It was rainy but we donned our boots and drove over anyway. We met my niece and the little man climbed up on the bed of the multicultural float with she and some friends. Then my sister and her family arrived. We stood in the rain, as much with candy as water. It was a [...]
by The AVA
BLUE TATTOOS Editor, On May 2, 2011, my husband and I were paying our bills and getting money orders from the usual place. Outside there was a cop talking to my husband. I had no idea what was going on. I put my bag in the truck and looked over to see what they were [...]
The French are for the millionaire. The Americans are for the maid. Among the French, three out of five think the IMF’s former managing director, Dominique Strauss-Kahn, has been framed. (Strauss-Kahn tendered his resignation as head of the IMF May 18.) Here in the USA there’s not been a reliable poll, but public sentiment is [...]
“Give to every other human being every right you claim for yourself — that is my doctrine.” — Thomas Paine “What constitutes the bulwark of our own liberty and independence? It is not. . .our army and navy. . .Our reliance is in the love of liberty which God has implanted in us. Our defense [...]
by Steve Heilig
About a decade ago, I interviewed Latino musical legend Carlos Santana near his longtime home in Marin, just as he was about to explode in popularity again after long years of lower profile here in the USA (but continuing huge popularity elsewhere). He was great to hang out with; a bit guarded at first, as [...]
by Todd Walton
“Truth is the only safe ground to stand upon.” — Elizabeth Cady Stanton Morning: A beautiful day in Mendocino, the rhododendrons madly blooming, the headlands a riot of wild roses and wild irises and wild mustard, while across the ocean a terrible thing is happening: four nuclear reactors in Japan are out of control, melting [...]
by Steve Sparks
As a nearby neighbor, it was decided that Maire came to my house and we sat down in the dining room, she with a cup of peppermint tea and me with a large mug of coffee, and the ‘interview’ began. Maire was born in Helsinki, Finland in December 1942 to mother Toini Lehtinen and father [...]
Greetings one and all. If you are sitting comfortably then I shall begin. Despite my quite substantial weekly intake of wine, primarily for health reasons as you know, I didn’t really take part in any of the Pinot Festival activities that took place here in the Valley last weekend. No doubt the many experts in [...]
Many years ago while browsing the bookstore, I ran across a book which contained the addresses of famous sports legends. Well! It was the middle of winter and I had nothing better to do, so I bought the book, sat down and wrote letters to some of my favorite old ball players. Willie Stargell. Carlton [...]
Many years ago, my great-grandparents, Arthur and Elsie Allen, were given a lot on old Coyote Valley. They cleared it and planted grapes. The pace at which the land was cleared upset the local agent of the Bureau of Indian Affairs. It seems unlikely that they ever planned to make a life on the parcel. [...]
