Month: August 2022

How to Get your Dog to Come to You

Posted in animal rescue, animal training, California, commands, dog training, dogs, ex-husband, memoir, party, pet, praise, treatsLeave a comment

(re-run) On a hike the other day, there were four small dogs with fifteen or more people. One person was saying how hard it was to get his one-year-old dog to come to him. I remembered back to one of the many dog training sessions I’ve attended in my life – training Tess, the spaniel/heeler,… Continue reading How to Get your Dog to Come to You

Car Shows, Men, and Elvis

Posted in beer, Carmel, cars, dogs, Elvis, exercise, humor, memoir, Monterey Bay, Pebble Beach, relationships, Spain, Study abroad, wineLeave a comment

(re-run) It’s funny how memories of one thing lead to memories of other things happening in the same time period. Like the Twin Towers falling, or JFK getting assassinated. Or Elvis dying. Today is the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death (August 16th). Forty-five years ago, I was stepping off an airplane from Spain (by way… Continue reading Car Shows, Men, and Elvis

The Dancing Tribe

Posted in Beatles, California, community, dancing, hiking, live music, memoir, outdoors, pandemic, party, rock and roll, swing dancing, tribeLeave a comment

(re-run from October 2021)) Different town. Different band. Same faces. We are the tribe of dancers, mostly in our fifties, sixties, and seventies, following rock and roll music wherever it goes.  We might not know each other’s names, but we smile and wave. It’s been two years since some of us have seen each other.… Continue reading The Dancing Tribe

Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date

Posted in California, dating, drinking, drive-in movie, high school, humor, necking, Pontiac, taxidermy, worstLeave a comment

(re-run) During his senior year in high school, Chuck drove his powder blue Bonneville Pontiac to pick up his new girlfriend for their drive-in movie date.  He had tricked out the interior of the car with his two taxidermy quail on a bed of shag carpeting in the car’s back window. When he drove his… Continue reading Chuck’s Drive-in Movie Date

Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?

Posted in book-publishing industry, books, British Empire, English, grammar, humor, language, Masters' degree, memoir, native speaker, proofreader, spellingLeave a comment

Full disclaimer, I have a masters degree in English. That, in itself, won’t get me a chicken dinner or even a pat on the back. What it does get me is anxiety over the state of the English language in the USA. All one has to do is to scroll the internet to find mistakes… Continue reading Proper English or Arbitrary Pretentiousness?