She was under a rusted-out Ford pick-up truck that looked as though it had been parked there for decades. Her sister was an ugly black and white Australian blue heeler/Brittany spaniel mix. She wasn’t much prettier. “Are you sure you want that one?” my future husband asked. I looked at the black spot on top… Continue reading Best Dog, Worst Dog
Month: February 2018
Blind Date in a Castle
Lynne was studying abroad at a university in Sweden. One of her friends convinced her plus another young woman to be blind dates. His school was hosting a fancy dinner and ball at a castle in Stockholm. The Swedish school was inviting guys from Denmark and Norway for the event, and they needed dates. The… Continue reading Blind Date in a Castle
The Robin and the Chrome Bowl
Every morning, as I sit at my kitchen table putting up my blog post and sipping on strong tea, a robin comes near the back porch to meet its reflection in an upside-down chrome dog bowl. The robin does a little dance in front of the bowl. The reflection does a dance back to the… Continue reading The Robin and the Chrome Bowl
Mr. Huggable
His name on Plenty of Fish was Mr. Huggable. 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 bar… Continue reading Mr. Huggable
Lady Doritos
PepsiCo, have you been paying attention? This is the year of #metoo, #timesup and the second year of the Women’s March. This is the worst time to be introducing girly snacks , when the whole point of the aforementioned movements is to treat women THE SAME as men are treated. Men don’t get raped (well,… Continue reading Lady Doritos
A Good Dog Neighbor
Yesterday my son and I had lunch together at the local sandwich shop. He brought his little dog, half Chihuahua, half terrier. I fed Violet scraps of lettuce under the table while we ate. She thinks she’s a vegetarian. Afterward, we followed the usual routine and came back to my house, where Violet could run… Continue reading A Good Dog Neighbor
Asinine Aspenite
Pam was living in Aspen Colorado, being a ski bum by day and working as a waitress by night. It was her early twenties, and life was an adventure. She met a nice guy on the chairlift. He was a part-time construction worker and a part-time ski instructor. He asked her out that night, to… Continue reading Asinine Aspenite
Escape
Scott answered a personal ad in the Contra Costa Times for a woman looking for a date. People used to run personal ads in newspapers to acquire dates, the same way they advertised open houses and garage sales. This was long ago, before the internet and before online dating. An ad was a commercial, a… Continue reading Escape
Prince Not So Charming
He was dressed as Prince Charming. I was dressed as a 1930’s nurse from Samuel Merritt Nursing School in Oakland, admittedly a weird Halloween costume, but the woman at the estate sale had practically given it to me after I bought $200 worth of antiques for my vintage shop. My friend, Nancy, her niece, and… Continue reading Prince Not So Charming
Cowgirl Tips
After moving to Omaha and teaching for a couple of years across the Missouri River in Council Bluffs, Iowa, I grew tired of driving a car that smelled like a mildewed basement. My poor Chevy Monza had suffered through a Nebraska flood back at the farmhouse, and the car stank. I couldn’t afford a new… Continue reading Cowgirl Tips
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 