Santa Claus walked into Amazon headquarters one day and rang the service bell. “Where’s Jeff?” he yelled. “Mr. Bezos is in a meeting, eh, sir, and cannot be bothered,” said Rehnquist, the wide-eyed, nearly speechless, young, thin, clean-shaved, hairless look-alike assistant from behind a cluttered desk where he was filling out a requisition form for […]
Jeff Burkhart’s “Rhyme and Reason”: Benny the Bear (Teddy Bear that is) Brooklyn, New York, December 1931…
I’m a bear, I’m called Benny, and I’m slightly used Lemme tell youse a tale, ya won’t read in the news I tell it to people, on Christmas ya see It could happen to youse, ‘cause it happened to me A banker from Brooklyn whose first name was Sid Went and bought me at Macy’s, […]
Voice of the Village: They call it ‘Vitamin G’
By Judie Donaldson Have you ever heard of the “science of generosity?” Hold onto to this question for a couple of minutes while I talk about my experience with generosity at Carquinez Village. It was close to three years ago that Lois Requist and I introduced to our area the concept of what eventually […]
The A Cappella Handyman: Our Favorites
Our Favorites Sitting at breakfast at First Street Cafe (440 First Street), this past Sunday, December 10, 2017, it’s time for a confessional: This is our favorite eating place in all of Benicia! Ever since they opened under owners, Mark and Terry Krull some nearly 22 years ago in 1996, wife Janice and I have […]
Wesley Heberling: My concussion, and why kids should wear a helmet
By Wesley Heberling Special to the Herald My name is Wesley. I’m 11 years old, and I got a concession on Oct 15, 2017. I was at a skate park when a teenager hit my scooter from behind and I went flying. I had no chance of bracing my fall. It happened so fast. I […]
Benicia Letters Once More: The Blue Shirt
The following “letter” is part of the continuing series from the unpublished novel by James Garrett, “Benicia Letters Once More”. He does not plan to publish the book but instead is choosing to share the letters with the readers of the Benicia Herald. The letters continue the storyline of Garrett’s first novel “Benicia and Letters […]
A Different Drummer: Birdhouse building binge briefs
I’ve come up with a DIY approach to gift giving this year. The evolution of this bright idea began two years ago when two small birds built a nest in the upper corner of our back porch roof where cozy beams meet the post. Susan and I got to recline in our afternoon deck chairs […]
Voice of the Village: What does it mean to need something?
By Lois Requist In an age of a great deal of material “stuff,” what does the word “need” mean? Can we separate it from “want?” Sometimes I hear someone say “I’m starving,” which means they haven’t eaten in a few hours. “First world problems” is the term some people call these questions. When we started […]
The A Capella Handyman: A 1936 La Salle
I was told it was cold on Jan.30, 1943 in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, but I wasn’t concerned. I was warm inside my mother, Karen Bray, when Kaboom, I was out and breathing on my own! Dad was stationed nearby at OCS, Officer Candidate School with the US Army-Air Force and the US was definitely at […]
Everyday Feng Shui: Holiday choices made easy with Feng Shui
The holiday season offers us many choices; “Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you….choose wisely.” Roy T. Bennett This is a time to give of yourself, your spirit, your energy, your time and your talents. It’s […]