Month: August 2018

Her Left Foot

Posted in babies, best, California, childhood, children, daughter, emergency room, feet, firsts, holidays, hospital, humor, memoir, mom, nine year old, pain, parents, relationships, summer, worstLeave a comment

It was Labor Day weekend. We needed to get a handle on the mess in the garage. I asked my oldest to watch my youngest while we parents worked outside. She was nine, in 4th grade already for a week, and the baby was almost two and a half. Then a series of unfortunate events… Continue reading Her Left Foot

The Ultimate Sacrifice

Posted in airforce, army, best, bomber, California, crew, Himalayas, Hiroshima, Japan, Kobe, last, memoir, mission, POW, relationships, ultimate sacrifice, World War II, worstLeave a comment

What do you do when World War II, the one that killed your big brother or the uncle that you never knew, has been over for almost 75 years?  When you find out that your niece has always wanted to know the story? When you learn that your aunt has twenty years of research and… Continue reading The Ultimate Sacrifice

The Illustrated Man (and Woman)

Posted in baseball, basketball, California, culture, eyebrows, firsts, football, friends of friends, generation, humor, insects, memoir, music, noses, pain, relationships, rose, skin, tattoosLeave a comment

This morning I woke up and wanted to write about tattoos. I went to another music in the park last night and saw so many. It’s a generational thing – getting tattooed — which will permanently mark an era. The only Tattoo we had back in the 70’s was the little man on Fantasy Island… Continue reading The Illustrated Man (and Woman)

It’s Not Rocket Science

Posted in antique, best, books, business, California, costumes, EBay, firsts, helpful strangers, humor, last, linens, memoir, relationships, restaurant, retail, vintage, worstLeave a comment

The woman who works for me, eleven years my junior and twice as strong, told me that when her hot tub broke, she told a man at her community pool that she needed a rocket scientist to figure out what was wrong with it. “I’m a rocket scientist,” the guy said. A good pick-up line?… Continue reading It’s Not Rocket Science

Landing In the Dog House

Posted in California, dog house, firsts, girlfriends, humor, independence, Iowa, jump off a cliff, junior high school, memoir, Midwestern, mom, popularity, relationships, retail, worstLeave a comment

When you’re in the dog house, you are in trouble. You’ve done something bad. As a child, I was never in the dog house because we didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a dog. My mother had her own strain of weird expressions that she said to us kids on a regular basis, probably… Continue reading Landing In the Dog House

How Thrifting Improved my Day

Posted in best, California, children, dentist, Ecuador, humor, memoir, neighbors, Peru, relationships, shoes, thrift store, translator, travelLeave a comment

Okay, I admit it. I am a thrift store junkie. So when I go to my fave beach town, I make sure to stop at every thrift store at least once. That makes for six stops, nine if I venture down to Carmel. This trip I stayed in my town. I wandered into Second Chance… Continue reading How Thrifting Improved my Day

Keeping Up with the Culture

Posted in best, culture, daughter, ethnicity, firsts, grad school, humor, last, memoir, Midwestern, Omaha, racist, Redbull, relationships, Roots, slavery, son, student, student teaching, Study abroad, teaching, TV, University of Nebraska at Omaha, water cooler, worstLeave a comment

Yesterday my son told me what click bait means. I am woefully out of the loop on many things computer. But I think I have a good handle on pop culture, for the most part. The first time I heard an eighth grade student say awesome, it sounded out of place. But that was 35… Continue reading Keeping Up with the Culture

Naming the Rescue Dog

Posted in animal adoption, animal rescue, ARF, best, California, daughter, dog training, dogs, humor, memoir, relationships, son, surpriseLeave a comment

(re-run) The day after Christmas I bought myself a belated gift. I got an adult dog to be a buddy to my exuberant two year old dog.  I’d been to the Martinez animal services shelter the week before, since they had so many dogs (140) and were giving them away. It was cold and damp… Continue reading Naming the Rescue Dog

Moochy Mc Moocherson

Posted in BMW, boyfriend, California, cars, clueless, dancing, dating, firsts, homeless, humor, losers, relationships, winery, worst1 Comment

It was the early 2000’s. Lynn met a cute guy in the wine country, Yountville, while dancing at a bar with her friends. Eric said he was also from the Bay Area, and he asked her out.  She said yes. Lynn had told the neighbors about her new guy, so they were all out in… Continue reading Moochy Mc Moocherson

Crocodile Rock

Posted in Beatles, best, California, dancing, drinking, Elton John, friends, girl friends, humor, memoir, nature, park, relationships, summerLeave a comment

  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