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Posts published in “Essays”

Reflections

Since the election of Donald Trump, I have been haunted by aphorisms. Nothing happens in a vacuum. Everything is connected. There are no accidents. Life is but a dream.

My Days at ‘The Clinic’

In 1994 I called the Anderson Valley Health Center from a phone connected to a Redwood tree stump. I was in the third year of clearing land, milling wood, and building our house. I was…

Countdown At The Trough

If you have been paying attention—and if you haven't, shame! There will be a quiz at the conclusion of this installment — you know that around this time last year I wrote an epic poem…

Jesu: Bach’s Timeless Broth

For many it remains an open question whether the tricentenary of one of J. S. Bach’s most famous tunes—or, to be more precise, the work that eventually spawned that tune—should be a moment of celebration…

Assemblyman Wood: Trump Election Sparks Marijuana ‘Uncertainty’

State Assemblymember Jim Wood has told the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors that the presidential election of Donald Trump has brought “uncertainty” to California, with health care and marijuana regulation being two main aspects. Wood…

HumCo Ponders Pot Tax Evasion Loophole

Humboldt County has set its state and federal lobbying priorities for the coming year and one of the top-ranking items identifies a significant obstacle to collecting marijuana grow taxes. The county’s Board of Supervisors considered…

A Note From The Emerald Cup

MaryLynn Mathre chaired a panel on “Medical Access for Veterans”  at the Emerald Cup in Santa Rosa on Sunday.  MLM was a lieutenant in the Navy Nurse Corps during the Vietnam War era.  She married…

Brahms & The Tears of Britain’s Oppressed

London — ‘Tis the season to think about the next season. Before letting the wave of Christmas gifts crash of over their heads and/or into the digital stockings, and before undertaking their own yuletide retail…

Give Thanks For The Golden State

For over a month now, at least half of the nation has been suffering from PTSD: Pre-Trump Stress Disorder. Our nation has self-inflicted a very serious sickness - actually, a relapse of a recurring, chronic, ugly syndrome. And when Patti Smith, standing in for Bob Dylan at the recent Nobel ceremony, sang his "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna Fall," I could only think, Alas, yes indeed.

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