Abundant Life Ministries Church has a health fair

Health fairs are the coming thing in this area. Some are big, like the one sponsored by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner at Davis Park, San Pablo. This one was small, at a small church on Ninth street, near Roosevelt Avenue in Richmond's Iron Triangle.  In fact, it was so small and relaxing that it was very healthful blessing for all the participants, who are usually too busy to talk to each other.  Andrew Butt had invited me to have an art table for kids at the very large, successful picnic to benefit Washington School, but I had already promised Eve Howard, early in the summer, that I would paint faces at her health fair.  My art professor at San Francisco State who gave me an M.A. in art education, told me in no uncertain terms, that I had to keep my promises to show up and do things for people.

Now I cannot find my notes for this story, with the names of all the participants whose photo I took.  I promised to put them on my blog.  I am usually not this disorganized.  I will put the names up when I find my notes.

C

Community gardening is important to the local 

people.  All the plants on this table are edible.

Most were picked that morning.

Aren't they beautiful?   The flowers are edible too.

It's so embarassing to not remember

people's names.  I really do apologize.

Eve will tell me names when I talk to

her tomorrow.

Malik Seneferu does art outreach

for at-risk youth.  His wife is a 

school teacher.  He is often at Point

Richmond events.

These passion flowers are edible.

at left is Naomi Williams with her co-workers who 

watchdog bars and liquor stores to stop

proliferation of liquor-selling establishments in

the local area.

These ladies volunteer to help  breast cancer 

patients.  They have a support group at Doctor's

Hospital, I think.

These people have a new kind of counseling

service called co-counseling.  You talk and they

listen.  Then they talk and you listen.  So it's

a two-way street.

I talked and then was interrupted by the announcer

telling us that the musical performance was

about to begin, so they didn't get to talk

after all.  Maybe we'll continue the conversation

at some other event.  I do have the ability to

listen to people.

Naomi Williams speaking.  There was another

event a few blocks away so most of the neighbors

had gone there. They were a lot louder than us

and it sounded like a revival meeting to me, with the

minister shouting about how he had gotten

someone out of jail and they hadn't gone back to jail

again, ever, and they had lived happily ever after.  

That sounds hopeful and uplifting,

to me,  because I usually hear about how 

people are revolving door drunks, recidivists, 

and my dad's favorite word, incorrigible.  

But I was tired at the end of the day,

so I did not go to the revival meeting.  

I just went home.

Eve Howard with my butterfly

face painting.  Notice that I

did not paint right on her eyelids.

I guess the other is prettier, but I think

it is safer and healthier this way,

and it's still pretty.  Thanks for a 

nice relaxing health fair.

Art in the Park, Point Richmond style

Lonely wig wag has lost its other wig wag on the 

other side of the tracks.

Sunday, August 21, was a beautiful day for the annual Art in the Park Festival sponsored by Arts of Point Richmond.  It's a kind of party in the park by this great group of compatible artists and writers, most of whom live in Point Richmond, although they were all selling original art work or SOMETHING.  They don't just get along: they actually seem to enjoy parking their canopies next to each other.  This year the bank let us stay on the grass instead of forcing us out into the street because they had watered the grass the night before and it was too wet to walk in. So thanks very much to Mr. Connolley of the Mechanics Bank, which  you can see in this photo right behind the famous only remaining wig wag.

Jean Brady, purveyor of Barefoot Books, wore

her butterfly mask because we were encouraged

to wear a costume, even though it was not

Halloween.  I do not question this policy.  I just belong

to the group.  Somebody wanted to do this and there is no law against it.

I kept my face painting that I got yesterday in Oakland, so that

was my costume, plus my Obama inauguration sweatshirt.

When he's not making clocks (which

are on display in the Post Office window)

or promoting music festivals, Steve Hurst 

likes to take photos, also.

Richard Melvin is the official helper and here he

is helping Warren Harris.  He was giving Warren

directions on how to find a hotel room 

at the Larkspur Courtyard by Marriott, since

the  Mac only has one or two rooms that

I know about, though there is another

Days Inn motel right up the street.  But Warren 

wanted to stay in Marin which is not

very far away and is a very picturesque drive across

the bridge to Larkspur.

The name of the band is "Basic Beat."

There were only two entries in the

poster contest this year.  This is

Jean Brady's entry, which came

in second.  I am going to enter this

next year.  Sorry about the reflection

on the glass.

This is Betty Tarr's entry. She won the contest.  Sorry

again about the reflection on the glass.

The overview.

These kids are getting trained early about how

to grab a friend and get a group photo.  They are

incredibly cute.

Altha Humphrey deserves all the respect and thanks

she gets for organizing this group a few

years ago.  Thanks for staying with it, Altha.

This is the work of Wende Heath, ceramicist.

Many of her ceramic pieces contain scrolls with

writing on them.  

Here is Wende Heath with her art works.

Point Richmonder Richard Katz with his greyhound

whom he rescued.  I like to write WHOM he rescued, instead of THAT he rescued, because I feel as though dogs are almost people.  A chair or a table is a THAT, but a dog or a person is a WHOM.

Paula Carpenter and her incredibly cute son.

Sylvia Ledesma, who makes jewelry and 

very dramatic T-shirts that show her

Hispanic culture which most people envy and respect.

These are Donny Carroll, Debby Conrad and 

Mark Conrad in Mark's metal work art booth.

Notice the  bells hanging from the sides

of the tent.

Ilza makes cards and handmade jewelry.

Ilza's bead work with a variety of beautiful colored

pearls, fit for royalty.

A subtle arrangement of beads.

My guess is that this rose is made 

from precious metal clay.

This is one of many metal sculptures by

Joe Brooks that were on display.  

It's called "gong" and someone

rang it while I was there.  It produces

a very nice sound.  I am sorry I do

not know who this person is.

This is Karen Seneferu, who was there 

with her husband, Malik.  Karen is an English

teacher who was grading papers in the sunshin.

Malik Seneferu helps at-risk youth

among his many talents, not the

least of which is painting.

This was not posed, honest!  This is Linda Drake, the

powerhouse of energy behind this event and her

husband, who is a tall firefighter.

I do not know who these people are but they 

have a really beautiful dog.

Everyone was glad to see John and Jean Knox.

John Knox is a former state Assemblyman and

speaker of the California State Assembly.

It's tough to be confined to a scooter but it's

better than staying home all the time!

Here is Betty Tarr, pleased as punch

about winning the poster contest.  And well-

deserved, I must say.

Here Linda Drake is looking through

her prints of her beautiful colored pencil

drawings.

Here I am am, yours truly intrepid reporter

wearing my own handmade copper food diary that I just finished silver-plating.

And also I am wearing my Obama inauguration sweatshirt

that I have only worn once before--my costume.  

Of course people ask me, did you go to the inauguration?  And my answer is, are you kidding?  Do you think I could have stood there in the cold of January in Washington, DC, all day to see the inauguration?  My toes would have frozen and fallen off.  No I bought it a few months later when it was warm enough

for me to go visit my son in his nice DC apartment and go walk around and see the sights AFTER the president got into his office.  I used to be a little bit vain about my appearance but I had to give that up too, after I gained 75 pounds in the last ten or 15 years.  Now I'm on my way back down, but it seems

to be taking longer to lose it than it did to gain it.

Hotel Mac celebrates 100 years with $10 express lunch special

The Hotel Mac welcomes old and new customers

for its 100th anniversary.

The bar lunch at the Hotel Mac, 50 Washington Avenue, in Point Richmond, is as good as it was 30 years ago, just a little larger. Ten big ones will buy you a generous plate of chicken Saltimbucca over fresh mashed potatoes with roasted zucchini, which you can eat at the bar or at one of the little nearby tables. Proclaiming a variety of choices, the special $10 express lunch is served Monday through Friday to celebrate the Hotel Mac's 100^th anniversary. Thirty years ago they were serving a memorable spaghetti al dente, with a fresh tomato sauce and tiny pieces of beef.

They make the best chicken in town, no matter

how its cooked.  This happens to be

chicken Saltimbucca.

No you don't have to sit at a little table all by your lonely self. You can talk to the bartender or one of the regulars while you eat lunch, unless the bartender is way at the other end of the bar helping the local bank manager. It's still a place for bankers to take a long lunch break or politicians to have informal discussions with clients. Just don't ask anyone for a loan while you are drinking. Don't go into a bar with no money in your pocket and order a round for the house. And you will still need some for a tip.  You might need to study the history of Point Richmond or learn the names of the current singing groups to have something to talk to them about.

Ian said they did not need permission from anyone

to hang up this red, white and blue bunting.

They did it because of the anniversary.

Beautiful red, white and blue bunting is hung from the second floor dining room which overlooks the long elegant full service bar. Its shiny brass counter top is polished every night with Brasso. This is where former Assemblyman John Knox turned to a local journalist hovering nearby, and said he was drinking a drink called a depth charge. The ingredients remain top secret.

Ian says he wears a long apron because

he puts salt and sugar in many of

his drinks.  This interview was completely

unexpected and unrehearsed.  Nice of 

them to let this journalist do it, don't you

think so?  Nice to find someone who is

friendly to the press.

Ian the bartender says a full service bar means you can get just about anything you want here, in the way of liquors and mixed drinks, while some other bars are limited to beer and wine.

“A full service bar has a full range of liquor for making drinks,” he said. He makes special drinks when they are not busy. However, sometimes if he is asked for a drink that takes a long time to make, he just says no.

“The latest thing is a 'pousse cafe'. It's nine different layers of liquors, a layered drink. It takes 20 minutes to make. We can make just about anything you want. Some we have to look up in the book. If it is too busy, I just say no.”

Irish coffee is a serious temptation,

that you will be able to stay awake

to enjoy.

The chicken Saltimbucca was a plate of tender sauteed chicken breasts with a layer of prosciutto, over creamy fresh mashed potatoes and fresh roasted slices of zucchini. It was difficult to guess the very tasty seasoning, but there was just a hint of salt and pepper, a clue of parlsey, and the ambiance of a wine sauce, but which wine was impossible to guess.

Jerry Cerkanowitz, besides being a history

maven, is a connoisseur of good food and drink

in the local restaurants.

Point Richmond History Association past President Jerry Cerkanowitz also dropped in for a plate of sand dabs. Jerry says he likes to dine at the Hotel Mac “because it is comfortable here.” Ian the bartender helped him to cut his hospital bracelet off his wrist. Jerry had a cat scan earlier in the day.

Anna-Lisa Smoker is from Berkeley, where

she occasionally sings at the Freight and Salvage

coffee house.  She just happened to be in the

Hotel Mac for lunch.

Singer-songwriter Anna-Lisa Smoker seized the opportunity to talk to the press. She is “a patron, an appreciator of the fine architecture, fine food, and fine service. 100 years is 100 good reasons why people should wine and dine at this historical landmark,” she said. Anna Lisa performs at Freight and Salvage in Berkeley and is always happy to get a singing job.

The shell or setting sun design on the sign is a very old

Chinese pattern, a tribute to the original

settlers in this area, who built the railroad.

The three story red brick building was renovated after burning out in the late 1960s. A decade or so later, the architectural firm of Interactive Resources (led at that time by Thomas K. Butt) reinforced the brick building with large steel girders, thus earthquake proofing it. It is on the national register of historic places and has always been a place for captains of industry to enjoy lunch or dinner and a glass of wine, though they no longer allow cigar smoking on the premises.

You never know who you are going to enjoy making the new acquaintance of, or renewing an old one, over a bar lunch at the Hotel Mac. The Mac has a web site www.hotelmac.net for more information. Telephone 510-235-0010. It's open weekdays from 11:39 am until 9:30 p.m. and Saturdays from 5 pm until 9:30 p.m. Longtime Point residents Barbara Armstrong and Jim Caroompas will be singing here together later this month, for which reservations are encouraged.#