I think it is important to know who your heroes are. Here is a collection of portraits of people who have influenced me, inspired me, humbled me and helped me become the person I am today. They are just all around awesome. The curious thing, of course, is that I have not met any of them personally. I only know them through the power of their creative output. It is so important to do creative work in your life. I’ll periodically add more as I think of them. See how many you recognize on sight before you click them to link to Wikipedia articles. Read More...

Okay, just a little fluff today (now updated with links). Maybe you’ve seen these, or maybe I can introduce you to something new. All I can say is that I know for a fact that I’ve seen each of these films at least ten times and I could watch any of them again tonight. They are awesome! I’m not saying all of these are GREAT films. I’m just saying I have an affection for them. Forgive the quality of these screenshots, they were all hastily grabbed from YouTube. In no particular order.... Read More...

I’ve been blogging for two years now, and in that time, I’ve gotten to know many other single parent bloggers. I don’t doubt that they make up a large portion of my readership too. I don’t think adding a blog roll here is necessarily going to do much in the way of introducing readers to blogs they don’t already know about, but I thought it was high time that these people knew what I really thought of them and why I read them. So without further ado, here are the blogs Depot Dad checks regularly. Read More...

A stick, some string, some raw bacon and just a bit of patience.





That’s all.

In the early 1990s, My friend Phill and I made a drive up the northwest Pacific coast. The photograph above was taken during one of our many roadside stops on the Oregon coast. Thirty seconds before the picture was taken, I was balancing on a narrow outcropping of rock that rose out of the wet sand a few feet below. The next instant a wave came up from around the large rock you see on the left and suddenly water rose in all directions around me. In just a few seconds, I saw the water rise too quickly towards my shoes. I stepped up to the highest part of the narrow rock, but the water kept climbing. I realized I had no options. It is a little misleading in the photo, but the bit of rock on the bottom of the photo is actually quite a distance away from me. I was unable to jump to it. All I could do was wait and see what fate had in store for me.

I looked to Phill for some assistance, or at least some advice, but he was too busy laughing and reaching into his camera bag.

At the speed the water rose around me, you might have thought, as I did, that I was a goner. I was going to get very wet. But with less than an inch to spare, the water crested and then slowly dissipated leaving me once more balanced on a narrow rock over wet sand. I jumped down and ran higher up the shore.

Phill sent me this picture tonight and I thought it served as an excellent illustration of the year I have just lived through. I really do feel like I’ve been balancing myself on a narrow outcrop of stone as forces beyond my control swirled up around me. All I could do was ride it out and hope for the best. And once again it appears that I escaped by an inch.

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Things have been very quiet in Depot Town lately. Consequently, there hasn’t been a lot of blog worthy things to write about. But I want to let my readers know that I am doing just fine. I’ll be back soon enough.

I spent the weekend in Los Angeles with my friend Scott. I’m up early on Monday morning and we will soon hit the road for the long haul back to San Francisco. I spent my time here catching up with family I have not seen in years, and it was great.

Last week I met with my doctor who had nothing to add to my situation. He simply said that we would wait until after my surgery to determine the follow up course of action. That literally was the entire doctors appointment. I rushed away from a perfect day at the Oakland zoo with Oliver and Amélie for that?

I’ll be back to a more frequent blogging schedule this week. I’m off of my meds and feeling GREAT. Now I’ve got to hit the road.

Early last summer I made a new friend, a single mom who lives in the East Bay. We met online and for a long time our friendship was entirely based on email. We kept trying to meet up, but for whatever reason, we never could get our schedules to work out. We continued emailing throughout the summer and, later, when I was diagnosed with cancer, our friendship developed in a very wonderful way.

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After my last heady post, I think it is time for some serious low-brow indulgence into pure fluff. Otherwise known as....Depot Dad’s favorite fictional female characters he’d most like to...uh...meet. Read More...

I woke up really early this morning, like 5am. The thing was, I wasn’t tired. I made some tea and blackberry jam on toast. Then I laid in bed and read American Splendor, which I’ve had for a while and never got around to reading. Wow, what a great morning. I know people like to get together on Thanksgiving and doing all the stuff they do, and I’ll be doing it later as well. But really, holidays should be spent doing things like this too.

I guess I should say right at the outset that if you are one of my readers who is ready for me to get back to my normal single parent blog, I’m going to disappoint you. In fact, I’m likely to disappoint you for some time to come. So if you are ready to get over this whole cancer thing, and switch subjects, then it would probably be a good idea to visit some other blogs. The fact is is that cancer is dominating my waking existence, and though I tried to think of other topics to blog about for today, I kept coming back to one incontrovertible truth: most things that people occupy themselves with, and worry about, and argue about, just do not seem very important to me right now.

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My family recently asked me about my food preferences. This is in anticipation of me recovering from surgery late next week and they are coordinating bringing over some meals. Thank you!!

I wrote up a quick description of the foods I liked and, surprisingly, I liked what I wrote. While it may be of no interest to you, I am posting it here anyway. Y’know, in case any readers wanted to ship Depot Dad some freeze dried meals. (hinta hinta)


To whom it may concern,

Here is a list of Depot Dad’s food preferences... Read More...

The writer Henry Miller once advised, “Never read a book you could write yourself.” The point being that the act of reading should be reserved for material that expands your horizons, challenges your prejudices, and seduces you away from familiar habits of thought. Read More...

Didn’t you read the headline here? Why are you still reading this? I told you this was going to be boring. You see, there just hasn’t been much going on with me worth blogging about. But people keep asking how I am doing, how my treatment is coming along, etc.

I’m just here to tell you that all is well. I feel great. I am eating only good stuff, still exercise on free mornings and generally am healthier and happier than I have been in a long time. I don’t know why, but lately, everything is funny to me. I find myself laughing at the most mundane and ridiculous aspects of our lives. I like it. Read More...

Amélie is about to lose her first tooth. She is very proud and showing everyone.

Oliver is doing great in Soccer so far this year. I’m looking forward to attending as many games as I can.

The school year is also off to a great start. Awesome teachers all around. God, I love good public education and educators. Read More...

There’s nothing like having a bunch of doctors say,”Tsk tsk,” and,”Hmm,” and, “Uhhh,” to make you wake up and smell the roses.

After seeing a client in downtown San Francisco yesterday, I went for a meandering walk back to the parking garage. I turned onto an unfamiliar street and walked into this... Read More...

Ever have one of those perfect days? I’ve been lucky enought to have just had a perfect weekend. Wow. I don’t really expect these to come around very often, so excuse me as I bask in the glow for a bit. Today also has the added bonus of being Oliver’s 7th birthday and I get to see him and Amélie tonight after their having been with their mother for the weekend. Geez. Yes, some guys have all the luck. It just so happens that, for today at least, that “some guy’ is me.

What? You want details? Yes, yes, I understand. Its only that I’ve forgotten all the details and all I’m left with is the buzz.

. . . . . . . . . .

I just wanted to say “Thank You,” for the the wonderful comments I’ve gotten on my posts. For those of you who left weblinks, I’ve visited every one. For so many of the comments, i wanted to send a personal reply, but on many of your own blogs, there is no email link to contact you.

So this general post will have to suffice. I am very grateful for the support and encouraging words...especially to my last post! There is nothing quite like balanced sanity from those who have perspective to give a guy...um....perspective. (Well, I didn’t say it would improve my writing!)

At any rate, look for another posting later tonight, and thank you all again.