17 minute read
Places
THe Pac
Culminating from a joint effort between Cal Poly, the City, and the non-profit foundation bearing its name, the Performing Arts Center opened to much fanfare in September of 1996. Today, it continues to inspire audience members and performers alike with a style and architecture all its own. “The PAC,” as it is known to locals, is a coveted jewel of the Central Coast. Last March, Steve Corey, as a member of the San Luis Obispo Camera Club (SLOCC), was invited to tour all of the “nooks and crannies that normally would be off bounds to visitors.” While the behind the scenes shots produced some interesting photography, it was this sweeping view from the stage of Sidney Harmon Hall, the main 1,289 seat auditorium, that left him awestruck, just as it did the first time he saw it fifteen years ago. SLO LIFE
Meet bridget ready
In this installment of our “Meet Your Neighbor” series, SLO LIFE Magazine sits down for a conversation with Bridget Ready. She comes from a long line of local ranching families, teaches at Bishop’s Peak Elementary, and, along with her husband, Paul, an attorney, she co-founded Jack’s Helping Hand, which was inspired by their experience caring for their son, Jack, whom they lost to a rare form of brain cancer seven years ago when he was just three-and-a-half years old. Here is her story…
Let’s start from the beginning, bridget, where are you from?
My family has been around here for eight generations. I was raised out on a cattle ranch in the middle of nowhere. My husband’s family has been around for quite a while, too. He told me that I had to marry him because he was the only one I wasn’t related to in San Luis County. I went off to school at Saint Mary’s College in Moraga. I always knew I wanted to be a teacher from day one.
Did anything influence you in making that decision?
One of the best things my parents said was to “do what you love and the rest will take care of itself.” And teaching has continued to save my life. I love it. I have a Montessori credential; I studied for a year in Italy with Mario Montessori [son of Maria Montessori]. And then I went to Cal Poly where I received my teaching credential and Masters in Special Education, which is another love of mine. I first started teaching in 1982, back in the Dark Ages [laughter].
Tell us about your kids.
I have Philip, who is 23 at Davis; Dana, who is 21 in Colorado; Grace, who is 16 and a junior at Mission Prep; and, Jack, who would be going on 11.
Can you tell us about Jack?
He was perfectly fine when he was born with a high Apgar score [a test administered to newborns immediately after birth to determine their relative level of health]. He did very well. He passed the Well-Baby exam, also. When he was three months old, he started crying and crying, and we couldn’t figure out what was wrong, so finally we took him to the hospital where he had a seizure, and they found a brain tumor. This was right after 9/11 happened, and the planes were grounded, but we had to get him up to Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital, which is on the Stanford campus in Palo Alto, because they had to operate immediately. They ended up sending a helicopter to pick us up.
What was the hospital like?
It’s a magical place, as most children’s hospitals are. I’ll never forget the first day when we were there at Stanford. I was sitting in the waiting room, and there was this old, African-American gentleman vacuuming the floor. And, as I was sitting there, I could see him sort of checking out this couple in the corner. It was obvious that they were quite poor. When he finished vacuuming, he walked over, pulled a ten-dollar bill out of his pocket, handed it to them and limped away. Also, the parking lot attendant would give candy to everyone, and there was a woman who came into our room each morning to mop the floor, and she’d always come in early to play peek-a-boo with Jack. I think your eyes are more open at that time, and you’re more appreciative of those small gestures.
Was that what inspired you to create Jack’s Helping Hand?
This is where it all starts. We had great insurance, but they would not let him leave San Luis County because they wanted him to stay and biopsy the tumor. And, Stanford was like, “No. You get him up here now. That kid’s going to barely make it through the night.” We ended up staying there for nine months in the hospital. He should have never made it, but he had multiple surgeries. And, he just fought like crazy, and he was adorable. During that time people here were so wonderful to us.
What was it like when you finally came back to SLO?
When we brought him home, he was cancer-free. And we immediately got started on his rehabilitation. At Stanford, we had become accustomed to great physical therapy facilities; they had everything. But we came home, and the first thing we did was to go to the California Children’s Services (CCS) therapy room, which was about the size of a little closet. I remember looking around and thinking, “You have got to be kidding.”
So what happened next?
We learned that CCS only got something like $600 or $800 per year for physical therapy equipment. So, we got to work on raising funds to improve it. I just thought, “I want state-of-the-art.” We worked with the county schools, and they gave us a huge, like triple-sized classroom, and we outfitted it gorgeously with every kind of piece of equipment you can imagine. It was painted with beautiful murals. But at that time, there were only 10 or 12, maybe 14, kids coming in. Now there are over a hundred. It was like “build it, and they shall come.” That is how Jack’s Helping Hand started. We just wanted to make sure that if you have a child here with special needs or one that is medically fragile, you had what you needed.
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Today, Jack’s Helping Hand has grown to include assisting children and families outside of the physical therapy facility, correct?
Yes, that’s right. As a family we incurred an extraordinary expense in driving back and forth to Stanford. Doing that two or three times a week easily added up to thousands of dollars per month. But, we realized that we weren’t alone. Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital contacted us and said, “We know you have the foundation, and we have some families that are coming up here from San Luis County. Could you possibly help them with gas cards, or lodging, or food?”
And just who were these people?
What we found was that the majority of the people that are hit the hardest are local, working people, many of them with insurance. And that’s what we’re there to fill. It’s the mom and dad who are working, who have to up-and-leave and stay in a hotel because they don’t qualify for any help. And they don’t have enough to pay for it on their own. They have to pay for gas. They still have to eat, they have to sleep, and all those costs really add up quickly for families. So, we just started noticing all these families in the same situation as us.
So the foundation expanded its mission.
Initially, Jack’s Helping Hand was just an effort to create a better physical therapy room for California Children’s Services, but then, out-of-theblue, came a boy named Owen Beck. He had cancer – he’s darling, oh my gosh! He’s going to be 24. He was 17 at the time, which was about a year after Jack died. Owen’s mom was a teacher, his dad was a farmer; it’s a classic story. He was diagnosed with cancer and had to have his leg amputated. And the only prosthetic leg he could get, the only one his insurance company would approve – and this was top-notch insurance – was something like a pirate’s leg. It hurt him. And he kept falling down. There was new technology out there, but it was going to cost $50,000. So, we decided to have a barbeque to raise funds. We continue this annually now, and it sells out every year. We’ve since been able to help a lot of other kids like Owen. We’ve bought wheelchairs, we’ve bought artificial limbs, hearing aids - you name it.
Aside from the obvious health challenges, do you find that these kids have anything else in common?
They are really the invisible children here because when you have a sick child, you cannot leave the house much. You’re not going out to the soccer games, or birthday parties, or the beach, and you are out of the area a lot for treatment. So, people don’t know you, and they really don’t know what you need. And, so, you get lost.
Clearly it was Jack who opened your eyes to this world.
Jack was three-and-a-half when he died. I think the one thing is that as we all live, we need to live with no regrets. There are many of us whom I know now who have lost children, and we can look back and know that, although it is a very difficult thing to go through, we are very lucky to have that experience. For me, it really opened up a world that I was not aware of. I was not aware of the special needs world. And we are part of this silent population. But, it was one of the best things for my children and my family to have a child like that.
How did this change your perspective?
I knew that, if our family ever had a chance after all this suffering - I was gone all the time, and we almost lost everything - I needed to know that we did our best with no regrets. We did that. And, you know what, we had fun. We got to see things that other people don’t see.
How did your other kids cope?
Luckily we had very good counseling, in fact I had a great psychiatrist who has since passed away of a brain tumor. But, we had a great deal of support. My 23-year-old - I don’t know that it has anything to do with his brother - he’s kind of a wild man [laughter]… he’s at UC Davis, hopefully, someday graduating. But, he doesn’t seem to be in a very big rush. But, honestly, I think it opened our kids’ world. They go to Special Olympics; they get it. They do not take things for granted, and I would say that is
a gift. I also refused from day one to look at this experience - once Jack passed away - that this would do nothing but enrich our lives. You know, that’s a choice. And we all have to make a choice about how we see the world. And, we, as a family, have chosen to see it as an eye-opening experience, where we can help and understand others.
How did you keep it together during that time?
I have a great family and friends and faith. And, having a child like Jack brings out the best in others. People stepped forward who you would have never thought would step forward. And really you just live at a whole different level. Things that I thought really mattered, didn’t. And that’s one of the real blessings. You really get to see life from a different perspective of what is important. Through suffering comes greatness.
It sounds like you had formed some tremendous bonds through the entire experience.
When Jack died, Stanford actually sent a plane down loaded with nurses and doctors to attend the funeral. The head of the hospital called me and I said to him, “You know what - in life, all we know is that we give it our best shot. And we gave it our best shot.” And that’s what it’s about. It’s not that, in the end, we all succeed at what we’re aiming to do. It’s just that we give it our best shot.
What came next for you?
For a year after Jack died I was completely grief stricken and kind of just laid around. I really tried my best. I had great counseling once or twice a week; I did everything you were supposed to do. I exercised, I walked, I talked to really positive people, I saw friends, and I tried to clean my house. You’re just trying to find some sense of order. My husband finally said, “Ok, you’ve got to do something. What do you love?” I just said, “I love teaching elementary school, I love it.” I knew within the first two minutes of going back to work that I had made the right decision. I just knew that was it. I love teaching. It feeds my soul.
How are things going now with the holidays coming up?
It’s always bittersweet. Jack has a stocking that my sister sent him the day he was born. It’s an angel. Now I think, “Ah-ha - that makes sense!” It’s bittersweet. Time does help. It never goes away, but it does help. I think holidays are hard. I try to talk with other families because you want to give them hope that it’s a different life after you’ve lost a child. You can’t go back to the life you had before. That life’s done. So, you have to go out and build a new one. And I think that is so critical for parents to know. The heart grieving is the hardest work you will ever do. But, in the end, as you build your new life, you owe it to your child because they want you to go on, they want you to live. And, in honor of them, it’s your responsibility to do that.
Do you feel that with Jack’s Helping Hand you are somehow keeping him alive?
You know, it’s really interesting. I did not plan on that. What I am trying to do is to educate people to the needs of this community. I think that’s more how I see it. I was just so surprised to see so much need, particularly after raising three “perfect” children – I can tell you some great parenting stories I have [laughter], especially now that I have my third going through “teenage hood” – I just feel that I was brought into a world that is just so hidden with so many needs, and I just want to help as much as I can and fill those needs. That is what I am trying to do.
What does the future hold for you?
I’ve got another year until I get my daughter off to college then I am going to go back to horseback riding. You know, I really loved horseback riding. I grew up riding horses, and I am really looking forward to getting back on a horse.
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Thanks for taking the time to talk with us today, Bridget – we are truly inspired by your grace and wisdom.
That’s very sweet of you to say. Thanks for your interest - it means a lot.
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In 2007, Sky Bergman found her dream home just a block-and-a-half away from her apartment on Mill Street. She made an offer without even laying eyes on the inside of the home, which was then a rental property. “The location was perfect, but the house was a mess - it needed a complete remodel,” remembers Bergman, a Photography Professor at Cal Poly.
To counteract the prominent “foursquare-style” architecture - characterized by the fact that the roofline is nearly a perfect square - Bergman enlisted the help of architect Enrica Lovaglio Costello. It became clear during the early design phase that the home, which was originally built in either 1904 or 1907 (Bergman has found conflicting documentation), needed something to smooth out its overall “boxy-ness.”
The idea came about to soften the strong angular lines of the exterior by creating soft contours with winding walls and archways throughout the interior. This helped to preserve the original character of the structure, while at the same time introducing a more modern feel with a logical, clean interior flow. The result is a well-thought-out, light-filled interior which is warm and inviting. Exacting attention to detail is apparent throughout.
Design and layout of the surrounding yard was conceived by Bergman, and features a whimsical “sculpture garden” that is especially popular with children. “It all started when my mom gave me this metal sculpted rooster for my birthday. I put it outside, then a friend noticed it and bought me another item, then someone else brought over something for the collection. It’s grown exponentially since then,” she laughs.
For the rest of the landscape, the focus has been on water efficiency. There is no grass lawn, instead Bergman was able to recycle the brick in the fireplace which had been removed, and now it makes up the walkways that wind through the succulent gardens. Bergman, who has a fondness for the look of artichoke plants also took liberty in adding them, as well as a small plot of tomatoes. Somehow, all of the changes fit together to reflect a new unique, eclectic style to this historic Mill Street gem.
The Bergman Home
1265 Mill Street
PhoToS By ELLIoTT JohnSon
MODERN STYLING
Bergman and Costello softened the “boxy-ness” of the foursquare structure by adding contours to the walls, archways, and the island, pictured here in the kitchen, where contrasting colors combine with abundant light to create an inviting, user-friendly space.
BATHING BEAuTIES
left The curved wall adds a modern feel when combined with mosiac tilework. below The clawfoot tub in the second bathroom, which is surrounded by extra tall wainscoting, pairs nicely with the classic-style black and white hexagon tile floor.
SLO LIFE
