Author Archives: journeysofabentmind

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About journeysofabentmind

Gordon is a Nisei, a second generation American of Japanese descent born in 1938 whose family owned a farm outside of Atwater, California in the San Joaquin Valley. His world was abruptly changed when on December 7, 1941 Japan’s Imperial Navy launched an early morning attack on Pearl Harbor. Thus began a chain of events that resulted in his family’s forced evacuation and internment in a “relocation center” in Colorado during the war. After the war Gordon spent his teenage years in school and working on the family farm. He attended U.C. Berkeley and graduated in 1960 and went on to the Graduate School of Social Welfare at Berkeley earning a Masters in Social Welfare in 1963. He worked in a number of social service settings and last worked as a case manager for developmentally challenged clients in San Mateo, San Francisco, and Marin Counties until he retired in 2000. When his wife Barbara retired in 2007 they moved to Eugene, Oregon following their children and grandchildren. Gordon lives with his wife of 55 years and close to the four grandchildren and life is just good.

Voter-ID: A False Narrative

Posted on May 18, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

The premise behind Voter-ID laws is that there is rampant voter fraud and this measure is necessary to insure the integrity of the franchise. The reality, however, is starkly different from this narrative. Studies reveal no such runaway fraud is … Continue reading →

Posted in Intro to My Writings | 1 Comment

The Lavender Baron

Posted on May 16, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

His parents liked his brother best. He was taller, had that dark handsome look about him, and was smarter than Hans. Manfred Von Richtofen was pursued by the best universities, graduated at the head of his class with honors, and … Continue reading →

Posted in Short Stories | 2 Comments

Camp Amache: An American Story

Posted on May 6, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

  May 4, 2018: Today I made a second annual visit to the third grade class of a dear friend in Corvallis, Christine Gough. The visit was to share my story of my family’s forced evacuation and internment in a … Continue reading →

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Fairest Of Them All

Posted on April 24, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

As the winter sun set in a crimson blaze to the west, a near full moon crept over the snowcapped mountains to the east, casting its variegated hues of silver and blue over the landscape. Dhumbo Thumass, The Royal Gatesperson, … Continue reading →

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Born to Pun: Introduction

Posted on February 20, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

Born to Pun: 1,400 Boss Jokes, Funny Quips, and Groan-Worthy Punchlines Introduction Words, words, words! Is a picture as the Chinese saying goes worth a thousand words? And is the reverse also true, that one word is worth a thousand pictures? … Continue reading →

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Born to Pun

Posted on February 1, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

In March of this year Ulysses Press out of Berkeley, CA, will publish a second volume of my puns to follow last year’s edition, “The Ultimate Book of Dad Jokes.” This year’s volume, going by the title, “Born to Pun,” … Continue reading →

Posted in Intro to My Writings | 2 Comments

The World’s 101 Diabolically Worst Puns

Posted on January 17, 2018 by journeysofabentmind

Question: “I wonder, do Eskimo salesmen use their cell phones to make cold calls?” Those of us who are introverts are lucky in many ways, not the least of which is we’ll never be bored. If things around us are … Continue reading →

Posted in Intro to My Writings | 1 Comment

Stars and Stripes Forever…

Posted on December 20, 2017 by journeysofabentmind

A flag waves in my heart, and that is as it should be. It was placed there atop an inner mountain sometime in the distant past by events that I do not specifically recall, but at a time when patriotism … Continue reading →

Posted in Intro to My Writings | 3 Comments

Sugar and Spice, Everything Nice

Posted on November 5, 2017 by journeysofabentmind

Mandy hurried along passageway T-7 in the third tier of space station Orion. Dante trotted alongside her with ease, his collar clinking in the early morning silence. It was always quiet throughout the space station at 5:00 in the mornig, … Continue reading →

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Flight to the North Rim

Posted on November 4, 2017 by journeysofabentmind

The cottonwood trees alongside the swank hotel swayed in the light breeze, their leaves catching the sunlight on their shiny surfaces giving the appearance of a shimmering silver-green apparition. The Chollo River, not far distant, moved lazily through the canyons … Continue reading →

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