Every day
I see or hear
something
that more or less kills me
with delight —— “Mindful” by Mary Oliver
Walking by Avant garden I spied something orange in the shrubbery. There beneath the gray green foliage were six large pumpkins hidden like monumental Easter eggs. One had escaped the garden and the wire fence and was headed for the sidewalk. Fuzzy green figs hung in clusters soon to be eaten or squashed by someone’s shoe. Loquats, or maybe they were cumquats, ripened on trees, and, strangely, bright red leaves filled First St. gutters, joining the pumpkins in their race toward the Fall.
More changes. Family run cafe Dreambowlz will take over Double Rainbow’s old location in August, “providing nourishment for the mind, body, spirit, and soul.” A small dark berry from the Amazon rain forest called the Acai berry (ah-sigh-EE) will be the star of fruit bowls, smoothies and juices.
Trys Studio, the gorgeous new shop in the former First St. Gallery, reminds me of a French flea market. I met charming owner Ari and the next day returned to see more. It finally occurred to me that I wasn’t talking to Ari but her identical twin sister Poy who runs their San Francisco store. The space has been transformed to a marketplace bursting with decorator items, both new and vintage, hats, books, frames, jewelry, clothing, journals, prints, candles, vintage French jeans, quilted house coats, baskets, lamps, and mirrors.
Sat down with Ari Saturday after the Waterfront Festival. She looked chic in a long black dress and hand- crafted necklace. It had been a good day. Born and raised in Thailand, the sisters were exposed as children to art, design, and fashion by their mother. Budding entrepreneurs, they rejected the safe path of government employment and dreamed of a business of their own. Majoring in business at university they studied with Chinese speaking teachers and learned English as a common form of communication.
After opening a little shop near their university, the sisters came to the US to study web design, photography, and graphics. Their first shop was in the Sunset District and is still going strong. They are both go getters, working second jobs at night. Always looking for the next opportunity, they decided to open another shop — in Benicia.
“Why did you choose Benicia?” I asked. “I had a friend who lived here and I just loved it,” Ari said. “I kept coming back. The people were so nice, the weather perfect, and I kept returning for coffee and to take walks.” Her enthusiasm was palpable.
“Where did the name ‘Try” come from?” “Try is from ‘try my best to make it better every day.’ We opened in San Francisco right after the Covid shutdown and kept questioning how we were going to stay in business. The only way is to try,” she said. “Our Sunset store is run by Poy and carries mostly pre-loved items. Benicia will be primarily gift items.”
Ari has big plans for the shop. She would like to carry a few handmade articles from Benicia craftspeople to be another channel for their work. The sisters also do home and office staging and interior design consulting. Ari graciously thanked me for interviewing her, and we parted in the traditional Thai way, with palms together and bows. trystudioshop.com
Odyssey to Ithaca Via Concord
“Seen any good movies lately?” I asked my friend and neighbor. Her husband was out of town and she decided to take in a movie, driving to La Veranda in Concord to see “The Odyssey.” “I thought something was different when I sat down. Rather than those plush loungers where you can elevate your feet, these were very simple chairs placed tightly together. There weren’t even trays or cup holders,” she said. I pictured a retro movie house and flashed to our own Majestic, but was way off base.
As if you need a reminder “The Odyssey” is a much touted movie based on an epic poem about a man’s perilous ten-year sea voyage home after the Trojan War. There’s lots of action, battling gods, monsters, and temptation.
“Shortly after the movie began my chair started lurching from side to side just like the ship,” she said. “Did you think it was an earthquake?” “No I looked around and everyone else — all under 40 — were laughing and yelling, and it soon became apparent that this was one of those immersive experience theaters. Every time a giant wave hit the boat, my chair would pitch to the side.”
“Suddenly I felt a cool mist on my face,” she said. Somewhere on her seat were water jets emitting moisture, mimicking the wind on the screen. Soggy popcorn is inevitable.
“My hair kept flipping forward into my face and I thought someone behind me was messing with it,” she said. Two air ducts on the back of her seat were the culprits, emitting a mighty wind when the sails were filled — on the boat, not the chair. Tip: Be sure to pack some hair clips or a sou’wester if you go.
“As a woman in my 70’s, I wouldn’t intentionally choose the 4DX experience, although l probably would have liked it as a younger woman. I looked around to see if there were any stationary chairs, but no luck. Personally, I didn’t feel like I was in a boat. I just felt like I was being jerked around,” she laughed.
Can you imagine going to this movie in 4Dx on a first date? Your hair is perfectly blown out, but by the end of the movie you have the frizzies. Your mascara has run, you look like a raccoon, and you’re about to lose your lunch. I won’t be going. My problem is motion sickness, let alone seasickness. There’s no way I’m going to that movie unless I wear a shower cap and bring a bucket.
Ten years on a boat is a long time. Three hours in that theater would seem like ten years. “I’d recommend the movie, though, but see it at a regular theater or IMAX,” she said.
I’ll be reading the book.
https://sarahbeserra.com for an archive of columns.
