Ken McAlpine
Ken McAlpine is the author of eight books, a collection of fiction, non-fiction, and essays. His most recent novel, "Juncture," is a cerebral "Jaws"; a suspense-filled thriller, a story of primal love and our changing oceans and, perhaps, a final fork in the road. "West is Eden: Reflections on this Gift Called Life," is a collection of his KCET essays. He lives in Ventura.
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The man was waving his arms and barking oddities. When I handed him a few dollars, he did something that planted me firmly on the side of those who still trust.
To be blunt, I think lists are lazy and shallow, requiring little effort on the part of the writer, or the reader.
Switching off is the easy out. Let the people, and the hours, pass as quickly as possible.
Paris did not need to promote itself but P.T. Barnum did, and he did so with a vengeance.
He was wearing a Mickey Mouse hat, something you do not see on every forty-something man, especially in Ventura County, but I did not think less of him for this.
We pave and build and act like today is forever. Every now and again the earth shakes like a wet dog.
Sometimes life's pieces fit together in ways you don't expect.
I returned home with the Amazon's Darwinian lessons reverberating in my head.
This is what I tell the kids when I stand in front of them, waving my hands in the air in what I hope is an enthusiastic, and not lunatic, manner.
In this world, vast harbors of conscience and compassion exist.
There are few places where you see dolphin and deer on the same bike ride.
I asked him what it took to reach the top of his chosen sport. "Eat or be eaten," he said.