Do you ever change your mind at the last minute? Sometimes switch gears and change direction? Make a snap decision and go with plan B?

I had a lengthy newsletter that I started yesterday, dancing around serious topics through the lens of movement. I’m sure I’ll have reason to continue on that note before long.

But today broke with an entirely different vibe, so we’re gonna talk about Mel Brooks, crabs, and poetry instead.

First of all, I would guess that you know who Mel Brooks is. Did you know that he’s still alive? I’ve been well acquainted with his work for most of my life, but it was just the other day that I learned that he’s not only alive and well, he’s in the seventh decade of his career, with two film projects underway at the age of 99.

Apparently, there’s a great documentary out right now covering his life‘s work. I know him best from his 2000 Year Old Man comedy work he did with Carl Reiner as well as his snappy 60s spy show, Get Smart.

Irreverent and ribald to the core, with movies like The Producers and Blazing Saddles under his belt, one has to wonder if much of his work could be released today. Anyone who loves what they’re doing and leads a life of levity into their 99th year is an inspiration to me.

So where do crabs come into the story? Well, it’s Dungeness season here in the Bay Area and my youngster got it into her head that she would like to prove herself capable of catching her dinner.

It turns out there are people posting reels of themselves easily hoisting crabs out of the water off the local piers. I was called into action to figure out how this works so we found ourselves at a 60-year-old bait shop called Gus’ Discount Tackle on Balboa Street in San Francisco this morning getting geared up for crabbing. The shop, with over 1,500 snapshots of anglers with their catch and the elderly daughter of Gus the founder behind the counter was a memorable experience in and of itself.

I had never done it before, but once you have the crab net thingy and some frozen squid you’re pretty much good to go. Of course there are rules and regulations. Since we were on Torpedo Wharf, a pier just on the bay side of the Golden Gate Bridge, it meant that the Dungeness crabs were off-limits, so the three of those we hauled in got thrown back. We bagged a few rock crab that were large enough to keep for dinner, so our mission was a success.

Last but not least — poetry! While waiting for our crab net to fill, I found myself reading the textbook for my daughter‘s AP lit class, an out-of-print volume entitled Perrine’s Sound and Sense – An Introduction to Poetry.

Aside from parsing the difference between literal and figurative language and terms like simile and metaphor, I was reminded that without poetry, language would simply be information. As Shakespeare made abundantly clear, what good is a world like that?

Next week will bring more thoughts to the fore, until then, may you enjoy some sunshine and whatever it may be that elevates your soul above the fray.

Much love till next Monday!

Merci et à bientôt!

M+

ML #664

Mark Metz
Monday Love Movement Calendar