Suprise Me

Imagine being in that stadium with thousands of other university students and faculty, all roused up, politically aware, wanting a path forward.  The emotional energy was contagious and overwhelming.  Surely the concerns of so many people coming together could not be denied.  Read More

My father joined the Army Air Corps in January, 1941, a full 11 months BEFORE Pearl Harbor. There was no separate Air Force at this time, it was still a division of the Army. He longed to be part of something bigger than himself. He had worked for the Chevrolet division of General Motors since… Read More

In Minnesota, winter is both a threat and a reward. Read More

All of us of a certain age remember the “duck and cover” drill, as if ducking under our desks would shield us from nuclear fall-out. We labeled it the “kiss your ass goodbye” move. After World War II, as more countries, particularly our mortal enemy, the Soviet Union, obtained nuclear capability, some built their own… Read More

I stood there in the heavy underbrush with tears in my eyes and a broken heart.... Read More

The café on route 66 on the corner of Campus and Foothill in Upland CA was called Martinez, not Martinez’s, just Martinez. Most locals called it THE LONG BAR. My wife and I had been married for a short time and met her mom and pop there for dinner. I was, and still am unfortunately, a stone… Read More

It was clear I needed a job.  Turning twenty, literate (two years of college behind me), energetic, and flexible—surely this would not be too hard.  But it turned out I knew nothing about finding work. Read More

It was a time of experimentation and self-expression, and self-express we did. Read More

Eva Le Gallienne as Peter Pan 1928 ”Do you believe in fairies?” When my mother was young her parents took her to Broadway to see Peter Pan,  the title role played by the actress Eva Le Gallienne who famously flew on wires over the heads of the audience. The London-born Le G as she was called,… Read More

As with cooking, I did not learn to do laundry from my mother. She had household help for much of her life. I learned to iron (a task she NEVER learned) in the costume shop at camp in 1967. That was useful. We had a service that washed the sheets, but we had to make… Read More