Jenny Lind, You Owe Me One

The Mother Lode; rich in gold, 49’er history, and splendor that was a significant part of my life growing up in, what was then, rural California. My family and grandparents spent countless weekends during the 1950’s driving around the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains, and panning for gold in many of the mineral rich […]

Si, Se Puede

Today is Cesar Chavez Day, a state holiday, if you live in California, Colorado, or Texas. It is Cesar Chavez’ birthday, and he would have been 87 years old. His dedication, as a nonviolent civil rights activist, to the lives and labors of farm workers changed forever their working and living conditions. Wages, housing, toilet facilities in the […]

The Gift Of Thirty-Seven Stars, President Grant, Little Big Horn, and More

During a conversation with my friend this morning, we meandered into observations of noticeably different characteristics between her generation and mine, especially regarding computers, social media, and information technology, in general. We both really happen to like all things electronic, and are each other’s go to person when one of our technological toys runs amok. […]

No Roar, No Drum

This time of year, because of events and anniversaries, personal and national, my thoughts often turn to heroism. I have debated the definition with more than one person, and keep neatly folded in one of my files a favorite Letter to the Editor I fired off in response to a column written by an editor […]

In Her Honor

There had been rumors, rustlings of something very bad afoot. Those with whom she had spent a lifetime, and shared in the most intimate of household experiences, from childbirth to preparing a departed loved one for burial, shoulder to shoulder, together through it all; those who once sought her out for help, comfort, and wisdom, […]