Window on the World Column | Competition
When I first moved to this little farm town, we had no proper grocery store, just corner markets. Actually, we boasted no larger stores at all! We had to travel to Greenfield to shop at Nob Hill or buy everything in Salinas before we...
Funny Papers Again Column | Oklahoma City to the Big Apple: How Many More Memorials Will We Need?
One late afternoon some years ago I stood among rows of uniformly sized brass markers placed with military precision in the grass at the Riverside National Cemetery. At my feet was my fatherās marker, and this was my annual pilgrimage to his final resting...
Worthy to Print Column | Paratrooper Boots
Today is one of those days where the memories came flooding in. I got up and dressed in my usual attire ā sweater, light jacket and paratrooper boots. Thatās when I saw it, a Jump Certificate from Sky Dive Monterey. The name on the...
Worthy to Print Column | Murphyās Law
Have you ever heard of a guy named Edsel Murphy? He was not a politician or a doctor or any of the professions that are common. You may have heard the name, but perhaps you donāt know why it sounds so familiar. But whether...
Funny Papers Again Column | A Closed Park Has No Spark
This weekās headline is bit light-hearted, I thought it would help ease you folks into helping out with a situation here in Salinas Valley that for many is not a light subject at all. I am talking about the long closure of San Lorenzo...
Funny Papers Again Column | On the Road Again; Just Canāt Wait
I will remember this month, this May of 2024, as one of journalistic chaos and donāt you wanna know why? Let me tell you why; and in the telling offer up a plea of āguilty with prejudiceā to the charge of Unwarranted Opinion.
If one...
Funny Papers Again Column | Some Words on Plaques and Arts on This First Day of 2025
In elementary and high school, we used Mr. or Mrs. or Miss or Ms. or Coach, or in some cases Sister or Brother or Father, when addressing teachers; I suspect in most schools at that level it is still the case. Last summer I...
Letter to the Editor | Tales of the Baddies
To the Editor:
We much enjoyed Steve Wilsonās column about gangsters he has known ā or at least, thought about (āWords From One Bad Guy to Another,ā June 29). Itās exciting to review the daring exploits of these cunning reprobates and satisfying when the sheriff...
Letter to the Editor | Agenciesā Handling of Homeless Is Commendable
To the Editor:
I would like to take the time to commend our City Council, Mayor Mike LeBarre, City Manager Steve Adams, our Police Department headed by Chief Keith Boyd, and the Monterey County Sheriffās Office for their thoughtful responses to the King City areaās...
Worthy to Print Column | The Good Ones Always Leave Early
In 1940, American author Ernest Hemingway wrote a book named āFor Whom the Bell Tolls.ā It wasnāt his best book, but it had a few passages that reminded me this past week that he certainly had a way with words. The title of the...

















