Summertime and overwhelming joy is all around us
Time to brush away the darkness and let the sun shine in
As we enjoy one of the mildest Davis summers ever, it's time to open the windows, ignore the headlines, let the sea breeze in and concentrate for a moment on the things that bring us joy, pure joy.
Here are some of mine.
THE GIRLS OF SUMMER ... Our four daughters were all born within a month of each other (in different years). Rather than having four separate parties, we combine them all into a Girls of Summer celebration. Several times the Davis Fire Department has had to respond when the neighbors got nervous about so many birthday candles blazing at the same time.
MAIL DROP ... I had no idea the Pony Express used to gallop through our East Davis neighborhood long ago until the City planted a sign on our humble street telling us so. Now, instead of going to the post office, I just drop all our outgoing mail on the lawn in front of the sign and it magically arrives at its destination.
IS THERE A PULITZER FOR CATS? ... The secret is out. Our beloved cat Darby is the true author of all postings at The Wary One.
SPLASHAPALOOZA ... The spectacular splash pad at Central Park in honor of fallen Davis Police Officer Natalie Corona will be formally dedicated August 16 at 10 a.m. and thereafter will be free for everyone to enjoy. It is quite a sight to see and a wonderful memorial to a true public servant our town will never forget.
A REDWOOD CATHEDRAL ... Our son Mick produced these stunning photos on a drive through the magnificent Avenue of the Giants in Humboldt County.
THE GIFT OF LIFE ... A wonderful homemade sign on L Street signals a family's joy at the arrival of a new and beautiful citizen of our town.
REMEMBERING TOM LEHRER ... One of the great satirical songwriters of all time, Tom Lehrer, passed away last Saturday at the age of 97, leaving behind a treasure of songs that had to make anyone of any political persuasion roll on the floor with laughter. His "Poisoning Pigeons in the Park," "So Long Mom, I'm Off to Drop the Bomb" (about World War III), "Vatican Rag" and "Fight Fiercely, Harvard" are timeless classics. His many recordings are easy to find online. Here's one:
THE LONELIEST POMEGRANATE ... Five years ago on my birthday, my Sweetheart planted a young pomegranate sprout in our backyard flower bed. It grew and flourished and sent out many branches as it wrestled with whether it should become merely a bush or truly a tree.
And then, last year, it finally produced a handful of beautiful bright red blossoms, but no fruit. Late this spring, however, it burst out with over 200 blossoms ready to attract all sorts of nature's living pollinators. One by one, the blossoms eventually dropped to the ground, leaving not a trace of an actual pomegranate in their place.
But one glorious day as I walked past this barren bush, I noticed a bulge deep inside its prolific branches. It was indeed an actual pomegranate. One single, solo, individual and extremely lonely pomegranate. I immediately notified officials at the Yolo County Fair that I would probably be entering the World's Largest Pomegranate in the produce competition come August.
I assumed the Blue Ribbon would certainly be mine and I was willing to be interviewed by members of the press after the award ceremony. After all, this single pomegranate has no siblings to compete with. The full fruit-making ability of this entire bush will be directed to this one solitary pomegranate. It is now about the size of a grocery store lime, but I'm expecting it will soon look more like a 20-pound watermelon. I can hardly wait for the harvest. I will walk it to Woodland myself as it rests on a bed of soft leaves in the back of my red Radio Flyer.
If you're patient, Mother Nature will always show her true colors. In this case, pomegranate red.
TACO TIME ... Speaking of the Yolo County Fair, there is nothing quite like a cardboard box packed with Holy Rosary tacos to enjoy with friends and family on a warm summer night. Parishioners and priests work shoulder to shoulder for days to put this popular feast together, one year producing over 40,000 of the best tacos on earth for the Fair's five-day run. If you've never been, make this the year. Admission to the Yolo County Fair is free.
THERE'S ALWAYS A LOCAL ANGLE ... The New York Times may be published far across the country, but that didn't stop America's finest newspaper from extensively quoting Davis' own world-renowned nutrition expert, Dr. Liz Applegate, in a recent story about the current protein craze. When it comes to what we eat, Liz's words are Gospel.
SPEAKING OF LOCAL ANGLES ... The New York Times sports section recently had a two-page spread by former Davis sportswriter Dan Brown about Babe Dahlgren, the man who replaced Lou Gehrig at first base for the New York Yankees. But there was much, much more to Dahlgren's fame and contributions to modern-day baseball than being Gehrig's replacement.
SPEAKING OF FORMER DAVIS SPORTSWRITERS ... Joe Davidson, already acknowledged many times over as the best prep sportswriter in California, recently peeled back the mystery of Troy Taylor's firing as head football coach at Stanford. It brought me great joy to read about the Troy Taylor I had come to know and respect. Davidson has a long history with Taylor going back to Taylor's coaching days at Folsom High School and has insights to the coach that no other writers do. You can read Davidson's piece here.
IT'S A BLOOMING SUMMER ... Generally we think of trees blooming in spring, but the charming Crape Myrtle apparently didn't get the memo. These magnificent trees are blooming all over town in pinks and reds and purples and whites long after most trees have lost their blossoms and fully leafed out. And yes, it's acceptable to call it Crepe Myrtle as well. As an added bonus, these trees have smooth and elegant bark.
BY THE LIGHT OF THE SILVERY MOON - OR IS IT A SLIVERY MOON? ... Of all the phases of the Moon, the waxing crescent is my favorite.
LAUNDROMAT LOVE - MONTANA MEETS CALIFORNIA IN A PERFECT MATCH ... In the summer of 1995, 30 years ago today, I walked into a steamy laundromat in Northern Idaho, far from the nearest town, with the intent of washing my clothes.
Instead, I met the Red-Headed Girl of My Dreams, who was also there with the intent of washing her clothes. In that instant my heart began to pound involuntarily and my life was changed forever.
She was from Montana and I was from California, but as we talked while our clothes washed and dried, it felt as if we had known each other for a very long time.
As we talked and talked, I told her I had already raised two kids who were the loves of my life, but that when I was growing up I had always imagined having six.
She looked at me with her kind blue eyes and said softly, "You should have married me."
It was then that I knew we'd be together forever.
If you had shown me this photo of our four kids to come as our clothes hit the spin cycle and said, "This is in your future," I don't know how I could have imagined that was true.
We were married on a Wednesday afternoon at Holy Rosary Catholic Church in Woodland and we thank God every day for bringing us together.
You never know what surprises the Good Lord has in store just around the corner. Or just inside the laundromat.
Thank heaven for dirty clothes.
You can reach me at bobdunning@thewaryone.com
Too bad you did not hang your clothes to dry, you could claim to be the first ever to meet on line!
This is beautiful. All of it. Thank you. I guess you can make a great living writing both hilarious and simply uplifting, gloriously entertaining columns. Love your style and content. Pictures are a big plus!! 😊