The best part of getting older is that you accumulate entertaining stories that are worth the retelling over and over again. One of my favorites of this type occurred a few years ago, I won’t tell you in which town, because every town has them, old cottages for rent that are still being maintained and […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Readers Write…
Readers Write… Readers of this column since 2008 have been entertained or informed about backyard squirrels, house cats, “Saving the Lido,” growing up in 1950s Walnut Creek suburbia, corporate life and post-corporate life, “Toilets 101”, songwriting, and how many poems I’ve long ago lost track of. So…I’m more than game to hear their Bucket Lists, […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Tinker
There was a time of old when the tinker, a silversmith of sorts, travelled by buggy or cart from village to village fixing pots and pans. Not all were silver either, maybe they were pewter or cast iron or copper, or inexpensive pot metal, whatever that served the cooking needs of the many on his […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Handyman’s Lore
Handyman Lore Everything man-made has a shelf life to it, concrete or steel or maybe you can see through it. Add the vagaries of time and weather, and an animal skin tanned becomes a coat of leather. Add zippers and buttons and you’re looking pretty cool, ’til age sets in and you’re dulling your tools. […]
The A Cappella Handyman: The Inauguration and Marches…
The Women’s March on Washington, D.C. How Fantastic! I salute all my activist sisters! Yippee! It was reported that there were some 600-plus marches around the globe. Obviously, people of all origins and situations are ticked at the status quo. Outstanding, ladies, contrast that to a lame 53 percent voter turnout in the U.S. this […]
A Cappella Handyman: I flipped my lid
YES I DID. I REALLY DID. I flipped my lid. I was at the dump in Martinez. My trailer has been with me since 1999, when I bought it used but in good shape on Shattuck Avenue in Berkeley as a metal base with wheels only, no sides or top. Over the past 15 years […]
A Cappella Handyman: Hotrodder
MAYBE THAT’S ALL I’VE EVER BEEN. Simple as that. Seeing my first hot rod at age 8 in San Leandro, my head spun around to follow it in traffic behind us. “What was that?” I asked my Dad, driving us somewhere in the family Buick. “That’s a hot rod,” he answered, to which I asked […]