There it was on my Facebook feed. A writer friend I barely knew saying the best day of her life was the day she met her husband. And a chorus friend telling her spouse “Love you, Babe” on their 30+ anniversary. It stings a little. It used to sting a lot. While going through an… Continue reading Happily Never After
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
Rosie the Riveter Museum Lady
If you were 98 years old and still serving as a National park ranger in Richmond, CA, then you would be Betty Reid Soskin. She was born in 1921 and didn’t become a park ranger until she was 85 years old. Why does she do it? Her museum is the Rosie the Riveter /World War… Continue reading Rosie the Riveter Museum Lady
The Thrill Gene
I have never liked roller coasters. I puke on the teacups ride. I don’t like to dive, and I brake hard on steep hills on my bicycle. I have figured out that I don’t have the thrill gene. Of my three children, one of them has it. She likes to scuba dive and ride horses,… Continue reading The Thrill Gene
Doc and Lillian
When I was just out of college and teaching in a small town in Nebraska, I rented a refurbished farmhouse from the superintendent. His dad was Doc. Doc’s wife was Lillian. They became my surrogate Nebraska grandparents. Doc used to be a dentist, and one day he presented me with a mood ring. Remember those?… Continue reading Doc and Lillian
How to Relax for Bed
(re-run) I closed my online costume shop last summer. I donated 500 dresses to a charity for third world girls and sorted through my aprons, pulling out all the hostess ones, the sheer ones not for cooking. I had 150 of them. I gave them to my local thrift store, the one that knows vintage… Continue reading How to Relax for Bed
Sneaking into the Pool
(re-run) While student teaching in Venezuela, we learned how to have fun with not much money. One of the American teachers had stolen a couple of striped beach towels from an upscale hotel, and she had been sneaking into the hotel pool for years. “Just carry the towel and act like you belong,” Linda said.… Continue reading Sneaking into the Pool
Pandemic Tuesday and the Escape Dog
It’s that bewitching hour, 6:00 p.m. I’ve done all my daily duties, the chorus Zoom meeting isn’t till 7:00, I am too tired to clean something, I’ve scrolled through Facebook enough, so now I will write a blog post. I started out my day by going to Costco. I go once a month and didn’t… Continue reading Pandemic Tuesday and the Escape Dog
Crocodile Rock
(re-run) Friday evening there was an Elton John tribute band in the plaza. Since Yellow Brick Road is one of my all-time favorite albums, I thought, why not? My youngest, visiting from Boston, had plans to see her friends in Berkeley. It had finally cooled off a bit, and the smoke from the wildfires wasn’t… Continue reading Crocodile Rock
The Rattlesnake at Scout Camp
(re-run) It’s rattlesnake season here in the West. Snakes are cold-blooded and love warm surfaces like rocks or sunny trails when they are cold, and dark and shady places when they are hot. At night they curl up in the strangest locales – in coiled-up garden hoses, under the edge of pool covers, and now… Continue reading The Rattlesnake at Scout Camp
Pandemic Friday
My friends are going out. They are eating at restaurants with no masks on, and they are sitting shoulder to shoulder at the table – not all from one household! I am chicken to do that. I watch too much news and read too many newspapers. Yes, everything we do in life is a risk.… Continue reading Pandemic Friday
A Victoria’s Secret Box with Dinner
(re-run) Saundra met Duke online on Match. They agreed to meet at Scott’s Seafood restaurant for dinner. When she got there, he was already seated and waved her over. As she approached the table she noticed a dozen lavender roses in a vase. She remembered that Duke had asked her favorite color. As she sat… Continue reading A Victoria’s Secret Box with Dinner
