Vincent the Black Cat
We used to have a black cat named Vincent, he was the coolest blend of walk slow, affectionate, happy to be held; and wild-man outdoors Mr. Danger cat. Our daughter once woke up to him BANGING on her window with…
Lenny Breau
Jazz guitarist Lenny Breau was phenomenal, other-worldly. Chord melody and just crazy good. I met him at a music trade show called NAMM in Anaheim, CA. Got to speak with him. This is tall stuff. It got taller. …
Playing in the Big Band
At GIT (Guitar Institute of Technology), the great studio guitarist, Tommy Tedesco, conducted a workshop. You may never have heard the name Tommy Tedesco, but you have heard him play guitar on many soundtracks—pop-rock of the ’60s (Beach Boys, Frank…
Edwin
The crashing economy tanked our catering business, and I needed money. We served a reservation center for one of the airlines near LAX, and what once had provided an income so good that it induced facial ticks in our…
Casey’s Story (part 6)
Our last few days in China We took daily walks to Starbucks, our little piece of home turf in the foreign land....
Casey’s Story (Part 5)
From that moment on—the Skype sessions, the tupperware-on-his-head games, the smiles—we didn’t look back, he was ours, here we go. We drew a bath, Casey looked wide-eyed at the watery oblong tank. When we tried to put…
Casey’s Story (part 4)
We were told, “Here he comes…” Through the opaque glass door, two adults—an older, sadder-looking dark haired man with sorrowful eyes and tired face; and a younger woman, smiling eyes sparkling like she’d been let out of…
Casey’s Story (part 3)
Finally, the long, long flight to China. We asked our doctor for sleeping pills, he prescribed some ‘anxiety relief’ drug which helped very little—I was anxious about not sleeping! For most of the flight I sat slumped,…
Casey’s Story (part 2)
Three months before we were to get our little girl child from China, Susie said to me, “Wouldn’t it be great if they gave us a boy?” (We already had three biological daughters) “Sure, that’d…
Casey’s Story (part 1)
Susie and I chatted for years about adoption but never took action until one evening when, gazing off to the horizon, she sighed and said she’d be “unfulfilled” if she died without adopting. Which surprised me. I hadn’t…
Chairlift Conversations
Tuesday afternoon skiing was one of the Top 10 best ever! Conditions were flawless! After a first stiff run, I loosened up and hit it! Loose hips, carving thru slight moguls, joyous adventure! Bright sunshine, sunny blue sky, warm but…