Category Archives: Lessons

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 →

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The Pump

Posted on March 14, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 40 I bought my first house and found the pump. It was my third piece of residential real estate in fact, but the others were acquired with spouses; that creekside cottage was mine-all-mine. The house was … Continue reading →

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Calculus

Posted on March 10, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 17 I came to Cal. One of the classes I enrolled in first quarter was calculus. I think it fulfilled a Breadth requirement. I signed up with Nick and his friend Steve, who we called Cap’n … Continue reading →

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Remember the Flan

Posted on March 7, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 24 I learned the truth about Pyrex. Nick and I were making flan in our Bonita Street apartment when the pan and the misconception came apart. I’d always enjoyed pudding and I’d recently tasted flan. Or creme … Continue reading →

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The Lawsuit

Posted on March 4, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 43 I got sued. It was a surreal situation; the client got in trouble by going against what I recommended, and then contended that I was incompetent. After all, his lawyer charged, if I had been effective … Continue reading →

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Utopolis

Posted on February 25, 2011 by sputterpub

  When I was 15 I spent some time with the school debate team. I wasn’t a member but my friends Jim and Tim were, and I helped them prepare for the competitions. The subject that year was nuclear power. It … Continue reading →

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Stupid Pets

Posted on February 24, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 5 they gave me the turtle. I don’t remember asking for one. I didn’t name it Myrtle (that was Mom: “Here. Meet Myrtle the Turtle”). I associate the creature’s presence with my terrible tonsillectomy but I also … Continue reading →

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Fruit Cocktail

Posted on February 22, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 20 I knew a guy with a weird job. He was a year ahead of me at Cal, part of the group of people I was most likely to socialize with, often around but not an … Continue reading →

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The Best Revenge

Posted on February 18, 2011 by sputterpub

     When I was 54 I was the object of an attempted assassination. It was an attack against my character and it failed, but it rocked me with confusion and pain. I was betrayed by an individual I trusted. Actually … Continue reading →

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Stinson 1966

Posted on February 14, 2011 by sputterpub

   When I was 16 I spent the first most uncomfortable night of my life. I went casual camping with Ellen and two other friends and got caught in the rain. My parents’ house in Larkspur was on the very lowest … Continue reading →

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