Daily Blues & Views

I had a little problem with my front door lock the other day.  That's when I met Jack.  The key to one of the two locks on my front door would go in, but wouldn't turn.  Time to call a locksmith.  I phoned a recommended source and Jack appeared. Jack can best be described as a journeyman.  He's a career professional and his career just might be a dying breed.  Everything is going digital and locks and safes are no exception.  But until that day, an old school locksmith like Jack will continue to make a good living. Jack can get you in.  He can actually diagnose a problem from a fairly accurate description. "This will take about 20 minutes," Jack said after looking at my problem.  He adjusted a few things and then returned my key.  It seems some small part had broken off on the top lock.  When his repair was complete, in about 15 minutes, Jack went on to explain that the top lock, the deadbolt, was in fine shape and really all one...

When I first heard the term it struck me...this idea really fits.  "Tabloid culture"... we live in a tabloid culture.  All the signs were there.  One had only to hear those two words fall into place. This was right around the time that reality TV shows were coming into vogue and tabloids, themselves were beginning to appear in grocery stores at the check-out counter.  And appear they did, in numerous forms.  Newspaper and magazine formats took the place of Time and Newsweek. Of course, television stations were programming the likes of Jerry Springer and Maury Povich.  Who impregnated whom and who done him or her wrong shows were the new ratings toppers. So what does this say about who we are as a people and how that relates to the current state of the union and those who are in the halls of power?  With all sensitivity to personal tastes and differences, to class, race, and gender...it says that we've come down a few pegs and are, perhaps, in fre...

I've been spending a fair amount of time lately reading Ron Chernow's massive new biography of General Ulysses S. Grant.  At over 900 pages, there is a lot of history here, and much of it quite interesting and thought-provoking.  It is also fascinating to read about this historical era when the country was so divided in a time when the country is so divided again. Even though it seems like these divisions will never end or be resolved, they somehow dissipate for a time, only to surface decades later in an altered form.  Altered, yes, but not entirely different from their original content and intensity. We live in a time of tremendous division.  Much of that division concerns the interpretation of what is loosely termed the direction of our country.  We have at the helm, a political newcomer who thrives on pandering to his base and overtly expressing his racism, sexism, and self-righteous indignation.  This is not unlike the world that Grant inhabited w...

With the testimony of Dr. Blasey Ford before Congress, I'm sure many folks are trying to remember some of the high school parties they attended.  This is all the more difficult depending on the type and amount of beverages present.  I suspect social class plays a significant role too. Some indisputable evidence that has come out of these hearings and their aftermath is that alcohol was a huge part of the equation back in the 1980s, the setting for this particular situation. Frat parties and exclusive private boys schools clubs have always been about getting drunk.  The degree to which one imbibes seems to be the significant factor here.  But, inebriation is not the topic here, high school parties are. Do you remember many high school parties you attended?  I do...at least a few.  They seem to revolve around events rather than what we drank.  Growing up in Southern California, many of those I recall revolved around a swimming pool. As a high...

A couple of weeks ago I met a wonderful young man just about to begin his career in one of the more stressful helping professions.  Robbie is a sharp, well groomed, young professional who will soon be working with folks that have been diagnosed with all manner of mental illnesses.  Like so many young folks I meet, he had education debt, but also the energy and intellectual curiosity of someone who would make a great friend. We met at a small dinner party organized around the fact that all attendees had helped one of our neighbors when he sustained an injury that left him on crutches for the better part of 6 months. Since Robbie will soon be moving about an hour away, the little get together had even more meaning.  Some of my neighbors and I had helped our injured friend without ever meeting each other.  This dinner would remedy that. The dinner went well.  We talked politics, film, art, and a smattering of neighborhood news.  Before the evening...

Last week I made my annual pilgrimage to a small lake in Central Oregon.  I've been going there for about 10 years now every September.  It's great to be in this Cascades after Labor Day because the tourist population is gone and the weather usually holds up for another month.  I had a goal.  There are some beautifully colored Brook trout in this lake and while I have no problem with catching (and releasing) a Rainbow trout, the opportunity to catch a Brookie with Fall spawning colors often eludes me.  I charged up the battery on the little digital camera that fits nicely into the pocket of my favorite fishing shirt and promptly forgot to put in in place the morning I drove the 18 miles up into the mountains from our rented guest house in Central Oregon.  The thought hit me just as I was negotiating the last mile of the horrible washboarded dirt road that dead ends at the lake.  What's the worse that could happen?  I kept asking myself.  I c...

There is a song called "Amanda" by Waylon Jennings that has a verse I've held onto for decades.  I think the song was written in the 1970s when I was in my 30s so it's easy to see the appeal because the aforementioned verse goes:                                    It's a measure of people who don't understand                                    The pleasures of life in a hillbilly band                                    I got my first guitar when I was fourteen                                    Well I finally made forty, still wearing jeans I liked the fact that at 40, I was still wearing jeans.  Levis are my jean of ...