Works
Who Wrote the Star Spangled Banner?
Many will immediately say: “Francis Scott Key.” If this were a history test, and I’m glad it’s not, they’d get no better than a “C-” for that answer. Here’s why. Key wrote the words, but not the music to our national anthem. The music was written by John Stafford Smith, ironically, a British composer. The original song had…
Read MorePerfume: Born in Smoke
The welcome discovery and use of perfume go back more than l5,000 years. Greeks believed that perfume was created by the gods. Egyptians believed that it gave perfection to all parts of the human body. They used it widely, especially in preparing the dead for their journey to an afterlife. Mohammed observed that the three…
Read MoreHow “King Cotton” was Crowned
Eli Whitney, in 1795, at the tender age of 27, invented the cotton gin, the “gin” being slang for “engine.” Little did he suspect that his simple machine, designed and built in only ten days, would revolutionize the entire soc1al and economic structure of the “southern section of the United States. The cotton gin separated…
Read MoreOut and About on the Grossmont Gardens Bus
Our bus driver for Grossmont Gardens, Harry, stood waiting for our last rider to arrive. I had arrived early to board the bus. He was inside the bus by the open front door. While we are waiting Harry told us jokes, he said he learned from his 7th grade students at the junior high school…
Read MoreThe Angels Were Looking Out For Us
Gerry Driesen handed me a short story titled “My First Corner Was Almost My Last’ to post on the website. That story has inspired me to write and post a similar story about four high schoolers, one of which was yours truly. In Gerry’s story he makes the comment, “It’s amazing to realize that all…
Read MoreMy First Corner Was Almost My Last
We were all in grade school: Bernie Deutsch, Dale Honeyman, TomBurr and me, all in the eighth grade, all twelve years old. We had gone to spend the afternoon at Dale’s farmhouse. Dale had a large family, but that day the rest of the family was gone. They had three cars, but only two we…
Read MoreJoining the Water People
A few years ago Carol Rawlins authored an amusing and articulate summary of the water issues that have faced California in the past and will continue in the future as the droughts ebb and flow across the State, and as politicians use water as a political football without finally solving the critical water needs of…
Read MoreThe Gift Wrap and the Jewel
This poem written by Wanda B. Goines, age 92, appeared in Wellness magazine, October 13, 2015 in an article by Claire Peltier. Kathryn Clausnitzer Wilson, Goines’ caregiver uploaded a video of Goines reciting the poem to Facebook. I looked in the mirror and what did I see, But a little old lady (man) peering back…
Read MoreRemembrances from the Farm
Back Row: Jesse & Roy, Roy, Edwin, Walt, Etta, Lily; Middle Row: Ruth, Elizabeth, Edwin, Peggy; Seated Harry (Grampie) & Rose (Grammie); Front: Rosemary, Barbara, Jean and Buster, the dog. We talk of our annual pilgrimages to the farm. There was a myriad of life-enriching and happy times, some of which I’ve jotted below in…
Read MoreThe Bathtub Explosion
One of the memorable clients at Twin Pines Psychiatric Hospital was Dave, a gentleman who worked for a company who manufactures surgical instruments. He was a brilliant man with ideas way ahead of his time though he was diagnosed with Bipolar illness. In the “high” periods of his illness he presented the company with rather…
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