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Posts published in “Essays”

Appreciating 2024; Anticipating 2025

The New Year that was about to happen has now arrived. Worldwide communication fills the air with dire predictions, warnings and laments. It is hard to remember a world in which you had to wait…

Mistletoe

Why does the presence of mistletoe –a parasitic plant that roots in oaks and other host trees– confer the right to kiss whoever you're with? The answer occurred to John Lee, MD, a family practitioner…

Pot Pulp

The paperback cover of Marijuana Girl that ran in yesterday's AVA was provided by Michael R. Aldrich, PhD – one of two that accompanied a review of the book in O'Shaughnessy's. Dr. Aldrich wrote: ‘Marijuana…

Remembering Richard Petersen

I was driving through the County last week and my mind began to travel along with me back to a time when I was younger. I thought about several people who I truly miss now…

Christmas Truce

This is from Randy Rowland, a member of Veterans for Peace in Seattle (and a leader of the Presidio “Mutiny” in 1968). We drove to Sarasota, Florida to check out a theater presentation called “All…

My Favorite Christmas Eve

My favorite Christmas started out as one of the worst, because we had been snowed in for days without power, thinking for sure we would be spending the holiday in a freezing house without a…

Christmas 2024: Ho, Ho & Hum

There once were holidays when I wrote sad words and heartbreaking paragraphs about the commercialization of Christmas, but by 2024 anyone caught moaning such rubbish would be brought up on charges of Journalism Malpractice (Second…

Road Warrior

From the classified ad I guessed the job was delivering packages and paperwork, but in no time at all I found myself with a badge on my chest, a gun on my hip, roaring around…

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