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8A Daily News – Thursday, December 6, 2012 Dorothy Parker is topic of literary society gathering Mary Rushka hosted the November meeting for the Fitzhugh Literary Society. Millicent Waits gave a presentation on Dorothy Parker, an American Humorist. Millicent brought items Dorothy was known to use, including a pearl necklace, diamond brooch, hat, gloves, a coffee cup and a bottle of scotch. Dorothy was born August 22, 1893. When she was six, her mother died. Her well to do father, Henry Rothchild, remarried a woman none of his four children liked. Although her father was loving and indulgent, Dorothy viewed herself as an orphan. She was always short, thin, wore glasses, had a listless appetite and in frail health. She attended the best schools and had read Thackery's Vanity Fair by the age of 11. At the age of 20, she began making money by playing the piano and teaching dance. The following year she made her first submission to Vogue magazine, making $12 for her article. In 1917, she married Edwin Parker II, who drank to excess and was addicted to morphine. While her husband was gone, Dorothy liked to party, had numerous affairs and an abortion. She then attempted suicide, but continued to write and joined a group of writers, including Robert Benchley. Enough Rope, her book of poetry, was a best seller, and she was published in the Saturday Evening Post, New Yorker, Cosmopolitan and Esquire. When she was questioned about a piece that was late, she said, "Somebody was using the pencil." When her taxes were late, she told the tax collector she had stayed at home all day on April 15, but nobody came. After treatment for alcoholism and drug abuse, she traveled the world. Upon returning to the US, she became interested in politics and demonstrations, and was questioned about her involvement in the communist party. She even ended up in jail at one point. When asked if she had ever conspired to overthrow the government, she replied, "I can't even get my dog to behave, how could I overthrow the government?" She wrote weekly book reviews, published a second volume of verse and won the O Henry award for her short story Big Blonde. She also became a theatre critic and worked on the film A Star is Born, with her second husband Alan Campbell. Her numerous works and pessimistic sense of humor earned her a notable place in literature. Dorothy died in 1967 at the age of 74. What little remained of her estate passed to the NAACP. Long term mentoring pays off for area youth By John Minton Special to the DN I arrived in Red Bluff in 1998. God led me here from other places and the journey was long and filled with many lessons. There was a higher plan but I had no clue as to what it was. Eventually, I was introduced to Detective Jim Ainsworth, School Resource Officer from the Red Bluff Police Department, by good friend Jan Ivanoff, and a plan began to unfold. In 1995, Jim had founded, with members from law enforcement and citizens within the community, the Red Bluff Police Activities League - now known as Tehama County PAL. I believe their first program was Junior Giants. Jim and I met to discuss the possibility of starting a first ever PAL Martial Arts program in Tehama County. I had my own dojo in Shasta County for about eight years. Prior to that I had mostly just trained since my first lessons in 1969, in myhometown, Indianapolis. Everything seems to happen for a reason. Plans seem to fall into place at the right time. We set the first dojo up at Richelieu Hall on Johnson Street. The church of the Nazarene was very gracious and donated their hall to the first kids in the program. We spent six wonderful years there. Benjamin Renteria, Leslie Slate and Kassi Corder were three of those first students. This story is mostly about Leslie, though. She had turned 12 a few months before she arrived for training. Jim brought her that first day. PAL is a 501 (c) (3) non profit youth organization with special emphasis on keeping our youth away from drugs and alcohol and keeping them in school. Leslie, like so many other kids, needed structure and a program to call her own. PAL and the martial arts program became that place and at the right time. She now says PAL literally saved her life. We started out with two days a week, after school. We had to set up a reason for the kids to want to be there. One goal was that report cards and progress reports were going to be required if they wanted to advance. Another item to sell to them was that they understood that PAL was a long term mentoring program - like all other youth programs are supposed to be. The students in the dojo needed to know that the adult volunteers would "be there" for them in times of special needs and as crises arose in their lives. So many kids come with their own crises and baggage. Leslie was no exception. "Every child needs another healthy adult in their life." Adult volunteers come from all walks of life but most are not councilors. But they can be friends that tweens and teens come to trust. PAL trains adults through conferences and other means. Just as importantly these kids needed to have as much fun in their lives as possible. Structured fun. Leslie and Ben were both in need of a lot of time. It tuned out to be a really good match for the three of us. Ben had just turned 13. Within that first year Ben, Leslie and I were traveling to Corning one day a week, Redding one day a week and also remained in Red Bluff one day – three days each week we were hanging out together involved in PAL. Long term mentoring means that an adult volunteer does not give up on the child, ever. There's a special connection when done Courtesy photo Pictures from left are Leslie, Kaydience, Ethan and Tim Pettifore at the New Mexico Museum of Natural Science in Albuquerque. correctly. PAL has some encouraged and inspired very high standards as pro- them to graduate from high grams go. And those stan- school with a diploma dards are fully backed up before being awarded their with encouragement and black belts. They had to be inspiration through the on track or there would be no promotion to black belt. Board of Directors. Leslie took that high A few of the martial arts students were sticking it school diploma and joined out, building up their physi- the U. S. Air Force (I was cal, mental and emotional training her to be a Marine endurance. They attended but it was definitely her conferences in Sacramento choice and she got support , San Diego, Monterrey in her decision). All the Bay, Washington , D.C. and inspiration and encourageDisney World. Leslie prob- ment she received from ably got to attend a couple PAL gave her the endurance more than the others. It needed to graduate from shows today because of basic training. She invited me to attend graduation at where this has all lead her. Against tremendous Lackland, Air Force Base, odds she graduated from in San Antonio. After the graduaion cerRed Bluff High School in 2004. She and I had hung emony she introduced me out together more and more to her officers and MTIs her junior and senior years. (Military Technical InstrucThe last year of high school tors) as her "dad." I spent she moved in with Denise six days there with her and me because of difficul- before she went on to the ties at home. PAL (Jim Air Force Law EnforceAinsworth) encouraged ment Academy. She said this. By this time she and because of PAL and her Ben had trained so long and relationship with the cops so hard in Jujutsu that they in Tehama County she both had achieved black wanted to go into law belt fourth degree. They enforcement. Leslie has served a six and several others who were still training for nearly month tour in Afghanistan 7 years had all achieved with a dangerous insertion black belt grading. A lot of into a mine field, included. She met another Air Force time on the mats. Why is this so signifi- cop, Tim, and they are now cant? Because PAL had married with two beautiful children, ages five and three. She, Tim ad the kids visited Red Bluff in 2009. She reenlisted and has already served eight years and has done much more than I did in the military, and has also achieved supervisory rank. Leslie (Slate) Pettifore has achieved a great deal for herself and most, if not all, of that is due to the Tehama County Police Activities League with none of its mentor cops and others ever giving up on her. She made her share of what we might call mistakes but really they're just missed steps. It's in a child's job description to have missed steps. But no one ever gave up on her and she never gave up on herself. I mention all of this now because I was able to visit her for a week in November at her duty station in Albuquerque. I stayed with her and Tim and their two kids. Leslie is an awesome parent and spouse and is well respected by her peers and supervisors. It was obvious to me that her children and husband love her very, very much. We all got to visit a lot, especially Leslie and me. We caught up with each other's lives. It was quite special listening to her stories about the military, surviving life in a combat zone and just life in general. Long term mentoring is a process that takes a lot of patience, understanding, support and love if there's going to be any chance of success in the life a just one child. Leslie is proof that if adult volunteers and mentors take the time to mostly listen to our youth, as PAL has with Leslie and so many others, the world is going to be a much better place for future generations as those seeds will have been planted in the minds, hearts and souls of those who we take the time with them now. Visit www.tehamaso.org for more on Tehama County PAL programs. 5TH ANNUAL Run for the Needy 10K - 5K - 1 Mile Fun Walk/Run All profits from this event will be used to help needy individuals and families in Tehama County. When: Saturday, December 8, 2012 Starts at 9:00 am Where: Sacramento River Diversion Dam Red Bluff Registration available on site on day of the event. Download brochure and registration form at: www.sweatrc.com/sounds/run4needy.pdf Or pick up hard copy of brochure at: Tehama Family Fitness Center, 2498 S. Main, RB The Daily News, 545 Diamond Ave., RB The Salvation Army, 940 Walnut, RB Questions? Call Tom Moisey at 527-6138 Published through an event co-sponsorship with DAILY NEWS RED BLUFF TEHAMA COUNTY T H E V O I C E O F T E H A M A C O U NTY S I N C E 1 8 8 5