To Age With Grace

BY KATHLEEN KILPATRICK

Skin tears in a triangle 

like a snagged shirt, 

peristalsis once effortless 

demands both strain and caution, 

joints unhinged by slips and wear 

require repair, the stone 

passes or must be broken.

Pain becomes an ordinary visitor, 

the itch that once consumed us, 

just another passing guest, 

vicissitudes of life by which

we learn to discern 

what can be fixed or remedied, 

what must be endured.

The future no longer a view 

far into distance, we balance 

movement with the risk of falls, 

and yet there is a vastness, 

a sweet mystery

in that gaping chasm.

This earth will not be saved 

by us, or by our generation, or even

by those we’ve bred, are breeding, 

and still, we somehow manage

adherence to the planet’s spinning surface, 

although fingernails and hearts

are broken, craters dug, and shrapnel flung,

in battles over food, and land, and water,

and fire and ideas in all their forms.

Now even what was once 

seen as the arc of life, 

a mere and mirrored circle,

takes on new dimensions,

by skillful means becomes a sphere. 

Now, with kindness, effort, luck, 

and grace, we see ourselves 

more clearly, as transparent, 

tiny nodes in Indra’s net.

Support Watsonville's Public Hospital

By AMY NEWELL

The campaign to pass Measure N, a bond measure to renovate and improve Watsonville Community Hospital, is in the final sprint to the March 5 election day. Vote-by-mail ballots will be going out in just a couple weeks. After years of seeing the hospital be mismanaged by corporate owners, it is finally back under public ownership. Now is our chance to fund the improvements that our hospital desperately needs.

You can endorse Measure N, sign up to volunteer, and make a donation at the campaign website.

NAACP Extends Sympathy on the Passing of Dexter Scott King

BY NAACP SANTA CRUZ ÇOUNTY BRANCH

The Santa Cruz County NAACP extends our heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Dexter Scott King on his passing and joins in mourning this great loss. Dexter King, at left, was the son of Coretta Scott King and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. He dedicated his life to preserving his father's memory and leaves us too soon.

The NAACP Santa Cruz County Branch is pleased to announce that we will present an in-person Gospel Night event on the evening of Sat. Feb. 17, featuring local artists singing songs of praise. The event will feature the Open Bible Baptist Church Choir, Monterey Peninsula Gospel Community Choir, Anthony Jones, and others. The event will benefit NAACP Santa Cruz County’s scholarship fund, which supports Black-identified high school graduates who plan to obtain a post-secondary education. 

Survey on Aging Well in Santa Cruz County

By SARAH RINGLER

From now to March 31, the County of Santa Cruz's Human Services Department has opened an online survey that hopes to collect feedback on aging and living with disabilities in our county. That information may be used to develop the county's Master Plan for Aging. The goal is to ensure that people of all ages and abilities can be active and engaged in their community. For information and to take the survey, click HERE.

I took the survey and had to search for a way to add what I consider to be a sorely neglected need, for not only the elderly and disabled, but for many people, more pubic bathrooms. Parents, tourists, walkers, bike riders, drivers, notedly people who drive for a living, all need public restrooms. We all go. There just aren't enough in the county and many like in Watsonville are unaccesible..

City Lights Bookstore Join IWW

BY CITY LIGHTS WORKERS UNION IWW

The workers of City Lights Bookstore and Publishers in San Francisco are thrilled to announce they have organized a union and joined the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW). As of Jan. 29, they have been recognized voluntarily by the CEO of City Lights Books, Elaine Katzenberger, and are looking to the community for support as they begin the process of negotiating our contract.

Given founder Lawrence Ferlinghetti’s legacy, it is entirely consistent with the institution of City Lights to have a unionized workforce. City Lights workers believe wholeheartedly that the best way forward will be collaboration and mutual respect between workers and management. The reputation of City Lights Books as a bastion of radical bookselling since 1953 has always been tied to the devotion and love of its workers, and they are unionizing to create a community center where workers are respected and treated well. They believe this will lead to long-term sustainability for a beloved literary landmark.

City Lights deserves to be a safer, more equitable work environment. Their key concerns are fairer wages, clearer communication, and a more democratic work environment. Their pay has stagnated despite rapidly rising costs of living in one of the most expensive cities in the United States, with many workers earning minimum wage and living precariously.

The best way for you to support the City Lights Workers’ Union right now is to come to City Lights, buy a book, and tell the staff how excited you are that they’ve unionized! You can also spread the word—tell your friends! Follow the union on social media! @CityLightsUnion

City Lights Workers’ Union are a coalition of booksellers, editors, and everything in between. Some of them have worked at the historic bookselling institution for decades, some for just a few months; but they are all committed to maintaining City Lights as a space for radical bookselling.

Community Action For Solidarity with Palestine

BY PALESTINIAN SOLIDARITY CENTRAL COAST

Two weeks ago, Palestinian journalist Bisan Owda called for a Global Strike Week to stop the U.S.-backed Israeli genocide of Palestinians. To mark the last day of the Strike Week on Jan. 28, Palestine Solidarity Central Coast (PSCC) planned a march across Santa Cruz’s main tourist destination to disrupt business as

usual and demand a

permanent ceasefire now.

Over two hundred Santa Cruz community members marched on West Cliff Drive, from the Santa Cruz Surfing Museum to the Boardwalk. The group proceeded through the Casino Arcade before ending at the main entrance of the Santa Cruz Boardwalk. The marchers chanted, distributed flyers, and grabbed the attention of hundreds of residents and tourists along the way. Sunday’s action was only the latest local demonstration for a Free Palestine, and there’s more to come.

On Saturday, we’ll take to the streets for a car caravan for Gaza. We’ll make our way through town to let Santa Cruz know there will be no business as usual while genocide is being waged against Palestinians.

We will meet at 650 River St. (Ross Parking Lot) at 1pm to decorate our cars. Decorating materials will be available, but please bring your flags, car markers, posters, and kaffiyehs. The caravan will depart at 2pm, and we’ll meet afterwards for a picnic at Depot Park from 3-5pm. Please bring your own food or something to share if you can.

American Federation of Teachers Call for Bilateral Cease-Fire

BY SARAH RINGLER

The Executive Council of my national union, American Federation of Teachers union, on Jan. 29 passed a resolution calling for a bilateral cease-fire in Gaza and promoting a two-state solution. The final resolution can be found here.

According to our state affiliate President Jeff Freitas, "some locals have passed resolutions or statements on this issue, and some have not but may be considering what to do. I wanted to make sure you were aware of the resolution that AFT has passed. 

"I would also like to point out that this resolution has two parts. The first is to respond to the horrific tragedy that has happened and still is happening in Israel and Palestine. The second is to respond to and defend our members and educational institutions here in the US."

Our county wide affiliates are the Pajaro Federation of Teachers, of which I am presidentt of the retiree chapter, Greater Santa Cruz Federation of Teachers, Cabrillo College Federation of Teachers and Santa Cruz Chapter of the University Council-AFT.

Help the Warming Center - It's Wet Outside

By SARAH RINGLER

The Warming Center is back in action with Warming Wednesdays. From 12-3pm at the levee-side of 150 Felker St. in Santa Cruz, people can access blankets, jackets, tents, clothing, shoes, hygiene supplies, as well as cold and wet weather support gear. Our Homeless Emergency Information Hotline 246-1234 will be updated with weather news and info regarding emergency shelters and how to access them.  

Donations are needed from money to street clothing, shoes, all rain and cold-weather gear, blankets, tents, etc. Donation Barrels are located at:

• REI Sports, on Commercial Way (next to Marshall's)
• 150 Felker St., Santa Cruz

To donate money online: Click Here. Mail money to: Warming Center Program, PO Box 462, Santa Cruz, 95061 Office is at 150 Felker St. Santa Cruz. Our Website.

The Women at Posada del 

Angel

By WOODY REHANEK

The women at Posada del Angel take good

care of my emotional & linguistic needs.

Dona Flor is a friendly mother hen type,

a benign, fish-faced Pisces with gold-capped

teeth. Her eyes seem sad & heavy-lidded. She

advises me on "affairs of the heart"; her

husband's a Scorpio, too, born November 4th.

Basilia is 26, somewhat moody & large-

hipped, with beautiful dark chocolate skin

& sharper Indian features, as though her 

ancestors were not Maya. She lives with her 

3 brothers near a cemetery. They have no 

drinking water, their mother's dead, their

father lives in Progreso but apparently has

nothing to do with them.

Basilia is interested in me; Dona Flor has

suggested Basilia as my "guide" on excur-

sions, but I'm not romantically interested

in Basilia & have explained to Dona Flor 

that I don't want to complicate my life

with a love affair in Merida. Kay has

promised non-involvement with others

***

(sexually) in my absence; I will do the

same during our trial separation, to keep

things simpler & clearer, until she & I

decide our mutual fate--& that of our

our girls: Yava, 12; Yuvia, 8; Estrella, 4.

Sweet girls. So much hangs in the balance...

Dona Flor thinks I am sad & lonely for

lack of female companionship. She is very

perceptive! I try to hide & overcome it, 

but it's hard with all these dark-skinned

beauties, some of whom would like nothing

more than to marry a norteamericano &

ride off into the sunset. Dona Flor proudly

told me of just such a scenario. He was

from CALIFORNIA, which here is regarded

as Shangri-La. Even Los Angeles sounds 

glamorous here.

So I go to the Posada del Angel nightly to

shoot the breeze in Spanish & drink a local 

beer, such as Leon Negro. Sometimes I eat

dinner or munch on a crema de cacahuate,

Mexican-style peanut butter halvah. They

are addicting...

***

Dona Julia is giggling this morning, a good

sign. Right now, she is sweeping the

concrete floor of the open-air kitchen. Nights

have been cool, maybe in the upper 50s,

which is absolutely cold to the Maya fam-

ilies here. DONA JULIA HAD NO BLANKET,

only a few old clothes to heap on herself.

Maybe her good spirits this morning

indicate that she has slept well. I gave

her money to buy a blanket, knowing that

I cannot sleep well in my cozy sleeping

bag if she is shivering all night long! She

is a second mother to me. With this 

"cold-spell," the blanket vendors have 

raised their prices, & Dona Julia has

shied away from buying one at inflated

prices. Instead, she bought an embroidered

huipil—something she will treasure...

For a while, a guest like me enjoys 

"privileged status," which keeps things 

airy & impersonal. After living with 

people, you lose that distance & begin

to absorb their joys & sorrows, their

hardships & triumphs—& they, in turn,

absorb yours. Your mutual sharing reaches

***

a more profound (if less idyllic) depth;

the interplay is more crests & valleys

than a steady stream of alegria, y asi

es la vida!

Basilia wants "a blanket that they don't

sell in the market," meaning a husband.

Sixto has been remote & preoccupied ever

since our visit to Izamal, where I told 

him that I really couldn't smuggle him

across the border with me. Dona Julia is

trying to make it through the cold snap

in one piece. Dona Flor & Basilia often

play to an empty house; for hours on end,

I'm the only cliente in the Posada del

Angel, which is surprising because it's

clean & nice, but looks ersatz-American

& therefore EXPENSIVE. Street vendors

avoid it except to sell things to the

owners; vacationing Mexican business-

men with families order sodas & club

sandwiches here. 

Meanwhile, I got Dona Flor telling me

about her brother, who fell in love with

***

a dark-skinned Negra. Her father was un-

happy about it and bought a concoction

for 10 pesos from a brujo: 3 doses & her

brother would forget about the Negra. 

Literally, that's what happened. Her

brother no longer recognized the Negra

& became totally disinterested in her

alarmed entreaties! Love dissolved, 

dispersed, evaporated, vanished.

Merida, Yucatan, MX

Jan. Feb, 1987

******

"Caribbean reality resembles

the wildest imagination."

--Gabriel Garcia Marquez  

Photo by TARMO HANNULA 

A sanderling, with multiple bands on its legs, scoots across the shore of Zmudowski State Beach near Moss Landing on the south bank of the Pajaro River.

Santa Cruz County Covid-19 Report

By SARAH RINGLER

The California Department of Public Health and Santa Cruz County Health Department regularly release data on the current status of Covid-19 in the county as well as information on influenza, Respiratory Syncytial Virus (RSV), and Mpox. Since cases of Covid are still appearing, and there are still vulnerable people, I will continue reporting the graphs below.

At-home Covid-19 test kits that were sent free from the government earlier are now expiring. The program that started in Jan. 2022 has distributed 600 million test kits. If you still have those tests, before using, check the date on your box or go HERE to get information. Go HERE for free tests.

The three graphs below were updated on Jan. 31. The first graph below shows the Rt Number. Numbers above one show the spread of the virus is increasing. Below one means the spread is decreasing. 

The second graph below shows data that the Health Department collects for Covid from wastewater at the City Influent, for the city of Santa Cruz, and from the Lode Street pump stations for the county.



The third graph below shows hospitalizations.



The vaccination data for the county has stayed fairly constant increasing very little over time. Go HERE for new information on vaccination records, treatments, vaccines, tests, safety in the workplace and more.

Photo Tarmo Hannula

Fashion Street - A kitchen worker in cook's clothes cleans off the pavement in Chinatown, San Francisco.

Labor History Calendar - Feb. 2-8, 2024

a.k.a Know Our History Lest We Forget

Feb. 2, 1913: IWW free-speech fight begins in Denver, Colorado.

Feb. 3, 1919: 32,000 textile workers strike in Lawrence, Massachusetts.

Feb. 4, 1869: Birth of Big Bill Haywood.

Feb. 4, 2022: Teachers strike demanding living wage and better conditions in Puerto Rico.

Feb. 5, 1830: First daily labor paper, NY Daily Sentinel, begins publication.

Feb. 5, 1846: Birth of Johann Most.

Feb. 6, 1919: Seattle, Washington shipyard strike of 32,000 workers sparks general strike as workers take control of the city.

Feb. 7, 1919: Seattle mayor threatens to crush strike with 3,000 police and soldiers; workers were defiant.

Feb. 7, 1946: 3-week general strike wins union rights and higher pay in Senegal.

Feb. 7, 2012: General Strike as Greek politicians promise more austerity.

Feb. 7, 2016: China Labour Bulletin reports 2,741 strikes across the country in 2015. 

Feb. 8, 2010: 400 Egyptian textile workers begin 16-day sit-in demanding reinstatement of fired workers and payment of back wages owed by their recently privatized firm.

Feb. 8, 2011: General Strike across Egypt.

Labor History Calendar has been published yearly by the Hungarian Literature Fund since 1985.

“In a time in which Communist regimes have been rightfully discredited and yet alternatives to neoliberal capitalist societies are unwisely dismissed, I defend the fundamental claim of Marxist theory: there must be countervailing forces that defend people's needs against the brutality of profit driven capitalism.” 

Cornell West

Photo by TARMO HANNULA

A Noble Cookie

By SARAH RINGLER 

Adding a bay leaf as flavoring to a buttery oatmeal cookie might seem unusual but I think it was adventurous and appropriate. It gave the cookie a warm and subtle flavor.  The recipe is from Ron Mendoza and was in his Last Bite column in the Winter 2018 edition of the locally available magazine, “Edible Monterey Bay.”

The Latin name for the bay tree is Laurel nobilis. It is native to the Mediterranean region and is widely integrated into Greek and Roman culture and literature. In one Greek myth, Apollo falls in love with Daphne who spurns him and then goes off to Crete where she changes herself into a bay laurel tree; daphne is the Greek name for the tree. Awards at the Pythian Games, a sporting event held in honor of Apollo, were made of wreathes of bay laurel leaves. Bay laurel leaves as awards was transferred into the Roman world and became the root for our words, baccalaureate or bachelor’s degree, poet laureate and in the saying, “resting on one’s laurels.”

Bay Laurel trees are easy to grow in our area. Like redwoods, new trees grow out of the base of its parent so it’s easy to share them with others by digging out a new shoot as long as it has some roots. Be aware that they grow fast and fairly large. Leaves should be dried and aged for a few weeks; they can keep for up to a year according to Aliza Green’s “Field Guide to Herbs and Spices.” The leaves I used had not been aged very long so the unique bay flavor wasn’t very noticeable in the ones I made.       

There is a native bay tree that grows in California but absolutely do not use it in this recipe. Although its looks like the Mediterranean version, if you break a leaf in half and smell it, you might knock yourself out. The scent is so powerful that local native people called it the “headache tree.” It is common in our forests and is called California Bay or California Laurel.

Spelt flour is a species of wheat that was widely used in medieval Europe and is also connected to Greek mythology; it was the goddess of grain, Demeter’s, gift to the Greeks. It is also called dinkel or hulled wheat. I just used more whole wheat flour.  

Brown Butter-Bay Laurel Cookies

8 ounces butter, 2 sticks

1 bay leaf

¼ cup sugar

½ cup brown sugar

2 eggs

¼ cup flour

½ cup whole wheat flour

¼ cup spelt flour or more whole wheat flour

½ cup oats

1 teaspoon sea salt

½ teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground ginger

¾ cup walnuts, chocolate chips or dried fruit like cranberries or raisins

In a medium saucepan, melt butter with the bay leaf or leaves. Cook over medium low heat until butter becomes bubbly and gradually turns light brown and smells nutty. This takes 15 minutes more or less.  Watch the heat. Remove from the heat and cool. Take out the bay leaf. 

Whisk or beat eggs and sugars until well mixed and the sugars have dissolved. Slowly add cooled butter in a stream and whisk until smooth. 

Sift or whisk flours, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and ginger in a separate bowl. Using a spatula, blend into the butter-egg mixture. Finally, blend in nuts, chips or dried fruit. 

Let dough rest 20 minutes. Form into balls about the size of ping pong balls and refrigerate overnight. 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake cookies for about 10 minutes. Makes about 24 cookies. 

Send your story, poetry or art here: Please submit a story, poem or photo of your art that you think would be of interest to the people of Santa Cruz County. Try and keep the word count to around 400. Also, there should be suggested actions if this is a political issue. Submit to coluyaki@gmail.com

Send comments to coluyaki@gmail.com

If you are enjoying the Serf City Times, forward it on to others. We need readers, artists, photographers and writers.

Subscribe, contact or find back issues at the website https://serf-city-times.constantcontactsites.com

Thanks, Sarah Ringler

Welcome to Serf City Times Our county has problems and many people feel left out. Housing affordability, racism and low wages are the most obvious factors. However, many groups and individuals in Santa Cruz County work tirelessly to make our county a better place for everyone. These people work on the environment, housing, economic justice, health, criminal justice, disability rights, immigrant rights, racial justice, transportation, workers’ rights, education reform, gender issues, equity issues, electoral politics and more. Often, one group doesn’t know what another is doing. The Serf City Times is dedicated to serving as a clearinghouse for those issues by letting you know what is going on, what actions you can take and how you can support these groups.This is a self-funded enterprise and all work is volunteer. 

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