BY TED THOMPSON
High in the California Sierra
A crazy flatlander had a crazy vision.
For some mystic reason
He set out to create a great mountain vineyard.
The investment was substantial.
He was told by all the experts to abort.
The growing season was way too short.
The Truckee locals told him why.
“Up here, we only got two seasons:
Winter and the Fourth of July.”
Three years later, to everyone’s surprise,
His first vintage made its fall debut.
To everyone’s amazement
It was bright, white perfection. It’s true.
But the real miracle was that
He produced any wine at all.
Over time others tried and failed.
They all flubbed. Their vines all died.
But up in the high country there’s a strange tale
Told at night by the old timers
Ranged around the bar at The Pastime Club.
He wasn’t a wine making wonk.
The truth was that a bear taught him how to do it,
A big, old bear who loved Sauvignon Blanc.
Ted’s Thompson’s first book of poetry, “Meetings with the Gods,” was named one of the 10 best books published in 1994 by Dusty Dog Reviews. Thompson has given readings in San Francisco, North Lake Tahoe, Reno, Washington, D.C., and Edinburgh, Scotland. He won the 2013 Poetry Slam at the Truckee Town Library. Thompson, his wife Mary, and their dog Tillacoultry live in the Sierra Nevada near Truckee. He has no education.
