(re-run) It was in the spring of my first year of teaching when the call came. I was at Greenwood Elementary in Greenwood, Nebraska. I had applied to the Peace Corps the year before. They had just seen my application. They wanted to fly me to Chicago for an interview that weekend. They gave me… Continue reading Peace Corps Fail
Month: August 2026
To Flirt or Not to Flirt
(re-run) They found each other on Match.com. They had both lost their spouses. Don said he was looking for a good Catholic widow. He was involved with the arch diocese in Oakland. Sue was a recovering Catholic but thought maybe he was a solid guy. She agreed to meet him for coffee. He was good-looking… Continue reading To Flirt or Not to Flirt
God’s Favor
There’s the old joke about the man who is stranded in a flood. First, a guy in a canoe comes by and offers to help him. “God will provide for me,” he says as he turns down the canoe ride. Then a second guy comes by in a row boat and offers a ride. “God… Continue reading God’s Favor
Betting on a Jersey Girl
(re-run) He was working in Pittsburgh, auditing Gulf Oil for Price Water House. One of his married buddies approached the crowd at the water cooler and asked a guy, John, if he wanted a blind date with his wife’s friend from dental school. “Wait!” Arthur said. “You already have a girlfriend, John. How about me?… Continue reading Betting on a Jersey Girl
First Date with a Stoner
(re-run) You said yes to the guy who asked you out two years ago and you turned him down. Now he has shown up at a dancing venue in Concord on the same day you wondered whatever happened to him. You see, he lives in San Francisco and you live in Suburbia. Then you agree… Continue reading First Date with a Stoner
Skipping Work for Woodstock, 1969
(re-run) In 1969 Max Yasgur’s pig farm in upstate New York sounded like the place to be for three days and three nights. Frank had been delivering the Woodstock tickets for weeks on Long Island at his job as a summer letter carrier for the U.S. Post Office. He and the other summer carriers knew… Continue reading Skipping Work for Woodstock, 1969
Grandma’s Basement
(re-run) My grandfather and his dad built a house into the side of a hill. The main floor had three small bedrooms, a bathroom, a living room and stairs to the kitchen below. The kitchen looked out over the hill down to the creek and had windows and a back door with a screen door.… Continue reading Grandma’s Basement
Keeping Up with the Culture
Yesterday my son told me what click bait means. I am woefully out of the loop on many things computer. But I think I have a good handle on pop culture, for the most part. The first time I heard an eighth grade student say awesome, it sounded out of place. But that was 35… Continue reading Keeping Up with the Culture
Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
After three months in South America and six weeks of student teaching Catholic high school girls, I headed to Burgos, Spain, with 30 students and a handful of professors from Iowa State and the University of Iowa. It would be my way of earning the final credits of my dual degree. Linda, a high school… Continue reading Loneliest Study Abroad Ever
Mammo-grammo
It was that time again, time to go get my breasts smashed between two plates of glass. I was smart enough to take Tylenol ahead of time. I planned the appointment to be on an empty stomach, since it’s not pleasant and I didn’t want to burp on the technician. The appointment was for 1:30.… Continue reading Mammo-grammo
FIRST DATE, WORST DATE EVER! 