Mountain Views News, Sierra Madre Edition [Pasadena] Saturday, August 25, 2018

7

BEST FRIENDS & MORE 

Mountain Views-News Saturday, August 25, 2018 


Happy Tails

by Chris Leclerc

BEST FRIEND

ALONG 
CAME 

A SPIDER

Wegman is a beautiful Weimaraner mix about 
8-years-old, weighing in at a healthy and hefty 90 
pounds. He was found as a stray dog in Rosemead 
with no identification to trace his owner. Since 
no one has come to claim him, he is now available 
for adoption. Wegman is a lovely senior boy with 
a very affectionate disposition and the energy of a 
youngster. Wegman loves people and is not shy to 
show everyone affection. He is a stunning, confident 
and loving big boy with the most beautiful doggie 
smile. Wegman loves spending time with his human 
friends preferably cuddling cheek-to-cheek. He is 
still quite energetic and needs his daily exercise. 
He loves walks to the park or some playtime in our 
dog runs. Wegman is looking for a secure home 
with an active family who can give him the exercise, 
training and love he needs to thrive and live his best 
life. His adoption fee is $145 and includes neuter 
surgery, vaccinations, microchip and a free wellness 
exam at a participating veterinarian. Feel free to 
call us at (626) 286-1159 for more information. 
He currently resides at the San Gabriel Valley 
Humane Society located at 851 E. Grand Avenue in 
San Gabriel which is located off San Gabriel Blvd, 
north of Mission and south of Las Tunas Drive. To 
arrange a ‘Meet and Greet’, please stop by any time 
from 10:30am to 4:30pm Tuesday through Sunday.
Website:www.sgvhumane.org.


My home was built in the 1950‘s, and even 
though it is old, to me it is a refuge from the 
rest of the world where change and replacement 
is an ongoing, never-ending process. I adore 
my home. My husband Rick and I bought it 26 
years ago, and to be perfectly honest, at first I 
was not that excited about it. I instantly loved 
the property it sits on, and the neighborhood 
surrounding it, but the structure itself had to 
grow on me over time.

 Rick knew better. He understood that the house 
had “good bones”. He felt sure that the heavy-duty 
core construction would sustain over time and 
he had a vision for how we could make an older 
house or home, the way we wanted it. Thanks to 
his vision, we’ve managed to 
create a beautiful living space 
through hard work, creativity, 
patience and tenacity. But, as 
much as I appreciate my home, I 
must admit that it is somewhat of 
a spider magnet.

 Fortunately, I don’t suffer from 
arachnophobia, so having spiders 
reside alongside me in my private 
space has never been any sort of a 
fear factor to me. Although I do 
like to keep a tidy home, and having spider webs 
constructed in all four corners of the indoors does 
tend to pose somewhat of a challenge for keeping 
things clean. 

 I do what I can to capture those elusive arachnids 
without harming them and I take them to the yard 
where I think they will have the best chance of 
continuing on their path of life without disruption. 
There is no need to kill a harmless spider. They are 
just doing what they were created to do, which 
often means they are eating those annoying flying 
bugs that will either bite or drive a person crazy.

 So now that the cat is out of the bag, it is no secret 
that I like spiders, a lot! I find them fascinating, 
both physically and socially, and I’m impressed 
with their work ethic. They never quit! When the 
practical, yet remarkably artistic web structure 
they worked on for countless hours - using silk 
that came from its own 
glands - is destroyed, they 
immediately climb back 
up and begin the project 
all over again. It’s a repeat 
performance that puts my 
house-cleaning skills to 
shame!

 At the same time, I 
also realize that some 
types of spiders can be 
dangerous or deadly, 
so it is important to 
know the difference 
between the good guys 
and the bad guys. At 
least when it comes to spiders, we can count on 
natural markings to know a friendly spider from a 
potentially dangerous one, which is more than can 
be said for humans a lot of the time.

 I was inspired to write about spiders when I saw 
a fact sheet showing images of the ones likely to be 
found in the United States. I was reminded of how 
important it is to know which ones are harmful and 
which ones should actually be protected. And in 
my opinion, letting the harmless ones live is equally 
important as avoiding contact with the lethal ones.

 There is a wide variety of spiders found in the 
Pacific Northwest US, but only a couple among 
them are considered to be potentially dangerous or 
deadly. The Black Widow and the Brown Recluse 
are dangerous, potentially deadly 
spiders that should be avoided 
and if found in your home or yard, 
destroyed. As much as I hate to kill 
any living thing, there are times 
when it is necessary to use common 
sense to protect oneself from harm, 
and this would definitely be one of 
those times.

 The Hobo Spider used to 
be among those considered 
dangerous, but after more in-
depth research, scientists have removed it from the 
list. The Hobo Spider will bite if forced to do so and 
its bite is painful but its venom is not considered 
remarkably harmful, definitely not deadly. All 
three - the Black Widow, the Brown Recluse and 
the Hobo Spider can be identified by their tubular 
web construction.

 Be aware that any spider would rather run than 
have to defend itself and for this reason, it is always 
best to let them go on their way. This is actually 
true of any wild living thing you may come across 
in the foothills where we live. Animals just want 
to be left alone and allowed to survive. Because 
we humans have infringed on much of the wild 
open space where lots of animals live, many 
have been forced to learn to survive by adapting 
to cohabitation with us and it’s about time we 
humans learn to do the same.


TWO’S COMPANY!


Might you be 
looking for 
the sweetest, 
cutest twosome 
ever? Look no 
further than our 
brother/sister 
duo, PARKER & 
CHARLOTTE, 
age about 1 yr. 
They were first 
adopted several 
months ago, but were recently returned to us due 
to on-going travel plans of the owner. They are 
almost identical tabbies, with snow white paws, 
and sweet little faces, all wrapped up in a cuddly, 
friendly, and loving package of double trouble! 
They will liven up your home and bring you 
endless joy and cuddles! Of course, they will come 
healthy, current on vaccines, spayed/neutered, and 
microchipped. See more pictures, adoption info at 
www.lifelineforpets.org.

 GOOD NEWS: Dogs Baxter and TJ have been 
adopted.


THE WORLD AROUND US


OUT TO PASTOR 

A Weekly Religion Column by Rev. James Snyder

CHRISTOPHER Nyerges

OLD SCHOOL KNIFE SHARPENING 
MEET PERIPATETIC KNIFE SHARPENER 
JULIO TORUNO

LAUGHTER IN ANY OTHER 
LANGUAGE IS JUST NOT FUNNY 

When I was in high school, I played on the 
volleyball team. During one practice session, I 
forgot to bring my sneakers. Not thinking much of 
it, I just played anyway.

 During the practice, I stepped forward to protect 
the player on the front line and when he jumped, 
he came down on my right foot. The consequence 
was he smashed my big toe.

 That little incident put me out of the volleyball 
team for the rest of the season. I had to go to the 
doctor and have him fix my toe. I had to go several 
times for him to fix it. Consequently, my toenail on 
my right foot grew in crooked. It has been a painful 
thing ever since.

 For years, I took care of it, but not too long ago 
I was doing more damage than help and I did not 
know what to do about it.

 The Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage suggested 
that I go have a pedicure.

 Looking at her, I said rather sarcastically, “A 
pedicure is for girls.”

 “Well,” she said rather slowly, “if you go to the 
doctor it will be about $300. A pedicure is around 
$25. Now,” she continued, “you do the math.”

 I must say it took me a long time to do the 
math on that one. I knew I had to have some kind 
of professional help with that toe. I was doing so 
much damage that it hurt just to walk. And, I’m not 
old enough to hobble around.

 After a long evaluation I thought that I did not 
have anything to lose except, $275.

 Not far from us was some kind of a Nail Salon. I 
went to it at least five times before I finally went in. 
It was a very humiliating experience for me. After 
all, I’m not a “girl.”

 When I went in, finally, I noticed they were 
not speaking English. It turned out to be some 
Vietnamese family running this nail salon. When 
I walked in nobody was smiling, but as soon as the 
door shut behind me, everybody looked at me and 
started smiling. What’s that all about?

 Somebody started speaking in Vietnamese and 
then everybody looked at me and started to laugh. 
I too laughed.

 I had a moment of hesitation and I was about 
to turn around and go outside as fast as I could. 
It must have been the owner or manager of the 
nail salon who come up to me, greeted me very 
graciously and took me back to a chair where I was 
to have my pedicure.

 A very nice young lady came and said something 
to me that I could not understand. Then she pointed 
to my shoes and said something else I could not 
understand. I believe she wanted me to take off my 
shoes and socks.

I did so and while I was doing it, she got the hot 
water in the pan in front of the chair I was to 
sit in. As soon as I took off my shoes and socks, 
she pointed to my feet and said something and 
everybody looked at me and started laughing.

 She said something in English that sounded like, 
“Too long.” Then everybody in the salon began to 
chuckle.

I honestly did not know what she meant. I did not 
know if my toenails were too long or if I waited too 
long to come and get a pedicure.

 Then she started the process of a pedicure. I 
started feeling like a “girl.”

 She was rather gracious, and knew exactly what 
she was doing and did a wonderful job with the 
pedicure. She cut my toenails like they have never 
been cut before. And, there was no blood!

 I never had a pedicure before and really was 
not sure what to expect. Not only did she cut my 
toenails, but also she massaged my foot and my 
toes and they never felt better.

 Every once in a while, she would say something 
in Vietnamese and everybody in the salon would 
look at me and then laugh. At first, I was laughing 
along with them. I do not know what I was laughing 
at. I do suspicion that I was laughing at myself.

 It began slowly to dawn on me that perhaps she 
was making fun of my foot. Could it be she’s never 
seen a “non-girl foot?”

 I was feeling a little strange and thought to myself 
that this will be the last time I ever come here. Then 
when they were laughing at one point, I thought 
of the money involved. By coming here to this nail 
salon, I was saving $275. It was then that I began to 
laugh, and laugh very loud.

 When I went to the check out to pay for the 
pedicure the manager said to me, “Come back 
soon?” I just nodded my head thinking of the $275 
I was saving. Going out the door, I found myself 
still laughing.

I was reminded of what David said. “Then was 
our mouth filled with laughter, and our tongue 
with singing: then said they among the heathen, 
The Lord hath done great things for them” (Psalm 
126:2).

 When I refuse to do something because of my 
pride, I discover that when I face up to my pride 
and not allow it to define me that I can discover joy.

 The Rev. James L. Snyder is pastor of the Family of 
God Fellowship, 1471 Pine Road, Ocala, FL 34472. 
He lives with the Gracious Mistress of the Parsonage, 
in Ocala, Florida. Call him at 352-687-4240 or 
e-mail jamessnyder2@att.net. The church web site 
is www.whatafellowship.com.

[For information about 
Nyerges’ classes and books, 
he can be reached at www.SchoolofSelf-Reliance.com.]

 Julio Toruno is intimately involved with knives 
everyday. But he’s not a survivalist, a knife collector, 
nor a cutlery dealer. He doesn’t live in a remote 
compound, and he’s never heard of all the TV survivor 
actors. 

 Toruno is a quiet man who’s found his peace 
through the art of knife-sharpening.Many times a 
week, he sets up temporary shop from the back of his 
truck, mostly at farmer’s markets, and not far from 
Sierra Madre. “Have stone, will sharpen,” seems to be 
his motto.Toruno got started with knife-sharpening 
because of his background in cooking. He’s worked 
as a prep cook, and as a cook at a private school. He 
knew that a sharp knife was a necessity in getting the 
job done.For the last four years, Toruno has been a 
peripatetic knife-sharpener, driving to various locations 
where he sets up shop and does his trade. When I 
recently approached him as he was sharpening a large 
kitchen knife, I could see that he was very focused, 
and I didn’t know at the time that he was counting his 
strokes. His concentration was completely on each 
strokes of the knife on his wet stone. I watched him 
evenly stroke the knife back and forth, and occasionally 
put some water onto the stone. I waited until he 
finished, after he wiped the knife clean, and set it to the 
side, before I began to ask questions.

 The stones are mounted in a vice that Toruno made, 
which allows the stone to sit atop a large stainless steel 
rectangular pan filled with water. This makes a very 
neat system, so that the water he continually adds to 
the stone drips right into the pan.I gave Toruno one 
of my carbon steel sheath knives so I could watch the 
process from start to finish. He mounted the coarsest 
wet stone onto his vice, which had a grit of 120. (The 
smaller the number, the coarser the grit of the stone). 
He tells me that he first examines my knife to see 
how many strokes it needs, and to see if there are 
any particularly bad spots on the knife. He decides 
to take my little Russel skinning knife through his 
five stages of sharpening. He lays the knife onto the 
wet stone, matching the angle the cutting edge to the 
stone. He then gives it about 70 even strokes. “The 
number of strokes changes as I move from stone to 
stone, and depending on the knife,” he explains. “The 
further along the process, I use less strokes, but on 
average it’s about 160 strokes total per side, from the 
coarse to the fine stone.”When he was done with the 
120 grit stone, he moved to finer grits of stones. He 
proceeded to stroke my knife with a 220 grit stone, 
then 320, then 1000, and finally the finest work was 
done on an 8000 grit stone. Toruno looked at my 
knife’s edge carefully, and sliced through a piece of 
glossy paper to show how sharp he’d made it.

 For a beginner just getting started in knife-
sharpening, he suggests going to any woodworking 
store and buying a stone with a different grit on each 
side, such as a 500 and 1000 grit stone. Locally, Toruno 
can be seen Tuesdays at the Highland Park Farmers 
market at Avenue 58 at Figueroa, and at the Altadena 
Farmers Market at Loma Alta and Lincoln. He can be 
reached at 626) 466-6278.


Mountain Views News 80 W Sierra Madre Blvd. No. 327 Sierra Madre, Ca. 91024 Office: 626.355.2737 Fax: 626.609.3285 Email: editor@mtnviewsnews.com Website: www.mtnviewsnews.com