Press "Enter" to skip to content

Posts published in September 2018

On Rejoining Society

First, I would like to state for the record that my intent in recounting the following tale is not to brag, or preen, or pump myself up and toot my personal horn with the air…

Mendocino County Snapshot, 1950

One of the astonishing aspects of our internet-connected world is the ability to discover – and buy – stuff we never knew we wanted. Amazon and eBay have become great enablers, but almost every commercial…

White Boy Rick

There's a certain beautiful sadness to the Northgate Mall, a mostly deserted collection of modest shops and restaurants featuring the requisite American staples: discount knitwear in 17 shades of pink, three-pound honey-soaked gluten-free cinnabuns and Ethiopian espresso by the jug, kiosk islands dedicated to repairing cracked iPhone screens while you wait, a video game store front displaying the latest vamped-up cartoon princess death-mammas toting laser-guided plasma cannons and titanium nipple bombs, and a few dozen stalwarts like myself, shuffling in blissful catatonia beneath the piss-pop muzak and happy shouts of toddlers climbing aboard the plastic trains in the FunZone, while the ironically smiling kid opens up the Mini-Bungee Jump, conveniently ringed by Wonder-Pretzel, Cookie-Heaven and Monsieur Pizza's By The Slice, free refills on sizes jumbo deluxe and up...

Off the Record (Sep. 26, 2018)

THE 9th U.S. CIRCUIT COURT OF APPEALS has ruled that it's unconstitutional to ban homeless people from sleeping on the streets. “Just as the state may not criminalize the state of being ‘homeless in public…

The Birth Of Cacha

We had a severe fright mid-month when Juan came running to us to report that Kayak, one of our yaks, had given birth. We were unaware that she was pregnant.

Valley People (Sep. 26, 2018)

ERNIE BLATTNER. A memorial service for Ernie Blattner will be held in Ukiah on Saturday, September 29th at 11 o’clock at the First Baptist Church, 300 West Smith Street, Ukiah. A lunch reception will follow…

-