Remember writing in cafes? My own obsession began with Christine’s Cafe in Petaluma in the mid-’80s but quickly metastasized into San Anselmo’s Cafe Nuvo and finally into San Francisco’s North Beach.

This is where my cohorts and I vainly searched for traces of the Beats, who, by the early ’90s, were so heavily productized and marketed to those of us born under the sign of X that one could hardly think of On The Road without The Gap’s reminder that “Jack Kerouac wore khakis.” Why this didn’t become a title for a David Foster Wallace satire I do not know, but it remains a supposedly fun ad campaign I hope to never see again.

My type of place

Obtaining a cafe in which to write used to be easy. It was having something to write that was difficult. Barring that, you at least need something to write on or in, or whatever preposition you shouldn’t end a sentence with.

When at cafes, I used to write in Portage Brand reporter’s notebooks, which I still carry in the left, inside pocket of my blazer because they’re bulletproof. Now it’s all on my phone. Not as romantic an image, but it’s a damn convenient way to run a newspaper or write a mystery novel.

Yes, I know this should be done in the hustle-bustle of a newsroom or in an overstuffed chair with a human skull on the shelf, but I’m a creature of habit. And cafes are hustly-bustly enough and I bring my lucky skull everywhere I go, anyway. You shouldn’t oppress writers with your preconceived notions of how we work—most of us are out of work, so that joke’s on you.

That said, l prefer writing in cafes, not outside them. Back of the room, back to the wall, mafia-boss style—not so I don’t get plugged unawares, but to protect my patented process from prying eyes. But now all my writing spots have turned into Cafe Covids, which restrict seating to orange playpens made of rented traffic barricades (Sonoma County) or pricey parklets (Marin County).

Works for me—except for the fact that it’s cold, and all of them are warmed with propane-powered heaters that are sure to blow into fireballs. Adds new meaning to Hemingway’s A Clean, Well-Lighted Place.

—Written over consecutive coffees at Marin Roasters and Longway in San Anselmo.

Daedalus Howell’s books and films are free to download and stream at DaedalusHowell.com.

Over the past several months, a curious sight has arisen from the waters surrounding Marin County. Four markers, painted in black-and-white stripes and adorned with nautical symbols, have been placed throughout the Bay to document the rising tides in a new visual model created by local sculptor Jeff Downing.

This month, Downing displays his aquatic markers at MarinMOCA in Novato for the exhibit, “Level Up! A Sculptural View of Sea Level Rise.” Opening on Nov. 21, the show will reveal sea level rise and its direct impact on communities in Marin.

Downing’s concept for “Level Up” came about in 2017 when he participated in an environmental art project in Mexico.

“There was a lake on the site that was full most of the year,” Downing says. “But there’s a drought season and the lake water goes out, and a lot of the things covered in water are exposed.”

Downing installed aquatic sculptures in Mexico to mark the diminishing water levels, though he was inspired to document the opposite effect when he returned to the Bay Area.

“I thought about working with water, and the Bay Area having its own water issues with drought, but it also has tidal flooding,” he says. “I became interested in the tidal surge and King Tides, which happen twice a year. King Tides show what tides are going to be like with sea level rise, and everybody’s learning now that sea level rise is progressing because the Earth is getting warmer and the ice caps are melting.”

According to data compiled by the California Coastal Commission, San Francisco Bay is projected to see a rise between 1.1 and 2.7 feet by 2050. To see exactly what that means for Marin, Downing began placing his aquatic markers in waters near the Richmond Bridge and spots like Gate 5 Road in Sausalito, where the Bay already rises dramatically.

In addition to being eye-catching works, Downing’s sculptures aim to raise awareness and to educate the public about the realities of rising tides.

“My project is about making something that is attractive and beautiful, but it also has a meaning,” Downing says.

An East Coast native, Downing moved to the Bay Area in the ’80s to play music, and he pursued ceramics at the Academy of Art. There, Downing met artist and longtime College of Marin professor Bill Abright, who inspired Downing to further refine his art.

To date, Downing’s brightly colored sculptures have been exhibited in galleries and public venues in the U.S., Mexico, Brazil and throughout Europe. In addition to being a working artist, Downing is a full-time professor at San Francisco State University.

For the MarinMOCA exhibition, Downing will display several ceramic markers, as well as photos of them in the waters around Marin, with explanatory text accompanying the visuals. After the exhibit closes, the markers will be placed in the lagoon at the Marin Civic Center in San Rafael as a public art display.

“They’re going to be a monument of sea level rise awareness,” Downing says. “It will be a public art sculpture with a message.”

“Level Up” opens on Saturday, Nov. 21, at MarinMOCA, 500 Palm Dr., Novato. Marinmoca.org.