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from the nubile venus of California
to the ancient goddess of the East Coast
this man has traveled…
maybe not in miles of geography
but in the life path, this man has traveled
sailing on musical notes
and spouting all that is Gaia
comes this mountain man
screaming guitar licks
and arranging matriarchal patchwork on a patriarchal quilt:
flecks of light from the many students he inspired
spiritual journeys and his life-long love of nature
the band years and the brotherhood
pieces of family knit together
then fractured
and re-sewn
Remembering
Merle and Bud
Alex
Bebe and all
this patchwork stitched together with love
alive and well
colorful patches of nature scenes and camping
music compositions
and books written
Then,
and then
in only the timing that Scott’s life could dream up
Power House of energy that burst forth as Meka!
Fatherhood and finding his way
homework nights and bedtime stories
he fell back on love and let it carry him.
it’s the sing of the guitar
the call of the wild
the patchwork screams “Life!”
it busts through you man, brother, father, son
shouting LIFE in all its fragments, in all its glorious cohesion
teaching without boundaries
learning like there will not be enough tomorrows
it’s a fierceness
a fierceness for truth
a passion for natural beauty
a devotion to love
Scott, you’re a wild fire burning bright
and we are here tonight
soaking you in
star struck and admiring the boldness of living life with your amount of passion
we celebrate the patchwork of your colorful quilt
yes, Scott, you are quite the Traveler
and we are basking
in the radiant glow
of your untamed, magical wild FIRE!
Something zipped past me real fast one day…
It was
It was like a shooting star!
I reached out… caught the tail of the light
Of this heart, as Big as the pacific ocean
Smile as broad as a Hawaiian sunset
Yes I got caught…in the orbit
Of Generous BZ
Spark in her eye, Busy like a bee
Zipping around like a …Weee!
That’s our BZ!
Yes we are caught in the magic of her orbit ~~
She’s flying on her bike
No! She’s on a mountain hike
Flying like a kite
That’s our girl, an unstoppable light
BZ
Appreciator of art, dancing to the music
Loving her family
Caring for her friends, her community
Remembering her beloved Karma
And if you’re here today, you too were magnetized to this spark
You too got caught in her orbit, didn’t you?
And here you are today
To celebrate the love she bestows as Big as an ocean
70 years of heart, adventure, loving and giving
living through the good
living through the grief
Living through it all like the champ she is
It takes a lot of courage to have such a generous heart.
And that’s the gift you give us, sister and friend
You see, BZ, we are all touched by you
We’re all caught in your orbit
Your laughter, your grace…and might I add, your crazy pace?
Now, you might out-hike us and zip past us at the speed of light
I mean, you can’t help it you were born with so much energy!
But don’t you worry girl.
At 70, we are still chasing your star
We will never stop chasing you, as you cycle up that steep hill or charge down the mountain side…no, sister we will NEVER stop trying
You have a heart true like the sun
As bright as a star
Shooting
like an unstoppable light
you shine so much love on us all
you are our champion, because you show us how it’s done
embracing life in all its adventure and beauty
We’ll never stop loving the embrace of your luminosity
Happy Birthday, BZ!
Welcome to 70!
a tribute to four birthdays of the smiling eyes tribe men: Virgil Patterson, Bob Peek, Rob Cassidy and Anthony Johnson
You may have heard of them, the Fab 4
Yes, that’s right, the Fab 4…
The smiling eyes men of this tribe on ages they are a-turning…
We’ll start at the top:
we see you, sparkle in the eye, ray from your crown
yes, you, Virgil Patterson we SEE you, living your art
Loving your life and your radiant wife
humble heart, an artful man we hear your song
We absorb your words and we watch you growing
Growing at 80
Spawning infinite numbers, you go brother, you GROW – Show us how it’s done, Virgil
An original of the Fab 4…You of the smiling eyes men
A quartet of lives converging
A birthday banquet
Another of the Fab 4 — the man who plays peek-a-book with Roy
Yeah, that’s you, Mr. Bob Peek
We see you behind your wig, muscle man
We love you brother, with your pepper spice and your tender wink
Playing in concrete all day then wailing at night with the band
Loving your family and your rockstar drummer wife
We howl at the moon with you, music man!
You of the smiling eyes men, an original of the Fab 4 –.
And at this birthday banquet who’s at the head of this madhatter table?
Who’s the guy who’s got your back?
Who’s the life of the party?
Who is that live wire who spirals us all together
And we say welcome to 60 Robert F. Cassidy
Rob, we all know your middle name is “Fun”
We’ve got your number, we see your heart
Loving such a big family and beaming proud with your beautiful wife
It’s all the love among us that floats this levitating boat
A quartet of birthdays
Celebrating all of the Fab 4
And we’re coming down to it, to our youngest brother, Anthony Johnson
Don’t you give me no humble pie, you Louisiana outlier
Tweaking your tunes, giving us your soul in a song
We seeeee you
We don’t need words to feel the honor of your presence
We don’t have the words to admire your passion
The fire of your art, your music, your devotion
Standing not alone, but with your amazing wife always at your side
You’re one of the rare good ones, at least my Daniel always said so
And for that I’ll always love you…
And so I say to the free-hearted FABULOUS four
Happy Birthday to all that you are: Patron, Brother, Father, Husband, Musician, Poet, Artist and Friend
We see you
All four of you
Smiling eyes tribe men
Your hearts, they are a-growing.
a tribute to Kambiz Abbaszadeh
He always made a place at the bar
Dan I would show up
And with a flash of his warm smile
Kam always made a place for us
He would serve us a knock-out cocktail he dreamed up
And then, after attending to other patrons and washing a few glasses, he would fill us in on his family
In this way, he made us feel like family
Kam did that for people
For any of us
We sat in his presence
Whether it was on the bar stool
Or at the BBQ grill
Or at the family gatherings that were so precious to him
Wherever it was, we sat in the radiance of Kam’s playfulness, his spirit, his heart
…
Kambiz in the Kitchen
Kambiz enthralled with the cosmic
Kambiz with the shaker
Kambiz with magic massage fingers
The warm heart
The Love for the art of good food, good drink
The Art of Family
He gave us nothing short of love
He gave 100% to work, to his obligations but also to playfulness and to fun
Kam’s life was an adventure story from Tehran to the U.S.
From the Caspian sea to the ski slopes of Tahoe
He lived his dreams with all his heart
But as much as he loved adventure
Kam
loved his family more
Nothing more cherished
His presence with his kids, with all his loved ones
was unmistakable
and even us. Just a couple of friends
he always gave us a seat at the bar, the table
But mostly
Kam gave us a place at His heart
That’s just who he was
how lucky we were to be in the orbit of his shine
The flash of his kind smile.
his steady gaze that held ours gave us a place
a special and coveted place
at his heart-filled table
He showed us nothing but Love
He gave us nothing but Love
You opened our hearts, Kambiz Abbaszadeh
You showed us how kindness worked
the importance of family
and how love prevails
Shine on, Loved One
Thank you for the seat at the table of your heart
We are better for your lion roar of laughter
Better for your imagination of the perfect cocktail
Better for knowing there is nothing better than Love
Better for the place we now hold for you
at a permanent seat in our hearts
For Jerry & Lorraine Olson on the closing of their beloved Mountain House Restaurant in Woodside—a landmark in our area
those wooden boards
that
soaked in the laughter
held the warm bellies and scraping chairs
creaked beneath the heels dancing
they hold a love story
a love story between a community and their retreat
between a man and a woman who loved it into being
the forest fairies circled
and the wood nymphs stomped
as patrons filed in
bright smile Lorraine greeting, buzzing, tending
if you were lucky, even Brett!
Jerry, gracious smiling eyes also greeting, also buzzing, and tending, tending
those boards took a lot of tending
the menus a lot of wild imagination: Venison, Elk, New Zealand Lamb
the wine list took your breath away and a great fraction of your worries with it!
the dream was fueled by a lot of heart as this landmark grew and fed, evolved and stayed
bringing a dream to this community, a home
a spirit in the woods
we carry this gift you gave us in our hearts
we carry it forward as we walk away with you, remembering
reminiscing, appreciating, relishing
the Good Times this place graced
a spirit in the woods will echo on
the boards, like our hearts, they remember
those epic times
the blazing fire
the warm drinks
the camaraderie
the love of this place
a spirit in the woods
the boards of this place are marked, like our hearts
and The Mountain House
we will, always, always remember.
For joe & veronica
As plump as a fig—bite like a snake
The banter of love started about 8 years ago and:
SPLATZH!*
It hit them like a headline: Island Girl meets Texan Troubadour
It all began on the wrong side of town
when Fiesta time was ripening on the vine
He danced with her once
this goddess divine
he danced with her twice
and the banter began
As Joe says they had everything and nothing in common—as is the way of the most colorful kind of love
She liked Prince and leopard pattern
He, Beatles and classic design
But plump as a fig, bite like a snake
the muse of quick wit and artistic sensibilities took over
Like no one else before, this Bard of Bexar County caught Veronica’s banter
and raised her five
then behold, this Goddess with spirited heart,
she met his bet with … a kiss
As plump as a fig, bite like a snake
the banter intoxicated
it bubbled
it thickened
This brew of Love made up their life of two beautiful, precious daughters Paige and Yvonne, beloved pets, love of family and musical notes
speckled with artistic expression
these two are True Originals, all Texan style
And the banter plays on, it somehow carries them
It may strike like a snake
or mix into a comical fruit salad
But it’s NEVER ordinary
It’s their secret code
it’s that exotic fig
A symbol of their unique love
that belongs only to them
So today we celebrate with you, Mr. & Mrs. Killough
We raise a cup
to the banter
to the madness
to the art and the music of your
Crazy Indescribable Love!
*Joe & Veronica met at a bar called “Splatzh”
for sue and terry – who met “Rico” on a post “Hurricane Maria” beach in Puerto Rico. His outgoing nature captivated them as did his situation: starving, abandoned on the beach with no food or water and in bad physical shape. Through no small effort they rescued him, flew him to California and began to restore and care for him. The ear infection turned out to be terminal cancer but he got the finest care and was able to befriend every creature he boldly introduced himself to, including me. The “gait” refers to his severe body injury that left him with a walking disability which deterred him not at all.
Rico with the twirly gait
stepped a tender foot to the exact spot, the intersection to you
Rico with twirly gait walked a jagged, hungry line
straight
into your hearts.
who knows what his eyes have seen
in the poverty of riches, hurricane winds and thirsty ocean
how many hearts has this soul gazed upon
rubbed against and touched
only to be left behind in empty sands.
and yet he never gave up his quest for love
to give love
to receive love.
it only took a small army to bring him to a new land
for his eyes to see no small miracle
to welcome him to a house of love
and a place for him to rest and give love, receive love
for that’s what his soul was meant to do.
a soul that never gave up, never ran away and stayed steady in his crooked walk, never complaining, showing us the meaning of gratitude.
blessed being, your work is done here
we see you
we acknowledge you.
and now,
Rico with the twirly gait
has run off to Shangri-la
Photo by Sue Munroe
for my duchess on the wedding day of her son (I wrote this a few years ago and just realized I never published it!)
hold tight
you’re still the girl
who was
before your life as mom
caress her face
she’s the grace
who picked her music bright
call of the wild
took on a life
your blue eyes
put some stars aside
baby in your nest
rocked through little one’s tides
ocean cool to fireside
hold her hand today
my sister’s hand
as i watch her
let loose her fingers
embrace this bold day
big wings, he spreads them
we gaze his dactyl flight
sky to call
him from your palm
brings your hand to future light
hold to your breast
endless mother gold
son of your heart
your wings will always enfold
cherishing the nest of family three
forever relishing
the Mother you will always be
for Claude & Betty Ganaye’s 60th Anniversary
One serendipitous day a blaze started with two sparks
a Lady wrestler, a mother with a mind of her own
Met her match
A French maverick, a lover of jazz, a dancer
What happens when two bright lights come together to make a bright, illuminating One?
The world serenades their synergy
The lover’s moon brightens their way
And a fire starts to ignite a hearth,
a hearth that will burn for lifetimes to come.
They grew the colors of a family, Colleen and Bill
Cultivated rainbows of businesses and myriad endeavors
And always along the way, Singing their mantra of eccentricity, individuality but most of all, big hearted love
moving out and out, wherever they went their loving hearth grew
attracting hearts like fireflys to light … a flock of admirers trailing them along the way
For these two are collectors of love.
their hearth collects a flock
they have invited many to stand in their warmth
They have shown the light for many to see their way
The hearth has been home to so many, their love, a blanket of comfort and encouragement to those they have touched so easily
This loving hearth of love that burns so bright
It lights our world and we are crazy fireflys enchanted by their flame!
At this hearth, we have danced and cheered, we have sung and we have celebrated
a hearth that has loved so many
has filled us all with their magical flame
they have brought us into their home, sat us down with a glass of wine and showed us
the meaning of Love.
So, to Claude & Betty, Your Hearth burns bright, thank you for sharing. We are all better people because of you.
Let’s now throw back a cup of cheer…
Claude & Betty’s 60th Anniversary is here!
last in the series of poems i wrote on breast cancer when lise first discovered her diagnosis.
trace a star
retract rest
stab a breast
ban a nest
race ten bets
erase scab
cart a tense beat
beers are best
bare bra
stern crater
crass brat
besets a stare
careen…can’t canter
abet crass banter
saber entreats teats
as beast berates east
near tears
can’t rest
can’t eat
can’t care
can’t bear
B R E A S T C A N C E R
all words in the above piece are taken from the letters spelling “breast cancer.”
iwritemyself 