Big day for a pilot who took the gloves off

Mindful of being almost 63 years late, the Air Force did it up right at a ceremony to honor lifelong Petaluman Art Cader for valor during an historic bombing mission in the Pacific in 1944.

Colonels and generals turned out at the Travis Air Museum to award Cader the Distinguished Flying Cross. In return, the former egg rancher shared memories of piloting one of the B-24 bombers assigned to fly more than 1,000 miles -- each way -- and destroy key Japanese fuel facilities at Borneo.

"It was the longest B-24 group mission of the war," said Cader, who still flies at age 85. Superiors recommended him for a medal, but never arranged to present it, after he used his damaged bomber to shield fellow flyboys who'd parachuted from a shot-up B-24 and were sitting ducks for Japanese fighter pilots.

Cader told the awards ceremony how his late mother, Mary Cader, sent him woolen gloves from Petaluma but he stopped wearing them on missions when some of his crew began to regard them as good-luck charms.

"I didn't want them to rely on superstition," he said, but on their training and on every other man on the ship. He proved to his crew that his mother's gift held no magic.

In 44 combat missions, most flown without the woolen gloves, he never lost a plane or a member of his crew.

MARTHA DIDN'T MAKE IT: Of all the nice, big photos of people in the current issue of Martha Stewart Living, the nicest and biggest is the full-page (p. 200) portrait of vineyard worker Isaac Moreno of Windsor.

Isaac was photographed last fall at the Westside Road vineyard of Bob and Beth Salisbury, who took to growing merlot and chardonnay grapes on Bob's old family ranch after decades of running the "Brothers Four" clothing stores.

The Salisburys figure quite prominently in the 10-page piece, which traces the winemaking craft from vineyard to glass. Beth says it was great fun hosting the writer and photographer and Gael Towery, a senior creative aide to Martha Stewart, even though Stewart herself didn't make the trip.

A nice family shot shows Bob and Beth, son Mark and Bob's ranch dog, a snowy little fluffball named Bebe.

Beth says the story's kicking up "a lot of interest -- and a lot of ribbing."

SIDETRACKED ON 101:Maria Carrillo runner and football quarterback Keaton Kovatch arrived home from Saturday's track-and-field championships in Crescent City covered in blood.

He and teammate Sadie Chen and Sadie's mother, Lisa, were driving south after the meet when they watched a car with three people inside swerve, roll and come to rest back on its wheels.

As the Chens called 911 and ran to two dazed and injured people who stumbled from the car, Keaton went to a woman who was still inside and bleeding badly from a head wound.

He tended to her and reassured her until paramedics arrived. No big deal, Keaton insists, anyone would have done the same thing.

Well, maybe.

MOTHERS DAY HAD PASSED, but when a certain gent spied seven silver-haired, red-hatted ladies lunching at the SRJC Culinary Café, he heeded his heart and reached for his wallet.

The stranger had left by the time the hostess told the women, all members of Royal Red Hats of Windsor, that an admirer wished them a happy belated Mothers Day and paid the first $60 of their luncheon. Made their day.

And recently Piner High senior Rob Baer and four pals left the Piner Café primed to pay it forward after a man secretly covered their tab. Seems that such random acts are happening more often.

Is there something in the water?

Chris Smith is at 521-5211 and chris.smith@pressdemocrat.com.