Since moving to the Bay Area I’ve been listening a lot to our local public radio station KQED. I turned on my car radio the other day and there was an unmistakable voice that I thought I’d never hear again–that of my friend Jill Ker Conway. She died a few weeks ago, on June 1st….
Go West, Old Man (A fairy tale)
“Go West, young man, go West. There is health in the country, and room away from our crowds of idlers and imbeciles.” Horace Greeley said this, or perhaps not. The view from my door. How is it that I’m suddenly living in California, after 63 years on the East Coast? I’ve been asking myself this…
Pete Seeger 1919-2014
Sometime in the early sixties my father took me to see Pete Seeger at the local High School. It was my first concert, and the first time I’d seen a banjo. What I remember most of that night is my father’s loud baritone as he sang along with Pete, “Oh you can’t scare me, I’m…
FIFTY YEAR AGO TODAY
by John Manchester Most Fridays in the fall of 1963 my father was working at American Education Publications, publishers of “My Weekly Reader.” I was in my eighth grade class. But that Friday, November 22nd, my father picked me up early from school in his green Austin-Healey Sprite. My father loved that car. He’d grin…
Puzzle Love
Puzzle Love Posted by John Manchester on June 27, 2012 at 4:00pm View Blog JUNE 27, 2012 8:23AM RATE: 6 Flag “It’s all one.” I am well aware that my style of blogging does not fit the medium. My posts are too long, and worse, too complicated. Here’s why: When I was ten my mother gave me a…
Son of a Famous Man
Son of a Famous Man Posted by John Manchester on June 20, 2012 at 4:00pm View Blog JUNE 20, 2012 7:20AM RATE: 27 Flag This is the very short version of my memoir Escaping the Giant, minus the fun stuff (sex, drugs and rock and roll), for those of you who have understandably gotten tired of waiting…
Bully
Bully Posted by John Manchester on May 14, 2012 at 4:00pm View Blog EDITOR’S PICK MAY 14, 2012 9:10AM RATE: 39 Flag Mitt Romney, Circa 1965. I try to steer clear of politics on this blog. With all the political discussion raging online, I’m afraid all I have to contribute is heat, and not much light. But…
MRI Music
MRI Music Posted by John Manchester on March 26, 2012 at 4:00pm View Blog MARCH 22, 2012 8:41AM RATE: 14 Flag (Note – I wrote this several weeks ago and didn’t get around to finishing it until now. I’m leaving it in the present tense.) According to clocks and calendars, time marches along at steady, metronomic tempo….
SF 88 and the Cuban Missile Crisis
SF 88 and the Cuban Missile Crisis Posted by John Manchester on March 20, 2012 at 4:00pm View Blog MARCH 20, 2012 9:14AM RATE: 15 Flag Cloud from 1st nuclear explosion, “Mike.” I was scouting sites in San Francisco for a new novel. I called my old friend Dan. He’s been doing audio for films for…
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