“Dad! I checked your blog and you haven’t written anything since April!” That my daughter, Susan, reads my blog is exciting news. That she expects me to keep it up is high praise. I don’t blog to introduce guilt into my life. But, in this case, a little guilt may not be a bad thing. […] (Read more)
Last week, I lost my cell phone. This is not just any cell phone. This is a titanium Blackberry Curve 8300 that receives my email and holds my address book, calendar, to do list, notes, and important information like user IDs and passwords for a slew of online accounts. Discovery of the loss made me […] (Read more)
Google “circle of friends” and get over 3.6 million hits in less than 0.11 seconds. Everything from kids’ shampoo to support groups for Klippel-Fiel Syndrome, Maeve Binchy’s novel to Mexican imports. Mexican Imports, a web site specializing in rustic antiques and Mexican folk art, touts its “Circle of Friends” candle holder as “the world’s #1 […] (Read more)
From her earliest days as an entertainer and activist, Joan Baez has inspired millions through her music and by her actions. Her life is characterized by her passionate and ceaseless efforts to bring the healing light of peace and social justice to the dark corners of the world. Until recently, she has resisted pressure to […] (Read more)
I just finished reading Barbara Ehrenreich’s Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America, a scathing indictment of welfare reform and its effect on the lives of the working poor in the U.S. In the book’s conclusion, Ehrenreich writes, “when someone works for less pay than she can live on… she has made a […] (Read more)
It rained for a short time last night. Rain is unusual in the desert. I don’t own an umbrella, raincoat, or any rain gear, for that matter. Showers rarely last long enough to require rain paraphernalia. Now that I think about it, in the desert, we don’t have “weather” in our vocabulary. We talk about […] (Read more)
Enjoying the first two weeks of January alone in Paris (i.e., without travel companions to whom I felt obliged to play tour guide) and without a personal tourist agenda was heavenly. I rented a cozy apartment off rue des Martyrs in the 9th (Opéra) arrondissement where Sacre Coeur overlooks the quartier like a grande dame […] (Read more)
A friend, who I refer to as “the muse of my online life,” blogged about a personality test she recently discovered. By answering only six questions, it is possible to learn which book represents your personality. My attempt at the test identified me as Siddhartha. The precision of the personality description is uncanny… except for […] (Read more)
In 1956, when I was 12 years old, my mom and dad bought a 13-acre farm in Fulton, California, seven miles north of Santa Rosa, where we lived for three years before moving back to town. My sister, Gaynl, age 9, brother, Mike, age 7, and I enjoyed many wonderful experiences that provided us with […] (Read more)
My oldest nephew, Kenneth, spent a lot of time with us when he was two to three years old. Afternoons, when I would put him down for a nap, I would read to him from a Hallmark nursery rhyme pop-up book given to me by my mother on my first Fathers’ Day. Kenny loved hearing […] (Read more)