Seasons of Life

Cycles of Life per The Coyote:

In the early 1970s, Richard Del Connor, The Hippy Coyote, became aware of the cycles of life.

Whereas most people think of an entire life as one long cycle, Coyote theorized that life was in many cycles, if you live long enough.

His poetry portrayed this concept and became his first four books of poetry and lyrics, that combined together to create the poetry epic, SEASONS OF FOURS.

The first of these seasons is AUTUMN FLAVOURS. Coyote's dark poetry emenated from his deportation to Newfoundland in 1970. At the age of 16, Coyote was busted on a country road outside of San Diego County. "This is the biggest drug bust in the history of _____ County!" one of the Sheriffs raved repeatedly as the arresting officer was praised at their small precinct.

Coyote, then known as Richard Del Connor, and Dickie Dare, tried to make a break for it in his 1957 Volkswagen Van. The Sheriffs roared down the dirt road in a dust cloud that Coyote was able to see, vaguely, from the smoke filled VW van. A real life scene that could have been a part of Cheech and Chong movie, Coyote was splitting up his kilo of mariuana into smaller quantities by rolling it into shoe boxes full of joints. Coming prepared, Coyote had a dozen packs of cigarette rolling papers. There were pink flavoured strawberry papers, green mint papers, yellow banana, and many others that Coyote and his buddy Don were rolling into all sizes of joints.

Since they had 2.2 pounds of pot to roll, they were glueing the papers into quilts of 4 to six papers so they could roll the cigar-sized joints made famous in later Cheech and Chong movies. It was these huge brightly colored cigars that gave away their illegal wacky tobacky.

Coyote had seen the surveyors, almost a mile away, up a hill, on the other side of the freeway. However, they had a surveyor's transit, which is a telescope on a tripod. They were able to discern by the van FULL OF SMOKE, and the brightly colored stogies being puffed, that this was kids having too much fun for 1970, after President Nixon had "declared war on drugs."

They called the sherrifs and the sherrifs came running, or off-roading.

When our young teen criminal realized his personal stash was in peril, he started up the 1200cc German magnesium motor and headed for the hills.

Another ten feet and Coyote would have plummeted down a steep embankment. Maybe the cops would have followed. But it would have given Coyote enough time to jettison his cargo. Coyote was raised on the edge of San Diego County riding motorcycles, minibikes, go carts, and skateboards...so this was just another exciting path for Coyote to drive--

But there was a gun pointed at his head.

Only 16 years old, Coyote still knew that the cops shouldn't shoot him. He hadn't endangered them or shown a weapon--but this was a rookie cop. His gun was shaking like a shivering chihuahua and our pot puffing puppy realized this gun could go off just from the vibrations of our scared trainee. Coyote was scared of being killed.

Although he was confident he could survive the hill, he was certain this guy was going to shoot him if he made a break for it.

Coyote killed the engine.

Coyote's solitary confinement and jailhouse adventures are told elsewhere, but this was the END OF SUMMER. Perhaps a couple years premature.

Coyote began his first poetry book, AUTUMN FLAVOURS, at this point of his life.

Shipped off in exile to St. John's, Newfoundland, Coyote, the smell of bogs and autumn leaves became the touchstone of this book.

WINTER FLOWERS took place during the Women's Liberation Movement of the early seventies as women screwed anything with three legs.

SPRING FEVERS was Coyote being drinking age, but still getting pulled into backseats, bushes, and bush...

By 1975, Coyote realized there was more to life than sex--but he wasn't sure what it was.

SUMMER FOREVERS is Coyote's spirit reaching out to find enlightenment, ,religion, and relationships. Struggling to be a man, but still unable to grow a beard, our mature mongrel pens poetry of spirituality, as best he could.

The combination of these four poetry books is SEASONS OF FOURS.

As Coyote theorized, these seasons have cycled through his life, over and over again.

If the first cycle, AUTUMN FLAVOURS, was 1970 to 1972; WNTER FLOWERS, 1973-74, and SPRING FEVERS, 1974-75, then SUMMER FOREVERS was 1975 to 1977, as Coyote wrote his first rock operas, UNDERGROUND and THE PAUPER.

Continuing these cycles:

1978 AUTUMN, was the year Coyote moved to Los Angeles with his band THE RICH. All that existed died, as Coyote planted his knew seeds in Venice, California.

SPRINGTIME of SEX, 1979 and 1980 earned Dickie Dare the new nickname, "The Raunch," as he slept with more beautiful interesting women, than anyone could believe.

SUMMER OF STUDIOS, 1981-1982, was Coyote, still known as Richard Del Connor, working in the best recording studios in Los Angeles as a carpenter, speaker builder, and mastering lab designer.

AUTUMN of CARPENTRY, 1982-83 saw Coyote returning to the United Brotherhood of Carpenters, who had trained our young journeyman in San Diego. Coyote worked CLASS A construction and regretted the loss of his studio clients.

WINTER of SHAOLIN RECORDS, 1984-1985 was Coyote starting UCLA Motion Picture Program, living with Jennifer. Shaolin Records was launched with the vinyl album, TEMPTATION by THE RICH, on August 8, 1984.

SPRING OF MARRIAGE, 1986-87, was Coyote's marriage to Raquel King Hayata, of Mexico City. Lots of sex, lots of fun, lots of love...and marriage counseling. The counelor said, "You are wasting your money and my time--get a divorce."

SUMMER OF INJUN, 1989-1991, were the wonder years as our Coyote performed with his band, INJUN, was a bass session player for other bands, a photographer for newspapers and magazines, a studio designer, screenplay writer...

AUTUMN 1992, was Coyote's move to Utah where he rebounded as Kung Fu Master.

WINTER 1993, was Coyote's many gigs and development as, "Master Zhen,"

SPRING 1994, was Coyote's involvement with the Lakota Sioux Native Americans.

SUMMER 1995 to 1999, was the pinnacle of Coyote's martial arts career as his Shaolin Chi Mantis Traditional Buddhist Gongfu and Taijiquan schools, spawned the Shaolin Zen sect of Chan Buddhism, and the Tai Chi Youth nonprofit organization.

AUTUMN 1999-2002 was a long hardhip of several relocations and Coyote's being bitten by the black widow spider in Tujunga, California, which took several years to recover from.

WINTER 2003-2005 was Coyote homeschooling his children and launching various youth martial arts programs including, Tai Chi Kids, Shaolin Kids, and Tai Chi Teens.

SPRING 2006 was a pinnacle of Coyote's martial arts in California with classes at two YMCAs, his home kwoon, HOUSE OF ZHEN, but the end of his children's homeschooling when his exwife returned.

SUMMER 2007-2009 was the release of LEVEL 2= CHRIST KILLER, LEVEL 3 = I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME, and the recording sessions of LEVEL 4 = KUNG FU COWBOY Parts 1 and 2. Coyote also edited and released the novel, SID'S PLACE, and wrote the BUDDHA KUNG FU STUDENT MANUAL used to launch his new Kung Fu school, Buddha Kung Fu.

The Coyote Poetry Podcast