Opinion

I was going to finish my traveler tales this week — my account of when we went to pay homage to the Queen of England and then what we did after that — but I got distracted. No, I felt the need to paint...

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...

He became quite the character of sorts, a fixture on the rather rough and tumble Nestles Road in Soledad, surrounded by rough ground and abandoned buildings. If you happened to pass by during the latter part of an afternoon, you might see him sitting...

You knew it was going to happen. What’s that? You didn’t know. Well, let me tell you it’s true! Last week I got on my soapbox about taxes, and since it’s April, why not continue my rant.  Instead of working on helping “We the People,”...

Statistics show that nearly 3 in 10 Americans actually make New Year’s resolutions in an effort to hold themselves accountable. Such a practice is not new. Some 4,000 years ago, the ancient Babylonias made annual promises to the gods to pay their debts and...

I was thinking about a tale for this week’s column about how a real bank robber would feel when watching a film about a make-believe gangster, with anticipation it would be an easy read as my muse seemed intent upon escape from current events,...

There are things in life you literally jump at the opportunity to do … ooh, meet for lunch in Carmel, go and catch a show, take the dogs to the beach? Medical adulting is not one of them. I go to Sacramento to see...

Summer comes to an end tomorrow when the Fall Equinox descends upon us with equal amounts of day and night heralding the incremental journey toward shorter days and longer nights. I am not fond of that particular cosmic arrangement, in fact prefer the exact...

We live in a valley formed by mountain ranges to the east and west with an ocean bay 50 miles to the north and a coastline 25 miles westward; a geographical formation that climatologists designate a semi-arid area. By comparison to many areas of...

It sure is cold enough for me. This morning I had to get up early to go to a dentist appointment over in Monterey. When the old alarm clock said, “It’s time to get up,” I just pulled the covers up and said to...