Back To The Garden

Back To The Garden

  The definitive song about a seminal event in the counterculture of the 1960s was written by someone who wasn’t even there. Joni Mitchell was supposed to be at Woodstock. She was also booked on the Dick Cavett Show the day after the festival was to end. Joni and her...
Dad and Me and Sports

Dad and Me and Sports

My dad Ray Ferrera passed away quietly last week, he was 95. Here’s my tribute to him. On Father’s Day in 1965 I was eight years. My dad was taking my older brother Ray and I to see our first baseball game at legendary Yankee Stadium. I’m sure I must have been...
The Phil Zone

The Phil Zone

  The word of Phil Lesh’s passing at the age of 84 came via a text message last Friday from an old Deadhead friend of mine in New Jersey. It was a bit of a shock as I wasn’t aware that Phil had been sick. Most of the musical heroes of my generation are in their late...
It’s Ok

It’s Ok

  It’s ok to just sit here, right? It’s ok to watch the green fingers of the apple tree sway in tandem with the singing of the wind chimes, right? It’s ok to watch the sky-blue scrub jay hop from tree branch to lawn to fountain. It’s ok to marvel at the...
Old Friends

Old Friends

Q: When are 50 year old jokes the funniest? A: When they’re told among the same three friends 50 years later Of all the blessings in my life, and there are many, I count my friendship with Tim and Benji as one of the most blessed. And those 50 year old jokes? They’re...