On The Fly

We were 12 years old at the time in sixth grade, pranksters.  My good friends Perry Marlette, Nathan Robertson, and I were the adolescent boys who “terrorized" the town of Cuba, Illinois with pranks that drove our local cop batty. After our adventures we would retreat back to Perry’s house and his mother would refuel us with Hostess Twinkies and 7up. I guess you had to grow up in the 1960s to realize that snacks weren’t always healthy fresh fruits, and whole grain products. Of course, we devoured crackers and cheese, nuts, and a variety of munchies but what sticks in my mind was the sugar rush from Twinkies and 7up. Maybe it’s because it was not something my mother would buy for our family. It was a luxury! I can hear you asking, “What in the world reminded you of this?”  Our high school class of 1974 has a Facebook page with 46 members. It’s a closed group that friends only seem to post when someone from our graduating class dies. In our small town we came to k...

“It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Catchers are squatting, and pitchers reporting - you be of good cheer.   “It’s the most wonderful time of the year.” Hah, you thought it was Andy Williams singing about Christmas.    Nope, for millions of baseball fans Spring Training rings in The National Pastime. A time of renewed hope and fresh starts. The season (for me) officially kicks off Monday, April 4, 2016, 7:05 pm (PST) with the Los Angeles Dodgers battling the San Diego Padres at Petco Park. With 162 games to play, 30 teams step confidently into opening day with renewed hope. Is this year "Next Year" for the Cubs? Ok, I’m a die hard Cubs fan at heart. Did anyone catch Bill Murray playing the 2016 Pebble Beach ProAm wearing Cubs golf slacks? John Daly would have been proud. Yes, every baseball fan has their special team. In California alone we have five teams to choose from: The Los Angeles Dodgers, Angels of Anaheim, San Diego Padres, San Francisco Giants, an...

Crash! The wind howled: the house shook, a window shattered, hail pounded the windows as tree branches splintered and flew just inches outside our bedroom's sliding glass door. It was 1:30 a.m. February 1, 2016. Jolted back to our earthly reality we leapt out of bed. "Oh my God, the giant tree in the back yard has fallen,” Lori shrieked. When nature comes knocking instantly hundreds of wild uncontrollable thoughts flash through your mind. Do we need to evacuate? What happened? Was there electrical damage? Which tree is it? Are the cats ok? Did it destroy our new deck? Is the roof intact? What about the neighbor’s trees . . .  In the pitch darkness little did we know that both 40-50 foot Pine trees in our yard had been completely uprooted by the violent storm from the Winter El Nino in Southern California. We flipped on the light and made our way down the stairs. The cats were nowhere to be found. Glass covered the living room carpet and a cold wind was ...