SMALL VICTORIES It all started a few years back. There is a concrete box on my front lawn that is clearly marked as being the property of Pacific telephone. I saw that it had a crack in the outside rim. Eventually the crack in the rim became 2 cracks a
BIRDS OF A FEATHER Growing up in Sutter County, Yuba City was the county seat. “Home of the Honkers” was colorfully depicted in large letters on the side of the high school. Ever since moving to our current home , the lot we sit on has become something of a bird
IS THAT SEAT TAKEN? You know the feeling you get when you are watching a Giants game at the ballpark and somebody comes in with a Dodgers hat and sits down next to you in the stadium? It is the symbolic meeting of Fans, the iconic opposites, who are neighbors
THE WHATCHAMACALLIT There is an old episode of Hogan’s Heroes where the plot revolves around a gonkulator. Nobody knows what one is, because it was made up, but they all pretend that they do. It’s hilarious. In the late 1980’s a guy I worked with kept using
IS THAT YOUR LIZARD? When I worked in the IRS office in Sacramento, there were some signs at the doors that pets weren’t allowed, but some folks persisted. It led to some interesting moments, as people insisted they couldn’t go anywhere without little Fido, or Fifi, and claimed
IN OTHER WORDS There was a time, many a time, when my job at the police department involved contact with people that were crazy, sometimes with a capital C and an exclamation point at the end. We were counseled to not use the word crazy, because it was labeling. So
SANTA AFTER HOURS When my kids were small, my brother-in-law ,Mark, offered to arrange for a Santa visit for my kids, at home. He had a friend who volunteered as Santa at the schools and city functions in Lincoln, and the guy said, sure. My kids were about 6 (Kari)
A BIG SPLASH WHEATLAND- 1979. I was at work with two other cops, Dave and Mike. We are arresting a guy on parole, who has been involved in a gun theft. Talk about starting out with some excitement! They told me, that this particular guy was on parole for, get
BUCKY IS THAT YOU? The other day a deer walked by the back yard fence. This was a large male with at least 4 points of antler, the biggest I have ever seen over the fence, and he strode proudly, head high, not an ounce of fear or intimidation in
EUROPEAN? Ok, so here I am in Lyon, France, enjoying the tail end of our southern France river cruise. We are docked at the pier, having a drink in the lounge, the wife and I. It is a cool, cloudy, day in Lyon, and we are watching the foot traffic
THE FARMERS MARKET Back when my wife and I were first engaged, we made plans to minimize our possessions before moving into our new house, to avoid duplication and clutter. It was simple, everything that we had two of, or just no use for in the new house, would be
ONCE STAINED, TWICE SHY After having the house remodeled and new wood floors installed throughout, my lovely wife and I invited a number of friends over to see the new digs. Conversation flowed, as did wine, laughter, and stories about the ups and downs of the construction of our now