The Fog Comes In…

I looked outside this morning, and it’s foggy. I love it! Maybe because fog takes me back to my little valley home, and memories of ghostly stark and barren peach trees out back; those shrouded walks to school where I heard and saw nothing but my feet, one step in front of the other, and […]

Saga Of A Brassiere

When I graduated from elementary school and entered 7th grade junior high, the primary issue in my life was not changing classrooms and teachers for each subject; homework, which previously had been unknown to any of us; mixing with an entirely new set of kids who were drawn from several other elementary schools; nor even […]

Her Story, Her Way

I want you to help me write my obituary. Sure. What would you like to say? Okay, it has to begin with, I was born on a high and windy hill. No. You weren’t born on a high and windy hill. What are you talking about? I was born on a high and windy hill. […]

Robert Frost And His Gift Outright

There are moments in time which never, never leave us. We look back, and view crystalline images, clear, sharp, perfectly defined. For those of us who witnessed the inauguration of John F Kennedy in January, 1961, there was much to remember; but nothing and no one was so stirring as Robert Frost. The upper grades […]

I’m A 12th Man, And I’m In!

Last year, as the Seattle Seahawks were departing for New York to play in Super Bowl XLVIII, I wrote a post declaring I am a 12th Man, and attempted to explain to those who are not from the Pacific Northwest, or are Seahawk fans, just what that means. Tomorrow is the playoff game between Seattle and […]

Of Orchards, Smudge Pots, And Friends

If you lived near fruit groves in California or Florida way back when, you probably remember smudge pots and smudging. I believe the practice fell out of favor in the 1970s, but for any of us who grew up around orchards in the 50s, smudging was a part of our cold weather experience. It was […]

R E S P E C T, Find Out What It Means To Me

January 23, 1986 saw the first ceremony for its Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees. Held in the Waldorf Astoria’s Grand Ballroom in New York City, those whose music had been rooted and grounded in gospel, country, R&B, blues, and rockabilly, merging into rock and roll, gathered to be acknowledged and honored. They, and […]

I Hope You Ate Your Black-eyed Peas

Oh my stars! It is New Year’s Day, and I realized I did not have any black-eyed peas; and I am not referring to the hip hop group. No, I mean the simple, tried and true legume. I needed to get to the grocery store, pronto, but could not until it warmed up enough for […]

Shid Ald Akwentans Bee Firgot…

All right, my loves, if we are going to bid farewell to this tired old year, let’s have Robert Burns lead us, as though it were 1788, in singing his poetic creation. Clear your throats, tune your pipes, and pull out your best Scottish accent, which will not be too difficult, because I have provided […]

Life In The Time Of Cruising

December days in California’s San Joaquin Valley are cold, overcast, and often foggy. Tule fog, foggy. That is the fog where visibility can go from 600 feet to zero feet with little or no warning; there just is no way of knowing where it is going to be at its worst, and danger is the […]