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
Must Love Dogs
(re-run) John had a date with a woman named Sally. She had just rescued a dog and named it Muffin. John wanted to go skim boarding at the beach, and he asked Sally to come with him. Of course she had to bring Muffin, her Golden Retriever. When they got to San Gregorio beach a… Continue reading Must Love Dogs
The Country on Fire
The country is on fire. Protestors have been gathering for three days now, just one week after George Floyd died while a police officer kept his knee on his neck until he was asphyxiated. George had used a counterfeit twenty dollar bill at a store. A 17-year-old girl filmed the agonizing ten minutes it took… Continue reading The Country on Fire
The Hot Lipstick Post
This morning (Sunday) I ran out to get the San Francisco Chronicle, bought fruit, and then dropped off a library book, mailed a letter, and parked in front of CVS, waiting for the pharmacy to open. Why not run errands later, you ask? Because the Chronicle sells out fairly early, so I settled in with… Continue reading The Hot Lipstick Post
When the Rescue Dog is a Ratter
(re-run) The timid white dog with the brown head wouldn’t take a treat from the rescue dog volunteer. I liked her face, anyway, and took her home. Fast forward 18 months. The plum tree in the back side yard becomes loaded with fruit. The platform for the shed which I stupidly put next to the… Continue reading When the Rescue Dog is a Ratter
Creepy Crawlers and my Sixth Grade Status
In 6th grade, my friends all got one teacher, and I got the other. I was put into a classroom with the kids who would grow up to be the popular ones that dominated high school. They were intimidating, even at the age of eleven or twelve. Connie Green had many matching sweater sets to… Continue reading Creepy Crawlers and my Sixth Grade Status
Love in the Time of Covid – 19
The gray stripe on my scalp was getting wider. It had been 14 weeks since I saw Janice at my last hair appointment. I took a photo of my hair and texted it to her. “I miss you!” I said. Janice texted back and said that she’d been sneaking people in the back door of… Continue reading Love in the Time of Covid – 19
What to do on a Hot Pandemic Day
What do you do when it’s 100 degrees outside and you’re in the middle of a pandemic? For me, it’s clean out another drawer or sort through another box. I inherited all of my sister’s belongings three years ago when she moved here from Iowa, and today, while packing up a daughter’s stuff, a daughter… Continue reading What to do on a Hot Pandemic Day
