Back in the 1960’s, I lived in Chicago. The public high school I attended had 1,400 students. Those of us who were college prep students were required to study a foreign language, though I doubt that many of us thought we’d ever travel to a foreign country. I don’t remember any kids in my high school being […]
My First Night In A Youth Hostel Read More »
A few weeks ago, I was in a meeting of some columnists from El Ojo Del Lago. One of my colleagues, Jackie Kellum, writes the column “You and Your Doctors Are Your Medical Team.” She mentioned that she was running out of ailments about which to write. I can only say, she apparently doesn’t watch
Almost every afternoon, you can find me having a cappuccino at an outdoor table of the Scandinavia bakery in the Centro Laguna mall. That’s where I sit and dream up most of the articles I write for El Ojo Del Lago magazine. Typically, my stories are about something silly that happened to me. But today’s
When I was a kid, fishing and preparing to go fishing were a major part of my life. We lived in Chicago, and summer weekends, my brother and I would ride the Montrose Avenue bus down to Lake Michigan, where we could fish for perch from a long concrete breakwater. We started out with simple
Over the Christmas holidays, my daughter and adult grandson joined me for a two- week vacation in Guatemala. A key part of our adventure included a 2-day tour of the ancient Maya ruins at Tikal National Park. Our tickets included an all-day guided tour of the ruins on the first day of our stay. We
Prayer To The Rain God Read More »
I was recently vacationing in Guatemala with my daughter and adult grandson. We had just checked in to a gorgeous Spanish colonial hotel in Antigua, Guatemala. I had a beautiful room with a garden view and a king-sized bed all to myself. That morning, I had received an email from a former workmate named Al.
I’ve never been big on conspiracy theories but lately I’ve been giving this one serious consideration. I suspect my cell phone is listening to all my conversations, whether or not I’ve made a phone call. I was a little reluctant to mention this to my wife. Back in the 70’s, her first husband began showing
Are You Listening? Read More »
I’ve been pretty fortunate to have good eyesight most of my life. I never had to wear glasses growing up. I was well into my sixties before I realized that I needed glasses if I were going to pass the California Driver’s License eye test. I wound up needing bifocals. At first, my optician suggested
Here’s Looking At You, Kid Read More »
It’s that time of year again. Tis the season when the Right Wing media launches its perennial crusade against the War on Christmas. And so, they have started their annual witch hunt, scouring the country for examples of liberal elites trying to put the X into Xmas. The War on Christmas has not been a
I never had a cat. Never wanted one. Still don’t. But three years ago, a stray cat adopted me. I suspect she belonged to the people in a nearby house that was sold and torn down to build a condominium. I imagine the cat had “gone walkabout” the day the family was moving out of
