Old vine zins:

EV PARKER

If you're a kid who grew up in the Great Depression, or the 1940s and '50s that too quickly followed, you Napans will know that the music of our lives was suddenly wrenched from our grasp in late October 2004, forever.

'Tis the season to go shopping!

This year, the issue of gays in the pastoral ministry has been explosive. From the defrocking of Beth Stroud in the United Methodist Church because of her relationship with her female partner, to the Vatican's recent ban including gays who have "deep-seated tendencies" from the priesthood, homosexuality has caused much division.

Sitting atop the kitchen roof, our 20-foot TV antenna leaned drunkenly against the second story for support.

It was Monday afternoon when Ron Modrall called and confirmed that we would be going striper fishing the next day. I met him at 5:30 a.m. Ron's boat was ready and the legendary Ron Welch guided us to the action. First there was a stop in Vallejo for bait. We bought grass shrimp, ghost shrimp and mud suckers. It was a freezing morning as we launched at the Vallejo Marina. Under the early light of the morning sky, we headed out to the rock wall off Mare Island.