Awoke late Sunday morning to a raging rain storm — what a thrill after these years of drought. The enormous tree right across from the Harbor Master is no longer — a casualty of the wind. There had been debate within the city whether or not it should come down, and come down it did. Luckily, it didn’t hit my neighbor Diane’s condo, but came pretty close. The bocce courts near the library the next day looked like lap pools.
Stopped by First Street mainstay Szechwan House Chinese Mandarin Cuisine for some take-out and ordered vegetable fried rice and wontons. Cindy Chen, at the desk, has worked there for 28 years! Meant to order potstickers but confused them with won tons which were crisp and plentiful. Their menu is five pages long! So many international food choices on First Street, several Japanese, a Burmese, a couple of Italian, Thai, Mexican, a hot dog stand, pizza, American seafood, two bakeries, three if you count cupcakes, Hawaiian, soup and sandwich, a vegetarian drink bar, and bars that serve food. Still room for German, Russian, Salvadoran, Moroccan, Vietnamese, Filipino, and Soul food.
Doesn’t seem to be as many scarecrows as in past years but several stand out — Vincent Van Ghost at Plein Air Gallery, a dead ringer for the real guy; a giant man-eating flower with teeth devouring a man head first in front of Daughter of Luna — “Feed me Seymour.” Edward Scissorhands creepy claws beckon passers-by in front of Changes Hair Salon. Check out his hair — looks real? There’s an elderly gentleman dressed to the nines in front of ReMax Gold wearing a dapper tweed jacket adorned with suede elbow patches. And, finally, the bread alligator at One House Bakery sprouting golden horns and teeth that look like meringues. Each scale is individually delineated, and there are hundreds of them. You can tell it’s an alligator and not a crocodile by its broad shaped snout. The teeth are also a give-away. When an alligator has its mouth shut, you won’t see any of its teeth. When a crocodile has its mouth shut, its lower teeth stick up over the top lip, showing off a toothy grin. (I didn’t know either so looked this up on-line). Today Dough-Ki the alligator is wearing a raincoat.
Decided to check out Spiritual Advisors located next door to HQ Gallery. Look for the huge hand, palm up, by the door. Morgan who greeted me is a spiritual life coach who started showing her powers at four years of age. Her ability goes back to her great, great, great grandmother who was only two when her physic gifts manifested. Morgan offers chakra balancing, energy cleansing, love healing, pet, pendulum, psychic, and palm readings. Her speciality is Tarot. “You don’t give any bad news, do you? I asked. “No,” she said. “My work is based on positive healing energy and the possibility of transformation unlimited by what is in our own heads.” Sounds like what we need right now.
Back up at the Library was happy to see my favorite trees — the bright lemon yellow gingkoes quaking in the breeze, a bit beaten up by the rainstorm. I checked out the progress of the painted bench at the Library by veteran yoga teacher and artist, Sandra Summerfield Kozak. Her website explains: “ This represents ‘Nature of the Mind’ where dazzling water and light are meant to be explorations of human consciousness as described in ancient Sanskrit texts. Our minds are like ponds of water and our thoughts are like small waves or ripples on the surface of that water.” Nice synchronicity that her painting is on a bench where one can rest and reflect.
The following day, waiting for my sandwich at Java Point, I complimented a woman on how well behaved her two dogs were — one a 17-year-old husky who had once been a sled dog. Jennifer Dowell drove down alone from Anchorage Alaska to Colorado. It took almost eight days. Then on to Benicia to visit her aunt. “I had to get away from my job for a month. I’m burned out,” she told me. “What do you do?” “I’m an emergency room physician.” she said. “And the politics aren’t so helpful.” Alaska has the highest case rate and the highest number of Covid hospitalizations since the pandemic began. Thank you for your service, Dr. Dowell.
The last Farmers Market of the year is tomorrow. As the strawberries and stone fruit exit stage left, holiday items make their debut. Nannie’s Candies sells festive leis made out of individually cellophane wrapped hard candy. Nannie is Sarah, a local physical education teacher and budding entrepreneur. She first saw similar leis while vacationing in Hawaii and thought, “I can do that!” Her fledging business is growing as she is invited to do parties and other events. Aloha Oe, Farmers Market, until we meet again.
Seems that I missed listing a few hair salons in my last column: Shear Artistry in the Tannery and Changes Hair Salon near G. There’s Rooted in the the historic 621 building, Studio J Salon next to Got Lunch, for a total of 14 hair salons on First. There’s no such thing as a “bad hair day” in Benicia.
Sarah Beserra is an artist, collector, Dharma practitioner, and former lobbyist.
Letters From Benicia 