Two Gents' Worth
December 27, 2024
“Good morning, yesterday, You wake up and time has slipped away And suddenly it’s hard to find the memories you’ve left behind. Remember, do you remember?” (Paul Anka) My life has been a true Game of Numbers. Channel numbers, that is. During the course of a broadcasting career that began more than a half-century…
Read More about My Life of Channel-SurfingThe coming of Memorial Day always excited me when I was growing up. It wasn’t because the Indy 500 auto race took place then — though that race was quite an important event, indeed. No, Memorial Day grabbed my attention because it meant that another summer was — at long last! — just around the…
Read More about My Favorite Summers
The other day, I was having lunch with several friends at the Buckhorn up in North Fork when, for some reason, I mentioned that when I was a young guy, I had owned a Ford Pinto. All of them started laughing. Immediately. After a second or two, I started chuckling, as well — and then…
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It was, incredibly, exactly a half-century ago this very week when I was hired by Channel 30 as the youngest TV reporter in Fresno. I was 23 — and, of course, almost completely unqualified. I had graduated from Fresno State with a degree in broadcast journalism and taken my first full-time broadcasting job as a…
Read More about A Half-Century Ago
On the week before Christmas more than a half-century ago, I received the greatest gift anyone had ever given me. And it changed my life. Let me tell you a story. I grew up in Fresno in the San Joaquin Valley of California. We did not have a lot of money. But Mom did have…
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Yes, it’s nearly back. Thanksgiving Day. That day of turkey and Macy’s parade and NFL football. I’ve experienced nearly three-quarters of a century’s worth of Thanksgivings (not quite — I’m not that old — not yet, at least). So I have a ton of memories of that day, as you undoubtedly do. Growing up in…
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They held a Chili Cook-Off in Bandit Town near North Fork in the Sierra this past Saturday, and there were several reasons why I had to head up there. For one thing, I like chili — a lot. And I knew it was going to be a gorgeous autumn day at the 3,000 foot level. …
Read More about Bandit Town’s Hot ChiliThey put on another Old Timers Day Parade in Madera this past Saturday. In a related story, I dressed up as a Victorian dandy. Now that I have your attention, I hope, let’s move on. First — the parade. They’ve been having one in honor of Old Timers for more than 90 years in Madera,…
Read More about A Dandy in MaderaThe calendar tells us — and our temperatures confirm — that autumn has arrived here in the Valley. Of all our seasons — autumn is our Emma Peel. The most beautiful. If you’re not familiar with Emma — I invite you to Google “The Avengers” TV show from the 1960’s. The lovely Emma — played…
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I took a hike in the Sierra the other day — a trek that propelled me back into my parents’ past. My guides were Connie Popelish and Michael Olwyler — who likely know more about the history and topography of that part of the Sierra surrounding North Fork in Madera County than anyone else alive. …
Read More about My Hike in the Sierra