Volunteers are the lifeblood of our community. They give tirelessly of themselves in the service of others. And they receive nothing more than a simple “thank you,” a smile on the face of someone they’ve helped, or that inner satisfaction of knowing that they have... Continue
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For most of human existence a nomadic way of life was life itself. Moving with the seasons alongside migrating animals while establishing temporary lodging lasted hundreds of thousands of years. The simple non-industrial hunter-gatherer style of life produced no garbage; everything used was natural and... Continue
It’s cold. Reminds me of our sister city, Kaniv, in the Ukraine, only its high is our low. So, if you’re complaining about the weather, think about Kaniv. Our sister city relationship in Kaniv is in slumber and like any hibernating animal, Sonoma hopes that... Continue
Holiday hairballs abound this time of year. Some relationships have ended. As we reflect back, we realize that some stopped abruptly and some were never completed. Why do we split off, instead of mending these split ends? I hear it all the time: “Hey, I’m... Continue
I like getting the newspaper every day. I like the ritual of looking for it in the darkend driveway, and plopping it down on the kitchen table. I read the the “funnies” last, holding off what for me is the most revealing part of the... Continue
Human existence can be organized within two orders of experience. A first order experience is felt: unmediated sensory awareness responding moment to moment to the space around us. A second order experience includes image and thought, which arise due to the first order experience, and... Continue
“When the dust settles, we’ll all still be here.” And so here we are, in the aftermath of the Measure B election, and we now have a great opportunity for a deeper community discussion on land use and development issues. It was a hard-fought election,... Continue
I grew up with All-American images of clean-cut baseball heroes -- Mickey Mantle, Whitey Ford and the like. Despite later revelations of alcohol problems, their images as wholesome, talented sportsmen resonated across the 1950s and contributed to the backdrop of conformist cultural forms against which a... Continue
Dear Bonnie, This year I changed jobs, got a divorce (it’s final), sold my house, changed jobs and moved. I started thinking that even though the house sale isn’t taxable because my profit was well within the exemption limit, I wonder if my tax picture... Continue
Wow, what a wind we had last week. Fences, trees and garbage cans had a tough go of it, but on the bright side, all those pesky leaves littering my yard were blown into the corner of my yard for easy pick-up. All those leaves,... Continue