With fifteen major league baseball teams training in the Phoenix area, you would think that a baseball fan would be in heaven, racing from ballfield to ballfield collecting autographs and taking in the atmosphere. On…
Posts published in “Essays”
When the money ran out, we packed up and headed back to the states. I confess I was a little sad to leave Paris and the relative safety of the situation. The gang had insulated…
It’s long past time to end the insanity of making industrial hemp cultivation illegal in the US. It’s hurting our already faltering economy. Making industrial hemp a legal crop could rapidly create millions of well…
Last week’s AVA contained a letter to the editor from a spokesperson for a group that calls itself “Friends of Enchanted Meadow (FOEM).” FOEM presently seeks $15,000 in donations for a matching grant to preserve…
Unable to attend the forum on the homeless that was held in Mendocino near the end of January, I did read the three articles in the Mendocino Beacon that reported in some detail and with…
Anybody foolish enough to spend much time reading online comments on any remotely controversial article or news story knows that this is one way to despair of modern humanity.
Mom and pop gold panning is enjoying a rebirth in California. I examined a few videos about stream panning, and decided instead to renew my interest in ocean beachcombing after Googling, “What’s more expensive than…
It’s Friday afternoon. An unseasonal sun bakes the city with a gratifying if alarming tropical malaise. Tiny birds sing in the trees. There’s a case of frozen corn dogs in the freezer and half a…
It's Black History Month, a good time to honor the Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters, one of the most important yet too often overlooked leaders in the long struggle for racial equality and union rights.…