Two Gents' Worth
November 23, 2024
Fourth of July celebrations came back to Ames this weekend, and they were greeted the same way you greet a long-lost, beloved friend. Last year on the Fourth, Ames virtually was shut down. No fireworks. No parade. Yes, the coronavirus pandemic had done its nasty work all too well. Ames was a ghost town a…
Read More about Our Festive Fourth
We interrupted our summer-long stay in Ames to take a whirlwind trip to Washington, DC, this week. We wanted to see Brad and Nicole after nearly two years of coronavirus-mandated distancing. We wanted to re-visit some of our favorite Smithsonians. And we wanted to see the Nats play baseball. We did all that, and we…
Read More about Our Side Trip to the Capital
We’ve been here in Ames — aka, the Heart of the Great American Heartland — for a couple of weeks now, and I’m delighted to say everything is back to normal. I could not say that last summer — when, as you’ll recall, the coronavirus had disrupted everything near and dear to all of us….
Read More about That Heartland NormalcyYes, we’re back in Ames after another arduous trip that stretched over 2,000 miles and took us through such spots as Bakersfield, Tehachapi, Mohave, Barstow, Kingman, Flagstaff, Gallup, Albuquerque, Amarillo, Oklahoma City, Wichita and Kansas City. We saw some quite-exquisite scenery, stayed in some mostly nice motels and paid outrageously high prices for gas in…
Read More about Iowa, Oh, IowaFour months have come and gone, like a flash, since Sharon and I sold our place in Paso and moved to our temporary Airbnb here in Clovis. And now the time has almost arrived for another departure — when we head to the great Heart of the American Heartland to spend one more summer in…
Read More about That Midwest Feeling, Again
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
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
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
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
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