Category SLICE O’ LIFE BITS
Celilo: The Stilled Waters Bit
I just found this old picture of my Grandpa P! He’s perched above a scene along the Columbia River that I don’t think exists anymore – at a place called Celilo Falls. Maybe a couple decades after the picture was taken, water rose up behind the newly built Dalles Dam, and the cataracts of Celilo […]
Canada: The 17 in ’17 Bit (Part 2)
Ohhh, Canadaaa! Picking up where Part 1 of my Canadian sesquicentennial tribute left off, here are reasons 9 through 17 (still in no special order) why this American loves you: 9. The Wild Wild Life While wandering through Canada’s breathtaking natural scenery, I’ve gotten some equally breathtaking reminders that when it comes to the great outdoors, we humans […]
The Memento Motori Bit
Happy Happy New Year! So I watched my old Jetta get towed away for good in 2016 – and it made me sadder than I expected. I mean, I know all cars die eventually. But beyond losing the only cassette deck left in my life, it felt like I’d said goodbye to a longtime friend. […]
The Night Before Christmas Bit
‘Twas the night before Christmas when all through my place (One bedroom apartment – a cute little space), Not a creature was stirring – good thing in my rental; Cuz if I had a mouse? I’d go totally mental! Despite all the quiet, sleep still was in vain, For something annoying kept nagging my brain! […]
The Downtown Dreamin’ Bit
Just a block away from my SoCal home, an intersection is constantly being captured by this intriguing fellow with the keen eye and retro gear. Although all he directs now is traffic, he’s a reminder of the area’s deep filmmaking roots. But monuments in and around Los Angeles also call to mind other dreams and legacies […]
O Fortuna: The Cal-mina Bear-ana Bit
O Fortuna velut luna statu variabilis So begins the fabulous musical work Carmina Burana with the declaration that fortunes change like the waxing and waning moon. Boy do they, right? And sometimes a major change of fortune can come from a trivial choice. Like when my decision to join a university chorus and sing these words caused […]
A TIDBIT
Caught this from our “stateroom veranda” on a cruise a few years back. One of those times where you figure life can’t get any more magical – and then it just up and does! Like Bogart will always have Paris, I’ll get to hold onto amazing moments like these!
THE “DAD DOES HIS BIT” BIT
With the approach of Memorial Day, I’m thinking of those who’ve bravely served in our armed forces – and that includes my dad who was a Marine during World War II. His “hitch” in the Corps turned out to be brief, but every once in a while he’d reminisce about those days and how they helped shape the man he became. […]
THE PARTING SHOT GLASS BIT
So my New Years resolution for 2015 has been to get my apartment in order – and that is no small task. On the “to do” list is paring down bunches of items I’ve collected over the years – including the small hoard of shot glasses acquired through my travels. I already tried sifting through troves of books, […]
THE CALIFORNIA CHRISTMAS BIT
I’m dreaming of a white Christmas… So I just realized that the side topic of snow kind of “drifted” into each of my last two posts (about Vancouver and the fall). Yeah, ’tis the season (ask Buffalo…), but I think it’s become a thing with me. As a lifelong coastal Californian, I wonder if I’ve ended up with a complex […]
TESSEROLOGY 