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.
Ojai is very near to Los Angeles, but the land of fruit and wine feels like another planet.
Each time I see Two Trees they whisper the same thing to me. If your town has an icon -- and I'm betting it does -- you understand.
These kinds of people, they reside in the places that last. In our character. In our choices. In our minds and our hearts.
How often do we step ahead when standing still is what matters?
Starving sea lion pups are washing up on Southern California beaches in record numbers -- at a rate five times the norm. It has gotten so bad the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has declared an "unusual mortality event."
What happened to us? When did we become so elevator-silent, so dour, so proper, so scrunch-faced, so mature?
The words just kind of snuck up on him. Words can do that. Depressing, inspiring, uplifting, unsettling, erotic. Life-changing.
In these graduating times, cause for celebration and remembering: smeary handprints won't forever stay messy or small.
We all crave reassurance, the knowledge that a scrap of us will last beyond the flare of our life.
College shouldn't just be about how much money you should make. The questions are far grander. What barrier will I break? How can I change the world?
Sex. Anger. Lust. Now I know you'll read.
We are a strange and sometimes beautiful species.