A Strange Experience of Mentor and Disciple

"More things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreamt of in your philosophy,"  In the writings of John Muir, America’s far-seeing prophet of environmental awareness, there is a marvelous tale of the mystical bond which links mentor and disciple across time and distance.  This story is so illustrative of this unmistakable but mysterious connection…

Hippies and High Tech

Sometimes the light’s all shinin’ on me; Other times I can barely see. Lately it occurs to me what a long, strange trip its been. – Grateful Dead, Truckin’ Just down the tree-lined street from where I write, over by the Veterans Administration (V.A.) Hospital of Menlo Park, California, is a dangerous blind curve marking…

Ghosts of the Desert

“The great sin of Enlightened Europe is to allow the women of Greece, the mothers of freemen everywhere, to be forced under the veil by the Turks.”  - Lord Byron "The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed." - Steve Biko Ghosts of the Desert In the…

The Valley of Doom

“Let this be our national goal!  At the end of this decade, in the year 1980, the United States will not be dependent on any other country for the energy we need.” – President Richard Nixon, 1974, following the 1973-74 Arab Oil Embargo.  This goal has been a staple of American politics with similar statements…