Categories
- Brazil (10)
- California (17)
- Coronavirus (9)
- Current Events (21)
- Danelectro (16)
- Family (59)
- Hawaii (23)
- History (49)
- Holidays (20)
- Humor (74)
- India (21)
- Japan (8)
- Language (54)
- Nathan Daniel (9)
- North Bay (17)
- Places I've lived (121)
- Recollections (155)
- Russia-USSR (51)
- Sandra Kelley (58)
- Santa Rosa (16)
- Sonoma County (13)
- Thoughts (75)
- Travel (45)
- Writing & editing (50)
Get In Touch
Info@pen4rent.com
+1 (707) 888-4724
Santa Rosa, California, USA

Howard Daniel, Pen-for-Rent Principal
Beating a Cold the Hard Way
/0 Comments/in Danelectro, Family, Recollections, Thoughts, Travel, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielHovercraft crossing the English Channel, the White Cliffs of Dover in the background A cold nearly tripped up our trip to Michigan for our daughter Naomi’s wedding last month. The day before we were to leave (on Thursday before the Sunday wedding), Sandra felt the classic symptoms coming on and was hoping it was just […]
A Marriage Made in … Michigan!
/3 Comments/in Family, Sandra Kelley /by Howard DanielClarke & Naomi, happily married Last Thursday, Sandra and I, accompanied by Melissa — our “Santa Rosa daughter,” the youngest of our three kids — and our granddaughter Amarie, flew to Michigan to participate in the wedding of our eldest kid, Naomi, to a wonderful new son-in-law, Clarke Taylor. The ceremony took place at their […]
Vintage Guitar Hall of Fame Honors My Dad
/0 Comments/in Danelectro, Family /by Howard DanielNat Daniel write-up in Vintage Guitar Magazine I’m celebrating! I just got word that my dad, electric guitar and amplifier pioneer Nathan I. Daniel, has been honored as 2021 Innovator of the Year in Vintage Guitar Magazine’s Hall of Fame. A good friend — a highly knowledgeable admirer of my father’s innovative guitars and amps […]
Tummy Tickler Bridge
/0 Comments/in Current Events, Family, Places I've lived, Recollections, Russia-USSR, Thoughts /by Howard DanielThe gently arched Hermitage Bridge carrying the Neva River Embankment roadway across the mouth of the Zimnaya Kanavka. In the background, the pedestrian bridge linking the Hermitage Museum (right) to the Hermitage Theater. A few days ago something — I’ve already forgotten what — reminded me of one of the small pleasures of life I […]
April Fools? They’ve Gotta Be Joking!
/0 Comments/in California, Current Events, History, Thoughts /by Howard DanielPublic opinion on reparations A few days ago, with April Fools’ Day coming right up, I spotted a couple of news items I briefly thought might be nothing more than a crazy prank. If only! The items I saw were reports on discussions within the nine-member California Reparations Task Force — appointed to “study and […]
Feeling Grateful
/4 Comments/in Current Events, History, Russia-USSR, Thoughts /by Howard DanielIf you’re like me, every so often you’ll find a nice graphic image in your Facebook feed, listing reasons why people like you and me should feel grateful: Because we have a roof over our heads and clothes on our backs Because our children have enough to eat Because we fall asleep in a warm […]
Dear Mr. President
/2 Comments/in Current Events, Thoughts /by Howard DanielIranian missile, perhaps a type that could reach Israel with a nuke Note to readers of this blog: I am about to send the following message to President Biden, with copies to my senators and congressman. I have no realistic hope that the president will read it, much less that it will sway him. But […]
Staying in Touch: The Other Side of Networking
/0 Comments/in California, Thoughts, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielThe Dutra Group’s work at Ocean Beach, San Francisco, discussed below Not long before last Halloween, I got a message from someone I’d collaborated with several years ago. She had long since left the firm she’d been at when we first worked together, but — as is the case with most people I get to […]
Richard R. Kelley, Dec. 28, 1933 – Feb. 24, 2022
/0 Comments/in Hawaii, Recollections, Travel, Writing & editing /by Howard DanielFebruary 24 will long be remembered as the day when Russia began its invasion of Ukraine. Awful as I feel about this appalling act of aggression in a part of the world of great interest to me, February 24, 2022, will for me also be the date of a more personal loss. It’s the day […]
A Long-Ago Moment That Will Live Forever
/0 Comments/in Family, Humor, Recollections, Sandra Kelley /by Howard DanielMelissa, Adam and Naomi a few years after the event in this post. Dull moments were a rare luxury when Sandra and I were still living with our three teenagers — Naomi, Adam and Melissa — back around 1990, give or take a few years. However, one particular anything-but-dull moment stands out. It happened early […]