News, nature, and community throughout the Emerald Triangle
Part I link I don’t remember why she called but I remember she offered to take me to the interview. “I don’t want to make you drive all that way,” I protested but she insisted. She arrived in her immaculate 15 year old Lincoln. Through the stiff clear seat covers, rich brown leather tantalized. The ends of
Read moreWanted: Masseuse. No experience necessary. College girl type preferred. $20-$30 per hour plus tips Being raised out a winding rural road twenty minutes from the nearest tiny town, left me unprepared for some of a life’s interesting moments. At 18, I moved to a small junior college north of San Francisco. Enchanted by malls, enticed by roommates richer
Read moreI couldn’t resist trying this out. If only I was as erudite as BBC News, then you would all be reading at a Genius level. However, my readers are as smart as those of Fox News Online. Not exactly a ringing endorsement for the intricate writing and large vocabulary here. However, CNN News Online only has a readability level of
Read moreEasing down from the hills into the flat flood plains of the Eel River doesn’t mean leaving country courtesy behind. The Avenue of the Giants winds through almost frighteningly large Redwood trees but the people of the river valley welcome visitors like they were next door neighbors. Even in November, a produce stand in the miniscule town of Pepperwood
Read moreLaundromats exude a numbing bleakness. Generally dirty, overused, and overpriced, they squeeze money one quarter at a time from people poor enough to cry when they spill milk. However, in the towns of Southern Humboldt, washing ones’ dirty linen in public can be an edifying and amusing experience. When young hill men come into large amounts of cash, they
Read moreI can’t say if its truth or tale but I’ve heard this one told more than a few times. Once a city man came to stay with a woman here and, in the way of some men, he thought he owned her. First with words and then with fists, he frightened and hurt her. Secrets like this can be kept
Read moreI’ve heard city people snickering about the old redneck saying that “when it’s raining you can’t fix the roof and when it ain’t raining you don’t need to.” Well, up here in these Humboldt hills that isn’t just a humorous story. If you’re a busy country person without anybody to please but yourself, you might go for the easy solution.
Read moreThe night sky shimmers with a spill of dust that trails across the whole sky. The BBQ glows on the patio cupping a smoldering heap of Halloween colors. The potatoes whistle in the oven (Yes, they do! Some unimaginative people might say they sizzle but, to my ear, it is a contented, albeit, tuneless whistle). My oldest son created a
Read moreWe started a tradition a few years back, the local kids gather at our community school and pile into a car to go trick-or-treating. We live in a very rural area so our houses are often miles apart and the kids usually manage less than a dozen homes. So we often end with a treat. This year, some incredible people
Read moreAs his pale lips pressed against her rosy neck, she flinched once, shuddered and subsided beneath his sharp teeth. At last, he raised his face. Even her blood on his mouth wasn’t as red as the rich hue that now flushed his lips and cheeks. “Andi, now what are you letting the boys watch?” Even if I hadn’t heard her
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