Odds & Ends Around the Valley

The Art of Shopping

“This is a dangerous place to work. You have to practice willpower,” said Vicky Lockwood, who volunteers at the Art Gallery Store at Cal State Northridge.

The store specializes in handmade items from around the world that are priced lower than the usual double markup of most museum or retail gift stores. When you see how much something costs there, you’re apt to think, “Well, that’s about as much as I’d want to pay,” rather than, “Nice, but no thanks.”

Better still, the small store is restocked once or twice a week. Jewelry, pillows, whimsical hand-painted boxes and toys, vases, candlesticks, cards, stamps, T-shirts, art books--the inventory changes constantly. “Things can go pretty fast. I put some comforters in there, and they sold out in three days,” said Phil Morrison, an art history professor at CSUN who directs the store along with CSUN Arts Council volunteers Marge Brown and Jacque Schrogin.

The store space dissolves into gallery space, and there are now three exhibits worth seeing: a neon-and-adobe installation, a collection of ancient Greek vases and an “industrial architecture” sculpture.

“We’re probably better-known in the nation than we are in the Valley,” said Ann Burroughs, the gallery’s exhibit coordinator. “Plus, we’re free and you don’t have to drive over the hill to get here.”

Store hours are noon to 4 p.m. Mondays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Fridays.

Cocoon-Style Dining

We like to eat out because we don’t like to cook--but we also like to stay home. How do you get around this dilemma? Carry-out food.

The California Restaurant Assn. calls take-out food “the fastest growing function in our industry.” Spokesman Marc DiDomenico said, “It used to be just pizza, but now you can get just about anything you want through take-out--like Chinese, barbecue or Continental. Some high-end restaurants are moving into carry-out too.”

Several upscale restaurants in the San Fernando Valley provide carry-out service, but only for their best customers. A more accommodating approach is favored by La Serre on Ventura Boulevard in Studio City. Stay-at-home diners can carry out a la carte food or a six-course gourmet meal (at $55 per person).

“People come here and pick up everything or sometimes we send over a chef and a waiter. It depends on how many people there are,” explained chef and co-owner Jean-Pierre Peiny.

According to the National Restaurant Assn., fewer than 1% of high-end restaurants offer take-out service.

Lifesaving Samaritans

If you haven’t taken a disaster first-aid class, you better hope that your neighbor or co-worker has.

“About 80% of the rescues in major disasters like earthquakes are performed by spontaneous volunteers. They’re going to do whatever they know how to do and will provide the initial medical care,” said John Moede, a paramedic with the disaster preparedness division of the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Moede is also president of Urban Search & Rescue, a nonprofit research group based in Canyon Country that consults with government disaster agencies.

In an earthquake, death may result from three types of trauma, according to Moede. “First there’s instant death from an overwhelming and irreversible injury--like a ton of concrete falling on you,” he said. “Then there are the people who can last for hours after being hurt, but then die from lack of care. The third group may last for weeks or months, but eventually die from secondary problems.”

Those who are trained in disaster first aid can make a difference in the last two instances, Moede contends. “They can make a huge impact on the number of people who survive.”

Moede will teach a disaster first aid course at the Learning Tree’s Chatsworth campus March 17. For information, call (818) 882-5599.

Beyond Bingo

When you hear the term “senior citizens center,” you tend to picture a long, slow bingo game in a crowded room. But what happens in 10 to 30 years when today’s middle-aged become seniors?

“I’m not sure the next generation likes to play bingo,” said Sal Errico, recreation director for Los Angeles’ Mid-Valley Senior Citizens Center in Van Nuys. “Now we have Depression and World War II people coming here. The majority of them are middle educated, and most of them are middle income. But I’ve begun thinking about 10 years from now, when the baby boomers become seniors. What will they like?”

Errico has already been offering seniors some beefier-than-bingo courses. He teaches a class called “Controversies and the Human Condition.” Its oldest member is 90; the youngest is in his mid-50s.

“It’s a free-wheeling, wide-ranging discussion group covering philosophy, history, world affairs and ideas that influence our world today,” Errico said. “Philosophy is my passion.”

Although bingo remains a popular pastime at most senior citizens centers, it’s just one of many programs and activities offered at low or no cost.

Among the services provided by the three adult centers in Burbank are support group meetings, day trips, health screenings and showings of old movies. Classes cover crafts, languages, exercises, games, health, art, music and dancing. Lectures may cover such topics as income tax or new medical treatments.

“You’ll find almost everything going on at senior centers now because the life span is longer today,” Errico said. “Growing older doesn’t mean you become a museum piece.”

Overheard

“Yes, my daughter is wearing training pants--but she wears them on her head.” --Mother to lunch companion at Stratton’s Grill in Encino