Edna Koyama invited some of us to see her daughter perform. You have to watch these videos to get a sense of what they did. There was a Jazz band, dancing and singing throughout the performances. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Z62wWoaKCg

Their Swing routine wanted to recapture some of the times during the Internment Camps of WWII. As you know 120,000 Japanese Americans were interned. Life behind barbed wire fences was harsh and we may never know the exact toll it took on the lives and spirits of those incarcerated. However, they had some fun times too. Some of the detainees played musical instruments. Bands were formed and provided music to dance to. This must have been the best therapy many had.

San Jose Taiko also performed with the Aswat ensemble. This is an Arab music ensemble composed of diverse multi-ethnic musicians. The Japanese were one of the first to stand up for Muslims when our president wanted to exclude them. It was quite touching to see the bands join together.
The founders are Roy and PJ Hirabayashi. I remember them from my college days and it was wonderful to see how they have made San Jose Taiko grow. Thank you to Edna and her daughter Alix Koyama for a wonderful evening. San Jose Taiko rocks!

by Hoyt Nelson
1. The Tonga Room and Hurricane Bar in the basement of the Fairmont Hotel in San Francisco (top of Nob Hill at 950 Mason, 800-257-7544). It was converted from a hotel swimming pool in the 1940s and it’s unique, but expensive. It’s dark and Tiki style with tables around the pool and a small dance floor with large overhanging fig trees at the end next to the bar. There’s a $10 cover charge and make sure to get your hand stamped if you go to the bathrooms. Even so, it gets crowded and loud, so go early unless you enjoy a crowd. Every half hour or so, there’s recorded thunder and flashes of lightning. Then a perforated pipe around the edge of the pool showers the pool with a five minute rain storm. When this is over, The Island Groove Band is pulled out on a float to the middle of the pool and the music begins. The Mai Tais ($10) are the thing here. It’s possible to get food, but the last time I ate there, it was not memorable. Go on the net for hours and other details and good luck finding a parking place nearby. I suggest the train to San Francisco and Uber to the place.

2. Shadowbrook in Capitola at 1750 Wharf Rd. It’s the most romantic place in California, if not the entire west Coast which I’ve had the pleasure to visit. Go up the hill from the only bridge in town to a large parking lot on the right. Follow a zigzag stone path down the steep slope past gardens to a rambling 5 level old building among the trees with rooms scattered helter skelter. There is one large-ish dining room and several cozy smaller dark dining nooks tucked in the middle of a stairways and elsewhere. The food is fairly expensive traditional American, but VERY good. And reservations at least one week in advance are a must. Not sure if they still do this, but if you dined there on the documented exact day of your birth, you get a free birthday cupcake. At the bottom of the hill, there is a terrace a few feet from the river where you can enjoy a drink while waiting to be seated. When you exit the building, take the small funicular back up to the parking lot and back to reality. The only possible further embellishment would be to go after seeing the beautiful yearly Begonia festival when about 10 floats decorated with said begonias float down the river and under the aforementioned bridge. Sadly, this festival ended its long run last year when the source of the water for the begonias dried up. However, you can still walk along the magical path by which the decorated floats passed. Nearly all of the quaint bungalows along the San Lorenzo River will make you wish you could live in this paradise. To do this, go back down to the bridge and follow the path next to it up the river as far as you can. Parking in town is usually a problem, but drive over the bridge and up the hill for lots of timed parking. There are also a couple of other designated paid lots in town.

3. Bistro Roux (was Fi-Fi’s) at 1188 Forest Ave, Pacific Grove 831-372-5325 was an authentic French Bistro. The décor, the wait staff, the food, everything was what you would expect in Paris and the price was amazingly low for the prix fix weekend dinners. For those who fondly remember this gem, it now has the same chef and wait staff (for a while) but a new owner. Although there are still some great Yelp reviews, there are too many bad reviews for me to recommend it any more until I check it out.

4. Mon Ami Gabi on the strip at Paris, Las Vegas next to the sidewalk 702-944-4224 is another place for true French upscale food and atmosphere. There is inside dining as well. Everything is first class and expensive (but no more than many places in this town). The only potential barrier is getting there if your hotel is not in easy walking distance in the typical Las Vegas heat. Many places serve scallops, which are actually stamped out circles of skate wings, but Mon Ami proudly calls a spade a spade and shows how the French are known for exquisite meals made with lesser materials. Do not forget a side order of pommes frites.

5. The Supatra River House in Bangkok is probably the very most romantic restaurant ever for me. It’s out of range of Yelp, but the Lonely Planet Guide book talks about it, or just Google it. The converted home has been awarded as having one of the best Thai cuisines in the country and the view over the Grand Palace and Rama 9 Bridge are not to be missed. Get started just before dark for the best experience and so that you can more easily find the place. From the boat landing near the north end of the Royal Palace grounds, take the ultra cheap commuter ferry across the Chao Phraya river and walk R along unlit gravel streets (when I visited it in 2005), as close as possible to the river on the other side. Within a few hundred feet, you will find a dimly-lit restaurant with rickety stairs up to the roof dining area, which is within 30 feet of the water. It’s dimly lit with strings of Christmas-style lights. Tasteful Thai decorations can just be seen in the semi-darkness. There are always lots of boats going back and forth on the river and some tourist boats are lit with more strings of lights. The ultimate experience would be to do this during the Loi Krathong festival in late fall. During this time, people buy (or make) little decorated floats with lights on them on which they symbolically put all their troubles and bad thoughts and float them away down the river. Lots of boys will sell you one of these, and if you watch carefully down stream, other boys can be seen with long hooked poles with which they retrieve your float to sell to the next sinner. This restaurant has just reopened after renovation, so I can’t guarantee the same experience, but the owners would be crazy to change the atmosphere (except the prices).

Editor’s Note: Hoyt claims that these restaurants are the “most romantic” that he has ever visited, and not necessarily the most romantic in the world!