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February 21, 2022  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Columns, Short Takes, Wild Cards

Homecoming in Havana

I had seen him watching me for several days. The driveway leading out of Havana’s Hotel Nacional might have been 50 yards or more, and he seemed to be standing there at the end of it every day.

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Photo by Michelle Jimenez on Unsplash
August 21, 2015  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Columns

Finding the Spirit at West Angeles

Sure, they wanted to go to Venice Beach, Hollywood, the Santa Monica Promenade, Century City and downtown. But at the top of their list was 7 a.m. ‘‘mass’’ at West Angeles Church of God in Christ.

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June 28, 2015  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Longer Takes

The Brain Trust

“When I operate and look at the structure of the brain under the microscope, what I’m looking at is God’s art.”
He has been called ‘brilliant,’ a ‘superstar,’ even a god. Neurosurgeon Keith Black is zeroing in on a way to zap malignant tumors.

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January 14, 2015  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Longer Takes

Hustling Golf at Palmer Park with ‘Fat Daddy’ and ‘The Train’

“Looks like it’s boilin’ down to me and you, boy,” Pierce “Fat Daddy” Cofield says, turning to Bob Ladford, a laid-off auto worker. “You want my business?”

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February 18, 2000  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Short Takes

TED

A KILLER TORNADO BLEW TED THACKREY JR. FROM THE WICHITA Eagle into Los Angeles journalism in the 1950s. A whirlwind of his own making lifted him out more than 30 years later. Thackrey landed at the Los Angeles Examiner after its city editor saw his lead on the twister: “A small Kansas town died in its sleep last night.”

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Photo by Mathew MacQuarrie on Unsplash
July 12, 1999  |  By Edward J Boyer  |  In Columns

Clever

One of the smartest guys I knew in the blue-collar, predominantly black neighborhood where I grew up in Detroit was a voracious reader and an all-city basketball player.

He read so much and was knowledgeable on so many subjects that guys in the neighborhood began calling him Clever. We were all intellectually curious and outstanding students, and during summer vacations, we would sit late into the evening on someone’s porch, holding forth on subjects ranging from Mao’s Long March in China to Napoleon’s campaign in Russia.

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  1. Edward J Boyer on Remembering Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy LadyJanuary 28, 2025

    Helllo June Smith, there is a hyperlink in my post to Chris Campion's profile of Fayne in the Guardian. If…

  2. June Smith on Remembering Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy LadyJanuary 2, 2025

    Just watched the doc. Looking for more info on Fayne, I found this. What a treasure she was and what…

  3. You have received a message(-s) № 417. Read >> https://telegra.ph/Message--2868-12-25?hs=202b034310597e62a5f4dd14c7001c5a& on Aretha, Smokey and a Neighborhood Full of Memories.January 1, 2025

    3gta62

  4. Kimara Mason on Remembering Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy LadyDecember 13, 2024

    I am so glad to hear this. I want to read her book!

  5. barrettk on The Misunderstood Migration of ‘Homeboy’October 20, 2024

    Hi Ed, My name is Kristen (Kay) Barrett, and I'm reaching out because I believe you knew my late aunt,…

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RECENT POSTS

  • Jimi & Fayne
    Remembering Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady Saturday, 23, Apr
  • Detroit Northern High School
    Aretha, Smokey and a Neighborhood Full of Memories. Sunday, 13, Mar
  • Photo by Alexander Kunze on Unsplash
    Homecoming in Havana Monday, 21, Feb

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About Ed

I was hooked on becoming an ink-stained wretch after seeing my first byline when I was in 4th Grade and covered a basketball tournament for our elementary school newspaper in Detroit. Those bylines continued on newspapers in high school, at Wayne State University and at the two dailies in the Motor City. I left daily journalism for nearly six years to work as a correspondent for Time magazine, but returned as a writer and editor at the Los Angeles Times…[Read More]

Latest Posts

  • Jimi & Fayne
    Remembering Lithofayne Pridgon: Jimi Hendrix’s Foxy Lady
  • Detroit Northern High School
    Aretha, Smokey and a Neighborhood Full of Memories.
  • Photo by Alexander Kunze on Unsplash
    Homecoming in Havana
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