I smoke marijuana (medical), drink Russian vodka (political, Go Vlad!) and take two pills from Big Pharma every morning to address my lifelong hypertension. When I was enlisting in the National Guard at 17 they…
Posts published in “Essays”
According to legend, my mother's dad whistled like a pro. Supposedly as he tinkered around the farm, he taught Jazz tunes to the mockingbird that followed him from job to job, entertaining from a lofty…
The Albion River and its close environs bears little resemblance to its appearance when I was a boy. Then you could walk or drive unimpeded up Allan's Gulch to the southeast of this house. Just…
When I arrive at Soledad State Prison the first person I meet is the mother of the groom. She comes forward in the bright sunlight beside the squat building, the Visitors Receiving Center. “Hi, I'm Diane,…
I'm sitting here looking at the February 11 issue of this journal and wondering what I should make of the fact of my work being honored with placement on the front page, above the fold,…
A BBC Breakfast interview with 95-year-old Dresden firebombing survivor Victor Gregg aired last month in the UK on the 70th anniversary of the attacks. This ten-minute video should be required viewing for all, but especially…
Finally, serious steps are being taken to curtail baseball's deadly chewing tobacco habit — proposed legislation that would ban its use throughout California beginning next year. The great need for a ban should be obvious.…
As recently reported, Marcia and I are getting more airplay for our music on KVRF, a radio station in Palmer, Alaska, than we’ve had anywhere else in these United States, and our song getting the most play recently is “Goody’s Song” with lyrics based on a poem by my grandmother.
Two things that have been legalized in Colorado but haven't yet in most states are (non-Indian) casinos and "recreational" marijuana. If you think the two go together, think again. The casino owners want their customers…