ROBERT GUERRERO'S punches echo off his opponent's protective headgear. The boxer moves with confidence, putting together combinations, sliding and pivoting around the ring, driving his sparring partner back against the ropes.

Two steps forward, jab, two steps back. Three steps forward, jab, two steps back. Then a frenzy of lefts and rights, each landing with the deep thump of solid contact. Sprays of sweat pattern the purple canvas around the two men as they duke it out.

Punches erupting in his face, Guerrero's opponent slogs witless through the barrage, heading toward the side of the ring to escape the imminent butchery.

SIZE MATTERS to Jack Passion. So do length, shape, color, fullness, softness and overall beauty. Of his beard, that is. Owner of the biggest, bushiest, brightest, reddest whiskers in creation, Passion is the reigning titleholder in the Full Beard Natural category of the World Beard and Moustache Championships. Equivalent to the Olympic gold metal in the esoteric realm of international competitive facial hair, this honor designates the 25-year-old Walnut Creek resident's beard as the finest on the planet.

"I know I have the best beard in the world," Passion states. "It's just beautiful hair, there's no way around that. I'm young, I'm healthy and I take care of it. I know the game, and I'm confident in that."

In 2007, at the tender age of 23, Passion came out of nowhere to sweep the world Full Beard Natural title, upsetting the dominant German team and heralding a new era in the "sport." He is considered by many to be the Tiger Woods of bearding.

The MHPD continued its Avoid the 13 DUI Enforcement Campaign over the holiday weekend, carrying out a slew of drunk driving arrests in Morgan Hill. MHPD media Officer Jerry Neumayer reported 61 DUI arrests since the campaign began on Dec. 12, 13 of which took place the weekend before Christmas. Overall, Neumayer said that DUI arrests are down in Morgan Hill, compared to 2007.

“Our numbers are down in comparison to last year. We’re hoping that it’s because people are becoming more educated and making wiser choices by not drinking and driving, or finding designated drivers,” said Neumayer. “We’ve got extra guys out there working on overtime, on Friday and Saturday nights. We also have our one traffic officer working specifically for DUI enforcement,” he said.

After World War II, I returned home to college and normal life in “The Valley of Heart’s Delight.” Agriculture was still king, but waste from the industry overwhelmed the sewage system, which was unable to carry it all to Alviso. So, truckloads of tomato and fruit waste were hauled there and dumped in huge piles. These piles fermented and developed hydrochloric acid fumes that were borne on the wind southwards. If you owned a building that was painted with white lead paint (very common in the 1950s), it could turn gray overnight.

I learned some valuable lessons working on the land in the local orchards. When I was about 13, I worked for Dr. Seikman, a woman chiropractor who owned ten acres of fruit trees near the San Jose Los Gatos Road. First we picked apricots and then, after a lull, prunes.

With her saintly Christian image, Amy Grant is just the sort of person you hope will get caught in a diva flip-out for not getting enough ice in her Perrier.

But with her soft Georgia accent, Grant is an honest, no-bullshit Christian with a heartfelt drive to help people. When organizing her current 20th anniversary ”Lead Me On” tour, Grant had one directive to her booker.

The policy imposed by the Missions was that the Indians should work, tend the fields and care for the animals. This was a concept that they didn’t like or understand. (Locally, the Indians never had permanent settlements in the valley and their gods Eagle, Hummingbird and Coyote lived in the mountains—Eagle on Mt. Diablo and Hummingbird on Mt. Umunhum.) The Missions also separated the unmarried Indian men and women at night, another concept they didn’t like.

The Spaniards—a mixture of Spanish, Basque and Indians—were the first Europeans to settle here in the Santa Clara Valley. Captain Juan de Anza, a Basque, led what I believe is the greatest migration in local history. He left the garrison town of Tabac, in what is now southern Arizona, in the dead of winter 1775-76, with 241 men, women and children. They were to arrive in California with 242; one woman died during childbirth and two were born on the harrowing, three month, overland journey. Because water was so scarce in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts that the party had to cross, de Anza split the party into two divisions so that the limited waterholes would have a chance to recharge.

In Memory of Leonard McKay, 1921-2006

Two years ago this month, one of Santa Clara County’s most colorful characters, local historian Leonard McKay, passed away at the age of 85. As a tribute to his memory, we are launching a regular feature on the history of Morgan Hill and the South County area. To begin, we are running a series of pieces Leonard wrote for our sister publication San Jose Inside. We invite our readers to comment on these columns and share stories and historical knowledge of the area.

Discovery Channel star Phil Harris, captain of the crab boat Cornelia Marie on the reality TV show Deadliest Catch, packed over 100 people into Poppy's Fish, Poultry & More in Morgan Hill during a Friday evening visit.

With Jimmy Buffet’s “Margaretville” blaring from the patio stereo, Deadliest Catch fans yelled “Hey Big Phil” and “Go Phil” as the Captain made the rounds on Poppy’s patio. With his omnipresent cigarette and Red Bull in hand, Harris signed autographs and took photos with fans and well-wishers, including Mayor Steve Tate.