Category: Columns

Recently I sat and wrote and chatted with some of the coolest people alive. No jive. Most of them happen…

I pause with a picture to just look at my face, the wrinkles, the gray in my beard, the few…

Banksy’s street art surprises one. It grabs the eye and attention by juxtaposing contradictory elements that leave some lingering question about what we perceive as inherent reality. His work is a combination of the satirical and subversive.

A little while ago I read a book by longtime Tucson Citizen sportswriter, Steve Rivera: The University of Arizona Basketball Vault, the History of the Wildcats.

What a nice trip down memory lane the book was for me as I’ve followed Wildcat basketball since the 40’s. And, never in my wildest dreams, did I ever think the program would evolve to what it is today although the school had a couple of pretty good teams in my childhood.

One of the things I learned 40+ years ago, when almost the only airline flying into San Diego International Airport was PSA, that the planes stopped taking off at 11:30 pm and didn’t begin again until 6:30am.

Off to my wonderful OBcean tax preparer Byrna, with visions of Shepard Fairey dancing through my head. Byrna reminds me that the good news is that My Beloved and I, card carrying union members, have enough income to pay taxes. Hey! We’re middle class- for the moment! Our taxes are generally computed on a short form and last year our Federal and State tax rate was 13%. And the truth is we are ok with that- except for the war funding.

February 21st – a day of joy; a day of sorrow. Today is my birthday; Today also marks the 17 month anniversary of my husband’s death. Right next to my birthday candles will be a memorial candle to Bob. This article is not so much about my birthday as it is about Bob’s death. You see, he died of LUNG CANCER 18 months after it was diagnosed.

Bob was a smoker for 30 years. He admitted to smoking 3 packs a day before he quit 34 years ago. If he “admitted” to 3 packs a day, one can’t help but wonder just how many packs he really smoked daily. It doesn’t matter, because he ranked giving up smoking as his #1 accomplishment in life. His Ph.D was secondary to giving up smoking.

A meeting was held on Friday regarding the status of the VFW. As of yet, there does not seem to be any other available building in the 92107 area code. They only have a few days (?) left to move into the Pt. Loma facility, without jeopardizing their liquor license.

I do not know if this is fact – or fiction – but I was told that the rent for the Pt. Loma facility is next to nothing and the agreement was that the VFW would fix it up using their own monies.

Sitting with thoughts dancing in my mind about all the hope that I had recently seen rise in Cairo, I looked online for an image to match how I felt inside and a picture of a rich yellow sun rising or setting in a reddish orange sky caught the attention of my eyes and I literally found myself mesmerized by its beauty.

What does democracy look like? Does it look like teachers, police, firefighters, librarians, nurses, the people who remove snow and trash, and social workers who have peacefully and in large numbers turned out to support the right of working and middle class people to participate in unions and in the collective bargaining process?

Caution, may not be suitable for work…

AOL has bought Huffington Post; Sarah and Bristol Palin have both filed to trademark their names. While we watch raw footage of the protests in the streets of Egypt carried out at times with sticks and stones, the click and whirr of mergers, branding, spin and insider knowledge continue unabated. We live in strange times.

I have been a football fan for as long as I can remember. As a child I used to watch…