Airbnb Tragedy on Halloween

Some mornings I wake up with a burning desire to vent, on paper. Today is such a morning. Eight days ago, five young black people were murdered at a Halloween party at an Airbnb rental in an upscale (mostly white) town near here called Orinda.  Orinda is the last mostly-white suburb before the Caldecott tunnel… Continue reading Airbnb Tragedy on Halloween

The Middle Child

I’m not really the middle middle child. I am the second of five. But I am the middle daughter, three girls before two brothers.  Looking back over the years, I remember how it felt to not be the oldest, not the youngest, not the first daughter, not the youngest daughter, not the first son (of… Continue reading The Middle Child

Roughing It in Paradise

Every two weeks I head down to Monterey to water my plants and visit my little beach house.  With 60 mph winds last weekend that toppled a decades-old tree next to my yard, I figured I’d have a hundred or so pine cones to clean up in my other front yard under an 100-year-old pine… Continue reading Roughing It in Paradise

Date with an Older Man

(re-run) I said yes. To a date. With a much older man. My girlfriend met him and didn’t approve. But she also said she wouldn’t dance with any guy she wouldn’t want to kiss. I dance with everyone – men, women, kids – many of whom I would never put my lips on.  Does dancing… Continue reading Date with an Older Man

Watch Out for the Green Pepper

I can’t eat green pepper. I can’t eat a lot of things. The older I get, the more things I need a certain way to keep me happy. When I was four years into a past relationship, I knew it was in trouble when the boyfriend started adding green pepper to everything he served me.… Continue reading Watch Out for the Green Pepper

It Started with a Whistle

Ray was a senior at Santa Clara University and RA for his house. Elise was a freshman that September and lived on the floor above. Ray and his buddy were out for a run when Elise and her roommate whistled at the guys in their running shorts. Ray introduced himself later that day, and the… Continue reading It Started with a Whistle

Phantom of the Halloween Party

Roberto put on his white mask and black cape and headed to WPLJ’s in Walnut Creek for his singles’ club annual Halloween party.  Available middle-aged women milled around the bar in their skimpy alter-ego outfits. There were: Slutty witches Slutty fairy tale characters Slutty mermaids Slutty nurses and slutty vampires. Oh, which one to dance… Continue reading Phantom of the Halloween Party