Continued from, Omaha: Landing in Flyover Country. September 10/11. 2021: Carter Lake, Iowa. I’d landed in Omaha but my airport motel was in a little enclave of Iowa called Carter Lake, just a short jet blast away from the Nebraska state line. Carter Lake, the only Iowan outpost located west of the Missouri River maintains …
A chapter in an occasional series of posts documenting an autumn 2021 road trip through the Midwest. Continued from Contemplating The Mystery Box. Out there, between Denver and Pittsburgh, lay a broad land I’d barely seen. A once vast grassland that had become countless square plots of cornfields and soybean fields, splashed with small towns …
Warning: Some sections of this post are rated R It’s three days before Christmas. A section of the parking lot at the local supermarket is covered in crunchy, dry pine needles. The Christmas trees that had been there earlier in the day are gone. Headed for the chipper and then the compost pile. Eventually the …
“Well, we’re not in the middle of nowhere, but we can see it from here.” ~ Thelma & Louise It seemed that way sometimes, those times when we got a little bit lost and found ourselves on a long stretch of a desolate county road. It’s on those roads when you haven’t seen a passing …
Thursday, May 20, 2021 continued. Next stop, Oatman, Arizona. We enter Arizona, through the town of Mojave Valley. I slow down at the Welcome To Arizona sign and ask Cora if she’d like me to take her picture standing by the sign. She declines. “It’s too hot,” she says. It is that. The thermometer on …
It’s been alleged that COVID is in recession in America, and with that news, along with the arrival of summer and increasing vaccinations, Americans are looking to rid themselves of a side effect of the pandemic; let’s call it hometown-itis. Whether they contracted the coronavirus or not, most Americans have exhibited symptoms of hometown-itis; alternating …
The fish house The carcass of the Nantucket Restaurant lies at water’s edge on the northwest corner of Crockett. The Nantucket was a local seafood joint, one of those simple, honest, unpretentious places that offered an easy atmosphere, neighborly service and a good meal at a fair price. The best thing on the menu was …
Crockett, California (known to locals as Sugar City) can be a hard place to figure. At a glance you might take it for a Rust Belt community of the Midwest, sitting on the shore of one of America’s great rivers. There’s a factory, the big old brick C&H Sugar refinery that sits on the edge …
“There ain’t no such thing as a free lunch.” Everything has a price. I’m not giving away anything really tangible here. The “free” in the title of this piece refers to “free-flowing.” Random thoughts; aimless; catch as catch can; spitballing. Even remnants o’stuff that never made it into posts. But bear in mind that everything …
I’d originally planned to post this after a final edit on January 6th. The events of that day compelled me to focus on a more pressing topic (see posts January 6th 2021. Insurrection in America and Cut by the Knife of Corruption. ) “We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going …
Since you went away the days grow long And soon I’ll hear old winter’s song But I miss you most of all my darling When autumn leaves start to fall ~ Songwriters: Johnny Mercer / Jacques Andre Marie Prevert / Joseph Kosma I detest that song Autumn Leaves. Yeah I know, it’s a sort of …
Ramshackle looking cafe/diners dotted the area. Places like Susie’s, family owned and looking sketchy on the outside and maybe a little greasy on the inside offered simple fare and good service
“I have been looking on, this evening, at a merry company of children assembled round that pretty German toy, a Christmas Tree. The tree was planted in the middle of a great round table, and towered high above their heads. It was brilliantly lighted by a multitude of little tapers; and everywhere sparkled and glittered …
If you can afford cocktails, a 30.00 dollar entree, a good bottle of wine, dessert and a couple snifters of cognac you can afford a pair of slacks and a collared shirt.
My San Francisco is a series of posts that describe my own personal relationship with The City. My San Francisco posts might be photo essays or life stories or commentaries or a combination of some or all three. They might not always be flattering but they all have one thing in common; they are my …
Is there any greater vehicle for gossip, inappropriate behavior, embarrassment, drunkenness and buffoonery outside of our nation’s capital than an office holiday party?
The drive south on Hwy 1 is a scenic one, passing bright green fields of artichokes and brussels sprouts and the blue Pacific coastline itself.
Cora and I have had a forgettable 2018. It started with my recovery from a broken foot and then went right into her bout of cancer and the subsequent surgery and chemotherapy. By October the dust was settling and by November it was time to take a short trip. Half Moon Bay, California on the …