Author Archives: Rich Freggiaro

Avanti Nut Company is very much a family business, and 10 days ago its patriarch passed away suddenly and unexpectedly. Andy Solari leaves behind a legacy of 6 children and 12 grandchildren, as well as successful farming and walnut processing operations. The funeral in Linden on Wednesday was SRO and then some. There must haveContinue reading “5-Way Split”

Ms. Hermana’s visit got me reminiscing about cherry season and all the years we hired pickers to harvest the fruit. For decades my father ran his own cherry crew without using a contractor. My mother did all the bookkeeping, which was vital since both Dad and I were too tired from the long work dayContinue reading “Primo’s Problem”

Last Wednesday around 5 PM Stoker and I were getting ready for our evening ritual of self medicating with a mood elevating, muscle relaxing beverage in order to watch the news of the day without getting apoplectic. The doorbell rang, and we assumed it was simply another of the endless stream of Amazon deliveries thatContinue reading “American Beauty”

I know two people who attended Yale. One is an economist I worked with and drank bourbon with in another lifetime. The other is a good friend and cycling buddy who is a physician. However I don’t think either of them attended any lectures like this from last April 6: A flyer promoting the lectureContinue reading “Poison Ivy League”

Stoker is going on a bus trip with Setness Tours at the end of August. She and my sister-in-law Jeannie are going to see the sights of Idaho and Montana, including a red tram ride up Going to the Sun Road to Logan Pass. But Stoker has been there before… Back in 2012 we broughtContinue reading “A Road to Remember”

Now that summer is here I have gone into my full BBQ grilling mode. I fire up the grill once or twice each week. I’m no pit master but I do a fair job with a few items. I almost always get steaks right. Burgers or our delicious homemade sausages taste wonderful hot off ofContinue reading “Shrink to Fit”

People who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus no longer need to wear masks while indoors or outdoors or physical distance in either large or small gatherings, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced during a White House COVID-19 briefing Thursday. For months we have been told that the CDC isContinue reading “Masks,No? Fiasco!”

When it comes to marriage I’m strictly a one woman man, and Stoker is she. That is her preferred pronoun. I like to say my hobbies are cycling, chess and monogamy. But when it comes to bikes I fool around. My cycle harem consists of 3 beauties. None is really current state of the art,Continue reading “Love the One You’re With”

I started writing a blog for E San Joaquin way back in 2014. The Editor of The Record invited me to write about Stockton Cycling. But I pretty much wrote about whatever I wanted, although I tried to keep it mostly apolitical. Things went along like that for years. I didn’t think anybody was readingContinue reading “Shut Down and Shut Out”

Our Federal Government is working hard at printing money and giving it away to people because of the economic disruptions of the Covid panicdemic. This is fine as far as it goes; I have nothing against the occasional $2,000 check, which for Stoker and me is only a partial refund of estimated income tax weContinue reading “Death Discrimination”