September 2020 – FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER!

The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

September 30, 2020September 30, 2020 Posted in classmates, college, high school, Iowa, Iowa State University, locker room, memoir, physical fitness, physical fitness award, softball, teacher, windowLeave a comment

It was senior year in high school. I was on my last semester of PE, my least favorite class. I maintained a straight-A average in all other classes. Not PE. It alternated between a B and a C. I was feeling good. We were in our next-to last unit, the physical fitness award. I already… Continue reading The Tennis Shoe and the Broken Window

PE, OCD and Me

September 29, 2020September 29, 2020 Posted in cartwheels, cheerleading, couch potatoes, dancing, exercise, flat feet, gardening, gymnastics, high jump, hiking, Iowa, Jack La Lanne, life skill, OCD, somersault, sports, swimming, track and field, tumblingLeave a comment

The day that gymnastics struck terror into my heart was in 6th grade, when Mr. Cunion decided to have us do a tumbling unit for PE. I come from a long line of weekend-couch potatoes. We didn’t do sports as a family, watch sports as a family, or pretend that sports existed. We didn’t do… Continue reading PE, OCD and Me

Pontoon Boat Disaster

September 28, 2020September 27, 2020 Posted in boat, childhood, Clear Lake, coffee, Iowa, lightning, OCD, pontoon boat, rental cottages, stomach, stomach issues, storms, summer, swimmingLeave a comment

My parents didn’t swim. When we went on vacation at Clear Lake, and Dad wanted to take us out in a rented pontoon boat, my mom objected. Dad won in the end, and the five kids put on our life jackets. I think my mom did, too. I am sure my dad didn’t wear one.… Continue reading Pontoon Boat Disaster

Hold the Crunch

September 27, 2020September 27, 2020 Posted in best, California, college, dating, food cravings, holidays, house party, humor, marriage proposal, Pennsylvania, phone call, relationships, singingLeave a comment

(re-run) Jim’s job was to put the crunch in the new peanut butter, Jif. One machine chopped the peanuts into slivers, and another machine used pistons to plug the slivers into the creamy product. Jim also had to taste test peanut butter that had been sitting on a shelf for three months in 100 degree… Continue reading Hold the Crunch

Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

September 26, 2020September 25, 2020 Posted in blind date, college, dating, firsts, humor, Iowa, memoir, Midwestern, relationships, restaurant, Rocky Mountains, worstsLeave a comment

(re-run) The college mixer was hosted by the men in Lorch House in Friley Hall, in the heart of the Iowa State campus. Tappan House, the top two floors of my dorm, Barton Hall, was invited. Yes, I am old. Yes, dorm floors are co-ed now. This was in the days of the dinosaurs. The… Continue reading Bricks, Ricks, & Cardboard

Spin the Bottle

September 25, 2020September 24, 2020 Posted in firsts, Halloween, puppy love, relationships, worsts2 Comments

(re-run) Andy and Tony were thirteen. Shari and Candace were twelve. The four of them played together all the time. Shari was always at Andy’s bedroom window or backdoor, waiting for the next adventure. The foursome had played touch football and were tired of that game. Someone had heard of Spin the Bottle. Shari wanted… Continue reading Spin the Bottle

Parking Lot Pick-up

September 24, 2020September 23, 2020 Posted in Berkeley, California, cars, Catholic, college, dancing, dating, fraternity, friends, humor, relationshipsLeave a comment

(re-run) Edith and her friend, Laura, were bored. It was Saturday night, and they’d been at their all-girls’ school, Holy Names, for a whole week. It was time to find some guys, to find a party. They pulled into Berkeley and headed for Fraternity Row. Laura spotted someone she had dated before and rolled down… Continue reading Parking Lot Pick-up

If Only I’d Known

September 23, 2020September 23, 2020 Posted in 2020, brain, college, flirting, hindsight, hindsight is 2020, medications, memoir, Monica on Friends, Monk, OCD, risk, risk averse, Spain, VenezuelaLeave a comment

As they say, hindsight is 2020, which is referring to your vision, not what year it is. As in, your vision about what happened in the past is pretty good, now that you’ve had time to look at all the angles and analyze it. Looking back over my OCD life, I now understand that it… Continue reading If Only I’d Known

I Stole a Dilly Bar on a Dare

September 22, 2020 Posted in civil rights, conscience, constitution, Dairy Queen, election, flirting, Iowa, junior high school, lactose intolerance, memoir, Portland, president, stealing, vandals, voteLeave a comment

When I was fourteen I stole a Dilly Bar from the Dairy Queen on a dare. It was lunch break from my junior high school, and we had an open campus. That meant we could walk across Douglas Avenue to go to the corner drugstore for candy or the Dairy Queen for ice cream. My… Continue reading I Stole a Dilly Bar on a Dare

Door Number One or Door Number Two?

September 21, 2020September 20, 2020 Posted in best, California, children, cocktail waitress, Colorado, dad, dating, firsts, holidays, humor, Iowa, marriage proposal, memoir, Minnesota, relationships, Sweden, travel, vacationLeave a comment

(re-run)\ It was all because of a blizzard. Well, sort of. I wanted to go to Minnesota to see the boyfriend I’d broken up with five months before while we were in Europe. We had bought Eurail passes and had made our way across the continent, sleeping on trains, in tents, and youth hostels, even… Continue reading Door Number One or Door Number Two?