A few years ago, the Casa had an unwelcome vistor for a few days; a huge barn owl, easily 2' tall. She set up shop in a tree not twenty yards from our back porch. You could sometimes just make out her dim shape against the night sky; sometimes you couldn't see her at all, but you just knew that she was there. I could only imagine what an owl of that size could do…

A little hope, even hopeless hope, never hurt anybody.-John Steinbeck, The Winter of Our Discontent Most followers of this page know the Message of the Crate; how Charlie was found starving in hers and was released, only to return to it when she was shown no better option. Well, at the time I found her, I was in confinement as well, but instead of plastic and steel, mine was constructed of a 401k, four weeks…

As many of Charlie's long term followers know, every Friday is Charlie Bravo Day. The whole idea was that as many historical figures are celebrated once a year, it was only fair that a diva such as Charlie would get recognition throughout the year. As I was in the corporate rat race at the time and often unable to do her bidding during the work week, she chose every Friday as that day. And it…

Easter Sunday at the Casa; Charlie is still in bed, recovering from her Texas trip. Duff and Titus are already vying for what attention there is to be had, and Marco is in his happy place: burrowed under the covers and between my legs. And the answer is "yes"; that is exactly as weird as it sounds. One of my favorite stories happened a few years back, when Charlie and I were on one of…

MacDuff is NOT a happy dog... Thursday, I received a call from the Texas Sidecar Company: could I bring the Nighthawk down so that they could work on the fittings? There is much about the sidecar project that makes absolutely no sense; very few people want to ruin a perfectly fine motorcycle by taking away its ability to lean. Those that do rarely put a sidecar on a bike where the cost of the hack…

Dad here; public disclaimer: before you get all spun up, let me assure that this post is NOT currently relevant at the Casa del Whackos. But on the other hand, it does apply, as we all know that the time we are allotted with our dogs is finite and way too short even at that. I've been dreading this post for years, but I'm the dad of the Casa del Whackos and sometimes the dad…

Dad here; it occurred to me this weekend that it has been TWO WHOLE YEARS since my last motorcycle trip out west. And that one was strictly business, as it was to spread Marty's cremains(Marty's particles, or "Marticles")from atop Ophir Pass in Colorado. How does this just happen? This is not the me that I used to know, as traveling, preferably by motorcycle, is what has always been what Charlie is all about. But the…