Welcome
Thanks for tuning into my latest Deep Dive. These essays are a labor of love. I never know where my next inspiration will come from or where it will lead me, I just try and go with it, letting the words flow from my brain, through my fingertips and onto the page. Sometimes these stories write themselves, other times it feels like pulling teeth. I’m glad you found your way here. Pull up a chair, sit back, relax and enjoy!
~ Louie
Lemon Cucumbers
In our garden four perfectly round lemon cucumbers sit among a tangle of vines, the largest is the size of a baseball, two of them look like ghostly billiard balls and the third is just downright tiny. The two largest ones have begun to take on streaks of pale yellow...
A Picture Speaks A Thousand Words
Some cliches are just plain silly: A watched pot never boils, The bigger they are, the harder they fall. The list goes on. However, sometimes a cliche is spot on, like this one: A picture speaks a thousand words. Since the invention of photography in the mid 1800’s,...
Camp Loma
The narrow two-lane road that leads us in is a snake; a slithering S winding its way over the Santa Cruz Mountains. Civilization slowly melts away as we make our way through a tunnel of redwood, bay laurel and madrone trees, over dry creek beds, a cascade of small...
Where Do You Go When You Die?
Where do you go when you die? At one time or another every human has asked this question. The fear of death is the fear of the unknown, what happens to you after you die is the deepest and most perplexing unknown of them all. Philosophers, shaman, mystics, artists,...
Rocking Chair Revisited
Carol and I dropped our daughter Denali off at college last week. It was a momentous occasion and a watershed day in our lives. I don’t think Denali was able to fully grasp the enormity of this moment but Carol and I were hyper-aware of its importance. It was a...
Love Like Kimmy
I had to run to Safeway the other day to pick up a few items. If I’m in a hurry I sometimes use one of the automatic checkout kiosks, yea they’re dehumanizing and one of the many manifestations of our increasingly impersonal society, but when I want to get out of the...
Kim
The fragility of life came into pinpoint focus for me last week when I learned of the passing of my dear friend Kim Kenney. How could such a shining beacon of light and love be extinguished so quickly? I last saw her two months ago at a three day music festival up in...
Vashon Island
On July 27, Carol and I celebrated our 20th wedding anniversary. How did I end up with this amazing woman as my life partner? More on that later. Twenty years is a significant milestone so we wanted to do something extra special to mark the occasion. Initially we...
Otter Encounter
This stretch along the Russian River, just over the hill from Riverfront Park, at times seems like a river otter highway. It’s a rare occasion when I don’t see an otter or two while I’m here. When I least expect it there they are, but always from a distance. My...
Eagle Encounter
My most memorable moments in nature have been those that were the least expected. A case in point was on a secluded beach along the Russian River today. To get to this secluded spot Carol and I had to hike about 45 minutes from the parking lot at Riverfront Park. It...
Heaven at the Hog Farm
About and hour north of Santa Rosa, CA on the 101 freeway, the Welcome to Mendocino County sign promises: “Wilderness, Waves and Wine”. Perhaps another time for us, this weekend we’re here for the music. Self proclaimed hippie icon and Woodstock legend Wavy Gravy is...
The Musician
My mom is a musician. There weren’t any instruments in our house when I was growing up. My mom didn’t play the violin or strum the guitar. As a teenager she did play a bit of piano. Mom often spoke of that period in her life. There was a piano in the small flat that...