Monthly Archives: February 2023

—for Richard L. Tracy,garden editor, The Sacramento Bee (ret.) Our hero in so many ways—comical and horticultural,good person of the earth. Dear friend, father, husband,fine writer and photographer,raconteur, he of the wicked wit,has announced his imminentdeparture. And we wonder if,just … Continue reading →

(for Donna Gail) Maybe because we flatlanders shiverunder skies delivering rare bitsof snow, while our neighbors2,500 feet higher have been toldto expect eight inches tomorrowand ten inches the next day,which is far from usual for them, and maybe because every … Continue reading →

(a nod to Shel Silverstein) But, really, who else could you be?You have to be you, as I have to be me. If I tried to be you, I surely could not,nor would I want to be. For you are … Continue reading →

(for Ursula, who said, “This sounds like a poem”) For a long time I shut mypoetself tightly in a closetcrammed full of miscellaneouswords and stray lines, and over the years it gotquite crowded in there,just me and all that verbiage.And … Continue reading →

They once looked so much alikethat they had a hard time tellingthemselves apart in photos. I stood on the right, Mary wouldsay to Sheila, and the identical girlswould agree—that’s you; that’s me. Seeing them is a highlight of ouryear—Sheila does … Continue reading →

for Mom and Dad,one here, one always in our hearts Of course, I wasn’t there,but I see them in the photo—her, slim, dark-haired and lovelyin her sleeveless tea dress with the floral lace overthe foofy skirt, as her eventualdaughters would … Continue reading →

Six neighbors head outon their morning stroll assix of us oldies work outto the oldies with Shelleyon Marilyn’s lawn. The couple across the streetemerges from their house, eachholding onto a leash-tugging dog,and two leashless cats trailinga good distance behind,like teenagers … Continue reading →

We hear about the late ones—maybe we are the late ones—but the early ones presenttheir show-offy selves on datesthat seem too early, but really, they do this every year,I remind myself. The Yuletidecamellias appear for Christmas,and by February, their cousinshang … Continue reading →

for Rebecca Made by her mama in Grandma’sJello mold, just the way G made it—with canned fruit and whipped creamto dab on top— served at her mama’s house aftera fine dinner out, a childhood favoriteof this kid now 45, tall … Continue reading →

for Mary Tsukamoto (1915–1998) The sweet-faced older womansat with me for hours tellingthe story she’d relayed hundredsof times. She taught me the word “redress”the same year she testified beforeCongress, quietly but firmly,one of 120,000 sent into exilein 1942 for the … Continue reading →