It used to be that you’d duck out of a smoke-filled jazz show for a much-needed gulp of fresh air. Bebop was breathless in more than one sense: not only fast, but also dangerous to…
Posts published in “Essays”
Time is not just relative. It’s political, too. We often measure our lives by presidential terms: the Carter years; Clinton time; Bush I; Bush II? The end of time under Trump? Time can be bent…
The forecast for August 8th was ominous. The temperature in Portland was predicted to breach 100 hundred degrees for the second time in a couple weeks. In the end, the mercury stalled at 96 degrees…
I turned on my TV at about nine-thirty Tuesday night. I wanted to see what the paid liars were saying about the fiasco of an election, and which of the “choices” offered them our ill-informed…
The anniversary of Jack London’s death on November 22, 1916 is near. In honor of the occasion, which I will observe, we might revisit some of his ideas and take another look at his life.…
Here on the Macdonald ranch mid-autumn is a time to pick apples. In my youth, keeper varieties were stored in rectangular wooden bins on the kitchen porch. Rhode Island greenings were peeled and cooked into…
As an historian nearing the end of writing my first draft of a history of Mendocino County from 1852-2002 I can’t help but being intrigued by some of the people I’ve researched — like Aurelius…
I’ve said this before but it needs to be said again, it’s never a good idea for elected officials to pick a fight with folks they shouldn’t really be picking fights with. But that’s exactly…
To effectively address social, political and economic injustice suffered by working class Mexican Americans requires an understanding of the deep and corrosive impact of shame.