8 REINDEER AND 500 HOGS BIKERS, OTHERS JOIN SANTA BRIGADE FOR KIDS.Byline: Cecelia Chan and Erik N. Nelson Staff Writer WOODLAND HILLS - More than 500 roaring motorcycles and a dozen blaring fire trucks paraded Sunday from Woodland Hills to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. with a truckload truck·load n. The quantity that a truck can hold. truckload n → camión m lleno of toys. It was one of numerous events in and near the San Fernando Valley San Fernando Valley Valley, southern California, U.S. Northwest of central Los Angeles, the valley is bounded by the San Gabriel, Santa Susana, and Santa Monica mountains and the Simi Hills. to collect toys and other gifts for hospitalized children, poor children and for children in foster care in the area, as well as for victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. The flashiest and loudest of these was the sixth annual Ghost Riders- Funrise Toy Drive. About 30 Los Angeles Police Department "LAPD" and "L.A.P.D." redirect here. For other uses, see LAPD (disambiguation).  This article or section is written like an . motor
officers escorted other motorcycle riders and dozens of vintage fire
trucks through the city to deliver toys to the hospital.
The sight of the flag-flying motorcycle enthusiasts brought tears to the eyes of Jackie Campbell as she stood on Ventura Boulevard Ventura Boulevard is one of the primary east-west thouroughfares in the San Fernando Valley; as it was originally a part of the El Camino Real (the trail between Spanish missions), Ventura Boulevard is the oldest route in the San Fernando Valley. It was also U.S. conducting her own toy drive. ``I'm getting all emotional this year,'' said Campbell, chairwoman of the toy drive committee for the Sherman Oaks Homeowners Association. As the battalion of motorcycles and fire trucks passed by with a deafening deaf·en·ing adj. Extremely loud. Idiom: deafening silence A silence or lack of response that reveals something significant, such as disapproval or a lack of enthusiasm. roar that made window panes rattle, the association vice president, Matt Epstein, saluted with the horn of his red 1947 Dodge pickup. Nearby, in the Ralphs store parking lot, Christine Stevens looked down from her second-story perch on the Remo World Drum Tower, made to promote the 1996 Olympics, and pounded out a beat. In the bed of the '47 Dodge, which was festooned with 5-foot-long American flags on each corner, Epstein's 5-year-old son, Jonathan, helped pile up toys in a heap taller than him. Across the street, the association's Santa waved at the Santa in the parade from Woodland Hills. ``Six years ago, it started with 50 guys and a pickup truck,'' said Arnie Rubin, president of the Funrise Toy Corp., where the motorcycle and fire truck caravan originated. ``We have an incredible group of people, wonderful support.'' A 40-foot semitruck on his parking lot on Variel Avenue was packed with 10,000 toys to be donated to the hospital this year. Wearing an American flag T-shirt, Rubin pointed to yet another 40-foot-long rig in the parking lot. That load of toys is destined des·tine tr.v. des·tined, des·tin·ing, des·tines 1. To determine beforehand; preordain: a foolish scheme destined to fail; a film destined to become a classic. 2. for families of victims in the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks. Throughout the morning, riders arrived at the Funrise parking lot with Teddy bears, dolls and Harry Potter toys strapped to their motorcycles. Jim and Sue Pfeiffer roared in from Simi Valley Simi Valley (sē`mē, sĭm`ē), city (1990 pop. 100,217), Ventura co., SW Calif. in an oil, fruit, and farm region; laid out 1887, inc. 1969. on their Harley Davidson motorcycle, bringing eight toys. This was the fifth year the two, who both work at the University of California, Los Angeles UCLA comprises the College of Letters and Science (the primary undergraduate college), seven professional schools, and five professional Health Science schools. Since 2001, UCLA has enrolled over 33,000 total students, and that number is steadily rising. , participated in the charity event. ``We help out the children. That is what Christmas is all about,'' Jim Pfeiffer said. ``We try to make it enjoyable for them.'' Los Angeles City Councilman Dennis Zine, who represents the West San Fernando Valley area, was decked out in a black cap and leather jacket (Zool.) A California carangoid fish (Oligoplites saurus). A trigger fish (Balistes Carolinensis). See also: Leather Leather . He and others brought 100 toys from his office. ``I'm a Harley rider and a happy councilman,'' said Zine, who also participated in the first Ghost Riders-Funrise ride. ``This is what the holiday is about - giving and caring. Ric ``Pappy'' Mead of Woodland Hills, eager to help hand out gifts at the hospital, said each rider was asked to bring at least three toys. ``These kids - once you see them, you have a human heart,'' Mead said. About 225 children were at the hospital to receive the toys at the hospital, where about 500 toys are handed out each week to youngsters. In the Sherman Oaks homeowners' drive, Ellen Kaplan, 51, dropped off bookstore gift certificates for older children, then came back to donate a snow-white teddy bear in red-and-green clothes after she shopped at the Ralphs, a major sponsor of the drive. ``There are so many kids who have needs, and we're so fortunate here in Sherman Oaks,'' said Kaplan, an art teacher at Valley Beth Shalom Valley Beth Shalom is a Conservative Synagogue in Encino, Los Angeles, California. With over 1,800 member families[1] it is one of the largest synagogues in Los Angeles and one of the largest Conservative synagogues in the United States. Temple Day School. ``We have everything we need - and more.'' The association donates the toys to the Los Angeles County Department of Family Services, to be given away at a holiday party for abused and abandoned children, said association president Richard Close. A few miles away, hundreds of happy children lined up around the block at Van Nuys Boulevard and Valerio Street, waiting to get into the Knights of Columbus' annual Christmas Party. More than 550 children went through a receiving line to meet Santa Claus Santa Claus: see Nicholas, Saint. Santa Claus jolly, gift-giving figure who visits children on Christmas Eve. [Christian Tradition: NCE, 1937] See : Christmas Santa Claus , Mrs. Claus Mrs. Claus is a folk hero, and is the wife of Santa Claus in many modern versions of the Santa Claus legend. In many current versions of the mythos, Mrs. Claus lives with her husband and assists with the production of Santa's toys, sometimes overseeing their production by and elves distributing bags of fruit, cookies and activity workbooks. Snaking around the building, the children came to tables where 60 or so volunteers handed out toys. ``It brings great joy to my children, because they don't know Don't know (DK, DKed) "Don't know the trade." A Street expression used whenever one party lacks knowledge of a trade or receives conflicting instructions from the other party. if they're going to have a Christmas,'' said Laura Guerro of Van Nuys, speaking Spanish. ``I met Santa. It was fun,'' said one of her three children, Julio, 7, showing off his new electronic game. Patricia Guzman Abonce of Van Nuys, whose son, Jonathan, got a toy robot, praised the party for brightening his holiday. ``It doesn't matter what the gift is.'' she said. ``The kids are always very happy to be here and to get a gift.'' CAPTION(S): 3 photos Photo: (1 -- 2) Santa and Mrs. Claus cruise Ventura Boulevard on Sunday in the annual toy run to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles. A teddy bear rides along. (3) Riders on about 500 motorcycles escort donated toys from Woodland Hills to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles on Sunday. David Sprague/Staff Photographer |
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