May 26, 2009 10:20 am
When I go home for the night, the next day’s newspaper isn’t finished. That’s the job of Assistant Editor Matthew Durkee and Sports Editor Bill Choy, who work later shifts and produce most of the pages.
This allows for two forms of second-guessing. First, I sometimes find myself thinking of things I forgot or maybe should have done differently. Since Matt and Bill are still there, I can phone in a change. That encourages me to keep thinking about things that I probably should let go of once I walk out the door.
One night Laura and I had two reporters over after work and I mentioned that I still wasn’t satisfied with a headline I’d written for a front-page story. We spent the next half-hour playing something of a party game in which we tried to come up with a better headline. I took the top alternative emerging from the brainstorming and phoned it in to Matt, who talked me into sticking with the original headline.
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May 22, 2009 07:50 am
From the pages of the Del Norte Triplicate, May 1959.
A tiny puppy, frightened but unhurt, was rescued from the smoking ruins of a fire-swept house trailer by firemen of the Crescent Fire District.
The fire gutted the trailer and adjacent one-room addition owned by Ruby Miller on East Washington Boulevard, according to Fire Chief Lyle Griffin.
As firemen were leaving the site, they heard a plaintive whine. Capt. Homer Robinson probed the charred wreckage and found the puppy beneath the flooring of the burned building.
“This pup,” the fireman observed, “came very close to being a hot dog!”
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May 22, 2009 07:47 am
For years, Del Norte High Warriors fans have been entertained at football and basketball games by the Redwood Rockettes.
This group of young ladies work hours and hours to perfect the routines that we all enjoy so much. This girls’ drill program was started years ago by Warrior legend Dee Sullivan. Dee did so much during her teaching career to improve the opportunities for our girls to become involved in sports and other types of positive activities.
During the years the program has had a lot of leaders, but none has given more of herself than Teri Colton. Teri is a 1981 Del Norte High School graduate.
In high school she was always active in both drill and dance programs. During her time on the drill team they were very successful in some of the top drill team competitions in the state. She was captain of the team.
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May 20, 2009 08:56 am
My sons and I often vacationed in Southern California when they were growing up. We usually stayed with my childhood friend Roseann who lives in Malaga Cove near Redondo Beach.
One June day in 1992 we all went down to what’s called “Hollywood Riviera” to have lunch in an outdoor café near the beach. My twins had just turned 15 in May and couldn’t wait to start driving. They craned their necks and oohed and aahed as Corvettes, Porsches and even a Lamborghini drove past. What my sons demanded to know and couldn’t understand was why all the cool cars belonged to “old geezers.”
You can apply the same principle to other possessions, like furniture for example. For most of my adult life, I’ve lived with hand-me-downs, inherited pieces or bargains I couldn’t resist. When Rick and I combined households I put my foot down, not allowing his floral sleeper sofa to cross the threshold. In retaliation he suggested my scuffed overstuffed brown leather sofa find a home at the dump.
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May 19, 2009 08:58 am
The thump of a feathered form against the front window came simultaneously with the sound of a pickup passing on the gravel road. It happens all too often.
I feed birds on the ground in the front yard, since that’s where I can see them and come running out to chase the neighbor cats. I’ve tried to convince the cats I’m dangerous, but they’re not fooled. They know I’m fully aware of the karmic price of harming them. They slip through the fence to return the minute I turn my back.
One rotten little calico with big beautiful eyes is smart enough to chase birds into the window. She then snatches them when they fall, stunned. I’d love her if she wasn’t such a pain in the butt. She knows the sound of a bird hitting the window and comes running, but this week I’m faster than she is.
Inches ahead of her, I snatched up the white-crowned sparrow, gasping through open beak, eyes blank. I have a first-aid station ready, a platform the cats can’t reach tucked into foliage a couple feet from my bedroom window. I can watch over them and check on their progress without stressing them further.
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May 16, 2009 10:36 am
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Final exam week at the College of the Redwoods ended on Friday. The
students have taken their tests, so now it’s your turn. Here’s a word
problem from Localvore 101:
You live in town but your street is tucked away, out of the hubbub
and congestion of the main drag. Lot sizes are large, and many of your
neighbors have fruit trees, flowers, and big vegetable gardens. One
morning while walking the dog, you notice a swarm of bees gathering
around the limb of one of your neighbor’s apple trees. What should you
do?
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May 15, 2009 09:31 am
From the pages of the Del Norte Triplicate, May 1949.
The sheriff squashed a well-organized crime ring when he nabbed two “smash artists” who had been breaking the glass in Frank Wells’ trucks.
Four trucks had their windows smashed, two in the back of his shop and two in the warehouse.
The culprits were caught and admitted their guilt. They were both 5 years old.
Spectators: respect passing colors
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May 15, 2009 09:29 am
I have said many times how much fun I get from writing these columns. To be able to look back at all the local people that have given so much joy to my life, fans, supporters, and especially my teammates, is great.
Al Young was a young man that I played with all the way through high school. He was an outstanding football, baseball and track athlete. He played four years of football, where he played both quarterback and defensive back.
Al had better than average speed and was an aggressive tackler that had a real instinct for finding the football. Playing with Al, I still remember all the tackles he made. One of the things I learned when I became a coach, was how important it was to have a great tackling safety. The other thing I learned was it was not great if your safety was your leading tackler.
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May 13, 2009 12:01 pm
Yesterday I woke up like any other morning. I opened my eyes and saw the bedroom walls that need painting — a project that’s somehow dropped to the bottom of our to-do list.
As I swung my legs over the side of the bed, my sciatica felt no better or no worse than it did the day before. Martha, who also suffers from arthritis, slowly walked toward the door so I’d let her out. Smitty waited for my nod so he could jump on the bed and snooze a little longer with Rick.
I went downstairs and put on water for tea, then swallowed my blood pressure pill and the calcium plus vitamin D. Everything I did was exactly like the day before. Only one thing was different. It was my birthday.
Last week I watched an interview with Sara Lawrence-Lightfoot whose book, “The Third Chapter: Passion, Risk, and Adventure in the 25 years After 50” divides our lives in 25-year chapters. According Sara, I should have abandoned my routine and sought out my passion when I turned 50, at the beginning of my third chapter.
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May 12, 2009 03:06 pm
Do schoolchildren still chant, in unison, “12 inches equals 1 foot, 3 feet equal 1 yard, 2 yards equal 1 fathom?”
I never did find much use for the term “fathom,” but I thought I had a grip on the word “yard.”
In the middle of the 20th century it was possible to memorize a lot of facts and still get through school functionally ignorant. I’m living proof of that sad state of affairs, and have spent my adult life getting an education in bits and pieces.
Every report card carried some version of the phrase, “Not working up to potential.” I wasn't a mean kid, or a bad kid — I was a slippery kid. I’m also quite slow in some ways. I didn’t understand that I was expected to stay there all day, every day. Even when the sun was shining.
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Opinion 
