Club Park Avenue Trip Report: A Cocktail with the Cosmos

Tallahassee is in the Deep South. The largest employer in town is the State government which headquarters in a phallic Capitol complex. The city is also home to Florida State University and Florida A&M. In the late 1980s, the town held about 100,000 people, half of them being university students. Set in rural Leon County… Continue reading Club Park Avenue Trip Report: A Cocktail with the Cosmos

Happy Valentine’s Hour

In Panamá, “pushbuttons” are motels that rent rooms by the hour. You pull into an open single-car garage, press a button to close the door (and conceal your vehicle), and enter the connecting room. All transactions (eg., room charge, drink orders) occur through privacy-ensured sliding openings so the staff can’t see you. Rooms look similar… Continue reading Happy Valentine’s Hour

My First Vaccination

In my first memory of being vaccinated, I wasn’t quite 6 years old. Early 1970s. The nurse, a tall man dressed completely in white except for shiny black shoes, set a stainless steel tray of paraphernalia on a table beside me. He sat on a stool which he rolled up to me and injected one… Continue reading My First Vaccination

Sibling Story, not for the Squeamish

Warning: this story isn’t for the squeamish. My sister lived with me for a few years in Tallahassee while she studied at Florida State University. We shared a two-bedroom, one bath apartment on the ground floor of a fourplex in a leafy neighborhood close to downtown. One night, I roused from bed by a commotion… Continue reading Sibling Story, not for the Squeamish

The Farmer’s Horse

Ever heard the story of a farmer and his horse? “One day a farmer’s horse runs away. And his neighbor comes over and says, to commiserate, “I’m so sorry about your horse.” And the farmer says “Who Knows What’s Good or Bad?” The neighbor is confused because this is clearly terrible. The horse is the… Continue reading The Farmer’s Horse

Remembering Ancon Hill

Ready for a trip down my memory lane? This picture posted on FaceBook reminds me of my first job. It was a summer student assistant job while I was at Balboa High School, in the former Canal Zone of the Republic of Panamá. This was 1983 or 84. I was 16 or 17. The rest… Continue reading Remembering Ancon Hill

Dispatches from Mushroom Space: My Psilocybin Retreat

In college, I once drank a cup of magic mushroom tea. It was at a party, before going out to Club Park Avenue with my roommates. This was over thirty years ago, in Tallahassee. And it continues to be the most vivid and fun memory of the times I spent at CPA. My re-introduction to… Continue reading Dispatches from Mushroom Space: My Psilocybin Retreat