My Perfect High School OCD Job

(re-run( After babysitting for every rug rat in my neighborhood and getting short-changed by a few of their parents (the going rate was 50 cents an hour), I moved into real jobs with time cards and pay stubs. The first one was as a window clerk at Mc Donald’s. I was fast. I could take… Continue reading My Perfect High School OCD Job

Pandemic Friday

(re-run) My friends are going out. They are eating at restaurants with no masks on, and they are sitting shoulder to shoulder at the table – not all from one household! I am chicken to do that.  I watch too much news and read too many newspapers. Yes, everything we do in life is a… Continue reading Pandemic Friday

X Marks the Spot, A Genetics Story

My chorus carpool buddy was amused that I took a college course called Baby Zoe. It was 300 women and two guys in a lecture hall, learning about the human reproduction system, pregnancy, and birth, one of the best college classes I ever took. And I took meteorology, horticulture, ice skating, and Swimming 101! Most… Continue reading X Marks the Spot, A Genetics Story

Two Seniors’ Shared Senior Moment

(re-run) He was right in front of us, a club member who had dated another club member for sixteen years until the break-up. We both knew who she was. But what was her name? “Liz,” he says. “No, that’s not it.” We talked about my ex-boyfriend club member, the Gong show, him being shirtless onstage,… Continue reading Two Seniors’ Shared Senior Moment

Mac and Cheese, a Spicy Story

(re-run) After nearly a week of no heat in my house, I finally feel warm enough to write a story, a spicy one, at that. This morning I made my usual run (with wet hair) to the grocery store for the Sunday Chronicle. But alas, there were none. I popped into the CVS next door… Continue reading Mac and Cheese, a Spicy Story

Best Tomato-planting Advice Ever

(re-run) Since I planted my ‘maters today . . . One morning at a local garage sale, I stumbled upon the Alamo Garden Club people, selling plants in one of the members’ driveways. I picked up five tomato plants since the price was right. “Do you know how to plant them?” the man seated next… Continue reading Best Tomato-planting Advice Ever

Child of Rock and Roll

(re-run) Being a child in the 60s and becoming a teen-ager a year after the Summer of Love and the year before Woodstock, I straddled two decades of great music with a foot in each. As kids, we danced to Elvis records in Debbie Harvey’s basement, which was way cooler than dancing to Bing Crosby… Continue reading Child of Rock and Roll

Must Be a Small Town

(re-run) I went to my favorite beach town for 24 hours to get away from it all. The weather was foggy, the weeds in my yard were thick, and my two dogs were fighting.  But three thrift stores in Carmel had their end-of-the-month half-off sales yesterday, so who cared about the weather, the weeds and… Continue reading Must Be a Small Town