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• Easter; Memories of Eggs, Dogs, Cold Cuts and Japanese Tourists
  on Apr 18, 2014 in Americana Childhood Easter family Holidays Italy Religion
• COBOL, French Fries and Roger’s Sprite
  on Mar 16, 2014 in Computers Education Nostalgia Seventies
  “The computer is a moron.”  ~ Peter Drucker; Management Consultant.“Cobol is Fun!”  That was the enthusiastic claim made the first evening by the instructor in the COBOL class that I was taking with my friend Scott at the College of San Mat...
• Peddling Arrogance
  on Mar 8, 2014 in America Americana Commercials Culture Money Television
  During the recent Olympics Cadillac dusted off that worn out and musty Protestant work ethic to peddle their ELR.  In the process the car maker scored an impressive hat trick by also trafficking in xenophobia and firing some salvos in the ever escal...
• Sochi: Skiing, Skating, Skeletons and Scandal
  on Feb 16, 2014 in America Curling Olympic Games Sochi Sports Winter Games
  We’re in the middle of that quadrennial snow festival known as the Olympic Winter Games; this time in Sochi, Russia.  Concerns aplenty as the games began.  Concerns about security, treatment of LBGT athletes and visitors, and facilities that are...
• On Rainy Days and Childhood
  on Feb 9, 2014 in Americana Childhood Leisure Nostalgia Rainy Days
  The wife and I are babysitting the grandchildren, “tending kids” as my Uncle Al used to say, on a rainy Saturday morning.  Rain has been a rarity in California this drought year but in the last couple days it’s been nonstop torrential.  The p...
• The Monster of the Great Northwest
  on Jan 25, 2014 in Americana Culture Football Michael Crabtree National Football League Richard Sherman San Francisco 49ers Sports
  “I am not a role model.  I’m not paid to be a role model.  I am paid to wreak havoc on the basketball court. Parents should be role models.  Just because I dunk a basketball, doesn’t mean I should raise your kids”  ~  Charles BarkleyA mo...
• Christmas Potpourri 2013: Bikes and Turkey Soda and "Twains" (Err Trains)
  on Dec 24, 2013 in A Christmas Carol Americana Childhood Christmas family Great Depression Holidays
  "Christmas isn't a season.  It's a feeling."  ~Edna FerberMany of us in America start the countdown to Christmas as soon as the Thanksgiving leftovers have been stuffed into the fridge.  And so Christmas seemed to arrive early th...
• Tall Tales of Trimming Trees
  on Dec 18, 2013 in Americana Baby Boomers Back in my day Childhood Christmas Culture family Holidays Leisure Nostalgia
  Never worry about the size of your Christmas tree. In the eyes of children, they are all 30 feet tall.” ~ Larry Wilde“I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. T...
• Thanksgiving; A Breaking of Tradition
  on Dec 2, 2013 in Americana family Holidays Leisure Life Nostalgia Thanksgiving
  Ah! On Thanksgiving day....When the care-wearied man seeks his mother once more,And the worn matron smiles where the girl smiled before.What moistens the lips and what brightens the eye?What calls back the past, like the rich pumpkin pie?~John Greenl...
• TV; Episode One. Buying a Set.
  on Nov 27, 2013 in America Americana Childhood Culture family Leisure Nostalgia Television
   “If everyone demanded peace instead of another television set, then there'd be peace.”  ~ John Lennon. “People are sheep. TV is the shepherd.”  ~ Jess C. Scott With Black Friday looming and all the pre and post-holiday sales yet to co...
• A Football Fan's Dilemma
  on Nov 17, 2013 in America Americana Concussions CTE Culture Dave Duerson Ethics Football Mike Webster National Football League
  Leigh Steinberg’s recollection of a conversation with a concussed Troy Aikman.  “Leigh, where am I?” And I said, “Well, you’re in the hospital.” And he said, “Well, why am I here?” And I said, “Because you suffered a concussion tod...
• When Movies Matter
  on Nov 3, 2013 in 12 Years a Slave America American Civil War Civil War Reenacting Culture History Justice Movies Racism Religion Slavery
  “Epps asked me if I could write and read, and on being informed that I had received some instruction in those branches of education, he assured me, with emphasis, if he ever caught me with a book, or with pen and ink, he would give me a hundred las...
• Trick or Treat; And Make It a Double
  on Oct 10, 2013 in America Americana Budget crisis Childhood Congress Government Shutdown Halloween Justice Nostalgia Politics President Obama Sixties
  I've been a bad blogger.  I don’t mean in the sense that this blog as a whole is trash; although that in itself might be a problem.  I've been lax and lazy.  When I published my last post the Halloween candy hadn't yet hit the store...
• Warning: It's Almost Fall
  on Sep 17, 2013 in America Americana Autumn Cross Country family Football Greed Gun Violence Guns Labor Day Money Nostalgia Olivia Munn Sam Waterston Television The Newsroom Workplace
  Summer's almost gone       Summer's almost gone We had some good times But they're gone The winter's comin' on Summer's almost gone~ The Doors“If cross country were easy it would be called football.” ~ Slogan on the...
• A Dog Day at the Park
  on Aug 27, 2013 in America Americana Baseball Culture Giants Leisure Life San Francisco Sports
  “[Baseball] breaks your heart. It is designed to break your heart. The game begins in the spring, when everything else begins again, and it blossoms in the summer, filling the afternoons and evenings, and then as soon as the chill rains come, it st...
• The First Night is the Worst (And other camp stories)
  on Aug 23, 2013
  I found that as wonderful as bacon is, it is even better, if bacon can actually be improved, when cooked and eaten at a campsite.That first night sleeping on a camping trip is always the worst.  Sealed in a mummy bag, you can’t sprawl, rolling ove...
• Roughing It (With apologies to Mark Twain)
  on Aug 14, 2013 in Americana Camping Culture family Fishing Leisure Life Nostalgia Travel Vacation
  The Family Camping Chronicles: Part III"On the seventeenth day we passed the highest mountain peak that we had yet seen, and although the day was very warm the night that followed upon its heels was wintry cold and blankets were next to useless.
• Bags and Baggage
  on Jul 30, 2013 in Camping family Leisure Life Vacation
  The Family Camping Chronicles: Part III relegated myself to sleeping in a sleeping bag the other night.  No, it’s not like that.  I wasn’t in the wife’s doghouse.  There’s a perfectly good queen sized bed in one of the extra rooms that com...
• On Dirt, Beans and Wild West Whimsy
  on Jul 23, 2013 in America Americana Camping Culture family Leisure Life Vacation
  “Camping is nature’s way of promoting the motel business.”  ~ Dave Barry.There’s a family camping trip looming on the horizon and I’ve spent the last few weekends gearing up.  I’ve made lists, rummaged through the big plastic bin in the...
• To B & B or not to B & B?
  on Jul 13, 2013 in Americana Culture Travel Vacation
  It seemed the appropriate question as we surveyed our room at Anne Hathaway’s Bed and Breakfast in Ashland, Oregon.  Maybe survey isn't the right word.  Surveying conjures visions of a large expanse.  This room was tiny.  I suppose I should...