Mattie ©2010 R.G. Ryan Mattie will be 80 on his next birthday although at this point he doesn't think he'll live to see it. I was sitting with him last week at St. Arbuck's talking about politics and life in general...and suddenly he wasn't there. Eyes glazed over, head drooping, breathing gone shallow, and on … Continue reading Mattie

The coffee shop was atypically quiet this early spring morning. The usual hordes of people were missing. The only thing breaking the silence was the casual banter between the sleep-deprived baristas behind the counter, who had been there since 4:00 a.m., and John Prine singing about “Summer’s End” on satellite radio. My cell phone was off—witness … Continue reading Just Sittin’…Thinkin’

The early morning sun danced over the ocean's surface as blithely as a bride at her wedding reception. Scents of lavender, mixed with a myriad of unrecognizable, exotic tropical smells, filled the air with a potpourri of fragrance enlivening my senses and refreshing my soul. St. Arbuck's in Ka'anapali, on Maui's north shore, was filled … Continue reading Life, One Sip at a Time: Of Trombones and Trajectories

I was about to type, “I will try to make this brief,” when I thought, “Now, why would I want to do that? Why even consider truncating the life of one of the most amazing and significant people I’ve ever had the honor to call friend?” So, buckle up. This might take a minute. I … Continue reading Gerald Moody Ford: In Memoriam

I’ve just had a look at the Christmas story as told by Matthew in chapter 1:18-25 of his gospel, and a few things triggered my imagination that I want to pass along to you. (Remember, I AM a writer, and us authors are all mad as snakes, cursed/blessed with vivid imaginations. So, bear with me … Continue reading Christmas Seen

Honesty compels me to confess that rowdy children in a small, enclosed space like a coffee shop are not one of my favorite things. Actually, now that I think about it, unruly kids are off-putting regardless of the environment. And don’t get me started on the topic of inattentive, permissive parental units! So, there I … Continue reading Birth Control

After The Storm A cold and spiteful rain was falling, driven along by a raking wind that seemed bent on scouring the earth of everything in its path. The storm had literally come out of nowhere flooding streets and taxing the flood control channels that all the experts had promised would be equal to rainfall … Continue reading Life, One Sip at a Time: After the Storm

It was a normal Friday morning. Normal because, as usual, my friend and I were meeting for coffee at a local shop, a practice of longstanding stretching over a number of years. Having met at our usual time, we were a good forty-five minutes into a conversation that was…well, if you want to know the … Continue reading Life, One Sip at a Time: In Which I Lose My Temper

The past several mornings here in the 1502 have been shrouded in a thick, ensorcelled, vaporous canopy of fog compelling in its ability to cause one to slow down; to regard one’s surroundings, and the people who dwell therein, with a more comprehending and compassionate eye. I was standing in line in my favorite beachside … Continue reading Life, One Sip at a Time: A Day in the Life

OB Funkadelic It was a perfect, late summer afternoon in the 1502 (that’s Ocean Beach to the uninitiated among you). Surfers were shredding the waves; on the beach teenaged boys and girls vied for the best position on the sand that would afford the greatest opportunity for interaction with the opposite sex; businessmen and women … Continue reading Life, One Sip at a Time: OB Funkadelic