I first saw Rob Crow at the Crescent Ballroom in downtown Phoenix. He looked a bit like a demented Santa Claus in cargo shorts and a longshoreman’s cap. He was playing bass and singing backup for Nick Reinhart (as part of a touring incarnation of Nick’s band Dishevelled Cuss). Okay, so maybe I couldn’t really…
Two years ago, instead of springing for a nice all-inclusive year-end vacation, I decided to literally put my money where my mouth is. I got a root canal for Christmas, which led me to figure that it was time to have my teeth checked. It had been three years since my last check up. My…
Anyone else thinking about death lately? Self-isolated, socially distanced reflection and introspection. It can be a bit gloomy at times. Just when you see a glimmer of light in the Covid-19 storm, along comes an intensely tragic flareup of racial tensions that is reverberating around the world. It is hard to find the glimmers of…
Letter to the editor of the AZ Republic March 30th, 2020 (limited to 200 words and 1200 characters) During the coronavirus pandemic, there have been tons of stories of people freaking out when they can’t get their eggs, milk or meat at their local grocery store. They should consider themselves lucky. Many of these “staples”…
Works that have been passed to us from ancient history are a little suspect in terms of both attribution and accuracy. It’s kind of like the telephone game in school, where a message is whispered down a line of students to emerge hilariously unrecognizable. Also, the depth and beauty of women’s words from ancient cultures…
I was just shy of 11 years-old when music grabbed a hold of my life. I haven’t seen the literature, but expect that is true for about 99.9% of pubescent folks. There has to be something about being infused with all sorts of ridiculous hormones that splices musical memories to your DNA. At this stage…
Oh, if I heard all the secrets from my future self, would it even help? “Future Self” by Boehm Time travel seems pretty complicated. Given how hard it is to navigate time in one direction, in this “simple” life, I don’t trust myself to go back and start messing around. But I would consider sending…
A long time ago, when our parents were still bright-eyed and hopeful that Valerie and I would bring them grandchildren, my Mom said something that stuck with us. She didn’t make a resounding case for continuing the family line. She said that what made having children worthwhile was “the little things”. I don’t recall much…
Forget fickle summer; give me a fall day, any day. The aspen trees in the rolling hills reveal their genetic heritage as the vast clones take turns changing to brilliant gold. Red osier dogwood and highbush cranberry broaden the palette with deep red in the undergrowth. When it is crisp and clear with a blue…
A year ago, just before Thanksgiving, our dear friend Linda handed over a small jar filled with a nondescript white paste. She assured me it was “the good stuff.” It was a sourdough starter. Linda had cultivated it in her earthen-tiled kitchen, where log beams radiate the quiet strength of the forest many miles away….