Opinion

As I get back into the swing of things here in South Valley, I want to offer up some random thoughts, or comments, garnered from notes taken over the past few weeks both here at home and on the road. The first observation is...

My friend from Salinas works for Monterey County and is a proverbial animal nut like me. She contacted me one day and told me that her husband had been working out on Metz Road and the residents there had told him about a stray...

March is National Nutrition Month, an excellent time to examine your eating habits and make small incremental changes that will positively impact your health for the long term. We all know that life can be busy and stressful at times. It’s easy to fall into...

When I was a very young man, I rode around with my dad as he went from field to field down in Santa Maria. It was just about my favorite thing to do. My dad was the foreman of a company that grew flowers...

“Yours is the last dad,” she stated emphatically. Yes. All my friends’ dads have passed away. Of our generation, there is one mother and one father remaining on the planet and then we will be the top generation. That is a rather sobering thought. On...

We have been living through some perilous times. I have heard from my relatives, my friends and even some neighbors. Things are not as they should be. Maybe this election will change us for the better. Maybe they will have a vaccine for this...

There’s something about being an author that is very addictive. Sometimes you can be midway through the tedious proofing of a manuscript — most writers’ least favorite thing — and already be working on the plot for the next book. Sometimes — as is the...

I’m not a fan of January. I used to be back when I was young, you see I was born in January. Mr. Maker, the best teacher in the world, told me that many famous people were born in January. I used to brag...

I am grateful for Mee Memorial Healthcare System, I really am. In the past decade I have had more contact with the folks there than I wanted to, but as one ages one must face the realities of natural physical deterioration or, as in...