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Around Town

Gung Ho!

Craig Merrill

A Marine Corps Boot Camp for Island Jarhead Wannabes

    On the phone, former Marine Capt. Charla McMillian sounds larger than life. She doesn’t speak so much as she kind of barks at you, and speed-wise, she could give a racing commentator stiff competition.
    In the flesh?
    “She’s an itty-bitty African-American woman. You won’t miss her. She’ll be wearing combat boots and fatigues.”
    Telling me this is one of several hard-to-make-out figures stomping to keep warm in the chill and darkness of pre-dawn Washington Park. They’re here for McMillian’s boot camp workout program, and they’re all regulars. I’ve joined them to sample her routine.
    The group consists of what the petite 44-year-old calls her “troops”—those who have passed an authentic Marine Corps fitness test—as well as recruits working to pass the test. We do stretches, crunches, pull-ups, sprints and suicide rolls where, on cue, you drop flat on your belly or your back onto the wet grass. Halfway through each routine, McMillian yells “Recover!” and the recruits stop to take it easy. She ends the 45-minute class with some words on nutrition.
    The eight-year Marine veteran launched her boot camp business in 1997 in Boston, and published a book, Boot Camp Abs in 2005. Her goal, she says, is to make bodies “hard, fast and strong through discipline, structure and accountability.” She says she believes we all have an inner athlete waiting to be released, so what she classifies as elite, high-level and beginner athletes are welcomed equally.
    McMillian and her partner, Sharon Barclay, moved to the Bay Area recently in a quest to find the perfect city for them to put down roots. The quest ended in Alameda.
One person who is delighted she’s here is David Hinton, 35, who first worked out with McMillian in Boston. Now he drives a loop, Monday through Friday, from San Francisco, where he lives, to Alameda, where he exercises, then on to Marin, where he works.
    “I find it gratifying and an honor to know I’ve passed the Marines’ personal fitness test,” he says, “and I like the rigor and regimentation that comes from Charla’s military training.”
    Oaklander Christina Gilpin, 38, was into her second six-week intensive when we spoke. “It sounds dramatic but working with Charla has changed my life,” she says. “I’ve always been sedentary and a fast-food junkie. She opens your eyes to a different way to looking at your body. She forces you to push yourself, to change your idea of how far you can go. I’d never run in my life, not even across the street. I ran three miles last week. I lost 11 pounds the first six weeks, and ate my first green beans, thanks to Charla.”
    David Gunderman, 41, of Alamda, decided to give boot camp a try, fell in love with it and became a regular. “I like the camaraderie and appreciate the nutritional counseling. I thought it would be intimidating, but while she’s tough, Charla’s also tremendously good humored.”
    Which goes to show, Charla McMillian might bark but she doesn’t bite—and boots and all, she’s become many a man’s best friend.
    For more on Charla McMillian and her training schedules, see www.fitboot.com or call (877) 348-2668.
 

Media Shelf

New Releases From Alameda Authors

Books
Natural Selection’s Paradox, The Outlaw Gene, The Religion of Money and the Origin of Evil by Carter Stroud (Carter Stroud, 2008, 373 pp., $17.99)
    Carter Stroud, a former Alameda city attorney, delves into the philosophy of natural selection as it relates to his view of humanity’s decline in his recent self-published book. Convinced that greed and deception are the ruination of the species, Stroud theorizes that humans are essentially devolving because they’re adapting to the wrong stimuli. While convention holds the species changes in response to its environment, Stroud maintains that modern day humanity adversely alters itself in response to its own “tools and artifacts,” such as money and evil. Stroud ends his exploration with advice on what can be done to restore mankind’s integrity. All in all, this is a challenging but intriguing intellectual exercise into why people act contrary to their best interests and how they can adjust for the better.

Images of America: Alameda by Greta Dutcher and Stephen Rowland (Arcadia Publishing, 2009, 127 pp.,  $21.99)
    Greta Dutcher and Stephen Rowland, co-authors of the Arcadia Publishing postcard picture book Alameda, team up again for a new image-driven history book that brings the Island to life through period photographs, more postcards and an assortment of memorabilia such as signs, invitations and letters. Accompanying captions offer small history lessons on a wide range subjects. Lovely Victorians, scenic open spaces, dour residents and relaxed Neptune Beach visitors—it’s all here. The authors’ core theme celebrates Alameda’s small-town allure from a preservationist perspective and urges readers to ponder their past, present and future in relation to what remains and what is no more.                     

—Judith M. Gallman

Alameda Made

Studio Roeper

Wild for Wood
    Florian Roeper says he knew he wanted to become a craftsman after visiting a lumberyard for the first time while in art school. Learning what walnut looks like before it becomes a chair or finished piece of work was “awesome,” he says. “It was like endless knowledge to be gained.”
    The 31-year-old Oaklander creates high-end, made-to-order contemporary furniture in his workshop, Studio Roeper, at the former Alameda Naval Air Station. Many of his pieces incorporate wood from a local sawmill that salvages storm-blown, sick or dying trees. To give each piece its own unique character, he often leaves knots and cracks untouched, sometimes utilizing burned wood in his work.
    A native German, Roeper split his time between Europe and Northern California until graduating from high school in Germany. Initially, Roeper says he wanted to be a graphic designer, but while attending the California College of the Arts at both the San Francisco and Oakland campuses, he started experimenting with different disciplines, including woodwork, metal work and sculpture. “I started to think graphic design is so not happening,” he says.
    At school, Roeper says he found himself drawn to furniture that incorporated both wood and metal. “I liked the idea of making parts in the metal shop and welding something together and casting something out of bronze and then trying to find a balance between materials,” he says.
    During an apprenticeship with woodworker and noted door maker Al Garvey, Roeper learned how to use patina processes on copper and brass, which give metals an aged and therefore softer look, he says. “It’s really important to me to have the work have warmth—to make people want to touch it and to clearly state that this is handcrafted,” he says.
    Even now, Roeper continues to experiment with metal and wood throughout his work. For example, his San Andreas dining room table consists of California walnut and etched copper and steel, while his Mid-Atlantic Ridge I bench incorporates Spanish cedar, wenge, charred Douglas fir and brass.

—Ellen Keohane
—Photography by Craig Merrill

Wanted: Kick-Ass Gals

    Bicycling may be a male-dominated sport of elite athletes, but it doesn’t have to be. That’s why there’s a kinder, gentler women’s-only cycling program, Women on Wheels, operating out of Alameda Bicycle. It’s geared toward newbies and recreational riders, not hard-core hammerheads.
    Kelli Poindexter, an Alameda Bicycle sales manager until the birth of her daughter, Rylie, in 2007, and former service manager Sara Jarrell, who’s moved on to North Carolina, started WOW in 2005, envisioning an educational, networking and riding program for women.
    “We recognized a need for something for women,” says Poindexter, 37, who caught the riding bug in 2000 from now-husband Jason, 35. “We wanted to expand that community of women cyclists, and we wanted an environment where women would feel more comfortable in asking questions and not feel intimidated.”
    So the two—called “kick-ass gals” on the WOW Web page—developed WOW, which offers monthly clinics, seminars, events and rides from March through October, taking a break during the rainy season.
    The $10 clinics are on Sunday evenings at the Alameda Bicycle shop and have covered topics ranging from basic bike maintenance to bike cleaning and fixing flats. The price, times and locations of seminars and special events—from Pilates and yoga demonstrations for off-season training to a fashion show of technical apparel—vary. There’s always a monthly ride (“not hammer rides; they’re pretty social, but sometimes challenging routes,” Poindexter says), and the ride frequency increases during popular cycling months. Interested riders can sign up for details via WOW e-mails, which are sent to about 150 female riders.
    “We started out small, but it was strong from the start,” says Poindexter, a former biochemist whose own cycling hobby resulted in employment with Alameda Bicycle after the Hayward biotech startup where she was working collapsed. Poin-dexter, a swimmer from Sacramento, is also a representative for Giant for Women (“The Ride Society”) and claims she’s more fit now than ever before.
    Poindexter hopes to see more women on the road in 2009, so look for the new WOW schedule.
    For more on WOW and other biking information, visit www.alamedabicycle.com or stop by Alameda Bicycle, 1522 Park St., (510) 522-0070.

—Judith M. Gallman
—Photography by Craig Merrill

Check It Out

Discover Fine Art at the Alameda Free Library

    Books, periodicals, computers, tables and comfy chairs are expected library accou-trements, but what about fine art?
    Alameda Free Library leaders and supporters insisted from the get-go in 2003 that its new, publicly financed, state-of-the-art Oak Street library would house fine art, and the last of five commissioned pieces, Diosa de la Bahia, a towering wood sculpture, now inhabits a prominent location in front of the main staircase.
    “The Lady,” as the rough-carved redwood figure by Michael Carey is more commonly known, stretches upward, the skirted goddess grasping a fish in her arms as she stands beneath a three-masted ship, nods to Alameda’s pastoral and maritime past. The sculpture pedestal includes poetry by Emily Dickinson to emphasize the artist’s theme: “There is no frigate like a book/To take us lands away/Nor any courses like a page/Of prancing poetry.”
    Library director Jane Chisaki and others say they never doubted they could raise the $145,250 for the fine art project, which by mandate stipulated that no public money could be used. And supporters—namely the Alameda Free Library Foundation, Friends of the Library, the Alameda Welfare Council and the family and friends of the late Ann Miller Muir, a revered library champion—indeed met the goal. Their generosity made possible four additional pieces: eight exterior medallions depicting waves and water, an ethereal limestone gray-and-black tree tile mural behind the checkout desk, a whimsical crouching rabbit-shaped bookshelf with surfboard-like ears and a mahogany wall frieze of local flora and fauna.
    Now that it’s all said and done, how do patrons like the art?
    “There’s mixed feelings, because art is in the eye of the beholder,” Chisaki says. “And so there are some people who absolutely love every piece, and there are some people who like only certain pieces.”
    But from her perspective, the art adds a new dimension. “To see them in reality in the building—it really completes the building, and people enjoy having them here.”

—Judith M. Gallman
—Photography by Lisa Levine

TAKEFIVE With Michael Schiess

Traps of the Town

Michael Schiess, the owner and founder of the Pacific Pinball Museum, better known as Lucky Ju Ju, gives high scores to some of the places in town that he frequently visits.

1  Alameda Taqueria on Park Street
    I’m from New Mexico, so I’m pretty picky about my Mexican food, and this place never lets me down. My usual order is the carne asada burrito. Even though I love it, it is so big I can never finish it. It would be hard to live in Alameda if I couldn’t have my weekly fix at this terrific taqueria.

2  Masters Swim Team
    Three days a week at 6:30 a.m. I swim at the Harbor Bay Club with the Masters Swim Team. I’m there with a group of people who reflect a wide range of ages and come from many different walks of life. It’s a great way to get a good workout, meet new people and watch the sunrise. Our coach, Linda Gilchrist, is also super and makes it a lot of fun.

3  Lucky Ju Ju
    I love to pop into the Lucky Ju Ju and find multigenerations playing pinball. I’ve seen grandfathers with their sons and grandchildren enjoying time together on a Sunday afternoon. That was our goal for the place—to attract people of all ages, offer inexpensive entertainment, and see folks side by side enjoying our mix of machines.

4  Alameda Naval Air Museum
    In my opinion, the Alameda Naval Air Museum is too much of well-kept secret. It is a jewel in our city’s and country’s history that should be more utilized. It has fascinating artifacts, exhibits and friendly docents that offer an invaluable education on the role of the Alameda Naval Air Station. The museum is also a tribute to the war hero and aeronautic genius Jimmy Doolittle, who led the Tokyo air raid during World War II.

5  The Sea Wall at the end of Burbank Street
    My wife and I love to walk down the palm-tree-lined street, Burbank Street, and end up at the sea wall at the very end. We think that the wall and the little triangle of land there are often forgotten but are such connections to Alameda’s past. We try and imagine what it was like when the bay used to come right up to the sea wall with the Neptune Beach Amusement Park nearby.

—Gina Jaber
—Photography by Craig Merrill