thank you again, adair

As so often happens in this life, one of those strange and
wonderful coincidences occurred yesterday. (My friend
Michael calls this "shrimp", but I can't remember why.)
Anyway, on Tuesday, I was going through my old notebooks
looking for inspiration and came upon an old SF Chronny
column by Adair Lara. Title: Women Have Rights; Ladies
Have Privileges.

I don't have the date on this photocopy, but I would guess
this was in the early 1990s. "Someone calls me a lady, and
I feel as if I'm standing in a flowered dress and a hat with a
veil presiding over a jumble sale in Leeds, England, or that
I've been promoted to the English gentry."

Then yesterday when I was referred to as a "lady" way too
often, I decided to use Ms. Lara here to catapult me into
my piece for Tiapos tonight. This is my favorite graph of
this particular column: "BUT WOMEN. Women smell of oil and
sweat and musk and baby powder and sour milk and blood.
They read the Wall Street Journal, pornography, poetry,
novels, chemistry texts and the scribblings on bathroom
walls. They buy tools, iguanas, Harley-Davidsons and drum
sets. They drive tanks and pilot planes and take their chances
at being killed along with the boys, on the wild supposition
that women are no more innately precious than men."

This is a big and important subject to me and I already know
that I can't possibly do it justice in my feeble writing attempt
for tonight. But I'll try. (Come back, Adair.)
Click Here: Check out "AdairLara.com :: author, columnist, teacher"

do you call that WORK?

Today I worked an offsite at a fancy downtown hotel. We
sold 100 books and the charity made lots of money and
we got to look at 800 socialite-type women. I saw seven
different Diane Von Furstenburgs, lots of big diamonds and
pearls, boots with heals, blonde hair with dark roots (that's
in now), one African American and one Asian woman. Most
of the women were from the suburbs (we think) and many
were sipping white wine at 10am. I loved being out of the
store, of course, it was like a day off for me.

"How you doing, Ladies?" quite a few of the organizers
asked us. I guess they don't know that I hate that Lady
business. Woman is a perfectly fine word, so now I know
what I'll write about tomorrow for my writing group.

early tuesday morning warmth

tuesday morning
Originally uploaded by the omster.

It's cold here, but who cares with this welcoming fire? When we bought our tiny home many years ago I had two requirements: a view of the city and a fireplace. Now, of course, I'd probably request a decent-sized bathroom with actual shelf space, but we have to make choices in this life. Thanks for the thoughts both on the blog and via email. I will buy a tree and ask K. and RR to help me decorate. That makes it all worthwhile, doesn't it? At 8am we will watch Jon Stewart and then I'm having lunch with my old friend Ken. Perhaps a nap and a movie this afternoon, a solo walk and some reflection.

the yearly green decision

It's time for the annual Should We Get A Tree or Not?
thought process. Husbando couldn't care less because he
didn't grow up with this tradition, and I am torn because it
is a lot of work and always a mess to clean up afterwards.
So I'll go through the pros and cons these next 10 days
and reach some sort of conclusion.

Frankly I get enough of the Great American Excess from
working downtown and hearing Christmas carols 8 hours
a day. I feel bad for people who are forced to buy presents
when they don't have the money and in the past 10 years
we have cut waaaaaaaaaay back on how much we spend and
whom we give to. As the 25th approaches, the irritability
factor increases and I hear parents snapping at their offspring
when they should be holding hands and singing jingle bells.

But there is an empty feeling in la hacienda without a tree
and that's a fact. I love all the lights, too, and of course
we need that glorious green smell. Maybe I can find a can
of evergreen smell encased in little twinkly multicolored lights...

recommended for your queue

Husbando and I enjoyed this Christmas movie which is
based on a true event during World War I. Very sweet.
Joyeux Noel

feeling reckless?

Craig Lucas is an outstanding playwright ~ his work
includes The Dying Gaul and The Secret Lives of Dentists.
Now through Dec. 30th we have his Reckless playing
on Sutter Street and it's a fabulous holiday journey filled
with humor and pain (as in champagne). We loved it
and now I'll encourage The Great Plotnik to go see it
and we all anxiously await his review. In the meantime,
it's truly a treat. Go!
SF Playhouse: The Power of Live Theatre

where's the nonfiction?

We started this morning shopping (!) at Macy's at 6am.
The first time we've ever done this crazy thing, but we
wanted to get a Cuisinart® for $80. It was actually
fun because I used my generous company's parking
space and Husbando (an ex-retailer) wanted to see
what the traffic was like. Macy's was as busy as it is
any noon time ~ one woman bought 6 electric panini
makers and our Cuisinart was selling briskly too.

Then I went to my own little retail wonderland to face
customers, some who don't go to bookstores any other
time of year. I did get my first where's-the-nonfiction-
section question of the season, so that's how I know
that the happy holidays are here.

But so far no frayed nerves or signs of irritability from the
customers. That won't last forever, alas...

pristine indeed

table before
Originally uploaded by the omster.

...our table before the first guest sat down. I love setting the stage...

after party disarray

table after
Originally uploaded by the omster.

...we had a fabulous time, much laughter. Of course we were all trencherpeople.

such a day!

It's clear, sunny and beautiful today after days of grey.
I love this holiday and I have been puttering and cleaning
since about 6am. Three hopeful phone calls to make us
thankful for our friends.

We are nine today. The "good china" serves 8, so I will
use the "cementware" (as my friend N. calls our everyday
stuff) but my happiness today is being with these people ~
watching everyone enjoy themself and ALL the food.
(I would be happy with a Melmac® plate on Thanksgiving.)

After dinner and dishes I will send the before/after dinner
table photos to amuse you.

willie is obscene

I took two photos of our 16 lb. Willie Bird soaking in his Chez
Panisse (Husbando approved) brine, but I think I would either
be arrested, or my readership would have a brief spike from
the porn lovers. So no picture, sorry.

Today at yoga my instructor mentioned a class especially for
people with sleep difficulties, so I might go to that next Wed.
night. She said that lying on one's back with feet up against
the wall is especially good for insomnia. Better than those pills
they advertise on tv every 20 minutes, I bet.

Huge spicy lunch at Pakwan on 16th Street and Guerrero. I
could just nibble on the onion nan and be more than content,
but had some chicken dish too. Husbando had the lamb and
we discussed how all this plus a tip could be under $20.00.

Working in the garden and getting ready for our 4pm dinner
tomorrow night is such a pleasant way to spend my day off.
I will bake a pecan pie in the morning, after email hour.

crazy folk circle the square

I'm trying to get out every day with my sandwich instead
of working at my desk. So I head for the square where they
are putting the lights on the big Christmas tree and there
were extra seats and tables available for a change. I like
Union Square, by the way...it's a true gathering spot in the
European tradition. No, it's not a park, it's a square.

So I'm sitting there peacefully watching people and pigeons
and a man comes and sits directly across from me. There
were many other places available for him, of course. He
stares at me and then takes his electric razor out of his
pocket and starts shaving, all the while looking straight at
me. It could have been worse, but I did finish my egg
sandwich in a hurry, then crossed the street to visit my
friends at Macy's.

a shock of color!

dragon face
Originally uploaded by the omster.

For a year (it seems) one woman in overalls has been on her hands and knees putting tiny tiles on this most delightful dragon. On a whim I took my camera for my solo walk today and was rewarded by this surprise. This little park on 24th Street (Bryant) is open and it couldn't be more enticing. I always love walking on 24th, with the smell of Mexican food, the south of the border music piped from stores and passing cars, and now we have a place for the neighborhood families. It's right across the street from the Roosevelt Tamale Parlor, so head there after the park visit. Aren't we lucky to live here?

the kids love it!

24th & bryant (tail)
Originally uploaded by the omster.

This is the tail of the dragon and there are small spurts of water where those yellow spots are. Just enough to get everyone wet on a grey winter day.

my busy sunday

I won't have time to write later. I'm 6 to noonish at work,
then a party (!) to celebrate the upcoming 3rd b.day of
the fabulous RR. Then an all-store meeting from 8:30pm
to maybe midnight.

Of course the party is the highlight, down in Pumpkinville
with some special women that I haven't seen in a long
time. I don't socialize much from now until mid-January,
because the holidays in retail are rather exhausting, to
say the least. So I look forward to today, plus I actually
slept well. The meeting tonight will be (errrrrrrr) not
exactly to my liking, but it will be quite an experiment to
be up that late at night.

Last night I made scalloped potatoes for the party. Tom's:
4 cups sliced, cooked and peeled potatoes
1/4 cup diced onion
1/4 cup celery
2 sprigs parsley
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 cups milk
3 T. flour
lots of shredded cheddar cheese
sprinkle w/ paprika

Place potatoes in greased 1 qt. baking dish.
Cuisinart® onion, celery, parsley, flour, butter, milk.
Pour over taters, sprinkle w/ salt and pepper.
Cover w/ cheese and a little paprika.
Bake at 350º for about 50 minutes. Serves 6.
Leave dishes for Husbando.
Who was Tom?

someday ~ beware

I have not yet written here about being a feminist. I am,
and often a strident and irritating one. I guess I'm afraid to
unleash all of that in commano, but I will one day.

"No male writer has written primarily or even largely
for women, or with the sense of women's criticism as a
consideration when he chooses his materials, his theme,
his language. But to a lesser or greater extent, every woman
writer has written for men even when, like Virginia Woolf,
she was supposed to be addressing women."
Adrienne Rich

Dancing Jen and Jon G. treated me to a lavish dinner at
Kuleto's last night after work. Of course there was a little
work-gossip and lots of laughter ~ excellent food, and I then
rode home on BART with a little box of redolent penne
pasta for Husbando and a nice warm glow for me.

The above quote is from the signed (!) book that Jen
gave me, which I am devouring before breakfast this
morning. Remember when Ms. Rich refused the National
Medal for the Arts in 1997? I've always admired her.
Arts of the Possible: Essays and Conversations by Adrienne Cecile Rich

timely update from Bisbee

Woman found guilty

Herald/Review BISBEE — A Mexican woman accused of trying to smuggle one million dollars worth of narcotics into the U.S. under the spiritual guidance of a scythe-bearing skeletal saint known as Santa Muerte was convicted in Superior Court on Thursday.

A jury deliberated for three hours before finding Guadalupe Vega Galaviz, 33, of Cananea, Sonora, guilty of one count of transporting cocaine for sale and one count of transporting methamphetamine for sale. The convictions carry a possible combined sentence of five to 10 years in state prison.

saint of the disenfranchised

I have done a lot of private writing about how difficult it is
to live in SF and watch people move away. Mostly it hurts,
but there is the upside of learning about other parts of the
country. This is from a recent email from Mary, who moved
to Arizona, Bisbee, to be exact. I keep telling her to start
a blog, but until she does, I am going to steal her material:

The latest revelations from the Border. 

There is a woman on trial at the Bisbee courthouse for smuggling large amounts of drugs from Mexico.  She is evidently a devotee of Santa Muerte - who - it is reported - has a large following among smugglers of drugs and people  and also the poor in the border areas.  People get tatoos - there are evidently shrines established for her along certain trails and  roads.  I googled her and found not only photos and websites but  even a report that was commissioned by the military down here on her - all very official looking (see attached).  Why hadn't I heard about this before?  Life is an education.  Hmmm.

Santa Muerte photo - Yoann Gauthier-Manuel photos at pbase.com

The Death Cult of the Drug Lords Mexico’s Patron Saint of Crime, Criminals, and the Dispossessed
Thanks, Mary!

nice rib rack!

ribs at roadside
Originally uploaded by the omster.

I refuse to retype the post below, even though I have a typo. That alone will let my readers know that I am human. Here is my lunch yesterday from the Roadside BBQ ~ delicious. Next time I'll try the brisket sandwich.

let's start with dessert

dessert foreign cinema
Originally uploaded by the omster.

This is a meringue (sp?) cookies with strawberries ~ a little awkward to eat, so I just picked up the cookie quarters and dipped them in the sauce.

a food-filled day in frisco

I have two colorful photos from yesterday, but Flickr® is not communicating with Commano and I'm getting frustrated. So I'll just write now and send pictures later.
Started the day at Costco ~ I know some people hate it, but not me. Husbando said, "she only likes two stores: Costco and Macy's" and he's probably right. Anyway, then we had an unusual lunch out on Geary and 2nd Avenue at the Roadside BBQ. The Plotniks treated us and he will be writing a glowing (I hope) review giving the place a 5 fresh-baked corn muffin rating. Really, it was terrific and I had to get rid of all that cholesterol, so I came home and napped for two hours. www.roadside-bbq.com

Dinner at the Foreign Cinema on Mission at 22nd. We've been there now maybe four times and are still impressed. It can get cold outside, so we sat in near the fireplace last night. I had lamb chops and Husbando the chicken. So many interesting (ahem) people to watch and it's terrific that 4 or 5 new restaurants have opened in that less than elegant neighborhood. You will need a reservation here: 648-7600. Photos to follow...

jon carroll in new york

I'm sure our local columnist would want me to quote him
here. His columns on NYC this week are extra special. This
from 11/13 is a keeper:

A minute in the park: The writer John Gregory Dunne, who was my cousin and a friend, died three years ago next month. His daughter, Quintana Roo, died last year. His wife, Joan Didion, wrote a memoir of John's death and Quintana's illness called "The Year of Magical Thinking," which is now being made into a one-woman play starring Vanessa Redgrave.
The real estate agent who sold Quintana's apartment after she died did not feel right about taking a commission, so she used the money to dedicate a bench in Central Park to Quintana and John's memory. It's on the right, five or six benches in from the 69th Street entrance off Fifth Avenue.
It was a windy fall day, and the orange leaves were eddying on the walkways, and kids were walking by in Halloween costumes, and we sat on the bench and stared south, and thought about things that sometimes don't come with words attached. And then we continued our walk, the same but different.

work hellos and goodbyes

You'd think I would be used to people moving on and changing
jobs in my big box chain mortar bookstore, but not so. I have
been madly hiring 3 temps every week and so far that is working
out just fine. But I continually miss the people who have left:
Jen, Jon G, Mr. Black and now #88 with his vast book knowledge
is but a warm memory on the walkie talkie:

"88, are you here this morning?"
"Yes, #1, at your service."
"Good, I can relax now."
"Roger and out."

(Please don't be confused, I am not #1 in mind, heart or deed.)

One time I left a message on the employee bulletin board for
#88 and some concerned young person accused us nasty
management folk of treating people like numbers. Don't
you love it?

baseball in november with bob

I was up with some "issues" last night, so I finally listened
to the freebie CD with Bob Dylan and 17 snippets including
"Joltin' Joe Dimaggio" and "Did You See Jackie Robinson Hit
That Ball?" The learned notthat called it an Odd CD and he
is so right ~ Mr. Dylan is the complete monotone background
for all this baseball emotion. But listening to this at 2am took
me back to our wonderful days at The Stick and soothed my
restless mind. Pitchers and catchers report in ______ days.
Below is one of my favorites from the CD (I'm afraid my
browser and the blog might write this differently than Mr.
Ferlinghetti did ~ apologies):
 
Baseball Canto
  Watching baseball, sitting in the sun, eating popcorn,
reading Ezra Pound,
and wishing that Juan Marichal would hit a hole right through the
Anglo-Saxon tradition in the first Canto
and demolish the barbarian invaders.
When the San Francisco Giants take the field
and everybody stands up for the National Anthem,
with some Irish tenor's voice piped over the loudspeakers,
with all the players struck dead in their places
and the white umpires like Irish cops in their black suits and little
black caps pressed over their hearts,
Standing straight and still like at some funeral of a blarney bartender,
and all facing east,
as if expecting some Great White Hope or the Founding Fathers to
appear on the horizon like 1066 or 1776.
But Willie Mays appears instead,
in the bottom of the first,
and a roar goes up as he clouts the first one into the sun and takes
off, like a footrunner from Thebes.
The ball is lost in the sun and maidens wail after him
as he keeps running through the Anglo-Saxon epic.
And Tito Fuentes comes up looking like a bullfighter
in his tight pants and small pointy shoes.
And the right field bleechers go made with Chicanos and blacks
and Brooklyn beer-drinkers,
"Tito! Sock it to him, sweet Tito!"
And sweet Tito puts his foot in the bucket
and smacks one that don't come back at all,
and flees around the bases
like he's escaping from the United Fruit Company.
As the gringo dollar beats out the pound.
And sweet Tito beats it out like he's beating out usury,
not to mention fascism and anti-semitism.
And Juan Marichal comes up,
and the Chicano bleechers go loco again,
as Juan belts the first ball out of sight,
and rounds first and keeps going
and rounds second and rounds third,
and keeps going and hits paydirt
to the roars of the grungy populace.
As some nut presses the backstage panic button
for the tape-recorded National Anthem again,
to save the situation.

But it don't stop nobody this time,
in their revolution round the loaded white bases,
in this last of the great Anglo-Saxon epics,
in the territorio libre of Baseball.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti

why we work retail...

One of the major benefits of working for a big box chain
bookstore is the discount for employees. Normally it's 25%
(33% for part timers) and full time people receive a $30
gift card every month. I'm one of the weirdoes who save
my cards, so today I bought a big bunch of books and
mostly used the old monthly cards. We have a few days
here when employees can buy books and CDs for 40% off, so
I make a list throughout the year (mostly children's books
and one CD) and I did splurge on one great DVD (Wordplay)
for 20% off. I brought home two giant bags filled with
books and that felt like Christmas to me...

the poet from Topeka, Kansas

NO MATTER HOW BIG YOU MAKE A TOY, a child will find a
way to put it in his mouth. There is scarcely a piece of
playground equipment that has not been inside a child's
mouth. However, the object responsible for the greatest
number of choking deaths, for adults as well as children,
is the red balloon. Last year alone, every American choked
to death on a red balloon.

Ben Lerner
Angle of Yaw

Click Here: Check out "Writing Instructor Ben Lerner a National Book Award Finalist - California College of the Arts"

is it christmas weeK?

Today at lunch I walked down to the new Westfield Center
and the streets were jam packed with people ~ inside
the new mall all the escalators had one person per moving
stair. Honest to God, it was a zoo.

Our store wasn't too crazy, thank goodness, and the elevator
is working again, so my day was better than expected. I'm
still interviewing and hiring temps and I had to wade through
127 tedious emails because I had the nerve to be gone for
three whole days. Here is what the emails covered:
1) sickies ~ who called out, who wandered off the job
2) plumbing problems in the women's chamber of horror
3) the all-store meeting on 11/19 (oh joy)
4) gift wrapping for the holidays (we use fund-raising groups
     who make tons of money)
5) people stretching 10 minute breaks into 30 minutes
and so on and on.......

H20 link

Click Here: Check out "Netflix: Water"

blogs and bloggers battle fatigue?

For some reason the email to blog feature is "down" and
I don't like writing to the formal dashboard block, so I
struggle to get some words posted because I said I would
write everyday, and I'm a rough taskmistress when facing
semi-strict promises to myself. I know that isn't healthy,
but that's not the point right now. See, a whole graph already.
(Also, I don't know how to link on the dashboard, but it's so
easy with the email feature. Sigh.)

I'm sorry Ed Bradley died ~ I've admired him for years. Tough
yet gentle. A rare combination for a newsman. I liked the
earring and the sparkle in his eye when interviewing someone
like, for instance, Bob Dylan.

Tonight Tiapos (our writing group) will be small because
Dougo is in L.A. with his new grandchild and Chef P. has
been working too hard in GourmetLand up north. Spotty
West is teaching at a new school and he warned us that
he'd be under too much stress to read and write with us
this Fall. So only four of us? I'll take something old,
something borrowed...maybe something blue.

celebrating the thumping

Well, I didn't dare to dream that the democrats would
take the senate too. What a fine day this is and I feel
better about this country than I have in years. Good
job everyone, especially Howard Dean, Nancy Pelosi and
of course the brilliant Bill Clinton.

We watched CNN on and off all day with some breaks
for yoga this morning and lunch with a friend. Then
this afternoon we finally settled in to watch "Water",a
film about an 8 year old girl who is forced to join an
ashram of other widows when her 50 year old husband
dies. It is an extremely beautiful and moving story and
my favorite line is when the little girl innocently asks,
"Where do the men widows have to live?" Yes, I'd give
this movie 1 1/2 Kleenex®.

friends and dems = much happiness

Yes, the Pet Shop Boys were a huge draw and the store was
filled with (ummmmmm) excitement all day. And still no
elevator. But that was then...and now I have 3 days off!

Today I was happy to have a few moments with Kristin and
RR outside the swimming pool at the Janet Pomeroy Center
down on Skyline ~ the thick fog was just burning off and
the rest of the day was clear and warm. Little Ryan takes
her swimming lesson there and was most anxious to get
into the pool, but it still was nice to see them both and to
get Kristin's thesis on Lillian Hellman and give a few books
on Thanksgiving to Ryan, her horse Erin GoBraugh (sp?) and
Carol the rider who always travel with our favorite 3 year old.

I stopped to visit Dancing Jen at her bookstore on West
Portal and we had a good and gossipy chat. I surely miss
her at my big chain bookstore, but everyone knows that.

Husbando and I headed to the SF Symphony to buy a gift
certificate for our friend Frank, then walked around the
Hayes Street area, ending up sitting in the sun and enjoying
a light lunch at some small nameless cafe. I forgot to
bring my camera ~ don't let me do that again.

I love election night the way some folks love the holidays.
I mean I LOVE it ~ every beautiful blue win. So I took a two
hour nap because I want to stay up as long as possible. Of
course there have been years when I've gone to bed in
disgust, but this won't be one of them. We switch stations
and listen to some half baked theories and smirk when
Santorum's family looks all teary eyed. What fun...

Our thoughts are with The Plotniks (The Great Ones) who
are in L.A. waiting to become grandparents.

chris and neil - our 6pm event

Thanks to Ms. K who inspired me to do my homework here
in anticipation of my day of great sales and horrendous chaos.
No wonder the phone has been ringing with so many questions
in so many different languages, some even a little demanding.
I know, that's a surprise, isn't it?

These two sound like winners to me, so I feel better about
today. I will say "brilliant" and "lovely" a lot and they will know
that I've been to London. I will offer to carry them up all those
stairs on my back because of course they need a green room
and that will either be in or next door to my office.

Click Here: Check out "Pet Shop Boys Song-by-Song Commentary"

could it get any better?

First Foley, now the preacher man in Colorado. Oh how I
love the hypocrites with their Family Values. Really, if
one wrote a movie script about the current political
events, it would be tossed out as being ridiculously far
too dramatic and unbelievable. 

Yes, the elevator was still out today. I walked up and down
those stairs with nary a complaint. Talked to a customer
who said that people who work in bookstores tend to have
"an edge" about them. I glared at him and he said, "oh, I
meant that in a good way". Right.

Tomorrow will be a mess. The Pet Shop Boys will be in at
6pm. I've been calling them the Petco Guys. I will report
in tomorrow night. Send nice thoughts my way, please....

sorry for the inconvenience

Stairs - Vatican Museum
Originally uploaded by kohvitass.

Our elevator is broken and won't be fixed until Monday. Of course we have escalators, but getting from my office to the first floor is no easy task, especially with carts of books or boxes of DVDs. I didn't bring my camera to work, so I used a photo from Flickr® that pretty much resembles our stairs at work. I hope you feel sorry for me, I certainly do.

the two californias

When I worked in a big box chain bookstore in Berkeley,
Ishmael Reed used to come in all the time. That was one
of the few good memories from that particular experience.

Here is one of his poems from a just published book,
New and Collected Poems,1964 - 2006.

UNTITLED

When California is split in two
The Northern part will be called
The Republic of Jambalaya
The Southern part will be called
Summer Camp

Ismael Reed

media day with won tons

Grey and rainy so I spent most of the day indoors and
Husbando termed it Media Day since we started out this
morning watching Jon Stewart at 8am, then moved to
The World's Fastest Indian, an inspirational true story
starring Anthony Hopkins. Oh, I did vote this morning
before I started on my computer ~ it took me one hour
and the entire kitchen table. Tonight I think we'll watch
Water - A Deepa Mehta Film, but it sounds a little
depressing. Submitted a short piece for rejection, but
at least I can file it away forever.

Lunch? Out to 34th and Balboa for won ton soup and
steamed buns at the Shanghai Dumpling Shop. Can
you think of a better rainy day? 

they spoil the vines & tender grapes

We both loved The Little Foxes at ACT last night, but
first I want to talk about the amazing discovery that there
were TONS of kids in costumes in the heart of downtown!
And better yet, it seems like those little grocery and liquor
stores give out candy by the fistful. It was so touching
to watch the little ones of multi multi ethnicities, some
with parents and some without, carrying their huge bags
of candies. And there were some unusual costumes and
even a few children in wheelchairs. Because I'm such a
city woman, I loved this about 400 times more than I
would those bland burbs with expensive decorations and
formula Halloweeniness.

But now to the vines. Here is where Ms. Hellman found
the title ~ from Song of Solomon (2:15):
Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines for
our vines have tender grapes.
(alluding to the rich capitalists who crush their own history
and all the people who happen to be in their way, but you
already knew that - pardon my preach)

You will not be disappointed in this play! The set for one
thing ~ rich red and dramatic with a long winding staircase
begging for emotional speeches. Glorious costumes and
some fine acting. But, as always, it's the writing...the
words and the characters that kept me wide awake after
a full day of work and a big sandwich from
Lefty O’Doul’s - San Francisco Restaurant Review

American Conservatory Theater - ACT San Francisco