THE HAPPY WANDERER – MINNESOTA ICE FISHING

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CONTRACOSTATIMES.COM – DECEMBER 19, 2008

AS WE GET ready to welcome Old Man Winter, we can be thankful we don’t ginny-fishing1live in Northern Minnesota. Or can we? We might just be missing a heck of a lot of fun in the form of a sport called ice-fishing.

On the surface, the idea sounds kind of wacky — fishing on ice in the dead of winter. But then a 10-pound walleye tugs at your line, and things get hot in a hurry. Or did someone just turn up the thermostat?

That’s right. Ice fishing has evolved from the days when folks sat on stools with wool mufflers wrapped around their necks and transistor radios by their sides. Continue reading →

Let there be light

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – DECEMBER 12, 2008

A rare December snowfall in the Oakland hills

A rare December snowfall in the Oakland hills

Let there be light! Zillions of little LED lights are spreading holiday cheer across the land. The Oakland Zoo http://www.oaklandzoo.org/ got a big batch of them from China this year, and unlike last year, they actually work. Look for the Zoo Lights event to be one of the best ever – especially with the prospect of a dry December. Continue reading →

Finding peace with chair massage

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – NOVEMBER 23, 2008

“If the world is bringing you to your knees, you might as well stay there awhile.”

— The Town Crier

THAT BRILLIANT QUOTE came to me when I was having a chair massage at Kilalo Studio in Montclair the other day. With my fully-clothed body sprawled across the plush leather apparatus, I couldn’t have been more at peace. Continue reading →

College trip sparks memories of past

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MONTCLARION NEWSPAPER – NOVEMBER 8, 2008athens

I FEEL LIKE a young schoolgirl again, having just returned from my daughter’s new college. When did she become so mature? Where did she find time to learn, not just the campus — the University of Georgia is huge — but the best restaurants in town?

As she led me around at a frantic pace, I pictured myself rushing to class and then off to a frat party or campus event. I imagined taking notes in a lecture while the guy next to me slept. I saw myself eating in the dining hall and having seconds on dessert. Continue reading →

Glenview puppet show a Halloween tradition

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HALLOWEEN IS ONE of my favorite holidays. It’s a great day to dress up and be silly with no expectations whatsoever. There are no cards to send out, you don’t have to cook and you don’t have to entertain the relatives.

It’s a good thing for Larry Schmidt because he wouldn’t have the time anyway. He’s been working for months on a kid-friendly Halloween event at his Glenview home. Continue reading →

Pick-up softball a long tradition in the hills

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IT’S WORLD SERIES WEEK and what better time to toss out a bit of local sports trivia. Did you know that a game of pick-up softball has been going on locally for almost 41 years?

It was 1968 when a group of guys started cracking the bat on a sunny Saturday at UC Berkeley. Lewis Dolinsky was one of them and at 73 he’s still in the game today, playing ump and keeping stats. Continue reading →