Blue Jeans and a Mr. Pibb

Blue Jeans and a Mr. Pibb

Monterey Bay, Monterey, California   We grabbed a window table at a cafe in Moss Landing. The smell of potatoes simmering in hot oil, bacon, and fresh coffee filled the small dining room. It was the kind of place where a guy in blue jeans and work boots fit in...
Not a Thing

Not a Thing

Venice Beach, California   The Venice Pier had that blank, tilted feeling empty tourist spots have. The dawn sun cut low across the water as it winked in and out of the sea haze. Fishermen dotted the pier, and surfers rocked and bobbed on their boards, chatting...
Del Monte Forest Philharmonic

Del Monte Forest Philharmonic

The wind sings through the Monterey Pines, a short flourish overture with a low drone, mid-range whip, and a treble trickling of cottonwood leaves like a swift stream. And above it all, the trill of birds add sparkles of color as the oratorio begins. It moves with a...
A Hanging Moment

A Hanging Moment

I could describe what I’m seeing or hearing. I could even go deeper and explain how I feel and what’s happening around me or comment on the news. I could work past the layers of anxiety and regret that hang on me and drip like sweat off a boxer. I could discuss the...
Sea Lion Love

Sea Lion Love

Monterey Bay, Monterey, California    As streams of dawn light glimpsed through the broken cloud cover, I rolled up next to Fisherman’s Wharf on my bike. Thompson was sitting on the stone wall in his camouflage jacket with his backpack next to him. We...