Four years after the Almeda Fire tore through Talent, Oregon and its sister town, Phoenix, the sense of both terror and loss are still palpable. Here in Ashland, five miles to the south, “being firewise” has become a mantra. At a recent “fire preparedness” meeting at Grange Hall down the road from where I live, Kelly Burns, Ashland’s Emergency Management …

The persistent heat here in Southern Oregon this summer, combined with wildfire smoke, has created its own peculiar lockdown for local residents. Come early afternoon, it’s best to hibernate indoors as the heat and smoke reach their crescendo. Night offers little respite. The peak temperatures of late afternoon linger well into the evening.  This past Sunday, the lockdown began early …

1964 In the summer of 1964, as I drove my family’s Rambler to the Santa Monica beach club where I’d snagged a job entertaining preschoolers, I’d blast the radio whenever Martha and the Vandellas showed up singing “Dancing in the Street.” Callin’ out around the worldAre you ready for a brand new beatSummer’s here and the time is rightFor dancing …

My younger son, now 37, has played the cello since he was four. I fell in love with the instrument as much as he did. For years I’ve kept an eye out for “street” cellists, far from concert halls, who give themselves to what makes the cello unique: its perfect range, from warm low pitches to bright higher notes, which …

On sunny school days, I often see the eight-year-old boy who lives near us running across the meadow we share, his long blond hair flowing as he aims his slingshot, sometimes at trees, sometimes at the deer or turkeys who graze in the meadow.  I asked my neighbor if he knew anything about the boy with the flowing hair and …

“There’s a big orange cat stuck in a tree a few houses up,” a neighbor walking down our street told me as I carried geranium pots from my car.  “Does it belong to you?” While not ours, I knew the cat she was referring to. His owners call him Lux but we call him Reds, the name of an old orange cat …

         I think it’s one of the most useless questions an adult can ask a child—What do you want to be when you grow up? As if growing up is finite. As if at some point you become something and that’s the end. ― Michelle Obama, Becoming When I was eight, growing up in Princeton, New Jersey, I spent many Saturday’s skating at …