Sheldon was The Cat of Cook Peak. We rescued him from Hart Park in Bakersfield on a hot July evening at dusk. Often we took the scenic route home through the park, hoping to see the peacocks roaming alongside the road. Near the old train bridge, there was an enormous clutter of cats. Among them…

His name is Luke, but I call him Hernia Dog. When Luke was a puppy, he had a hernia that protruded from his underbelly like a fifth appendage. Liz and her friend, Kat, had visited a breeder outside of Bakersfield. While Kat got acquainted with her new energetic puppy, Liz noticed its calm, defective litter…

July 6, 2016 I thought it would be easy to sit down and describe what happened to me, but it wasn’t. Keep in mind that my story pales in comparison to those told by neighbors and strangers, especially by those who lost everything in the Erskine Creek Fire. My house stinks. I must be getting…

I have lived overseas, circled the globe numerous times and met people from some of the most exciting places. But the day after I graduated from high school, I returned to the United States and was assimilated. Bakersfield, California is where I settled. I left for a couple of years to attend art school in…

We ripped out the lawn and filled our tiny backyard with a giant above-ground pool; leaving our Schnauzer with only a flower bed for relief. We built the perfect Sunset magazine redwood deck that hugged the vinyl on two sides and connected to our spa. We purchased patio furniture with matching umbrellas and landscape lights that…