Funny Papers Again Column | Final Words for One You Love, a Very Tough Assignment
Some 30-plus years ago I was employed by what was then known as the Greenfield News, we now know it as one of the triune Salinas Valley Tribune editions, which include the once Gonzales Tribune and Soledad Bee. The title Editor included citywide reportorial...
Window on the World Column | The Time for Feasting
Weāve been on the gravy train these past couple of weeks and this train has fallen off the tracks. Going home for the holidays is not for the faint of heart, as far as the stomach and waistline are concerned. I had planned to...
Window on the World Column | Showtime Over Easter
It was finally Show Time, and I was so excited. Not only was I doing a book signing with my oldest friend in my hometown on the East Coast of England, but the book was also based on our childhoods growing up in this...
Funny Papers Again Column | Of Dominating News Cycles and a Cowed Press
It was the longest gun battle in the history of the Secret Service. At the end of the 40-second firefight, 27 shots had been exchanged with an assassin and a police officer lay dead while a second assassin and two police officers and one...
Worthy to Print Column | Friends and Momās Wisdom
One time a long time ago I asked my mom for a quarter. She said she was sorry, but she didnāt have any money that day. I canāt remember why I needed a quarter, but I bet it was for candy. I always wanted...
Worthy to Print Column | Memories of Beaujolais
What is going on with our weather? I buy a new jacket and then the sun comes out like the fires of you know where. I love the warm weather, but it has to follow the rules. This out of sync weather plays the...
Window on the World Column | A Letter to My Sister ā Part III
āDarling, darling, we have to stop! This is my cousinās house!ā Car comes to a screeching halt, dust flying. We unload, remove our shoes at the door. Everyone sits in the family room. Boiling hot chai tea is produced in tiny glass cups with...
Worthy to Print Column | Heroes
I have been writing about my life and my town for a long time if you follow me on a regular basis. I have shared my travels and my thoughts, some appreciated and some have brought condemnation. It gets harder and harder to write...
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...
Worthy to Print Column | To Those Who Inspire
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...
Local News
Inmate sentenced to life for murdering fellow inmate at Salinas Valley...
SOLEDAD ā John Lydon, a 52-year-old inmate of Salinas Valley State Prison in Soledad, was sentenced Oct. 10 to life in prison without the...