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Posts published in “Essays”

Fish, Game & Halibut

When the salmon bite turns off, local anglers have traditionally turned to halibut and striped bass fishing to keep their rods bent. The 2008 and 2009 seasons were prime examples — -years when the salmon…

It’s Not 1955 Anymore

A senior female paused to look at the AVA shirts we were selling, reading out loud to herself, “Fanning the Flames of Discontent.” Then she asked, “What am I supposed to be discontented with?” A…

Der Super-Porno

Spotting an acquaintance in an airport can be unsettling. Should you say hello or disappear wordlessly down the concourse? It’s especially awkward when you spot that friend lurking among the smut section in a bookstore/giftshop…

An Elder On The Playa

Why, a reader might ask, would a perfectly sensible woman old enough for Social Security allow herself to leave the peace and quiet of Comptche for a trip into the inhospitable middle of no place…

The Fair

The tradition of a fair goes back to Roman times, when the authorities would declare an intermission of labor and tradesmen from afar sold their wares. In the Middle Ages, fairs were tied to religious…

Radical Convergence At Post-Modern Museum

The cover of the SF Weekly’s Fall Arts Guide (9/5-11) trumpeted “Radical CLASSICAL — local chamber musicians are leading a global revolution.” The featured string quartet, Classical Revolution, looking more like informally dressed jazz musicians…

Reine Claude (Green Gage) Plums by Anne Fashauer

My aunt and uncle had a small orchard outside the house where I now live and in that orchard are two plum trees that occasionally deliver some of the tastiest plums around - green gage…

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