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Some folks call themselves cat lovers, or dog lovers. As for me my life has been graced by both. Since Smiley died in 2000 I have been limited to “grand—pets”. Each one of them has held a special place in my heart. There was Santi, Che, Maggie, Lenny (Kravitz) the black cat, Ziggy, June, Emmett, Milo, Jack, Roma, Quetzi, and the recently departed Johnny the Chihuahua. Today I write about Johnny “Rocket” who was no ordinary Chihuahua. Johnny lived with my son Mateo and D.I.L. Melania on a small farm on the north side of the Rio Grand in New…

It’s good to be back home. We went to my grandson Conor’s third birthday in Palos Verdes, California on St. Patrick’s Day. That is not unusual in and of itself. What was a bit more fun, rather than the two day drive to LA though Utah, was how we got there. I thought I wanted to get out of the cold of late winter in Colorado. We flew to Ft. Lauderdale where we caught a cruise ship going through the Panama Canal. On the day we left Florida it was ten degrees warmer in Arvada than Miami. The best laid…

Those words echoed across cinema goers’ psyche as Clark Gable spoke them in “Gone With the Wind” on December 15, 1939. The movie debut broke all box office records. It was a line spoken by Rhett Butler to Scarlet O’Hara at the end of the movie. A line that pushed the boundaries of Hollywood’s production code. A swear word that re-defined public limits for art imitating life as it really was. Let the games begin…how many F—bombs in your favorite thriller? This past week Robert Duvall died. For me he was the greatest actor of my memory. In 1983 I…

I took two years of German in high school. Occasionally I will remember a word or a phrase in German which works. I am not sure I learned the the word schadenfreude from Mr. Rendon, but it is one of the words that does not have its equal in English. It literally means pain joy—taking pleasure in someone else’s misfortune. The Three Stooges made a living with these antics. For me schadenfreude is not cruel or gloating, but rather a more primal response of a need for some kind of justice. I suspect that no one who has read this…

There is nothing colder than a North wind sweeping across the Oklahoma plain in January. It bites, cuts, chills and can seem relentless. I served for five years as the Chaplain at the Enid State School for the 1000+ residents that, to one degree or another, were classified as “developmentally disabled”. We as a society have come a long way from the institutions that were at one time considered compassionate care. I replaced a chaplain who had been there 11 years and never held a service for the many residents that died on the campus. I can remember many of…

This past week I have been remembering the “church ladies” who helped to form me. This was prompted by a video my friend Arn sent, called “Church Ladies”. It was full of images from the South of the women who shaped a sense of love and ministry. It was both very funny and poignant. Recently I heard a snarky comment from someone who never lived in the 50’s and 60’s, making fun of the church of that era. The implication is that whatever we call church now is an improvement on their misconceptions and stereotypes. I will try not to…

I remember years ago, there were a number of sad incidents involving children getting hold of medications or other potentially dangerous substances. I also remember nefarious actors creating havoc, as bad things were put into medication bottles or food sources to do harm to innocents. Soon the “Child Proof” bottles were showing up in all sorts of forms. Seals were put on medications and food containers which to Mark, the thirty year old, was no real problem—the minor inconveniences were nothing compared to the harm they prevented. I am not sure exactly when I began to notice that what was…

My Uncle Paul who died last year at 98, once said to me, “Duct Tape is the greatest replacement for skill ever invented”. He then went on a litany of uses for it that proved his point. The best/worst example I ever saw of Duct Tape adapted to another function, was someone who did their entire convertible roof with Duct Tape, and then spray painted it red. I am remembering that the astronauts from Apollo 13 saved their lives with a Duct Taped vent. All of this is to offer an homage to that silver tape that saves the day.…

On New Year’s Eve morning my grandson Zach asked, “Hey grandpa, why don’t you go with me and Estrella (his dog) to the dog park”? It was a beautiful warm winter morning and I jumped at the invite. We live near three dog parks. The biggest is a couple of miles north of us. It’s called the Westminster Open Space Dog Park. It’s a couple hundred acres of dog heaven. Some days the parking lot, which holds at least 80 cars, is packed, along with the side road. This morning we got there as it was filling up. Out we…

It’s a big word… and I love what it describes. Defined by Carl Jung—“A concept of meaningful coincidences where external events align with inner thoughts/feelings without a direct causal link”. This past week I was doing a lot of remembering those very special connections that are no longer living with me. At the top of my list were my parents and my brothers. Two things will bring up those memories with emotional Intensity. Music or smells…the Christmas season is overflowing with both. I was driving back from meeting with my PCP at Kaiser. There is nothing like hearing “You are…