Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in “Essays”

A Thanksgiving Quiz

1. What was Squanto's real name? a. Tisquantum. b. Hiawathasquan. c. Squanto. d. Mabotesquantimentocontik.   2. Who was considered the leader of the Pilgrim settlers whose ship, originally bound for Jamestown, North Carolina, wound up…

Thanks to People Who Just Get it.

The night before last I made the cornbread stuffing. I was telling my boyfriend how there is nothing to it but an hour in, (I was working really, really slow) it was clear that his…

River Views

Autumn turns toward winter and Thanksgiving is upon us. At this time of year the old timers of this area, the Pomo, gathered acorns, storing them in watertight baskets inside huts made from brush, willow…

Road Notes: North For The Winter Redux

Early morning, a donut shop in Ukiah. I half-stumble from my room at Motel 6, hoping a large coffee will set my internal latitude and longitude back to coordinated. It helps. In the donut shop…

From East Germany To The Electoral College

The American electoral system is a difficult thing to explain to Europeans with a long tradition of proportional representation. My first two-year stretch spent living in Berlin between 2003 and 2005 coincided with the endless…

Behind The Twinkie Defense

The apparent demise of the Twinkie brings back memories for me. A dozen police cars had been set on fire, which in turn set off their alarms, underscoring the angry shouts from 5,000 understandably angry…

What’s New?

“Life is full of obstacle illusions.” — Grant Frazier A recent San Francisco 49ers game ended in a tie with the St. Louis Rams, the first professional football game to end in a tie in four years.…

-