Sherry and i hatched a delightful plan for a weekend excursion. A trip to visit Sherry’s good friend, Cat, who lives in Santa Barbara. We would load our bicycles into the 1966 VW Bus, drive to Buchanan Field in Concord, put the bikes in the UC Flying Club’s Mooney 201, fly to Santa Barbara, and … Read more
Is “Closet Ecdysiast” an oxymoron? Stripping naked in front of strangers and walking about in “the buff” is a rebellion against polite society and against the essence of what our mothers and kindergarten teachers tried to instill in us. But it is also an affirmation of what we are: furless apes. I wear clothes in … Read more
We were three Americans and a German couple on the ferry boat from Palma to Ibiza. It was the summer of 1969 and we were sharing humorous stories and cerveza in the couple’s cabin. Uncharacteristically, the two Germans were not very fluent in English but since i had a couple of beers, i happily butchered … Read more
It is precisely 70 miles from the ramp onto I-80 from University Avenue in Berkeley, to the University of California Marine Lab dormitories near Bodega Bay. The final 30 miles are a motorcyclist’s wet dream of sweeping bends, tight turns, brief straights, and challenging compound esses. I’m enrolled in the course, “Marine Invertebrates” taught by … Read more
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