I love live music, and the pandemic has made it harder to find. Some of the local bands have gone online, putting out their virtual tip jar while they play for an hour or two. Sometimes they are sponsored by a business, sometimes they do it from their apartments. I love the Beatles, so when… Continue reading Virtual Tip Jar Fail
The Uses for a Nine Year Old
My Girl Friday (who works for me on Mondays) has a daughter, who sometimes comes along with her to work. Now that her daughter is nine, she is useful in many ways. 1. She entertains my dogs. 2. She entertains my sister, giving her someone to watch. 3. She brings music into the house, since… Continue reading The Uses for a Nine Year Old
The Blond-tourage
Every woman over fifty gets the same advice from her hairdresser — lighten up your hair. As our skin fades and our looks do, too, we need brighter lipstick, sparkly-er clothing and blonder locks to stay looking as young as we can. My apologies to women of color; this may not apply to you. So… Continue reading The Blond-tourage
Moon Over Lafayette
Trudy worked at an engineering firm. Joe was the visiting copy machine repair man, or as her office mates called him, the Xerox guy. One day Trudy had to make copies. Joe was at the machine, repairing away. “Oh,” she said. “No copies for me!” “Hey there,” Joe said. “We should catch dinner sometime.” “Okay.”… Continue reading Moon Over Lafayette
Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
(re-run) My mom, bless her heart, had to keep five children in line, mostly by herself. She did this by keeping everyone in his or her place, as in, “No, you can’t do that!” I just found out that my younger sister also wanted to play clarinet in the band, like I did. But I… Continue reading Getting Away from all the No, No, No’s
My Perfect High School OCD Job
After babysitting for every rug rat in my neighborhood and getting short-changed by a few of their parents (the going rate was 50 cents an hour), I moved into real jobs with time cards and pay stubs. The first one was as a window clerk at Mc Donald’s. I was fast. I could take and… Continue reading My Perfect High School OCD Job
Four Bands and Birthdays in Four Nights
(re-run) I know summer is here when I’ve seen four live bands in four nights. The first band played in Moraga on Thursday, a bit of a drive with traffic at 5:00 p.m. Three Day Weekend had good harmony, interesting song choices and some mean guitar, even horns. The crowd was mellow, lots of families… Continue reading Four Bands and Birthdays in Four Nights
S is for Scrolling (Surfing)
(re-run) It used to be when I had a few minutes of free time, I’d try to get something done, like work on a story, clean a drawer, or do some squats. Oh, I could’ve written about squats since it starts with an S. But what can you say? Bend down, butt out. Stand up,… Continue reading S is for Scrolling (Surfing)
Wasabi on a First Date
(re-run) They had the same hair dresser. She was coming in as he was going out. He asked for her phone number. She gave it to her hairdresser to give to him. There aren’t too many eligible men in their seventies, especially one that still had his hair! Garth took Gladys to a nice Japanese… Continue reading Wasabi on a First Date
My Friend, the Thief
We took the bus to go shopping downtown. We weren’t old enough yet to drive, and it was a boring Saturday. Debbie suggested the shopping trip. We had a shopping center (before malls) within walking distance of our houses. A bus trip was more adventurous. Debbie was always up for adventure. She had moved in… Continue reading My Friend, the Thief
Easy Rider
(re-run) My neighbor, Joan, would roll her parents’ car out of the garage when we were in 9th grade so we could go driving in the middle of the night during her slumber parties. We’d fall into fits of hysterical laughter when Mr. Bast, the milkman, would go by in his milk truck. But we… Continue reading Easy Rider
My Fake-Coffee Half Hour
(re-run) It’s funny how a person’s perception of what is good changes with the circumstances. I used to look forward to my can of Diet Coke every day until I reached my mid-forties. Then the stuff was too hard on my stomach, and I gave it up. I used to look forward to my cup… Continue reading My Fake-Coffee Half Hour
Social Butterfly
I remember it as clearly as yesterday. The visual part is a little fuzzy, but the words are still there, fifty plus years later. I was in the basement where my mom was doing yet another load of laundry. “There’s a slumber party Saturday night at Lisa’s. Can I go?” My mom put down the… Continue reading Social Butterfly
Daisy’s Bloody Tuesday
(re-run) Woe is me. I have a weirdo for a rescue dog. I am her third owner. Things go well most days, but then she growls at my bigger dog, who is usually chill with the little goofball. But sometimes the big dog goes off on the little dog growling at her. She pins down… Continue reading Daisy’s Bloody Tuesday
