LA/Orange County August BBQ at Dana White's

Dear LA/OC Pacifica Alumni,

On August 25th, Dana White (Myth) and his wife, Michele Vercoutere, hosted a BBQ at their home in Santa Monica. There were about 35 Pacifica alumni present. For the few of us that are Counseling Psychs, what a treat to be able to hang with so many from the myth program.

Tiare Newport, from Alumni Services Office and Elise Collins Shields, Executive Director of the Opus Archives and Research Center drove down from Santa Barbara to join us. Elise has offered to return to L.A. to give a special presentation to the LA/OC Alumni introducing the Opus program and how we can utilize and access the archives.

We met, Catherine Ann Jones, who shared with us about her book, The Way of the Story. See below for additional information regarding book signings.

Later in the afternoon, Dana placed a whole salmon on the BBQ. I thought the head would have been perfect for a ritual as the gathering took on a ritualistic atmosphere. Pacifica alum gathered in small groups of circles through out the back yard.

As evening came, and Dana lit the torches and those remaining formed one large circle. Zaman Stanizai, Pacifca faculty, and Jahan Stanizai, joined us in sharing stories. We ended with recounting our experiences of how when one is in a plane and the plane’s speed matches the time zones, one is experiencing a continuous sunrise or sunset. The mythical evening seemed appropriate where a few days later we would have a Total Lunar Eclipse.

We like to thank Dana and Michele for inviting us into their wonderful home. Michele wearing a lime green outfit with a colorful beaded and wire necklace, reflected the whimsical, eclectic, and wonderfully designed home. As we were leaving, we got a glimpse of Dana’s passion for books on the bookshelves especially designed for his vast collection. (See below for additional information for signing up for Dana’ Book Networking).

Thanks to all of you who participated in the BBQ.

We will be arranging another event soon. Does one know of a venue centrally located that can hold about 150, and that is available and free or not too expensive? Also we are looking for alumni that are willing to open up their home, studio, or workplace to hold smaller local alumni meetings. The structure, content and meeting times can be arranged and designed by those wanting to participate.

For those of us in town during the scorcher Labor Day weekend, we are grateful that the Autumnal Equinox, 9/23, ushered in cooler weather in Southern CA.

Your Regional Coordinators,

Rita Bazeley and Marilyn Owens

LA County: Rita Bazeley psyche@ritabazeley.com home (213)382-3830 cell (213) 300-5295

Orange County: Marilyn (Belzer) Owen MOwenMFT@gmail.com home (909) 861-3348 cell (909) 732-9037

The Way of Story by Catherine Ann Jones

www.wayofstory.com 805 646-7601

Oct 12: Malibu Women in Film, Breakfast 8 am Oct 12 Los Angeles, The Bodhi Tree Bookstore, Friday, 7:30pm. Hollywood Oct 15: Laguna Beach, CA at Latitude Bookshop, 311 Ocean Ave Oct 27: Screenwriting Expo, Los Angeles, CA; www.screenwritingexpo.com Dec 12: Wed, 4pm - Santa Barbara Women's Club

Dana White on the Book Network:

This Book Network exists not only because people want it to but because many of these titles are not carried by the bookstores and can only be found by diligent searching. And even then, it often takes a few strokes of good fortune! The Book Network is now in its sixth year of operation. The purpose of the Book Network is to serve and enrich our community with support for scholarship and the development of community. Great books at decent prices are just the seeds of the enterprise. The fruits are the connections, contacts and good times that flow out of this!

We invite others to join our pursuit of scholarship. The list continues to grow – Each month, an email is sent blind-copied to about 1,000 people in the greater Pacifica community. If you wish to receive this monthly email, have questions, wish to list or buy books, or desire a search, please email me at DWProds@aol.com.

My wife and I are doing a Rhodes to Venice trip, so we’ll be off the radar until late October. Look for the next Book Network in November.

Dana White