Window on the World Column | My Mapping Menu
Weāve been planning this road trip for a very long time. Too long. So long I thought it would never happen. I had every stop marked on my extra-large map of the country; never mind we were only going to be seeing a slice...
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...
Window on the World Column | Mapping Through Nevada and Into Idaho
Crossing Nevada is similar to my memory of crossing Texas. It goes on forever. And just when you think it has to end, it carries on. Acres of mining, solar panels and corrections. Electricity poles line the freeway for miles, as if there were...
Guest Column | Gratitude Builds a Path Toward a Happier and Healthier Holiday
Each holiday season comes with high expectations for happy, carefree gatherings. Itās all too true, however, that once the calendar turns to November, feelings of sadness or anxiety can sometimes take hold.
Beyond major depression or severe anxiety disorders (which require professional help), itās common...
Funny Papers Again Column | A Digest of Abridged Subjects
The following were subjects for full columns, columns I now know will, to use an archaic adage, never see the light of day. The research of these subjects runs to dozens if not scores of hours and each would use up the 1,000-word limit;...
Guest Column | Pandemicās Toll on Mental Health
When will the pandemic end? Thatās a complicated question, and difficult to answer. There will be no ālight switchā moment where our lives suddenly return to what we call ānormal.ā In many ways, this pandemic has been like a long, destructive storm, perhaps a...
Funny Papers Again Column | Crime and Punishment
For this weekās column I had a nice little piece forming about how to get on national television and make a fool of oneās self; based on personal experience, of course. But a situation arose right in front of my nose, or at least...
Letter to the Editor: Us vs. Them
Editor's Note: We welcome Letters to the Editor of local and general interest to our readers. Letters should be typed and include the writerās first and last name, home address and phone number for verification. No anonymous letters will be printed. Letters may be edited...
Worthy to Print Column | The Gift of Writing
Iāll tell you a little secret. Writing is hard work. Oh, I donāt mean itās like driving a tractor or picking up potatoes or any of the jobs found on a farm no matter what you are growing. Those hours are long and hot...
Worthy to Print Column | āWhat Did You Do During the War, Daddy?ā
My boys asked me that after we had been living in Gonzales for a while. When I mentioned in a earlier column that we used to play in the culvert on Fanoe Road, we would take our dog Beaujee and walk down the bottom...



















