Chris Smith: Art Kane has plenty of heart, but the man needs a kidney

All his life, Art Kane has worked for nonprofit human service agencies and he’s helped others.

What he’s doing right now, he says, “is very difficult and very humbling.”

The Santa Rosan and people who love him are asking that the rest of us consider donating him a kidney. A donor’s blood type will have to be O-negative or O-positive.

Kane said stage 4 kidney disease has destroyed one of his kidneys and reduced the function of the other to about 16 percent. He’s scheduled to begin dialysis soon, and he has read enough to be persuaded that his chances of living long and well are better if he receives a transplanted kidney rather than commencing dialysis.

He’s asking that anyone willing to consider looking into giving him the gift of a lifetime contact his wife, Anne, at anneekain@att.net. He promises he’d put a donated kidney to good use.

“I like to think that I have a lot to contribute,” Kane said. Anyone can imagine what it’s like to watch his kidney function descend toward zero and to know that just about everybody else has one of the organs to spare.

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DAVID McCARROLL is settling down, in a way.

David’s the young man who grew up in tucked-away Annapolis, near Gualala, as the adopted son of Brother Toby McCarroll and Sister Marti Aggeler of the small Starcross lay community.

His fascination with classical music prompted his folks to enroll him, at age 4, in violin lessons with the late Helen Payne Sloat, who’d performed with the Santa Rosa Symphony.

“I think back to her more and more,” David, now 29, said from Starcross.

After living and training in England and Germany, and having performed with a rich array of groups around the world, he’s now enjoying a respite and preparing for his first resident gig.

David has joined the Vienna Piano Trio, often praised as one of the finest chamber ensembles in the world. This fall, he will succeed departing violinist Bogdan Božovic and join cellist Matthias Trefny and founding pianist Stefan Mendl.

“This is really the first group that I’ve joined. So it’s very important for me,” he said.

The Vienna Piano Trio performs four concert series a year at the 102-year-old Vienna Konzerthaus. In between, it tours much of the world.

Can you think of a reason the trio shouldn’t come play at the Green Music Center?

Me neither.

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ENDS SWIMMINGLY: A week after a shiny black sedan burst through a parking lot fence at Santa Rosa’s Airport Health Club and tipped into the pool, the management served a nice lunch to the seasoned swimmers whose lap class ended with a Lexus splash.

And how sweet was this: The table centerpiece was a grand floral arrangement sent by the driver, who’s sorry to have dropped into the swim session and thankful to all who helped to free her and pull her quickly to the surface.

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LIKE HOT DOGS? If you do, and you’ve got an iron stomach, be aware that power-eaters will gather near Sonoma this summer to compete for a spot in the world hot dog eating contest that San Jose’s Joey Chestnut has won the past eight years.

The qualifying stuff-athon on June 28 at Sonoma Raceway will be the last of 12 that are taking place around the country. The competition at the track at Sears Point will be a sideshow to NASCAR’s Toyota/Save Mart 350.

The male and female winners of all the regional contests will travel to Nathan’s Famous Hot Dogs’ 100th International Hot Dog Eating Contest in Coney Island on July 4.

How many hot dogs one will have to down in order to ascend to the finals in New York is hard to say. As a reference point, champion Chestnut, mankind’s ultimate competitive eater, can swallow nearly 70 dogs and buns in 10 minutes.

Ponder this for a moment. The qualifying meet at Sonoma Raceway happens only six days before the ESPN-televised finals in Coney Island. So the two Sonoma winners will force-feed themselves 30, 40, 50 hot dogs twice in one week.

Your mother and I hope you won’t compete, but if you do, chew every bite.

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