Berth

Two of the five members of the United States equestrian show jumping squad for the 1988 Olympics are West Coast natives, Anne Kursinski of Pasadena and Lisa Jacquin of Rancho Palos Verdes. That's a bit of an upset, considering the many competitive international show jumping riders that America's East Coast traditionally produces. But Jacquin and Kursinski have one more step to climb before their participation in the events is guaranteed. They have to prove to the U.S.

When he was newly married in the late 1940s, John Crean would drive on hot summer days with his wife, Donna, from Anaheim to Newport Harbor. Like other tourists facing the cool ocean breeze, he pressed his nose against the invisible wall separating him from the yachts, cruisers and sloops skimming over green water or bobbing in their slips. Who are these people, he wondered. How can they afford this?

Todd Crosby has seen the world since leaving Woodland Hills two years ago, and the world has seen him. The world likes what it sees. Crosby, the starting second baseman at the University of Hawaii, is currently playing for the United States national baseball team--which was known last summer as the U.S. Olympic team. He has started 28 of the 29 games the team has played over the past six weeks in Japan, Korea and the U.S.

The 500 people lunching under the white tent on the Montecito lawn had waited two years for this moment. Now they had her. Oprah Winfrey was making her "coming out gig" on behalf of a local charity. It was the philanthropy coup of the year. The Santa Barbara charity set had finally bagged one of the richest and most famous women in the world. Their new neighbor. And, hopefully, their new friend.

The Cannes Film Festival is making a statement at this year's gathering: We still really like Americans. The main competition will feature four directors from the U.S. -- Alexander Payne (“Nebraska”) Joel and Ethan Coen (“Inside Llewyn Davis”), James Gray (“The Immigrant”) and Steven Soderbergh (“Behind the Candelabra”) -- equaling last year's strong total of North American helmers in competition. In addition, new movies from U.S. filmmakers James Franco, Sofia Coppola, James Toback and J.C. Chandor will play in other sections.

When Diane and Noel Diotte began dreaming of leaving their San Gabriel Valley condominium to live full time on their 34-foot sloop, one question nagged at them. What would they do with all their stuff? "A year later, my husband asked what we had in storage and I couldn't even remember," said Diane Diotte, an executive for an El Segundo-based software company. "That's how quickly you realize just how little possessions matter."

One way to cut your transportation costs in Japan is to dress like a nerd, stick out your thumb and learn to bow, according to Will Ferguson, who once toured the length of Japan in 18 days, thanks to residents who provided 48 rides. Of course, nobody warned him about the slippers. Hitchhiking always puts you at some risk, and in many areas of the world, far too much risk to ever consider it.

Maverick actor Sterling Hayden, the one-time Hollywood leading man whose restlessness led him through careers as a sea captain, OSS agent and gun-runner to ultimate success as an author and respected character actor, died Friday at his home in Sausalito. Hayden, 70, had been undergoing treatment for cancer for several months. "It was a quiet passing," said his son-in-law, George Ruckert. "He more or less went in his sleep."