Because I have been writing about the past, it is probably no surprise that I have been living in the past. And let me add that this is not a pleasant place to be. The present being more enjoyable. Not to mention easier to connect with. And full of infinitely more possibilities. And it’s not just writing that has had me in the past. Age must do that, or something like it. After all, the bulk of that thing called life is infinitely behind me. What’s ahead is relatively slim. Which doesn’t Read more [...]

Gentle reader, it has been a journey. And I would kvetch about the details, but that would take all day, perhaps all week, maybe into the early 2030s, so why bother? Suffice it to say that I have spent five hours over the last few days talking to Messrs. Apple about why my brand new laptop can’t quite find its way onto the Internet. You don’t want to know the answer. Too much for blogging. However, on this very day after endless discussion, I am back in action. Well, mostly. We have to exclude Read more [...]

I am taking a break between chapters, gentle reader. Not, of course, reading them but writing them. My latest iteration of what I call “the book” is nearing its end stage. Note that one doesn’t say completion, just finishing what is being attempted before emailing the thing off to an editor. Like Winchester’s widow, I can’t stop adding rooms. It’s great to speak of stages of life, because this supposes that there are more than one. In my current dissatisfied mood, this isn’t always Read more [...]

Being a bright and breezy San Francisco day, damned if I didn’t hurtle out the door and down the hill for late morning coffee and toast at Cup, the redoubtable Jordanian/Hispanic café by the subway station. I do this increasingly, getting out just for the sake of getting out. The product of this is doubtful. But Sam, the proprietor, is always friendly. And the whole experience confirms that the outside world still exists. It has been a long year. Soon it will be a long year and a half. And my Read more [...]

Jane seemed a little surprised to find herself heading south on I 280 this morning. I felt a bit that way myself. In fact, what really surprised me, if anything, was how soon Black Mountain Road appears on the freeway. Damned if Santa Clara doesn’t move itself just a slight bit northwest. And then there it is, the MobilityWorks garage near San Jose Airport. I have a chat with the mechanic. I urge Jane to take part in this, but she declines. The whole thing has me slightly paranoid, for what Read more [...]

With this I offer a title that reminds me of Herb Caen, a columnist in the now almost defunct San Francisco Chronicle, who once wrote breezy pieces full of unconnected anecdotes, heavy on atmospherics of this hilly town. And there’s the Mamas and Papas‘ song of the same name, which could be described as just as breezy, and of the same era. Which happens to be my era. And otherwise, who cares? I do care about what comes back to me from that time. Because memory is highly selective and creates Read more [...]