Opinion

In a short conversation with a man I’ve known for decades I mentioned how hard it can sometimes be to conjure up a topic for this column; he agreed by saying if such a task were left to him, he’d probably get run out...

We all live in a brainiac world, to be sure, but the heart remains the emotional, spiritual center of our being. It’s still such a symbol of love and emotion, with our language sprinkled with metaphors invoking the heart as the source of empathy,...

You know I have had a few folks ask me why I live in Gonzales. Let’s see… it couldn’t be the night life. Oh sure, we have mariachi bands trying to get the snare drum to match the bass they play so well. Have...

As I sat on the shore watching my old friend and my daughter cavorting on paddleboards in the early morning sun, the North Sea an unusually flat blue millpond of joy, I could not help the envy rising inside and it was not a...

Do you like living in a small town? Oh say, like Gonzales or Soledad or any of the South County cities? I really love living here. I know just about everyone, and the people that I don’t know well enough to stop and talk...

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 father’s marker, and this was my annual pilgrimage to his final resting...

I’m beginning to think like my personal nurse. Her opinion is that we will be wearing masks for the rest of time. I would have to agree with her. I have been around for a lot of years and watched my government closely as...

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...

To the Editor: One of the default solutions offered for countering an active shooter in a school is arming teachers. Thus, ensuring that “the school” can push back on an intruder rapidly and lethally. At first glance, this solution rings true; but is it really? Like...

It was simply one of those days. A wake-up call that didn’t involve coffee or soft music, let alone the sound of little birds singing to herald the dawning of a new day. “This is Bank of America. We have reason to believe that...