Observations on just about everything....: An Apology, April 8, 2014

Observations on just about everything....: An Apology, April 8, 2014

Berkeley Buskers

I promised, in the post before last, more to myself than to anyone, since, as far as I know there are almost no readers, to note sightings of buskers on the streets of (mostly) Berkeley. One of note today, when I was in the Monterrey Market area to meet my friend Lynn for coffee, was a French café-style accordionist across the street near Hopkins Street Bakery. No time to stop and listen, I'll look for him again, maybe at my next coffee with my good friend Lynn at Roma Café.

"Between you and I," and an early morning walk at Pt. Isabel

Listening to NPR radio this morning, heard J. Margolis say "...less people." Just can't teach 'em nothing, can we? This led to me posting on the NPR grammar/language/usage string and objecting.....and, asking for indulgence, pleaded for the proper use of "beg the question" (actually just better not to use it, since its definition will only be known/appreciated by students of logic), suggesting that we just stick with "raise(s) the question." I think that the ubiquitous and incorrect use of "beg the question" can be explained in the same way that we can explain monsters such as "...between you and I." People are trying to show off, and end up simply sounding stupid.

More significantly, this is a beautiful, bright Bay Area morning and, as you know, we don't get all that many, so, ain't that a kick in the head, as old D. Martin may have said?

I was going to take Sugar to Albany Bulb for a walk, even though a high tide would not have allowed it to be a beach jaunt. On the way, though, stopping for the light at Central Avenue, I impulsively turned west and took her nibs to Pt. Isabel. Ah, it was so grand and so invigorating, bright early sun illuminating the City skyline in the very painterly fashion it does...when it does it!



 

An Apology, April 8, 2014

An Apology

           April 8, 2014

I shouldn't have just left,

    but I wasn't sure what to do

         No surprise that you are gone

               but I'm rather sure you are out there still

                                              I doubt the delivery person

                                                 would have given you a thought,

                                                          a mere speck in your tiny orb

                                                              When the mailbox lid came down,

                                                                       I think you were clear although

                                                                             of course your web would have

                                                                                        suffered the consequences

                                                                                            need it be eaten as a source of protein?

                                                                                        Is it exhausting, the re-spinning?

                                                                                             I would like to talk with you.

                                                                                                  How many spinnerets do you have?

                                                                                                            Could you really have crawled

 from the sea to land 100 million years ago?

 

I thought you amazing from the first,

wonder how far you might have gotten

  The environment seems friendly, but

what do I know, what do you find friendly?

 

If I see you, of course, I won't know it's you.

         Will you know it's me?   

Aquatic Park & Panini

Our weird, almost summery weather took leave of us a few days ago when a low pressure system at last made it in off the Pacific. Today, cold & alternately bright and gloomy with scattered cloud cover. Alone with my dog Sugar & cat Gigi, I read in front of the fire until after noon & decided that I needed to do something at least mildly physical to shake my lethargy. Around 2, I loaded  Sugar in her handlebar Jeep bag and we headed for Aquatic Park.

http://www.ci.berkeley.ca.us/ContentDisplay.aspx?id=12016

This park is an underused (happily, for me!) gem of West Berkeley that used to delineate the eastern reach of San Francisco Bay in this part of Berkeley. Highway 80/580, on the west border of the park, was built on landfill and miraculously and surprisingly, rather than extend the landfill, three tidal basins were allowed to be created. The north basin enjoys a perimeter path and a pleasant, riparian park on the east side, which is where Sugar a I spend most of our time on our visits which, in nice weather, are almost daily.

Today we came down Bancroft Ave, which leads into the center of the north basin area. Chilly and a little blustery, not much windbreak here from the Bay.  Nor many seabirds, other than the ubiquitous winter buffleheads. All the usual suspects. Brown pelicans, pelagic cormorants, western and Clark's grebes, pie-billed grebes, and of course, mallards, coots ant more mallards and coots. Where Strawberry Creek creates a little pond on the west side of the railroad tracks (hidden by cottonwoods, tall poplars and eucalyptus), the water was too high (recent rains) and too opaque to do our usual inspection of the crayfish population. Further along the path, after restraining Sugar from an ill advised go at a Rottweiler, we encountered birders who had heard recent reports of a rare winter tanager, but had had no luck so far. At the end of the north basin, not feeling energized (me) as I had hoped, we turned around and headed out and south to Cafe Trieste. More of which later.

Today's bike ride...

Began on Channing Way and headed toward the only record (viz, LP's, to those of you younger than 40), which is a few blocks down from the sadly horrible new location of Black Oak Books on S Pablo Ave. Are they serious? In any case, record store closed, I was looking for an old Pioneer component system.. Heading back north on S Pablo, decided to check out the huge garden, which I had always taken for a commercial one, one supplying the local foodie restaurants, & turns out that it's s coop run by young Jewish folks for the benefit of the poor community. Go see the beautiful hens, the cool earthen oven where they back bread, their ingeniously designed hot houses.

Heading north up Dwight & left on Action, stopped by the hippyish place a couple of blocks from Addison. Check out their ostrich. Their bird enclosure abuts to Strawberry Creek (the creek, not the park).

Had to visit Missing Link, & on the way had a gastronomically delightul experience at Slow, a small restaurant in the block (south side) before MLK. Sat at a sidewalk table, reading P. Roth, one of his books sure to enrage all of Berkeley's brain-dead PC gender feminists, while I ate a pulled beef sandwich w/fresh fig/gorgonzola chutney served on a fresh sweet batard, watched lovely women walk by, relished the relish and Roth's autobiographical reflections on the relations of women & men. What a pleasure! Go there! Good! Inexpensive. After, you can visit next door & top your sandwich choice off with a piece of handmade chocolate.

If you can't live in Europe, can't afford New Haven or Sante Fe, find Portland & Seattle too funky weather-wise, well, you may as well be in Berkeley.

On the way home, stopped off at TJ's on University to spirit home half a dozen bottles of Vino Verde. Shove a bottle into your freezer for half an hour while you fire up a bowl of Mendocino,  then drink the whole bottle. You'll feel ever so much better about life in general.

A genuine autumn day, maples on fire, ginkoes shimmering gold, sun or no.