Columns

A Salute to All Who Protect and Serve I listened to Saturday’s Parker tube float play-by-play on the radio — the police scanner radio. I salute all our law enforcement, medical and other officials who work so hard protecting and serving us. Heck, maybe that should be protecting — and saving — us from ourselves. My hat is off to …

I’m not one of those macho guys that swaggers about spouting obscenities with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other. Nor am I overly feminine, preferring Bruce Willis movies and a quick shower to Julia Roberts movies and long bubble baths. No, I am somewhere in the middle. A happy medium, you might say. But I …

Meat Dress I’m not very talented. Oh sure, I can stick my head directly into a ceiling fan without much harm (yes, I’ve tried it), I can play online computer games with the best of them and I am a published writer, assuming this gets published. I also love music and I’m a singeralonger, especially when driving alone in my …

Bizarre Bouse! Several months after I moved to Bouse in 2007, strange things began appearing in and around my house. I found a Robert Heinlein novel one morning when I made the bed. I changed those sheets plenty of times without finding any sci-fi. Odd. I don’t read Heinlein. One night I let down the blinds and a tiny sombrero …

Spam Cruise I’m a busy guy so I don’t get a chance to vacation much. A trip to Laughlin is pretty much it for me. I’ve never been to Europe or the Caribbean. I’ve never even been on a cruise ship. A while back a cruise ship broke down off the California coast, although “broke down” may be an understatement …

  Hobo House I’m a busy guy, so I don’t have a lot of free time to do yard work or even basic home maintenance that I should be doing. I live in an average-looking single family home in Parker, Arizona. 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms. Nothing fancy. The other day my wife and I pulled into the driveway and my …

I Don’t Understand I assumed by the time I turned 50 I would have life all figured out. Wow, was I wrong! Here are some things I still haven’t sorted out: Why are there so many ways to spell Ketchup — and is it an acceptable source of Vitamin C? “Do my thing.” As in, “I stepped outside to do …

Swansea Scratching I have an idea for a fun, furry fundraiser, providing you gentlemen don’t mind being a little itchy. Autumn 2011 marks the 40th anniversary of the filming of Day of the Wolves, a movie shot in nearby Lake Havasu City and Swansea copper mining ghost town. The plot involves a mysterious and greedy mastermind who recruits distant thieves …

Re-Discovering AM Radio When I was a child AM radio was all there was. That probably dates me worse than admitting to making reel-to-reel tapes, but I’ll own it. When FM appeared, that was it — I was rocking! When I landed in Quartzsite ten years ago as a brand-new RVer I found the mother of all swap meets. I …

Welcome (?) to Quartzsite! “What’s the name of the place I’m going? Cortez? Courtside?” I asked my friends as I climbed into my new home – an old RV. “Quartzsite! RVers’ Mecca. Bye, have fun!” My friends bade me a happy 40th birthday and a fond farewell and I set sail as a brand new full-time RVer. One flat tire …