Mark Weiss for Palo Alto City Council, if you, dear reader, of Plastic Alto, permit me the indulgence of speaking of self in third person, although usually I claim this is sign of subject “jumbling the shark” or the presentation of severe personality disorder, “I and I” Rastafarians notwithstanding — and yeah that was me singing “not one of my seed….shall beg for your bread..I and I” in the showers at 7:45 a.m. today at Ross Road Family YMCA — the campaign picked up three endorsements from a diverse trio of people who knew him (me) in a former live, or the earlier incarnations of Young Weiss-ton.

BLUF (bottom line up front and no that is not a gratuitous Michael McFaul reference): Lisa Delong, Colin Bonini and James “Jamie” Lyons I communed with in various real and electronic ways and I’m happy to report they said, yeah, sure, whatever use my name (Jamie gave me a fist bump, or at least did not refuse mine; Lisa also know as Cammie’s mom or nowadays Cameron’s or Cam’s mom or also Mrs. or Ms. Dr. Nomi Khan the spine surgeon of Crescent Park or Center-ville made me some tea or chai or high end “d.i.y.” cafe-quality beverage although we had to guess at the flavor which was in high French or some uber-exclusive Swiss-French-German slang they don’t teach,, not Louis Weiss at least — still not my daddy, although I wish I had a nickel for how many times someone said, apropos of a French language teacher in PAUSD “Is Mr. Weiss your father?” and I’ve had to say “no?” or “non?”; Colin, taking a pass from his twin brother the judge Griffin Muff Bonini who said he could not endorse me, unless I was running odor judge — I’m going to leave that, that little computer-suggested amendment “odor” for “for” — is it saying something about justice writ large? – – Judge Bonini said he had fond memories of being my teammate and riding in my blue Camero and knocked on — that’s actually a soccer term — my email to Colin who sent a little quote:

“Mark Weiss is a fine fellow, this conservative Delaware legislator and former Wesley Wolf scoring leader doth say” –that’s a paraphrase and probably breaks both E.B. White’s first law “omit needless” words and is more like Joe Biden’s famous plagiarism or a violation of the Mann Act for interstate politico-babble than the direct quote — and keep in mind all I have to do is publish this and click six times like Dorothy in not-Kansas to cut-and-paste it in for real.

I also got a rather limp response from Anna Eshoo saying that she wrote this letter before I tipped my hand enough to reveal that the Mark Weiss running for Council and asking her endorsement is the same Mark Weiss son of Paul and Barbara Weiss she knows quite well– or Dad says, Mom used to say she adored Anna– so I actually feel sorry for Anna getting so far into the rabbit hole of Politics with a Capitol that she cannot remember the Nineties. Her current campaign manager Nikki something, all of 23 years old or so and an odd habit of snapping her gum as she chews actually had a computer program that says my dad doesn’t exist and my mom only gave $1,000 so I should watch the way I swagger thru her office there on Cambridge Street Palo Alto, back in an alley behind something and next to a parking lot, kind of near the post office, the Eisenhower Era one and not the nice one the sellouts and deposits are selling off — talk about boondoggle. If Anna’s letter had said “I’m sorry I cannot endorse you because I don’t really know you, say hi to your parents, Anna Eshoo” or “I cannot endorse you because, if you keep on modern genetics the way I do, the excellent traits I have noticed in your parents Paul and Barbara Weiss just as likely may skip a generation or two and I don’t have even a minute to eyeball you myself, even if you come to the Wojcicki and Codispotti $150 a plate soiree Saturday, but keep in touch”.

Meanwhile, and I apologize both for shifting back to first person and away from the promisingly amusing third — and that brings to mind Borges “Borges and I” (“Borges Y Yo”) and also my weird thing I wrote last night about Alexis Harte and the real Alexis Harte; I woke mentally writing him back and blaming it on Edward Allen Poe “William Wilson” or whatever it was called, he wrote in 1850 I wrote just as long ago or read rather in 1984, fittingly — or if you came tonight to hear about Lisa Delong and Colin Bonini and Jamie Lyons,I also met with Rabbi Janet Marder who lives in Plao Alto. After a nice 30 minute meeting that could have stretched to 35 but Laura Bandman, my idea of a Cantor with a canter, said she would be waiting in the next room, practicing her scales – and although I did not get an endorsement I left with a book, on loan, a private press oral history of my actual Rabbi, Sidney Axelrad — now that’s what I call Inspiration! After a rather satisfying end of day, sun falling in sky (actually, we spinning away from site of sun, do note) circle of East Meadow and Arbitus –new terrain for me, even, here since 1974 walking the precint or canvassing or pressing doorbells, I was so inspired I pulled over, despite Terry saying the beef borgnine in ernest would be ready at 6:30 and it was pushing 7, I called and left vm for RJM: hey, maybe you can endorse me as an individual. The Jews of Palo Alto will be glad to have something to vote for; you won’t regret it, et cetera. (I literally got cut off, ran out of time, but also paraphrased one of the lessons she let me: I don’t have to finish my work, but cannot just leave my work, her response to my pseudo-vedantic we have the right to work but not the right to expect to be paid in full.

So I am holding an office hour, from 7:30 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. here at Peet’s near Cubberley if anyone reads this in real time and moseys by, please say hi. Jamie Lyons says he is working with Collected Works a producing org in Sf and did lights for something Russian sounding I did not catch the name but it does suss up proper like. I shot him here a month or so ago and maybe ran the photo here, or it is trapped with 1,700others in my phone.

I have my La Para La Selva breakfast klatch from 9 to 11, Paly media lab for UNAFF something black and or African Senegalese — for six minutes at 4 till about 6:30 then rushing down to Cupertino or Sunnyvale for Gunn v. Homestead, hopefully the first W for good old GHS which we called HMG. Or is it GSH?

Lisa returned a Dawn Richardson Mel Bay drumming book that hopefully spoke to then-Cammie a few years back. Lisa stopped her car to spy me as I stood in front of Enid Pearson’s house. Again, no endorsement but thanks for the inspiration! Likewise I rang the doorbell and left vm for her neighbor and doppelgänger Emily Renzel. I have photo of Enid, plus she has a flyer from 40 years ago saying the same thing: not everyone who claims to be a Residentialsit is one.

the owls are not what they seem.
The Cougars are not what they were.
Wear Sunsream.

We have the power to whip you.

What are the odds of a beautiful half-Swedish Palo Alto soccer mom slamming on the breaks of her Mercedes SUV to espy this piece or work, this not too solid piece of flesh, sagging Titan, point two seven points per game? Zero, minus the fact that Terry made me, Terry my Terry, the former two term Palo Alto Arts Commissioner, Terry Acebo Davis, the printmaker and installation artist, a cool poster, a yard sign.

Don’t vote for me, vote for my yard sign!

edit to add (that’s a lie, this is 1,354 and not published yet. Visuals?) I also saw Lori Davis Cottle and Sean Cottle at the Y; I am tempted to ask Lori to walk a precint with me. Twenty doorbells, try to place four signs, she does not have to talk unless they speak to her first, in and out in 2.0 hour, starting at her house. Game?

I also caught up with John Liddicoat’s dad, who said he wants to go back into business; if he cannot evict Apple from his old building, maybe go after that little VC firm on Kipling next to the wine bar. I’m all in with ya, big fellow. (He took a yard sign,although again,I would be fudging it to list him as endorsement. I will hit up Olive Borgsteadt when I see her, my 5th grade teacher, plus will try to yard sign that huge modern house or group of houses near The Adobe and Esther Clark, the one with the mizzuza and the modern or western art.

Somewhere between: John Adams or Sam Adams: there is nothing left here to forward our country and is it Perry “I have not yet begun to fight” ?? mixed with Hunter S. Thompson “When the going gets tough the weird turn pro” and John Wooden “be quick but don’t hurry”.

Don’t go halfway, go Midway. (which is coded shout to Morton Benjamin Weiss the Southside playwright and developer)

outtro: and try to play both at same time, Patti Smith and Eric Bachman: (and it doesn’t fit here musically but like Ms.Mary on Romper Room and her magic mirror I also see Linda Perry circa 1993 at Paradise Lounge trying out or trying on “what’s up?/ what’s going on?, deserves its own post, this is 988 btw.

also nice meeting severin mathe of mn ymca

and 1:
Carlmont seemed to be in control after quarterback Nicky Thompson snuck over from 1 yard out, giving the Scots a 24-6 lead with 10:38 to play. Different Nikki Thompson I would think..???