As you’re boiling water for coffee, you turn on the morning news – recurring loops of crime, traffic and weather bracketed by ads you’ve heard thousands of times. In Northern California the company providing the…
Posts published by “Fred Gardner”
Not long ago, we had weak weed – extremely dry marijuana from Mexico, full of seeds and containing less than 5% THC. To facilitate transport (and make the load heavier) many growers would pour a…
Steve Kline was a Sp4 stationed at Fort Jackson when Donna Mickleson and I met him in December 1967. We were transforming a failed Tiki bar on Main St. in Columbia, South Carolina, into a…
In 1969, journalists Andrew Kopkind and James Ridgeway started a Washington-based biweekly newsletter called Mayday. They were soon enjoined by lawyers representing a publication of that name devoted to safe boating. (“M’aidez” in French means…
We’re moving from the East Bay to the Wine Country, one carload at a time. I promised Rosie I would bring all her possessions and not try to distinguish between the useless stuff and the treasures.…
Over the years we’ve noted a trend in the American language whereby two words are made to substitute for one. I’m sure we’ve missed some and would appreciate any additions you, dear reader, can provide.…
My medical problem wasn't as grave as Bruce Anderson's (described in the AVA February 28), but I, too, have been impressed by and grateful for the care I received at UCSF's Mission Bay campus. My…