Michael B--
Are you on for Monday night???? email, call me.
Karen A

And now for something completely different....
 
 Snow
by George Bilgere

A heavy snow, and men my age
  all over the city
are having heart attacks in their driveways,

dropping their nice new shovels
  with the ergonomic handles
that finally did them no good.

Gray-headed men who meant no harm,
  who abided by the rules and worked hard
for modest rewards, are slipping

softly from their mortgages,
  falling out of their marriages.
How gracefully they swoon—

that lovely, old-fashioned word—
  from dinner parties, grandkids,
vacations in Florida.

They should have known better
  than to shovel snow at their age.
If only they'd heeded

the sensible advice of their wives
  and hired a snow-removal service.
But there's more to life

than merely being sensible. Sometimes
  a man must take up his shovel
and head out alone into the snow.
 
COME TO POETRY NIGHT AT THE MERC
Hosted by Karen A.

Monday, Novmeber 24th from 6:30-8:00

Bring poems you love or poems you wrote and
Listen. Share. Enjoy.

Sponsored by JAM

PS - this would be a solstice/christmas party.

Hello good fellow musicians! Are there any plans for a New Year's Eve celebration in the JT town hall? Mayor Ken would like to post something in the town newsletter with upcoming events. AND, I'm taking a poll to see if there is interest in a Holiday Party in the town hall (need live music)--honorable mention to all of our volunteers; families welcome; holiday decorations & festive tree, etc. Give me your feedback if interested at town clerk at jimtown dot org. Thanks!

Hey, Michael--are you on to be the sound guy?
KA

NEXT POETRY NIGHT @ THE MERC
Monday, Novermber 24th, 6:30-8:00
hosted by Karen A.

Featuring poems of celebration and thanksgiving.
Bring poems you love or poems you wrote and
Listen. Share. Enjoy.

Sponsored by JAM.
 
Waste Management
by Maurya Simon

Every night a bear comes round our house to scare up
some windfall pears or to forage for fragrant garbage,
trudging on soft-padded feet & slightly open-mouthed.
He's an ursine Tony Soprano, I think, seeking refuge

from autumnal hungers as he forages the town's alleys.
Burly as a nightclub bouncer, near-sighted, he browses
through our lives' detritus, appearing as a refugee
from day's ample shadows. Our bear noisily chases

a neighborhood cat, a disemboweler of mouses,
then he eats the worst types of underworld scum—
larval worms in day-glow trousers-food storehoused
in a huge belly that sways to & fro when he travels.

Despite his slovenly slouch, our bear's a marvel
of Mafia etiquette as he curses & wantonly carouses
in the dim byways of the forest, as he sways in raveling air
to snap the bark off trees with his tough teeth & calluses.

We curse the furry rampages of our famished bear
who's surely gotten high on gruff power as he struggles
to grip trashcan rims with iron fingers—ever roused
to action by brisk whiffs of winter or our ribald catcalls.

O made man, living drunk or dour, don't settle
for trudging on soft-padded feet, staying tight-hearted—
know, as I do, how fear & desire drive us all. Look how
nightly a bear circumambulates our lives with such ardor.

Next POETRY NIGHT @ THE MERC

Theme: Celebration and Thanksgiving

Monday, November 24th from 6:30-8:00pm

Bring poems you LOVE or poems you WROTE, and
Listen, Share, Enjoy!

Sponsored by JAM

How To Be a Poet
by Wendell Berry

(to remind myself)

Make a place to sit down.
Sit down. Be quiet.
You must depend upon
affection, reading, knowledge,
skill—more of each
than you have—inspiration,
work, growing older, patience,
for patience joins time
to eternity. Any readers
who like your work,
doubt their judgment.

Breathe with unconditional breath
the unconditioned air.
Shun electric wire.
Communicate slowly. Live
a three-dimensioned life;
stay away from screens.
Stay away from anything
that obscures the place it is in.
There are no unsacred places;
there are only sacred places
and desecrated places.

Accept what comes from silence.
Make the best you can of it.
Of the little words that come
out of the silence, like prayers
prayed back to the one who prays,
make a poem that does not disturb
the silence from which it came.

Hi all,
Sorry I missed the meeting on Sunday - did anyone take minutes? (Sorry, I overbooked myself with 3 different things and had to pick one - I figured I could sign up to help with whatever JAM things come up when they do.) Thanks!

NEED SHEETS!

Drama Club needs TWELVE twin or full size, solid-color (prefer light, but any color will do) FLAT sheets to paint for the set of our upcoming performance, "A Cacophony of Dramedy."

If you can donate a sheet or two AND/OR if you would like to help us create the set, please call Laura @ (3o3) 545-55o2 or come by Jamestown School on weekdays between 2:30 and 4 p.m.!

THANKS!

BRAVO AND HUGE THANKS to Richard Jenkins and the "Player's Club" for their outstanding performances in "The Last, Last Chance Cafe" and for donating the proceeds amounting to $300 to the Camp Jimtown Drama Club! EXTRA special thanks to everyone who supported the events and especially to those who received complimentary tickets but chose to donate to the cause anyway! We are extremely lucky and grateful to be among such talent and generosity and we count these blessings EVERY SINGLE DAY!!! Perhaps the most important added bonus is that everyone who supports the arts in this way sends a strong message and leaves a powerful imprint on the minds and growth of each child affected.

With the money raised, we will go on a GIANT FIELD TRIP to see a professional theater performance somewhere, sometime in the near future. We'll keep you posted on what we choose and how it went.

In the meantime, please stay tuned for our upcoming original production (completely created by our children) called "A Cacophony of Dramedy" coming soon to a handmade amphitheater near you on Saturday, December 6th! Save that date and more details will follow...

Drama Club welcomes our commUNITY members at all times! Currently, we invite musicians and artists/creators to help us with our show. Please call Laura @ (3o3) 545-55o2 and join in the fun!

Hey everyone--
I can't make it to the meeting this weekend due to my annual Dia de los Muertos dinner. Sorry to miss everyone.

Due to a schedule conflict, I've moved the next poetry night to MONDAY, NOVEMBER 24TH---Michael, does that work for you? 7:00-8:00pm.

Not sure if there will be a Arts Workshop in November....

Cheers,
Karen

I would like to invite everyone to the next JAM Meeting. Sunday Nov, 2nd 2:00 PM. at Beth and Michael Brotherton's house. Bring a snack or beverage to share if you'd like. We'll have the meeting around 3:00 and maybe play some music afterward. Come find out what JAM is all about. We will be planning future events. We are the first house on the right, just before town. Green, directly across from the lower park and footbridge. Everyone is welcome.

What was the final decision on date/s of the Craft Fair? Today's Daily Camera has the info for submission to the free listing in their annual Holiday Craft Fairs and Bazaars adveritsement. The ad will run in the Sunday 11/9 paper and is due by Nov.4th at noon.

They are requesting submissions on line at www.dailycamera.com/calendar.
The contact person at the Camera is Greg Glasgow @303.473.1342

Let me know if I can help with this.

Who has the KEY for the townhall? I don't think it's in the Merc anymore.

I need to get in at 1:40 or so--I can pick up a key or if someone wants to open the door....that'd be great too!

Thanks,
Karen

Drama Club cordially invites our talented commUNITY members to attend an ARTISTS & CREATORS MEETING on Monday, November 3rd @ 5 p.m. at Jamestown School!

Here's the EXCITING PROJECT:

Creating an amphitheater INSIDE our school gym for our upcoming original show, "A Cacophony of Dramedy" to be performed in early December. So that we have a roof and basic structure to start with, we will borrow the canopy used for the food booth on July 4th (Thanks Town of Jamestown!) and use another canopy for the stage area. The goal is to eliminate the huge feeling and echos of the gym and make it more cozy for our performance. At the meeting, we will decide on the walls (possibly painted cardboard panels or dyed fabric tapestries/sheets), floor, seating, curtains, sound, lighting, decorations, etc. and plan accordingly. Even if you may not consider yourself to be artistic, there are many other ways to help! All ages are welcome.

Please join us and share your talents and ideas! If you would like to be involved but cannot attend the meeting, please contact Laura Williams @ 3o354555o2. THANKS FOR YOUR SUPPORT!

Join us SATURDAY For the Next Workshop:
"Tone Topics for Stringed Instruments" with Tom Williams

Saturday, October 25th, 2-4 pm, Jamestown Town Hall
$10-pre-registration (sign up in P.O.) or $12-day of workshop

Workshop will cover the variations in instrument/amplifier designs and how
to manipulate these variables to your advantage. Participants should bring any of their stringed instruments, electric or acoustic, plus amplifiers.

For more information, contact Tom Williams 3.545.five5o2

Proceeds split between JAM and the Artist.

Sponosored by JAM

That workshop will be lead by Tom WILLIAMS (rather than the more humorous "Williamson!")