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Posts published in “Essays”

Salvaging The Palace

Carolyn Kiernat, a principal in the Page & Turnbull firm in SF, asked me to submit this opinion piece on her behalf. Page & Turnbull, a firm renowned as a California leader in preserving and…

A Few Years Before The Mast

The surfers describe it best: They refer to it as “Answering the calling.” I got it from my dad whose family had been in the oyster business in Chesapeake Bay. Then there was Uncle Merrit…

In Mors, Veritas

One day more than 25 years ago my mom called me and asked me to drop by. This was nothing unusual; my parents lived nearby and I saw them regularly. When I walked into their…

Killer Horses

Before his birth, Ed Sniece's mother galloped her steed down the cinder traces of the old railroad bed parallel to the river. Her favorite bonnet usually dislodged no farther west than the Macdonald ranch. Like…

Strong Towns, Weak Agenda

Ukiah’s City officials are hoping to rev up some of that old school spirit with an artificial “competition” among a few other cities, probably none so deficient as Ukiah, but you play the hand you’ve…

Frisco, Macy’s & The White Working Class Male

Did I cry when the newspapers announced that Macy’s in San Francisco was closing? No, I didn’t, though I have known about Macy’s and have shopped there on and off and mostly off for more…

Meeting Doug Holland

I was going to be up in the Seattle area and wondered what it would be like to meet Doug Holland, who chronicles his daily life with a blog (‘Diary Of A Fat Slob’), a…

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