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
Surprise in the Porch Stove
(re-run) I got home from the beach, with temps up to 70 degrees. “Why am I coming back?” I asked myself as the car’s outside temp rose to 82, then 88 then 92 as I pulled off the freeway in San Ramon. When I got home, the dogs went ballistic as they always do. We’re… Continue reading Surprise in the Porch Stove
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
Learning To Trust in a World of Betrayal
Back in the 80s when I was a young school teacher in a small town, things were black and white. People were church-going farmers, and you’d better not be sleeping with your boyfriend when he came to town and stayed overnight. We learned to park our company’s vehicles behind the barn. My classroom was the… Continue reading Learning To Trust in a World of Betrayal
Memories of Hall and Oates CD
I drove down the highway, Abandoned Luncheonette playing on the CD player (my car is 9 years old). I was belting the words, watching out for weavers, the cars that go in and out of traffic, scaring the wits out of those of us going at a steady speed in a single lane. It occurred… Continue reading Memories of Hall and Oates CD
The Bathroom Post
(re-run) Nobody talks about it, except those red bears on the toilet paper commercial. Everybody poops. Or they at least try to. Older folks often have trouble in this department because the body is less efficient, and everything slows down, especially the digestive system. My days of eating nachos for lunch are over, my friends.… Continue reading The Bathroom Post
There’s Bitchy and There’s Old-lady Bitchy
(re-run) I should’ve called it My Bitchy Saturday but opted instead for the title above. It started off with the grocery store clerk putting my bag of apples at the bottom of the bag, then placing two dozen eggs, a pound of turkey, and a container of cake on top of them. Yes, I bought… Continue reading There’s Bitchy and There’s Old-lady Bitchy
My Three-quarter Bike Ride
(re-run) I suggested the bike ride. My adult children don’t spend enough time outdoors or get enough exercise, but they do like to ride the Iron Horse trail, an easy, shady railroad right of way that connects towns up and down the I- 680 corridor. I knew I had them when I suggested lunch at… Continue reading My Three-quarter Bike Ride
Weekend Away
For me, it’s 120 miles from door to door. I can usually get there in two hours over five highways and get back in two and a half hours, unless it’s Sunday morning and everyone (light traffic) is going 75 mph. Even with the planned detour for road construction, I still made it in two… Continue reading Weekend Away
Lemon Meringue Pie
(re-run) Sarah thought she would give Match.com one more try. After a round of on-line flirting with a good-looking, age-appropriate man, John asked her to dinner. Sarah said yes. They went to the Hayward restaurant and had a pleasant meal with lemon meringue pie for dessert. Things are going so well. This guy might be… Continue reading Lemon Meringue Pie
Mountain Lion
(re-run) A mountain lion attack was reported on the news last night. A 24-year-old woman’s dog saved her life in Trinity Forest in Northern California. The mountain lion attacked the woman first, but her Belgian Malinois shepherd named Eva jumped in and is now in serious condition. Cub season is now until October. The lion… Continue reading Mountain Lion
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 