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Dan Valentine: Economic recovery? Check the cigarette butts and panty hose
By Dan Valentine Good news! “The economy is growing again!” So said President Obama, just the other day. Of course, his opponents would have you believe otherwise. But there are certain solid economic...
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Dan Valentine: Memorial Day, Part I
By Dan Valentine Memorial Day. War is about death. Plain and simple. It’s been said before. In the past. Many times. It will be said again. In the future. Many times. After 9/11 I wrote a lot of...
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Dan Valentine: Perfect Day
By Dan Valentine I had a “Perfect Day” while in Nashville. When you’re penniless even a fairly good day is near-impossible to imagine. Even with lots of money in your pocket, you’re lucky to have five...
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Dan Valentine –“Call me anti-American”
By Dan Valentine Dear Hattip: Call me anti-American. When I was in high school, I entered an essay contest, sponsored by the Veterans of Foreign Wars, called Voice of Democracy. I wrote about...
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Dan Valentine – Lorelei call of the epistolary
By Dan Valentine Another in the “Dan Valentine – Where are you?” series I took a couple of days off from writing a piece or three here to ponder what I’m doing. What am I writing? A one-man show, a...
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Dan Valentine – Such goes life, part 1
By Dan Valentine SUCH GOES LIFE, PART ONE The manager of the Ensenada Backpacker Hostel is Gabriella. Everyone calls her Gabby. She lives upstairs. She also teaches school. One of her classes is...
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Dan Valentine – Such goes life, part 2
By Dan Valentine SUCH GOES LIFE, PART TWO In the Navy, during boot camp in San Diego, I witnessed–heard is a more accurate verb–a G.I. shower. One night, a gang of self-appointed disciplinarians threw...
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Dan Valentine – Such goes life, part 3
By Dan Valentine SUCH GOES LIFE, PART THREE In Houston, in the days before I left, I used to pass a homeless black man in his twenties or thirties on the street. I’d go to say, “Hi,” and he would lower...
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Dan Valentine – The Pink Cigarette Lighter, Part 1
By Dan Valentine THE PINK CIGARETTE LIGHTER – Part One My bestest friend, she loves the color pink. I’ve known her to order a Pink Lady merely for its soothing and appealing color. One year, for...
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Dan Valentine – The Pink Cigarette Lighter, Part 2
By Dan Valentine THE PINK CIGARETTE LIGHTER – Part 2 I was out on the veranda–inhaling my first drag from a cig, slurping my first sip from a cup–when the morning receptionist appeared. Upon seeing...
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Dan Valentine – Pink cigarette lighter, part 3
By Dan Valentine THE PINK CIGARETTE LIGHTER – Part Three From the Urban Dictionary: ‘Midnight Cowboy. A 1969 movie starring Jon Voight [Jolie’s daddy] as Joe Buck, from Texas, who comes to The Big...
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Dan Valentine – The pink cigarette lighter, part 4
By Dan Valentine The pink cigarette lighter, part 4 When I was four or five, early ’50s, my dad quit The Salt Lake Tribune and we moved to San Francisco. Actor Peter Lorre, who was known for his...
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Dan Valentine – Pink cigarette lighter, part 5
By Dan Valentine THE PINK CIGARETTE LIGHTER — Part 5 Shortly after my little episode with Melody – y’know, the brigadier general’s daughter, so on and so forth, the one with the butcher knife, etc.,...
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Dan Valentine – Pink cigarette lighter, part 6
By Dan Valentine THE PINK CIGARETTE LIGHTER – Part 6 When my bestest friend and I first moved into our new one-story home in Friendswood, TX, the fellow next door, who owned a nice three-story house,...
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Dan Valentine – Mexican balada
So I’m sitting on the back veranda of the hostel here having my first cup of coffee and my first cough from a cigarette—it’s what I do best—when a guest here for relaxation and rest joins me. Best,...
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Dan Valentine – My Sister/My Brother, part 1
By Dan Valentine MY SISTER / MY BROTHER – Part 1 One magical, fairy-tale of an evening, back in 1998, my baby sister Valerie—she is eight-years younger than myself—was knighted by Her Majesty Queen...
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Dan Valentine, Hosteling is a gas
By Dan Valentine I like a hostel. More than once I’ve said I love a hostel. I’m downgrading my heartfelt affection a notch or two. My stay here, which up to now comes to a little more than four months...
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Dan Valentine – Wedding ring in the pawnshop window
I’m back and back is beautiful, to tweak a phrase. Where have I been? Taking care of business with the helping hand of a special-special life-long friend. For now, I’ll simply say: Life is an...
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Dan Valentine – I Miss Kissing You
I MISS KISSING YOU Words by Daniel Valentine © 2010 “Why did I have to go and fall for a soldier? Soldiers march off and oh how I long to hold yer Face and mouth to mine While arms and legs and tongues...
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Dan Valentine –“The Xmas Stiff,” a one-act play
THE XMAS STIFF by Daniel Valentine (c) 2010 A FARCE IN ONE ACT Characters (4 F, 2 M) CAROL-LEIGH, owner/bartender ORSON, regular customer SHANNON, cocktail waitress BULLET, exotic dancer ROCKY, exotic...
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