Daily Blues & Views

      Books have always been important to me.  I wish that were true for everyone, but living in a country where more than half the people did not read a book last year, it's clear that reading a book is not high on the list of priorities.  Hell, many folks don't even read actual books these days. The ever-popular handheld devices do everything for them electronically.     In the last few years, I have downsized my book collection.  I used to love to be surrounded by my bookshelves and had them everywhere.  The bedroom, living room, office, den, and even bathroom usually had some sort of bookshelf.  No longer.  In my household, we share books and pass them along.  Usually, something comes back to us from that effort too.     When I first retired from teaching I found that my reading time increased 10 fold.  I could finally read whatever and whenever I desired.  I even went to my bookshelf and read some ...

      I'm at that age.  The age when people you know and people you have followed all your life begin to die.  Just last week I heard of a high school friend that is now in hospice care.  Since my retirement, I can count six former colleagues that have passed on.  Seems like almost daily I hear of the death of a musician, an entertainer, a politico, or an athlete that I admire(d) that has recently died. It comes it the territory.     On the other hand, there are idols of mine that are still around.  I was musing about Willie Mays to some friends the other day.  My first idol, I had to have his baseball cards and a signature glove.  That glove was magic to me.  As a Giants fan growing up in LA, it was difficult to find.  My dad and I rode the bus downtown to United Sporting Goods where they had a wall of gloves.  The McGregor Willie Mays model was there and I was over the moon.  Three years later, in the...