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 […]