Riverboats were the CDs of the first half of the nineteenth century.  An era that many U.S. inhabitants of the time thought would never end, for many it was all they knew.  Then Abe Lincoln persuaded the government to allow a railroad bridge at Rock Island and the paddle wheels stopped turning. I’ve never been […]

 I was planning on voting for Hillary in the California primary. They don’t come any more intelligent, and she and Bill have not only the experience, but the desire. They’re wonks. They live to govern. But then I saw Frank Luntz on "Bill Maher", and this Fox News pollster said the Republicans didn’t know how […]

I agreed to do this story in the "Washington Post". I turned down the "L.A. Weekly".  I just about said yes, then I read one of the guy’s articles while feasting on a tostada in Burbank and lost my appetite.  It was snarky! When you submit yourself to others, you’re at their mercy.  And they’re […]

I couldn’t remember the name of the watch repairman. All my brain could say was "Walter Odemer".  Who was Walter Odemer?  Then I remembered, back in ’74, when I moved to L.A., Walter Odemer controlled Blaupunkts.  So if you went to the BMW dealer and you had a problem with your radio, you didn’t deal […]