My Inherited Dog, Boomer

(re-run) Boomer was never my dog, although he came into my care when I married his owner.  I’m not sure how old he was when I met him. My dog, Tess, was two and Boomer was older. A small, part Beagle-part terrier, Boomer had not had a regular dog’s life. He had never eaten dog… Continue reading My Inherited Dog, Boomer

The Moon Landing and a Funeral

(re-run) The day we landed on the moon (July 20th, 1969), my parents took the family to a picnic/fishing spot at the Des Moines reservoir. I was going into high school in the fall, so it was a dorky thing to do on a Sunday, but hey? I couldn’t drive yet, and the food was… Continue reading The Moon Landing and a Funeral

The Tree Whisperer

(re-run) I walk my neighborhood once or twice most days while walking Dog A and Dog B (I can’t walk them together since the newest little weirdo is nuts). Because I am a tree hugger and have planted more than sixty trees at my various houses over the years, I will free a distressed tree… Continue reading The Tree Whisperer

Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

(re-run) It’s an American teenager’s rite of passage to get sick the first time they drink.  I was no exception. Aside from tasting different liqueurs on babysitting jobs after the kids went to bed, I had only tasted my dad’s beer, Schlitz. No thank you. I was not a fan of fizzy bitter fermentation. So… Continue reading Lime Vodka, Raisinets, and Cheesecake

A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert

(re-run) PK lived in Jersey when her childhood friend’s mum was terminally ill in Boston.  Her friend called to say her mother had died, and PK woke up, wanting to go to the funeral and surprise her friend.  She felt bad but thought it was the heat.  She loaded up her three-year-old daughter and took… Continue reading A Funeral, an Appendix, and a Dead Concert

Motion Sickness and Me

I have a friend who likes to apply her make-up in my car after I’ve picked her up. That way she can save time while I drive. I get to drive in the HOV lane with a carpool. All was good until the day she sprayed perfume on herself with me a foot away from… Continue reading Motion Sickness and Me

The Day I Found my Voice

(re-run) When you’re in the dog house, you are in trouble. You’ve done something bad. As a child, I was never in the dog house because we didn’t have one. We didn’t even have a dog. My mother had her own strain of weird expressions that she said to us kids on a regular basis,… Continue reading The Day I Found my Voice

Age is Just a Number

The other day, a woman and her husband’s great aunt came over to buy pink floral plates for the younger woman’s daughter’s baby shower. They spent an hour as the mom held up dishes, asking the older woman her opinion. “I’m 98,” the great aunt said, “and there’s nothing wrong with me!” “I’m 71,” I… Continue reading Age is Just a Number