Two Gents' Worth
June 13, 2026
Civil Society
ABC30 ran a story last week — in fact, it led at least one of the station’s newscasts — about a young bear that had somehow made its way into a posh neighborhood in northwest Fresno. That’s the kind of story that gets people talking and watching. And after all, that is the purpose of…
Read More about Yes, the Zoo
Civil Society
ABC30 in Fresno threw a party for itself at the station this past Thursday, and it was quite a bash, indeed. The station turns 70 years old this coming Sunday. To celebrate, station employees — and a few of us “old-timers” — were invited to an afternoon of champagne, birthday cake, other sweet treats —…
Read More about Birthday Bash at ABC30
Civil Society
This past Saturday morning, Sharon was talking long-distance to Amy (who lives in Copenhagen) and mentioned that the two of us would be going to Fresno High’s annual alumni association car show and dinner fundraising event that evening. Amy responded, I am told, by saying: “There will be a blog.” Amy, you are right. There…
Read More about Fresno High, Again
Civil Society
You’d have to be a real fan of Major League Baseball to do what Sharon and I did this past Thursday. But we are, so we did it. These days, being what you might call “old,” we satisfy ourselves by watching plenty of MLB games on TV. But on Thursday we got up really, really…
Read More about Baseball By the Bay
Civil Society
They came from California and nine other states. They were family members and friends and neighbors and former colleagues — all coming to the St. Paul Catholic Newman Center in Fresno this past Monday to memorialize the life of Rodney Elliott Stambaugh — who was better known to hundreds of thousands of Valley TV viewers…
Read More about Remembering Mr. StambaughCivil Society
Sharon and I were having lunch in our backyard this Easter Sunday afternoon when a squirrel urinated on me. No, I am not making this up. There we were, sitting in the shade underneath our Japanese maple tree when I suddenly felt water hitting me on my right arm and head. For a brief moment,…
Read More about Sunday Surprise
Civil Society
I have plenty of history under my belt. Which means, simply, that I’m old. And the older I get, the more I enjoy seeing and learning about things that are even older than I am. Maybe it makes me feel younger — I don’t know. But whatever the reason — this past Saturday saw me…
Read More about Saturday in the Sierra
Fresno
I don’t have to tell you, do I, that there’s been a whole lot of bad stuff taking place in our country and around the world in recent days and weeks and months. So much bad stuff that Sharon and I thought it was time to take a break — get away — even if…
Read More about Birthday at the Lake
Civil Society
I’m an old guy, and I’m incredibly fortunate to have experienced more than seven decades of Christmases. Some of them have been in distant locales like Ames, Iowa; Buffalo; Atlanta and Washington, D.C. Some have been in not-so-distant places like Los Angeles, San Francisco and Phoenix. And one of them was overseas — that…
Read More about My Favorite Christmases