Robert Quall 18 posts 0 comments

My boat, the King Midas, the summer of 1967, was moored in the San Diego harbor after an attempt to sail to Santa Barbara failed because of a dead battery. However, with a new co-pilot, Ren Tryal, I was excited about our second attempt to sail the King Midas up the coast. Ren, a federal narcotics agent, had confiscated a machine gun and…

When I was 12, I was in the Cub Scouts.  Wasn't able to advance to Boy Scouts, but I remember one of their mottos was "Always be prepared.” This advice…

Do you have a fire alarm in your  house? Undoubtedly. Very important to have in any structure. The alarm goes off, you vacate the premises immediately.…

It has been snowing in the mountains for several weeks. Great skiing this year! Reminds me of the ski trip to Lake Tahoe many years ago. Henry TeVelde and I, and several others, took a group of high schoolers to Lake Tahoe for the weekend to ski. Was going to be great fun! When we got to the rented chalet, it already had 10 occupants. We…

Do you like craft fairs? I like them, especially near Christmas.  The problem is that when I see something I like at these fairs, I can't buy just one —…

Editor’s Note: Times contributor Robert Quall sent this column into the newspaper on Nov. 21. Remember when I was going to get a bullet proof car to…

Have you had any contact with our homeless population in the valley? Years ago, I had the privilege of directing a homeless (Rescue  Mission) men's choir for over 10 years.  During that time, Dennis Jordan, our accompanist, and myself, went all over  California with the men's chorus. Interestingly  enough, we had a world class soloist,…

In 1972, Mary Jo Bennett, a Merced County resident, disappeared without a trace, never to be seen alive again. Her disappearance and the…

The Times has been following the local Maasai Medical Mission, a non-profit organization led by Merced’s Robert Quall, as the group makes its way…

I'm working on my 18th trip to Kenya in December. On my second trip to Kenya, I saw a Maasai elder with a deep scar across his chest. I asked my friend, Christopher, a Masai elder, what happened to him? Christopher said, “Oh, he was first to the lion … He is lucky to be alive!” I found out that day, how and why lions are killed by the…