Claudio Abbado was conducting Mussorgsky right next to the Dave Brubeck Quintet. The collision made crazy, coincidental sense, a compelling mash-up: Taking Five on Bald Mountain. Nearby, Elly Ameling sang Bach while leaning on a…
Posts published in “Essays”
In the summer of 1966 my father (who was then General Manager of the Danish Creamery Co-op in Fresno) asked me if I wanted to fill in for a couple of weeks while one of…
So my old pal Jimmy Eldridge, living alone and already at fair remove from the best of health, went ahead and fell down enough times to frighten his kids. They moved him to an old…
I’ve sung this song but I’ll sing it again, about George Meany, President of the AFL-CIO, accepting Richard Nixon’s invitation to a party at the White House instead of leading a march of union members.…
Ever wonder why Vet visits are causing folks to take out a second mortgage to pay for an office visit? Many people consider their pets family, so when a pet gets sick, they will often…
As an activist/organizer in the medical marijuana movement, Pebbles Trippet had a vested interest in ending prohibition: she was a migraine sufferer for whom smoking the plant provided relief. Excruciating headaches had onset in childhood.…
A couple weeks back the New York Times Magazine featured a laudatory article on the miracle of the opioid addiction medication Suboxone (buprenorphine and naloxone), itself an opioid), hailed first as an “orphan” drug initially…
I’m gonna charge tariffs You’re gonna have to pay And pray for your sad little 4 0 1 K You’ll do it my way I’m gonna close food banks No more surplus cheese Until I…