Toilet tanks, gates, latches, door locks, closet clothes poles, landscape grooming, Weedeating on occasion, Special Carpentry Projects, all manner of Honey Do Handyman work – these are the things that I currently do for self-employment and have done for these past 16 years. Before that I cleaned roots and clogs from sewer lines in three […]
Voice of the Village: What would an age-friendly world look like?
By Lois Requist The World Health Organization has a vision which is to “facilitate the inclusion of older persons to make our world more age-friendly.” The organization believes “An age-friendly world enables people of all ages to actively participate in community activities and treats everyone with respect, regardless of their age.” So what does […]
A Vibrant Faith for the 21st Century: Scripture and social justice
Earlier this month, a statement titled “The Statement on Social Justice and the Gospel” was released to the public. The heart of this statement can be identified by these words from the introduction to the statement itself: “Specifically, we are deeply concerned that values borrowed from secular culture are currently undermining Scripture in the areas […]
A Different Drummer: Growing up with girls
I grew up in a household of all girls, and as a result, I have come to a much deeper and broader misunderstanding of them. The guys in my life were gone quick. My dad and his car burst into flames when I was five, and my grandfather ran off before I was born. I […]
Steve Young: Benicia voters should be wary of fake poll
While relaxing at home one evening, I received a call from a Saratoga phone number. The caller said she was conducting a poll for Research America on the upcoming election for governor, senator and City Council. Having more than a passing interest in the topic, I agreed to be questioned on my opinions. However there […]
Dennis Lund: Dianne Feinstein no longer the lesser of two evils?
In recent days the nation has witnessed an unseemly display of political gamesmanship, one which has served as testimonial to just how low the Democrats have sunk. Desperate to regain the power they believe to be rightfully theirs, Sen. Dianne Feinstein trotted out a 36-year-old “he said, she said” story regarding drunken teenagers. In recent […]
Write Away: Logging lies
On the second day of school, Colin’s homework was to read for twenty minutes and fill out a reading log. Colin reads a lot, so this log would be no problem. But of course the day the reading log came home, there was no time to read. Normally, I’d say, eh, you’ll make up the […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: Cud
I was just a blade of grass That grew upon a lea I soaked the sun and drank the rain So pleased that I was me The seasons came, the seasons went The time just trundled by The Earth engulfed my roots in warmth Beneath the vast blue sky A herd of milk cows came […]
Voice of the Village: A local heroine
By Judie Donaldson I recall a number of years ago when my friend Karen called to request a favor. Her father had died that morning, and she called to ask me to pass along a message to our friends. The message? She requested that we each honor her father’s life by living life––by doing something […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Songwriting
I never would have guessed when I was a senior in Mechanical Engineering Design at UC Berkeley back in 1965 that I would have an armload of songs on YouTube.com by the time I was 75. Or that Herb Caen would list all the lyrics to my “Laid Off American Man” in 1994. Such are […]