"Welcome to the first day of class. On the card where it asks about your parents' occupations, be sure to put that your mom is working--even if she doesn't receive a paycheck. She is definitely working: She washes your underwear and your socks." -- Mr. Loewen, my 7th grade science teacher June 17, 2026: Here I am on the floor of the Colosseum in Rome. This past Thursday, the four year anniversary of the accident, was a bitch. It's hard for me to put it any other way. Four years had passed yet...

“Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog, it’s too dark to read.” –Groucho Marx The boys read together at the city library in Los Altos when they were in 7th grade. Jenny loved reading at least as much as any of her other passions. Over her last several years, she kept a log of the books she read. Unfortunately, without knowing the password to her computer, that document is lost to history. However, I do know she averaged reading slightly more than one book per week....

"Recipes are like cats: You only think they're yours." —Roadside cafe reader-board in Hillsboro, OR My kids love animals. I can't begin to emphasize that enough. One is a doting cat-dad and the other regularly volunteers at a dog shelter in Santa Barbara. Both assume their roles as much for themselves as for the animals they serve. Although their devotion to cats and dogs is undoubtedly innate, it was also nurtured by their mom. One can point to any number of examples where Jenny showed her...