Spirits in the Material World

Spirits in the Material World

Ano Nuevo Collage • Mark Brown “Sometimes, just when you give up, your prayers are suddenly answered.” We had been hiking all day, out in the sand dunes between Franklin Point and Ano Nuevo Point, an area that few people ever went to, and one which to this day I still...
War Stories

War Stories

One of your Great-Great Uncles was a general for the Union Army and his brother was a general for the Confederate Army during the Civil War.  This true familial tale of fratricidal brother-fighting-brother was told to me by my grandmother when I was young. My...
Bringing Home The Bacon

Bringing Home The Bacon

After reading between the lines and taking a parting shot, we all lived happily ever after, knowing that all is well that ends well. After I shot myself in the foot I was totally in my element but she got my goat so I started from scratch and went back to square one...
Where does the White Go When the Snow Melts?

Where does the White Go When the Snow Melts?

Where does the white go when the show melts?  Is that a 3 pointer? • Donner Lake, California • Photo by MMB I found this snowy query in an old journal of mine and posed this question to my friend Jenny, who has lived in Switzerland for over 40 years and knows...
Pianos, Trains and Toothbrushes

Pianos, Trains and Toothbrushes

I recognize that piano from Tehran 70 years ago.  Tehran I was sitting in my living room, the day after our 50th high school reunion in 2019 with my friend Eric and his delightful and razor sharp 94 year old mother, who had accompanied Eric to all of the...