Recovering journalist living in California's Sierra Nevada
(My daughter, who was not quite four years old at the time, asked me recently to talk about the 1968 Chicago convention for her children who are living thru this new awful time now.) On the cab ride in from Midway airport we passed sandbagged machine gun nests on the University of Chicago campus. That … More Chicago, August, 1968
It wasn’t exactly sunny yesterday afternoon when I went for a walk. But it was a nice break in the misty rain on a day when I’d been mostly at my desk. So. It happens that I looked at the rain gauge as I left and it had half an inch. Remember that number. Point … More Storm
It’s like a junior high school dance. Bunch of guys scuffing around, hanging at the edges, no girls. In the case here on the mountain, it’s a group of five male deer, lovely young males, still with their antlers, that have been around for several weeks. Just guys, no females. There is also a family group of … More Boys’ Club
At it’s best, it looked like this with me as Ralphie. I wanted the BB gun too, but also my school, the coal furnace, the front yard, clothes… my childhood really looked like this. Earth tones clothes, furniture and walls. One telephone in the house, one electric plug per room. Snow suits. Until … More The First Years
What we Democrats lack is thugs. We’ve got everything else we need. There are plenty of us and the technology is fine. Money? No problem. Issues? Don’t even start. On paper, we win. On the streets, not so much. What we need is muscle. Seasoned, scared, hardened, tough, ruthless. Back then there was a fight. … More Leak This
Every year I’ve been here in the mountain bunker there is a time in February that loudly announces the End of Winter. A week or more of balmy nights, days in the mid-70s, bright sunshine. Might as well plant the garden. And every year I’ve been here that False Spring is jerked away, often with … More Ah, California
Tom DeVries 