Dr. Vikram Shankar has COVID-19 advice he would like to share before he leaves for his next medical assignment in Arizona.

Today, June 1, is my birthday. I am 70 years old.

I surprised him. My Dad was not expecting to see anyone so late in the evening.

Like many of you, my large family of brothers, sisters, nieces, nephews, grandchildren and family of the heart take “shelter in place” seriously. Family birthdays, deaths, births and anniversaries have all occurred during “shelter in place.”

I have a great social distancing anti-boredom activity for adults. If you are sheltered in place, and want a new activity to take you mentally elsewhere, Kern County of Old can be your new happy addictive habit.

He was walking in front of me on the crowded Disneyland’s Main Street. He was with his wife and three young children. At first glance you would think the black T-shirt the father was wearing was stylish in its simplicity. No Mickey or Minnie artwork adorned his T-shirt. Other than the words,…

Defying the new world order of Facebook, texting, Instagram, Twitter and other interactive computer-mediated non-personal technologies, all seven of my brothers and sisters, along with their better halves, have dinner once a month. Our ages range from 58 to 75 years young. That’s 14 people w…

In the 1960s my older brother Willie and I would drive to downtown Bakersfield and visit Booth’s Records and Appliance Store on H Street. Our intent wasn’t to purchase any appliances, it was to listen to music. Mixed in with the latest Westinghouse washers, dryers and other modern-day applia…

I did not understand what my maternal grandma was really trying to say to me 55 years ago.

As I type this, I am looking at six Christmas cards my daughter Nikki and Brenna have displayed on an ornamental Christmas tree card holder in my office at home. The cards are from thoughtful families who have forgone the temptation of sending holiday greetings via social media.

The Cancer Run/Walk was over, and as I was shuttling people in my golf cart from the event to their cars, I saw the elderly couple standing at the bus stop near the parking lot.

She could easily have been mistaken for Bea Arthur from the "Golden Girls" television series. She appeared to be in her early 70s. She was walking alone and leaving the event as fast as her cane would allow her.

Is it a tool of the devil, a meaningless family game or mental wormhole between the dead and the living? The Halloween season is the perfect time to ask anyone who has touched or been touched by, what some people claim to be, the mystical powers of the Ouija Board. Flicker the lights, cue th…

“Your life is your message.”

If Dirty Harry, Mary Poppins and Aquawoman could suspend the laws of biology and somehow have a child, that baby might look a lot like Roxanne Shuford.

As she has done nearly every weekday for the past several years, Lorraine Hernandez sat next to me on the stationary bike at 24 Hour Fitness last Monday to begin her workout. After some morning small talk, and almost as though she were asking me to pass the sugar, she said, “I’m jumping out …

The repair man walked into our living room this morning to fix our refrigerator. It was Thursday and our first day back from our annual Wavehog Central Coast beach camping trip. Ice chest, camping chairs and canopies littered our entryway and living room. I asked him to please be careful and…

Almost to a person, each of the 30 media people and community leaders who performed in the sold-out recent Media Music Jam, have explained to me how they have been personally affected by cancer. And although no survey was taken, my suspicion is many in the audience have also dealt with the e…

I walked into the center's small break room to stretch my legs. While I was trying to decide which soda to pick from the vending machine, a woman who looked to be in her early 40s walked in. She reminded me of Dorothea Lange's iconic 1936 black and white photo from the Great Depression— the …

There is no denying the resemblance.

My wife, who battled cancer for two years, was at the end of her journey in the hospital. I explained to my children that God would cure their mother. It would either be here with us or there in heaven, where she would be in perfect peace. The doctors came in to explain there was nothing mor…

What do Andre the Giant, Tito Santana, King Kong Bundy and the Junkyard Dog have in common? Well, I'll tell you.

The mother stands slumping in the corner. The moonlight gently casts the shadows of the bars in her cage which highlights her sadness. Through the bars of her window she sees the top of her child trying to reach in. The mother stands straight and her sadness is immediately replaced by a huge…

We had our family calendar meeting last night. It’s when we, my kids and I, sit around our kitchen bar area and catch up on all our family obligations, community projects and just-for-fun things we do together.

Now that the football season is officially over, I can say it. Some people will miss the excitement of the actual games. (Obviously, when I say "excitement," I am not including the Patriots' 13-3 victory over the Rams, the lowest scoring Super Bowl ever.) Me, not so much. I will miss the foo…

Before passing out Christmas presents to my children and grandchildren each year, I always ask which of them would like to start off the morning's traditional gift giving.

As with most of us, this time of year is one of reflection. Few regard the dawning of a New Year with indifference. Many count it as an opportunity to remember the good, bad and ugly of opportunities gained or missed.

Watching an Oakland Raider football game at home is not complete unless my 40-year-old daughter, Brenna, is there in her Silver and Black gear. It's not the real deal unless she is jumping up and down in our living room, screaming at every first down, penalty flag, pass completion or a rare …

It was one of those seminal moments that unknowingly shaped my young heart. I have carried my version of the memory with me for over 50 years.

My twin sons, Sean and Aaron, celebrated their 36th birthdays on Oct. 25.

My South High School 50th reunion website reads in part:

The teenage boys, including me, were all on one side of the living room. The teenage girls were all grouped on the other side of the room, giggling and pointing at the shy guys. Music was playing but no one was dancing.

She was sitting alone on a lounge chair in the hotel pool area.

Depending when you are reading this, we will have either just started to head out on a Wavehog chartered deep sea fishing boat from Dana Point in Southern California, or already stopped at our first fishing spot with our poles in the deep Pacific Ocean waters, or headed back to our San Cleme…

It may have been sold out, but table 23 deliberately sat empty last Saturday night at the Crystal Palace for this year’s Media Music Jam.

“Appreciate what you have before it becomes what you had,” said someone much wiser than me.

It was a proud moment for my niece Rachelle and her husband, David Yubeta. Their son, Josh, was drafted to play in this year’s U.S. Army All-Star Bowl at Rabobank Arena. According to the U.S. Army website, “the All-Star Bowl is the only high school arena-style football game held indoors.”

The call from my daughter-in-law Yvonne came early Thursday morning. I knew something was wrong right after she said, “Hello”. “They stole our car from the driveway,” she explained with a tone of total frustration, anger and sadness. I could hear my son Sean in the background talking to the …

The process begins early January.