Author Archives: sputterpub

Garage

Posted on March 28, 2011 by sputterpub

    When I was 40 I bought the North Berkeley cottage, and that move caused a chronic small anxiety in me, about swollen creek water and the garage. It was more of a covered bridge than a proper car house, … Continue reading →

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Continuum

Posted on March 25, 2011 by sputterpub

“I need more space,” my boyfriend used to plead in 1969, but what he meant was “I want other girls, and I don’t need a steady yet.” It wasn’t his intent to settle down before his oats could sprout, who’d … Continue reading →

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OJ

Posted on March 24, 2011 by sputterpub

    When we were in our mid-20s, Nick and I once made a memorable mess. We were on a road trip vacation, which meant we carried detailed maps and plenty of food and drink so we could tool around on byways … Continue reading →

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On Closet Doors

Posted on March 23, 2011 by sputterpub

     Once I got into universal design (see the last few Wednesday posts), I never got out of it. I began to view housing, inside and out, big and small, as a new puzzle instead of a previously-solved issue. The … Continue reading →

Posted in Universal Design | 3 Comments

Codes & Epigrams

Posted on March 22, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was around 55, I finally figured out that people don’t always mean their words. Some phrases are in fact code. For example, “Hi, how are you?” is seldom an honest inquiry about your health or mood. You’re supposed to … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons, Poetry | 2 Comments

The Anticipator

Posted on March 21, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 15, the family moved from southern California to the San Francisco bay area, and in the next few years the place exploded with music, drugs, sex, and politics. I was already eccentric and suspected I might … Continue reading →

Posted in Lessons | 1 Comment

Canyon Road

Posted on March 18, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was in my 50s, I checked out opera. I had a friend who was recently widowed, and he held two season tickets to what SF put on. I attended performances with him a few times a year. I … Continue reading →

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Irish Coffee

Posted on March 17, 2011 by sputterpub

    I think I was 22 when I drank my first, and the site may have been the place that claims to have invented the recipe: the Buena Vista near the Hyde Street cable car turntable in San Francisco. Not that … Continue reading →

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ArcAngle 3

Posted on March 16, 2011 by sputterpub

When I was in my early 50s, I thought often about how to house people, attractively, cozily, affordably, naturally. As described in the other posts in the “universal design” category, I found it gratifying to contemplate how to build with … Continue reading →

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What Goes Around

Posted on March 15, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 16 I was into poetry and wax-resistant dying and my best friend Ellen, with whom I examined cosmology, world philosophy, and gossip. One of our conclusions then – a private catch-phrase between us – was a modification … Continue reading →

Posted in Poetry | 1 Comment