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Posts published in “Essays”

That Was Zen, This Is Tao

In a way, the Not-So-Simple Living Fair reminds me of Lao Tzu… the Chinese sage whose mother was pregnant with him for 80 years until finally, he was born an old man. Even though the Not-So-Simple Living Fair is only five years old, the idea was conceived a long time ago.

Should Pot Farmers Get The Water?

We are deep into 2014 and the drought ain’t about to quit. Already, we’ve had some barn-burners this summer — you can fry a bass on the side of Ukiah most days. Reservoirs are low,…

Anthrax, Ghosts & Dominoes In Prison

Revenge is an airborne disease in prison, one that seeps beneath the skin and pervades the atmosphere like a deadly fog. An inmate’s honor, once impugned, seems to require action, and the most common method…

Food Prices

“U.S. food prices are on the rise, raising a sensitive question: When the cost of a hamburger patty soars, does it count as inflation?” — Ben Leubsdorf and Jon Kilsenrath The sentence above opens a…

Crime & Punishment In The Garden

The mouse sniffed its way through the dark. Rejecting the wild pea vines, it scurried past the oak barrels full of strawberry plants. Been there, snipped that, tucked away in its nest. The mouse knew…

Hugh Scaramella: December 21, 1948 – July 5, 2014

The Republican convention of July 1952 was the first televised national convention. Although my younger brother Hugh was only four years old, he sat, transfixed, for all five days. Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Earl Warren,…

Perceptions of Wealth

Say what we will about the silliness of Hillary Clinton claiming to be dead broke when she and Bill exited the White House in 2001 to make way for George “Picasso” Bush, at least her ridiculous boast brought to light the collective insanity of the obscenely wealthy.

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