And Then Along Comes Mary (Part Three)
Wherever he is, inside or out, hot or cold, day or night, he is at peace. The only demands he makes on us is that we brush him for 3-4...
And Then Along Comes Mary (Part Four)
Mojo is our ‘little lady’. She is petite but ferocious. She doesn’t take any nonsense from her bigger brothers and gives as good as she...
I'm a Seoul Man
Back in 1966, Seoul Korea was a single dirt road -- some ramshackle stores with corrugated metal roofs. If a gent had his back to you, he...
Made in Japan
Back in the 60’s during the transistor radio rage, the market was flooded with inexpensive items from Japan. Many Americans took great...
Food
Food is sacred to me. Once in Los Angeles many moons ago, my wife and I visited our favorite Thai restaurant (Chan Dara), and requested a...
My New Friend
I do not flirt with strange women, but for some reason they flirt with me. At 72 I figured I have little to offer, but that does not seem...
It was rocket science!
Europe in 1970 was an idyllic place: It perfectly enumerated the fundamental assessments I learned to apply to temporary housing later in...
Jumping
People tend to get overly impressed when they find out I’ve made 530 skydives. Consider this: The most intensive portion of the jump...
Me and Motels
Never ask me advice on where to spend the night. You’re liable to end up with an ‘E’ ticket ride to hell and back, and I’ll be minus a...
Animal House
Long before John Belushi popularized rogue students behaving in unusual ways in the movie ‘Animal House’, me and my buds on the 16th...
Bikers
I bought my first Harley in 1976. It was the key that opened a door into a world that few get to walk through. I was sitting in the local...
Malfunction
In 1955 my father took me to Coney Island to experience the ‘Parachute Jump Ride’. This was a gigantic wooden structure with a cable...
The pain of unrequited love
I got my first motorcycle at 16 and my first broken leg three months later. Having a cycle meant I could focus all my energy on learning...
It was supposed to be a normal Monday morning.
I drove down to Keedy’s (Palm Desert), the little coffee shop where I have been a regular for over 40 years. I ordered ham and eggs over...
Working for a living
I’ve already written my obituary – it’s a somewhat whimsical glance of the passage of time I’ve seen. Much of it is surrounded by the...
I still have a bit of the Boy Scout left in me.
I try to do a good deed daily, and I’m pretty specific in my endeavors. I try to simply make one stranger smile every day. Granted,...
Crisis
It was the middle of the night and all I saw was confusion. My tentmate was awake and frantically packing his gear. As he started...
Hitchin’ a Ride
I was a semi-professional hitchhiker for many years, and I guess the only thing that stopped me from going full on pro was Charlie...
Friendship
What price can you place on the moments etched so deeply into your mind by the people who helped make who you are today? It was the...
Rain
When I was a kid, spring rains were a treat. The warm gentle pitter patter was refreshing and invigorating, even though neither adjective...