Opinion

I was very pleased with myself after hammering out a column well before the deadline with only one more proofreading before I sent it off to Ryan well in time for him to do his magic to make it ready for Wednesday publication. It...

We have just celebrated this country’s 246th birthday, a new country born with the words “We the people of the United States of America …”; this was the first time the name appeared to the world. This new country was democratically governed, economically capitalistic...

Another week in our beautiful town and another week closer to the election that will determine who is to lead our fair city for the next few years. I am a follower of all things political that is happening in our nation’s capitol. In...

As the first column of a new year on the ol’ Gregorian Calendar, one could hold the expectation that the tradition of making resolutions, presumably of personal betterment, containing a goal or goals. The history of this tradition is fascinating, and if you are...

Readers will recall last week’s column left off with my first solo truck run to the other valley to gather grape rootings for transplant here on the Oasis Road development we now know as San Bernabe Vineyard. Before we head over the hills, though,...

Fifteen years is a long time; but is it? Time compresses and expands like an accordion, often catching you off guard. A memory popped up, as they do in the infinite world of social media memory. It made me stop and examine that face....

You know, living in the Salinas Valley is a pretty cool place to live. Except for the rain we have been enjoying lately, it is very much like the valley I grew up in. Well, maybe not as cool. In the summer we could...

It’s about this time of year that I look for her even more often. It is the season of the long sunny days and twinkly black-night skies. It is the season of the dragonfly. Whenever I see my first dragonfly of the year, I...

How suitable is it that this year, Remembrance Sunday, falls on Nov. 9 — the 25th anniversary of my mother’s death. On that day, I shall coincidentally be in my hometown, the place we both loved, to honor her memory, and all the time...

They say that when you do — or don’t do — something consistently for three weeks, it becomes your new habit. I’ve tried to practice that theory various times in my life, such as a new exercise or diet regime. There is something to...