Category: Columns

Almost 16 years ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. That year, 1995, was a very difficult one for our…

    Today My Beloved and I dismantled the 90 pound dog cage that has sat in the middle of…

Synesthesia (from answers.com)

1. A condition in which one type of stimulation evokes the sensation of another, as when the hearing of a sound produces the visualization of a color.

2. A sensation felt in one part of the body as a result of stimulus applied to another, as in referred pain.

If you don’t feel compelled to eat everything on your Thanksgiving laden plate, at least LISTEN to your food!

I don’t watch much television since my husband died. When he was alive, we would watch programs and discuss them…

About 5 months ago, I received a letter from the San Diego Water District telling me that a complaint had…

With all the negative vibes flowing through Arizona regarding Latinos I’m reminded that it wasn’t so long ago, around 1994,…

The Board of Supervisors for Los Angeles County has just made the decision that companies that use one-time plastic bags can not longer use them in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. Their ruling excludes those cities that have their own city council.

Yesterday the Tampa Tribune had an article in their paper that stated that they had tested more than a dozen reusable bags and found lead in some of them, including Target and Wal-Mart bags. They quickly stated that those two had among the lowest level of lead in them. Swell!

When I was coming up in Tucson, the Old Pueblo, I would go this way and that way, to and fro, trying to keep a step ahead of Old Jim Crow. Somehow I survived that dude’s hateful antics and grew up with a lot of love in my heart and soul. But he doesn’t give up easily and seems to have a toe hold in Arizona and just won’t let go.

A few years ago the idea of a holiday for Martin Luther King came up and Arizonans freaked out …

Have things really changed THAT much since I was in school?

Judging from the experience my daughter – and more specifically – my 11 year old grandson just had – I would have to say that changes have taken place but not necessarily for the better.

Today’s papers are filled with news accounts of “bullying”. There have been many deaths caused by bullying. In some instances parents have goaded their children to “bully” another student and seem to think it is funny. There was the young lady that thought she had a boyfriend because he told her nice things about herself.

So….Buddy and I are walking south on Sunset Cliffs on the east side of the road when we are met by three dogs and their owner, unleashed, that looked as close to being wolves as coyotes look like large dogs.

Wait a minute. That’s unfair. Only two of the dogs looked like wolves. The third dog, a teeny weenie one was on a leash. It was the other two that were not.

I hate the idea of getting old. I hate “remembering” the way things “used to be” and comparing them with the way things are now.

For example: I remember when education used to be free. The public schools provided books, pencils, papers, crayons, glue, scissors, etc. so that we could learn without the stress of the teacher saying “we can do this if you bring in some paper and pens.”

I remember when school used to be safe for the students, the staff and anyone entering the premises.

There Ain’t No Grave Gonna Hold My Body Down

Johnny Cash recorded American VI, which included this song, at the end of his 71 year old life. It was released posthumously to mixed reviews. This video is noteworthy because it provides exquisite crowd sourced, collaborative images as a visual accompaniment to Cash’s spare and deeply moving rendition.