We asked what they needed most and they requested a transportation vehicle. Not an ambulance—that would be too much of a target. Read More

Another friend had a bumper sticker—“Live simply that others may simply live”—that still seems like good advice. Read More

It was easy to lose focus and dither the time away, getting lost in e-mail or reports, working through the day without a break. I decided to prioritize finding time to physically leave the office at least once a day. Read More

And like magic, the water didn’t crash over us and tumble us around, it just lifted us up and then down, our toes touching the sand again.  It was wonderful. Read More

I developed an awe of the men (I never saw a woman) who worked for CalTrans at all hours and conditions, keeping the roads open.  Read More

We felt a bit deceived—after all, we only agreed to take him because she had begged—but he had clearly had a traumatic adolescence and changed since his owner had died.  We still took him in, the damaged goods, and named him “Jack”. Read More

A hippie, a priest and Henry Kissinger were in an airplane...... Read More

Turning sixteen was a coming-of-age ritual.  Not a sweet sixteen party—getting a driver’s license!  Having wheels in mid-twentieth century US meant mobility, freedom, unsupervised hanging out with friends, romance. Read More

I needed something more reliable. My hours were irregular, public transportation spotty, and I lived too far from the hospital to walk.  And it rained and snowed.  Any car that ran would do. That, plus my general ambivalence, is probably why my first car was such a clunker. Read More

I had already reasoned out that, looking at the evidence, there was no way that Santa could make it to all the boys and girls around the world in one night, not to mention the chimney issue or the problematic Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy visits.  Read More