Two Gents' Worth
March 3, 2025
Civil Society
We headed to the hills, again, on this gorgeous Sunday in April. This time, our plan was to drive back into my past — way, way back. We were going to North Fork. But getting out of Clovis took a bit of time. After all, we had to stop at Target to buy some chips…
Read More about Into the Mountains, Again
Civil Society
Sharon and I drove up to Shaver Lake for lunch this Thursday afternoon. We hadn’t been there in at least 20 years, and because our Airbnb is east of Clovis and a mere 35 miles from the lake, we decided — what the heck — let’s make the trip. We took home-made chicken sandwiches, sliced…
Read More about Thursday in the Fire Zone
Civil Society
Do I know how to celebrate my birthday, or what? Yes, another birthday of mine showed up on the calendar today, and I’ve had quite a commemoration, indeed. Among other things — not many other things, admittedly — I got a coronavirus shot, and Sharon and I ate some Wendy’s take-out inside our car at…
Read More about That Birthday Thing
Agriculture
The calendar won’t confirm it, but Spring has arrived in the Valley. The signs are everywhere. Daytime temperatures have been rising, reaching the high ’60s and low ’70s. Grasses in front yards and fields have greened up. Flowers — poppies, irises, daffodils — have emerged and started showing off their colorful blooms. And then there’s…
Read More about The Valley Blossoms
Civil Society
Yep. We’re back — to the place where it all started. Or, at least, the place where Sharon and I both started. We have returned to the Clovis-Fresno area, and we are staying in the first of a series of Airbnb’s. No, this is not our idea of a vacation — it’s our idea of…
Read More about Back to the Valley
Civil Society
Out with the old – and good riddance! In with the new – and good luck! Of course, this being the time for my usual “end of one year, start of another” column – the “old” I’m referring to is that terrible, horrible, no good, very bad year we are about to say good-bye to….
Read More about 2020: Going, Going…
Fresno
Christmas spirit is in the air once again, heralding the eventual arrival of the Big Day itself. When I was a kid, the “countdown” to Christmas nearly drove me batty. “It won’t EVER get here,” I used to wail to my mom. She said: “Be good. Santa is watching.” It was quite hard to be…
Read More about Christmas is Coming
Civil Society
A few weeks ago, Sharon and I decided we’d had enough. We had reached the point where we needed to get out of Dodge – or in this case, Paso Robles – because we’d had it up to our eyeballs with such affronts as record-breaking heat waves, horrible wildfires, terribly smoky skies, the ongoing coronavirus…
Read More about North by Northwest
Civil Society
This morning, we woke up inside our Paso Robles place and discovered, first, the smell of smoke. Fortunately, our house was not on fire. But a whole lot of California was. Hundreds of wildfires were burning around Our State. No, I am not exaggerating. Our Department of Forestry reported that we had 10,800 lightning strikes…
Read More about What Hell Is This?