During the COVID shutdown, I have spent time editing my possessions. After all, I’m 73, and the thought of a terminal move moves me to lighten up. Although per...
“Have you ever run a chainsaw?” boss man Sam asked me. “No,” I answered. “OK, take this chainsaw and…”
Or, “have you ever driven a tractor? No? OK, here are...
It has been years now, but he used to come to our home on Sunday mornings for a cup of coffee. Not every Sunday but maybe once a month we would be favored by hi...
In June 1957, two weeks prior to high school graduation, my group of buddies were looking at the potential loss of our brotherhood.
We gathered and formally ado...
"I want that little dog. " It was a simple, declarative statement on a frosty Valentine's Day. My husband looked at me, understood the tone as well as the words...
In March of 2020, with the pandemic so new and all, we took to the garden. Searching out warm spots where the sun poked through often-cloudy skies, we sat and l...
Disclaimer: My dear wife gave her blessing allowing me to write about her in this remembrance. In this time of terrible job loss, food lines and empty bank acco...
There were two facts about my small town in the early 1950s that stand out in my memory: one, we believed there was a missile in a silo in Russia with the name ...
One hundred years ago, Robert Frost, wrote: "Some say the world will end with fire, Some say in ice. From what I've tasted of desire. I hold with those who favo...
When I was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in December of 2014, my wife, Kerry, lovingly soothed my back with her gentle touch. "I'm so sorry," she whispered...
At times we have to deal with difficult situations in our life. Not all of it is smooth sailing. It all started about a year ago, when my wife was forgetting wh...
After getting my degree from the University of Oregon in June 1961, I applied for military officers training and was inducted in November of that year. This may...
Last summer, my wife and I wanted to buy a box of peaches at the Farmers' Market in Ashland, nothing else, so we decided to ride our electric bikes. My wife's b...
People are publicly proclaiming their pandemic achievements and lifestyle changes. My triumph is losing 30 pounds since the spring; not because I am a front-lin...
My friend Michael finished his holiday food shopping an impressive five days before Christmas. He's a foodie, and as he loaded up the last of the grocery bags, ...
As I sat down recently to pen my annual Christmas letter, I contemplated which words would best represent my thoughts, wishes and outlook for the upcoming year....
Despite some memory lapses, I'm all too well aware of what's going on in our world. I don't understand how what can only be described as lunacy now characterize...
A flock of wild turkeys frequents a field near Holmes Park. Like any gang, they act as if they own the place. Unconcerned, they amble in the middle of the stree...
Measles, decades ago, seemed to be a pretty mild disease, especially when compared to current events. But my cousins and I made a mess of it when we were semi-q...
It was the fall of 1980. I was a conservative kid from New Orleans majoring in meteorology. She was a free-spirited graduate of UC-Berkeley, prone to wearing mi...
