Friday Fictioneers: THE RIVER IS LOW

THE RIVER IS LOW… a Drabble for Fri Fic

 Mercury hits 73˚ in San Francisco… and it’s January!  Meanwhile in Sacramento:

“Man, the river’s low. I never see it this low. When you think the last time it rained?”

“Hell, I don’t even remember. I hear they’re hiking instead of skiing at Tahoe.”

“Likely be a bitch this summer.”

“No shit, hell I remember ’77. ‘If it’s yellow, be mellow… if it’s brown, flush it down.’ They had to put a pipe across the Richmond Bridge to send those mokes in Marin our water. Let’s secede so we don’t have to send it south.”

“The Golden State will be Brown.”

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This week’s Friday Fictioneers photo prompt courtesy of Erin Leary.   “Write a one hundred word story that has a beginning, middle and end.”

 I guess this is not really a story, per FF ‘guidelines’, but more  an expression of a few recent random thoughts as I looked at Erin’s photo for inspiration and saw a river.  It made me think of recently seeing the Sacramento river at its lowest ever, no rain to speak of since October there, and this is the rainy season.  There is very little snow in the Sierra Nevadas and none at all from the passes of Southern Oregon to Redding.  California is declaring a state of  Extreme Drought, as we were in shirt sleeves when I was in San Francisco yesterday.  And secession attempts are hot and heavy in the Jefferson Republic to create a 51st state.

Trifecta Writing Challenge #66 ~ ONE LAST PIECE

Ruth hadn’t glazed a pot in what seemed like, forever.  He always did that part.  Her ‘job’ was the throwing… his, the decorating.  Such awards they had received.  But he wasn’t helping anymore.  She had decided on a simple sgraffito cut through the soft slip.  Selecting a chisel ended bamboo for her doctor, she wondered if she was up for the task.

He loved Temmoku, and though she disliked working in stoneware, it seemed only fitting.  She had found a glaze he made years ago, before she had insisted they use only porcelain.  A near-black, which could break to an iron-red at the right temperature creating a fire-change.  A bit of Titanium added as doctor to the process.  He would be so pleased.

She had decided on just their marks intertwined with his name, as she pushed through the soft clay.  No dates.

There would be comparisons, of course.  Ruth didn’t care.  This was to be her last work.  Her tears would only add to the decoration.

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Trifecta Writing Challenge Week Sixty-Six : Write 33 to 333 words using the third definition of the word: DOCTOR (noun)  a : material added (as to food) to produce a desired effect ~ b : a blade (as of metal) for spreading a coating or scraping a surface

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Temmoku is a type of glaze popular in Japan.  It is used on stoneware and is a very complicated process.   Sgraffito is a form of decoration, scratching through the surface of a glaze to reveal the clay beneath, or another glaze, before firing.

I named her Ruth to honor my first ceramics teacher, Ruth Rippon.  An amazing artist and a wonderful teacher.  Nobody but Ruth would glaze her work.

           

This photo of Ruth in her studio in 1980 was taken by Kurt Fishback.   One of her most famous works is called The Lollies, and can be found in Sacramento.  I don’t know who took the photo of young Ruth above.

Trifextra #58: HER HEARTS

HER HEARTS… A 33 word story

I got a call. “I need your help making something.” “Okay, what?”

“A stone heart for Sammie.” “Sammie’s a dog.”

“I know, I want to honor him.” “Okay, then let’s do Buddy too.”

❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤

A dear friend in Sacramento had two miniature poodles.  They were brothers, and had been show dogs… Sammy had died.  She wanted to make memorial stones to place in her garden.  She had studied how to make stepping-stones, so we went to the hardware store and got a bag of cement.  Buddy was still with her, so we got him to ‘autograph’ his stone… he was not pleased about that.  Susan was so happy with them (and we had a lot of cement left over), that we ended up making some more for past and present dogs.  Later, a friend who saw them, asked us to make one for her sister who had loved Betty Boop.  It’s a nice idea, I think… Garden Art with a Meaning.

❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤  ❤

Here is the prompt for this weekend’s Triextra Challenge… “We want you to give us a thirty-three word response using the word stone as one of your thirty-three words.  You can use any definition of the word that you’d like, but we are specifically looking for serious, well-conceived entries. “

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p.s.  My friend Betty made a lovely comment below… I thought I would add it to my post…

  “If you are a dog or other animal owner you know that when they are gone they always leave their footprints on your heart.”

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.

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!

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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.

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

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          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.