Friday snippets

For more years than we can count, Worth A Dam’s own Lory Bruno has been the steam engine behind the festival’s silent auction. Helped endlessly by her husband Ron, the pair have been pretty much solely responsible for its successes, which involves tagging and grouping the items, hauling and handling the display and sale, and making exchanges for late pickups after the festival.

This year Lory officially retired her gavel and asked for some well-earned rest. We had to get several hard-working people to take her place. Deidre Martin, who arranged the amtrak journey last year, is taking on the bulk, along with the help of Napa’s Robin who generously agreed to manage bid sheets, Erika, who will help with display throughout the day, and Pam from ISI who will help with sales. I, of course did my usual begging and spreadsheet and Jon will handle transport and late exchanges later.

Yesterday, Deidre, Jon and I went through the auction items and tagged and grouped them with the bid sheets. 126 items from some 40 states and 10 countries valued at 5700.00. Here’s a look at some of the items that will be offered. From jewelry, adventure tickets, fine dining, and paintings, books and puppets. You won’t believe your eyes. There’s even a gift basket from a family at Pixar that will keep your children or grandchildren busy all year.

IMPORTANT:

One new rule this year should appeal to the affordably impatient. Find an item you LOVE and pay the full value to take it anytime during the day. Remember many of these items are unique, and one of a kind. Avoid the wait and the suspense while you donate to a great cause. Honestly, I don’t think you will find a better grouping of beaver-friendly merchandise anywhere.

Always looking for a way to raise interest and support, I thought about the fluttered pulses beaver hero Skip Lisle generated when he shirtlessly installed the flow device at the beaver dam. Receptionists, litigators and project managers flocked in droves to the windowsills to watch muscles ripple in the water and I don’t think the appreciative sounds they were making were all based on the relief that the beavers would be safe. Mind you, Skip is a family man, married with children, and devoted to his school-teacher wife. But there is not a single event where the scrapbook is displayed that at least three fondly remembering women do not approach the Gazette photo page and wistfully recall their admiration.

Knowing this, I personally added a shirtless man with a shovel to the beaver diorama that Jon made for last years’s earthday event and was very pleased with the effect. Once at a Farmer’s market display the former photographer for the Gazette told me that they jokingly discussed using the photos of Skip to “make a calendar” to raise money. Hmm…. Recently I approached the photographer to dig up a photo or two, and wrote Skip to see whether he’d be willing to grace it with an autograph. I’m very pleased to announce that both said yes, and we will offer a lovely framed photo of the hero at work in the silent auction.

Let the bidding wars begin!

If seven maids with seven mops
Swept it for half a year.
Do you suppose,” the Walrus said,
“That they could get it clear?”
“I doubt it,” said the Carpenter,
And shed a bitter tear.

Lewis Carrol

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy