The day after Dad passed away, his wife Jere’, and I had an appointment with the folks at Foster-Peterings. We were  going there to purchase a casket to bury the old man in. My stomach was in knots as we pulled in the driveway and walked into the funeral parlor. That feeling soon melted away as we sat…

It seemed like every cop in the world rushed me as I opened our apartment door. I soon found myself cuffed and loaded in the back of a cruiser and enroute to the Washoe County Jail. My youngest sister Marcy told the Humboldt County California Sheriffs Department that I was the Tom Darby they were looking…

The bathroom toilet had become clogged up and my parents decided to take care of the problem themselves. I remember going to the base exchange with Dad and picking up a metal can of what he called “Drano.” Once we’re back home I was excited to see how the stuff in the can would be…

Let me count the ways. Since this years’ event started, I have been stuck behing old clunker vehicles that have needed to be pushed out of the way. I’ve also dealt with finding streets unexpectedly closed to accomodate visitors, while making it more than difficult for locals simply trying to get to work. Each year,…

Spent my night and much of the early morning nursing our pit bull, Roxy. She had a severe stomach problem that caused her to get sick several times. The bride noticed the dog wasn’t acting right. It wouldn’t settle down and continued to pace up and down the hallway even after all the lights were…

While out taking pictures in downtown Reno, I had no problems. However, when I took a photo of the Thompson Federal Building, I found myself being scrutinized by the U.S. Marshal’s Service. An agent came out and asked why I was taking pictures of the building, saying it looked like I was casing the joint.…

There are times I wish I had the guts to write as raw and dirty and twisted and lusty as Charles Bukowski. Even his book titles leave one thinking about their own emotional state of mind. To have the courage—or perhaps the lack of sense—to write whatever comes to mind in the lowest of form…

The phone rang during the early morning hours and Dad answered.  It was a fire and the two of us rushed down to the Yurok Volunteer Fire Department at the head of our street. Dad started up the white rescue rig as I went to the chalkboard and wrote down the information we had on the blaze.…

Working overnight at KOZZ left me in the building by myself most of the time.  I didn’t mind it until management started remodeling the from office, adding a new sound booth and redirecting the hallway to the studios. That’s when strange stuff started to happen.  And I couldn’t get my boss, Jim McClain or his…

While running errands for the bride, I happened upon an older man being beaten by two women, one with an aluminum baseball bat. He was on the ground, being stomped, kicked and savaged by both la femme fatale. The man left his dog locked in his truck (a no-no in hot weather,) and went into…