This time of year is a time to reflect on our good fortune as wars wage and disasters unfold around the world. Benicia is a haven from the turmoil and has its own problems but minor in the scheme of things. Walking down the palm lined promenade on a gray, rainy day I’m surprised by the chorus of birdsong coming from the two palms nearest to Sailor Jack’s. The star is still on top of the Christmas tree waiting to be brought to life once again on December 1. I linger by the railing lulled by the gently lapping waves at low tide. Large stones form a design on the beach that I can’t decipher as if placed there by an ancient tribe. Everything is covered in a blanket of gray as the sun slips behind the Crockett hills. I am grateful to live in Benicia in these times.
The comedy/thriller “Deathtrap” which had a four-year run on Broadway in the late 1970s finished a successful three-week run here in Benicia recently. My sister, friend Marialee, and I attended the final Sunday matinee which was standing room only. We had seats close to the stage and were intrigued by the set design — a wood paneled office with every square inch of wall space hung with a weapon of some kind— revolvers, shotguns, knives, and a number of medieval instruments of torture that I couldn’t identify. A speciality drink named “Twisted Deceit,” a concoction of bourbon with a blackberry finish, was available at the bar. It was good to see our dear friend Larry was taking orders at the cash table as he usually does.
So happy I didn’t know the story because it was rife with surprises, shootings, floggings, stabbings, more shootings, and other dirty deeds. As gruesome as it sounds, it was played for laughs. Benicia school teacher Joe Fitzgerald was amazing as Sidney, a washed-up playwright. He had more lines to memorize than anyone else with zero slip-ups. Annie Larson brought down the house as Helga, the over-the-top psychic who spoke in a husky Russian accent as she predicted foul play. So much gratitude to the director, cast and crew for their hours of volunteer work to make this first class production possible.
France wasn’t in the cards this year for my sister Susan, so we did the next best thing and crossed over to the left bank for an art show and le jazz hot in Crockett. Epperson Gallery held an opening reception for master landscape painter Warren Dreyer who had a studio in Benicia at one time and is currently a. member of Gallery 621. His moody landscapes in pastels and oils are informed by the early influences of Degas, Edward Hopper, Diebenkorn, and Elmer Bischoff. A leader among the second generation of plein air painters following the Society of Six, Warren was one of a small group responsible for the plein air painting revival in the Bay Area, which planted the seeds for the creation of The Plein Air, and HQ Galleries on First St.
After taking in Dreyer’s landscapes we were treated to an exciting musical performance by French born singer Isabelle Fontaine and San Franciscan Jeff Magidson of the group “Duo Gadjo” who performed a jazz set influenced by gypsy swing master Django Reinhart. Isabel sang old favorites in her sweet, clear voice accompanied by Jeff on guitar and melodica. We were transported to a Parisian cabaret as the duo performed “La Mer,” “Non, Je Regret Rien,” and “La Vie en Rose in both French and English. Jeff previously was a member of The Hot Club of San Francisco and produced their latest album, “John, Paul, George, and Django.” Wish that we could get them over to Benicia Sur Mer for a performance. C’est si bon —- si bon si bon …
Was chatting with Gardner Veronica Bearce at Avant Garden on my way to Benicia Fitness who told me she had discovered the best tasting melon ever — the Picasso melon — at the Solano County Fair in Vallejo last summer. Picasso melon is also known as gaya melon or snow leopard melon and is a rare breed. She was so impressed with its sweetness that the growers gave her gave her a plant to take home. Veronica planted it in her plot at the Garden and tended it lovingly She left for a short vacation and when she returned the plant was gone. “It had disappeared entirely,” she said. “What a disappointment. Others have had the same experience. We love having the public come into the garden, bring a lunch and enjoy it. But it’s disheartening when you are raising something and then it’s gone.” I’d like to think that the culprit was a giant gopher, mole, or even a shrew, but my guess is it was a human plant poacher. Be on the lookout for anyone lurking around the garden with leaves poking out of their collar or bulges in unusual places.
Picked up a pretty Christmas program for the Benicia Arsenal’s 1932 holiday celebration from Steffen’s Antiques final sale. Joe Steffen and I marveled over the booklet’s pristine condition after almost a century. Inside were group photos of the Eightieth Ordnance Company looking dashing in their dress uniforms. The program belonged to one Corporal Ramsey whose names was written on the inside cover. A group photo shows the good Corporal seated in the front row, a well-fed fellow with a don’t-mess-with-me smile and 40 of his fellow soldiers. The Christmas dinner menu was impressive especially since it was at the beginning of the Great Depression in President Hoover’s final days in office: celery, crab salad, olives, roast turkey, baked ham, giblet gravy, oyster dressing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, candied sweet potatoes, sweet corn, mince pie, pumpkin pie, fruit cake, sponge cake, mixed nuts, candies, apples, oranges, bananas, ginger ale coffee, cigars, and cigarettes. Corporal Ramsey looks like he would have enjoyed a good cigar — but paired with ginger ale?
Enjoy your Thanksgiving!
Letters From Benicia 