Barry Tompkins
Marin IJ
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Past articles by Barry:
This was the week that was: Disasters, debates, Disney and decibels
What kind of a week was it? Oh just the usual. Fires burning out of control in one of the state’s most beautiful areas – and everywhere else for that matter; homes destroyed, wineries in cinders a… → Read More
Humor comes in all shapes, sizes
I wrote a column last week, pretending I was writing a letter to God, and complaining out loud about all that’s been heaped upon us mere mortals for the past six months. Needless to say, it was wri… → Read More
Are you there God? It’s me, Earth – Marin Independent Journal
Dear God, First, let me apologize for using snail mail instead of just emailing you, or trying to see you in person. I know how tough it is to take a personal meeting with you, and from what I unde… → Read More
If it’s Wednesday, it must be Armageddon – Marin Independent Journal
I remember when I was a kid reading stories about Abraham Lincoln and how, in the age before electricity, he would study and write by candlelight in a log cabin in Illinois. In fact, his family was… → Read More
Guys, please be good to your chicks
I spent the early years of my life in San Francisco’s Fillmore District. We lived in an apartment that was next to a bakery and across the street from a kosher butcher. The daily aroma from the bak… → Read More
A jolt of reality during the dog days of summer
I somehow can’t get over the fact that National Dog Day just happened to occur right in the middle of the Republican National Convention. Ironic? Perhaps. My own dog, Rosie, celebrated her day by e… → Read More
Raise a glass of mail-order wine to the USPS
I got a text from my daughter, Lainie, this morning that got me thinking. It said, “If nothing else good comes of 2020, at least it will be the year that ‘going postal’ went from a bad thing to a g… → Read More
So many ways to rough it in the wilderness
I am a city kid. If it wasn’t concrete, I didn’t walk on it. The great outdoors was Playland-at-the-Beach. I walked purely to get from point A to point B — and only if I couldn’t get a ride. My par… → Read More
The haves are really having it all
If you happen to be a billionaire, I have two requests. One: Stop reading this column — it’s not for you. The other: Please remember me in your will. As I write this, I’m gazing out the window of m… → Read More
The animals are living large while we’re living small – Marin Independent Journal
Here is the news of the week: Chipmunks are running amok coyotes are roaming city streets and humpback whales are living large. And we’re all still masked up and unable to get within a nine iron of… → Read More
Take me out to the ball game … from the couch
Good news. Our seat location for this year’s Giants games has really improved. No longer do we have to stand up every time a rowmate decides it’s time for another brewski or needs to miss an inning… → Read More
When the news is like a sci-fi movie
Let me just stop for a moment and take stock. I’m thankful that neither I, nor anyone in my family, have been stricken with the virus that’s stopped the world. My washing machine still works, so I’… → Read More
It’s life-saving and a fashion statement – Marin Independent Journal
Who was that masked man? Well, the reply used to be the Lone Ranger. Those were the days. Now the answer is everybody. In fact, it’s even gotten to the point that masks are conversation pieces. Thi… → Read More
No fireworks this year and that’s fine by me – Marin Independent Journal
How’s your holiday weekend been? Quiet? I thought so. July Fourth has come and gone with a whimper and not the usual bang. It’s just another sign of the times we’re living in where “normal” is only… → Read More
Pet Rocks and Chia Pets have met their match
When it comes to technology, I fall into the category somewhere between Steve Jobs and Johannes Gutenberg. I’m probably a little more savvy than, say, Calvin Coolidge, but far less than any 10-year… → Read More
TV shows custom made for a coranavirus pandemic
I think I now know what I’m going to do when I grow up. I am going to be a creator of television shows. I’m feeling pretty confident now based on my suggestions for new shows in last week’s column.… → Read More
A day in the life of a pandemic; mulling and cocktails
I have been wearing a mask for so long now that I’ve promised myself on Halloween I’m taking it off and going trick-or-treating as Barry Tompkins. I still haven’t mastered breathing in the damn thi… → Read More
Whimsy can wait; time to speak up
“In a not too distant dystopian future, when man’s most precious resource — oil — has been depleted and the world plunged into war, famine and financial chaos, one man launches a personal vendetta … → Read More
23 old guys on Zoom, what could go wrong?
I don’t think it’s any great secret that I grew up in that age before time when sophisticated technological equipment consisted of an electric typewriter and a mimeograph machine. As a matter of fa… → Read More
Too many steps to get to ‘The Last Dance’ – Marin Independent Journal
I somehow feel compelled to write this week about “The Last Dance,” the Michael Jordan documentary that aired in 10 episodes over the past five weeks on ESPN. Like the man himself, it w… → Read More