My nephew from Boise, Idaho visited me this last weekend. I was curious as to why he’d decided to do that. I’ve seen him in Idaho many times and always invited him and his family to come here, but it didn’t happen. Then, my brother died this summer, and my nephew is turning fifty, and perhaps a combination of these factors made him decide not to put off what he had thought about doing for years.
Life is what happens on the way to what we’d planned.
The weather was perfect. We spent a day in wine country and two mostly in Benicia. Saturday morning it was warm enough to have breakfast on the deck overlooking the marina. Then we walked to Ninth Street Pier. When we got back to First Street, we saw all kinds of people in costume—parents as well as children. Many of the businesses on First had treats out for the kids. It was a jolly bunch. Ran in to friends. Had coffee. Went to Char’s and had hot dogs and sweet potato fries.
Sunday, we spotted seals at the end of First Street Pier. Fishermen and women were out. Salmon and stripped bass were being caught. My Idaho visitor was quite impressed by our community.
“This is just the kind of place we go to for vacation!” He said.
There’s quite an array of poetry events in November:
November 6, First Tuesday Poets meet 7-9 p.m. at the library.
November 10, Poets on First Street read as part of the Art Walk. Joel Fallon, Peter Bray, Frances Jackson, and myself, as well as some others, possibly, will read at Joyous Gardens right next to Plein Arts Gallery at 5 p.m., and at Gallery 621 at 6 p.m.
November 17, at 3 p.m. at The Rellik there will be a reading of prose and poetry. Steven Boyett, Carolyn Plath, myself, and others will read, followed by an open microphone.
November 19, I’ll be teaching a poetry class at the library from 7 to 8:30 p.m. We’ll read and discuss contemporary poetry.
November 30 is the deadline to submit to the Love Poetry Contest.
Jokes have been told, and movies have been made about grumpy old men. Specifically, Jack Lemmon starred in a movie by that name in 1993 and a sequel, Grumpier Old Men came out in 1995.
Grumpy Old Men Syndrome or Irritable Male Syndrome is often noted in older men and has a correlation to a drop in testosterone.
Jed Diamond, a Humboldt County psychotherapist has written several books on the subject. He says, “…the effects show up as everything from irritable mood swings and flagging sex drive to loss of muscle strength and male identity…”
If you are seriously interested in learning about this syndrome, you can check out Wikipedia, an article from the San Francisco Chronicle or the website of Dr. Frances Pitsilis, a New Zealand medical doctor.
