Opinion

It would be an understatement to say that 2020 has been a difficult year. By all standards, our world seems to have been turned upside down. From the small things that we took for granted, to larger, more important things, like our relationships with...

Last week I wrote a little to explain why Special Forces are such revered soldiers. It is because they have studied small unit warfare for at least three months back at Fort Bragg, the home of Special Forces. This is where they earn the...

Every fine time is far more enjoyable if first one experiences some minor hardships along the way. As I write I am sitting on a second-floor balcony at the Hotel Lake Maggiori in Locarno, Ticino, Switzerland. It is 10 minutes after four in the...

This week I am of a mind to not dedicate my word allotment upon one subject but rather touch upon a couple items gleaned from various sources. One source, our local Rustler, had three entries in last week’s issue; two were about the local...

The other day my wife’s cousin and his wife gave me a little book of memoirs written by a young man who had been drafted into the Army during the Vietnam War. I sat down to read a few chapters and it got me...

The Covid-19 pandemic has dominated the headlines for 18 months — and rightly so. But there is another respiratory virus that still demands our full attention. I’m referring to the all-too-common influenza, a viral infection that can be deadly, especially in high-risk groups. The flu...

Greetings and congratulations to those of you who have completed the prescribed course of academia and have now, or soon will be, granted a diploma from your respective Salinas Valley schools. As has been pointed out to you all, your graduation is an important...

While not referring to any particular county supervisor in last week’s Funny Papers, I did address the board in general with hopes some public remarks would be forthcoming regarding the continued closure of San Lorenzo Park. I now want to address some specific remarks...

This column about Homecoming appearing 12 days after the events of that week is not a mistake, I felt that coverage in last week’s edition needed nothing further about the subject, so it appears this week as planned. A bit of confusion arose in my...

One of the best things about writing for this periodical is the trip I often take as I try to find a subject that might peak your interest. Take last week, when I wrote the column, I was just trying to remember some of...