The Adventurers’ Club Newsadventurersclub.org/archives/AC News/AC News May 2013.pdf · The...

The

Adventurers’ Club News©

Volume 57 May 2013 Number 5

John Goddard See page 18...

“John Goddard - Giant among men”

May 2013 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS

The Adventurers’ Club NewsThe Official Publication of the Adventurers’ Club of Los Angeles®, California

TABLE OF CONTENTS

FRONT COVER ............................... JOHN GODDARD AT THE MEETING HONORING HIMPHOTOS BRIAN CRUICKSHANK & JOHN GODDARD

DIRECTORY ............................................................................... INSIDE FRONT COVERPRESIDENT’S PAGE .................................................................................................... 1ARTICLES – OTGA – ALMOST: FINAL ADVENTURE POSTPONED .............................. 2N.O.H.A. .............................................................................................. 7 & BACK COVERTHRAWN RICKLE ........................................................................................................ 4BOOK REVIEW: THE SURVIVOR:

21 SPINE-CHILLING ADVENTURES ON THE EDGE OF DEATH ................................. 5WHAT’S HAPPENING... ................................................................................................ 6THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUB ............................................................................... 8LETTERS-TO-THE-EDITOR .......................................................................................... 21FORTHCOMING PROGRAMS .................................................................................... 21

PRESIDENTRick Flores

1ST VICE PRESRalph Perez

2ND VICE PRESMike Gwaltney

TREASURERRoger Haft

ADDRESS2433 N BroadwayLos Angeles, CA 90086

MAILINGADDRESSPO Box 31226Los Angeles, CA 90031

DINNERRESERVATIONS(323) 223-3948Deadline: Tuesday Noon

SECRETARY

Volume 57 ............................................................................................... Number 5Publisher ....................................................ACLA President, Rick Flores #1120Editor .........................................Robert G. Williscroft #1116, Lewiston, ID 83501

Cell (818) 613-9445; [email protected]. Editor .................................................................................................. [OPEN]Club Phone (323) 223-3948 (24 Hrs) ...........................www.adventurersclub.org

May 2013

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS May 2013

The

ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS©

Volume 57 May 2013 Number 5THE PRESIDENT’S PAGERick Flores #1120- President

1

If you weren’tat the “Trib-

ute to JohnG o d d a r d ”night at theClub, youmissed thehighlight eventof the year.

We had an excellent turnout by themembership and John’s family as wepaid tribute to one of our greatest ad-venturers. All of the speakers camewell prepared and gave great heart-felt tributes; this was only bested bythe very emotional and wonderfulspeech given by John himself at theend of the evening.

I neglected to publicly thank our 1st

Vice President Ralph Perez for all ofhis hard work organizing that event.He prepared the power point pro-gram, decorated the stage, ensuredthe audio/visual worked and made alive online streaming feed availableto some club members that couldn’tbe present. Thanks Ralph, you are anindispensable part of this club.

The most exciting news of the yearis that the membership will very soonbe able to view the presentations atthe club live online. So, if you are trav-eling, live out of state or just can’t

get to the club one night, you don’thave to miss the show. Thanks formaking this capability possible goagain to Ralph Perez and his youngassistant, Lisandro Tamayo. Expectan announcement soon about how toaccess the live feed.

Plans for the second catered eventof the year are now underway. Thisevent will take place May 23rd. Thefood will be provided by Wahib’s Mid-dle East Restaurant and Bakery. Inorder for these catered events to besuccessful it is crucial that you let usknow you are coming. So be sure tomake a reservation by the Tuesdaybefore the event. Thanks go to DaveYamada for finding the restaurant.

Jay Foonberg has a great idea. Hewants to present early showings fromour catalog of DVD’s of past talksin Chase Hall. These presentationswill start at 4:00 PM. This means thatnot only can you catch up on talksthat you missed; you will also get theadded benefit of missing the worsetraffic of the day getting to the club.Contact Jay or myself if you havespecific past presentations that inter-est you and expect an announcementsoon about the starting date for Jay’sgreat idea.

Take care everybody.

May 2013 ADVENTURERS’ CLUB NEWS2

OTGA – Almost: Final Adventure PostponedOTGA – Almost: Kevin Lee

Kevin Lee (#1163)

Shane Berry came up with a marvelous concept for a continuing series of articles from fellow Clubmembers about their nearly going OTGA while on an adventure. The articles are to be short, first-person narratives that we can feature each month in the News. All it will take is for each of you toparticipate in the process and send Shane (or me directly) your “OTGA – Almost” story. Pleaseinclude the highest resolution photos you have. This month we feature Kevin Lee relating how hepostponed the Final Adventure.

Photos Kevin Lee

One of my most enjoyable and –as it turned out – risky adven-

tures was trekking, solo,through the wilds of Ne-pal to Mt. Everest BaseCamp (EBC). In order toavoid hordes of annualtrekkers, I opted to go inearly March, ahead of theherd. On reaching GorakShep, I was the only onebunking in one of twostone huts, situated at thebase of a minor peak, KalaPatthar, which, from the18,192 ft summit, the tre-mendous peaks of Lhotse, Nupste andEverest are on grand display. EBC is vis-ible below, at the upper bendof Khumbu Glacier.

The weather that earlyspring was nigh perfect,with deep cobalt blue skies,hardly a cloud in the sky,and comfortable daytimetemperatures. During thenight, temps plummeted tothe teens. Outside, the star-ry night sky was stunning –ablaze with stars.

Next day, I set off forEBC (17,600 ft), several miles away

over a convoluted route across theKhumbu Glacier. Base camp is not a

fixed place with a perma-nent sign marking it. Rath-er, the location differs ev-ery year since the glacier,on which it is set up, isconstantly on the move,grinding its way down thevalley. Neither is there aclear trail. Instead, onemust weave in and out ofsnow covered scree, hugeboulders and gleaming iceformations, towering tallas multistory buildings,

and just aim in the general directionof base camp. Fortunately, small

cairns, clearly visibleagainst the horizon as trailmarkers, showed I wasproceeding in the correctdirection. These stonepiles had been erected bySherpas of Rob Hall’s ex-pedition, who were alsothere early that season toset up their base.

On reaching base camp,I was warmly greeted bySherpas who kindly of-

fered me a delicious cup of steaming

Kevin atop Kala Patar –Everest behind

EBC from Kala Patar


OTGA – Almost: Kevin Lee

tea, and I chatted with Rob Hall’swife, Jan Arnold. Jan did not climbEverest but she was the expeditiondoctor. That year, all of Rob Hall’sexpedition members safely reachedthe summit and returned. The Sher-pas took me to the base of the Khum-bu Icefall which is a jumble of mas-sive ice blocks that pose high risk ofdeath to climbers. Ironically, moredeaths occur there than on the moun-tain itself. Therewere a dozen pairsof icecramps neatlylined up on the onthe slick, smooth iceand kept there by anhonor system for-bidding anyone totake anyone else’sfootgear. The fiercesun reflectedbrightly off the snow and ice. In thisenvironment, sunglasses are essen-tial to protect eyes against snowblindness.

As I gazed at the surreal surround-ings and icy world around me, Ilooked down and noticed that darkclouds were forming, far below, andcreeping ominously up the KhumbuValley. I quickly said good-bye andheaded down the glacier to find myway back to Gorak Shep, before be-ing enveloped in the approachingclouds. Going down proved difficultas the cairns, no longer visible againstthe horizon, were now useless as pathmarkers. I had to blaze my own path.

Fortunately, I had a compass andheaded westerly toward the right sideof the glacier to connect to the dirtfootpath that would lead to my stonehut. I could hear melt water gurglingbeneath the ice under my feet, as Itrod cautiously. The noise of ice,stressed and cracking under tremen-dous pressure, was constant. At times,the snow-covered ice broke and myfoot plunged, knee deep, into frigid

waters. Somehow, itwas always my rightfoot so my left footremained dry. Occa-sionally, a cacopho-ny of noise piercedthe air, as avalanch-es of rock and icehurtled down thesteep mountain-sides of Nupste,

leaving a spectacular plume of snowydust.

My concern grew when clouds be-gan thickening, diminishing the sun-light and warmth, and I made extraeffort to hasten off the glacier. At onepoint, I climbed up on a high ridgeand, reaching the top, gasped as Inearly tumbled off the other side, slid-ing down a huge, perfectly smoothparabolic bowl of ice which, at thebottom was filled with a large pondof ice water. Had I fallen in, it wouldhave been impossible to climb out.With lungs heaving, I envisionedwhat a terrible night of suffering itwould have been, trapped, wet and

Khumbu Glacier

(OTGA – Almost continued on page 7)


Thrawn Rickle

The hourspassed slowly

on Thursday as Jilland I anxiouslyawaited the com-mencement of“John Goddard

Night.” We both had set aside thetime, and at 8 pm, we hunkered downon the couch and joined the rest ofyou, thanks to Ralph Perez and hisonline magic.

Despite not having top-of-the-lineequipment, Ralph pulled it off so thatwe were able to participate, almostas if we were there. We caught ev-eryone’s humor, warmth, camarade-rie, and especially the emotion ofJohn’s heartfelt comments at the endof the presentation.

A hearty well-done to everyone whohad a hand in John Goddard Night.You guys did a bang-up job!

Soon, Ralph will have a state-of-the-art platform for the onlinestreaming. Any isolated member withan iPad, a Tablet, or even an old PCwill be able to join us each Thursdayevening, vicariously partaking of thatwhich ties all of us together acrossthe world.

I’ve been telling you about mypending move to Denver. Three daysago we purchased a house – that’sright, sight unseen. A close friend ofJill’s visited the house and give us herokay, but it’s still an interesting expe-

THE THRAWN RICKLE From the Ancient Scottish: thrawn = stubborn; rickle = loose, dilapidated heap

Robert G. Williscroft #1116 – Editorrience to make a thirty-year financialcommitment at seventy-years-oldwithout ever having set eyes on thehouse.

Sort of an adventure, wouldn’t yousay? Somebody check with Bob Sil-ver on this one!

I’ve been telling you about the viewfrom here. Well, this morning the sunrose in a cloudless sky. The winds wehave been experiencing for the pastfew days have left. The air is com-pletely still. The Snake River 400 feetbelow is mirror smooth – not a rippleor visible sign of current. In the pas-ture that abuts our back yard, a half-a-hundred cows are grazing, slowlyworking their way up the slope to-ward our back fence. Several are try-ing to partake of the greener grass justbeyond their reach on this side of thebarrier.

It kind of reminds me of how somany of us have spent our livesreaching for that greener blade justbeyond the horizon. The differencebetween them and us, however, isthat when the lead cow heads backdown the hill, the others all follow.That would not describe the behav-ior of our Club members. Just readthis month’s Returning From andGoing On Adventure notes in theminutes. We’re all over the globe, andwe never stop. Don’t you love it!

Remember that this month’s ClubNews is available online in full colorand high definition.


Book Review – The Survivor

5

BOOK REVIEW:The Survivor: 21 Spine-Chilling Adventureson the Edge of DeathJohn Goddard, HCI Publishing, Dearfield Beach, FL, 2001, 6x9 Softcover, 300 p, ISBN 978-1558746954,Review by Editor with material supplied by the publisher and online sources.

John Goddard (#507) is known tonearly all of us. He was featured

this month at the Club meeting onApril 25 (see the write-up commenc-ing on page 18). For the record, Johnis a career explorerand adventurer, whohas experienced manythrilling close callswith death during hisadventurous life.

When he was a boy,John made a list of127 things he wouldlike to do in his life,from living with pyg-mies in Africa andheadhunters in Bor-neo to exploring theworld’s greatest riversand climbing its high-est peaks. Not justcontent with physicalexploration and adventure, John alsoset goals to read the greatest works pro-duced by the human race, and to ac-complish other intellectual feats thatmost people do not even think about.

Although John completed the ma-jority of tasks he set for himself, alongthe way he added hundreds more –having reached the 21st century, henow is working on making it to 2020.He expresses few regrets, although he

muses that he would like to havereached the North and South Polesand set foot on the moon.

The Survivor captures John’s essenceas it follows his experiences from boy-

hood, through histeen years and intoadulthood. Each indi-vidual adventure issure to thrill readers-from the exquisite de-tails of exotic locales,to the raw power ofPacific storms, to thehair-raising brusheswith death – alwaysemphasizing the dan-ger and exhilarationintrinsic to the adven-turous life. Unique tothis book, though, isthe author’s reverencefor life and all living

things, his honesty in admitting hisown recklessness, his awe and grati-tude to the supreme force that mi-raculously allowed him to survive,and his ability to use his experiencesand the lessons he learned to set andachieve clear, meaningful goals.

This great read will entertain andinspire people to live their dreams. Itis available online and at bookstoreseverywhere.


Editor’s Note: Each month we will feature recentactivities of members and friends on this page.Please send your material along with any photosto the Editor by email or snail mail. Designate itfor “What’s Happening....”

6

What’s Happening...

What’s Happening...Shane Berry checks off a Bucket List itemShane Berry #1093

This is a “Bucket List Adventure.”Shane Berry #1093 spent sever-

al nights from March 29th, 2013, atthe Chena Hot Springs Resort, about60 miles from Fairbanks, AK. Dur-ing the month of March, Fairbanksis one of best spots to view this won-der of nature.

The northern lights were magical onthe night of March 29th. They start-ed to appear a little after midnight,then exploded filling one-half the sky.The white/green curtain with slightedges of pink suddenly got brighterand brighter, and exploded across thesky. They swung through a 45 to 90degree turn. At times they looked likeerupting volcanoes. The lights shotacross the sky, dancing and bounc-ing. It is interesting that some peoplesee the northern lights as green whileothers see white. The last day was afourteen-hour run to the Arctic Cir-cle that turned out to be one of thehighlights of the trip.

Photos Shane Berry

Arctic Circle Panorama

Northern Lights outside Fairbanks

Shane at the Arctic Circle


N.O.H.A. / OTGA – Almost: Kevin Lee

7

freezing, at the bottom of that icebowl, perhaps to drown in ice water,alone, with no one knowing of mydemise. My heartpounded against myribcage and I expe-rienced twinges ofpanic. But, knowingwell that panic leadsto foolish decisionmaking, I sat downand calmed myself.

By this time,clouds had moved in, and I was sur-rounded by a dark, disorientating fog.Trusting my compass, I took a read-ing and headed west. Some minuteslater, I approached another ridge, withextra caution this time. Sure enough,it also turned out to be the rim of

another large ice bowl. I had to applyreason to the situation to survive. Iplaced full trust in my compass. Of-

ten a path wouldlead to an impassi-ble jumble of rocksand ice, forcing meto turn around, likea rat in a maze.

After hours oframbling over a wildand twisted route, Ifinally found my

way off the glacier to the welcomefoot path, just as snow began to fall,thick and heavy. On the trail, Iskipped along and danced with ex-hilaration, having overcome the or-deal. The Final Adventure had beenpostponed.

The jumbled ice of Khumbu Glacier

(OTGA – Almost continued from page 3)


Minutes – March 28, 2013

THURSDAY NIGHTS AT THE CLUBMarch 28, 2013Doug Brown (#1160)

President Rick Flores #1120 called themeeting to order with the traditional

standing silent toast to honor absent anddeparted members wherever they may be.

Bob Silver #728 – Reported that adoctor friend (an MD) fell on the floorwhere a bed was formally placed.Cracked ribs and an injured nose weresome of the injuries. Bob submitted thatthis event qualified as an adventure. Thejury is locked up behind closed doors todetermine the validity of his assertion.

Announcements

Those Returning from Adventure

GuestsThose Leaving on AdventureEric Flanders #1162 – son Travis Flan-

dersRalph Perez #1150 – Lisandro

TamayoJeff Holmes #1148 – Bob Heerdt and

Vince BeddoneChristopher Blin

Charles Carmona #1136 – Workedin Tanzania for two weeks earlier this

month under an 18-month contract fora project funded by the World Bank. Al-though tanzanite is a popular gemstonespecific to Tanzania, conventional wisdomsuggests that it is becoming rare. Charlesassured us that there is ample supply.

Allan Smith #1069 – Filmed in Hon-duras and Belize, while avoiding the dan-gers of Belize City.

Ralph Perez #1150 – Hiked in thePortland area. In an area named EagleRock, there are nine waterfalls in a ten-mile stretch.

Steve Bein #1057 – Completed a prep-aration hike in the San Gorgonio Moun-tain range.

Guest Vince Beddone visited Mayanruins in Belize. He was unaware of thedanger attributed to Belize City.

Doug Brown #1160 – Visited Cambriawith Sandra. They hiked in different areas,visited the elephant seals sanctuary near SanSimeon, and spent time with family.

Jay Foonberg #1126 – Going to Den-ver to run a half marathon to honor

his nephew who is a cancer fighter. Jay’s45-year old nephew conquered melano-ma cancer and now has been diagnosedwith cancer of the thyroid. Jay’s son alsowill participate in this half marathon.

Allan Smith #1069 – Will travel toNewport Beach for its Film Festivalwhere his film will be screened at 6:00pm on April 26. Club members are in-vited. Next, Allan travels to Moldova andTanzania for more filming.

President Rick Flores #1120 – An-nounced that we are doing better

making timely dinner reservations.President Flores recognized the pres-

ence of longtime member Dr. CharlesRozaire #744.

Martin Bloom #1147 – HighlightedNOHA announcements that have beenemailed to members.

Jim Heaton #1020 – Announced thatPierre Odier #988 purchased NOHAticket #1. NOHA is October 26.

Bob Walters #1047 – Reported thatRobert DeMott #1080 continues heal-ing from a tragic accident on his motor-cycle in Daytona Beach FL where a cardrove in front of him. Robert was bad-


Minutes – March 28, 2013

(Minutes continued on page 10)

ly injured. He expects to be back at Clubmeetings soon. Robert also agreed to fillthe vacant position of 2nd Vice President.

Bob Walters reported that RichardVenola #1071 is waiting for a responseto his second acquittal. Will he be retrieda third time?

Bernie Harris #1063 – Reported thathe spoke with John Goddard #507. Johncontinues doing what he does best andthat includes fighting through the pain ofhis illness.

Bernie also reported that Bob Gilliland#888 is recovering in Palm Desert fromback surgery.

Dead End Canyon and nearby HaiweeSpring, along with images from the ElPaso Mountains to the south, and de-scribed the role of the BLM Site Stew-ardship Program in preserving these sitesfor future generations to enjoy.Local Archaeology News

Rock Art of the NorthwesternMojave

Richard Gaskin is a software devel-oper (Fourth World Media Corpo-

ration) and small business owner duringthe week. When not at work he photo-graphs and helps document rock art siteson the weekend. With the assistance ofhis friend and mentor Dr. Alan Garfinkel,Richard is recording a previously undoc-umented rock art site in the El PasoMountains near Ridgecrest, CA. A mem-ber of the US Bureau of Land Manage-ment’s Archaeological Site StewardshipProgram, Richard has been in touch withthe BLM offices in Ridgecrest and PalmSprings to help provide monitoring ofarchaeological sites in those areas.

In this talk Richard provided an over-view of the prehistoric art in the CosoMountains, home of the largest collec-tion of petroglyphs in North America.This rare collection is mostly in three can-yons, only one of which, Little Petro-glyph Canyon, has public tours. Richardshared images from the seldom-visited

The Blythe geoglyph

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Panels of rock art were stolen in theBishop CA area. The area was badly

damaged. A reward is offered for in-formation about the vandal(s).

A “kokopelli” geoglyph was reportednear Blythe CA. A geoglyph is a largedesign produced on the ground. A petro-glyph is rock art engraving; a pictograph

is rock art painting. The proportions ofthe Blythe kokopelli were off, and it wasnot a normal site for California. Photo-graphic records proved that the geoglyphdid not exist in 1994. One account sug-gested that it was created to block a so-lar development. Indeed it was not an-cient art.

Black Mountain is a sacred area to an-cient Indians. Mr. Gaskin spoke respect-fully about leaving rock art undamagedfor others to enjoy. He is passionate aboutleaving rock art as he finds it. This meansleaving it untouched. One example ofrock art was not discernible during a first


(Minutes continued from page 9)

Minutes – March 28 & April 4, 2013

10

April 4, 2013Doug Brown (#1160)

walk. Later, during a different time ofthe day when the sun was in anotherposition, the same rock clearly revealedan art form. One technique Richard usesis the software Photoshop on a photo of apetroglyph and turn the contrast way up.His example was impressive with vividmarkings.

He uses a spot satellite locator to getthe exact coordinates of the location ofa specific rock art.

Mr. Gaskin warned us of a toxic plantpresent in the area he explores. If youeat it, you die. It may be the jimson weedor devil’s trumpet.

Richard concluded his presentationwith a fervent recommendation to getinvolved in the California Archaeological SiteStewardship Program. CASSP is a partner-ship between professional archaeologists,land management agencies, Native Amer-icans, and the general public. CASSPtrains and supports volunteer stewardsto regularly visit assigned archaeologicaland historical sites on public lands andreport their conditions.

California Indian Tribal Groups

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Col

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ions

For more informa-tion, Club memberscan contact Beth Pa-don at [email protected] or visitthe CASSP website atwww.cassp.org.

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Roger Haft #1098 – Dan HennebergerRalph Perez #1150 – Lisandro

TamayoStewart Deats #1168 – Albert GarciaStuart Bird-Wilson #1134 – Erick Simmel

Guests

Larry Stern #1112 – Visited Argenti-na including Iguazu Falls, Antarctica,

and Patagonia.Shane Berry #1093 - Traveled with

friends to Chena Hot Springs Resort, lo-cated 60 miles from Fairbanks, Alaska, andsaw the northern lights. He then joined atour of the Arctic Circle and saw the Inter-national Ice Sculpture exhibit.

Dave Finnern #1065, along with SteveLawson #1032 - Continued their divingfor a submerged P-38. We were ecstaticto learn that an oxygen tank can improvethe barbeque experience. Just ask themhow.

Roger Haft #1098 – Informed us thathe was shot in the back while face downin a pillow. No one asked questions.


Photos Ralph Valesco


Minutes – April 4, 2013

11


Announcements

Those Leaving on Adventure

Steve Bein #1057 – Going to Peru tovisit areas near Machu Picchu, includ-

ing the Choquequirao Conservation re-gion to the southwest.

Dave Finnern #1065 – Will spend 10days to two weeks in the Columbia Riv-er Bar diving for wrecks. The trip willconclude with a visit to Vancouver.

President Rick Flores #1120 – Announced that the Club meeting on

April 18 would be catered with MiddleEastern food.

President Rick reported that the April25 Club meeting will be a tribute to JohnGoddard.

Doug Brown #1160 – Presented tothe Club a dozen books either writtenby Honorary Member Ernest Thomp-son Seton or about him.

Bob Zeman #878 – Two bomber pi-lots and two navigators will discuss WorldWar II on April 19 at 11:30 am at FessParker’s DoubleTree Resort in Santa Bar-bara. The price is $40 per person.

Dave Finnern #1065 – The Chino AirShow at the Planes of Fame Air Muse-um is May 4-5, at which time all fiveoperational P-38s will fly by. See http://planesoffame.org for more information.

Joe Brown #928 – Medal of Honorrecipient Walter Ehlers #1119 broke hisleft femur in several places and is mend-ing at Quaker Gardens in Stanton, CA.

Guest Erick Simmel - Honorary Mem-ber Walter Mess, formerly of the OSS, frac-tured his left hip and is recovering in FallsChurch, Virginia. Walter is 100 years old.

President Rick requested quality dona-tions for NOHA, October 26, 2013.

Ralph Perez #958 – Future meetings:April 11, Sheriff Leroy D. Baca The Ex-ploration of Space and Spirituality; April 18,Jeff & Evan Bozanic Cave Diving in Afri-ca; April 25 – Ladies Night, Tribute to JohnGoddard, May 16 – Ladies Night, BobBitchin Evel Knievel’s Bodyguard.

Cuba: 90 Miles to Another World

Ralph Valesco immersed us in the richculture, and strong willed people of

Havana; as well as the spectacularUNESCO World Heritage site of theValley of the Sugar Mills, and the colo-nial town of Trinidad on Cuba’s south-

ern coast. This wasa perfect introduc-tion to the peopleof Cuba. We wan-dered and exploredwith Ralph throughHavana’s colonialarchitecture, whilewatching the an-tique vehicles passus by. There wastraditional salsamusic and dancing,

cigar factory exploration, and visits withlocal families of Havana’s diverse neigh-borhoods.

Cuba is a special destination. Ameri-cans are able to travel under a new ‘peo-ple-to-people’ program, which includesdaily activities, immersing you into theheart and soul of Cuba. The ‘people-to-people’ program is authorized by the U.S.Treasury Department.

A native of Chicago, Ralph Velasco iscurrently based in Corona del Mar, Cal-ifornia, where he teaches a variety of trav-el photography classes at a number of

Cubans are proudof their flag



Minutes – April 4. 2013

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institutions, including Santa Ana College,Saddleback College, UC Irvine Exten-sion and others.

Ralph tries to differentiate his phototours by providing an overall culturalexperience, which in addition to photog-raphy might also include the food, drink,music, dance, sport, and other culturalaspects of a destination. Additionally,Ralph is creator of the My Shot Lists forTravel app for iPhone, iPad and iPodtouch, available on iTunes. The app helpsphotographers of all skill levels to bringback a more well rounded portfolio ofimages that truly captures the essence ofany destination or subject.

He’s been awarded “Open Photogra-pher of the Year” by the ProfessionalPhotographers of Orange County twoyears in a row and he’s the author of

“Ralph Velasco On Travel Photography:101 Tips for Developing Your Photo-graphic Eye & More.” Ralph is a mem-ber of the Circumnavigators Club, an elitegroup of travelers whose charter requiresthat its members have traveled “aroundthe world, in a single journey, havingcrossed every one of Earth’s meridians.”

Cuba is 750 miles long. We visitedHavana, Pinar del Rio where Viñales islocated, Cienfuegos, and Trinidad.

People. A gentleman places a 25-centa-vo coin in his ear for good luck. Womensmoke oversized cigars in colorful dressagainst a bright background to attracttourists who pay to take a picture. Beni-to rolled a perfect Cuban cigar right infront of Ralph. An older Cuban wom-an shared a photo of her taken whenshe was a 15-year-old ballerina. Casas par-ticulares are private homes that may berented. Many automobiles are 1950s vin-tage American. Cuba is popular vacationdestination for Canadians.Architecture. No building going on since1959. Supplies are hard to get. A commondwelling is a tobacco-drying house.Landscapes. Mogotes are isolated, steep-sided hills with a rounded, tower-like form.No fishing boats in the harbor.

Cubans even shine sneakers

A typical Havana car

Che Guevara is a Cuban icon – hisimage is everywhere


Minutes – April 4 & 11, 2013


Flags. Cubans are proud of their flag.Icons. Che Guevara is the face of Cuba,and it appears everywhere.Humor. Granmar is the name of a Cu-ban newspaper, not the name of a rela-tive. No race issues apparent in the coun-try. Cubans even shine gym shoes.Details. The literacy rate in Cuba is higherthan in the United States. Cubans takepride in education. Cubans trained asmedical doctors are exported to othercountries.Don’t go to Cuba for the food. Theration book or Libreta de Abastecimiento inCuba is a system of food distributionthat establishes the rations each person isallowed to buy through the system, andthe frequency of supplies. It is rumoredthat it will be abolished.iPhone Pics. Ralph shared several pho-tos taken with an iPhone. It’s a useful toolwhen you do not wantto lug your profes-sional digital equip-ment to certain places.

For more aboutRalph Velasco and hisactivities, visit RalphVe-lasco.com. Ph

oto

Rick

Flo

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April 11, 2013Doug Brown (#1160)



Guests

Jeff Holmes #1148 – Steve VlasicJay Foonberg #1126 – Steven Foon-

berg (son)Ralph Perez #1150 – Lisandro

Tamayo (Lisandro was thanked for as-sisting Ralph with fine work at the Club)

Vince Weatherby #1060 – MichaelHobbs


Steve Hodel #1161 – Completed histhird book Black Dahlia Avenger II and

wrote a three-act play about the BlackDahlia; returned from the Puget Soundarea where his son was married; and hadsurgery on his eyes to remove cataractsand restore his vision.

Those Leaving on Adventure

Jay Foonberg #1126 – Will run in his18th half-marathon in May in Virginia.

He will give his Iwo Jima talk to US Ma-rines while in Virginia.

Steve Vlasic (guest) – Will fly his 100hp Citabria (Airbatic spelled backwards)from Whiteman Airport in Pacoima, CAto North Carolina over a three-day peri-od at 90 mph at or below 500 feet.

Ralph Perez #958 – Will take a 30’ ketchfrom Port Townsend to Ketchikan.

Bob Walters #1047 – Going to homein Washington State to keep companywith Ospreys and welcome bears backfrom winter hibernation.

Announcements

President Rick Flores #1120 – An-nounced that John Goddard #507

plans to attend the April 25th Club meet-ing that will honor him.

President Rick reported that the Clubnow has Wi-Fi.

Bob Zeman #878 – Two bomber pi-lots and two navigators will discuss WorldWar II on April 19 at 11:30 am at FessParker’s DoubleTree Resort in Santa Bar-




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bara. The price is $40 per person.President Rick announced a plan sug-

gested by Jan Foonberg #1126 that willshowcase past meetings for memberswho arrive at 4:00 pm on Club nights.

Ralph Perez #958 – Future meetings:April 18, Jeff & Evan Bozanic Cave Div-ing in Africa; April 25- Ladies Night, Liv-ing Tribute to John Goddard.

President Rick reminded us that Med-al of Honor recipient Walter Ehlers#1119 is recovering in Stanton, CA(Quaker Gardens) from multiple breaksto his left femur.

Bob Silver #728 requested reportsfrom Club members who have experi-enced disparaging moments. The reportswill be combined into a presentation forNOHA, October 26, 2013.

thousands of Metropolitan Transit Author-ity and Rapid Rail Transit District commut-ers. The Sheriff ’s Department directly pro-tects more than four million people.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff ’sDepartment manages the nation’s largestlocal jail system housing 20,000 inmates.Sheriff Baca developed Education-Based Incarceration (EBI) to address thehigh rate of offender recidivism in LosAngeles County. EBI uses innovative,evidence-based strategies to deliver edu-cation and life skills that provide hopeand opportunity to offenders who wantto live a better life and become contrib-uting members of their communities. TheDepartment also protects the largestcourt system in the nation.

Sheriff Baca is the Coordinator ofMutual Aid Emergency Services for Cal-ifornia Region I, which includes theCounty of Orange. Region I serves 13million people.

Sheriff Baca is the founder of Pub-lic Trust Policing that includes diverse

advisory councils; a ClergyCouncil of more than 300

ministers, pastors, priests, rab-bis, imams, and leaders of ev-

ery faith community. He alsooperates sixteen non-profit youth centers;ten at-risk regionaltraining centers forat-risk youth ages 10-

18, and provides 27 deputies to 240 ele-mentary and middle schools who teach50,000 children about positive solutionsto the problems of drugs and gangs. Heoperates one of law enforcement’s larg-est prevention and intervention programsin the nation.

The Exploration of Space andSpirituality

Sheriff Leroy D. Baca is now seven-ty-years-old. He might say seven-

ty-years-young. The longer helives, the more difficult it isto think about leaving. Weare passengers on earth, anda change of address will oc-cur in the future.

Sheriff Baca, as theelected Chief Law En-forcement Officer ofLos Angeles County in 1998, commandsthe largest Sheriff ’s Department in theUnited States with a budget of $2.5 bil-lion. He leads nearly 18,000 sworn andprofessional staff who compromise thelaw enforcement providers for 42 incor-porated cities, 140 unincorporated com-munities, nine community colleges, and



15

The Sheriff ’s Department’s service areahas one of the nation’s lowest crime ratesfor a major metropolitan area. Deputiesarrest more than 90,000felony and misdemeanorsuspects, as well as re-spond to more than1,000,000 calls for serviceannually.

Sheriff Baca, a UnitedStates Marine Corps Re-serve veteran, earned hisDoctorate in Public Ad-ministration from theUniversity of SouthernCalifornia.

Sheriff Baca’s presenta-tion focused on twothings that make for a successful life –faith and heroism.

What does it mean to have faith? – Heasked. He cited the work of Ernest Beck-er and his book Denial of Death for whichhe was awarded the Pulitzer Prize forGeneral Non-Fiction in 1974, twomonths before hisdeath. The basicpremise of The Denialof Death is that humancivilization is ultimate-ly an elaborate, sym-bolic defense mecha-nism against theknowledge of ourmortality, which inturn acts as the emotional and intellectualresponse to our basic survival mecha-nism. Becker argues that a basic dualityin human life exists between the physicalworld of objects and a symbolic worldof human meaning. Thus, since man hasa dualistic nature consisting of a physical

self and a symbolic self, man is able totranscend the dilemma of mortalitythrough heroism, a concept involving his

symbolic half. By em-barking on what Beckerrefers to as an “immor-tality project” (or causasui), in which he createsor becomes part ofsomething which he feelswill last forever, manfeels he has “become”heroic and, henceforth,part of something eter-nal; something that willnever die, compared tohis physical body thatwill die one day. This, in

turn, gives man the feeling that his lifehas meaning, a purpose, and significancein the grand scheme of things.

Heroic activity is doing something foranother or something for a greater groupof people.

We don’t know where the universeends; we don’t knowwhy we live on theplanet earth.

Science estimatesthe earth was created500 billion years ago.The creation of theearth must be by an-other force, i.e., God.

The human brain isdifficult to create. We have words to use.The brain or human mind is the mostingenious thing ever created. It is divine.A great journey is going on in our brain.

What is our obligation to the world,to the world ecosystem? Heroic behav-iors are acts of responsibility.

Official Sheriff’s patrol car

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Sheriff Leroy D. Baca

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If you don’t create a paradise in yourmind, then the earth is your prison.

Who you are is your desire to be whatyou’re about, not where you have been.

April 18, 2013Bob Zeman (#878)

Questions & Answers

The distinguishing qualities of Medalof Valor recipients are: (1) overly gra-

cious personality, (2) they take no credit,(3) they are not braggarts, and (4) theygive credit to someone else.

The purpose of life is to learn. Becomean ageless thinker.

People in jail need to learn a differentway of thinking.

The “divineness” of life is to protectall life.

The Sheriff was collaborating withSteven Covey on a book End of Crimewhen Mr. Covey passed away.

Now there is a four-year low in crimestatistics. Violent crime is going down.

Unanswered question: What does re-sponsibility mean in our lives?

The Sheriff ’s theory of forces that drivecrime: (1) Dysfunctional parents or noparents, and (2) Birthing of childrenwhere there is little or no hope for a suc-cessful life.

The Club honored the dead and injured at the Boston Marathon. Jay

Foonberg wore his Boston Marathonjacket and showed two participationmedals he earned for running 26.2 miles.

Many divers were in attendance tonightfor a special program. Kevin Lee #1163told of his dive trip to Batangas in thePhilippines. He made 41 dives in 11 daysand spent 60 hours under water.

Eric Flanders #1162 leaves on April27th for the Newport to Ensenada boatrace. Martin Bloom and two others willaccompany Eric on a boat owned by MiltValois. Milt will not be racing since he is 96.

Doug Brown #1160 and Sandra areleaving for a week in Lake Tahoe.

The second degree murder chargeagainst Richard Venola #1071 was dis-missed after two hung juries.

Shane Berry #1093 showed slides ofhis trip to Fairbanks. He drove 60 milesfurther north to Chena Hot Springs toview the northern lights. The colors werebeautiful and pulsated on both nightseven when the sky was not clear. He alsomade a run to the Arctic Circle.

Shane is leaving May 1st for an over-land trip in Southwest Africa. He flies toCapetown and then heads north over-land to Cederberg and Gariep River. Heenters Namibia at Fish River CanyonNational Park and continues to Swako-pmund, Etosha NP and waterberg Pla-teau NP before entering Windhoek. Hethen heads east to the Okavango Delta,Gweta, Chobe River and Livingstone.Ending there on May 26th.

Shane urged all to send photos and foot-age to Larry Schutte so Larry can put theminto a video to be shown at NOHA.

Eric Simmel sadly reported that the lastissue of Pacific Flyer is out. Over the yearsit printed great tales of flying adventures.

Walter Ehlers #1119 is still recuperat-ing in Stanton. He broke his leg in threeplaces and is still on dialysis.

Bob Zeman #878 announced that heexpected 350 to attend a luncheon inSanta Barbara honoring the bomber boysof World War II.

Tonight’s presentation was Lives-




treamed onto the Internet. Member Rob-ert Williscroft #1116 (Editor of theNews) watched the program with his wifeJill from their home in Lewiston, Idaho.(They were married here at the Club onNovember 19, 2011.)

so Jeff and Evan had to clear them. Therule for all cave diving is to follow a linein and out. Jeff photographed crusta-ceans that live in the cave.

They then drove to a Kimberly dia-mond pond where a 766-carat diamondhad been found. This was in the Nko-mazi Reserve. While in the Reserve theyviewed red hartebeest, wildebeest, war-thogs, rhinos, giraffe and elephants. Henoted that elephants’ sense of smell is10,000 times better than a dog.

On to Komati Springs where the shaftsdrop 300 feet. It is an old asbestos mine.A series of tunnels is joined together byvertical shafts. The green rock – asbestos– is easily visible.

They then drove to Durban. The planwas to put the zodiac in the water in a la-goon and then row out to the ocean. Butthe swells were high. Eventually, they gotout and viewed a school of eagle rays, a200 pound potato cod, and some sharks.

Jeff got a job teaching a dive class inAlbania with the RPM Nautical Founda-tion. While there he dove old Phoenicianwrecks. After Communism fell, manyboats were scuttled. He saw remnantsof many pillboxes built during WWII for

Diving Africa and Albania

Jeff Bozanic and his son Evan educat-ed and entertained us tonight. Jeff has

taught diving fundamentals and safety forforty years. He was awarded the DAN/Rolex Diver of the Year for volunteer ser-

vice to DiversAlert Network.Evan at age 11was the young-est person everto dive theAntarctic. Evanat age 14 alsowas the young-est to dive on allseven conti-nents.

The twoflew to Bush-

men’s Hole or Boesman’s Gat in SouthAfrica. It is on the edge of the KalahariDesert. It is a mile long hike down to thepond which was covered by two inchesof duckweed. The water temperaturewas in the high 60s but they still worewetsuits.

The two used re-breathers to dive thecave. Jeff has written a book on re-breath-ers which recycles the air to scrubbers whichremove the CO2 so the air can be rebreathed. Thus a tank of air can last forsix and a half hours at 140 feet.

A French expedition tangled all of thelines which had been used for navigation

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Jeff on an Albanian Wreck

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A bull elephant in the Nkomazi Reserve




defense. On a dive of a hospital ship in40 feet of water he found 26 portholes.He even saw a Roman wreck from be-fore the time of Christ. It was surround-ed by amphoras.

He attempted to dive a spring in Alba-nia where the strong outflow from thespring made it hard to enter. He finallyadded 25 pounds of weight to swim lowagainst the flow.

The people in Albania are friendly.Jeff is quite a scientific explorer. He

has four species named after him. He isa Certified Hyperbaric Technician.

Evan is going to Thailand this sum-mer on a Habitat for Humanity project.Jeff is leading a dive trip to Sipadan. Heis a strong proponent of re-breathers,even though they cost $4,000 to $25,000.

President Rick Flores #1120 welcomeda large crowd to tonight’s “Tribute

to John Goddard.”As a preliminary, Chuck Jonkey #1026

announced that his film on Borneo pro-duced by Allan Smith #1069 will beshown in Newport Beach tomorrowApril 26th.

April 25, 2013Bob Zeman (#878)

John Goddard, member #507, was theyoungest member ever to join the Ad-venturers’ Club. He followed in the foot-steps of his father Jack and preceded hisson Jeffrey #1010.

At the age of 15 John wrote down hislist of 127 goals, which later were shownto students throughout the country. John

and two Frenchmen were the first tokayak the length of the Nile. Later hekayaked the Congo but his partner JackYouell died near the end of the voyage.John set a speed record in flying the F-111and rose to 60,000 feet in an F-106. He haswritten two books – Kayaks Down the Nileand The Survivor. He has been featured innumerous articles of The Adventurers’ ClubNews, which – by the way – has a longerpublishing history than TV Guide.

John was featured on Dateline talkingabout his 9-month Nile trip. His mottois “To dare is to do. To fear is to fail.”

Adventure is a sense of wonder andaccomplishment. Life is a daily miracle.With planning, preparation and determi-nation we can achieve our goals.

John and Carol were glad to partici-pate in the hike to Little Petroglyph Can-yon. And John led a hike for club mem-bers and guests to Sturdevant Falls in theAngeles Crest National Forest.

A film clip was shown from The Buck-

A Tribute to John Goddard

Ringing the bell

Big crowd

Photos Brian Cruickshank




et List. Morgan Freeman asks of JackNicholson, “Have you found joy in yourlife? Has your life brought joy to others?”

Pasquale Scaturro #1146 was the firstto descend the Blue Nile from Lake Tanain Ethiopia. He was shown in a film clipfrom Namibia remembering the Nile trip.Near Lake Nasser he met an old manwho said that he saw an American and aFrenchman kayaking the Nile more than50 years earlier. The American was John.

Pierre Odier #988 was in charge ofassemblies at Glendale Hoover High. Heremembered John as a rock thrown intoa pond in which John’s knowledge andinspiration spread out like ripples to allin attendance.

Chuck Jonkey #1026 told of John liv-ing in La Cañada and his amazing affinityto the animal world. Chuck has a friend,Ron Underwood, who was inspired byJohn to study abroad (Sri Lanka). John is aspiritual guy. Chucksaid, “To be contin-ued.”

Bill Altaffer#1095 was inspiredby John at MarshallHigh. Before therewas Chuck Norris,there was JohnGoddard. He wasthe king of the lists.He quoted Lao Tsewho said at the cen-ter of your being,you know who you are and you knowwhat you want.

Alan Feldstein #1094 quoted WalterPayton who said that when you are goodat something you tell everyone. When youare great, everyone tells you. John em-

bodies the great traits of a man whospoke highly of others but was humblehimself. He urged all to keep away frompeople who belittle your ambitions.

James Dorsey #1081 says that oftenidolizing mortals is not good becausethey tend to disappoint. But John led theway and pealed away the layers of igno-rance. John looked for the finite in theinfinite. He smells the smells. John hasconsistently been Jim’s friend and he has

shown how important life can be.Jeff Goddard #1010 said that

growing up with Indiana Jones as afather is tough. For years Jeff wouldrebel and always order vanilla icecream and say he wanted to be an in-surance salesman. But John wouldimpart wonderful words of wisdom.“A goal not written down is only awish.” “Love and learn from peoplein other cultures.” On a walk in thewoods John knew the name of everytree, every flower, and even the creepycrawlies. He was fearless aroundsnakes. He was curious about everything

and everyone. He would ask to name inten seconds – five African cultures, theWorld’s five longest rivers, five large snakes.

John has a PhD in anthropology. Jeffwished John could have been on Jeopardy

Alan Feldstein with Heidi

John’s son Jeff


Minutes – April 25, 2013(Minutes continued from page 19)

and did not care what the category was.John had read the works of Shakespeare,Plato, Aristotle, Tho-reau and many others.And he has read theBible from cover tocover. Goal #127 wasto live to the 21st cen-tury. He is now shoot-ing for 2020.

Paul Isley #1088said that when hewould speak withJohn, John made himfeel like Paul was his best friend. Johnand Paul are both members of the Chi-cago Adventurers’ Club.

Dave Dolan #1087 quoted John assaying, “Don’t wait for yourship to come in. Build a raftand go out to meet it.” Davefound a letter from May 27,1952, recommending Johnfor membership in the Ad-venturers’ Club. Louis Cam-po heard John speak in LosAngeles and proposed Johnfor membership in the NewYork Explorers’ Club.

Dave Grober #1086found John’s application forthe Chicago Club, signed byMarlin Perkins.

Doug Brown #1160 saidIndiana Jones was the firstJohn Goddard.

Bernie Harris #1063 noted that therewere few empty chairs testifying to theinspiration of John. John accomplishedthree-fourths of his original goals. Butthen he added a few hundred more,many of which he has since checked off.

Kelly Goddard, granddaughter, said itis an honor to be part of his family.

Stewart Deats#1168 says he crashedthe Adventurers’ Clubknowing no one.John came over andtold him to keep uphis spitrit. “We needpeople like you,” Johntold him.

Rick Flores enjoyedseeing John spy a sala-mander on the Stur-

devant Falls hike. John told Rick that someday he would be president of the Club.“Here I am,” Rick said.

Then John himself spoke. He said thiswas not just John Goddardday, but a day for friends ofJohn Goddard. He thankedhis friends here who sup-ported him. John and Carolhave been married 32 years.She tells John he still has alife to live for. He praisedCarol for having diploma-cy, patience and insight intosensitivity. John feels blessedto be alive and have a wifelike Carol.

At the end a certificate wasgiven to John for being agreat inspiration to adven-tures everywhere.

Editor’s note: I, too, have been inspired byJohn. For reasons I don’t quite understand, Johntook a special interest in me. He visited with me,spent several private times with me, and calls meregularly, although I am now 1,200 miles distant.The Club has a special place in my life, and Johnoccupies a central position in that special place.Thank you, John Goddard!

Standing ovation

President Rick & John


Programs / Letters

Forthcoming Programs

LETTERS TO THE EDITORTo the Editor:Editor’s note: This letter arrived for RalphPerez. I thought it worthwhile for everyone tosee it.

Thank you so much for inviting me tospeak at The Adventurers’ Club. It was atruly wonderful evening for me, meet-ing you and so many of the othersthere. Everyone was most gracious, andit’s a rare opportunity to have the privilege ofaddressing so many accomplished gentlemen.In all the world there’s nothing else quite likethe membership of this Club. So many smartand accomplished men in one room; it’s quitehumbling, but their good nature made mefeel very welcome.

As soon as my office remodeling is donethe speaker’s certificate will have a very promi-nent place on my wall. It means as much tome as the awards my software has earned. Ivery much look forward to attending moremeetings enjoying the company of the mem-bers of The Adventurers’ Club.

Thanks again for all your hard work liningup speakers. You did a great job of steward-ing my presentation, and I can only imaginehow much time and attention it requires ofyou to do that every week. I very much appre-

May 2, 2013 – Ben Hellwarth – SEALAB: America’s Forgotten Quest toLive and Work on the Ocean Floor

May 9, 2013 – David O. Carter, District Court Judge – NepalMay 16, 2013 – LADIES’ NIGHT – Bob Bitchin – The Bob Bitchen ShowMay 23, 2013 – Frederick Hareland – MARS SocietyMay 30, 2013 – Alexander Falk – Adventure CameramanJune 6, 2013 – Erik Katzenberg – Modern Sniping: The State of Military

Sniping in the War on TerrorJune 13, 2013 – Rich Abele – Sub Hunting ExpeditionJune 20, 2013 – Ken Freund – Motorcycle trip through Bolivia & PeruJune 27, 2013 – Marty Martin – Sherlock HolmesJuly 4, 2013 – CLUB DARK – Independence DayJuly 11, 2013 – Alan Feldstein – There Is More To Africa Than Just a

Wildlife SafariJuly 18, 2013 – Kevin Lee – Diving in Antarctica

ciate your excellent efforts.Let’s stay in touch with your

plan to post video feeds on theWeb. If I can be of service to the

Club in any way, I’m at your service.– Richard Gaskin

To the Editor:Peggy and I recently relocated to Sun City,

AZ. It meant so much for us to watch thetribute to John Goddard via the livestream.Big shout-out to Ralph Perez and Rick Floresfor producing this event on such short notice!I heard there were no less than 7 trips to Fry’sall on the afternoon of the event! The warm-est item was that John’s grandchildren didn’treally know the extent of John’s accomplish-ments until that night. Pierre mentioned theydidn’t want to leave the Club after the event,but wanted to stay and soak up every last bit!

Again, congratulations to all who helpedmake this happen. BTW – I still have threeclients in Los Angeles and will be in townevery couple of months to attend meetings atthe Club.

– Larry Schutte #1121Now...that’s what I’m talking about! – Editor

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