Skyway Luggage

Skyway started making luggage in 1910. The company still exists as a brand, owned by Ricardo Beverly Hills, though it looks like their luggage is made in China now, no surprises there.  The old Skyway building, which was once their headquarters, sold to a music company in 2012 but it’s still wearing a For Sale …


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Birds and Fog

I remembered to grab my camera because I thought that the fog would make for great photos. And it did, but also, because it’s so gray, the birds act like it’s still early morning. I stopped my bike, but the crunch of my wheels on the gravel made the great blue heron — perched on …


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Lessons from my School of Rock

I’m keenly aware of my own talents as a musician. I don’t always sing on key, I can’t always perform without a cheat sheet, and I get stage jitters. This isn’t false modestly, I’ve heard myself recorded without post processing.  I’m an okay musician. I have decent timing, I can deal with complicated chord progressions …


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New Story in the SF Chronicle

To convert the cargo pod – the penthouse – into a bedroom, you push a button. The lid tilts open like a giant clamshell. In the San Leandro lot, I eyed the ladder and the tent suspiciously, then crab-legged my way up. It was surprisingly comfortable and well ventilated, but the entry and exit scared me. …


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No More Ramones

Chuck Ts are made in China Dee Dee is long gone Hippie’s kids have trust funds I’m drinking coffee at dawn When I learn that there are No more Ramones.   College friends with cancer Trying to survive They have a fighting chance now But it ate Johnny alive And then we learn that there …


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In Praise of Drive-Ins

Here’s the thing about using Yelp (or any other food finding app): You have to be willing to throw away the advice if you come across something more interesting or compelling. That’s how I came to be standing in the parking lot of the Frisko Freeze with two of my band mates. We were on …


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