There’s a Geico commercial for motorcycle insurance that starts out with the introduction to one of my favorite songs – Build Me Up, Buttercup. Of course, I have to sing along. Why do you . . . build me up, buttercup baby, just to let me down, and mess me around . . . This… Continue reading Build Me Up, Buttercup
Month: February 2023
Ah Choo! It’s Allergy Season
(re-run) My friends post photos of themselves gallivanting through our green hills dotted with wildflowers. It’s California, we are having the driest February in 160 years, and the pollen is exploding everywhere. My nose itches by just looking at the photos of the greenery. I bought an air purifier. I dug out my Flonase. I… Continue reading Ah Choo! It’s Allergy Season
Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
(re-run) Carol grew up in in Pueblo, Colorado, which was called the little Pittsburg of the West. Her dad was a steelworker. Her mom was a lab tech phlebotomist at the hospital. Whenever one of the kids got sick, her mom would bring home a hypodermic needle in her purse to draw some blood. “To… Continue reading Best Ed Sullivan Show Ever
Worst Kindergarten Teacher Ever
(re-run) She was thin, blond, and beautiful. When Mama left me in her care, I was enthralled with her, my very first teacher. Her name was Miss Tatz, and she was the lone teacher in the community building at Urbandale Lions Park, an overflow situation for the school district. Even though it was sixty years… Continue reading Worst Kindergarten Teacher Ever
A Date with Jesus
(re-run) Gina was from a big Italian family, So was Vito; they were the same age. The families were good friends, and when they were both fifteen, Gina was in love with Vito. But they never dated, and once Gina left for Berkeley to go to school at Cal, she didn’t see Vito for several… Continue reading A Date with Jesus
The Neighbors, the Pit Bull, and the Daily Pooper
(re-run) We bought a house on a street that was a long court with two courts coming off of it. We were up at the top, and it was a great and safe place for my kids to walk Penny, our greyhound-mix dog. Until it wasn’t. “That was a short walk,” I said when they… Continue reading The Neighbors, the Pit Bull, and the Daily Pooper
A Great Dane Story
(re-run) When I was thirteen, I hung out at my neighbor Bonnie’s house, just one block away from mine, but it was different world. Both her parents worked full time, so we teens could be there with no parental supervision. We were supervised, though, by the family’s Great Danes. I remember three dogs, but there… Continue reading A Great Dane Story
It’s the Little Things
A morning sunrise, skies streaked pink and blue. A warm dog cuddled under the afghan throw as I read a book. A hot cup of fake mocha coffee and a Madeleine cookie. A bunch of texts from an adult child 3000 miles away. A photo of my smiling grandson in his high chair. The lure… Continue reading It’s the Little Things
At Face Value
(re-run) Mark was a good-looking bartender, full of confidence, at an upscale restaurant. He’d say his face was his moneymaker and that you need to use what your mama gave you. Mark went onto Bumble to find a date. He waited until a woman messaged him (that’s how Bumble works). Her photo showed a good-looking… Continue reading At Face Value
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 