Tag Archives: Picasso

Orange In My Rainbow Is For Joey

by Woody

Orange In My Rainbow Is For Joey

            The greatest overworked word in the English language is “greatest.” Well, unless it is “best.” Or, perhaps, “favorite.”

The problem with this trio is these opinions tend to shift as surely as ocean sands. One day, for example, I might consider Rembrandt the greatest painter ever; the next day, van Gogh is the best of all time; yet another day, Michelangelo or Picasso or even Basquiat and his graffiti-inspired art is my favorite.

Best, favorite, greatest too often miss the mark. Better to imagine a rainbow and give the human gods each a color. Or, in the case above, a hue on the palette.

Likewise with authors. Instead of bestowing the crown of Favorite or Greatest or Best, far better to imagine a single shelf in a bookcase with room enough only for a narrow rainbow of volumes. Steinbeck, Hemingway, Twain and Shakespeare comprise my personal Mount Rushmore, but there is top-self space for Woolf, Austen, Angelou and Rowling as well.

Oh, yes, between the honorary bookends I have also inserted a few friendly hues largely unique to my elite shelf: Ken McAlpine, Jeff McElroy, Roger Thompson and, naturally, Dallas Woodburn.

That’s the beauty of my rainbow philosophy: there are always enough colors to satisfy the eye of each beholder. Furthermore, giving Bach a golden hue does not diminish Beethoven’s bright red, which in turn does not raise him above Mozart’s forest green.

Joey Ramirez, left, and Coach Phil Mathews, right.

Ask me to name my favorite/greatest/best athlete from my quarter century as a sports columnist and I would be flummoxed. My personal rainbow, however, comes into ready focus – albeit with all shades of blue going to my idol and mentor, John Wooden.

Magic Johnson, who I wrote more columns about during my span than any other athlete, gets the hue of Lakers gold. Arnold Palmer, who like Johnson always treated me like I wrote for the New York Times rather than a local paper, gets a Masters-jacket green shade.

And bright orange – the Ventura College Pirates’ shade – in my rainbow goes to Joey Ramirez. This selection will come as a surprise only to those who never watched No. 13 in stalwartly action. Under Joey’s leadership as star point guard during the 1992-93 and 1993-94 seasons, the Pirates had a combined record of 73-5 and played in back-to-back state championship games.

Joey exemplified Coach Phil Mathew’s “We Play Hard” motto. Not only did the Santa Paula native get floor burns diving for loose balls, he gave the hardwood skin-and-bone burns. And yet it wasn’t Joey’s fierceness and winning ways that painted him into my rainbow – it was his grace and character in defeat.

Especially, I remember the second state championship game loss by two points on a night the basket had a lid on it whenever Joey shot the ball. Listed on the roster at 5-foot-10, Joey stood tall as a center afterward despite his heartbreak.

Here’s some more that puts Joey in my rainbow: he was a standout college student; became a high school math teacher; and now, as head coach of the VC men’s basketball team, stresses education to his players. It is not lip service: Joey and his lovely wife Olivia’s three sons – Andrew, Marcos and Eric – are straight-A students on top of being exceptional athletes.

One more reason: hard as a gemstone externally, inside Joey can be a softie. This was on display last Sunday evening when he was inducted into the Ventura College Athletics Hall of Fame.

Truth is, Joey wasn’t the only one in attendance who teared up during his splendid acceptance speech – my rainbow briefly turned blurry.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram at woodywoodburn. His books are available at www.WoodyWoodburn.com.

Check out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …

Time Melts in Rain in Quebec City

by Woody

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Time Melts in the rain in Quebec City

Gentle showers fell, and we were not dressed for them, and it was wonderful.

My wife and I were strolling through Quebec City on the eve of autumn, but it might as well have been Paris in the rain in the springtime. Cobblestone streets, narrow as alleyways and lined with cafes, and everyone but tourists speaking French all enhanced this impression.

Indeed, replace black umbrellas with colorful ones and turn the pedestrians’ formal attire to casual, and the famous 1877 painting “Paris Street; Rainy Day” by Gustave Caillebotte comes to mind.

We had planned to visit Canyon Aainte-Anne, a steep-sided gorge with a spectacular waterfall and three suspension footbridges 200 feet above the river. But, as John Steinbeck wrote, “People don’t take trips, trips take people.”

Salvador Dali’s “Danse du Temps I”

The rain, promising to erase the breathtaking views, caused our trip to take us in a different direction.

Instead, we walked from Lower Old Town to Upper Old Town where, soaked as duck-hunting dogs, we ducked into the lobby of the Fairmont Le Château Frontenac. Built in 1893, this 18-story fairytale-like castle of a building is said to be the most photographed hotel in the world. I added to the record tally.

Inside the lobby, which is open to the public and seems as crowded as Disneyland, the luxury is stunning. Perhaps the over-the-top opulence is best illustrated by describing one of the handful of gift shops, rather, boutiques.

Actually, it was not a boutique so much as an art museum. On display were a full dozen bronze sculptures by Salvador Dali and nearly as many original cubism paintings by Pablo Picasso.

The sculptures were especially striking and included a series featuring melting clock faces, a surrealist image Dali returned to – no pun intended – time and time again. Explained the artist: “The mechanical object was to be my worst enemy, and as for watches, they would have to be soft, or not be at all!”

One such bronze, titled “Profil of Time,” portrayed a melted clock hanging across the branches of a barren tree.

One of numerous Picasso paintings in the chateau’s high-end gift shop.

Additionally, “Dance of Time II” and “Dance of Time III” in the boutique/museum were smaller versions of the original seven-foot-tall “Danse du Temps I” on display outside the hotel. Crafted by Dali in 1984, the green-faced melting clock with gold hands and numerals is valued at nearly $1 million.

Yet perhaps my favorite sculpture was “Horse Saddled With Time.” As the name suggests, it is of a horse with a melted clock serving as the saddle.

Dali noted: “… it is time which controls all of man’s passage. Man believes he is in control of the voyage, but it is always ‘time’ who is the ultimate rider.”

Rushed for time on our way back to the cruise ship to resume our voyage, we managed to step out of the rain once more and into a café. As they say, “When in Rome . . .”

And when in Quebec – that’s “kee-BEK” not “kwe-BEK” according to the locals – one must try the signature dish “poutine.” Basically, it is a messy pile of French fries, gravy and cheese curds.

My review: I prefer my fries with ketchup and thus had only one bite. My wife, however, gave it two thumbs up – until later that evening when she fell seasick on calm waters. She blamed the poutine and felt saddled with slow-passing time for a while.

“ ‘Sail on!’ it says, ‘sail on, ye stately ships!’ ” Henry Wadsworth Longfellow wrote in his poem “The Lighthouse.” Sail on we did for our next port and a tour of some historic beacons.

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Woody Woodburn writes a weekly column for The Ventura County Star and can be contacted at WoodyWriter@gmail.com.

Wooden & Me Kickstarter Front PhotoCheck out my memoir WOODEN & ME: Life Lessons from My Two-Decade Friendship with the Legendary Coach and Humanitarian to Help “Make Each Day Your Masterpiece” and my essay collection “Strawberries in Wintertime: Essays on Life, Love, and Laughter” …