David Almandsmith Dad was terrific. He made the number plates (#22) for my 250cc 2-stroke YDS2 Yamaha, set up his dial micrometer for truing the wheels, generally helped prepare the motorcycle, and he rented a trailer. Don Vesco was likewise terrific. He got me racing pistons and recommended how to modify them. He gave me a set … Read more
My 250cc Yamaha YDS2 motorcycle and i are getting to know each other quite intimately in a sensual way. When i push near the limits of traction while turning or braking or both, it shares the texture of the roadway with me and also lets me know how close it is to losing purchase with … Read more
Late in the afternoon i pulled into a gas station in San Luis Obispo, shut down my Yamaha motorcycle, removed my helmet and gloves, fed the nearby pay phone, and called Alan Hughes. He used to be in Griffith Hall with us at UC Berkeley but transferred to Cal Poly. Alan gave me directions to … Read more
I finished my first year at UC Berkeley without screwing up too badly. Some good experiences and several not so good – like the time i snuck a HUGE firecracker – an “Atom Bomb” the size of a stick of dynamite purchased in Tijuana – under the bed of Rich Weinstock on the 8th floor … Read more
It was the summer of 1962. Jay Kenny, Joe Cotham, Duncan Penman, and i had just graduated from high school. We left El Cajon in my 1951 Ford convertible to make some money picking fruit in Central California. Duncan had researched about agricultural labor and knew that we needed to sign up for work at … Read more
We think we are being interesting to others when we are being interesting to ourselves.-Jack Gardner Usually, autobiography is such an indulgence of the ego.-Tom Robbins If you are expecting a novel, brace yourself as this short work is definitely not that. It does not fit easily in any genre, so far as i know. … Read more
It started out as a typical request over the phone. “There’s a bird flopping around in front of our house and we’re afraid it might get run over or attacked by someone’s cat. Could you come get it?” At that time International Bird Rescue was located in the building adjacent to (and owned by) the … Read more
David Almandsmith CHAPTER 1 Unusual object detected approaching Planet Castor. Spectrum indicates extreme temperature. John stopped loosening bolts on the motor he was repairing in the maintenance shed on the outskirts of New Moscow. “Huh. Munchie, you can see something that far off? Must be pretty freaking big.” Negative. Too small to resolve. Detected by … Read more
Establishing an identical minimum wage for EVERYWHERE in the United States will: shortchange workers in many urban areas where the costs of living are high; and it will unduly handicap local firms in their efforts to stay in business where local economies are depressed. Instead, we should “index” the local minimum wage to the LOCAL … Read more
There aren’t many cats along Patricia Lane. Across the street and one house up, lives an older couple with a pudgy Calico that they never let out of doors. I cannot think of any others except Tam-Malacha, our Siamese we call “Tam.” There are several dogs that live along our one-block street and each learned … Read more