A Simple Man

I wake up every morningTo do what I don’t want to doTo make what I’ve got to haveTo pay what has to be paidAnd I smile when it’s necessaryAnd listen to those talking about thingsI have no interest inBecause it has to be doneTo accomplish what must be accomplishedAnd...

A Small PIece of Small Town Charm Slipped Away

A couple of months ago, a close friend of mine had to close his music store in downtown Martinez.He had run the store for about 9 years, and it had become a treasured part of our downtown. Remember in the Andy Griffith show, where Floyd’s Barber Shop is where folks...

This Is Not Your Uncle Earl

What’s black and white and red? “Many things,” you may say, and you’d be correct. But among those many things is one thing that brings us into the world of bluegrass music. More specifically it is the cover jacket of the latest (5th) compact disc released by the Earl...

A Smattering of News

Good morning from Whiskey Creek, where we still have lovely summer weather and the bluest of blue skies. I’m sitting on a big rubber ball this morning. Truly. It’s about four feet in diameter, filled with air and intended to be a healthy, exercise-promoting...

A Song of Sisters

 It really was just like any other day of the week: a morning of dense virga ‘bove it’s shore. The fog taking its dreamy-sweet time; doing its lazy dance as it rolled in over the waves: contemplating its coup- leaving us quiet and paralyzed by its mystic beauty....