Apple Tree

(re-run) You know it’s apple-picking season when the dogs start bringing in the bruised ones and then growl at each other. When I bought the house, I inherited the apple tree. I didn’t realize how prolific it was until one day, after the gardeners left, I noticed a line of fat apples sitting on my… Continue reading Apple Tree

Ruthie Ann’s Designing Man

(re-run) Ruthie Ann worked as a graphic designer in Cortez, Colorado. She met an architect named Edmond through her position on the design review board. He was about twenty years older but smart and distinguished looking with his gray hair and eyes. She liked the work he’d done around the Durango train station. Edmond asked… Continue reading Ruthie Ann’s Designing Man

A 4th of July to Remember, or Not

(re-run) It wasn’t a typical 4th of July. I was getting divorced, and I had a boyfriend, although he was a conspiracy theorist. If you don’t believe me, you could just look at his wardrobe. He owned a collection of t-shirts that screamed, I am anti-government, anti-media, anti-logic of any kind. But he was cute,… Continue reading A 4th of July to Remember, or Not

The Friend Date

(re-run) He said he had a girlfriend but that she didn’t like to dance. Here he was, out dancing again. He loved to talk up a good game with the ladies, but would he ever act on it? He’d been with the same woman for over twenty years. He had insisted that I take his… Continue reading The Friend Date

Pushing Back

(re-run) Another Friday night, another summer concert, this time a Beach Boys cover band close to home. I loaded up my little red wagon and drove to Livorna Park in Alamo. The band wouldn’t start until 6:30, but I left home at 5:00 so that I could park close by and get a spot in… Continue reading Pushing Back

Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins

(re-run) I grew up with three uncles: one in Colorado, another on the other side of the state, and one near my home town in Des Moines, Iowa. Uncle Frank was older than the other uncles, but since his daughter, Nina, was my age, I hardly noticed.  He was married to my grandma’s younger sister. … Continue reading Uncle Frank and the Jar of Coins

Kuma, the Teddy-bear Akita

(re-run) Beth’s husband had two Akita dogs.  She wanted to get one for their six-year-old son.  She got Lee a puppy and named him Kuma, which is Japanese for Bear. The two older dogs kept attacking the puppy.  The marriage wasn’t going well, either. Beth and her son moved out and got their own place… Continue reading Kuma, the Teddy-bear Akita

A Summer Night in California

The band would cover Chicago songs and Steely Dan songs. The town was three towns west, closer to the ocean, richer — well-to-do people with shorter commutes to San Francisco. My dance partner was coming from Emeryville. I was coming from my bedroom community inland. We would meet up and dance. But first, ice cream.… Continue reading A Summer Night in California

A Thrifter Before It Was a Thing

()re-run) Today, as I entered the Good Will in Monterey, California, I was glad to see it mostly empty because of the rain and wind. But there were several teen girls and even a young guy shopping for clothing. That’s right, spring break.  When I as a teen shopping in thrift stores, I got lots… Continue reading A Thrifter Before It Was a Thing

Another Thrifty Day at the Thrift Store

I admit it. The Saver’s Thrift Store in Dublin calls me and every other over-55 senior in the tri-valley on Tuesdays. Why? The 30% senior discount off of everything. That’s why. My massage and chiropractor appointment messed up exercise class for me, so afterward, I swung through CVS to get Sis’s meds that they’d sent… Continue reading Another Thrifty Day at the Thrift Store