Why is my page titled South of the Strait? Well, I live in a far corner of the United States. I live in a small town south of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. If I was going to throw a rock across the strait it would land in Canada. I've moved around a lot, living in Sterling, Kansas; Chicago; Jordan, Montana; Lemoore, California; Auckland, New Zealand; Spokane, Washington; Gambier, Ohio. What do I write? For WordPress, I used to print once a week for general comments. About four years ago I decided to stop writing blogs so I could concentrate on writing a few books. I have completed three books...or maybe four. I have now compiled my short stories poems and memoirs on Amazon. You can get it at Amazon now..."A Work In Progress"--Jon Eekhoff. I have been very close to getting a printed book called "Lost Summer" but I was never offered $1,000,000.00. (It's set in Paris, 1920's, with baseball, writers, artist, and actually true stuff.) I wrote a book about college basketball called "Laidlaw." It's kind of a mix of "Moby Dick" and a coach who is about to get fired so he takes his team out for a free drive around the West. My most recent book is "California Tales." These are connected stories about the missionary churches in California. They are sad, funny, inspiring, and odd. I had the entire book done in my head and had just one section to finish the next day...and that is when I fell 20 feet from my roof and landed on the cement. (Like a lot of men, I thought I could maintain my own roof instead of leaving it to the professionals.) I don't remember anything about my accident but I am told I was flown to Harborview Medical Center in Seattle. Though conscious and responsive after surgery to remove part of my skull, I don't remember anything from my first month there. I spent another month of Harborview working on walking, speaking, and writing. That was two years ago. As a TBI (Traumatic Brain Injury) survivor, I could have quit writing, but I am not going to quit. I work with the University of Washington Speech and Hearing Clinic.
Framed and finished A once blank canvas was Pulled tight, Stretched and Prepared. Vincent Dabbed color on this empty Space, Mixing yellow swirls Around two napping Field workers dreaming Of skies as blue as Vincent’s. Where workers rest Beneath golden haystacks Undisturbed by the Sweating grunting world.
For about three years my wife has wanted chickens. She has been reading chicken books, visiting chickens, thinking about chickens and talking about someday having chickens. We have enough property for chickens, but I haven’t wanted them for one reason: I don’t want chickens. Sure I would like some fresh eggs but I can get … More My $400 Chickens
The boys searched the scorched ground For bits of a new martyr. Fresh scraps mixed with ancient dirt Shrouding their task. Shouting to friends, Gathering to examine their found treasures. Easter this year was cold. The northern wind blew sand and rain. The children were not deterred. They hunted the dunes finding bright plastic eggs. … More Easter in Palestine
Tonight it was a breeze that passed over the dining room table pushing some loose papers onto the floor. Maybe the dampness of the evening air triggered it, but suddenly I was transported to Paris a few years ago. I had traveled to Paris alone in 2007 to continue working on my novel. The breeze … More Abroad Thoughts From Home
The Metro Stairs What Freudian brutes roam beneath these streets? Sheiks from the abyss, subterranean Movements, a shrouded caliginous beast Stalks the innocent, chanting Chaldean. Is there virtue below these cobble stoned Boulevards, a dawn in a sunless land? Is there a place for those who have atoned? A place for those who follow your … More Metro Sonnets
In 1948, when George Orwell was writing 1984, he modeled his Big Brother government after Joseph Stalin’s regime in Russia. The oppressive Big Brother was always watching, always at war and always controlling the flow of information to the people of Oceania (England and the Americas). Does this sound familiar to anyone out there? Well … More Would Orwell Love the Bush Administration?: 4/2/2004
I grew up in a small community in central California. The two major industries (if you can call them that) were farming and the Navy. It might seem odd to people that there would be a Navy base far from the water, but the San Joaquin Valley provided the Navy with clear skies for the … More My Memorial Day: 5/28/2004
This past weekend, I went to see the movie Troy. My expectations for a Hollywood version of The Iliad were not high and so I was not disappointed. What did disappoint me, and has disappointed me for the past three years is that I have to watch ridiculous commercials before I get to watch a … More Just Leave Me Alone: 6/3/2004
South of the Strait 