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
Mr. Huggable
(re-run) His name was Mr. Huggable on Plenty of Fish. Her name was Charming Classic. She didn’t know yet that first dates are better as a coffee meet and greet, not a full-blown lunch. They agreed to meet at El Charro, a nice Mexican restaurant in Lafayette. It was set for 1:00 in the restaurant… Continue reading Mr. Huggable
DUI Date
(re-run) Lesley was a college freshman at UOP in Stockton when a big football-player-type guy asked her on a date. Lesley had already met his roommate, so she thought she was safe with Chad and said yes. Chad took Lesley to a party, but when his roommate came up to say hi to Lesley, Chad… Continue reading DUI Date
Say What in Santa Cruz
(re-run) Jennifer met Brad at San Leandro High school in the Bay Area. She wasn’t allowed to date, but she was allowed to go to junior prom with him. The next year Brad asked Jennifer to Senior Ball. It was in San Francisco, and afterward, they went to Pier 39 with everyone else in their… Continue reading Say What in Santa Cruz
Richard’s Big Moment
Richard was always online, looking for the perfect date. He liked the way Jane looked, a blue-eyed blonde with curves in just the right places. Since she lived on the peninsula and he lived in the East Bay, they met for dinner in Marin County at Alice’s Restaurant. During dinner conversation, they discovered that they… Continue reading Richard’s Big Moment
How to Get your Dog to Come to You
(re-run) On a hike the other day, there were four small dogs with fifteen or more people. One person was saying how hard it was to get his one-year-old dog to come to him. I remembered back to one of the many dog training sessions I’ve attended in my life – training Tess, the spaniel/heeler,… Continue reading How to Get your Dog to Come to You
Car Shows, Men, and Elvis
(re-run) It’s funny how memories of one thing lead to memories of other things happening in the same time period. Like the Twin Towers falling, or JFK getting assassinated. Or Elvis dying. Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death (August 16th). Forty-five years ago, I was stepping off an airplane from Spain (by way… Continue reading Car Shows, Men, and Elvis
The Dancing Tribe
(re-run from October 2021)) Different town. Different band. Same faces. We are the tribe of dancers, mostly in our fifties, sixties, and seventies, following rock and roll music wherever it goes. We might not know each other’s names, but we smile and wave. It’s been two years since some of us have seen each other.… Continue reading The Dancing Tribe
Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date
(re-run) During his senior year in high school, Chuck drove his powder blue Bonneville Pontiac to pick up his new girlfriend for their drive-in movie date. He had tricked out the interior of the car with his two taxidermy quail on a bed of shag carpeting in the car’s back window. When he drove his… Continue reading Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date
Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?
Full disclaimer, I have a masters degree in English. That, in itself, won’t get me a chicken dinner or even a pat on the back. What it does get me is anxiety over the state of the English language in the USA. All one has to do is to scroll the internet to find mistakes… Continue reading Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?
My Pooch on Prozac
Daisy wags her tail a lot more these days. She’s been on Prozac ever since the unfortunate park incident, the one I paid for last week when the owner of the five-pound dog brought over the vet bill, three and a half months after the fact. No worries. I told him I’d pay the bill,… Continue reading My Pooch on Prozac
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 