The final song on the Eagles' Hotel California album is called, “The Last Resort,” and Don Henley's closing line says, “You call some place paradise, kiss it goodbye.” At the risk of invoking that truism,…
Posts published in “Essays”
Years before the dawn of tweeting and texting, I ran a summer writing program for high school kids who wanted to become professional writers. The teachers I hired were accomplished, open-minded, inspiring writers who could clearly communicate their ideas about the craft of writing.
Once upon a time, members of my generation broke free and created what was labeled a “counter culture.” Because the surrounding culture was not living up to our young ideals, we began creating our own…
One of the ways this reporter has lived the Navarro River is visiting its swimming holes on those steamy hundred degree days in August when there's nowhere else in the Valley to be after 11…
The SF JAZZ Center opened its doors little more than a year ago in San Francisco’s once seedy Hayes Valley, a place now bustling with boutiques and restaurants. Come evening and concert time, there are…
Uh-oh; any time Gordon called me it tended to mean trouble brewing. He was a man-about town with "no identifiable means of support" who lived high on multiple hogs. People speculated he was a drug dealer,…
My years in Anderson Valley, from the late 1950s through the late 1980s, included a fair share of medical issues for my parents, my siblings and myself. When my parents’ summer camp, El Rancho Navarro, was in session, medical issues multiplied — perfectly natural with an additional 120 children on hand, even with a nurse on staff. Stuff happened and when it did, we depended on local and — on serious stuff — regional resources, with the hope that they were up to the challenge.