A perverse force in the universe works this way: You become the very thing you strive to avoid. The thing you eschew, follows you, sneaks up on you, finds its way into your bathroom and hides behind the mirror over the sink. Then, one morning, before you’ve even had your coffee, you splash water on […]
Poetry Corner: D.L. Lang “Sheltering in Places”
This whole city now smells like gasoline. No one knows why, and that’s obscene. Officials are investigating the scene. We’re all struck without a warning. Now we wait, sheltering in places, unable to ventilate our cozy spaces, donning air masks on our faces. Praying for better, the human race is. Its source is a still […]
Send Me Your Dreams: Recurring dream dogs retiree
Perhaps the most frequent questions I receive are about recurring dreams. They are common and can be frustrating and even frightening. Many people find that when they have ‘that dream’ again, the emotional effects carry over into their waking life for a day or two, tinting the dreamer’s mood with the tone of the dream. […]
Roger Straw: City staff appears to favor Valero, ignore opponents in agenda attachments
On Thursday last week, city of Benicia staff released the agenda for the crucial and perhaps decisive Sept. 20 meeting of the Benicia City Council. A staff report accompanying the agenda stands by the staff’s previous positions on Valero’s oil train proposal, recommending on Page 10 that Council approve Valero’s appeal, reject Benicia’s Planning Commission […]
Thoughts of the Carquinez Straits in Benicia’s golden days
FIRST THOUGHTS At the Benicia Grammar School, that site now holds Benicia Unified School District offices, some teachers had stacks of Life Magazines in their classrooms which had been published during World War II. I often looked at them while eating my brown bag lunch. Among photos in the magazines which I thought of at […]
Poetry Corner: Johanna Ely “View from the Benicia Depot”
Standing on the wooden platform of this old fashioned train depot, I remember how I once waited impatiently for trains to take me away, waited in stations as long as football stadiums, New York, Paris, Tokyo, waited eagerly to travel on trains whose wheels clicked and clacked to the edge of a new world. Now […]
Think Dream Play: Will Rogers never met this guy
Not sure if it was Machiavelli or Michael Corleone who originated the phrase, “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer,” but it’s been on my mind. The concept came in handy in – of all places – public school! When I was working as a high school principal, I needed to have my ear […]
Notes from 30,000 Feet: The ongoing search for the perfect cooked ribs
The search for the best combination of: method, rub, glazing sauce and mop sauce used to achieve baby back perfection has been an arduous, but enjoyable task. I think I may have found it this past Labor Day weekend with a new twist on a tried and true formula. Over the years I have used […]
Benicia writer to host launch party for new book about Stephen Vincent Benet
Benicia writer Donnell Rubay, who previously had written books about Jack London and John Muir, is about to release her newest biography about writer Stephen Vincent Benet, titled “With a Dream So Proud: The Life of Stephen Vincent Benet.” The launch party will take place at Carter’s Biz Cafes at the Commanding Officer’s Quarters, the […]
Poetry Corner: Bud Light “Memories”
A poem by Bud Light Today was a good day To hear and see To breathe, and be To love and feel thanks To be alive To also think of those So near and dear Who aren’t. Do you have insightful, topical or just all around creative poetry that you’d like to share with the […]