Ted’s Photobooth Story

tedstrutz:

I was honored to be a contributor to Katherine’s fascinating blog. I hope my friends will take a look and enjoy her work. If you have any old strips around, think about sharing them with her… and the world. Now I have to figure out how to tell Cheryl I did this… but judging by the first comments, I don’t think she will mind.

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I thought I would share this reblog with my friends at The Still, to introduce them to a most interesting blog by a friend Down Under… perhaps you too would like to share with her… check out her blog, and start digging through those old forgotten treasures and share them with Katherine at Photobooth Journal

p.s. I have heard from Cheryl… she remembered the Rainbow Club and didn’t mind at all…

Originally posted on Photobooth Journal:

One of the more exciting, and for me, unexpected aspects of being a blogger is the amount of enthusisam and generosity that comes to my inbox out of the blue and from all around the world. I have recently started following a blog by Ted Strutz of Friday Harbor, Wasington State in the San Juan Islands, USA. The blog is called TedBook and has some very amusing conversational short stories that I encourage you to check out. Ted emailed me the above photos and the following history a couple of days ago -

When I lived in Chicago in the 80′s and early 90′s, there was a bar called the Rainbow Room.  It was quite large with a big horseshoe shaped bar, booths, tables and a stage, maybe a dance floor.  They played 33 LPs on a phonograph.  Kind of an artsy place.  There was a photo booth as well…

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KRISTEN MAKES A BOOK…

It was early in the morning last Summer, when Sky Bergman started setting out her supplies.  In a few hours, she would be teaching people how to make books.  Sky, is one of many sharing their skills to show those attending Sweet’s Mill Music and Arts Camp,  how to tie-dye or batik, make hats, jewelry, ceramics, musical instruments and in her case... books.  My son-in-law Steve,  has brought his printing press to teach printmaking, along with Kristen's dad, Steve Wilson.  It’s a hands on deal here in the Art Area of Meditation Meadow.

Press made by Steve Gutmann

High in the Sequoia National Forrest somewhere, is a gathering of Musicians and Artists sharing music, dance  and experiences during a giant two week camp out.  There are a lot of talented people, from all around the world.  What am I doing here?  After hearing about Sweet’s Mill from my daughter, like forever, I decided to attend.  Krista and her BFF Kristen have been going since they were kids, and now my granddaughter, Ula, has been attending for all of her 11 years.  Krista is an actress and Kristen is a Belly Dancer.  I have no musical talents and marginal artistic skills, but I do like to take photos, so I decided to chronicle life at Sweet’s Mill.

I had my camera ready when Sky started her first bookmaking class.   Actually I did make a book, in fact two, but my modesty prevents me from being the subject of this story… and it is hard to make a book with a camera in one hand.  So, I was delighted when Kristen arrived and said she wanted to make a book.  A group had gathered and the class was underway…

soon the 'bookmakers were deep into cardboard, art paper and paste...

               Sky began the process with making the cover of the book and concluded after adding the pages.  The books were done, and the campers had a journal to record their experiences in…

making the binding 

attaching cover plates

sizing art paper for cover

gluing cover together

press together

adding the pages

Kristen's Book

Kristen & Sky

And, that's how you make a book!

I'm looking forward to Sweet's Mill next month... I will probably make another book, but Sky is also the head of the Photography Department at Cal Poly... and I just bought a new camera... I have lots to learn.

And, I'm not that modest... here's my book... 

LITTLE HORSES ON THE GROUND

Last week I saw the most amazing sight.

I had gone to the mainland to see my grandson play in a baseball tournament. Hayden graduates from high school this year, and my chances to see him play ball are dwindling. So I headed North, with Ashley and my sister Mariya,  to the utmost edge of the U.S.A. (not counting Alaska) near Blaine. Washington.

We got as far as Bellingham before a stop at a coffee shop was needed. I was actually surprised we got out of Anacortes without stopping to see Ashley's favorite barista... but that was a good thing, as she stopped in Fairhaven. Bellingham is made up with a bunch of little towns that kind of grew together. Fairhaven is the oldest, and the buildings are of the historic type. Reminded me a bit of Old Sacramento. I bought some licorice, while they got their coffee and some fab cheesecake... and took photos

We neared Baine and started looking for Pipeline Road and the baseball fields. Driving country roads is always a treat.   "Stop the car!"   We had just passed 15 ponies lying on the ground. All of them lying on the ground. And they were all Palominos. It was something to see and we went back to take a photo. When I got out and went to the edge of the road a few stood up. By the time I jumped the ditch and got to the fence they were all looking my way like dogs expecting a treat. I wished then I had some apples in my pocket rather than licorice. Those little ponies made me think of my friend Jaime, who raises miniature horses to be guide animals. They did their bit for a unique photo op. I will never forget the sight of those horses.

We find the baseball tournament, and Friday Harbor wins one and loses one. I take a bunch of pics. The usual baseball pics… Hayden at bat… Hayden in the field… Hayden running the bases… that kind of stuff. Later, I notice one shot I took with my phone… I think it's pretty cool.

BOB DYLAN REVISITED

The other day, Stephan Elliott of The Rumpus said this… “I’ve been reading about Bob Dylan in 1965. He was tired of music and fame and he went to upstate New York to live in a cabin and be alone. He didn’t even bring a guitar. He said he quit music. After five days he started writing what many consider the best songs of his career.”  That got me to thinking…

I saw Bob Dylan in 1965 at the Memorial Auditorium in Sacramento.  A girl I was interested in at the time suggested I take her, as she had no money to buy a ticket.  I had no idea who Bob Dylan was, but thought it was in my best interest to buy the tickets.

 The Auditorium seats 3,000… there were about 600 in attendance, scattered all about.  Bob came out on the stage… a skinny guy with a guitar and a folding chair.  He sat down, strummed his guitar and sang a song.  After a few songs, he told everyone to come down and sit in the chairs on the main floor.  In those days no one stood at the front of the stage and lit matches or waved Bics… and certainly not cell phones.  I thought that was a cool move on his part.

 I enjoyed the concert and my introduction into the World of Bob Dylan.  I didn’t get laid that night, but I did get a Bob Dylan record the next day.

Highway 61 Revisited was that album.

THE MISSING TRUCK... Postscript

Just an Empty Space

WELL... SHE'S GONE FOR GOOD!

 

After my last lament regarding the missing truck, so many readers wondered, like I, what the hell had happened to her.  One, was my son-in-law Steve.  He didn't just wonder... he called his friend Kevin. 

2011 San Juan County Fair

Now, there is a show on the History Channel called 'American Pickers'... kind of the poor man's 'Antique Roadshow'... where two guys go around the country combing junkyards, garages and people's 'collections' finding hidden treasures, just as worthy.  They would have a 'field day' at Kevin's.  He is San Juan Island's Premier Collector.  Island Stage Left needed a rusty old-fashioned radiator for their latest play... Steve called Kevin... they have a rusty old-fashioned radiator for their latest play.  At our County Fair each year, one of the highlights is 'Trash to Treasures' hosted by Kevin.  So, who better to ask about a missing roadside attraction. 

Old Island Landmark

Kevin knew all about my truck.  She is a 1946 Ford Flatbed, with a flathead V8 engine.   In fact, he had offered to buy her at one time and was told the owners of the property just liked having it sit there... they enjoyed looking at her while passing by on the way to their ranch.  It seems a neighbor did not share the same affection and deemed her an eyesore.  Word has it, that a scrapper had permission from the non property owner, and took her in the middle of the night.  As Kevin says... "These guys scrap first and ask questions later".  The goods are carted off the island to be sold for scrap metal to one of the mainland salvage yards.
 

Gone but not forgotten

They call these guys Tweekers... as most are methheads, trying to score their next 'eight ball', so they can make it a few more days.  So, that's what my truck became... 1/8 ounce of Methamphetamine.  Steve, Kevin, their friends in the collecting community and the Sheriff knows who they are... but, you can't do much if you can't catch them in the act.  And you can't station someone to watch the ferry lines night and day.  Unfortunately, the problem has spread to outright theft of property, not just abandoned vehicles. 

I have never shed a tear upon hearing of some mainland fool being electrocuted while attempting to steal the power company's transmission wires to sell.   I hope that does not start happening here... or maybe...

Island Stage Left's latest Production 'Someone Who'll Watch Over Me' plays at the County Fairgrounds Theater from April 5 - 29...

俳句… HAIKU BOMBERS #4… “When the Moon Hits Your Eye”

Lost in endless space
My first telescopic gift
Moon, Stars my new friends.

Backyard after dark,
Oohs and awes with each focus
Celestial beings.

And, Steely Dan says 
'That The Stars Come Out At Night',
Oh, they do...they do!

✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ ✣ 

I don't know how ideas come into people's minds. When I looked at Quill's Haiku Photo Prompt, I thought... "What in the hell am I going to do with that?". Then it hit me... My telescope!

When I was in college, I had to pick an elective science course. I chose Astronomy. One night the class went out to look at the stars, there were only a few telescopes and about 30 budding astronomers. The next day I bought a telescope. That night I set it up in my parent's backyard, and marveled at the Moon. The stars were not that big a deal with my little telescope, but the Moon... That was Fantastic! The telescope also came in handy at the next field trip... there were a lot of girls in that class.

When my daughter Krista went off to Chicago to attend The Theater School of DePaul University, she too had to pick an elective science course. I suggested Astronomy.

I don't know why I just thought of that, so I called and said "Hey, how did you like that Astronomy class in college?". She said "Oh, I don't know. I was an acting major, and it was at 8 o'clock in the morning. The lights were always out, and it made me sleepy". She did say that she thought she  enjoyed it.  But, I am reminded, that recently when a comet or some such celestial phenom was due, she stayed up half the night in sleeping bags outside, so her daughter could witness the event.

Two years ago, I was staying with a friend in Sacramento. Her neighbor had a big telescope in his backyard. He invited us over for a look. As I focused the full Moon into view, I got the same chills I had experienced over 45 years before.

Looking for an elective science?  Astronomy!

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Quill Shiv took The Haiku Bombers into Space this week... here's the link if you would like to try... https://quillshiv.wordpress.com/2012/03/27/haiku-bombers-prompt-4/

Flash FridayFictioneers… Lost Opportunity!

She’s gone!!!
I came across her… sentinel on a country lane… green mottled skin slowly rusting to a different hue. 

I was conflicted in my feelings toward her.  First surprise, then awe at her beauty.  

But so many questions.  Whose? Was she afraid, tucked away in the woods beneath a blanket of leaves?  She looked so forlorn in her abandoned state… yet, somehow majestic in her loneliness.  

I was in love.  I wanted to paint her.

I would always take a moment to visit.

Then today… Gone!  Whisked away by an alien starship, the ground dusted for prints and wiped clean.

                               ✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥✥


It’s Friday, and time for 100-word Flash #FridayFictioneers… 
Flash Fiction over at Madison Woods

When I saw Madison’s photo, I knew exactly what I was going to write about, except I didn’t know how I was going to do it.  After all, this is supposed to be fiction, and I had been kind of cheating lately with the memoir thing.  I think this may be a combo.

matthew dollahite

I was on Kanaka Bay Road one day (and no… this Island isn’t
Hawaiian) and came across this old truck, parked next to the road.  It was beautiful, sitting in the shade, and I thought it would be a great subject to paint.  I love paintings of old abandoned things.  My friend Matt, had painted one recently and I thought he would be the perfect guy to do the job.  He may have been in his Hay Bale Period by then, because I begged him to do it and he wouldn’t budge.  But in his defense, he really would rather do boats, and he is very good.  Next, I begged my friend Jill, but she was more into crows and nature.  I tried to explain that there were trees and things, but to no avail.  Lately she is doing landscapes and has just done a rooster that I think is wonderful.

jill trear

This begging went on for years with those two.

jaime ellsworth

San Juan Island is blessed with many fine artists, and one of my favorites is famous for her dog paintings.  I should have asked her, but Jaime has moved on to bigger animals now and would most likely not be too interested in my truck.  I might have been able to con her daughter, Jennifer, into doing it… she did a tractor design on one of her County Fair T-Shirts one year… wearable works of art.

dianne poinski

I, of course, am far too insecure to try to actually draw or paint the truck myself, although I fully intend to hand tint a black and white photo I made.  I once took a course in hand tinting B&W’s, from Dianne Poinski in Sacramento.

christopher young

jaime powell sheppard

I was walking through the Sacramento Airport a few years ago, and was stopped in my tracks, just like with the truck, by a photo of The Palace of Fine Arts in San Francisco.  That building is another obsession of mine.   It was part of a display of Dianne’s works.  I copied the info, and ended up purchasing a hand tinted photo… it is one of my proudest possessions, right up there with the sketch Christopher Young did for me, of Madame X (another passion), at the Met in NYC.  And a favorite photo of the State Street Subway Entrance, that I had used so many times in Chicago, taken and printed by Jamie Powell Sheppard.  So, I guess I could have done the truck, and still will someday.  When I took the course, Dianne gave us prints of her photos, on special paper, to learn on.  She is a pretty good teacher, because I thought one of my efforts came out pretty well, and I love the photo.
  

dianne (& me)

Two days ago, I went back out to Kanaka Bay.  I had not been on that road for about six months, and was looking forward to seeing the truck again.  But, it was gone.  I wasn’t sure I had the right place, but it had to be, since the old fence with the weathered ‘No Trespassing’ sign was there.  There was not a trace of the truck to be found.  I was amazed and a bit disjointed to have lost an old friend.  Perhaps someone is restoring her beauty somewhere… and I will get to visit again.

FRIDAY FLASH FICTIONEERS… Bang!

                                        1959… Modoc County, California

Cruising down a rutted farm road. Clinging for dear life to the hood of a ’48 Mercury… engine purring, one of those Moon footprint gas pedals on the floorboard.  Searching for rabbits... frozen in their tracks by the blare of the headlights piercing our way through the darkness.  I’m scared, cold, excited and have never seen ‘so many stars come out at night’.

There’s one!!!

I blast away with the 10 gauge… it’s a wonder I don’t fly off the Merc. I didn’t hit any that night.

What else would you expect from a city slicker?

This story is a contribution to Friday Flash Fictioneers… see what it’s all about @  Madison Woods and read the many takes on her photo prompt.

俳句… HAIKU BOMBERS #3... Watchmaker's Car

young Watchmaker's girls,

home from school patiently pose,

in clothes neatly pressed.

so long ago watches cleaned,

only buck fifty the fee,

but, gassed up the car.

little black Austin Bantam, 

family of six fit inside,

they must have been squished.

Once again, it's Haiku Time.  This week's prompt from Quill Shiv, was to find a photo of children and be inspired... http://quillshiv.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/haiku-bombers-prompt-3/

I chose this family photo, from I would guess 1928ish.  My Grand father was a watchmaker, jeweler, optician, and railroad watch inspector in Sacramento.  This was the family car and I've quite a few photos of it.  My grandparents had 5 kids,

and my father would drive all the kids to school in it.  As you can see, it is quite small.  When he was in high school, as a prank, his friends carried it up to the stage before an assembly, and left it there.  My aunts Laura and Emily post above with the Austin Bantam auto, and my grandfather Theodore is below, probably repairing a watch or two.

俳句… HAIKU BOMBERS #2… St. Paddy’s Tacos

• 

          Quill Shiv has a new Haiku writing prompt... A photo of Saint Patrick.  

My result:

                         You can make your own 

                         corned beef, cabbage and salsa

                         at the taco bar.

Corned Beef and Cabbage Tacos… In 1986, back in my Restaurant Days, I went to work for Jerry Franco.  Jerry was a bit of a culinary impresario on the Sacramento restaurant scene.  He had just reopened The Town House on 21st Street, down the block from The Sacramento Bee newspaper.  The Town House had been a Mexican Food tradition, and had been sitting empty for a few years after the owner retired.   Franco had opened in a blaze of glory, courting the news hounds and the denizens of California State Government. Having just left a job managing The Fabulous Fifties Cafe, I was ready to mingle with and serve adults.  So I went to work for Jerry as a waiter/bartender/manager.

It was a fun place to work, and we did some crazy promotions to try to make the The Town House a success.  Big lunch business, big after-work bar business.  He kept a few Mexican items on the menu, along with the 'Upscale Designer' dishes he came up with.  Each Happy Hour, we featured a Taco Bar, where the patrons could make their own tacos, to wash down with their Martinis and G & T's.  For me, that taco bar was a pain in the ass, since I had to leave the bar and run back in the kitchen to replenish the supplies.  But the tips were pretty good as long as the food held out.

Saint Patrick's Day was coming up, and The Town House, along with every other bar and restaurant in Sacramento… no, in the United States… was looking for ways to make some money off one of our more important Drinking Holidays.  I had the bright idea to put corned beef and cabbage on our Taco Bar for the day.  Jerry agreed that it was a brilliant idea, and gave me full credit, in case it bombed.  Getting free publicity was not too difficult, since we always made sure to 'take good care of' certain writers from up the street.  Low and behold, we saw some nice mentions in the gossip and the What's Going On In Town sections of the Bee the day before, and our Happy Hour was packed that St. Paddy's Day.  In fact, two guys drove down from Hangtown at lunch time to try the CB&C Tacos.  I had to plead with the cook to make some for them.  At Happy Hour, the idea was well received, lots of new people came in, and best of all... Mr. Franco even stuck around to help stock the Taco Bar.

So, when I saw the photo prompt for this week's Haiku... for some reason, I thought of those Corned Beef and Cabbage Tacos, and working at The Town House.

About 4 months later, I left for the Neon Restaurant Lights of Chicago.  I later heard that the Town House had closed and that Franco was the chef at a seafood joint in Cape Cod.  Last time I was in SacTown, it was a gay bar.

Friday Fictioneers #1… SEMI-PRECIOUS GEMEMOIR

The brilliant orange stone in the glassine envelope is a Padparadscha. It is man-made, as are the other stones in the photo, I suspect. The size and quality would indicate so… if natural they would be in paper packets. This photo resets many memories… from a lifetime so long ago.

The countless hours spent studying colored stones at the G.I.A. on the way to a Gemologist Degree.

The hours spent buying and selling gemstones.

For some strange reason, when I saw this photo, I thought of the day when I opened the jewelry store, to find our safe lying on it’s back with the door open…

It's funny how one thing leads to the other... I was looking at some creative writing sites, and a photo caught my eye.  Having worked in the family jewelry store, before leaving to 'find myself',  I read with interest.  It appears the photo was a prompt to inspire writers to create a story 100 words long.  Apparently they do this on Fridays... hence the name of the group FridayFictioneers.  The Headmistress is Madison Woods.  She posts a photo with her story, and her followers add theirs.  I enjoyed reading the different stories 'prompted' by the photo.  She invited me to try, so I  sparklers...did, even thought I'm not a Fictioneer.  Do see Madison and check out all the different stories suggested by the pretty sparklers...   http://madisonwoods.wordpress.com/2012/02/29/photo-prompt-for-100-word-flash-fridayfictioneers-20/