In the Garden

by | Aug 26, 2012 | Welcome Column

A couple weeks ago I sang for the funeral service of a friend. His wife had requested the song, “In the Garden,” a perennial favorite for memorials. My friend had been a rice grower, had a large orchard of fruits and nuts, and always had a productive vegetable and...

In the pines, in the pines

by | Sep 10, 2010 | Welcome Column

And it was Saturday morning, and I was about twenty miles west of Willows when the asphault ended and this gravel road started up the side of the mountain and my brakes are three days from replacement and I’ve got a Kia van that is comfortable in the city but ain’t...

In the Rear View Mirror

by | Oct 3, 2010 | Welcome Column

I think my wife was sick of it, as were my colleagues at work…or any one else who came into contact with me on a regular basis. Through the three or so weeks leading up to the Hobbs Grove Bluegrass Festival, I had developed a one-track mind, obsessed with the...

In Which I Praise the Pear

by | Jul 10, 2013 | Welcome Column

It must be just the right time of year for pears. The past few weeks I have included a pear in my lunch every day, and they are wonderful! They’re sweet, but not too sweet – there’s a duskiness “behind” the sweetness. They have a fruity aroma that is not cloying, and...

In Which Universal Truths are Revealed

by | Sep 21, 2011 | Welcome Column

There are many questions in the universe. Some get answered, but sadly, most do not. Since preoccupation with unanswered questions can be very distracting, and by extension, diminish the quality of the life for those so preoccupied, I would like to tap into my inner...