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Posts published in “Essays”

The Soul Searchers

I was minding my own business when I heard the thump of heavy footwear on the porch. I stepped outside in time to intercept two neatly dressed young women, carrying shiny briefcases and purses. Their…

The Dangerous Lessons of the Tobie Case

In 2003, Lifeworks group home manager Jack Graves recruited a known juvenile criminal named Kevin Tobie, who had been kicked out of San Francisco public schools because he'd been convicted of serious juvenile weapons crimes,…

The Stone and Kelsey Massacre

(Editor’s note: William Ralganal Benson was born in 1862 and learned about these events directly from those who took part. Having spoken only a Pomo language as a youth and never having attended school, Benson…

The Day After Christmas

The days after Christmas, we finally got the first rain in about a month, so there wasn’t anything to do but sit around the house and read books or watch the kids entertain one another.…

The Ghost of Christmas Past

Here we are, back in the suicide season: It’s Christmas time. Half of us are thinking not of our fellow man and woman, but of pills and pistols; the other half goes shopping, partyies and…

Used Otto, Inc.

With a keen sense of political irony, Otto Reich, Bush's former overlord for Latin America, chose the morning of the November elections to publicly unveil his latest venture, Otto Reich & Associates, Inc., a Beltway…

Danny Kuny Looks Back

Long-time Valley resident Danny Kuny is leaving the Valley. He wanted to speak his mind one last time before he left.

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