Day 5: What Falls into Your Lap

While Kevin went off to work on cars with his dad on Saturday Alder and I spent a good chunk of the day at Bongo Billy's Cafe. Where he spent his time crawling around making all sorts of friends while I wrote. It was the first time that I realized that I can write with him there. I have been writing very little lately because I spend most of my time with Alder. Until now I have always looked at writing as something that I needed to be in an isolated environment to do. But I seemed to be writing fine while he was happily babbling to himself and others.

I think I might have been using him as an excuse not to try harder to write more often. But really the brief interruptions of collecting him from places he should not be only allowed my brain to fine tune the next thing I was thinking of putting on the paper. There will be times that he needs more attention and then the writing won't be as easy but I've just opened up a whole lot more time to write in.

So while we were there at Bongo Billy's I noticed a program for a poetry festival. That was going on this weekend right there. Not only at the cafe but at places all over town. Including a reading at the Steam Plant Theater that night. The Sparrows Poetry Festival is a spoken poetry festival that was started in Salida seven years before to break up winter's isolation. I don't know much about it but I liked the poets that we ended up seeing that night.

Going to the theater for a poetry reading was a perfect end to the vacation. Kevin loves poetry and I could tell that he was enjoying himself when he got his special smile on his face that seems to say I know the secret that makes the world go. It was good to be able to include some of his favorite art form in a week of visual arts.

We both agreed that Rhonda Cleaver- McCormick's poems were the ones that we connected to the most. She spoke about family and the spirit of people living on in her. She also had the most engaging style of reading of the poets.

On the opposite side of the poets was Don McIver who was the only real slam poet of the evening. I don't think Kevin had ever actually heard any slam other than on Public Radio. Anyway we both liked his rhythm and style. One of his poems Cool really got me laughing, it was both sides of the seventh grade student teacher divide.

I'm not going to list all the other poets but I will say that they were all good writers and performers. I'm glad that I found that program on the table at the cafe.