“What good is sitting alone in your room. Come hear the music play. Life is a cabaret, old chum. Come to the cabaret.” Composer John Kander; lyrics Fred Ebb
Was sitting on my couch this morning trying to figure out what to write, so decided to take a stroll down First Street for some inspiration. It worked.
I heard a saxophone as I turned the corner onto E D St. Sure enough, there in the gazebo was Bryan Girard and his jazz band setting up for a session in the sunny garden of Cafe at the Inn. Yellow umbrellas were unfurled as jazz afficionados wandered in. Around the corner at the edge of Avant Garden I heard — “Hi Sarah! Another beautiful day.” It was Scott the Teak Man doing some paperwork at his outdoor desk.
Further up First, I popped into Bookshop Benicia for a birthday card for a friend who is turning 80. Those cards with photos from the 1940s and 1950s crack me up, and I can usually find one that fits. This one showed two women dressed in suits and pill box hats sipping cocktails over lunch. The greeting was — “I’m glad we met later in life. I don’t think my mother would have let me play with you.” Those are the kind of friends worth having.
As I approached the corner of First and G I heard — “Hey Sarah!” It was artist Pam Dixon and Joe Rutkowski out for a Sunday spin. They stopped the car in the crosswalk for a chat. “I’ve got a hot tip for you,” said Joe. “Evidently, the Majestic Theater has been sold to someone with the finances and means to do something great with it.” “Wow, Joe, that is great news,” I said as visions of foreign and classic movies danced in my head. Wouldn’t it be fun to see Bette Davis in “All About Eve” on the big Screen or Anouk Aimee in “A Man and a Woman” again in a theater. “I don’t know any more about it than that,” he said. This is exciting! Stay tuned.
As we chatted, I clutched their open car window and started doing squats without thinking. My trainer at the gym recently added that to my workout, so try to do them whenever I can “Are you doing squats?” Joe said as he observed my face disappearing. “Do you want me to show you how to do them safely?” “Sure,” I said. He pulled over and we walked to the far side of Sandovals so as to be out of public view. He proceeded to show me the proper stance which is best learned by standing in front of a wall. “Never lead with your knees,” he told me. “Make sure you butt touches the wall.” I tried it a few times but was afraid I’d fray my new linen skirt on the plaster.
He demonstrated perfect form as he stretched out his arms straight ahead. Was he going to break into that Russian squat and kick dance? I was mesmerized. Don’t know what people driving by were thinking with both of us squatting on the sidewalk, but noticed Pam taking pictures of us from the car, so tried to display my best side. After a few practice turns, and a high five, Coach Joe jumped back in the car and they took off. What a country!
Returning home near East D St. I heard some fancy drumming — bongos, perhaps? On the corner was a fellow playing three upturned 5 gallon plastic buckets. He had quite a beat going. His name is Funk Plastic, formerly Todd Irving. This guy is seriously good. He was trained in the Pentecostal church as a drummer. “I specialize in playing the buckets which I’ve been playing for 25 years all over the country, starting in Portland for the Blazers. I’ve spent time in Maui and Oahu then came to Nor Cal and having fun performing at Fisherman’s wharf,” he said.
“I’ve been specializing in a fun course for kids, identifying tones on the buckets,” he shared. “I’m doing retirement by releasing my memoir. It’s called ‘Funk Plastic: Memoirs of a Street Performer.’” Look for it in October. See him perform on You Tube and Facebook. You won’t be able to sit still.
Just beyond, in front of The Chill wine bar I saw an incongruous sight, numerous Japanese paper umbrellas, their canopies gently touching each other, dancing in the sun. Was reminded of antique Japanese woodblock prints, the ones that were such an influence on the French Impressionists and continue to inspire plein air painters today. Parasols were bobbing to and fro as their handlers chatted. I asked Chill owner Lynn Parella where she got the idea to offer customers parasols. “I’m also a wedding planner,” she said. “We use them at our events.” I had stumbled on their weekly Sunday Bingo for Charity Event where each week a different nonprofit is the beneficiary.
Former friends, students, and admirers of Benicia born sculptor and painter Robert Arneson gathered at the Marina on September 4 to celebrate what would have been Arneson’s 95th birthday. It was a festive occasion as celebrants sipped wine and enjoyed a piece of sheet cake with cerulean blue frosting. For the grand finale, photographer Mike Van Auken posed everybody around Arneson’s cast bronze sculpture “Benicia Bench,” which depicts a larger than life bust of Arneson, a goofy grin on his face, balancing a bench on his head as a curious duck looks on.
Among the 20 or so attending were artist Lisa Reinertson, former student of Arneson at UC Davis, Jack Ruszel of Ruszel Woodworks, Mayor Steve Young, Vice Mayor Terry Scott, auctioneer and publisher Chris Dunlap, Emily Thompson, former head of Arts Benicia’s children’s programs and event organizers Pam Dixon and Jackie Dubois who have been lobbying City Hall for an official city holiday commemorating the father of the Funk Art movement.
Liza Minnelli was prescient when she sang “What good is permitting some prophet of doom to wipe every smile away? Life is a cabaret, old chum, come to the cabaret.”
Letters From Benicia 