(re-run from 2019) If you live in California, it’s the time of year that you pray for rain. With no precipitation since May, the hills are bone dry, so brown they are white. I hiked the hills yesterday. Not one green sprout of anything could be found anywhere. The trees are green, but that is… Continue reading Let it Rain
Month: September 2025
Laugh More, Worry Less
(re-run) The state is on fire, again. It seems that three of the last four years have been off the charts for wild fires. 2017 – Napa and Santa Rosa burned. Santa Barbara County, too. 2018 – Paradise, the town, was wiped off the map. 2019 – Because of heavier winter rainfall, the fires weren’t… Continue reading Laugh More, Worry Less
A Giants Date
(re-run) Tom, the contractor, was a Giants fan. He found a similar-minded woman on Match.com. Tom’s friend had given him the tickets, field level seats at the third baseline, near the players’ wives. Tom asked his date to meet him at his place so they could drive over to the stadium in San Francisco together.… Continue reading A Giants Date
Street Dance
(re-run) After hiking six miles with the senior group called DASH, which does not dash at all, but rather hikes slowly through the woods with plenty of stops for bathroom breaks, snack breaks, or count-up-and-regroup breaks, I was too pooped to go out dancing. But my friends were going, it was close (just one town… Continue reading Street Dance
Me Too
(re-run) He was one of five professors in the tiny Spanish department at Iowa State. I had him for both semesters of Spanish Two, and I’d just landed a summer job, selling books door to door in a mystery state after a week’s training in Nashville. The bus for me and the other recruits was… Continue reading Me Too
Fear of Bridges? Me, Too
(re-run) Gephyrophobia is the anxiety disorder of fear of bridges. The Bay Area might not be the best place to live if you have it. To get to San Francisco, you either have to take the San Mateo Bridge or the Bay Bridge. To get to Sausalito and Marin County, you have to take the… Continue reading Fear of Bridges? Me, Too
It’s Never Too Late
(re-run from 2021) Three weeks ago, I made a summer playlist. Does that seem silly? The last day of summer is almost here. I included songs with summer in the title, like Hot Fun in the Summertime by Sly and the Family Stone, Summer Breeze by Seals and Croft, Summer in the City by the… Continue reading It’s Never Too Late
Serendipity and Tea Cups
Tuesday is senior day at many of my thrift stores and Ten per cent Tuesday at another one on the circuit. I headed out this morning with high hopes for some great dishes (I sell them on Facebook Marketplace). The first thrift store after my massage and grocery run had beautiful Spode dinner plates. I… Continue reading Serendipity and Tea Cups
People Watching
(re-run) An 80s band was set to play in a small park one town away. I’m not a big fan of 80s music, but it was the last concert of the summer in that town, so why not? My girlfriend agreed to meet me there. I got there first and chose a corner of a… Continue reading People Watching
My Greatly-damaged Rescue Dog
(re-run) It’s been eighteen months since I adopted Daisy. The day after Christmas, 2017, I went out and got my dog Pepper a dog. Pepper has looked at me sideways many times since that fateful decision. Why did you get a Jack Russell? Why did you get this Jack Russell? Why does she growl at… Continue reading My Greatly-damaged Rescue Dog
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 