Chapter 35: 1947 • Sonora Missive to Marceline (part 1 of 2) When our cousin Marceline turned seventeen (the same age Mom was when she married Dad), she became engaged to a young man named Roy. She wrote my mother of her wedding plans; Mom... Continue
Columnist
In its rush to solve a so-called housing crisis, actually a housing affordability crisis, California has disenfranchised the power of local government to determine what’s best for the community it serves. New state land-use and housing laws effectively eliminate many of the choices, options, and... Continue
Chapter 34: 1947 • Sonora (continuation of my brother’s diary) 1947 • Larry’s diary (age 13) Apr 1 Received pay of five dollars and paid father on radio Apr 2 Bought hatchet and knife. Chopped down a small bush for my paper route. Bought stamps and... Continue
Money, it seems it is all people are talking about. Gas is over $6 a gallon, food prices are up, and most homes in Sonoma Valley are selling for $1,000,000 or more. But, how much money makes one rich today? There has been a lot... Continue
It's an unsettling time for the heart. We alternate from grief and fear to feeling grateful or grumpy. More killing of innocent beings, political divides, vaccine arguments, income and fire fears, abortion threats and personal loss alongside gladness for spring socializing – it’s all too... Continue
The dark clouds on the periphery of my progressive political stronghold are drawing nearer. We see the full extent of the successful 40-year drive of the cultural conservatives, backed by unlimited right-wing oligarch money, politicized prosperity gospel evangelicals, and ruthless Republican political operatives... Continue
My wife and I offered to drive our granddaughter to an appointment in Santa Rosa, and as we neared the destination, we passed an In-N-Out Burger. In-N-Out is a fast food joint, in case you don’t know, and apparently very popular. My wife and I... Continue
I grow intestinal polyps as well as the wine country grows grapes. Such polyps, benign growths when small and young, can become pre-cancerous if allowed to mature; accordingly, every three years I have a colonoscopy and any polyps are removed. The worst part of having... Continue
It’s not surprising that the threat to destroy Roe V. Wade has shown its ugly head at the same time as a desperate, bloody war and a horrible white supremacist attack in Buffalo. All three are expressions of patriarchy gone haywire as power elites strive... Continue
We are constantly reminded that Planetary Doom is inevitable if we don't get our greenhouse-gassing/carbon-emitting/arctic-melting/deforestating/overfishing/over-eating/under-exercising/over-dumping and plastic under control by 2050. After that, the planet as we know it (yes, even the Plaza) will become a giant Apocalyptic movie set. And Humans with our gassy/trashy/smashy/TicToc... Continue