Funny Papers Again Column | A New, Bright Street and an Old, Dark Ballet
If I were to offer up a descriptive sentence regarding the city’s newly upgraded main thoroughfare, it would be peppered with adjectives leading to superlatives and culminating with comparatives; i.e. “Like the revitalization seen in Old Town in Salinas, the City of King is...
Worthy to Print Column | Kicking Up Your Heels — Not
I believe that if you didn’t have a good time these past couple of weekends, you must have been hiding. Our weekend started off having a great time and seeing friends that have been out of our usual destination. Let’s start out with a...
Window on the World Column | Summer Travel Woes 2022
I am a British Citizen, born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, in 1963. I have lived in the USA since 1988 and have been a dual national and dual passport holder since 2003 without incident. I have always felt safer traveling the world with two passports,...
Funny Papers Again Column | Music, Music, Who Has the Music?
Many times, over the past five decades I drove between Southern California and the Salinas Valley on El Camino Real, aka the 101, and so am very acquainted with the stretch of asphalt from Santa Barbara to SoMoCo. Now, like motorists everywhere finding a...
Window on the World Column | The Marvel of a Vaccine
It was 2020 and, like a champ, I had the flu and the pneumonia vaccination in one foul swoop. It was recommended for us folks of a certain age. We weathered mild side effects from both shots, and I didn’t get either virus. Result…...
Window on the World Column | In the Bleak Midwinter
About this time of year — February blending into March — I can get really sick and tired of winter. Folks back home might have a chortle at that; because, yeah, I know, we don’t really have “winter” per se in our neck of...
Funny Papers Again Column | Taking the Easy Way Out Ain’t Always Easy
It is easy to sit down at the keyboard and churn out a thousand words when the subject has some local interest, which I can do for no other reason than I have some very vivid memories of life here in the Valley that...
Window on the World Column | Love Is All That Matters
I’ve never got hung up on Fathers, Mothers, Sisters, Brothers … if we grew up together, then you are mine, and sometimes you are mine if we didn’t. Most of my family are bits and pieces from all over the place and I think...
Funny Papers Again Column | A South County Scene: One Block on One Street in One Town
Some years ago, in a library in Southern California, I gave a book to a young lady in hopes she would find it a compelling story. She replied she had heard of the book but had yet to read it and thanked me for...
