Columnists

Warning: What follows is shameless self-promotion – a crass sales pitch intended to lure you to buy my new ebook "Measureless Mountain Days: A Father and Son on the John Muir Trail." In exchange for your indulgence (and $3.99), I promise a lively read, and maybe the temptation to walk the John Muir Trail yourself.

Q: Our dog's name is Trouble and he has bad ears. He's been treated at least 10 times with different medications, including eardrops, ointments, pills, etc. Now our vet says he has both a bacterial and a yeast infection that will never go away. The vet wants to do surgery and we think this might be a bad idea. What do you think?

The last time I wrote a column for a newspaper, I was a mere 38 years old. My daughter, The Girl, hadn’t graduated high school yet, and my son, The Boy, wasn’t even a twinkle in the metaphoric eye of Gilroy’s South Valley Middle School.

The focus currently in the news seems to be on war and violence. A civil war in Syria during which the Syrian government used poison gas against its own citizens has brought the United States to the brink of entering that conflict.

Well, the eggnog is in the stores, I find myself avoiding eye contact with smiling people ringing bells, and most of the people I see are still at that point where holiday cheer hasn't yet turned to holiday panic. Yep, it still must be early December.

What does it mean to be an aunt? That question has been floating around in my head since the day in October when I heard I was going to become one.

Whether you're rooting for the Patriots or the Giants, or just tuning in to watch the multi-million dollar commercials, you'll no doubt be thinking about which wines to serve with your salty, spicy, cheesy Super Bowl snacks.

On Dec. 4, 1956 four brilliant young men on the verge of realizing their dreams of soaring into the heights of the music business met at the ramshackle Sun Studio in Memphis for a relaxed jam session.

Our neighbor's dog, Wolfie, will eat anything. Last week, he was