Autumn Flavours: First of Four Seasons (Season of Fours). Book 1 of 5: Season of Fours

By Richard Del Connor, Buddha Zhen, Buddha Z

Autumn Flavours is The Hippy Coyote's adolescent walk on the dark side of humanity. After returning to California from his teen years in exile on the island of Newfoundland, Richard Del Connor had no parents to guide him during his coming of age as a union carpenter and recording engineer of Bonita Recording Studio. It was the 1970s and Richard felt the full brunt of the Women’s Movement and Sexual Revolution. Richard participated in marches for “Equal Rights,” and “Labor Rights,” and also crossed a Union picket line of the Teamsters on his Triumph chopper before becoming a Union Carpenter. Richard’s life includes many views of life from many perspectives and a variety of environments. Where most people hold a job or career for several decades, Richard has never held a job for more than a few years. By changing careers, lovers, and friends Richard lives a lifetime every decade.

Richard Del Connor performed his first rock band gig as a Blues-Rock Guitarist in 1967 for $15 in San Diego where he was born and raised. During the 80s Richard worked with many bands as a bassist, guitarist, singer and studio designer. Richard started training in Shaolin Kung Fu under Sifu Wong Jack Man in 1980 so he limited his coke and booze to a minimal social level which limited his friendships with Fleetwood Mac, Motley Crue, and REO Speedwagon to professional relationships as he worked for them as a photographer or making music videos.

In Newfoundland exile Richard performed with Lukey’s Boat, and Dogmeat. During the 1970s Richard was performing and recording with his California rock band, Lotus, Richard Del Connor wrote and produced all the songs on his first album, Bonita. Then he became The Rich in 1978 performing his rock opera, The Pauper. Then he became Rich Connor, Coyote in a Graveyard, Coyote Graveyard, while also performing and recording with a dozen other bands as a session bass player during the 1980s.

During his exile in Newfoundland, Richard worked with his Uncle for the the World Health Organization WHO studying ocean currents carrying pollution from pulp mills and personally caring for over 600 wildfowl on the Oxen Pond Game Reserve. As a young environmental biologist, Richard Del Connor realized that science and Catholicism could not coexist. Studying philosophy, enzymes, biology and Omni Magazine, Richard sought a personal path and view of life in the void of where Christianity had dominated his childhood. Marcus Aurelius became his step-father. Richard kept The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius on the front seat of his car until 2020.

Autumn Flavours is the first of four seasons of Richard’s life. In 1974 Richard theorized that humans matured in seasons of mental and emotional development that could be related the seasons of Nature. Autumn Flavours is the decay of old beliefs and lifestyles. Winter Flowers is the birth of love and ideas that may not be capable of survival in the cold winter of life’s harshness and apathy. Spring Fevers is portrayed in abundance, passion, and growth of new ideas. Summer Forevers is the final maturity of a person’s current ideology, desires and morality. Richard completed a book for each of these seasons which were several years each between 1970 and 1980. Many of the poems in the first book, Autumn Flavours, were written for his San Diego State University POETRY CLASS. Richard was a straight-A student in elementary school, and debated teachers on the Regis Philbin Show to prove how “gifted” he is. This poetry class is the only class in Richard’s entire lifetime that he earned a grade of “D” in. Richard vowed to prove that his poetry teacher was wrong and that Richard is a poet. Hopefully, you agree.