Author Archives: sputterpub

Googling

     When I was 60, I got the idea to google “he grabbed me by my slender neck.” And there they were: the words of the verse I’d heard in fifth grade with such delight that I’d pushed them into … Continue reading →

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Use it or Lose it

When I was around 9 years old, I learned to whistle pretty well. And when I was 59, I learned I lost it. Really. My father was an excellent whistler. By the time my younger brother was 5 he was … Continue reading →

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Directions

     When I was around 56, I encountered an alien. She looked human. She drove a big old American car like a human. But she revealed an out-of-world perspective that was as different from mine as silicon is from carbon. … Continue reading →

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Foolin’ Around

When I was maybe 5 or 6, my mother caught me playing with myself. I was sitting on the floor in the livingroom, behind a plush maroon easy chair, pants down and fingers busy. She told me not to do … Continue reading →

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Constuction

     When I was 15, I learned the value of a plan. We had just moved to Marin Country. We lived in an oblong-shaped house, which design included a long narrow hallway along one side and the back of our … Continue reading →

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Sagelings

When I was around 9 years old, I made my father laugh so heartily that I knew what I said was good. We lived in Chula Vista, California. Like other suburban families we drove around a lot. It seemed like … Continue reading →

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Politics

     When I was 6 years old I had my first political shock. It was the fall of 1956. The incumbent president, Republican Dwight D. Eisenhower, was running against a Democrat named Adlai Stevenson. We were paying a Sunday visit … Continue reading →

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Detention

     When I was 10 years old, I helped pioneer Detention. Before then teachers were allowed to hit kids. But we were the first wave of the new age, the post-war baby boom, and we changed things. We swamped the … Continue reading →

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Whatever

When I was around 55 I witnessed a word, and understood its true meaning, from the bus. My office was in San Francisco and my home was in Berkeley, and that had been my geography for about 30 years, so … Continue reading →

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Dream Flight

When I was about 5 I had a recurring nightmare. We were living in Glen Cove, New York at the time, number 24 on a dead end street called Leuce Place. When we moved in you could still see the … Continue reading →

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